St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-05
TAKING TOLL FROM A BRIDE.
How the JOvial Youths OF Carni-
ola Enjoy Themselves at a We'd

ola Enjoy Themselves at We'd
ding.
Even in England it has been said that
the wedding day is generally the most
uncomfortable that the bridegroom has
ever known, yet here he is allowed to
escape from publicity and his friends at
an early hour, whereas in CarniOla the
agony is piled up to the utmost, says the
Saturday Review, If stranger marrieS
girl of means and thus takes her from
her village, the youths believe that
they have right to levy toll on her
fortune. This is done in variOvs ways;
we give the most elaborate. A rope, to
which wreathS and flowers are bound,
is Spanned across the road which the
bridal party has to pass. Behind this a
large table with two tiagOns of wine and
numerous glasses is placed. Before the
table young man is seated facing the
direction from which the neWly-married
pair must come. He wears half-mask
and false beard, and has before him the
largest book he can borrow. When the
bride and bridegroom arrive he pretendS
to read from 1t a number of jocOSe re-
marks which have distinct reference
to them, and then propose a riddle con-
tanning an alluSiOn to some event in
their past lives. If the brides father,
who generally attends the couple to the
limits of the village, or, in case he is
not there, the bridegroom. can find the
answer to it, he has a right to propose
one in his turn, and so the contest
goes on until one of the par
ties fails. The masked youth then
reads from his book eulOgy
great loss the village suffers by her re
mOval, and demands toll. A discussion
generally ensues. The young men think
they have right to one form for every
thousand in the brides fortune, but
such sum is very rarely paid, Two
hundred florinS have, however, in late
years been given, and donations of from
ten to eighty are by no means unfre-
quent. When an understanding has
been arrived at, the rope is lowered
and the health of the wedding party
is drunk. Formerly, when rich
villager brought home a wife from
another place the unmarried girls of his
village used to levy similar toll. but
they now rarely insist upon their right
to do so. These customs, of course, af-
ford an opportunity for rustic iests, in
which the laugh does not always re-
main on the side of those who first
started the fun. Thus, in recent case,
tOwnSman married the daughter of
wealthy peasant who was little known
in the country town to which she came.
The young men of the place resolved
to capture her, but the wedding
party were informed of their de-
sign, and the bride lent her dress
and ornaments to friend. who
was taken instead. Wine was drunk
and given away in large quantities, but
no one came to seek the bride, who was
sitting in her full state among the rev.
elers. Suspicious were at last aroused,
and it was found that the wedding party
with the real bride had safely returned
home, so that the young men were left
to pay the reckoning themselves. Many
such stories are told, but they have sell
dom more than local interest. IL may
be added that bride and bridegroom fire.
quently cOnnive at the capture in order
to have an opportunity of entertaining
their friends: indeed. when they are
wealthy, they are considered rather
mean if they do not do SO.