Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1871-04-13

Der 23d. Whatever favor you may
y then think proper to confer on us
K. will be gratefully acknowledged
m and repaid with thanks, whenever
Iy required, on a similar occasion, by
~ ~ your most humble servants, Dennis
Of Woode, Eugenia Vaughan" We
in smile at the peru' al of this epistle
T. and yet, is not such frankness and
y y explicitness of purpose preferable
,e to the covert manner in which so
many, now days, dispatch bidders,
in the shape Of cards and other de.
vicesH
OF course the spirit OF rivalry
and emulation which preyades So
ciety, makes people anxious to vie
with and excel each other in the
number of presents received. If
A is to be married tomorrow, she
cannot have less of display than
B had yesterday; and 50 the lie.
mands upoa relatives and friends
constantly increase. The gifts at
an up town wedding, the other day,
when an ex office holders daugh.
ter was married, amounted in value
to over 100000.
So rapidly has the mania for
presents increased, that are now,
in many instances, hired for the oc-
casion; we are assured that this is
becoming quite customary, and that
there ctn be obtained in hire at a
number Of our large dealers, jewel
ry sets, plate, and other articles ap-
propriate for wedding testmoni-
ais. There is some excuse for the
poor peasantry of Eastern Ireland,
who are accustomed to lease wed.
ding-rings kept for that purpose,
but what is to be thought Of that
love of display which covers the
bridal tables with "presents, for
the time being?
Very many of the wedding gifts
are Of no practical use to the re-
ceivers. How many Of the brides,
for instance, receive a dozen or
more fruit baskets They are from
friends, and consequently, must be
neither exchange or given away. If
the practice of bestowing presents
must continue, it would be well to
revive the old Talmudists' custom
of putting the articles up at auc-
ton on the wedding night for the
benefit of the couple, There would
be some sense in this; or in reviv-
ing the old English practice of re-
turning the presents to donors
when they marry, In the latter
case, givers would select articles
that would be useful to themselves,
instead of bestowing beautiful but
useless trinkets. In addition to
the gift extravaganee, large sums
are squandered for expensive out
fits, for cards, carriages, &c, and
after the ceremony is concluded,
the couple think they must make a
long expensive tour before setting
down No matter what the cost
may be, they must follow the Gus
tom and fashion, though they be
compelled to scrimp and economic {
for years afterward. We have now
in mind a couple who made a bri- i
dial tour to Europe, and returned {
home to occupy very diminutive !
rented house, where they still re- s
main, and probably will for long c
time to come. They expended a I
sufficient sum on their journey to '
have purchased snug, rural home '
near The city. And this is only one e
of many such cases. Young coup s
les are returning every day from '
costly bridal tours to settle them Q
selves in narrow quarters up three t
or four flights of boarding house s
stairs. 1t is when starting out in +
life that married people particular a
ly need money, The sensible |,
bridegroom will suggest to his in il
tended father-in law, that he give O
to his daughter, as a ''nest-egg," \
the sum which he had expected to s
expend on her wedding, y
Nothing is surer than that the t
proportion Of the married to the S
will rapidly increase, un. I
til society reforms and returns to s
the simple, inexpensive ways of our S
If manas ing mothers find il
their daughters remaing on their S
hands, they need look no farther for G
an explanation, than the present o
extravagant habits Of society. Ger '
tain it is, that as matters now are, b
our men will continue to steer clear G
Of matrimony, though the bache IL
or tax, instituted lythe Emperor s.
and improved upon by tp
he Maryland Assembly in 1756, al
we're to be revived and ridgedly en- al
'orced Tie young man Of small ol
means would submit to any, taxa al
ion, rather than to marry a woman G
yhose iileas Of living called for a in
hundred dollar wedding-rihg and a OF
i've. hundred dollar wedding tour- br
ye1rh and Home, fu
ba
Some years ago, in one Of our 81
Western Courts, three men, an Eng al
r - 49, q Il Lnt.