Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-10-19
THE GAZETTE.
THE PUBLIC MARRIAGE"
WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER -, 1859.

New York Tribune, in regard 10 the late
fashionable piece Of snobbishness III that
city. which has occupied much attention
there. are So Just and sensible that we are
sure our readers will thank W. for having
copied them. There is among us an intense
and slayish admiration for display and osten-
tatious wealth. No where in the wide world
is money so wcrshipped as by Americans
No where is rascality SO lightly thought OF,
provided only it be successful. Put money in
thy purse" is the advice now given to young
America. The end is the thing that is re
yardcd-not the means whereby it is accom-
plshed And it is so with regard to Flash
irnahe" display and extravaganza. The
thing is to create sensation. to make Il dis
play. 10 attract attention. and gam nntorlety
III some way or other, even at the sacrifice
IL the lecencies OF life.--BuH. PW
a PrmIc MARRIAGE. some things are
considered delicate and sacred, aud IN our
American society We have sought to be de-
cent. We have even endured filings ut our
pseudo-delicacy. In accordance with this
American notion of decency, was certain PR
vacy attached to the marriage ceremony. 1t
was at the most restrctedly social certainly
never public Relatives and friends were
those invited to it, or 10 the receptions
Never were the highways and byways scour-
"a for guests who could sport wedding gar
nents. The blush Of the bride that celes-
1ial rnse-tnt-was never made the sport OF
vulgar eyes. or the text OF vulgar JeStS.-
Ii was kept out of bar-rooms. 1t was not
,araded in patent invitations. 1t did not
srt into the public Journals. To our appre..
hension. this proud. shrinking simplicity 4
manner. on this dearest Of human epochS.
was an empyrean of native aristocracy
above the glare and gaud. and Jezebel stare
and red-tape-swagser. Of royal nuptials,
or the privileged union of peers and peer
esses. advertised beforehand like pills and
plasters
But it seems all this American modesty OF
action is 10 be reversed. New York. not be
ING an American, but cosmopolitan city
having alike Chinese and Crcolc>, ASiatics
and Atricans--begns 10 find out strange IN
yemtiuns Among the last and strongest are
public marriages. Marriages 10 which invi-
ta,ions are 80 cheap that the reporter "i the
newspapers feels bound u describe them a
ne would a prize-fght or a street-accldent.
Ii is in vain to call such ceremonies private.
They are absolutely public. They are town
talk beforehand, town-talk the while, aud
t,wn.talk acterward. The age Of the bride
.room-f that be eccentric--is discussed IN
houses. in taverns, and in the streets. His
rent-rol or income is given-with or without
excessive cpbers. The brides outfit, what
il cost. aud who made it, are all presented
in colors and figures Tie bits Of partcu-
lars which slip out before the ceremony
takes place are just sufficient to stimulate
curiosity 10 the IN st active intensity on the
dav when the knot is tied in great cathc-
dral. For this raree-show there are bush
els oftickcts issued. Admission is gained
as freely as it is at the Academy of Music or
the Winter Garden. There are actors
audiencc-police to keep order. The crowds
outside in numbers Outrival those INSIDE
The coaches must, on account of the jam,
use the testina iente principle as they ap..
proach the sacred portals. The well-dressed
multitude, masculine and feminine, drive
up. Their dresses are criticised by the best
III tjeSco society which sparkles unsoaped
around the premises. II the lookers-on ex-
cite attention as they debark from their CARR
ages. what amount Of criticism do not the
bride AMI bridegroom and their immediate
encourage receive!
And then the Church service! The spiri-
tual organ emits its deep-toned talk OF the
Infinite and Beauteous; the priest goes
through the solemn ceremonies; the pas
siunate maludrama Of the antique ceremonial
is rehearsed-the kneeling pair-the volant
incense--the ubilant choir-all, all before
thousands Just like the last opera or play.
This may BE-, and perhaps -, very hne
and very foreign. But we think IT poor,
starved day of taste and sentiment when the
simple habit Of marriage in private--quiet,
honorable, dccent--is abandoned Tor tins
pompous ostentatlon Of display in church and
street.
A MoRMoNs DESCRIPTION OF HEAVEN
Elder Middlcmas delivered himself in the
Tabernacle, lately. Of the following descrp-
ton Of Heaven:
II do not believe heaven 10 that fairy, airy
place of fancy that most people think 1T IS.
Ii il bona-tide place Of materiality, much
resembling this earth, only, Of course, 1t IL
thousands Of times larger and everything
there exists in greater perfection than the
things Of this earth. 1t is globe just Ike
this panet We inhabit IL is the home OF
tod and the Angels. That passage IN the
Scriptures which reads "a day with the Lord
is a thousand years, th"nNand years are rs
a day." clearly establishes the fact that hea,
Yen is 4 planet, rotating globe, governed
hy the same natural laws and Astronomical
principles that this earth is governed by; hut
il is So much larger than our little star, that
il takes 365, 900 times longer to make rev
olution upon it's orbit than the earth. 80
we see that it is fact that one ofGod'sd days.
or day, in heaven, is a thousand Of years.
They eat aud d'ink and sleep in heaven
The same as we do here. Earth is emphati-
cailv miniature heaven. | believe they
have printing office i'll heaven, ani cleo
tric ,clesraphs, and short hand reporters
WHY not? Are they not greater than we on
earth? believe there is channel OF com
muncation extending from my mouth to the
home Of the angels. and probably an angel
at the telegraph Office in heaven IS now wait
ing for the news from here. and as soon as
he gets it he will take it right to the hands OF
the printers; they will set it up in type and
print it in newspapers, and then boys. or
men, will Jump on horses, and ride around
giving the inhabitants of heaven the latest
news concerning the kingdom Of God on
earth. There are more than two reporters
here-more than Brother Long and brother
Watt believe there is reporter here from
heaven to find out who is speaking, what ne
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