PERILS OF LIBERTY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1576, 21 October 1912, Page 2

PERILS OF LIBERTY.

JfUKD FOR KQC'II'.MEXT. A nuns meeting for girls, in connection with the Anglican Diocesan S.vuod, which was opened last week in Auckland, wns held 011 Thursday evening in St. Andrew's Hall. The Bishop presided, and the attendance was sufficient lo fill the . hall completely. Miss Duller, principal of the Auckland Girls' Grammar .School,' was one of (ho speakers of the evening, and addressed Hie sills 011 "A Girl's Life in Liberty." The tremendous tide of modern progress had in it, <he said, many dangers, even ruin, for the individual.," Girls io-day were entering almost all fields of industry, and were even wresting from their brothers much that was formerly considered to belong exclusively to the latter. Her chief contention was that before launching out into the modern world girls should lie properly prepared for their new responsibility. Liberty, in those days, .too, often wns taken as license, and it. could not be 100 strongly lai'd down that there was need that responsibility should be recognised, and that lircstrain t and self-sacrifice should be cultivated. Both at Home and in this newer country the had found girls pushing forward more than they had in the past, and it was to bo seen that personal preferences swayed them more tlian formerly. In their newer spheres of activity, she said, it was the duty of girls to set the best possible ideal lieforo those with whom they wore i>ssociated day by day. Men were pre-eminent in many activities, but some things for centuries hud been left to women, 1 Her Work in the World. It was to them that the tired world came for comfort, and the sick world for tender cart. Woman should hold the place of the vestal of old, an ideal and an inspiration ,to many. Sho was not asked to make a divinity of herself, but in the words of Browning, to make the absolute best of what God had fjiven. One of the hardest-parts of the parents' or teachers' duty was the frequent use of "mustn't" and "don't." This was irksomo to both parties concerned, but it was riecessarv. She was sure that the girl who was loudest in complaining of the restrictions imposed upon her would be the first to regret it in after life if her parents had failed in this respect. The gloomy political outlook in all parts of the world, said Miss Butler, made it plain that the fntnro of the Christian nation lay with Christian women, who had it in their power to maintain the high, ideals of national life, no matter what raco might rule. A PAGE FROM THE PAST. Practically the entiro population of Gretna Green turned out to witness a wedding which was celebrated recently in that famous village. The ceremony tuok place at the Queen's Inn, where Lord Krskine and many other celebrities were married in days gone by. The bridegroom was a young Englishman, who stated that he had been a resident of a town in Scotland for twenty-one days in order to fulfil the requirements of Scottish law. The billy's llame was given as Miss Emma Woodward, and it was stated that she was an actress, her professional name being Mnrjorv Astor. The "priest" who officiated, follows the calling of a railway surfaceman. The wedding party gathered in the hotel, and the "priest" asked the lady if she had a witness. On learning that sho had not he pressed ono of the hotel maids into. service. The ceremony itself was very brief. . Both bride and bridegroom were asked if they would take' one another as lawfully wedded wife and bus? band, and on replying in the affirmative they were doclared. to be "man and wife according to the laws of Scotland. Amen." ; The bridegroom, seemed surprised at. tho brevity of such a-solemn ceremony, and inquired of tho "priest" if. there was no necessity for a 'ring. He was told that at Gretna Green a ring was not absolutely necessary, but as he had one with him, tho "priest" consented to place it upon the bride's finger. The whole affair occupied only ten minutes, and, after the health of tho newlymarried couple had been toasted with enthusiasm they wero escorted to tho railway station by a highly delighted company. The wedding has attracted attention to tho many famous weddings which have been celebrated at Gretna Greo.i, and the little village has once more loomed largely in the public eye.