, 1879-04-20
so1dE WORDS ON WEDDINGS.


tomplating matrimony was, "Don't."' The
London Saturday Reoie.o, in commenting
upon the recent wedding Of the Duke OF
Oonnaught and the Princess LOUISE Of Ger
many, speaks almost in similar strain,-at
least, in it's mild, satirieal way Of being
pleasant, it recounts the catalogue of un
pleasantries attending weddings IN such de-
tail and with such grim satisfaction TINT
they will be apt to appall q young man bent
upon entering the >supposititious state OF
double-blesselness. It sets before him the
keen interest Which tho newspapers and
those who read them suddenly tale in his
affairs, ranging all the wny from the cut OF
his coat-tails to the size of his fortune; the
little scandals that are fshed mp; the
tales Of old Airtetions and Of the
old loves which he has put on and
off SO unceremoniously the catechism Of
questions that will inevitably be asked con-
corning him and the young woman, closing
with those o1ninous interrogatories, "What
in the world can she see in him?" and 'What
in the world can he see in her ?" tho prspa-
rations fer the Wedding, and the various
criticisms that are pnssed upon the generosi-
ty, tho nigsardllness, tile good taste or
bad taste, of the douors; the eligible op-
portunity that family wedding otfers for
frst-class family quarrel }, the lively interest
that the outside populace; take in tho core
mony, with which they in reality have not
the most distant connection and finally the
utter obscnrity into which the welded pair
sink Immediately after the wane of the
honeymoon. After setting forth these un-
plcasantries, however, the Regieao CALAMITY
and tenderly holds cut hope for the hus-
band-huuting bridesmaid in the following
episode OF the ceremony: -
"As people who have visited the theatre take
ont Of their memories, for day So some OF the
things that amused them. and laugh aeain, SO
young ladies 1iugcr lovingly orcr the details Of
wedding 1t Is 4 curious experience life in house
full Of girls who have just left marriage party.
Their minds are full Of the great theme: they ten
desly record each incident; they cau think OF uoth-
ing else: and they tell each other thousand times
how the bride looked, and low she dropped her
bouquet, and who picked it up again, and how her
travelling dress became her. Not otherwise than
when, covey being DISPERSED, men 60 round and
shoot the straggliug birds, admirers might ensiy
win the hearts OF the fair who are still hovering
wistfuy round the memory Of. u Wedding. Thus
Nature has provided chances fer bridesmaids; and
thus the superstition that it is nlucky to be often
Il bridesmaid Is justified. For II lady can survive
hcast- whole, and pass nE Escathcd through these
moments OF sympathy, It is certain that she naver
will be won."
" English weddings are no exception to the
general rule. Weddings, in their inception,
progression. and consummation, are about
the same thing the world over among civil
ICED nations. Whnt the Reuieao says Of we'd
dings in England is true Of weddings in this
country. The most incomprehansible thing
about weddings is the fuss that is E,ade over
them. Tie birth of q person is a much more
momentous event thnn his wedding, and his
death, unless he has been scalawag, is Ger
tainiy much more momentous than his birth,
and yet tile person himself and his friends
make more fuss about the wedding than
they do about his entrance into or exit from
the world. He cries when lie comes into
the world, aud his friends cry when
he goes out Of it. They give him
silver ring which turns out to be
pewter, and something to cut his
teeth on, which gives him the canker, at
birth; at death, they give him convention
al crown or anchor, which is faded on the
morrow. The episode Of marriage between
these extremes Of 1ife,-this sort of halfway
hitching post.-however, creates q general
furry. We will suppose that Ar. BROWN
and Miss JONES are to be married tomorrow.
It is safe to say TINT their immediate friends
do not contemplate the debate in Congress,
the labor question in the Southern States,
the threats Of the Communists, or any other
question of general interest, rs Of any con-
sequence in comparison with the union of
Brown and JONES. a still moro remarkable
feature of the case is that every one else
who hears of this wedding Immediately
gets into J.: the same furry. They don't
know BRowN or JONES perhaps. They
don't care anything about Bnowx
or JONES. They never heard of them before,
and after the wedding they will never hear
Of them again, unless DnowN should happen
to kill JONES, or JONES should apply for
divorce from BRowy. Nevertheless, thoy
proceed ut once to get in a autter and mani
fest the most extreme and painful concern
in everything connected with them. BRowS,
JONES, and all "their sisters, their cousins,
and their aunts =" Immediately become COM
mon property. BnowN's connections, his
past relations with other girls in the neigh
borhood, his business, his expectations, his
gift to tho bride, JOKES toilette, looks,
habits, manners, and dowry, and JosEs
mother, who is about to assume relation
to DnowS that is not regarded with reyer-
enca BY an unfeeling world, are Ill thorough
ly canvassed. II BRoTs and JONES are pub
icly married, tile whole neighborhood OBJ
serves holiday, and servant-girls, small
children, and heads Of families meet upon
the common leyel Of that curiosity which
Divine Providence has implanted in US for
some inscrutable reason,- probably to distin-
glish US from dogs. horses, md the other
sensible animals. Brown and JONES, who
have entertained the neighborhood through
the period Of their engagement, entertain 1t
still mora on the-wedding day, as it gets
more real comfort and pleasure out of their
~ IL