Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-24

lima Family Quarrel and Keen Eyes | of Connecticut Schoolmarm-ls Now Mrs. Kent.
 Norwalk, Conn.,, Dec. 24.-Thirty feet of rope sent by a girl in Christmas box to Miss Ruth Kendall, at the Nor walk Finishing school, was responsible for a merry runaway wedding party at the Holland House, in New York. The former Miss Kendall appeared as Mrs. Alfred Kent.
 Mrs. Kent laughingly admitted that she had reached her fiance's arms only after traversing the thirty feet of rope hanging from window in the board l ing school. Her chum, Miss Ethel Kelcey, of 155 West Forty-sixth street, New York, was present at the cele- 1 bration and said that she was proud to state that she sent the rope which had brought about such happy re- suit.
 But the rope descent was not the | only feature of this romance. It was founded strictly upon Romeo-Juliet lines, for the fathers of Miss Kendall and Mir. Kent have been bitter enemies for a generation. When Mir. Kendall, in his home in Raleigh. N. C., learned that a Kent boy" from Ashevflle. N. C.. had made the acquaintance of his daughter strict orders were sent to the school that Miss Kendall's mail should be carefully watched and her excursions from the school we'll chap eroned
 Calls Became Very Frequent. Miss Kendall and Mir. Kent met last summer during their vacations at the Thousand islands. Miss Kendall told where she was to be sent to school, and MT. Kent promised to call ire ouently. His calls attracted the atten- tion of the school authorities, and they communicated with the girls parents. asking if it was with their consent that MT. Kent so frequently met the girl.
 The first answer to the inquiry came by telegraph, followed by long letter of instructions. These replies shut off all chance of the sweethearts meeting, although they were still able to keep up more or less infrequent corre- spondence through friends.
 Kent begged for an immediate mar riage, and, while Miss Kendall was willing, she could not find means to escape from the school, and she found that her letters were being inspect ed" In her despair she sent through a friend a letter to Miss Kelcey in this city. She knew that Miss Kelcey had at one time attended the school and had on her own account made ia nous escape from her room. The let ter implored Miss Kelcey to send di- rections for an escape.
 Bedclothes to Break Fall. |. "When received the letter." said Miss Kelcey, "I decided that there was no better way of getting out of the school than the one I had employed. The students all sleep upon the third floor. so the windows are regarded as safe In the room formerly occupied there is broad ledge about ten feet below the window that gives a girl a chance to rest if she tries to escape by means of the bedclothes or rope.
 'I had to use bedclOthes, but I pre- pared a box with thirty feet of rope and sent it to Miss Kendall, marked Merry Christmas from F. A. K Those are my initials. but they also happen to be the initials of Miss Ken dall's father. so the box was given to her without inspection. I told her to try to get to my old room and to throw out all her bedclothes. so as to make a soft place to land upon when she reached the end of the rope"
 Miss Kendall, or rather Mrs. Kent, received the rope without any suspi- cion being excited and carried out Miss Kelcey's instructions to the letter. Kent was at the bottom of the rope and led Miss Kendall to a carriage which he had in waiting outside the