The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1883-01-13
A SKELETONS WIFE.
Miss Thompson Misses the Beauty-Prize
but Catches Husband.

Consolation Found by Curiosity In
Counting a Competitor.
Special Correspondence of the Evening Light
New YORK, January 5.-When Isaac w.
Sprague, the living skeleton of BunnePs Mu-
scum, was told that beauty No. 10 had taken
the prize in the competition lately closed IN
New York, he burst into tears, dashed his hat
upon the floor, ratified his bones and declared
that the Judges were not fit to decide ques-
ton OF female beauty. He would have made
different decision and have awarded the
first prize to No. II, Miss Minnie Thompson.
Miss Thompson was indeed very prepos-
sessing young woman, and, with sensible
appreciation of her own charms, she was
piqued at not receiving the $Ioo, or even the
$50 thar was given to the beauty who carried
off the second prize. But the skeleton smiled
upon her as soon as he had dried his tears
and she was copsoled. Not that the skeleton
is the highest type of manly beauty His
arms are bones hardly concealed by the skin
that covers them, and his legs seem
ALMOST TOO THIN
TO carry even his attenuated form. But his
face has frank and independent expression,
and, though upon man OF ordinary proper
tons il might show a somewhat unbecoming
prominence of cheek and chin-bones; as COM
pared with the outline of his frail body it ap-
pears to be positively fat. His head is sur,
mounted with fine stock of brick-colored
hair and goatee and mustache OF the same
hue adorns his countenance. Miss Thomp-
81
she did not like fat men, and looked upon
the Hon. VIM. M. Evarts as the beau ideal
of grace. At least she so considered him
until she was sought by the skeleton, who, to
her thinking, eclipsed the lawyer. Miss
Thompson is not herself thin lady. She
weighs probably four times as much as the
skeleton, but as he only turns the scale at
forty pounds it will be seen that she is not
abnormally large. She may be called plump.
and she is very pretty. She is, perhaps, 80
years of age-hve years the skeletons junior
After the New York exhibition was over the
skeleton and Miss Thompson met often by
appointment at the museum, and the mana.
gers of the show complained that he was feed
ing upon his affections and
GROWING FAT.
This must have been a mistake, however, for,
his weight, as he showed by getting on the
scales, had not increased.
Another, and an older error, too, was cor
rected. 1t had been currently reported
among the curiosities of the show that the
skeleton had neither lungs, heart nor liver
and that a steady eye could look through him
and see an object behind. The existence Of
respiratory and digestive organs may still
be a matter of doubt but Miss Thompson in
dignanty repudiates the .rumor that he has
no heart. The courtship was quite short.
Miss Thompson told her lover in plain prose
the history of her simple life. He gave her a
poem of twenty-four verses fully describing
| his own. This poem he is in the habit OF
selling for five cents copy, but he charged
nothing at all for her copy, and she, overcome
by this last proof of her skeleton lovers devo-
ton, promised to be his wife. In fatal mo-
ment the skeleton was sent to the Brooklyn
show.
HE WAS IN DESPAIR,
but his true love comforted him, and an APP
pointment was made for last Saturday night.
At o'clock the skeleton was at the New
York Museum, where he met Miss Thomp-
son. At 10 O'Clock they were in Jersey city,
and at ii O'Clock they had been united in
marriage by the Rev. Mr.. Gardner.
They returned to Brooklyn and kept the mat
ter secret until yesterday morning, when the
skeleton announced it TO Major Bates. The
newly-made Mrs. Sprague has consented to
support her husband on the exhibition plat
form. She will appear in Brooklyn to-day
sitting beside him and billed; "The Skele-
toms Wife, 81 lost the $780," said the
newly-married lady, ''but won husband"