He must go to the Justices of the Peace and petition, if he
wished to take action, on which point I offered no advice.
'Scarcely had he left, when the relatives of the girl, escorted by the
German pastor, invaded me, full of an equal indignation and also
demanding the police. I could only repeat the answer I had given to
McFarland, even when it was pleaded that the girl, like other members of
the German community, had pledged herself not to marry outside it. It was
urged that anything she might do to the contrary would not count, but
that argument would not hold. We heard, by the evening, of the marriage
of the runaways.
'They had been united by some Justice of the Peace, a frequent occurrence
then, there being few ministers, and the match proved a happy one in
every respect. How the bold young McFarland managed to carry off his
bride from her custodians I never learned, and I suppose I did not
inquire.'
Only in a South Australia, rescued from the chasms, grown stalwart under
the hand of Sir George Grey, could there have been such a romance. It
needed a stout heart and a trustful, loving one, and these are the
characteristics of a healthy community.
IX OVER-LORD OF OVER-SEAS
The war song of Lamech, father of Tubal Cain, called Sir George Grey
hurriedly to New Zealand.
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