The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-08-23
COURTSHIP In ENGLAND.
Love Marriages Not Rare in the
Mother Country.
The Queon Herself an Examp mple-Princess
Louise of wales-Broken Engage
ments-Doing Away Of Class
Distinctions.

Distinctions.
Virginia NJ. Crawford, the sister of Sir
Charles Dillse and Mrs. Ashton Dixie,
writes as follows to the Philadelphia
Press:
AS am generally credited, and right
ly. with the possession of advanced
views on political and social matters, 1
feel that onght to confess at the outset
that l am almost conservative in mat
rimonial questions. / believe in mar
riage as fundamental basis of society;
believe in the desirability of love
marriages, and even venture to believe
in the happiness of the great majority of
unions entered into under the present
much abused marriage system.
We have no lack in England-by way
of example-of love marriages in the
highest rank of life where the tempta-
tions to the marriage de convenance
are even greater than elsewhere. That
Queen Victoria herself married for love
is an established historical fact, and
most of her daughters are supposed to
have followed her example. But we
need not go further back than last sea-
son, when the marriage of Princess
Louise of Wales to the Duke of Fife
was celebrated. 1t is an open secret
that the young Princess had been in
love with the Earl for years, and for his
sake had declined to entertain the pro-
posals of any foreign royal suitor, and
although in this case the pretensions of
the detrimental were backed up by a
ducal coronet and $3.50, 900 year he was
none the less detrimental in the eyes
of several members of the royal family,
who steadily opposed the match. But
the whole sympathies of the Nation were
on the side of the future Princess Royal.
who has willingly sacrificed great part
of hor royal honors for the sake of the
man she loves, and who may now be
seen shopping in Bond street unattended
or driving with her husband in happy
tete-a-tete, much like any other young
lady of her age.
The English law, unlike that of
France, is not framed in such a way as
TO encourage mercenary unions. Pa
rental consent with us is not sine qua
non, and although an irate father may
disinherit his son or daughter he can
not legally prevent them from marrying
whom they please. Even in cases
where one or other of the contracting
parties being under age they have re-
course to a runaway marriage at reg
istrar's Office, and make false declara-
tion of age in order to obviate the ne
cessity of producing the fathers consent,
even then the parents redress is but
meager one. They can have their re-
bellious son or daughter condemned to
a short term of Imprisonment for false
swearing, but in no case can the mar
riage be annulled. On the other hand,
a class of titled aristocracy, backed up
by the rights of primogeniture, is un-
doubtedly direct incentive towards
worldly marriages by creating limited
number of exceptionally good ''partis,"
for whom ambitious mothers angle dex-
terously on behalf of their daughters, or,
worse still, for whom scheming damsels
angle for themselves.
In England man almost invariably
asks the girl herself to marry him be-
fore appealing to her'father for his con-
sent. When once the engagement is an
accomplished fact the lovers are allowed
others further acquaintance The whole
family cooperate in giving them wide
berth, and they may spend hours every
day alone in each others company,
either in the house or walking or riding
together, as the case may be. Such
liberty, which would make French
mothers hair stand on end, is perfectly
''comme il faut" in England. The
young couple even travel and pay visits
in each others company, the fiancee ac-
companied by her maid, il she should
happen to be possessed of that append |
age, but oftener still quite without a
This freedom of social intercourse
ought to be a good safeguard against
girls ignorantly linking their fortunes
with one whom it is impossible for them
to love, were 1t not that to throw over
the man she is engaged to is regarded |
by society as so objectionable crime. |
1t seems to be only just dawning on
peoples minds that a small scandal be- |
fore marriage is preferable to a big |
scandal after marriage. A charming |
novelist, Sir Henry Cunningham, whose |
delightful sketches of life in India are |
widely read, has just published clever |
novel about London society, 'The Hest
ods," in which he makes the heroine. |
Olivia. deliberately jilt the rich young |
man to whom she is betrothed. His |
view is that society ought to help girl |
out of the wretched dilemma in which |
she is placed, when she discovers that
her engagement is a mistake, instead of |
rendering 1t, as at present, almost i'm
possible to retrieve false step before
1T is too late am bound to say that,
while strongly deprecating rash and
hasty betrothals, feel great sympathy
for Sir Henry's view, which, If generally
adopted, might be the means of avert
ing many u domestic tragedy. The
time of engagement ought to be a Pc
riod of mutual probation, and mar
riage should only ensue II the experi-