The National Register.
London, England, 1809-05-21 00:00:00

MAY 21.

r. ages would be alwa,s consecrated within its K 31:3, ti
difve;s, " if convenient," the newly married persons le
" receite the Holy tommumon at the time of their ma,
riage."
A litong the abuses incident to the solemnization of ma-
trimony' a ill be loand, Cu, ious as the fact appears; the pre-
sent custom of ina,.ry ii,g b: the puhlieation of Banns, which
was originaily des:geed to coria..ct the very evils whit '~Bich
is now pi egaant. banns ()ace wrote down by the clerk,
upon the mere aixh. of any person are handed as a
inaaier of course, to the Ficst, %Ain reads them " three
several or tlotsda‘s," the parties to be mar-
ricd are, winiout quesioe, soieninly nailed in wedlock.
Now this is done, not withstandieg thitt the rublishing of.
sneli BJIIII4 15 especially enjoined for the preveutioa of clan-
Marriagei ; turd notwiths'.anding that the curate ol
wie parish is not to SOLIIMIZe inetrenony bet weea the
parties withont certificate of the banns being twice asked
from the cu a.e of ano.her parish, since. an if the persons
to be mariaeil dwelt in divers parishes," which is frequently
the case, they " must be asked in both parishes !" It is
painful to reflect Oil the number of mischievous marriages
which take place in this way, and which could not be so
easily etfected in any other way.
Dr. Audi ewes hared so much between obtaining the con-
-5211t. and opposing the dissent of parents, respecting matri-
mony, as to leave his own opinion on this particular doubt-
ful. ..•iinilarity Of rciigioa entered very properly into his
estimat4 of marrhie-,e felicitv. He inclined too much,
howeier, to what is called religious courtship and he
seemei to exact more, in the event of an unhappy mar-
riage being contracted by either sex, than poor human
nainre IMAM, with the hest of hearts, prove :j.kte to bear.
ainly nld Dr. Awl. ewes labour to .inppress the unbe-
routine; seasaiions, which men can avoid feeling, when,
plighting their trued to the woman, they are made to say,
after our liturgy, " wi.h my body 1 thee worship:" Here
is one of those immaterial improprieties, as to its impor-
tance to the stability of the church, which might well be
done awai-. Decency is seldom found opposed to piety.
" exclaimed die father of mankind, when, at the
birth of time, God gave unto him woman, " this is now
bone of my belies, and flesh of my flesh ;" and for this
cause " shall a man ieieve his father and his mother, and ,
slid! cleaNe unto his wife."----:.omeinitig Dr. Andrews urged
to this effect, but not enough. becoming husband and
wife, the male ceases to be son anil the female to be (14.110-
tee Mari•iage dis6olkes ail p:evions contr:cts. wo
one, and one in two. While the man, leaving his lather
and his mother, should cleave only unto his wife; so
womm, leaving her father and her mother, should
cleave only unto her husband. Obligation is in both re-
ciprocal. l'arents cease to be children, when children come
to be pl rents ; and the fii.st ties of life, estimable as they
afre relaiively, , must yiehl to the ligament of society itself.
This is not. sufficiently attended to. Instead of leaving fa-
thers and mothers, each cleaving to each, as man and wife,
both sexes are ioo often seen obstinately adhering to their
reseective relations, and thus reciprocally embittering their
co:income matrinionically. Woman, however, as well as
Mart, ONO, if the happiness of marriage he dear, quit
father and mother, and brethren and sisters also. Unless
man and wife are of one spirit, it will be of no use that
they are made of one flesh. This truth ist much impor-
tance to the age in which ec live. ONEetarus.

The extraordinary rai.iility %%lin which,the new Theatre
at. Covent Garth H. was erecting, h:is been suddenly' checked.
The proprietors, in their hurrv, nealecled :o make an ar-
rair‘:-emi.nt with the land!ord of the Cotfee-honse that for-
meriv stood at the Uuw s•reet entruice to the pit, and pro-
ceeded to build upon the ite of his late premisos, without
his previous consent. !Living, however, sucrecd:'d in an
action of eject nent against them, he yestvulay took poi-
session, in consequence of the verdict in his favour ; and
having laved his beer-barrels' ithder the grand entrai:Le,
he served out his brown stout as usual.