Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — Sentenced to Matrimony. [ARTICLE]

Sentenced to Matrimony.

A young man and a young woman were contesting possession of a piece of property, the one claiming under an old lease, the other under an old will. “It strikes me,” said the Justice, “that there is a pleasant and easy way to terminate this law suit. The plaintiff seems to be a respectable young man, and this is a very nice young woman. They can both get married and live upon the farm. If they go on with the law proceedings the property will all be frittered away among the lawyers, who, I am sure, are not ungallant enough to wish the marriage not to come off.” The lady blushed and the young man stammered that they “liked each other a little bit,” so a verdict was rendered for the plaintiff on the condition of his promise to marry the delendant within two months—a stay of execution being put to the verdict till the marriage ceremony should be completed. This is about the first couple ever sentenced to matrimony in a court of law.— [The Gripsack.