Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-02-11

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But while We have admitted there are real
cases Of justihable rebellion, in ninety nine
cases out Of lOo-yeA, in 900 cases out Of 900
these unlicensed departures and decamp-
ments by moonlight are ruin, temporal and
eternal II Is safer for woman 10 jump OF
the docks Of the East River and depend on be-
ing able to swim 10 the other shore or get
picked up by q ferry-boat Tho possibilities
are that she may be rescued, but the proba-
bility is that she will not Read the story Of
the escapades in the newspapers for the last
ten years, and find me half dozen that do not
mean poverty, disgrace, and abandonment,
police court divorces, death, and hell Stolen
waters are sweet. and bread eaten in secret is
pleasant But he knoweth not that the dead are
there" Satan presides over the escapade He
introduces the two parties to each other He
gets them TO pledge their, troth. He appoints
where they shall meet He shows them where
they can find officiating minister or squire.
He points out to them the ticket Office for the
rail train. He puts them aboard, and when they
are going at forty miles an hour, he jumps OF
and leaves them in the lurch; for, while Satan
has genius in getting people into trouble, he
has no genius for getting people out He in
duced Jonah to take ship for Tarshish, when
God told him to 60 to Nineveh, but provided
for the recreant prophet no better landing
sea-
The modern novel is responsible for many
Of these abscondings Do you think that
young women would sit up half night read
ing novels in which the hero and heroine get
acquainted in the usual way, and carry on
their increased friendliness until with the con-
sent of parents tho day of marriage is ap-
pointed, and amid the surrounding group Of
kindred the VOWS are taken? o no! There
must be fight 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 hot brain of the
woman bv q cheap novel, 10 cents worth of un-
adulterated 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.
If the man behave well he has 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 neghborhood
where 1 live" No; the heroes of escapades
ore nearly all bigamists or hbertines, or drunk
ards, or defrauders, or frst-class scoundrels
of some sort They have no character to lose
They may be dressed in the height of fashion
may be cologned and pomatumed and padded
and diamond -ringed and famboyant-cravatted
until they bewitch the eye and intoxicate the
olfactories, but they are double-aistilled ex.
tracts of villainy, moral dirt and blasphemy.
Beware of them Stolen waters are sweet
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant But he
knoweth not that the dead are there"
Fugitive marriage is to be deplored because
1t almost always implies woman's descent from
o higher social plane to lower. II the mar
was not of a higher plane, or the marriage OF
an equality there would be no objections, anG
hence no inducement to clandestinity. In al
most all cases it means the lowering of woman
hood Observe this law: A mar
marrying woman beneath him il
society may raise her to any eminenct
chat he himself may reach; but if ,
she always goes down to his level. That is {
law inexorable, and there are no exceptions
Is any woman 80 high up that she can affort
to plot for her own debasement? There is no
State in the American Union that has not fo
the last twenty years furnished an instance o
the sudden departure of some intelligent wo
man from an affluent home to spend her lif,
with someone who can make 50 a day provided
he keeps very busy. Well, many man hal
lived on $3 day and been happy, but he un
dertakes big contract when with SO a day h,
attempts to support someone who has lived in
home that cost $4,000 per annum. This hal
been about the history of most of such con
functions of simplicity and extravaganza, tn
mafsiage of OK and eagle. The first year the.
get on tolerably well, for it tIs odd and romantic
and assisted by applause of people who ad
mire outlawry. The second year the coupl,
settle down into complete dislike for eacl
other. The third year they separate and seel
for divorce, or, as is more probable, the mai
becomes drunkard and the woman black
ened waif of the street @Stolen waters ar,
sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant
But he knoweth not that the dead are there"
These truant marriages are also to be de
plored because in most instances they are ex
ecuted in defiance of parental wisdom ant
kindness Most parents are anxious for th,
best welfare Of child. If they make vehe
ment and determined opposition it is largel,
because it is a match unfit to be made, ant
they can see for their daughter nothing bu
wretchedness in that direction. They hav'
keener and wiser appreciation, for instance, O.
the certain domestic demolition that comes from
alcoholism in young man. They realiz'
what an idiot a woman is who marries mai
who has not brains or industry enough to earl
livelihood for a family. No bureau of sta
tistics can tell us the number of women who
after marriage have to support themselves ant
their husbands. If the husband becomes al
invalid, it is beautiful thing to see wife un
complainingly, by needle or pen or yard-sticl
or washing machine, support the home. Blu
these great, lazy masculine louts that stant
around with their hands in their pockets, al
lowing the wife with her weak arm to figh
the battle Of bread, need to be regurgitatet
from society. There are innumerable in
stances in these cities where the wife pays tn
rent, meets all the family expenses, and fur
nishes the tobacco and the beer for the lord O
the household No wonder parents put on al
the brakes to stop such train of disaster
They have too often seen the gold ring put OF
the finger at the altar turning out to be tn
iron link of chain Of domestic servitude
What farce it is for man who cannot sup
port himself, and not worth cent in the world
to take ring which he purchased by none,
stolen from his grandmother's cupboard, AM
put 1t on the finger of the bride, saying
sWith this ring thee wed, and with all m,
L a