Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-09
IN LUDLOW STREET JAIL.
Arrested for Breach of Promisc-From
Frying ran to Fire.

Frying Tan to Fire.
Civil suits for breach of promise are
among the common incidents of this
great city. The unlucky defendant in
. case of this kind is likely to find him.
self locked UP in Castle Ludlow. Az
| the. leaden hours of incarceration slip
by, ample time is afforded him of view
ing tie two horns of a very disagree
able dilemma. One way to accomplish
his liberation is TO marry the lady; the
other, tc pay the damages she claims.
| A mans natural in%clinatlons would
| hardly lead him to- select for q wife a
| woman wI.o would imprison him; but,
| on the other hand, man lodged in a
/ prison cell is, as a rule, in no position
to pay the heavy damages which a
sympathizing jury would consider a
fair compensation for wounded afec-
TONS The result is thas many a poor
fellow languishes for ntonths in con-
finement, the more ~harrasssng inasmuch
as he holds in his own hSnd the key
which would unlock his prison DOORS.
1t may occur to him that this key
(the marriage Of the wonan), may
open the door of one prison into an
other, from which the charces of es-
cape are very vague. Msmy a man
stands whimperlng on the brink of
matrimony when she dangers are far
less defined than IL the case of'our poor
prisoner. As time drags slowly on the
conviction that something must be
done" becomes at last SO strong that
he nerves himself for desperate action.
The money he car, not pay. He can
. marry the woman He must lie free.
Following out this line of argument he
sends for his counsel and requests him
to- notify the other side that he has
given in and is ready to make
the fatal plunge. The only ching
thas remains to be done is to ar
ranga for the wedding. The
lady is presumably consulted at this
stage of the proceedings, and many
valuable suggestions arc given by her.
Everything goes smoothly now, until
the prisoner, who in effect has said,
"Give'me liberty or give me deash,'
asksrHery reasonably for his discharge.
Here'he is met with a shock which
must be most distressing to his finer
sensioilities. He is informed that in
order to obviate the danger of his
running away before his compulsory
nuptials, the marriage ceremony is to
be 'so4emnjZed hat he will
be expected to remain quietly there I'M
til thu. happy day arrives This is a
blow from an unexpected quarter, out
it can't be helped, and his only re-
source is to hasten the preparations
for becoming event.
On Che appointed day there is a Per.
ceptihle ripple in the duh routine of the
Jail. The warden's parlor is busted
ever, Che furniture placed in suitable
positions, a number of chairs are Dor
rowed for the occasion and the invited
guests throughout the prison can be
seen aIeparing themselves for the fes-
tivity. A carriage at last drives up to
the door and deposits q lady, q clergy
man and perhaps a friend or two Of
the former. The party is shown in
and She reluctant groom sent for.
What the feelings of the couple may
be at meeting under such trying cir
cumstances is generally left o c%onjec-
ture, as it is the exception when any
demonstration is made on the. part Of
either the man or the woman The
ceremony is pre-eminently amatter of
business, and is conducted with J.. due
regardto the pressure of other engage
ments. The guests depart; the, wife.
leading.her reluctant spouse, is placed
in Che carriage, and the surroundings
of the jail lapse into the customary
dizziness, with nothing to Indicate that
a prisoner has been released from one
captivity and remanded to another
thelast a life sentence in all tprobabl-
isy.-N.. Z. Herald.