, 1889-05-02
A DEAD BRIDEGROOM.
a LIVE WOMAN AND A DEAD MAJ
WEooEo AT THE coFFIN,s sIoz

wEooEo AT THE coFFINs slos
Ahe feh Destroyer Steps Between
Lovers but in His Presence rh.i, H.
Arc Joincd-Who and What thu lat.
ested Parties Were and Arc,
once interviewed for The Sun a youn,
woman with bright blue eyes and nI.S
face who had been married" to d,.d
man. She stood beside the coffin :,
which the dead man rested, and placed
her right hand in his right hand. as hs,
father stood at the head of the coffin .ss
read the ceremony and answered for II.
voieeless lips in the coffin. That young
woman is alive today, and lived at jass
accounts in Elm avenue, Philadeiphia
She formerly lived in New York. bu,
after the strange ceremony went 20 th.
Quaker City and married truck driys,.
1t is long story that led up to tho cers.
mony, and one that required month.
work, day and night, to thoroughly sif,
and demonstrate its truthfulness,
A SINGULAR CEREMONY. =
| a little over dozen years ago q scion
of the Polish aristocracy, with eminent
connections In Paris, came to New York
to live. He was fairly wealthy, az the
time, and later on was Joined BY his
mother, widow. They lived in a mum.
Der Of New York boarding houses, and al
last put up permanently in ono in Wash.
ington square. The young man 1thsrs
met the blue eyed young woman and
fell passionately in love with her. She
was the daughter of tho landlady oeths
| house. -
The money Of tho mother and son Be.
gan to give out, and they were Joined by
an aunt from Paris, whose sole wealth
| was in valuabls paintings. The young
man was stricksa down with quisk con.
| sumption. As bis dying day approasAed
| the father and mother Of the young girl
suggested that tho young people Be mar
| ried. The mother and aunt Of the yeung
man acquiesced, but before the ceremony
could be performed he died.
His relatives could not speak EEgsish.
They were devout members of the Cath.
Ollie church, and were told by the father
and mother of the young wonian shsl
| the laws of the church in this couistsy
permitted q marriage between a dead
man and their living daughter. The
dead mans relatives at first denuned,
and then acquiesced. A friend Of an
the parties who was present at the cefo.
mony said that the body was in full
evening dress, and was leaned up against
the wall of the parlof, where its picture
was taken before it was put into. ths
coffin for the ceremony. "There is the
| spot" the witness said to me. as she
pointed to a corner in the pariOr, land
don't remember distinctly how fright
ened my little daughter was when she
| entered the parlor and saw the dead
man standing in the corner before the
photographer came. When the time fos
the ceremony arrived . score OF people
were clustered in the room, and the bride,
standing beside the coffin, took her dead
lovers hand in hers. Her father, at the
head Of the coffin, first addressed the
corpse, Max, wilt thou have Fanny to
be thy welded wife? etc, after the man
ner of the ritual, and, bending down into
the coffin, he uttered n sepulchral Yes,
for the corpse. ar .r-z
Turning to Fanny, the father said:
Wilt thou have Max for thy welded
husband? etc., and Fanny, between hsr
sobs, said Yes 4 ring that had been
bought for the occasion was then slipped
on the wedding finger Of the young wo-
man. Ali the company then had cakes
and wine and a wedding jollifcatioH." !"
NOW A TRUCK DRIVERS WIFE.
The body of that young man now
rests in sealed coffin in old st. Patsiek's
cathedral in Mulberry street. The
| mother Of the boy is dead. Tho aunt
was the Countess Marie de Pruschon.
Even in tho little room in Eldridgs
street, where she told me Of this stztnse
ceremony, she looked o veritabie grand
dame of France. She wes 90 years old
and her silver hair conabedo over her fore
head and her dignifed Iujen were truly
aristocratic. She was In 8 little room
IL by 12, and was making shirts for Q
livelihood. She managed TO exc cut y
all the luxuries OF life. She spoke q me
dead boy as '.my crown, my pride and
my JOY" ..,- =
The mother of the boy was the Coua.
tess Betkowska. Max as boy went 70
| school with the Dominicans in Paris and
at the Lycee Bonsparte while waiting 70
be admitted to the Oratoriens, leaned
! religious order. s M IAn
The parents Of the girl were Dir. saa
Mrs. F. r. Empoertz. They frankly sd
| mitted the marriage, and SO did the giri.
4 loved Max very much, she said 70
| me, "and we were betrothed. a mar
riage ceremony was said between US -
| he lay in his coffin. was known &c
Mime. de Betkowska for long time after
| Max's death. Itook his name after the
ceremony, and want to say this: 1hss
| in the event of the death OF his mother
and aunt l should consider myself es-
| titled to any property that should fsV !
Naxs widow" At tho tin,e<ssie sid
| this she was the wife of the Philadelphia
| truckman.
All the parties interested have photo.
graphs of the body in evening dress as d
stood in tho corner before the ceremony.
| The ceremony took place on oets IL,
| 1878, at 50 South Washington square.
Tho principals all seemed to accept the
ceremony as binding. The Countess
Pruschoff owned the famous Muriuo,
1.-THE Flagellation of Christ" on exhibi'
ton several years ago at the Metropolitan
museum. There is i contest for its
ownership among several lawyers grow
ing out of this strange ceremony.-He-
porter in New York Sun.
African Railways
1t is proposed, by a new company 1nS