CHAMPION LOVER.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 8964, 6 November 1907, Page 1

CHAMPION LOVER.

Michael Kilkenny, an old man, of Conntv Mayo, was accepted by Miss Mary Flatley, an elderly spinster, as her future husband, on April a. Their courtship continued without a break until April 4, when they were to have been married. Instead of taking his betrothed to the altar however, Kilbenuy got back the ring he had given her. Miss Flatley flatly refused to be treated in this cavalier manner, and so Kilkenny, who is a widower with seven children, five of whom are in the workhouse, was ordered by the county court judge at Swiuford to pay her £7 for breach of promise. He promptly appealed, and the case was heard recently. The matchmaker, or medium, seems to have been a Mrs Morley, who arranged the meeting on April 8. Tiie first question the suitor asked was how much money the lady possessed. Having obtained a satisfactory answer and Mrs Morley being out of earshot, the defendant “caught a very tight hold of her” — (laughter). The Judge: Very tight hold?— Plaintiff: Yes; but I squeezed myself out of him. Continuing, Miss Flatley said the defendant went out, and came back with a ring. The priest was notified, and a dispensation was obtained, as it was Lent. Miss Flatley was cross-examined as to her age, and the judge said “Oh! she isn’t so voung as she used to be.’’ Miss Flatley : Oh, trotli! I am old enough. , , Kilbenuy said ho had been a widower since last October. Ho broke off the match because he had heard it alleged that the plaintiff had once been in an asylum. He would not marry any woman who had been in an asylum, not if she had a thousand pounds. The judge, in giving his decision, said the element of love introduced w r as the shortest on record. No great loss had been sustained by either party, and the decision of the county court judge would be affirmed, but the decree would be reduced to £l, no costs being allowed.