The Portland daily press., 1874-05-15
[London Correspondent Cincinnati Comrnercial]
Marrying Your Sister.in.law.
A SENSATION PRODUCED IN ENGLISH HIGH
LIFE.

One could hardly have conceived that aEy-
thing relating to persons in private life
should be able to cause such ser sation as is
now pervading that mysterious entity Called
society" This society is just now exercised
to an almost revolutionary pitch by the an
nouncement that Mr.. Holman HINT, the
eminent artist, is about to mary his deceased
wife's sister. Such a marriage, of course,
can not be legally celebrated in England, and
so the parties have determined to go abroad
to seek some country where the alliance is
legal. The great question, sought we to
visit her?' is likely to be raised, for it is un-
derstood that Mr.. Hunt means to take his
wife off to Jerusalem, which may now be re-
garded as his residence. In the eyes of En-
glish law a lady married to deceased sisters
widower is simply concubine, and as the
lady in this case belongs to family of high
rank, good deal of the excitement arises on
that score. But more of the dismay arises
from the fact that Holman Hunt is the es-
pecially religious artist OF England. Pious
ladies have, as 1 have already informed you,
been for some time going to weep and pray
before his ''Shadov of DEATH" taking Sc ason
tickets for the same, and also their prayer
books. Ii the artist had been detected in an
intrigue with some lady, he would have been
pardoned with effusion for his pious pictures !;
but when he proposes to marry a lady under
circumstances that Moses, Parliament, and
the church do not approve, it causes scan
dal OF the first water. heard lady say that
''if she had heard like rumor of the Arch
bishop of Canterbury, it wouldn't have so
amazed her, as Hunt has never been such a
wording as the average English bishop, who
l)ves old port and looks kindly On fox-hunt-
ing. This marriage, about to be coasum-
mated, is not unlikely to exert very impor-
tant influence on the question of abolishing
the law which prohibits it. The law has, in
deed, been repeatedly violated, bnt hardly by
persons of equal position in society. The
House of Commons has for years been pass
ing the act for its abolition, which is annual
ly presented; but the House OF Lords has
steadily refused to agree. The Peers have
indeed so repeatedly refused to pass the
the measure to this effect that it is proba-
BILE that their continued obstinancy may
raise constitutional question. 1t is
supposed to be part IOf the En-
gsh Constitution that the Lords must
pass measure sent them by the Commons
after few refusals. The number OF reiusals
they may offer is not fixed, but it stands in
everybody's mind at four or five. But they
have refused the bill. to legalize marriage with
deceased wife's sister more than twice that
number of times. The truth is, the cunning
old Peers know very well that if ever the
House of Commons resolves to challenge a
final settlement Of the maximum OF their We
toing power it will choose somesmore "burn-
ing question: for the battle field. The pop
uar heart is not seriously affected by the
question of degrees of affinity. The lower
classes are in the habit OF violating the law
in this particular, and as there is never any
question of property involved IN their case,
they hardly know that there is such law.
They can not see why ''their betters" can
not as easily as they marry their sls-
ters-in-aw. So the advocates Of the reform
have never been able to get up any popular
enthusiasm on the subject. But a few such
marriages as that now talked of in every fash
iopable drawing-room of London would GER
taiply reinforce the movement and even
raise it to the dignity of an agitation. A
good many radicals show an entire indtfer-
ence TO the matter because they do not wish
TO lop off bough or two of what they con-
slider baleful tree; they prefer on the whole
that the present marriage laws should be as
burthensome and antiquarian as pcsslhle, as
| they hope in the end to sweep them away al
| together. And here l must warn my reader
| not TO imagine that the excitement caused by
the particular alliance l have mentioned
| takes the form of censure alone. On tht
| contrary the satisfied are almost as numerou.
as the scandalized, and contests between tn
| two parties are enough TO make a Conserva
tive nervous. 1t may be well understood tha
the disregard of the conventional and lega
usages envroning marriage by some of tn
most eminent and grave persons in literar.
society has been without very serious eiiec
upon this community. In the attempt 10 1S ~,
tracise such persons society has slgnan, ,;,,a
failed. The offenders lead just as happy a'J1 ii
as the most intensely married, ana nav =; .,
the society they can desire. No one No = ~ ON,
position to look down on ,a;,r 1ne.n. o 70 h' th'
dares to speak of them as oeionsins " VIZ