A CHANCERY ROMANCE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11518, 19 January 1894, Page 2

A CHANCERY ROMANCE.

* . TUB WIDOW'S STORY. (Canterbury Times.) Tlio Court of Chancery h»B beon called upon to decide many strange disputes, but one might search its records a long timo before discovering a inoro remarkable case than that hoadod"ReCullener(decf>asod)," to which reference was recently made in our cable messages. On tho faco of it, the suit wus of as dry and commonplace a character us Chancery suits usually are. A Mr William Henry Smith Cullender, who died at Clapham forty years ago, left hii widow a lifo interest in his estate, with tho proviso that if she married again tho property was to go to the testator's daughter for her lifo, and then to tho daughter's children. The action waa brought against the widow and others by tho daughter in question and her infant children, the plaintiffs claiming that they wore eiititlod to tho incomo of tho property, and the main question for the Court to decide was whether the widow had or had not marriod again. It was when tho alleged second marriage came to be investigated that the most astounding feature of the case was brought to light. It was not disputed that a marriage of a kind did take place in the parish church of Woolford, .Essex, and that tho najio of the widow appearod on the parish register and marriage certificate as one of the contracting parties, tho other being sot down as one James Stanley, It was now alleged, however, it was a shnm marriage of a most extraordinary character. The widow, it was asserted, appeared there not in tho character of a bride, but, dressed up in man*s didSties, aclunYly loo): ftie park of the bridegroom. Under tho name ot James Stanley she went through the ceromouy of marriage with a woman named Sophio Newland. who took the namo of rtochol Elizabeth Cutlouor, which the oceontrie vidow li ad abandoned. What was the reason for this extraordinary episodo — which, wo vouturo to say, would be discredited as wildly improbable if set down in fiction ? Tho story of the widow was that in 1865 she was in pecuniary difficulties, owing to having bscomo surety for her son-in-law, and thought she was about to te reduced to extrema poverty. It then occurred to her that sho would be able to evade her creditors, and have a better chancn of earning a livelihood if she passed herself off aB a man. Accordingly, in tlio year 18G5 Bhe assumed male attiro, and had habitually worn it ever since, passing undor the namo of H, N, Smith. A frosh difficulty, howevor, presented itself. Having 3iink her identity in 11. N. Smith, sho was naturally unablo to obtain, as Mrs Cullonor, tho ronts of her lato husband's property due to hor under U'o will. A novol Jund |audacious ido* was then suggested to her by hor daughter Kaehol, sinco deceased. That young woman pointed out that si?eo her mother could not get the money herself the next bust thing would bo for it to como to hor children. She suggestod that her mother should go through the form of marriage with Sophio Nowland, who should assume the name of Rachel Elizabeth Cullender, so that, according to tho provisions of the will, tho incomo of the testator's estate should pass from the widow to the widow's children. Sophio Newland was very reluctant to act on that suggestion, but at length consented, and tho ceremony was duly solemnnised betwoou thorn as wo havo already stated. Tho only persons present on tho occasion wore tlio parish clerk and the pew-opener, both of whom wore now dead, and tho oaly persons who wero aware of the marriage wore her children. The came of .lames Stanley was only assumed by her for tho occasion of tho marriage, after which sho and Sophio Nowland continued to live together as Mrs C'ullener and F. N: Smith till 1883. How or when she gave up tho maeijuerading in male attire is not sUted in the report before us, but she now repudiated tho marriage, and claimed to be entitled to the income of the property. The Court had to decide between her claim and that of hor daughter, Mrs Clarke, iind her children. The cable has informed us that judginont was given in favour of the latter. We shall await with aomo interest further details of the caso, so that we may learn the grounds on which thia doci&iou was baoedi