Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-09-22
Oriental Marriages,

In America, love precedes and prepares
the way for marriage-at least this is our
theory of courtship. In the East, marriage
precedes and prepares for love-at least
this is the Oriental theory Of the welded
stale. 1t quite accords, therefore, with the
Eastern ideas of the marriage relation that
women should enter into it at an age which
TO us seems very unfit; and this practice
of early marriages is also favored by the
fact that women reach their maturity at a
much earlier age than with US. They are
at the height of their bloom and beauty at
fifteen or sixteen. They are often married
at thirteen or fourteen, and sometimes as
early as eight or nine; and DIR. Van Len
nep mentions one instance of wedding
which he attended in which the bride was
SO young that she was carried about in the
arms OF her relatives. Naturally courtship
is done by proxy, and the young men are
cheated out of what the American regards
as one of his most sacred, inalienable rights.
The duty of looking up for the young man
a suitable wife, which even in our own So
ciety the mother, aunts, or sisters often as
sumo, is in the East, by universal consent,
devolved upon them.
Womanly nature is essentially the same
the world over, and we may safely assume
that they are nothing loath TO perform the
duty which social custom intrusts to them.
For this purpose they sally forth in body
on their tour of inspection, call at any
house which affords reasonable hope of
containing a suitable inmate, are invari-
ably greeted with the utmost courtesy, and
ushered at once into the reception-room
the young lady is summoned, and present
ly enters, bearing sweetmeats and water /;
she is arrayed in all the finery and jewels
which belong TO her dowry nor is it con-
sidered a breach of social propriety to in
quire with particularly respecting her
marriage portion. This frankness prevents
some of the awkward discoveries which
sometimes occur with us after marriage TO
mar the happiness of the honeymoon. If
the preliminary negotiations are satisfac-
tory, bargain Is made between the par
ents, in which the amount paid by the hus-
band or in his behalf, either 10 the bride or
10 her parents, is definitely agreed upon.
This, which under the Mosaic law was fix
ed at uniform rate-at fifty shekels, or
twenty-five dollars varies among the
modern Jews with the condition of the
brides family, while among some of the
Circassian tribes and the Tarlars, as among
the African savages, the daughter, when
she reaches manageable age, is sold to
the highest bidder. The parties are con-
sldered as affianced as soon as the mar
rage contract has been agreed to, but the
nnntial fs dafa
for a considerable period, during which
time the bride and groom are not permit
ted TO see each other; their sole intercourse
with each other is through the iaterven-
ton Of a "friend of the bridegroom" The
wedding-dress Is even more a matter OF
importance with the Eastern bride than
with us. The preparation of her toilet, in
the presence of female friends, often occu-
pies large part of two days. The we'd
ding-veil, the bridal crown, the dodos, or
cap, are some of the emblems donned for
the bridal ceremony. The costumes are
often rich and gorgeous beyond express
ion. Fashion, as interpreted by an Orien-
tai milliner, quoted by DIR. Van Lennep,
prescribes the characteristics of an ideal
wedding-dress. 1t should measure six
yards from the shoulder TO the end of the
train the long sleeves should sweep the
floor; the material Is silk 1t is elaborate
ly embroidered by party of professional
embroiderers under the direction of q
chief The sum paid for experimenting
the needle-work on single robe referred
TO by DIR. Van Lonnep was I'VE hundred
dollars, while the charge for the work done
by the subordlnates was two thousand five
hundred dollars, and the entire cost of the
dress was Ten thousand; nor must 1t be
forgotten that labor in that country is very
much less expensive than in this.