The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1886-02-11

that of others, and put all lawful OBJ
stacles in the way; but do not join that
company of parents who have ruined their
children by plutocracy Of domestic
crankiness which has caused more shan
one elopement. / know of a few cases
where marriage has been under the red
hot anathema of parents and all the neigh
bors, but God approved, and the homes
established have been beautiful and posi-
lively Edenic.
But while we have admitted there are
real cases Of iustilablc rebellion, in ninety
nine cases out of hundred, yea, in nine
hundred and ninety mine cases out Of p
thousand, these unlicensed departures and
decampments by moonlight are ruin, tenn
poral and eternal. 1t is safer for woman
to jump off the docks of the East River and
depend on being able to swim 60 the other
shore or get picked up by a ferry boat. The
possibilities arc that she NAV I've rescued,
but the probability is that she will not
Read the story of the eScapades in the
newspapers for the last ten years, and find
me half dozen chat do not mean poverty,
disgrace, abandonment, police court, di-
vorce. death and hell. "Stolen waters are
sweet. and bread eaten in secret is pleas
ant. But he knoweth not that the dead
are there" Satan preSilcs over the esca-
pade. lie introduces the two parties to
each other. He gets them to pledge their
troth. He appoints where they shall
meet. lie shows them where they can find
officiating minister or squire. He points
out to them the ticket Office of the rail
train. He puts them aboard, and when
-. l.,
jumps off and leaves them in the lurrh
for, while Satan has n genius in getting
people into trouble. hc has no genius for
getting people out. He induced Jonah to
take ship for Tarshsh, when God told him
| to go to Nineveh: but provided for the re-
creant prophet no better landing. place
thar the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
The modern novel IS responsible for
many of these aEscondnGs. Do Won think
that young women would sit nm half
night reading novels in which the hero or
heroine get acquainted in the usual way
and carry on their increased friendship
until, with the consent of parents, the hay
of marriage is appointed and amid the
surrounding group of kindred the vows
are taken: Oh, no. There must be fight
and pursuit, and narrow escape, and
drawn dagger, all Ell ling in sunshine and
parental forgiveness and bliss unalloyed
and gorgeous. In many of the cases of es-
capade the idea was implanted in the hot
brain of the woman by cheap novel, ten
cents worth Of unaiulteratci pcr1ition.
These evasions OF the ordinary modes of
marriage are to be deplored. for the reason
that nearly all of them are proposed by
men. If the Iaan behave well he has a
character to which lie 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 l live" No,
the heroes of cscapades are nearly all
either hi%amistS, on libertines. or drunk
ards, or GefraUders. or first class sound
rels of some sort. They may he dressed in
| the height of fashion. NAV lie colOgnel,
and pOmatume1, AMI padded. and dia-
oned-ringed. and 1Gmboyant- cravated,
until they bawitch the eve and intoxicate
| the olfactories, but thHy are double dis
! titled extract of villAiny, moral dirt and
| blasphemy. Beware OF them.
Fugitive marriage is TO be dep!ored be-
cause it almost always implies woman's
descent from higher social plane to a
|
! plane, or the marriage on an equality,
there would be no objections, and hence no
| inducemant ID clan le5,initv. In almost
all cases it means the lowering of woman
hood. Observe this law: man marrying
a woman beneath him in society, NAV
| raise her to any eminence he himself NAV
reach; but if a woman marry man be-
meath her in society, she always goes
down to his level. That is 4 law incxora-
| BILE. and there are no exceptions. Is any
woman so high up that she can afford to
plot for her own debasement? There is
| not State in the American union that has
! not for the last twenty wears furnished an
| instance of the sudden departure of some
| intelligent woman from an affiuant home
to spend her lie with some one who can
make three dollars day, provided he
keeps very busy. Wen, many man has
lived on three dollars. day and been
happy, but he undertakes 4 big contract
| when with three dollars dav he attempts
| to support some one who has lived n
home that cost twenty thousand dollars
per annum. This has been about the
| history of most of such cOniunc-
tions of simplicity AMI extravaganza,
| the marriage of OK aud eagle: The
first year they got on tolarably well, for it
Is odd and romantic. and assisted hy APP
plause of people who admire outlawry.
The second year the couple settle into COM
! plete dislike of each other. The third year
| they separate and seek for divorce, or. as
| is more probable, the man becomes
| drunkard and the woman a blackened
waif of the street.
Stolen waters are 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-
| ploTed, because in most instances they are
| executed in defiance Of parental wisdom
and kindness. Most parents are anxious
| for the best welfare of a child. If they
make vehement and determined opposition
it is largely because it is match unfit to
be made, and they can see for their daugh-
ter nothing but wretchedness in that di-
rection. They have keener and wiser APP
| probation, for instance, of the certain do
nestle demolition that comes from alcohol
ism in young man. They realize what
an idiot a woman is who maries a man
who has not brains or industry enough to
earn livelihood for family No bureau
| of statistics can tell Us the number of
women who, after marriage, have to sup
| port themselves and their husbands. II
the husband becomes invalid II is a beau
tiful thing to see a wife uncomplainingly,
by needle, or pen, or yard stick or washing
machine, support the home. But these
| great, lazy masculine louis that stand
MIL h,x, l., 4 -.