Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-01-13
which my fair questioner contaminated tbe

Inc pride and bridegroom wait = lone
tiae-yeaTs sometimes, She informed me
occupied IN studying each Others charac-
tefs. Moreover, IT is pretty practice, at
least, IN some parts Of Fatherland. for the
lady, however poor to furnish the bouse and
ind all the Enen.n
1t was explained to me that Iady's want
OF dover did not prevent this. inasmuch os
each Of her friends would give nresent-
none OF the trumpery trinkets such as people
give In tins country but good, substantial
household goods-One, a wheelbarrowful of
crockery, we may say; another stove vet
another, what shall we say "a bed perhaps.
and thus to every detail In Germany almost
the majority of people are Government en-
pioyet7i ana In this case a mans income Is
| known TO the farthest penny. 4 Young lady
GoeS not expect to begin welded life with all
the Injuries owned by her parents.
A any rate continued NV informant
early marriages are more FREQUENT in Ger
many than in England; and inasmuch as The
batlle OF lite Is more easily fought in Ger
many than here, am disposed to think that.
upon the whole, married life is happier The
wedding day being fixed we come TO the
polters abend'
II you consult your German dictionary. p
SAID She, you viii find that potter means a
great nolse-what your English BOYS call
,kcklng up great row Well. bride and
bridegroom, brides friends and bridegroon's
friends meet together on the evening before
the wedding, and eat and drink and make
merry together. As to amusements, they are
matter Of taste, and vary, as you may sup
pose, with the rank of bride and bridegroom:
but singing, dancing, music and bIindman's
buff are usual Well, the next day comes
the wedding, Of which | need remark no
more, observed my fair informant, ethan
what may seem TO you, an Englisbman. the
peculiarly Of an e1eta1iqe of rings-one be-
ing given by the gentleman TO the lady the
other by the lady to her husband This ex-
change consider fair, - musingly, ana a trihe
dogmatlcally, remarked my informant.
And next the honeymoon began l. lead
ing off into a new train Of Communications.
" W ell, no" she said - not a honeymoon.
in your English sense, for the whole married
In Of German couple is one lasting honey
moon, ? Of there be any exceptions my fair
informant leaves them iuterentially;) . they
never bicker, never get tired of each other
Incomes are mostly small, but certain hence
there is no money anxiety. People, knowing
what they have 10 live upon, live upon it,
Everybody being aware of the extent of
everybody else's means, there is no field af
iordGd for the display Of that sort of small
pride which shows itself in living or dressing
beyond ones means. German ladies make
the best of wives continued my informant
the German lady. They pet their husbands
more than is the custom with English ladies:
are, in short, more sOicitOus 4 German
lady does not order her husbands pipe and
coffee, but herself fetches them. She brings
his slippers as q matter of course and as for
his dinner, the cooking of 1t is sure to be at
least superintendent by the lady; still more
probably She Will have cooked a portion of It
with her own fair hands; and there is none
Of that shabby evasion of cooking implied bv
cold meat-Uo yesterdays mutton-b bone
"a thing 30 dreaded by some husbands You
have "a custom here in England, they tell
me, of presentin" a fitch of bacon to any
married couple who can prove that they have
not quarreled for seven wears, and that neither
has desired To be unmarried. To carry out
this practice in Germany would be impossi-
Bile pigs enough could not be laid hold Of to
supply the bacon. % YOU see if it should
please God to grant twenty five years of mar
rled life 90 German couple lbeiug an equiya-
lent expression TO twent. five years of mar
ried happiness it Is strictly natural to sup
pose that some sort of rejoicing should take
place. The ceremonial of that rejoicing
constitutes what Is known by the appellation
of silver wedding Twenty-Five years is a
long span; peoples tastes have altered in
that time Singing, dancing, blindman's buff
pOltcTs abends, - amuscments, in short
would be out of place There is a quiet
meeting of friends, for all that; and on the
morrow there viii be what YOU may call if
YOU please, another wedding. The couple 20
to church, where a service appropriate to the
occasion Is read, and this is called the silver
wedding oh, l forgot to tell YOU that pres
entS from tricnus come dropping down pres
euts of remembrance, more than of utility
this time, as YOU might have inferred, consid-
crin- the thouEhtlulncss of the people
' And lastly now, about the golden we'd
ding Alas 1t falls not to the lot of many
married folks to number fifty years Of married
life. Death, in most Instances, has been Law
ing lis cold hand ON man or wife ere then.
1t happens sometimes, however-the occa-
sion for this golden wedding-and when hap
peuiu-, it is celebrated with all the visible
ceremonials Of tender regard and deyout
thauktuluess that you might have expected
from thoughtful and imaginative people.
" There now, l have told you all about the
silver ana golden weddings" said the Ger
man lady.
I thanked her, and went away musing.
Making ali allowance for "a certain exaLgera-
ton i. the style of her recital, Tan exaggera-
ton, the product of strong national feelings,)
/ c.un5t bat think that much that the Ger
man lady told me Is worthy of our regard.