The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-09 00:00:00

A NOVEL TVEDDEVG.

In the peculiar but highly interesting village of
Northowram, there have been-living for the last 23
or 26 (it being a disputed point as to the exact
number) years a couple of elderly persons, both of
whom we should judge to be closely verging upon
60 years of age, known respectively in the neigh-
bourhood as Tom and Rachel, but up to Saturday
last have been living as man and wife without
having gone through the marriage ceremony. How

long this state of things would have continued it is
a difficult matter to determine, had it not been at-
tributable to the circumstance that, having both
joined friendly societies some time since, from which
their friends would be entitled to a few pounds at the
death of the worthy pair, they had recently made
the important discovery that, according to the so-
cieties' rules, if one of them was to die while in an
unmarried state the one left could not claim the
money. To avoid such an unfortunate occurrence,
they had at length determined that they would be
united in the holy bonds of matrimony, and bad
several times scraped together a small sum of money
to be devoted to that purpose, but somehow Tom
had always found a mode of spending it which gave
him greater satisfaction. At last their friends de-
cided, in order to accomplish the desired object, they
would raise the necessary funds by subscription
among themselves ; and, we are informed, about 60
persons contributed a few shillings each, with which

they were determined, as they said, to have a " jolly
spree." They arranged to employ all the donkeys
which the township could muster, but this not being
agreeable to the bride, was dropped. On the morn-
ing of Saturday, which was the day fixed for the cele-
bration of the event, the people in the neighbourhood
were all full of excitement in anticipation of it, which
even extended into Halifax itself, as the news of the
wedding had been afloat for two or three days pre-
viously. At a quarter-past ten the interesting
procession started from the abode of the happy
pair. It was headed by a man playing on a violin,
followed by a well known person named " Tommy,"
a relative of the bride's, who was, after all, mounted
on an ass, and wore a scarlet coat, and a hat which
had been got up expressly for the occasion, being
made with a large and overhanging crown, from
which were suspended strings of beads all round.
Immediately after this imposing personage came the
bride, escorted by a young man known by the
name of " Gad." The woman was very plainly
dressed, wearing a straw hat slightly trimmed with
blue ribbon ; but Gad's costume was in every respect
remarkable. He was enveloped in a " coat of many
colours," which appeared to have been made out of
an old shawl, and reached nearly to the ground,
and in the place of two buttons at the back it was
adorned with two coloured paper rosettes. Under-
neath this he wore a white vest with black buttons,
which was ornamented with the empty frame of a
hand looking-glass, suspended from his neck by a
piece of narrow blue ribbon, and through which he
occasionally took a survey of the people around ;
this article of wearing apparel was also adorned
with a superfluous amount of watch chain. He also
wore a large white necktie, and a pair of knee
breeches and white stockings, and undoubtedly was
the person who attracted most attention. Following
these there were about eight couples, composed of
men and women of all ages, and two or three of the
males being very grotesquely attired, one of them
having, in addition to knee breeches, white stock-
ings, and a peculiarly shaped coat, stuck a lady's
brooch into a white necktie. The bridegroom, who
was only ornamented with one rosette, fastened on
his left breast, brought up the rear, accompanied by
a smart young woman.

They were followed by a large crowd of delvers
and other persons—indeed, we have since heard
that there was not a quarryman left in the village,
and that the women were so busily engaged gossip-
ing and watching the strange wedding party, that
in the evening there was scarcely a single house
which had received its weekly cleansing. They
arrived in the town at about a quarter to 11, where
the already large crowd was considerably increased,
and kept on augmenting until they reached the
parish church, Halifax, where the ceremony was to
be performed. The route they took after leaving
North Bridge, was along Northgate, up Old Mar-
ket, on Corn Market and Southgate, down Horton-
street, and entered the churchyard opposite the Ring
of Bells Inn. As they were going down Ilorton-
street Tommy fell off his donkey, but was quickly
assisted by about half a dozen big fellows, and rein-
stated in his honourable position. The violinist was
also protected from the pressure of the crowd by
two or three persons on each side. There were a
large number of people waiting in the churchyard,
many of them having been there for upwards of an
hour. The party had to wait in the yard 15 or 20
minutes before they could be admitted into the
sacred edifice, during which time jocular remarks
were freely made use of, Gad receiving a good share
of them, but, fortunately for himself, did not seem
much annoyed by what was said ; and poor Tommy
and his mule were actually carried about the yard.
At length the door was opened, and guarded by
three or four policemen to keep the mob out, but
after the first two couples had entered was shut
again, leaving the greater portion of the party out-
side, including the bridegroom, who, naturally
enough, was made very uneasy by such an unex-
pected proceeding, and cried out (like the man who
was going to be hanged), " Why, yo can do nowt
ba'at me." The door, however, was immediately
opened, and the rest of the party went in, with the
exception of Tommy and another old man, who

