The Dickinson press., 1889-11-02
THE WEDDING CASKET.
MARRIAGES AND THE PRESENTS
WHICH ACCOMPANIED THEM.

Origin Of the BRIDES Dowry-Pay Wed.
dinGs Which Are Still In yorna in
Some Parts of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Consultations to Prevent Implications.
When men stole their wives without
the formality of considering in the least
the feelings, wishes or preferences of the
ladies concerned, there was no thought
OF presenting the bride with ANYTHING
save the necessary utensils for house.
Keeping and the promise of condign pun.
shmen in case they were not properly
and efficiently used. When, however.
marriage became a contract, and was
recognized as such, the consent of the
bride was an important preliminary, and
was generally secured by gifts, some.
times OF nominal. often of real value.
at first these were made to her father,
as she was regarded as his property,
and soshe was virtually purchased from
him. The mount of tho purchase money
being sometimes fixed after no little
dlckering on both sides, the father ex-
altins the value of the girl and declar.
ing that there never was such a daugh-
ter in the market as his daughter. the
would DO husband calling attention to
her defects and the high price demanded
for her in comparison with other girls of
her age.
AS civilization changed the conditions
of life, the married state became much
more expensive; the wife became a drain
Oh the u of her husband, and
then began to demand that, instead of
paying for their wives, they should re-
ceive some compensation for being will
ing to marry. Thus originated the brides
dowry, on the principle that as marriage
is a contract and the expenses Of q mar
ried man are far greater than those of a
bachelor, the bride should contribute to
the resources of the household. When
neither the bride nor the brides father
was ablc to provide her dowry, it was
sometimes raised by contributions from
friends, and the convenience of this
method commended it to more than one
nation at about the same time. In sew
eral country districts of Germany pay
weddings are still in vogue, entertain
ment for man and beast being provided,
and the guests paying, as at a hotel, for
what they had received, the sums thus
raised constituting a fund for the young
couple. In Illyria, at the conclusion of
the wedding feast, a row of tubs is placed
before the door and into these the we'd
ding guests cast their presents Just pre-
vious to departure. In Wales the same
way.
In every Welsh ~neighborhood, until
almost tho middle of the present century,
there was a functionary known as the
bidder. The duty of this important off
cial was to give notice of an approach
ing marriage, which he did by peram-
bulating the n~cighborhood and surround
ing country announcing the festivities,
inviting everybody to attend, and stating
in pleasant doggerel rhymes the impor-
tant people who would be present, the
merits of the groom, the beauty and
graccs of tho bride, and the abundance
and dclicacy Of the viands that would be
placed before the guests. Ho also served
notice OF all persons indebted in we'd
ding gifts to the groom and bride or to
their parents to pay up at once, the
meaning of which peculiar dun will be
apparent in the light of the fact that, on
previous occasions, the parents of the
pair have contributed to the household
effects of half the neighborhood, and
naturally desire a return.
On h eday Of the wedding the presents
are laid out in rows on tables, and an
%auctioneer, paid for the purpose, attends
and values at n cash rate everything that
has been presented. Receipts in due
form are given, and in case the gift is
not the payment Of q debt similarly in
CURED, a return of similar value is ex-
pected when q marriage takes place in
the family of the donor. By this plan
the drain on u of families for
wedding presents is, in om measure,
made good by a return, for among the
Welsh the same kind of article is, if pos
sible, returned when payment is request
ed, so that ho who gives a pickle dish
receives a pickle dish, and to prevent a
multiplicity of pickle dishes n consulta-
ton of neighbors is generally held, at
which tho gifts to be made are deter
mined.
Among the wedding presents, how
ever, there is often one which, from its
popularity, is observable. 1t is a gift
from the groom to the bride, and is in
the form Of a small box, to contain such
little trinkets as she may have. Once it
was an invariable accompaniment of a
wedding, but, like the bidding and the
bidder, it is now falling into disuse, and
is moro rarely seen than even in the
middle Of the present century. But
three or four hundred years ago the
wedding casket was as important an &C.
cessory to the ceremony rs the ring.
During the middle ages there were
among the kings and noblemen of Eu-
rope two kinds of marriages-the one in
which tho wife shared the honor Of her
husband and her children inherited his
rank and fortune, if he had any, the
other in which he gave his left hand
during the ceremony; his wife was
merely his legalized companion, her
children could not inherit his property
and she herself did not take his name
nor share his rank. The latter marriage
was confirmed the morning after its Gel.
ebration by q gift-the morgengabe-
generally of deeds to property, the doc
up,ents being inc!oscd in a small but
valuable box.
In these days the wedding casket was
for the bridegroom a solemn reality, for
he was expected not only to provide the
casket, but also to fill it with the finest
jewels his means could procure. When
this species of gift was found to be too
much of u tax the jewels were omitted
from the programme, but the box was
retained md presented, usually with a
single pieos Of money inside, as symbolic
of call the worldly goods" with which
the groom, even to the present day, is
supposed to endow his bride.-St. Louis
Globe Democrat
The "Addressee."
The postofice department has recently
coined a word which will probably find
e., -, ;,to <1,o I;o<;op,r;o, t. &, ia