The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-05-16
l:OpEMENT FAD
LOSING GROUND
iretna Green Fast Sinking Into
Disuse Through Changed
Sentiment.
LOVERS NOW SUPREME
they Simply Tell Paterfamilies Wh1
is Likely to Take Place
and That Ends the
Matter.

About ten miles northwest of Carlisle
| and just "over the border" between
Scotland and England, stands the VII
| tage of Gretna Green. Railway passen-
| gers passing at express speed hardly.
deign to notice the spot. Yet the run
away marriages which years ago made
| the place notorious have affected the
history of England, and many MEM
Der of noble family owes the possess
sion of his title and estates to the proof
pf validity OF marriage at Gretna
Green. The famous names of Vtlliers,
Paget, Coventry, among others. are
thus associated with the little Dunn
rriesshire village, says an exchange.
The poet Shelley also crossed the bor-l
der and made the Scottish marriRgeI
with Harriet Westbrook which proved
80 unhappy and ended SO disastrously.
We do not, as rule. associate romance
with the legal profession. but both
Lords ErslSine availed themselves OF
the self constituted priests OF Gretna.
Runaway marriages, however, are
quickly becoming thing OF the past.
They are no longer fashionable. Per-
haps the stern, inexorable parent OF
The good old days has died out. May
De, the romance at one time connected
with elopements has given place to less
sentimental notions in the present
century. Looking back, we can quite
understand the great temptation which
furious drive of some hundreds OF
miles along the country roads, under
the protecting care of an ardent lover,
would offer to a maiden possessed of,
anything like romantic temperament.
Let the reader picture 1t. In front the
convenient smithy and the obliging
Blacksmith" of Gretna, ready at a
moments notice, and in the space OF
few minutes make the runaway
couple man and wife. Behind, how far,
N,
even within sight, would come the Of
Tended parent, giving chase at all the
speed that could be obtained from
horses. Such a journey would have
surely been romantic enough Tor the
most romantic lovers.
or course, the rough and ready mar
fiages that made Gretna Green famous,
could have been consummated at any
convenient spot In Scotland across the
border. But Gretna, standing at the
head of the Solway firth, was in most
Eases the most accessible OF Scottish
villages. Afterwards it's reputation was
SUFFICIENT to make the spot the one
place to which eloping couples fed to
BE united in direct opposition to the
wishes of their parents.
The first man who made the Gretna
Green marriages notorious was one Jo-
Beph Paisley, and several noblemen are
said to have paid this worthy not less
than 100 guineas for his services. The
highly remunerative occupation natur-
ally brought rivals to the spot. the
most successful being David Lang, who
carried on the busines for many years.
He was followed by his son. Simon
Lang. Altogether, this couple played
the part of priest for upwards OF three
quarters OF century.
The ceremony, IL such 1t could be
called, was sometimes that of the
Church Of England, but the most pop
ular was the one rendered so easy by
Scottish law and consisted simply OF
the contracting parties declaring them
selves man and wife before witnesses
and Afterwards living as such. The fee
demanded depended upon the ranking
Of the clipping couples, and ranged from
$50 down to glass of whisky. At any
rate, the officiating gentlemen appear
to have made fine thing out OF the
business, and some Of them were
scarcely ever sober. Generally a GER
tificate was given, and this proved in
valuable when the validity OF the mar
riage was questioned.
One Of the most notable of Gretna
marriages was that OF Lord Westmore-
land with the only daughter and heir
ess of the well known wealthy banker,
Mr.. Child. In this instance the chase
was indeed a stern one, the runaways
being almost overhauled within sight
OL the 5COLllSU 'lH6 lTdL6
er could be seen making desperate eff
forts to overtake his romantic daugh-
ter. The noble lover, however rose
to the occasion, and just as capture
appeared inevitable drew his pistol and
shot the leading horse of the bankers
carriage, thus obtaining the necessary
time to complete their journey The
daughter OF this romantic union event.
ually inherited the bankers great
wealth and married Lord Jersey. Many
similar instances are narrated of the
resourcefulness of the fugitive when
the pursuit became too warm to be
pleasant. Ostlers have been we'll paid
to "hobbles" the horses OF the pur-
suers or to tamper with the pins or
bolts OF the carriage to insure its coll
lapse at some spot where assistance
would be difficult to get. The runa-
ways generally had the advantage for
they could rely upon the assistance and
sympathy OF the people at the various
stages on the journey. Indeed the lot
OF the avenging parent was not hap
nv