Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-04-10

This all-important rite having been
carefully observed, some slight changes
are made in the brides dress,
preparatory to the nuptial meal.
Some render this by the expression
marriage supper" but as it com
monty takes place during the middle of
the DAY or in the afternoon, the term APP
pears to be inappropriate. A special
table is set out for the bride and bride
groom, at which they sit down and pre-
tenu TO eat, and exchange cups (ctaGo PED.
Wlthout this ceremony, no marriage
seems to be considered complete; and it
| appears, as it were, to seal the contract,
beng looked upon as the most indispen-
sable part of the whole proceedings. The
table spoken of is arranged in the pre-
scrlbed form in the Tungtang, or bridal
chamber, and not in the room with the
other guests, but yet so that the bride and
bridegroom are in view of all; at this
| stage the husband, most frequently for
the hrst time, is permitted to see his
WIVES face. Etiquette requires that the
bride should fast, even though, during the
day, it is often the case that presents of
food are more than once sent to her from
her own home. The guests at later
period partake of an entertainment sepa-
rately; and it is customary for them to
MAKE money presents to the family, prob
ably to assist in defraying the expenses
hey are put to-
The feasts and ceremonies attending a
marriage usually occupy two days or
more, the male relations and friends be-
ing invited on the first day, while the
second is set apart for the reception of
the female guests.
On the morning of the second day, the
custom Of Coming out of the (nuptiaD
chamber" is observed, on which occasion
the newly welded husband and wife
again pay their devotions to the tablets
of the formers ancestors. The deities
which preside over the kitchen are next
prOpltiated by certain acts of worship.
Afterwards comes a ceremonial call on
| the brides family, an invitation having
| first been received, and sedan chairs sent
for the accommodation of the pair, who,
it must be noted, occupy different chairs.
1t is arranged that the two sedan chairs
should both start and reach their destina-
| ton separately. Their arrival is greeted
| by loud explosions of crackers, without
which it seems that hardly any Chinese
ceremony is complete. During the visit
| great care is taken to use only words of
| good omen, and all the proceedings are
| regulated by etiquette, the husband and
wife seeing but little of one another even
when a banquet is given in their honor
| They return home separately, the hus-
band going first. In any calls that may
| afterwards be made, thee same routine is
| observed, and the wife is never actually
accompanied by her spouse. 1t is suftic-
iently well known that in endless matters
the Chinese custom is the very reverse of
4 hat al, tic
so the reader will perhaps not be aston
ished to learn that in the Middle King
dom, husbands do not, as rule, appear
IN public in the company of their. wives.
Theoretically, no marriage can take
place during the time of mourning for
| the death of an emperor; but as the full
term Of mourning is twentyseven
months, this would be highly incon-
venient, so the restriction is practically
confined to the first hundred days after
his maiesty's decease: and even this is
probably very little observed, except by
officials and the residents in the capital
and its immediate neighboThOod.
1t is the rule in China that persons of
the same clan-name shall not intermarry,
and this prohibition for it amounts to
that extends even to remote cousins, but
only prevents the marriage of cousins in
the first and other degrees, in case their
clan-name be the same To explain the
matter more clearly, we will suppose that
a man, whose cian-name is Tang, has
four children-two sons and two daugh
ters-all having male and female off
spring. The children of the daughters
may intermarry, but those of the sons
may not; the sons children, how ever, are
not debarred from marrying into their
aunts' families.
One or two odd customs may here be
briefly alluded to. Sometimes betrothal
takes place before birth-that is to say,
mothers betroth their unborn children on
the chance Of their turning out to be of
opposite sexes! Again, if man, after
becoming engaged to a girl, should die
before the marriage can be completed, it
now and sIen happens that the affianced
bride will leave her own relative and go
to his parents house, and there become
one of the family, as much as she would
have done if the marriage had actually
taken place. This is more especially the
case if her promised husband chance to
be an only child.
Widows are rather hardly treated in
the Celestial Empire in the event of their
desiring to marry again, for such mar
riages are decidedly looked down upon,
and no family of any position in the So
cial scale will allow one of its members
to enter into such contract Among
the poorer classes of the community,
however, man occasionally marries
widow, because it is more economical
course to pursue. Various disabilities
attach to widow in the matter of cere-
monial; for example, on second mar
riage she is only allowed to use com
mon, small sedan chair, carried by two
men, instead of the more roomy and gor-
geous conveyance ordinarily employed.
In the matter of divorce, which is of
| rather rare occurrence, all is in the hus-
bands favor. 1.-The be so minded he can get
rid of his wife for various reasons which
seem absurd to us. AS far as we are
aware, no legal process is necessary; and
the outraged or disconnected husband
gives his wife what may be called a bill
of enforcement, which, in this case, is a
document sealed with his private seal in
the presence of witnesses, who are often
the woman's own relatives Chamber8's
Journal.
Calling up the Boy.
Ca1linp O how tho