New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-06-09
A GRETNA GREEN STORY.
The Case of Lord and Lady DundonaIr
A Romantic EpiA ode.


A writer in an English magazine, believ
ing with Charles Reade, that there ar,
poetry and humOr in the Blue Books anC
the newspapers, contends that the best gets
overlooked. NobOdy seems to find out the
magic Hover garden, which is romance
while every one discovers the enormous
gOoseberry. in which there is no romance
at all, though there may be much that is re
markable.
There is some real romance to be found
in book, which is virtually a blue book
in connection with Lord DundOnald, tC
whom they are erecting a monument il
Chill. In the year 1861, the case of the
Dundonald peerage was before the House
Of Lords, and the old dowager, Lady Dun
donald, was examined as a witness upon
the claim of her son. She was sixty-1Ou
years OF age, and was treated with great in
diligence. She was not tied down to the
| ordinary rules of evidence, but allowed tO
ramble and expatiate just as she pleased
and, indeed, it would probably have been
found impossible to get much out of her il
she had been strictly dealt with upon the
ordinary principles for conducting an ex
! aminatiOn-in-ch She shall tell the story
of the cOurtship in her own words. There
We're, apparently, many obstacles to begin
with:
&" He proposed to my aunt. He did not
! propose to me. He had once named the
subject to me, and 1 refused all sorts OF
things Of the kind, and at length he made
the proposal to my aunt"
Then she IS asked the question "He was
in love with your ladyship, suppose 2"
THE world said So / suppose it was so.
1t was an unlucky marriage for him, poor
| man. There was another person who had a
large property, and he thought that not
marrying the lady that he was wished to
marry land certainly he was not wished to
marry me-, he should avoid by secret
/ marriage painful position to himself and
tins fortune going away from him; and
/ thaU by Keeping my marriage q secret, it
| should never interfere with that arrange
ment of my uncle's. That was given to me
as the object, and / had no right. and had
no reason TO doubt the word Of the most
! honorable man / have ever known. l loved
| him. He had once named the subject to
| me and | had refused him. l refused all
! sorts of things of the kind, and at length he
made the proposal to my aunt dear me,
! men IN love are so foolish"
Lady DundOnald appears to have been
very much worried by the sequel of her
elOpement and there is something truly
| and deeply comic in her feeling 50 puzzled
to know why she should be married so many
times. When Dundonald persuades her to
90 OF to Gretna Green she has nice time
OF 1t, travelling all day and all night, with
Il was very worn, and we went rolling;
and slept and so did he. At one part Of
the road know it was not Gretna Green
but some little distance after Gretna Green
he said, We'll, thank God, we are all
right : he used to call me sort of pet
name OF his own, and he said, II is all right,
MOuse-We are all right now. Moxham,
mind you get a comfortable room for Lady
COchrane at the Queensberry Arms. We
shall soon be there and he said nothing
mOren
Il did not know why it was all
right He said. Mouse, we are over the
border now, and nothing but God can sepa-
rate us l think he said at the same time,
You are mine now, and you are mine for
ever and he snapped his fingers in that
way, as ScOtchmen do when they are
pleased"
when l arrived at the Queens
berry Arms, he was very Joyous; l suppose
men in love are. He said, IL Is all right; it
is all right and he seated himself at the
table IN the room; he sat himself down as
any gentleman might, and he wrote away,
and wrote something, and then he SAID, 1
want Dick; he used to call his servant
Dick"
After the paper was signed, and the
servants gone away, he began TO dance the
Sailors Hornpipe, a very unusual thing for
him, and he put up his hands in that sort of
way, and said, Now you are mine, Mouse,
mine forever / said, i do not know;
have had no parson here, and no church.
Is this the way you marry in Scotland
oh, yes he said, you are mine, sure
enough; you can not get away and then
ne SAID, 1 have no time to spare; have no
time to lose, for l must be back On the tenth
to my uncle's marriage; he is going to be
married on the eleventh or the twelfth.
have not a moments time to lose, and,
therefore, must leave you as fast as / can.
have given all my instructions TO Dick,
and he will bring you back as soon as he
can He kissed me; he did not 90 in nv
room, and he went off as he came. / never
saw him again until the twelfth OF the
thirteenth, when we met in BryanstOn
street, POrtman- square"
Some relatives Of the lady insisted upon
the marriage being repeated in the South
They were Old-fashioned, excellent peo-
pie, and they wished to have this mar
rage made In England and it was made.
and l was married by license by the Rev,
Thomas Knox, of Tunbridge town. He
was the chaplain of my cousin, Mr.. Simp-
son, and held the living Of Shipbourne from
his giving"
She goes on:
"Dundonald said marry her! l would
marry her in hundred churches. ! would
marry her all over the world, but there is
marriage which has been already executed
in Scotland. She was from that hour NV |
lawful wife. However, to give you salts |
1acuon, am ready to marry her in every !
church in London He said, I would do |
it thousand times.'"
Then follow these questions and answers. |
Il was married again; in short, there was |
IO Gu % marrying me-. Il was /
married the third time when he came home |
/ mo ria
Where was your ladyship married the I
third time2" '--0
Il was married the third time in Bdin-
burg; was so tired of being married"
According to the forms Of the Scotch
Churchl" 000'0H
Yes; then was married in church and
domlcIed: In short, l was bothered all to
pieces win the marrying. l was asked in
church. l was married at Mr.. Stracban
The lawyers, and married by Parson
Hltchle; there was no marriage AFT ali he
asst joined the hands, Parson Ritchie did
ana SAID something or other. and sGod
bless you, and that was MARRIAGE in Scot
and. 1t was not a bit more Ike marriage
nan uhe AMMAN marriage. l was asked on
ne oanns, and dOmiciliated, aud every-
-hIng. 1here was no end of marrying me.
ot MAS 80 tlred OF being married. | was
'oInered to pieces with the marrying"
Here are few more touches, the first
rom the lady's evidence, and others from II
etters OF Lord Dundonald's appended to II. y
MY husband was a ScOtchman. and y
'foud OF being a ScOtchman; he would notgn
q Heaven He gIorin5 in 49, Is IUI d croWJre
nan: he said IS vas the y;s q Scotcblsho
nd he nseJ arter his 5;DT,op I!uS VI ms lts bril-
thinking his wine, and so on. 10 bIino 1--WE
about Scotland, the DAYS Of
outh-the happy days with MS gra@ I