Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-06-14
A RICH MANS TWO WIVES.
After Sixteen Years Of Welded Lie Ike
Declares He was Never Married.

Declares He was Never Married.
special dispatch to the Philadelphia Press
from Boston. Mass, says that one of the richest
cotton brokers in Boston. Mr. Ames II. Miller.
made peculiar answer in the divorce court in
that city Monday to the libel for divorce of the
woman with whom he had lived and whom
everybody has recognized as his wife for l6
years past. I'VE were never married" ne said
The parties to the case are of the highest
social standing and have moved in the first cir
Giles OF Boston society. They have attended ser
vices at the church of the Unity and for several
successive seasons spent the summer at the
fashionable Atlantic house. Nantasket Beach
No one ever doubted that they were man and
wife until year ago. when Mr.. Miller quietly
married another woman. The scandal was
hushed up then and kept quiet till divorce pro-
ceedings brought it to public notice.
THE FIRST MRS MILLER.
In Judge Colburns private room the first Mrs
Miller told the painful story of her relations
with Ames Miller. She entered into the mar
riage relation with him. she said, 16 years ago. in
New York. There was no ceremony, but she
believed that. under the Scotch law. as she
expressed it, their solemn declaration OF mar
rage with each other was as binding as
though the ceremony had been performed by a
magistrate or q Clergyman. She says that on
her return to Boston she frequently begged of
him to have the ceremony performed by a clergy
man. but he assured her it could not be made
more binding and there was not power enough
on earth or Heaven to declare that she was not
his wife. From being in moderate circum-
stances he had become prosperous business
man, and she was everywhere regarded as his
wife and had no suspicion that she was regarded
by him as anything else till his sudden and IN
expected marriage to another woman a year
ago.
"YOUR AFFECTIoNATE HUSBAND"
Rev. NJ. J. Savage, of the Church of the Unity,
and DR.. /. T. Talbot, one of Boston's fashionable
physicians, who treated the Millers profession
ally LOT twelve years, testified that she had
always been thought his wife. Fifteen of Millers
letters were introduced, addressed to her as his
wife and signed "Your affect!onate husband"
also two or three deeds in which he signed away
her right of dover were brought in as evidence.
The case, in which Judge Coiburn reserved
his decision, is most interesting in its legal
aspect. The law of Massachusetts, requires that
marriage ceremony should be performed by a
magistrate or clergyman. while in New York it
has been held that when a man and woman de-
clare publicly that they arc man and wife it is a
valid marriage. If Judge Colburn holds that it
was a marriage between them I'm New York and
grants divorce, suit for bigamy will follow.
The Men with the Pig.
From the Detroit Free Press.
A few days ago two men, who were after
ward found to be Detroiters, arrived in a town
about fifty miles to the west of this, leading a
pig. 1t was perhaps big enough and heavy
enough to be called hog, but they termed it a
pig. and as they turned it over to the care of
the landlord at whose inn they proposed to
rest for the night one Of the men explained:
"Be awful careful with that pig. He's daisy
a new breed just from Scotland. We've sold him
to farmer out here for $50. and We don't want
anything to happen to him."
The landlord locked the pig up and then be-
gan to think and cogitate and suspect. When
the strangers had gone to bed he called in some
of the boys and said:
i've twigged the racket; them two fellows
are sharpers, and that's a guessing pig. To-
morrow they will give you chance to guess
at his weight at ten cents guess and you'll
be cleaned Out-only you won't! AS the fell
lows sleep We will weigh their pig and beat
their game"
Nobody slept until the pig was taken over to
the scales and weighed. He pulled down ITO
pounds to hair and the villagers went home
and hunted up their nickels and dreamed Of pigs
and scales and sharpers through the remainder
of the night.
Next morning the pig was led around in front,
and, before starting off on his journey, one of
the owners remarked to the assembled crowd:
Gentlemen, I'm going to weigh this pig d.
rectly. Maybe some OF you would like to guess
on his weight? I'll take all guesses at ten cents
each, and whoever hits it gets fifty cents"
This provoked a large and selected stock of
Wins oiiu puI uo Ouc NuIhtu up
the pig man said that any one person could
guess as many times as he cared to, provided a
dime accompanied each guess. Then rush set
in. Three or four merchants put up fifty guesses
each. A justice Of the peace took thirty. A
lawyer said about twenty would do tor him.
Before there was any let up in the guessing
about six hundred had been registered and paid
for. Every soul of 'em guessed at 10 pounds.
1t was curious what unanimity there was in the
guessing, but the pig men didn't seem to notice
it, When all had been given a chance the pig
was led to the scales, and 10! his weight was
exactly ia pounds!
"YOu see, gentlemen" explained the spokes-
man, "wtile this animal only weighs 10 pounds
along about IL o'clock at night we feed him
about five pounds Of corn meal in the morning
before weighing! You forgot to take this mat
ter into considerations
Then somebody kicked the landlord, and he
kicked the justice and the justice kicked a mer-
chant and when the pig men locked back from
a distant hill the whole town was out kicking
itself and throwing empty wallets into the
river.