The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-09-05

When Martin Luther, the ex-Augustinian
monk, in 1926, took unto himself wife in
the person of on ex-nun, Catharina Won Bara,
he justified that very human proceeding by
avowing that it was done ''to please his father,
to tease the Pope and to vex the devil" The ex-
Carmelite monk, who, according to our special
despatch from London, welded Mrs. Emilia
Jane Merriman, an American widow lady,
before the Registrar at Marylebone Tuesday,
might give the same reason, with some modif-
cations. If it does not please his father it
pleases himself, and that was probablya strong
reason with the great Refor1ner, who could
no more go against his conscience than
little George Washington could tell
lie about the cherry tree he chopped
down with his little Ratchet. There
must be something highly humanizing
in the Reformation, foF bluff King Hal,
although layman, went heavily into the mat
rimonial business as soon as he had ''teased
the Pope by assuming the spiritual leader
ship of the English Church. The holy man
in this instance has reached the good round
age of ffty-one years, and, although he waited
to be nine years older than Luther
when the latter contracted matrimony, it
shows that shaking off the shackles of the Ro-
man Church will lead the true reformer
into voluntarysassumptio of the bonds Of
matrimony. An interesting feature of the
civil wedding on Tuesday is the reported
fact that the bride was one of his con-
verts in Paris, so that the con-
version is now happily mutual. If
the mellow tones of the great preacher s
finely modulated voice captured the
penitent's soul, they also, it would appear,
captured her heart Sydney Smith, that pious
joker, will be recalled perhaps in his en-
deavors to describe how an Anglican bishop
would pop the question; but if he first took
the precaution to preach his sermons at her
for month or two the difficulty would
be greatly removed OF course Charles
Loyson is now private individual, and
his celebrity as churchman belongs to
the past, but he cannot dissociate himself
from it. A man Of simple life and secluded
habits, such as make up the bead roll Of the
celibate monk, he emerged, like Luther, by
the road Of rebellion against Rome, from his
! cloister to find himself the lion Of q
hundred isms. When such man is placed
on the manageable list we can imagine
how many romantic maidens sighed for the
hand Of the monastic hero who rose against
infallibility in man. This very act was cor
fession Of human weakness, and would give
the devout pretenders renewed hopes. 1t
would be enough to turn ON average
mans head those lustrous orbs raised
to heaven and Hyacinthe but the
ex-friar kept his level. He must have
felt that lie was bound to marry to escape
his fair besiegers, as be had been obliged
to throw of the cowl 10 save himself from
going against his conscience. Scorning the
| advice Of the elder Weller to his son Samuel,
he married lady who had been mar
ried before and whose first husband was
dead. His story has been called
romantic; his life has been dramatic, and now
that the play ends in marriage we may indulge
the hope that the name which his bride re-
signs for his may be O thorough description Of
himself hereafter. But is this the end Of