The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-01-10
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!, dressing the, Groom.

The recurrence of the holiday seasons,
with their weddings and: consequent
jollity, brings to mind a grievance to
which attention has from time to time:
been called, but thus far in every case,
without effect. Most people seem, indeed,
to proceed in the majority of worldly
affairs as if the maxim, f'Evils' will right
themselves" were indisputably true, and,
in consequence of this disposition to!pro
crastinate, the evil in question, tegether
with perhaps millions of Others, has been
suffered to remain; challenged, indeed,
and otten conspicuously presented to pub
lie attention, but the cure of which ii
invariably left by everybody to somebody
else, and therefore is performed by no.
body.
The grievance alluded to is the posi-
ton of the bridegroom at the wedding,
and needs only to be hinted at in order
to have its full proportions mentally re-
vealed to every one who gives the subject
a moments reflection. That the groom
is indispensable is patent. There can
be no wedding without him, and conse-
quently he seems to be looked on in the
light Of a necessary evil, like sore
thumb, always in the way, it is true, but
still better where it is than without it.
That it is an entirely false and unnatural
position in which to place this party of
the first part is sufficiently evinced by the
fact that he must afterwards play the role
of the leading gentleman in the domestic
lite-drama then begun, and every consid-
GRAFTON of esthetic taste would suggest
that he make his debut, so to speak, with
some eclat, or at least without the hang
dog look which he usually considers it
his bounden duty to assume. No leading
actor is content as subordinate in
brilliant scene, and that the lords of crea-
ton should have quietly endured the out
rage Dame Fashion has foisted upon
them, is mystery, the solution of which
must be left to those philosophers to whom
| the motives Of the human heart are as
playthings.
To see the extent and real magnitude
of the evil is easy enough. Look at any
fashionable wedding. The children who
scatter flowers in the church are stared at,
the bridesmaids are watched, their Co.'S
tunes scrutinized, the set and fitness of
every foldi is carefully observed and audi
bly, commented on by the female part of
the audience, while The men note the
general effect. The bride is the centre of
| interest. A sort of curious combination
of smiles, and white satin, and tears, and
orange blossoms, and bushes and trains,
and long wells and white kid gloves, she
moves down the aisle, and the wedding
march is played for her, and the flowers
are strewed for her, and the decorations
on the walls are hung for her, and the
preacher waits for her, while the poor,
miserable wretch of a bridegroom,
without whom she would not be what
and where she is, sneaks in like sheep.
thief, content if he escape disgracing
himself openly by some dagrantly awk-
ward mistake. He is a background on
which the bride is pictured forth; he is
the jet setting round the diamond; he
would be nightly missed if he were not
there, but being there, he is taken for
granted, and nothing more is thought Of
HIM. AS the old Scotch cynic used to
say, "The only way a man can make a
sensation at his own wedding is by stay
ing away from it,
| Nor does the distinction, unjust as it is,
cease here. Whenever the wedding is
mentioned afterwards, the first thought
is, not of the bridegroom, but of the
bride; and the first question, not of him,
but other. The daily papers and fash
ion journals 60 into ecstacies of descrip-
tion, and pour forth column after column
of language utterly incomprehenslble
to anybody but thorough paced fashion
able woman when her toilet is alluded
to; but who, other than i" funny man"
or fool, ever thinks of telling what the
bridegroom wore? In ninety-nine cases
out of hundred it is impossible to learn
from the published accounts Of the we'd
ding that the groom wore anything at all,
and in n5the hundredth instance the most
liberal notice his outfit receives consits
in the general statement that he "was
dressed in the conventional suit of black,
| with white vest and white. kid glo,es.''
The world has yet to find man dar-
ing enough to break through this "con-
ventional' arrangement, and cover him
self with glory by being the hero of his
own wedding; but when such an individ-
ual comes what distinction will be his.
and what triumphs will lie in wait to
brighten his path. Imagine him stared
at by the women and respectfully uncov-
red to by the men. Ii his individuality
be strongly marked, and manifest itself
in dress as we'll as in department, imag-
inc the zest with which his costume will
be described by the papers. Fancy him
arrayed in "claw-hammer coat,'' ecut
very decollette," |'the front trimmed with
fringed ruchings of broadcloth, and lined
with satin and chenille" "the collar and
lappels gored and ornamented with two
or three rows of heavy knife-pleating,"
the sleeves Ia Pompadour, with Valen-
ciennes insertions and point lace" The
two tails ought to match, and he zen
P1'incesse t,aine, - or spoon train'' the very
least, with half q dozen rows of "kilt
pleating," tapered off with more or less
"knife pleating" or she'll trimming, &C
cording to taste.
Tournaments of orange, or apple bios
SONS and pond lilies were added to these
queues, and blue ribbons attached by
which they could be lifted from the
ground in walking, all danger Of ignor-
ing the bridegroom would be at once dis
sipated. The rest of his costume might
be conventional, or, if he had mind to
make a genuine sensation, he might have
his trousers plain in 'front.'" the "back
widths ornamental with she'll headings,:'
and 2" trimmed with cores and bias
pieces" A bridegroom got up in this
way would be benefactor of his sex,and
once and forever, if his example were
aptly followed, would remove the stigma
Of insignifcance which, now rests on the.
groom. ......
'Stu1ang for Poultry o. F;sh.-Two cups o
light bread or cracker crumbs; ono cup of
mashed potatoes; one egg well beaten; butter
size Of an egg; one small teasp0onful of sage