Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1880-01-22

vailing among al nalicns that aiR not
habitnally bare-iooged. The ancient
Roman father was accustomed 10 take
OF hts sandal end hurl il at his dangh-
ter and her new husband Is the chariot
hesring them departed from The front
door ed TOOK ihe road 10 Bai@. In the
e feR 8 fno
heavy u Be thrown Wssm0us enaanget-
ing the lives OF the bride and BRIDE
groom. and hence the slipper Of the
brides mother came into use as sub
stitute. Ia modern times stIll another
departure from the original custom OF
throwing the paternal sandal has been
made, and, as general rule, q spare
shoe OF the bride herself is thrown at
ter her. There Is, however, no strict
aud invariable rule as 10 the matter, and
any sort and sex OF shoe may be thrown
without affecting the general luck that
is believed 10 be inherent in the eere-
mony. Thus, where shoes are scarce
and costly, old india-rubber over-shoes
have been thrown with excellent re-
suits, and occasionally an old horseshoe
has beed pressed into service, doubt
less wmh the hope that the occult vir-
tue VIGOROUSLY Belonging to all horse
shoes would unite in acumulative man
ner with the luck inseparable from or
binary shoe-throwiug.
Anliquarians have labored 10 asceT-
tain the real origin Of this curious Gus
tom, but without much success. By
some Il has been maintained that, as bare
footedness is symbol Of poverty, shoes
are thrown after brides and grooms as
the expression OF wish that they may
never be in lack Of shoes, or, 10 other
words, in state Of poverty. This IL
evidently O Ear-Ietched and unSatislac-
tory explanation, and it hardly deserves
refutation. Shoe-throwing IS unques-
tionably symbolic, but how the Roman
father, when he threw his number ten
sandal after his daughter, could there
by indicate that he hoped her private
supply Of sandals would never run low,
il is difficult 70 see.
When we remember that in the ear
Hest ages il was always the Paternal
sandal or boot which was thrown, and
that the use OF the female shoe or slip
per was merely matter Inconvenience,
we at once gain clue 10 the meaning
of the custom. Beyond any doubt, in
ancient as we'll as modern times, the
lover who was displeasIng to the stern
father lived in dread Of the avenging
sandal. Many young Roman has shot
suddenly into the evening street, urged
TO that swift retreat by the right sandal
of the strong-limbed father, who from
his front step surveyed with sardonic
smile the result oil his exercise Of pater-
nal rights.
Thus Augustus Cesar probably limited
to the gilded youth OF Rome that the
fair Julia was not permitted to sit up
and burn gas after 8 o'clock; and per-
hsps, with like arguments the solemn
Pompeius pointed out to CIaudfus that
he could not visit Pompeia with
out FIRST joining the Young Meas Chris
tan Association aud abandoning his dis
soIute courses.
When the Roman father finally con-
sented to accept q sutton for his daugh-
ter's hand and Permiltedfhem to marry,
il was eminently proper that he should.
in some public and significant way an
nounce that he had kicked that pariicu-
lar young man for the last time, and that
thenceforth the natural relations between
his sandal and his son-in-law were forev-
err at an end. In what way could he do
this more conspicuously than by taking
of his sandal and throwing il after the
son-in-law as he departed in company
with bis bride 10 spend the honeymoon
at BaIes This. then. is the meaning OF
shoe-throwing 10 al its varied FORMS
The father proclaims that for he last
time bis foot-covering seeks in haste
The person Of has son-in-Iaw, and that,
having cast far from hIm the sandal or
shoe-as the case may be--he will new
er resume il for offensive purposes.
With the Substitution, for reasons al
ready mention. OF the comparatively
hight female shoe for The heavy mascu.
lIne boot Of the middle ages, the mean
ing Of the custom was soon forgotten.
People assumed that in some vague
way the flying shoe brought good luck
70 the welded pair. The aDtiquarisns,
when investigating the custom have
forgotten that originally only the pater-
nal sandal was thrown, and instead OF
inquiring why the Roman father threw
his sandal, have tried TO End v hy The
modern father, mother, sister, or friend
OF the family throws al sorts Of shoes.
OF course, they have failed. as all sci
eniific inquIrers must TAIL who do not
first Of ali reduce. the equation which
they are investigating 10 its simplest
terms.
II is a question whether Il Is worth
while 20 keep up q custom concerning
the meaning OF which such profound az
norance prevails. There is az least one
man--colored gentleman, Knoxville,
Tenn.-who is decidedly opposed 70
shoe-throwing.
On the occasion Of bis recent mar
riage. spare shoe belonging 20 the bride
was thrown at the carriage IN which
she, her husband, her married sister,
and three children were seated. The
shoe, which was fifteen. and one OF enor-
nous weight. struck the bridegroom on
the nose, glanced iron that slight eleva-
ton and biz the BRIDE in the eve, aud,
pursuing is devastating career, smoie
the three children with terrific force.
The indignant bridegroom threw down
the reins, rpTang from the wagon, and,
drawing large and heavy whilewssli