River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-07-07
MANY CONVICT WEDDINGS.
Leap Year Has Brought to Pass an
Epidemic of Handcuff AL
iances in Europe.

whether or not 1914 mas brought much
comfort to the leap year young woman,
it has certainly produced in Europe an
epidemic Of convict eddings--lndeed,
since the year dawned it has been scarce
ly possible to take up continental paper
without reading of some dramatic pill
grimage from the prison to the altar
and OF the progress of the bridegroom,
after too brief honeymoon, back to
Jail.
A typical case was reported a few
weeks ago from Buda-Pesth, says Lon
don paper A man named c. had
been sentenced to years Imprisonment,
and pretty girl, Etelka s., who had
known the prisoner for some years,
vowed that she would commit suicide
forthwith if she were not allowed to
marry him. In vain her father tried to
dissuade her from her project All his
pleading was useless; and at last.
through his lawyer, he made representa-
tons to the minister of justice to the eff
feet that his daughters mind would give
way unless her wish was granted.
AS the result of this request the con-
vict was granted an hours freedom, and,
with Warder for best man and an escort
of police, the marriage took place. AS
soon as the ceremony was over, however,
the bridegroom was marched back to
prison again, his wife bidding him an af-
fectionate good-by at the iron barred
door.
A week or so later Weggenstein, near
Geneva, was the scene of a similar I'M
conventional wedding. The bridegroom
had been sentenced to two years hard la
Dor for burglary; but when sentence was
passed he begged permission to marry
before going to the central prison On
the wedding morning the convict in
handouts was escorted to the office of
the magistrate, where the civil ceremony
was performed, with couple of uni
formed warders as witnesses. After the
ceremony the wedding party, warder and
ALL adjourned to the house of the newly
welded pair, where sumptuous break
fast awaited them, and the rest of the day
was spent in feasting and song.
More romantic was the recent union
of a French convict to the daughter Of
Brazilian nobleman. So attached was
the young woman to her lover that, in
order to be near him, she spent the weeks
between his arrest and sentence as a do
nestle servant. When at last he was
sentenced to transportation to Cayenne,
she obtained permission to marry him,
so that in time she may join him as his
wife in the penal colony.
On the wedding morning the bride
groom drove from the central prison at
Riom in Auvergne, to the town hall, with
his bride and four warders, in a carriage
and pair. The bride was soberly attired
in black and carried a bunch of violets.
The ceremony was performed by the
deputy mayor, with a few local officials
and municipal councillors as spectators,
and at it's conclusion the strange we'd
ding party drove back to the prison.
The bride had provided some dainties
and small wedding cake for the occa-
sion, but the governor of the prison was
obdurate, and the utmost concession he
would make was to allow the bridegroom
to eat a slice of the cake. The bride at
once returned to domestic service in or
der to earn the money necessary to take
her out to Cayenne to join her husband.
An interesting case of proposal in pris
on is reported from Paris. A young Par
isian dressmaker, who had been aban-
doned by her lover under cruel circum-
stances, was charged with throwing Wit
rol at him The circumstances of the
case aroused wide sympathy, and led to
an immediate offer of marriage.
The offer was accepted, but the mar
riage thus strangely brought about can
not take place until the young dress
maker has served her sentence Of IL
months Imprisonment.