Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1891 — A Well-Matched Couple. [ARTICLE]

A Well-Matched Couple.

A convict at a French penal settlement, who was undergoing a life sentence, desired to marry a female convict, such marriages being of common occurrence. The Governor of the colony offered no objections, but the priest proceeded to cross-examine the prisoner. “Did you not marry in France?* he asked. “Yes.” “And your wife is dead?” “She is.” “Have you any documents to show that she is dead ?” “No.” “Then I must decline to marry you. You must produce some proof that your wife is dead.” There was a pause, and the bride prospective looked anxiously at the would-be groom. Finally he said : “I can prove that my former wife is dead.” “How will you do so?” “I was sent here for killing her.” And the bride accepted him notwithstanding.