The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1850-01-29
Alisfrlloneous department.
RUNAWAY MATCHES.

Our readers must have noticed heere;,,r
now, that the tone nf remark and feeling
with wh'"!!;, clandvslne marriages arc com.
Iscrllcd upon in conversation, and by the
press generally is one Of lcvitv and und's
guised satisfaction. 1t is commonly rcgar.
dcd as one of,he bes! jokes If a foolish dangh'
ter Of fifteen or sixteen years Of age succeeds
in oulwlllng father and mother, and runs off
with a comparative stranger. Editorial wi,
is taxed to ITS ex,rcmcsl capabilily to render
liliculous tho distress and anxiety o! the
bcrcaved father, a. he fellows his wandering
child. Aud if fortune lavors tho runaways,
and the knot is tied before the parent can
mlc,posc a warning word, the general joy is
raplurou<-lt is triumph Of young love
over stern, unsymp pahizing. tyrarical house
hold authority. which calls for the mcrrIest
celebration. Or it,hc idea should occur to
any, that all IS not quite r'ght in such cava-
er treat ncut of parents, ii is snon apoIpgIs"d
for by the sage observation that young folks
will be young folks.
Take it all III all, a stranger 10 our man.
ners and customs would be IikeI y To infer
tha, parental rule and counsel implied some
thing very dreadful and oppressive, and that
the young ladies Of the land when held i'll n
home bondaGe Of the mos, unjust and un
generous character.
AT the risk of being regarded as very old
fashioned, we shall nevertheless acknowl-
edged that we can rarely sec any thing OF
the nature of a gond Joke in a ciandcsinc or
runaway wedding. We confess to a feeling
Of sadness aud evil fnrcbodIng, when we hear
that a girl. who is mere child, has made up
her mind to repudalc tho love an anxious
care Of the mother who bore her, and ot the
father who has cherished her as his life; that
she has turned her face away from tho altar
Of home, from the nest of her infancy, and
pu, herself INTO the hands Of man whom
her parents dare not trust.
We need not remark that marriage is the
great event in woman's life, from which all
other events take their culoring. II she CIR
here. her whole lie is one Of unavailIng pen
ancci of scalding Gears, OF sharp and blIghting
sorrow. She cannot 90 back and undo her
fault: she dare not look to the future, for 1t is
all desolatc to her. These things being 50,
it follows that young lady should yield her
hand and heart, only after the most prudent
and cautious foreth"ughl. She should avail
herself of The wisdom and experience OF
those who love her, aud above all Of her pa.
rents, and after all she will feel that the
chances arc sufficiently numerous that she
NAV still make all unwisc choice.
But IN most candcS,ine marriages, tho girl
is child, ignorant of the world; wilhou, cx.
pcrlence; deficient in Judgment; her mind
prob IDLY filled with false notions and fanci-
lul day-dreams, derived from noveliss and
romances. She meets with young man
at party, or ball, or no matter where, who
seems interested in her, and she is llaltcred
by lis apparent admiration. He conducts
her home, calls on her the next day, repeats
his call. and they arc thcnccfnrtl in love, if
they were not at the first glance. They
have become the Romeo and Juliet of what
is a play in the outset, but tradgedy in its
close.
The incompetence Of the young girl to cs-
timatc the character OF her lover IS per-
fcctlv apparent to every one but herself.
lie proposes marriage to her, and is probably
accepted without reference to the parents.
He entreats that an early day may be named
for their union. Ifthcrc is any doubt of her