San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-07-28
FIN DE Steele ARDEN.
A Liverpool Man Who Courts His
own Daughter and Proposes
Marriage

LlN rhEoOlL, lug, July zi.-oue
OF the most complicated examples OF
the adage "You can't be too care.
full" has within the last day or
two come to head in the neigh
borhood Of ToXteth Park. In the
last year of the seventies" a young
clerk out Of berth went up to
London in search Of employment,
leaving his wife and little daughter
in Liverpool.
In the metropolis it would seem
that the young man, despairing of
obtaining legitimate work, drifted
into the hands Of a coterie, who, 8
decade and a half ago, "worked"
the metropolitan race meetings to
prey alike on bookmakers and
hackers. Later on in the year a
series Of burglaries took place In
the northwestern district, and for
completely in one of these, which
had been accompanied with vio-
lence, the ex-clerk was tried at the
Old Bailey. Had he been adequate
ly defended he might. have got of,
the evidence against him being by
no means conclusive.
AS it was he was convicted and
sent to penal servitude for ten years.
Emerging at the end Of seven and a
half years on a ticket OF leave from
his enforced retirement, he remain
ed in London, but caused inquiries
about his wife to be made in Liver.
pool, only to learn that she had
gone to America anG taken the
child with her. During the
term Of his Incarceration one
of his former associates, COM
ing in for totally undeserv-
ed turn OF luck, had for
saken the error OF his ways
and gone into the wholesale
fish business in the neigh
borhood of Billingsgate, and with
him the ex-convict found en-
ployment. In this he continued
until the expiry Of his term of sur
veillance. Then having saved his
money and being so far as the law
was concerned his own master, he
begsu to follow the meetings as a
bookmaker. Beginning in modest
way success attended his efforts,
and he gradually crept up until he
attained a firm footing in the ten
shilling ring. And all the time,
though he made pretty continual
inquiries, not trace could he find
Of his missing wife, until he finally
gave her up for dead.
In the pursuit of his professional
avocations he attended the Liver.
pool spring meeting, and on the
night of the Grand National
dropped into the pit OF local
theatre. Next to him sat young
lady of considerable personal at
fractions, with whom he entered
into conversation, and, as she was
unattended, he, at the close OF the
performance, CALAMITY escorted her
to her own door. The fol-
lowing afternoon, he returned to
London, but the acquaintance
with the young lady, so far
from being allowed to drop,
was continued by letter. Fur
thermore, whenever opportunity
offered, the bookmaker came on to
Liverpool to see his divinity. At
length matters progressed so far
that he proposed, the which, as he
fully believed his wife to be dead,
he appeared to be quite justified in
doing. He was perfectly candid
as to his calling and income-in
fact, on every point save two. He
made no mention OF his enforced
acceptance OF the hospitality Of the
crown, and the name he gave his
sweetheart was that by which he
was known on the race course
the which, by the way, is very diff,
ferent to the every day appellation
he is known by. The offer was &C
cepted, subject to the approval OF
the young lady's mother and step
father, and the bookmaker
named day on which he
would call and interview these
important personages.
The day came, so did the suit
or, only to discover that the moth
er OF his inamorata was his own
wife, the young lady herself his
own daughter .
So far from emigrating, the ell
der lady had merely removed from
the north end to the south end OF
the city, and then, having good cause
to believe that her husband had
died In Portland, she had married
again.
And now Mr.-is very much in
the position of the gentleman who
has found six-pence and lost a shil-
ling.
He cannot marry his own daugh-
ter. He cannot very we'll prose-
cute his wife for bigamy, and he is
not particularly anxious to have
the lady back again.
Z.