THE MATRIMONIAL STAKES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 940, 12 January 1911, Page 4

THE MATRIMONIAL STAKES.

MORE HASTE LESS SPEED. Christopher Kradzier, who arrived at Plymouth iu the latter part of October ou the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, had to reach Warsaw on or before November rst or lose the young woman whom he hoped to make his wife. Seven years ago she promised to be his bride, and he went to America to make the necessary nest-egg. Since then she has waited patiently, but a little while ago she issued an ultimatum saying she would wait no longer for the wedding. When this communication reached Kradzier, he hurried away to the savings bank, drew out his fortune of £6O, and plunged into a study of the sailing dates of the Atlantic liners. He selected the French boat La Provence, purchased a ticket, and then found he had hardly time to catch the ship. He reached the pier just as she began to leave her berth. The gangway had been removed, but within reach hung a hawser which the sailors were hauling in. Kradzier grasped this and leaped from the pier, but the sudden pull caused the sailors on the deck above to lose their hold, and the desperate lover was plunged into the water. The dip, however, failed to cool his ardour, and in an instant he was working his way hand over hand up the line. Once more, however, he fell back into the water, and this time he lost hold of the rope and struggled about in the muddy stream until rescued by those on the pier. The liner sailed away without him, and he caught the Kaiser Wilhelm, which meant that his margin of time for the journey would be an extremely narrow one.