The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-05-03
KNOTS OF FATE.
An Ohio Justice Who Has Mar
sled 4076 Couples.
His Fee All the Nay from
THANK Ye" to a $50 Bill.

record of Squire AIassie Bease who
lives at Aberdeen, Ohio, just opposite
Maysville, Ky, the important point in
many a romance, the Gretna Green of
Kentucky. Just think of it! Hearts
to the number of S152 made, at least
temporarily, happy. And yet, through
all of these dramatic climaXes in which
he has played the necessary role, Squire
Beasley has never caught the fever Of
that passion without which he would be
minus his present unique distinction.
When he first assumed the Office of
Justice of the Peace he was fifty-four
years old, bachelor and possibly, in
consequence, quite philosopher. And
now at the rugged old age of seventy
three it is with a certain reflective salts
faction that he gazes down the long
vista of united hearts and feels kindly
sense of relationship to a consequent
generation of young people.
Contented, though unmarried, the only
thing he has to lean upon in his de-
clinlng days is staff, about four feet
long, which he uses when walking.
There is a world of speculation in his
completed labors. Many of the rosy
knots of his tying may have grown to
yokes of thorns. All of life is uncern-
ty and marriage, as a life itself is a
thing beyond precision. That is the
way Squire Beasley resolves it in his
philosophy. Marriage" says he, sis
either freedom or slavery, and very
often an unpleasant mixture of both"
But, in spite of this, the old mans
heart is full of kindness and sympathy,
and many there are who recall him with
gratitude. His life is simple He
lives in an unpretentious two-story brick
house. There is an old-style portico
in front of the building. which in its
plain severity, seems to reflect the own
er's personality. On entering, the visi-
tor finds himself in large. airy room,
in which is the old. time high mautel
piece and spacious backlog fireplace.
This room serves the Squire as his bed
room and office. Its furniture consists
of an old fashioned four. poster bed,
with bedding piled upon it to such a
height that man with legs of ordinary
length would have to use step-ladder
to get into it, number Of split bottom
chairs, a ''grand fathers" clock in one
corner and several WELL worn law books
upon the mantle piece.
The Squire talks entertainingly and
his native sarewdness gives bri ghtness
and originality to his conversation. He
is an exception to the old adage of the
unappreciated prophet, for he is exceed
ingly popular in Aberdeen, not alone
because Of his record, for Mr.. Beasley
attends to the ordinary duties incum-
bent upon Justices of the Peace. He
has held his office for the past nineteen
years without at any time having to
undergo the chances of re- election or
defeat. The constitution of this State
provides that a Justice of the Peace
shall hold his Office during the term
for which he has been elected, or unit |
his successor is elected and qualified.
No one ever having offered himself as a
candidate for the Squire's position,
that gentleman has never seen fit to pre-
sent himself for reelection, but he has
held on up to to the present time and
will probably d lie in harness.
There can be no reflection upon the
Squire's marriages, and even their dis
patch can prove no legal objection.
They are all valid and just as good for
practical purposes as if performed by
an archbishop. This point was settled
to the satisfaction of runaway couple
some time ago, when the supreme court
of Ohio decided tina. Squire Beasley's
marriage should stand. He does not
require persons to produce license be-
fore uniting them in marriage, but dis
peases altogether with that document
so necessary to candidates for matri-
monial bliss in other places.