Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1881-07-30
or course tho addresses of the dis.
tinguished gentlemen will be inter-
esting. aud l will endeavor, in my
next letter, to give you synopsis of
them. Yours, most truly. SAM.
MARRYING IN IGNORANCE.

1t turns out that one of the numer.
Gus young men who have lately fed
to avoid matrimony was engaged to
be married to two young ladies. One
lived Ill Hartford, Conn.,, and the
other lived in New York. Whether
this young mans complications were
due to his susceptibility to the ten.
der passion, or were the deliberate
result of a mischievous and dishou-
est disposition, ID not certain. The
facts of the case, as now made public,
throw some light Oh the prevailing
looseness of ideas relating to matri-
monial engagements. The young
man In question was engaged to be
married to an estimable young lady
of Hartford, whose family connec-
tions were very good indeed. The
wedding day came but the BRIDE
groom came not. There was a pain.
full disappointment and especially
painful suspense. Finally, it was
discovered that the bridegroom had
relegated by the general public to the
limbo of mysterious disappeara,,ces
of tardily repentant swains.
But it turns cut that the fugitive
Lotharie was thief. Not only did
he engage himself to marry y highly
respectable young lady of Hartford,
and an estimable young milfiner Of
New York, but he obtained the gold
watches of the two ladies and ran
away with them. /: seems incredible
that even in this free-and.easy coun.
try of ours, where the gravest con-
Germs of life are treated with aippsnt
frlvollty, young man Of such u
character as this young rascal has
shown himself to have should be able
to lnsinuate himself into q Llghly
respectable family and secure the
promise. of the hand of one of the
daughters of the house. So little was
known of this fellow by The members
of the family into which he was about
ito be adopted that when his mother
wrote after his flight, it was discov-
cred for the first time that part ef
his story, at least, was true. He had
Q mother. He had said this, aud the
fact that subsequent events showed
that he had told the truth SO far as
this was concerned was set down to
his credit.
But what aqueer state of society is
this IN which a man who proves to
be q thief can be promised the hand
of a respectable young lady, while
the natural guardians of the intended
bride do not even know Except on
the word ofthe adventurer) anything
whatever of his antecedeuts. A
young man emerges from obscurity
and, on his mere "cheek," manages
to get two young ladies to agree to
marry him. He so insinuates himself
into their confidence that they in.
trust their property to him. And
then he runs away, his little play
being played out. If young men can
go around the country In this fashion.
without inquiry into their ante.
cedents being made, securing promises
of marriage (,o say nothing of
!watches) from respectable aud care
fully nurturcd young women, society
has let down the bars. The safe.
guards of pure and honorable homes
are overthrown, and every gay aud
plausible adventurer NAV foat pres.
perously Oh the surface Of social life.
received for all that he appears to be.
and no questions asked. -t#
The case to which we have alluded
is only exceptional in SONS of its
scandalous features. If the young
man had not weakly INDUCED in
overmuch lOve-making, and if he had
not been tempted to run away with
the personal property of his lady
love, he would have married into
an eminently respectable family, and
his vices would have been found out
slowly, instead of all at once. Then
people would have said that this was
=! IN example of marrying in haste.
Two young ladies have had q mar.
row escape. How they must shudder
20 think what would have been their
state If, after marriage, the real char.
acter of the now fugitive bridegroom
lad been gradually unfolded Its
lucky thing, sometimes, that young |
people who have intended marriage
ind out that they could not possibly |
i've happily together. Alas for those |
Who make this discovery toe late
Co marry in haste and repent At
elsure is so old custom that innu.
nerable wise old saws have been
constructed npon it. But the marry
ng i'll haste against which the phil
'sophers have warned mankind ia
lot that species of matrim onial en-
'agement to which we have Just re-
erred The modern affair is marry.
bg in absolute ignorance. The old.
notion was that two
'eople should not marry until thew
new each other thoroughly. They
aust be familiar with each others
astes. moral ideas and beliefs, habits
thought aud possible idiosyn.
rasies. Above all. no discreet
aren't or guardian would think Of
the marriage Of a
Dung lady (ward or daughter) with
man whose family antecedents had
OF been carefully aud satisfactorily
We have changed ali
lat. A few conservative people
lay cling to the ancient custom, but {
lany a man gives his daughter, as
le daughter gives her heart, to q
orthless scamp, who proves to be
othing more than mere confidence I
IAN. Innumerable instances of this {
ariety of marrying in haste publish 9
emselves to the world. Many more
e doubtless hidden away in the
osoms OF unhappy and miserable
miles.