THE WRONG BRIDES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20058, 22 September 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE WRONG BRIDES.

SENSATIONS AT WEDDINGS. WOMAN'S STRANGE FREAK,., ( MISTAKE BY A PROFESSOR. EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENTS. It is almost beyond believing that a normally sane woman could be seized by such an hallucination as that which impelled a certain well known lady to present herself as an uninvited guest at the wedding of an equally well-known clergyman, says Mr. F. H. Budgen, in a London pa~>or. All the parties concerned belonged to the upper classes of English society, and the marriage took place at a fashionable West End church. One can figure, therefore, the formal dignity of the scene when the officiating clergyman put the formal question : " If any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace " Before there was time for a response a commotion was heard at the back of the church, and up the aisle, leaning on the arm of a taxi-driver, came another bride, robed in silk brocade, w'ith a tulle veil, and carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. As the woman came near the altar, a verger interposed and asked her if sha had not made a mistake. The directness of the question seemed to unnerve thcs woman. In a half-dazed way she muttered some reply and then allowed herself to be led out into the street, where a policeman questioned the driver and then told hun to take the lady home. Later investigation resulted in an explanation of this strange incident from a lady at whose home in Earl's Court th« would-be bride had been living. An Olt-Eepeated Eehearsal. It transpired that, like all other spinsters, the woman had long cherished the thought thai one day she would be led to the altar by the man of her choice. With this idea in view, she had bought a bridal dress from a West End dressmaker, and it had been her frequent custom to don it in the privacy of her own room and to rehearse in front of a fulllength mirro; the part she would some day play in church On this particular morning the lady, who is possessed of considerable means, was out shopping when, in glancing at a the top floor. Going to one of the rooms aforesaid marriage was to take place that day. Promptly hailing a taxicab sha drove home and, telling the driver to wait, hurried upstair;;, emerging half-an-hour later arrayed as a bride. Then, giving the driver a buttonhole to wear, she asked to be driven to the church, and there made, the additional request that he should escort her up the aisle. He demurred at first, but the promise of a big tip satisfied his scruples apd. with great dignity, he carried out the I lady's wishes. The Professor's Mistake. A more amusing instance, perhaps, of a case of mistaken identity at a marriage occurred at a West End register uffire. Here the man in question was a wellknown professor, whose name is often prominentlv before the publio. He had •iranged to marry a lady who was an ussociate with him in many of his scientific experiments. It was to be a quiet affair, with no attendants; for witnesses, the couple were relying on the professional witnesses that are always to be found around a register office. Now, a series of coincidences and mishaps took place which led to a most comical sequel. First, the professor, who is dreadfully absent-minded, forgot the ! time of the ceremony and arrived half-an-liour too soon. Secondly, en route in a taxicab he broke his glasses, which left him half blind. In a flurry he rushed into the register office and saw what he thought was bis fiancee awaiting him. In actual fact, the lady before him was awaiting another man altogether, who, as it was learned later, had been taken ill in the streets and removed to Charing Cross Hospital. Meanwhile his fiancee, who was short-sighted, but who, out of vanity, had doffed the strong glasses v.hich she normally wore, thought she recognised" in ♦ho professor her tardy bridegroom. With a mutteved apology for being late, tho professor took his place by the woman's side and the registrar proceeded. When the names were read out, the lady shrank back panic-stricken from the bndneroom with the cry: "No no. It's wrong. This is not the gentleman I'm going to marry!" On hearing her voice the man agreed with her; explanations followed, and the professor, robbed of one bride, settled down patiently *o wait for the next. Woman Who Changed her Mind. An East End registrar tells of an extraordinary instance of how marriages are sometimes contracted without any sentiment entering into .the affair. A certain couple had arranged to be married, and at tho appointed time the bridegroom duly arrived. He was alone, and in explanation he mentioned that he had obtained two hours' leave of absence for the ceremony from the factory in which he worked. Ten minutes after the time arranged the oride had not arrived, and the man was fussing and fretting about the oflice when a neatly dressed girl came in. "Where's Nellie?" asked the man. " What's keeping her ?" The newcomer looked at him nervously. " She's not coming.'" she answered slowly. " She told me to tell you she's changed her mind. She's not going to marry you." The man nearly leaped off the gr»und in his anger and excitement. "That's a nice trick 'to play on a chap, isn't it ?" he remarked bitterly. " After me getting time off to bo married and paying for the licence. Why didn't she say. so yesterday ?" The girl hung her head. " I told her that it wasn't right." she remarked after a pause, " but all I could say made no difference." The Bridegroom's Second String. A sudden thought struck the man. " Here, Liz.," he asked. " what about marrying me yourself? Why not?" And he pleaded with her for a 'minute or two. To the amazement of the registrar the girl consented, and the man, turning to the official, asked him to cross out the name " Nellie Blank" and replaco it in the licence by " Lizzie Blank." And great was their disappointment when they learned that a new licence would be necessary. A fortnight later, however, the man had evidently another " two hours off, for he appeared with Liz, and, their faces beaming joyously, the strange couple were wed.