The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-26
THE SEASON OF WEDDINGS.
The Tendency of Lovers to Marry in Holt
day Times.


day Times.
A conjunction of singular circumstances ia
vored an clipping couple fifteen years ago. The
circumstances, and, no doubt, the lovers, began
week before to lead up to the climax. One of
the finest and most substantial railroad and
wagon bridges spanning the Ohio river had been
finished. A day for testing had been selected,
but something occurred and the trial trip over
the bridge was postponed. This was done time
and again, until day in early spring the test
was accomplished. The double header train of
stone-ladened fiat-cars and the directors coach,
filled with railroad officials and newspaper men,
ran down into Kentucky The clipping couple,
driving furiously down the pike stationward,
reached the railroad just as the train stopped
From the lover it was learned that his was a
wrath of his sweethearts parents. They
had thrown the pursuing father,
who was armed with shotgun,
off the trail He did not know how long the
old fellow would follow the wrong road, and
that made the lovers uneasy. He had missed
the regular train about half hour 1t was
case for sympathy and the lovers got it, for
there seemed good reason why their desires
should not be fulfilled. The then president OF
one of the largest railroad corporations in the
country extended to the young man and the
prospective bride all the comforts and advan-
tages of getting away from that dangerous To-
cality by using his bridge testing train. A great
deal was made of the young couple on the trip
cityward by the officials and newspaper men,
Within two hours the lovers were married but
they would not have been that day had good fort
une not come to them in the manner of a spe-
cal train, for it was learned afterwards that the
train had not been gone five minutes before the
girls father dashed up to the station.
When lovers are robbed of the control of their
own wishes as to how by whom and when they
shall be married, the festival character of a we'd
ding is gladly foregone. The bare form of legal
ceremony is sufficient rather than have no we'd
ding at all After all. weddings, whether by priest
or magistrate, concern the principals wholly,
though friends and relatives oftentimes take the
burden OF the event upon themselves. To the
bride and groom all days are alike in the first
blush of their welded life. Il is of little &C
count to them whether their union is to be part
of holiday festivities or not, but friends infu-
ence them to make the event worth an ami
versary recurring on red letter day in the cal
eudar. And there are brides, too, who want the
most of their festivals, and hence the days pre-
cedng Thanksgiving and Christmas are all full
of preparation for marriages. Perhaps there
are grooms. ALSO who are particular about the
day on which their weddings take place, but
usually they leave the choice to the bride and
her advisers Thanksgiving and Christmas
take precedence of all other days
for marriages. Nobody, unless they
are forced to do it, ever we'd on the Fourth Of
July, and within later years the days immedi-
ately proceeding and following Lent have been
given over to society events of this kind. The
ordinary groups Of lovers have but little care
about the rigidity of this church season, nor
they particular whether their weddings come be-
fore, during after Lent 1t is all the same to
them, but they are of tho commonalty who never
begin welded life with an expenditure of several
hundred or thousands of dollars on service,
feast costume and the acce ssories OF fuss and
flowers. Cakes and ale are as much to them as
the richest viands the highly talented chef can
set forth for the wedding table, and the ailing
piano is as delicious with the notes of "Sweet
Love, Come to Me-" as the church organ is grand
under finished Interpretation of Mendesohn's
.sWeddng March" A marriage is a marriage TO
the contracting parties, whether its fulhllment
cost many dollars or few.
A few days ago mans sweetheart, not OF the
right kind, the police thought was sent to Jail.
The trial magistrate told him, the lover, that
he could secure her release by marrying her.
He did not accept the responsibility with alac-
rity but thought over it, Late at night he con-
cluded to take the venture, and arousing the
county clerk began to negotiate for license.
This sort OF paper costs 81. 90 in Marion county.
The lover had but one-third the amount, and
wanted credit for the other dollar. Il will pay
you In few days." he pleaded. .If don't
marry her she will have to stay in jail and lay
out her fine of $40, with COSTS" They were
married that night in the Jail, and the girl, not
altogether bad one was released. This was a
wedding that would not wait the coming of a
holiday.
Another fellow, in hurry, had the money to
paw for the license and dollar left. "Can you
tell me of justice of the peace" he asked,
"who will marry me for the last dollar have in
the worldp' He got the information, and the
bride being pretty and the groom industrious, so
his friends said, the justice charged the service
to profit and loss.
The average couple begin married life on about
$500 per year. If they are sensible and thrifty
they will manage to worry along, accumulate
enough to buy q small home, and to keep on
hand SIX seven or eight children until they too
can go out and add to the family income with
their meager earnings. This is not exceptional,
but the instances too few to make IL the
rule, which works otherwise. On $500 per year
the happy bride too often becomes the slatternly
housewife and the husband beer-drinker Tho