could not get up to the door for the crowd. Inside
the church there were not many people to witness
the ceremony, which was gone through without any-
thing remarkable taking place, except that only three
of the party actually took part in it, Gad performing
the duties of both bridesmaid and groomsman, look-
ing very much like a robed attendant on some im-

portant personage. We hear, however, that the
clergy insisted on payment before the work was done.
After leaving the church they again formed in a
procession, headed by the violinist, Tommy and
the donkey, followed by the newly-married pair and
the remainder of the company, the crowd, of course,
pressing on all sides. Unfortunately, it had now
begun to rain very sharply, which necessitated the
use of umbrellas, consequently making it more
difficult to get along, especially as the multitude
had now increased to so large a number that it
might now be counted by hundreds. A number of
Northowramites, however, did good service by
taking hold of each other's hands, in addition to
some of them being armed with whips and sticks,
and in this manner forced a way for the wedding
party by keeping in front. iley marched up
Square-road and Woolshops, where several persons
had climbed up on to the lamp-post which stands
at the top, in order to get a good place of observa-
tion; they then went up Old Market, Crown-street,
Silver-street, King Cross-street, and turned on
Lord-street; thence up Lister-lane, on Clarence-
street, and up Gibbet-street, till they arrived at the
Prince of %Vales Hotel. It was an intensely ani-
mated scene all along the route taken by the pro-
cession ; and the crowd took good care to let those
inside know they were coming, by shouting with all
their might at every turning.
immediately after their arrival at the Prince of
Wales's every room was filled to overflowing, and
the exhilarating liquid—strong ale--began to be
carrid about the room in abundance, and no doubt,
before the company parted, showed its enlivening.
power. The wedding party were conducted up-
stairs, and judging from the particularly pleasant
odour which pervaded the house, and a hasty glimpse
at a large piece of beef suspended before the kitchen
fire, we should imagine that there were merry doings
at the place from that time until after ten 10 o'clock
at night, when, we are informed, the humorous
party were seen winding their way homewards, to
renew the celebration of the event on the Monday
night following in Northowram.—Halifax Courier.

DANGEROUS TENDENCIES OF
MILITARY RULE.

--ei --

Colonel GILBERT, commanding in Camden,
Arkansas, has admirably illustrated the tendencies
of military rule. The Eagle newspaper, published
in that town, had the impertinence to comment on
the military. In reply—a party of soldiers, led by
Major PIERCE, entered the office, broke up the type,
smashed the furniture, and strewed the street with
the debris. The publisher appealed to Colonel GIL-
BERT, who defended the lawless act. Appeal was
then made to General ORD to restrain the lawless-
ness of the men under his command. The auda-
cious outrage had attracted the attention of that
commander, who called upon the colonel for an
explanation, which was readily given by the
military autocrat. " The soldiers are not servants of
the people of Arkansas," wrote Colonel GILBERT,
" but their masters, and it is felt to be a great piece
of impertinence for the newspapers in this State to
comment on General NEIL under any circumstances
whatever." Who could suppose that such a sen-
tence could be written by a Republican officer,
trained in the service of the leading republic of the
world ? Scarcely was the ink of this correspond-
ence dry, when a lieutenant of the Federal army,
commanding a post in Mississippi, marched a detach-
ment of soldiers into an hotel, to compel the land-
lord to receive there, as a boarder, a woman he
kept. We invite the attention of American
citizens to these remarkable facts, which speak
volumes for the tendencies of military rule. It
is dangerous for people to ignore history, or to
suppose for a moment that any country can prove
an exception to natural laws, or that human nature
will differ in the slightest degree, whether the air
that is breathed be American, Asiatic, African, or
European. A few years of violence will generate
very curious notions in the instruments. The ten
deucies of an army long employed on active service
are to separate from the rest of the com-
munity into a distinct class —to substitute
brute forcefor reason and justice—to trample on
their fellow-citizens —and to combine in a brother-
hood, where they consider their interests in-
volved. They quickly learn to set up a special
code, as applicable to themselves, and by which
they are bound—and they readily give their

