Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-02-14
NORWEGIAN BRIDES.
The Peculiar Costumes Worn by Them on
Their Marriage Day.

Their Marriage Day.
On the day in which my visit to Odd
came to an end l had a glimpse. if no
of a wedding itself, at least of the ar
rival of the bridal party. Along TIL
ford came a large boat pulled by sil
stout oarsmen, and making its wa.
through the water in a very differen
style from the crawling pace customar.
to Norwegian boats on ordinary occa
sions. AS it drew nearer we could SEE
that. besides the plainly-clad men ano
the white-capped women, there were
two brides on board. The whole vii
lage, needless to say, turned out to see
the sight, and pretty scene was formed
by the groups of women and girls, theiI
white caps and scarlet bodices shining
in the sun. As l stood among the
crowd and noticed their detail of dress,
l was struck with the neatness and
finish of it all, and the care which is
evidently bestowed on small details.
One old dame wore the usual dark
| gown, but the sleeves were relieved
with the neatest pea-green cuffs, sewn
to the dress with indescribable care
and finish. The close black cap she
wore was edged with a piping of yell
| low, and beneath was a shrewd, kindly
face. The green dye, which reappears
on various articles of clothing, but
which, also, is said to be going out of
| fashion, Is made from kind of "stags-
horn moss, which grows freely on the
hillsides.
The two brides and their friends are
handed out by the boatmen. and then.
with some show OF fuss and impor-
tance, there are lifted out of the boat
sundry odd-looking boxes. whose pur-
pose and contents | was at a loss to
divine. Then the whole party stands
still solemnly, each bridegroom having
his bride on his arm, and the fiddler
faces them and strikes up tune. He
beats his foot on the ground and scrapes
away at his curious instrument, kind
known as the "Hardanger violin" and
reels out lively Norwegian tunes They
were strange airs to me. but imagine
they were "halings," or, perhaps,
marches. | do not know why this
pause was made; perhaps to give time
to the clergyman, who was expected
every moment by the steamer, the
steamer which unfortunately was to
carry me and my friends away. How
ever, the pause gave me an opportunity
of noticing the brides and their dresses
They both wore the huge, ungainly
crown. which is to the Norwegian bride
what the wreath Of orange blossoms is
to her American sister The dark blue
skirt was for this occasion replaced by
one of bright scarlet, embroidered with
bold pattern in wool near the hem.
The full white shirt remained as usual,
but the bodice was a mass of bead
work. while the belt was made of mas
sive links of silver. Large silver Or
naments dangled from the side of the
crown, but whether affixed to the crown
or to the ears | could not tell; n large
silver brooch was worn at the throat.
and each bride had fine muslin
apron with pretty piece of needle
work let in. after the Norwe-
gian fashion, near the hem. The pat
terms of this work. which is generally
crochet, are remarkably good, and the
crochet washes admirably. The brides
wore their hair hanging down their
backs, and one officious bridesmaid |
noticed taking great pains to prevent
the brides locks from being blown
about by the wind. ! looked at their
faces. but in this instance there was
little to admire.
One was young. but the other
was fairly advanced; in fine, neither
could be called pretty. l imagine that
marriages in Norway have often to be
postponed for long time until va
cant farm or homestead falls to the
turn OF the young people. OF the
bridegrooms there is little to be said.
They were plain, honest-looking fell
lows, dressed almost exactly like our
sailors. except for broad, soft, wide
awake hat. The kneebreeches fastened
with silver buttons, formerly worn il.
the country are fast disappearing from
the peasants costumes, and plain blue
coat, jacket and trousers are now GEN
orally worn, The men look exactly
IKE Englishmen of the northern coun-
ties with their fair hair. and, as we
should say, Saxon cast of features. But
now the procession begins to move.
The fiddler leads the way. still playing.
and the bridal party sets out on its |
way to the church. And Mt the same |
time the whistle of the steamer is heard |
and the vessel steams up to the short |
quay. which is all that is needed on the |
steep shores of the ford. The clergy |
mana tall, fine looking man-steps
on the boat, and we must perforce step |
on, and so we see no more of the we'd
ding ceremony. They will dance the
"haling' merrily tonight, we are
told. Formerly they kept the revels
up for three nights. but now these fes-
uvities are cut short, and one night is
considered enough, Domestic Mo,athlv.
California has some big orchards,
and the largest is in the Suisun valley.
and is owned by A. +, Hatch. president
Of the California Fruit Union. Mr..
Hatch has POO acres in pear trees, 100
in peaches, 40 in apricots, 10 in nectar
ines. 2lo in almonds, 40 in cherries. 100
in plums and prunes, besides 40 acres
Of currants and gooseberries and
of lemon and orange trees.
Of these acres, 800 bore fruit this sea-
son to the amount of 1000 tons, which