, 1886-04-29
FUN AT WEDDINGS.
Some of the Grotesque Mistakes That o
cur at NuptiaI Ceremonies.

more luulCTOuS lnclQcntS anu queer
mistakes happen in connection with
weddings or marriages than have ever
noticed in connection with any of my
other work. There are times when
have difficulty in keeping my counte-
nance straight, and of course you
wouldn't Ike to be laughed at by the
minister just as he was about to join
you sOlemnly in wedlock with the lady
you loved. The most trying time
ever had was.when l was young in the
ministry, and when had not such con-
troll over my keen sense of the ludi-
crous as l have since acquired. l was
located at Houlton, Me. One day a
couple drove over from Woodstock,
n. b., and when they arrived in the
village began inquiring for minister.
Some OF the mischief-loving boys got
hold of them, and took them down to
the market, where they were placed on
exhibition and piled with all sorts of
ridiculous questions, to the great
amusement of the crowd, and without
embarrassment to themselves, for they
were too green to appreciate the joke
Finally, after everybody had had his fill
of fun, the bride and groom were
escorted to my house by few of the
most mischieyouS of the crowd. 1t was
all could do to keep from roaring
when they entered, but / felt that I
must maintain my dignity, not only for
the sake of the bride and groom, but
because some OF the young men pres
ent were members of my congregation,
and if l yielded to my feelings then l
might have difficulty in restraining my
self when / faced them from the pulpit.
The woman was the tallest, most awk-
ward, and most fantastic female l ever
saw. She was six feet and two inches
high, and dressed in all the bright
colored toggery she could get on, with
out regard to harmony or style of
make. But one article struck me so
forcibly and was thrust on my atten-
ton so prominently that l forgot all
the other details. She had hand
which came nearly answering the de-
scription !as large as q goldfish and
these were inclosed in a pair of thick
yarn mittens, which made every finger
look as big as a potato. These gloves
were a marvel. They were striped,
red and white, the stripes running
lengthwise the finger, while on the
back of each hand she had worked, in
coarse yarn, what she thought was
some sort of flower, into which she
had wrought every improbable color
that a grotesque imagination could
picture. The man was o diminutive
half-breed, Indian and French, aid he
ho1 l.
were held up by lumberman's leather
belt, fastened with an old, rusty iron
buckle. / managed TO get through the
ceremony, however, and relieved my
feelings after they had gone.
Il remember baShfuI fellow who
came to my house with his girl to get
married. He was so bashful that l
pit.ed him. He was absolutely over
whelmed- paralyzed, l ought to say
He came into the parlor with his hat
on, and did not remove it once, despite
all the hints that his bride and | gave
him. l said all the assuring things L
could, and tried to engage him and his
lady in conversation. but he was so
abashed that he could neither answer
nor move. l limited that he stand be-
side his lady, but he was SO frightened
that he did not understand. Finally,
in despair, l said quietly and privately
to the bride: If you will take your
plase beside the groom l will marry
YOU, and when she approached him it
seemed absolutely to startle him with a
new fright.
Zone young man, who came on the
same errand, was struck with curiosity
u q anfarnI tho hnr,Sn Ha
absolutely ignored his bride, while he
wandered about the parlor. scrutiniz-
ing in a wondering way every picture,
every book, ornament, and piece of
furniture in the room. The bride sat
and blushed, while l tried to call his
attention to the business of the moment,
but he kept on, and it was more than
fifteen minutes before l could get the
two corraled near enough together to
marry them.
Il married q queer couple once, a
short time before l came to Boston.
The man had just entered upon his pro-
fession, which We will call that of a
physician, and had determined upon
his place of settlement. The young
lady, bright, intelligent, weli-edu-
Gated girl, who knew the ways of So
ciety, had made up her mind that she
would marry a doctor, and finally she
had brought matters round in quiet,
womanly way to the point of his asking
for her hand and heart, and of course
she yielded The acquaintance had
been astonishingly brief. They were
hardly acquainted when l was sum-
moned to marry them. He was very
skillful and devoted to his profession,
which he had mastered well for Young
knew less of the ways of the world and
customs of social life than any other
man l ever met. He was on the point
of starting for his new home the very
next day after the marriage, and, with
the utmost unconcern regarding the
proprieties of the occasion, had packed
up all his apparel ready for the journey.
He was stopping at the house of
friend, who, at the last moment, late
in the afternoon, discovered that the
bridegroom did not have a change of
linen TO dress with. Hurried consulta-
tons were had, and his hostess, with
woman's readiness for emergencies.
took the measure of his collar and
waist, went down just as the stores
were about to close, and purchased the
desired articles, which the bridegroom
accepted with the utmost equallimitv
and as if the articles were not of much
consequence anyway. They went
away. and in a few days the bride wrote
letter to one of her friends, IN which
she remarked with charming naivete:
We had Il good. pleasant journey, and
l found my husband to be quite enter
tanning. l think | shall like him first
rate when | get acquainted with him.
The license question often causes
embarrassmentto to couples about to wed.