Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-07-23

Borrowed Ring of One Girl to Give to
 One He EIoped with-NIade Good His
 Hoard In Smiles, and It Is Alleged That
 He Stole to Pay the Parson.
 FREEHOLD; N. J.; July 23.--If any man ever made a complete and complicated mess of it, that man is Wilbur 4. Watkin- son.
 Mir. Watkinson tilted one girl. robbeA two others, gave a third 0 borrowed en- gagement ring and married her. A few hours later he was in jail Then he told all about it and asked the authorities to hur- Ey up and decide how much hard labor he owed the state. Meantime his bride and shree other young women weep and make moan.
 Young MT. Watkinson, who is easily the most picturesque and versatile idiot yet turned loose in Freehold, worked in the George Pearce bicycle lamp and saddle factory as regular business and "board- cd round, ''~and made love during his spare time. He first devoted himself to Miss Belle Van Doren, and after awhile she gave him her ring to wear. He, hay ing nothing else, repaid her in affection.
 That he was gay deceiver no one sus- pected, not even his fellow boarders at William P. Hoffman's. There, as every where, affection was accepted at par.
 Watkinson began to work out his own destruction on Saturday last. He sneaked into the bedroom of Misses Melissa and Bessie Hoffman, the trusting daughters of the man in whose house he lived, pock- eted $42 and departed, saying Incidentally that he was going to Manasquan.
 Boarder watkinson Suspected.
 The girls missed the money late that night, and, all other theories failing, Boarder Watkinson was suspected, and the hue and cry after that engaging per son was begun.
 It only required brief investigation to discover that Miss Ray Reid, one of Free holds belles, was also missing, and that Boarder Watkinson, instead of going to Manasquan, had hired a buggy at Charles Dubois livery stable and taken the trail for New Egypt with Miss Reid as an affeo- tionate passenger.
 While Freehold was regaining its breath at this astounding discovery a stranger ar- rived from ''up New Egypt way" He was surrounded in a minute.
 Seen anything of young man and a girl and a roan horse and buggy up your way?' Fourteen men asked that question at once.
 Well" " he said slowly, II seen a feller and girl going for parson to git mar ried jist as I left Egypt. Think his name was Watkinson, an he driv sorrel mare." Constable Daniel Parker "hitched up" and got under way for Egypt" leaving the rest of Freehold to get the agonizing particulars from the stranger.
 He missed tho happy Watkinson and his bride, but he heard that they had re- turned to Freehold.
 They had indeed come back again, and were making merry at the home of the , new Mrs. Watkinson, all ignorant of the trouble in store for them-all except Wat kinson, at least. and he wasn't crossing any bridges until he came to them. With breakfast that morning came Con- stable Daniel Parker. He promptly arrest ed Watkinson, and that worthy not only admitted his guilt, but said he had just made up his mind that he had been a bit reckless and was thinking of flight. Bridegroom In Jail. Bride In Tears.
 The constable led Boarder Watkinson to jail, leaving his bride of day inConsola- ble. Then Freehold began to say things about the young man who was the cause of all this.
 The town quickly divided into three fac | tions, who viewed his guilt from different I standpoints. Che stoutly asserted that the theft of $42 from the Hoffman girls was the worst feature. Another sympathized with Miss Van DOren, and the third and largest number of complainants said Wat" ought to be tarred and feathered for deceiving Miss Reid and persuading her to elope with him.
 While the subject of all these criticisms was thinking it over in jail Miss Van Dor en arrived and demanded the ring he had borrowed from her before all these things began to happen. He returned the bauble | with as much grace as the circumstances allowed, and she hurried away. Watkinson will be arraigned i'll court on Thursday next, and it is said that he has decided to enter formal plea of guilty and get it over with as soon as possible The Huffmans are the angriest of Wat kinson's victims for it was their money that paid the parson to marry the boarder l they had trusted.