The herald., 1896-01-05
Mr.. DOWNS ESCAPADES
Was to Have Been Married Last
Evening.
BUT QUIETLY SKIPPED OUT
Wired His WOu!d.Re Bride q Message
From San Bernardino
He Said That He Could Not Keep His Engage
ments and Asked to Be Excused-Was
Going East

Louis Downs has indeed played . star
engagement. Last evening he was to have
taken unto himself bride, but instead ho
is being rapidly whirled over the Mojave
desert toward the east, and his bride that
was to have been is here in Los Angeles
mourning his perfidy and congratulating
herself that she found him out as early a.
| she did.
! Louis Downs was to have led to the altar
last evening Mrs. Harrison, q handsome
widow, who would have made a most
charming bride. But Mrs. Harrison know
| yesterday afternoon that she was going to
be disappointed about the wedding cere-
mony, for she received the following tele-
gram from Louis, dated at San Bernar.
dino:
Cannot keep enga ements. Closed the house
at o'clock. Gone east
Then Mrs. Harrison became aware OF
the fact that Louis was a shifter. In fact
she very justly got the impression that he
| was no good.
LOUIS came to Southern California last
| November. In some way he formed tho
! acquaintance of Mrs Williams, who owns
Hotel san Xavier. at 3l5 West Seventh
| street, just off Broadway.
| Downs was smooth individual and
created an excellent impression. Mrs.
Williams introduced him to her daughter.
Mrs. Harrison, widow with little 6-year-
old daughter.
Mr. Downs started forthwith to most
assiduously court the daughter. The re-
suit of it all was the announcement OF the
wedding which was to have taken place
last evening. Everything mad been going
along swimmingly and there was no indi-
cation of any rupture in store for
the arrangements until the telegram
was received yesterday morning from San
Bern rdiuo. This threw the whole Hotel
San Xavier into a state of turmoil and
Mrs. Harrison entered in state of total
collapse. She was compelled to take to
during the remainder of the day. All
efforts to obtain brief interview with her
proved to be fruitless. She said absolutely
that she had not one word to relate upon
the subject of Downs, his going or 0is
coming. He was nothing to her, and the
less Sue heard of him in the future the bet
ter she would be pleased.
Hotel San Xavier had been fixed up and
specially decorated for the happy event
! that wa to have taken place last evening,
but when the telegram came from San Ber-
nardino force of dornestics commenced
| at once the work of removing all evidences
of anything that would go to indicate that
| a marriage was an event in contemplation.
1t only took about an hour to complete the
task, and then the San Xavier wore just AZ
SoInDre all appearances aS ally iouliiy AOuoA
! in the city.
Louis Downs was young man about
thirty years of age. Just exactly why he
should have decamped at this critical
juncture is not known. Some of the guests
at the hotel claim that he had a family in
the east and that he had made admissions
to them to this effect. This may be pos
sible but the story is not fully authenti-
Gated. Louis, it is also said. carried with
INN several hundred dollars, room rents he
had collected from guests of the hotel. He
had been acting manager of the house for
Mrs Williams.
( The police were informed of Downs de-
! parture just after Mrs. Harrison received
her telegram from him, but they were un-
able to do anything in the way of bring
ing him back unless some one would swear
out warrant for his arrest and this no one
would do. Downs has departed and the
chances are that the place will know him
no more.