support to an ambitious chief sufficiently strong,
talented, and unscrupulous, to command their con-
fidence and admiration. Indeed it is often difficult
for the chief they have elected as their god to resist
the pressure they bring to bear, and many have been
forced to assume the purple against their inclina-
tion, whom history styles—ambitious usurpers !
The soldiers who are the masters of the people of
Arkansas may assert the mastery over any State of
the Union, and with equal right. The question is
not one of right—it is simply one of power. Most
republics, ambitious of military glory, have fallen
under the instruments they created to gratify the
national vanity, and if the majority of the United
States' officers held similar views to Colonel GILBERT,
the Republic, which has been set up as a model
to the world, might fare no better than its great
predecessor of Rome. The people should not overlook
the serious indications shown in the report of this
officer. Nothing more audacious could have
been advanced. No more dangerous sentiments
could be enunciated. If it is a great piece of im-
pertinence for a newspaper to comment on the acts
of an officer holding a high civil as well as military
post—if the offence is to be judged by any subordi-
nate who happens to be on the spot—if the sentence
lie decrees be executed by himself by marching a
body of the armed men he commands to destroy the
obnoxious newspaper--if he can openly defend such
conduct by stating that the soldiers are the masters,
not the servants, of the people—and if this passes
without a general condemnation of the act and a
severe punishment to the actor, then we assume
that principles are gaining head which will eventu-
ally be fatal to the great Republic. Fortunately,
however, the General in command of the District
was not the man to accept such reasons as those
advanced by Colonel GILBERT.
General ORD replied—" You will please explain
why this act was not prevented by you, as Post
Commander, and if the requirements of the 32d
Article of War have been complied with. Your
assertion that General NEIL'S forces are not the
servants of the people of Arkansas, but rather
their masters,' is unjust both to the people and to
General NEIL, and unfounded in law. The laws
are for the benefit of the people. The assumption
that a party of soldiers could, at their own option,
forcibly destroy a citizen's property and commit a
gross violation of the public peace would not be
tolerated under a NAPOLEON."

The Colonel was placed in arrest, and a court-
martial assembled to try him for a violation of the
express provisions of the Reconstruction Act, Major
PIERCE and the lieutenant being similarly dealt with.
Had anEnglish officer attempted a proceeding so high-
handed and justified it on such grounds, he would
have raised a storm of indignation over the empire.
But the English have been warned by the history
of a thousand years, and they have no fancy for
again submitting to the rule of a CROMWELL and
his Ironsides. To them it is inexplicable how
people of their own race can receive so quietly,
accounts of proceedings directed against their
liberties. Americans rest on a fancied security,
which may some day be violently disturbed. Till
but lately, they so worshipped their Constitution
that it was accounted sacrilege in him who spoke
against it. Their own act has torn that Constitu-
tion— a battery of artillery has been driven through
it, and they would be wise now jealously to watch
the tendencies of the age, that the substance of
their liberties at least may be carefully guardol.
We trust the Eagle " may, like the Pheenix, arise
from its ashes " at the expense of the State in time
to report the proceedings of the court-martial ou
Colonel GILBERT, and to uphold in its own sheet
the full liberties of speech. The life or death of a
hundred_Eagies_might matter_little,',but the dearest

principle to the American citizen is involved—the
liberty of the people. Mobs may act on impulses
—may burn, lynch, and riot, but they arc not the
paid servants of the State--the trained soldiers, in
whose unlawful action so many great Republics
have found a grave.—Anglo-American Times.