Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1895-03-09


mind, considerably ameiorated the sit
uation. What would have been her at
titude toward Royal if. instead of being
member of the family with blood right
of interference, he had turned out sim
ply IA laundering stranger, whose tender
nature had ruled his reason to such dis
astrous effect, it is difficult to imagine.
Fortunately for Royal she was not put
to the test. A klnsman, like the shape
of a nose, can be accepted and endured
with the pleasing consciousness that, ex-
ternally, the worst is known of him,
while the Introduction of a stranger into
ones life may be attended with as grave
risks as those incident to the French no
tary's experiment.
Mrs Hart loved romance with n
southern woman's love, and moreover
she was gifted with a subtle sense of
humor. interviewer with the tragic ana
pathetic elements of the affair there was
comedy as well, for those sufficiently dis
engaged to appreciate it. And, for the
life of her, Mrs. Hart could not fOrbear
imaginative pictures of the self COM
placent soul of her kinswoman, assert
lively COMFORTING itself i'll the infinite,
suddenly confronted with a view of the
situation as it now stood. Even dis
embodied spirit, in such case. could not
escape recognition of limitations and
acknowledgment Of the futility Of all
arrangements for pulling stroke in the
lifeboat OF other people after this mortal
shall have put on immortality. The
pithy old Scotch l4overb required again
and again to Mrs. Harris secretly divert
ed mind with relishing sense of its APP
plicability.
what did the lawyers say" she ques-
toned. coming toward him, and tacitly
ignoring her own discOurteOuS eXclama-
ton and his impatient reception of it.
Royal pushed Il chair toward her, but
declined one for himself In his nerv-
ously excited condition it pleased him
better to tramp about the room. They
had been in Alexandria a week, coming
directly home with Mrs. Hart after John
Royals funeral, and during that time
the dead mans substitute had devoted
himself to discovering what might be
his legal status in the affair. OF his
case in equity he had no shadow OF
doubt.
There hasn't been time enough for
anything like research yet, and lawyer
is nothing without precedent he an
swered I've seen couple of fellows
here, and stated the case alphabetically
and I've talked to man or two III Wash
ington besides. OF course I've only got
ten horseback opinions as yet. Nobody
I've seen has ever gone into a thing like
this. One fellow told me plainly that
he didn't believe such case had ever
even been imagined before.
But the general impression was
what
Royal paused beside her chair, anC
stood looking thoughtfully down at her
LAS far as John Royal is concerned
the case has but one point of view. They
all agree ON that. The proxy marriage
was no marriage. Under the circum-
stances it couldn't be. A man in articulO
morris, as John Royal was at the time
of the ceremony, cannot enter into 4
contract; the law wouldn't recognize
such an act as conscious and voluntary.
Even if he had lived it is doubtful
whether the proxy marriage would have
stood. 1t would have given us what we
wanted, thought fighting chance for
the money. Marriages by proxy are SC
unusual that the law don't provide FOL
differentiations of them"
"Then the marriage with John is null
and void:'
Its nonresident"
"And with yOu?"
Mrs. Hart looked searchingly up at
him: she put out her hand to prevent
! him from resuming his restless pacing
backward and forward.
The marriage with me was genuine
Listen and III try to make it clear to
you"
With allowance made for inaccuracies
of understanding and statement due to
lack Of legal knowledge and a, perforce.
prima facie reading of the case, the gist
of that which Royal had gathered was
this. Marriage was the special charge
of the law, and by it regarded as the
prime pillar of civilization, therefore
every possible facility had been afforded
people for entering the matrimonial
state; the notion being, apparently, that
the more marriages the more props
ergo, the more civilization.
In the present case the names of the
two men being identical and age and ap-
pearance sufficiently similar to cause the
license to fit either indifferently, and the
woman having consented to marry the
man she was with, the marriage cere-