Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-27

Jonathan I'm a Matrimonial Way
wedding Day Thoughts, PhifOsophf
cal and Historical, for the ladies.
OF all the women in the world, says &
witty writer of the last generation, were
placed upon one island, and all the mel
upon another, separated from the feminine
abode by q swift rolling river, and neither
4 sex knew anything about boat-building,
what lots of women would be drowned!
4 Our satirist was a woman herself, and
consequently may be understood to have
/ spoken feelingly upon Subject with which
| she was well acquainted. Whether all the
feminine world will agree with her is per-
haps little problematical, though 1t IS very
| certain that the sex has long had very de-
eided leaning toward anything tending to
the transition from single to double blessed
ness. Ladies undoubtedly look upon the
ordinance of matrimony - alike attractive
and interesting, and even when they have
| done with the ceremony themselves, and
cannot expect an encore unless they look
as far ahead--and not always so very far
ahead eithe--as widowhoOd or the divorce
court, they will continue to regard it with
| feelings Of peculiar interest.
The most important thing in young la
dy's life is uil loubtedly, her own marriage;
| the next MISUNDERSTANDING of course the
initiatory olive branch-the marriage OF her
friends. while not very far down III the list,
is the marriage of anybody else, friend, foe,
or stranger. ,se
For this reason the dear creatures always
read the wedding notices in newspaper
before they seek after anything else, and
for the same reason will they bestow the
kindest attention to anything pertaining to
the nuptial ceremonial, anywhere, or under
any circumstances.
ENGLISH MARRIAGES.
The London correspondent OF the Gin
cinnati Commercial has been looking lit
It's into English marriages of the present,
and be presents many thoughts which If not
quite new, will stand generous amount OF
quoting, without placing the interest OF the
feminine reader in much jeopardy of luke
warmness. Buckle in his great work on
civilization, has shown the influence of the
corn crops upon the statistics Of marriage;
but he has not shown what is hTdly less
interesting, the influence of the English
climate in connection with the institution of
morning marriages, in making the spring or
the early summer the Chief season for we'd
dings. rn
THE SECRET OF ANTE MERIDIAN NUPTIAIS
The gentleman reader may have heard
that in England NJ marriage can be legally
celebrated after II O'Clock in the dag, and
the reason thereof may have bothered them
somewhat. Antiquarians would assure
them that the law in this case was meant to
prevent marriages that might be made up
after dinner in the evening, IN the days
when no Englishmau was supposed to
know what be was about. The English
man of the last century-Uide Thack-
erary pdSsinR-was supposed, after
his O'Clock diuner to be NOR
ally under the table with a drained
bottle in his hand. 1t was on that account
that the custom arose, which still exists, OF
the ladies retiring from the dining-room
soon after dessert is brought on. But this
postprandially PROSTATE fellow might arise,
stagger to the dining-room, propose mar
rage to the first pretty Dame he met, and
command the services of the ever-present
clergyman to tie the knot forthwith. 1t was
therefore enacted that he should have an
opportunity of sleeping off the fumes of
wine, of passing the evening promises I'M
der the morning revise, in order that mar
riage might really be entered into, as
the prayer-book says, s'discreetly and
soberly.r It has resulted from this, that
merry bridal companies prefer the gentle
season, when they can alight from their car
riages in balmy air, and stand in the
church without shivering in their tremulous
game. Again, the continent is near, IT,
vites a wedding tour, and winter is not the
time for that. Hence, one can hardly in
these days pass church without observing
a wedding party entering or emerging
FEMININE RESTIYENESS ABOUT "OBEY |
ING"
One can observe q growing festiveness |
under the ceremony of the established |
church on these occasions. Brides are |
showing an increased repugnance to the
word "obey," which the dissenters now
pretty generally leave out of the service. |
There are certain portions of the address to
the welded pair, also, which do not COM
port with modern ideas Of decency, and |
call up bushes to the faces of the bride and
her maids. Many persons object also to |
the formal declaration which the law
requires Of both parties to the |
marriage, that they know of no i'm
pediment why they may not be
lawfully joined together, their presence at
the altar being sufficient proclamation of
their impressions on that score. But it |
will be long time before any modification
is made in the marriage service. People |
like to have their knots tied as their fathers |
and mothers were before them. And so
they move out to the music of Mendels- !
sohn's wedding March, which has now |
become part of the marriage institution. !
The clock will be striking the hour of noon
as they drive off amid the curious ragamuf-
fin throng at the church door to the home |
of the brides parents, there TO participate |
in the wedding breakfast, which will occur |
at one.
THE GIoRIEs OF THE ENGLISH WEDDING. |
The bulk of the weddings of the land, of
course, occur from the homes of the middle
class, which really contributes the solid
strength of Engl sh society, and to the
thoughtful mind the way they do it is, to
say the least, preferable to the American
fashion of turning marriage into an even
ing bali. There is less me dressing, in.
deed. but TO make up for that, everybody
has Oh his or her ''shining morning
face" and the more aged members or
connections of the families concerned, who
would hardly be equal to late party, are able
to contribute an important element to
the pleasure of the occasion. The bride
and bridegroom, the bridesmaids and
groomsmen, are fitting about amid the
trees and flowers of the garden; the photo |
grapher is present, ready to seize the group |
and render Their beauty q joy forever; the |
beautiful gifts, bright and, useful as the |
hearts that sent them; the glorious masses |
of flowers which the season lavishes |
around us; the table loaded with every del |
icaoy; tEe eyer plentiful fountains of wine,
sparkling up from lip to eye, the humor- |
Gus speeches of the patriarchs OF the two |
families, full of happy "reminiscences and
spioed with s!Y jokesj healthy hiisrity, Joy |
in home affections, tender touches come out |
of LIES struggle, a pervading reality and