Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-03-05
CAPE BRETON MARRIAGES.
[IIarper's Magazine tor March

preliminary 10 HldIlldSt' ~ D'Shi at
the beginning: When young man de
cides that he will marry, he often first
builds house and it is no trivial matter
here. where most of the lumber is saNn
be in earnest when he begins his suit
with months of such hard labor-and
that, too, from disnterested motive,
not having the faintest idea, perhaps, as
to who will be the mistress of the house.
We saw a number of such eXpectant
buildings. in all states and of many ages
for some failing to get tenant, stood
without windows or doors. the image of
a desolate and empty heart. John -,
a young man duly prepared and deter
mined to marry, had set out the previous
week with his spokesman to get wife.
He had no particular preference for any
one, but they decided to go first to the
house of Mary -,one of the brightest
girls of the parish, whom he had often
noted. but with whom he had never
spoken. When they entered the house,
hint of their object was given to Mary,
and she retired from the sitting-room.
The spokesman then delivered his speech,
in which he praised the personal quail
ties. the fortune, the social position, OF
his friend, and asked the hand of Mary
for him. As the father had no objection
to the offer, he at once consented to leave
the matter to his daughter. She was
called in and the spokesman conferred
quietly while with her in Il corner, and
she consented to the marriage. The
spokesman then led her out to the mid
die of the floor. and John came from his
corner and took her by the hand; thus
the contract" was accepted. under the
usual penalty of FORGETTING twenty dollars
in case the engagement was broken. The
evening was spent in dancing: but if any
of the deacons had had wind of the affair,
it is probable that they would have come
and changed the festivity into a prayer
meeting.
The young man afterward engaged the
priest to publish the banns for the first
and last time on the following Sabbath.
But Mary had her own plans in all this
she knew that the affair would reach
the ears of Sandy-.for whom she had
Il strong preference, and perhaps bring
him promptly to proposal. Sandy did
come, and the upShot of it was that he
and his father went late on Saturday
night, reused the priest, and had Sandy's
name substituted in the banns for that
of applicant number one.
This new shutling of the cards was com
mon enough, so that it caused but Il pass
ing smile among the friends of the par
ties most Interested. But a certain
young man who heard the bannS went
home in such depression that he asked
his father for ten dollars. When ques-
toned he explained that the girl whom
he had always intended to marry was to
become the bride of Sandy -, and he
was going away to the States. swell.
and why don't We carry her off and marry
her yersel, Malcolm? I'll give we the
upper farm this minute. Go. get yer
brother, see the girl. and bring her home
here. Well keep her safe" Now it hap
pened that Malcolm was the richest of
the three applicants. besides being, | will
suppose for charity's sake, Il good fellow.
Suffice it to say that they brought the
girl home bag and baggage, by stealth,
that Sunday night, and mounted Il guard
that prevented the success of any STRATA
gem on either her pmt or the part of
others, and they were married on the fol-
lowing Tuesday.
These persons were by no means of the
lower ranks the girl was described to me
by an old fisherman as "A "noble-minded
lookin' girl sir; a fine specimen of the
Highland craft" a man is all the more
highly esteemed for such "A feat. The re-
jected fellow does not lose heart; he gen
orally keeps on with his negotiations, day
after day, house after house, until he
finds II partner. An intelligent woman,
ance of worldly interests in these mat
tiers, and the suddenness with which
marriages were very often made, said
that unhappy families are nevertheless
rare among this people.
The domestic life of the couple even to-
day in most of the peasants homes will
be exceedingly primitive; the women will
do the spinning, weaving, and knitting
required by the family; and the man will
make nearly everything needed in the
house and on the farm. \ farm and a
family will require about two hundred
dollars worth of feed. food, and sundries
and this amount represents the average
production of the little farms of Cape
Breton, together with the fishing that
many do at odd times. In the spring,
actual want is sometimes felt by many
families until fishing begins and the cows
give milk once more. But the island is
generally free from paupers.