The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-03-04
4 Rural Wedding in Sweden.

will endeavOr to describe village
wedding in Sweden. 1t shall be in
summer time, that there may Oe flow
ers, and in a southern province, that
the bride may be fair. The early song
of the lark and chanticleer are ming
ling in the clear morning air, and the
sun, the heavenly bridegroom with
golden locks, arises in the east, just as
our earthly bridegroom, with yellow
hair, arises in the south. In the yard
there is a sound of voices and tramp
ling of hOOfs, and the horses are led
forth and saddled. The steed that is
to bear the bridegroom has a bunch of
flowers upon his forehead and gar
land of cOrn-fiOwers around his neck.
Friends from the neighbOring farms
come riding in, their blue clOaks
streaming in the wind; and finally
the happy bridegroom, with whip in
his hand and a mOnstrOus great nose
gay in the breast of his black jacket,
comes forth from his chamber; and
then to horse and away towards the
village where the bride already sits
and waits.
Foremost rides the spokesman, fol-
lowed by some half dozen village mu-
sicians. Next comes the bridegroom
between his two groomsmen, and
then forty or fifty friends and we'd
ding guests, half of them perhaps
with guns and pistols in their hands.
a kind of baggage-wagOn brings up
the rear, laden with food and drink
for these merry pilgrims. AT the en-
trance of every village stands a tri-
umphal arch, adorned with flowers
and ribbons and eVergreens and, as
they pass beneath it, the wedding
guests fire a salute, and the whole pro-
cession stops. And straight from ev-
cry pocket flies a blackjack, filled
with punch or brandy. 1t is passed
from hand to hand among the crowd !;
provisions are brought from the wag-
on, and, after eating and drinking and
| hurrahing, the procession moves for
ward again, and at length draws near
the house of the bride. -Four heralds
ride forward to announce that a
knight and his attendants are in the
neighbOring forest and pray for hOspi-
tality. "How many are yOu?" asks
| the BRIDES father. "At least three
hundred" is the answer; and to this
the last replies, eyes, were you seven
times rs many you should all be well
come; and i'm token thereof receive
this cup" Whereupon each herald
receives n can of ale; and soon after
the whole jovial company comes
stOrming into the farmers yard, and,
riding round the MaypOle, which
stands in the centre, alight amid q
grand salute and flourish of music.
In the hall sits the bride, with a
crown upon her head and u tear in her
eye, like the Virgin Mary in old
church paintings. She is dressed in a
red bOddice and kirtle, with loose lin
en- sleeves. There is IL gilded belt
around her waist, and around her
neck strings of golden beads and a
/ golden chain. On the crown rests a
wreath of wild roses, and below it an
other of cypress. Loose over her
shoulders falls her fiaXen hair, and
her blue innocent eyes are fixed upon
the ground. o thou good soul thou
hast hard hands but a soft heart
Thou art poor. The very ornaments
thou wearest are not thine. They
have been hired for this great day.
Yet thou art rich; rich in health, rich
in hope, rich in thy first, young, fer
vent love. The blessing of heaven be
npOn thee; so thinks the parish priest
as he joins together the hands of bride
and bridegroom, saying, in deep, sol
emn tones, 'I give thee in marriage
this damsel, to be thy welded wife in
all honor, and to share the half of
thy bed, thy lock and key, and every
third penny which you two may pos
sess, or may inherit, and all the rights
which Upland's laws provide, and the
holy King Erik gave"
The dinner is now served and the
bride sits between the bridegroom and
the priest. The spokesman delivers
an grafton after the ancient custom OF
his fathers. He interlards it well
with quotations from the Bible, and
invites the Savior to be present at this
feast, as he was at the rlarriage-feast
of Cana of Galilee. The table is not
sparingly set forth. Each makes a
long arm, and the feast goes cheerily
on. Punch and brandy pass round
between the courses, and here and
there u pipe is smoked while waiting
for the next dish. They sit long al
table; but as all things must have an
end, so must Swedish dinner. Then
the dance begins. 1t is led off by the
bride and the priest, who perform q
solemn minvet together. Not till
j after midnight comes the last dance.
| The girls form ring around the bride,
to keep her from the hands of the
married women, who endeavOr to
break through the magic circle, and
seize their new sister. After long
struggling they succeed; and the
crown is taken from her head and the
jewels from her neck, and her boddicC
is unlaced, and her kirtle taken off
and, like a vestal virgin, clad all il
white, she goes, but it is to her mar
riage-chamber, not to her grave; ant
the wedding guests follow her with
lighted candles in their hands. And
this is a village bridal.-[LONGFEL
Low.