The evening times., 1900-03-19
MADE A CONTRACT TO WED.
A Queer Suit I'm New Jersey Over an
OId-wOrId Custom.

NEW YORK. March 1e.-Strange old
world customs will be adjudicated in a
Newark court because Meier Ankin refused
10 abide by his engagement contract. made
with a girl when she was thirteen That
was two years ago.
Because Ankin refused to abide by this
contract and objected to paying the pen
atty therefor. he said things which caused
Isaac Schwartz the girls father, to sue for
slander Judge Gould dismissed the suit on
technicality. but another will be brought.
Here is a translation of the agreement.
which was written in Hebrew:
ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT:
Voice of the bridegroom and voice Of the
bride For Good Luck
Il betroth thee unto me by faithfulness.
NAV II rise and sprout like a green garden.
Who finds a wife finds goodness.
May he obtain favor Of God who is good
and saws: Attachment is good. He who
can tell the results of every beginning may
give a good name and endurance to the
'-tonditions of this agreement and covenant.
which were discussed and agreed 10 by the
two parties namely. the first part Aora-
ham Pinces Selig son of Loeb Aaron, as
sistaut of his son Meier the bridegroom;
and the second part Jacob Isaac. son of
Day Baer. assistant of his daughter PERI.
Principal agreement: The aforementlon-
ed bridegroom shall marry the aforemen-
toned bride according TO the law OF Moses
and Israel They shall not withdraw or
hide one before the other any part OF their
possessions. but in community govern and
hot a /
is customary among married people. The
bridegroom binds himself to give TO his
bride the customary gifts. The bride agrees
to bring into wedlock dowry consisting OF
money. clothing bedclothing, etc, as II
customary.
The wedding shall take place, if God
wills 1t, on the tenth day Of the month OF
EIub. in the year of the creation of the
world 5661 or before or after this date, ac
cording to the agreement of both parties.
The party retracting from this agree
ment must pay to the other party penal
~ of $500 In accordance with the law Of the
State this agreement has been made In per-
feet knowledge and understanding of Its
meaning. In the sense of the Rabbls ana
of the State. this agreement shall not be
considered as a suggestion of mere form
I'VE have acquired from bridegroom and
bride and from both their assistants con-
sent 10 all that is written and explained
above. such consent as is required to make
this agreement valid.
Everything above is true and establish
ed. And for greater safety and strength
have bridegroom and bride themselves sub
scribed their names on the evening of the
Sabbath in which the Biblical chapter
Emor was read L. e., the ninth day of the
month of Iyar. 565s.
MEIER. son of Abraham Selig. Ankin,
PERL SCHWARTZ.
Ankin waited two years and then de-
named that Perl marry him immediately
or cancel the contract. Her parents OBJ
iected. 1t was decided TO efer the matter
to an arbitration committee appointed un-
der formal agreement signed last Octo-
ber.
The committee decided against Ankin,
saving he must return 10 Perl the watch
he had taken from her, and II he wished
to withdraw from the contract he must
award Schwartz $500.
Ankin issued note for this amount and
then repented Then succeeded suits and
ounter-suits, the latest being the dis
missed slander action, which Judge Guild
dismissed because the opprobrious words
were not set forth in Yiddish in which they
were uttered.