Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-14
The Mecca gf Run
away Lovers.

About 10 miles northwest Of Carlisle
and just "over the border" between
Scotland and England, stands the village
Of Gretna Green. Railway passengers
passing at express speed hardly deign to
notice the spot. Yet the runaway mar
riages which years ago made the place
notorious have affected the history OF
England, and many a member of noble
family owes the possession Of his title
and estates TO the proof of validity Of
marriage at Gretna Green. The famous
names of villiers, Paget, Coventry, among
others, are thus associated with the little
Dumfriesshire village. The poet Shelley
also crossed the border and made the
Scottish marriage with Harriet West
brook which proved SO unhappy and end
ed So disastrously. We do not, as rule,
associate romance with the legal profess
sion, but both Lords Erskine availed
themselves of the self-constituted priests
of Gretna. M
Runaway marriages, however are quick
ly becoming things of the past. They are
no longer fashionable. Perhaps the stern
inexorable and obdurate parent Of the
good old days has died out Maybe, the
romance al one time connected with
elopements has given place to less senti-
mental notions In the present century.
Looking back, we can quite understand
the great temptation which a 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 a ro-
mantle temperament Let the reader pic
ture It.. In front the convenient smithy
and the obliging BLACKSMITH" Of Gretna
ready at a moments notice and In the
space of few minutes to make the rum
away couple man and wife. Behind, how
far they could not often tell, but some
times even within sight, would come the
offended parent, giving chase at all the
speed that could be obtained from horses.
Such a journey would have surely been
romantic enough for the most romantic
lovers.
OF course, the rough-and-ready mar
riages 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 cases
the most accessible of Scottish villages
Afterwards its 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-
seph Paisley and several noblemen are
said to have paid this worthy not less
than 100 guineas for his services. The
highly remunerative occupation naturally
brought rivals to the spot, the most sue
cessful being David Lang, who carried on
the business for many years. He was
followed by his son, Simon Lang. Alto
gether, this. couple played the part OF
priest for upwards Of threequarters Of a
century.
The ceremony, II such It could be called.
was sometimes that of the Church OF Eng
land, but the most popular was the one
rendered so easy by Scottish law and con-
sisted simply of the contracting parties
declaring themselves man and wife before
witnesses and afterwards living as such.
The fee demanded depended upon tho
ranking of the eloping couples, and
ranged from $40 down to glass OF
whisky. At any rate the officiating gen
tlemen appear to have made fine thing
out of the business, and some or them
were scarcely ever sober. Generally a
certificate was given, and this proved In
valuable when the validity Of the mar
riage was questioned.
One of the most notable OF Gretna mar
riages was that of Lord Westmoreland
with the only daughter and heiress Of the
WeilknoWn wealthy Dnnkef, Mr. Chtld.
In this instance the chase was indeed a
stern one, the runaways being almost
overhauled within sight of the Scottish
border. The irate father could be seen
making desperate efforts to overtake his
romantic daughter. The noble lover, how
ever, rose to the occasion. and Just as cap
ture appeared Inevitable drew his pistol
and shot the leading horse OF the bank
er's 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 resource
fulness OF the fugitive when the pursuit
became too warm TO be pleasant. Ost-
lers have been well paid TO hobbies
the horses OF the pursuers or to tamper
with the pins or bolts OF the carriage to
insure its collapse at some spot whore
assistance would be difiicult to get. The
runaways generally had the advantage
for they could rely upon the assistance
and sympathy OF the people at the va
rious stages on the journey. Indeed, the
lot q the avenging parent was not
happy one.