Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-12-20
A MARRIAGE MYSTERY.
Hal Banks Friends Say He Was
 Forced to Wed.
THE BRIDEGROOM DISAPPEARS.

The Bride a Beautiful Descendant of tho Sleepy Hollow Van TasseIIs and the
 Groom a Rich Young Man-Mr. Van Tas- sell Denies the Revolver Story.
 WHITE PLAINS, \. Y, Dec. 2O.-with the announcement that young Hal Banks and Miss Mabel Van Tasself were married on Saturday night there came another an- nouncement that Hal Banks had disap- peared on Sunday morning. Then Banks chum went about town and told everybody that his friend had been invited to the home of the Van Tassells, where Mir. Van Tassell, the father of Miss Mabel, after placing pistol upon the mantelpiece, had suggested to Hal that he marry his daugh- ter.
 J. Harold Banks, whom every body in town calls Hal, 20 years old, short, well built, good looking and extremely good natured, is the son of William l.. Banks, a real estate dealer The latter is one of the wealthiest men in town. He lives in a big stone house on Broadway and owns con siderable real estate. The son is law stu dent in the office of Wilson Brown, Jr
 An Aristocratic Bride.
 Miss Mabel Van Tassell is beautiful She has adark complexion, with big brown eyes, red lips, nose just aquiline enough to give an air of haughtiness to her fea- lures and a tall, graceful figure. She is in her nineteenth year and k very clever. Her father, Wesley Van Tassell, d descend. ant of the Van Tassells of Sleepy Hollow, is building contractor, with n comfort able income and an eye full of determina- tion. He is man of few woENls. Last winter the residents of this town SossipeG a great deal over the fact that Miss Van HASSpl nfF,.u i, rh,s pf Edward J. Robey, the assistant postmaster.
 Mir. Robey once went out west and stud jed for the priesthood. He gave il up, how ever and came back to White Plains. The gossips began to say that he was almost as gay as q New Yorker, and therefore his as- sociations with Miss Van Tassell interest ed them very much.
 Throughout the winter these two were frequently seen together, and even during the summer their friendship seemed to continue, and the question was often asked, When are they going to be married.' That Hal Banks was wooing Miss Var Tassell no one knew or suspected or would have believed. And that was how things stood on Saturday night.
 On that night Hal was an usher at a lee ture in the opera house. During the lee ture Mir. Van Tassell came to him and said:
 . to the house tonight"
 All right said Hal.
 What Hars Friends Say.
 Now here is the story which Hal's friends tell: When Hal went to the house, Mir. Van Tassell took him aside into a room laid revolver on the mantelpiece and told him he would have to marry his daughter. Hal saw that there was nothing else for him to do, so he said, All right; I'll do it. Then a minister was sent for and thcy were married.
 Mabel was already dressed for the ccrc- mony. When it was over. Hal went home and the next morning he told his father about it. Mir Banks was very angry over the whole thing and said he would have the marriage annulled if he could. That same morning Hal disappeared Mir. Van TasselI tells a different story Hal had promised to mary Mabel, g b, said, and when he came here he knew | that the marriage was going to take place There was no force or coercion used by ma or any one else. The Rev. Dr. OSbon of th, Memorial church performed the ceremony and everything went smoothly.
 Hal said that his parents were opposed to the marriage, but he was determinel that that should not prevent him iron marrying my daughter. l think he ha ! gone away merely 10 Walt until nl parents get over their anger, l have beer to see them, but-well, that doesn't mat ter any way"
 The peculiar feature of Mir Van Tasscll' story is that he admits going to the oper. house to see Hal. It would seem from hi story that he went there to invite Hal l. come and be married. Then, again, Ha has not written to his bride, and she i still waiting at her fathers house for hin to return. And then Robey seems to b left out.of it entirely.