Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-12-10

Chrlstan, let alone Baptist minister,
he would go ahead with the marriage
service.
Z" MIR. Humphreys finally consented
ana called out to Halsey to nod when
he should see the minister wave his right
arm, that being the only way in which
HaIsey could make the responses. see
ing as his voice didn't fairly reach to
the ground. Having arranged this sat
lstactorily, as he thought, Mr.. Hum
phreys went ahead, and in about two
minutes he had Miss Payson married to
Mr.. Halsey. just then the sexton came
up with keys, and knowing where he
could lay his hand ON length of rope
he took 1T up into the steeple with him
and bent it on to the bell rope. Then
he and Mr. Halsey lowered Miss Payson
to the ground and came down the stairs
together.
You'll find your wife waiting for
you in the graveyard says Mr.. Hum
phreys to Halsey. She's naturally lit
tie excited, and she's resting on fat
tombstone
If you mean Miss Payson,' says
Halsey, L can't understand why you
call her my wife.
L call her your wife, says the
minister, because have Just married
you two, and don't allow no man to
question the binding character of any
marriage that have a hand in
Married us! cried Halsey. when
g h. I
heard of it,
Young man, says the parson, this
hyer's a serious subject, and don't ap-
prove of jokes ON either weddings or
funerals. Miss Payson told me, while
she was swinging there in the air, that
you and she wanted to be married the
worst way, and so I married you. If
there's any mistake, I'm not to blame.
I've done my best as a minister of the
gospel, and if you don't like it you can
60 to the divorce court and see if you
can get it altered. I'll tell you candidly
that | don't believe any court will lis
ten to you, for my marriages are iron
clad and bullet proof every time and
worth a good sight more than the S.
that I'm waiting for you to pay me-.
well, Halsey, he went home pretty
mad, without waiting to see Miss Pay
son, and the very next day he begins a
suit for divorce. That's the great di-
vorce suit was telling you about when
1 pointed out Rev. Mr.. Humphreys to
you. It's been dragging along for four
years. Sometimes it's decided in favor
of Halsey and sometimes in favor Of
Miss Payson, and then it's always ap-
pealed and has to be tried over again.
Miss Payson, she sticks to it that Hal
sey had agreed to marry her and that
he understood perfectly well everything
the parson said while the ceremony was
going ON. The parson says that Halsey
nodded as was agreed upon when he
asked him if he took Miss Payson to be
his welded wife and all that sort of
thing, and that Halsey had hold of the
rope that was tied to Miss Payson,
which was all the same as having hold
of her hand. On the other hand, Halsey
swears that he never meant to marry
the woman and never knew that a mar
riage ceremony was being gone through
| with, but that he just nodded out of
1rlendllDeSS Wnen ne SAW tne pdIsOu
waving his hand at him. The evidence,
as you can see, is pretty straight against
him, and when he does happen to get a
| verdict it costs him powerful lot OF
money, for our jurymen are mighty
honest and high toned, and it takes a
good deal of money to induce them to
see things in light favorable to Hal
sey. I'm interested in the case because
of its Importance, for if the courts final
~ decide that man can be married tc
a woman when he is 70 feet above heI
and don't know what is going on none
of us is safe, and first you know some
woman that is rushing through here Oh
the express will be married to me while
am selling tickets in my office and
knowing no more about than child
unhung. Well, there is no use in sitting
and dreading dangers that may never
come to time, and suppose if it's &
mans fate to be married he's got tC
knock under, and there's no good IL
worrying himself over it till the time
comes"