ed States Circuit Court October
3, 1883, twenty-eight days before his enemy commenced hers in the
State Superior Court. By dilatory pleas her counsel succeeded in
delaying her answer to Sharon's suit until after the decision in
her favor in the state court. She did not enter an appearance in the
federal court until the very last day allowed by the rule. A month
later she filed a demurrer. Her counsel contrived to delay the
argument of this demurrer for seven weeks after it was filed. It
was finally argued and submitted on the 21st of January, 1884. On
the 3d of March it was overruled and the defendant was ordered to
answer in ten days, to wit, March 13th. Then the time for answering
was extended to April 24th. When that day arrived her counsel,
instead of filing an answer, filed a plea in abatement, denying the
non-residence of Mr. Sharon in the State of California, on which
depended his right to sue in the federal court. To this Mr. Sharon's
counsel filed a replication on the 5th of May. It then devolved upon
Miss Hill's counsel to produce evidence of the fact alleged in the
plea, but, after a delay of five months and ten days, no evidence
whatever was offered, and the court ordered the plea to be argued
on the following day. It was overruled, and thirty days were given
to file an answer to Sharon's suit. The case in the state court
had then been tried, argued, and submitted thirty days before, but
Miss Hill's counsel were not yet ready to file their answer within
the thirty days given them, and the court extended the time for answer
until December 30th. Six days before that day arrived Judge Sullivan
rendered his decision. At last, on the 30th of December, 1884,
fourteen months after the filing of Sharon's complaint, Sarah Althea's
answer was filed in the federal court, in which, among other things,
she set up the proceedings and decree of the state court, adjudging
the alleged marriage contract to be genuine and legal, and the parties
to be husband and wife, and three days later Sharon filed his
replication. There was at no time any delay or want of diligence on
the part of the plaintiff in prosecuting this suit to final judgment.
On the contrary, as is plainly shown in the record above stated,
the delays were all on the part of the defendant. The taking of the
testimony in the United States Circuit Court commenced on the 12th of
February, 1885, and closed on the 12th of August following.

The struggle in the state