Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-25

outrageous parental Indignation has
wounded and scattered aud slain.
If the hand offered in marriage be
blOtched of intemperance, il the life of the
marital candidate has been debauched, If
he has no visible means Of support, and
poverty and abandonment seems only a
little away ahead, il the twain seem en-
tirely unmatched in disposition, protest
and forbid and reinforce your opinion by
that of others, and put all lawful obsta-
cles in the way; but do not join that com
pany of parents who have ruined their
children by a plutOcTacy OF domestic
crankiness which has caused more than
one elOpement. l know of few cases
where marriage has been under the red
hot anathema Of parents and all the neigh
bOrs, but God approved and the homes es-
tabished have been beautiful and posi-
lively Edenic
But while we have admitted there are
real cases of iustihable rebellion in 90
cases out of a hundred, yea, i'm 800 cases
out of a thousand, these unlicensed de-
parture5 and decampments bY moonlight,
are ruin, temporal and eternal. lt ls safer
for woman to jump otf the docks of the
East river and depend on being able to
swim to the other shore or get picked up
by ferry boat. The possibilities are that
she may be rescued, but the probability is
tilhl sue VIII uULs LAtuu lNt sAlEN VI inc
escapades in the newspapers for the last
10 years, and find me a haif dozen that do
notmean poverty, disgrace, abandonment,
police court, divorce, death and hell.
"St0len waters are sweet, and bread eaten
in secret is pleasant. But be knOweth
not that the dead are there"
Satan presides over the esCapades.
He introduces the two parties to
each other. lie gets them to pledge their
trOtb. He appoints where they shall
meet. He shows thom where they can
find officiating minister or squire. He
points out to tnem the ticket Office for the
rail train. He puts them aboard, and
when they are going at 40 miles the hour,
he jumps off and leaves them in the lurch;
for, while satan has a genius in getting
people into trouble, he has no genius for
getting people out. lie induced Jonah
to take ship for Tarshish, when God told
him to 90 to NiDeveh; but provided for
the recreant prophet no better landing
place than the middle of the Mediter-
Tanean sea.
The modern novel is responsible for
many OF these abscOndings. DO you think
that young women would sit up
half night reading novels in
which the nero and heroine get
acquainted in the usual way and
carry on their increased friendliness un-
til, with the consent of parents. the day of
marriage is appointed. and amid the sur
rounding group OF kindred, the vows are
taken?- Oh, mol There must be flight
and pursuit and narrow escape and
drawn dagger. all ending in sunshine and
parental forgiveness and bliss unalloyed
and gorgeous. In many Of the cases of
escapade the idea was implanted in the
not brain Of the woman by a cheap novel.
10 cents worth funadulterated perdition.
These eVasiOns of the ordinary modes Of
marriage are to be deplOred for the reason
that nearly all of them are proposed by
bad men. II the man behave well he has
a character TO which he can refer, and he
can say: "If you want to inquire about
me, there is a list Of names of people in
the town or neighbOrhoOd where | live"
No; the heroes Of escapRdes are nearly all
either biQamists, or libertines, or drunk
ards, or delraudeTs, or tirst-class sc0un-
drels of some sort. They have no chaTac-
ter 10 lose. They may be dressed in the
height of fashion, may be cOlOgned and
pOmatumed, aud padded, and diamond
ringed, and fambOyantcrayatted until
they Dewitch the eye and mioNicate the
OlfactOries, but they are d0uble-distilied
extracts Of villainy. moral dirt and bias
phemy. Beware Of them. "StOlen waters
are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is
pleasant. But be kuoweth not that the
dead are there"
Fugitive marriage is to be deplored be-
cause IL almost always implies woman's
descent from higher social plane to n
lower. If the man was not Of a higher
plane, or the marriage on an equality,
there would be no objection, and hence 10
inducement TO claudestintY. In almost
"a ! cases it means the lowering Of woman
hood. Observe this law: A man marry
IN a W hapnnfh a Ia M n consatr
raise hef TO any enlinence shat he himself
may reach but 81 a woman marry "A man
beneath her IN society, she always gOes
down to bis level. That is a law mex
orable, and there are no exceptions. Is
any woman 80 high up that she can al
ford to plot for her own debasement?
There is not state in the American Union
tbat has not Tor the last twenty years fur
nisned an instance Of the sud
den departure OF some intel
ligent woman from an afiluent
home to spend her lIfe with some one who
can make three dollars a day provided he
keeps very busy. Well, many a man has
lived on three dollars a day and been
happy, but he undertakes big contract
when with three dollars DAY he attempts
10 support some one VINO has lived in a
home That cost twenty thousand per an
mum. This has been about the history Of
AAAN6i VI nhNh NVuINAtAA'Ho VI 7ihiitAtANN
and extravaganza, the marriage Of OK and
eagle. The first year they get on tOlera-
bly, well, for IL is odd and romantic and
assisted by applause Of people who adj
mire Outlawry. The second year the cou-
pie settle down into complete dislike Of
each other. The third year they separate
and seek for divorce, or, as is more prOba-
bic, the man becomes "A drunkard and the
woman blackebed wait OF the street.
"St0len waters are sweet and bread eaten
in secret ~ pleasant; but he knOweth not
that the dead are there"
These truant marriages are also 10 be
deplOred because In most Instances they
are executed IN defiance of parental wis
dom and Kindness. Most parents are
anxious for the best welfare Of a child.
n they make vehement and determined
opposition 10 IL largely becauso 10 Is a
m Atch unht 10 be MADE, and they can see
for their daughter nothing but wretched-
ness in that direction. Ihoy have keoner
and wiser appreciation, for instance, Of
tine certain domestic demolition tnat
comes from aleOhOlism iu n young man.
They realize what AN idiot woman is
who lnauics man VINO has not
brains Or Industry enough % earn
"a livelihood Tor family so bureau
Of statietics can tell ua the number 0i
women who, aiter marriage, have it sup
port themselves and their husbands. n
thn husband becomes invalid % .s a beau-
Illl thing tO see wife unrOmplaiuinslY,
hB ueedlo or pen uf yafd stick or washing