The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1890-03-07
A FRIENDS WEDDING.
The Entire Ceremony Took Less Than Ha
an Hours Time.

The Entire Ceremony Took Less Than HAN
an Hours Time.
A short time since had the pleasure
of witnessing Friends wedding in the
old meeting house at the corner of Fiji
teenth and Race streets, Philadelphia
TIC one from New England, where such
affairs are not common, it was indeed
novelty. Upon entering the meeting
house the extreme plainness and sim
plicity of the surroundings attract the
eye of the stranger. Directly in front,
and facing the entrance, are three rows
of unupholstered benches. There is a
gallery extending around three sides of
the building and containing several rows
of benches, each one being much higher
than the preceding one. The massive
pulpit, the customary church organ, the
handsome windows of cathedral glass,
all these are absent, and their absence
tends to give the place a tone foreign to
that of the majority of religious edifices
of to-day. After taking our seats, and
before the wedding party arrive, we
have an opportunity to observe our sur
roundings and the guests who have as
sembled to witness the ceremony. 1t is
evident that the female portion of a
Friends congregation do not come to-
gether to exhibit any new style of head
gear, as their sisters in other denomina-
lions are often charged with doing.
Suddenly the low murmur of voices
ceases, and without any pomp, or being
heralded by the swelling sound of some
famous wedding march, the bride and
groom, preceded by the ushers and fol-
lowed by the bridesmaids and their es-
corts, come slowly up the aisle, and take
their places in the center of the
front row of seats, facing the Friends
who have come to witness the
ceremony. In the second row of seats,
and directly behind the bride and groom,
are seated the nearest relatives of the
contracting parties. All is profound ST.
lence for a short time, then the bride
and groom rise simultaneously and clasp
their right hands, and the groom says:
SIN the presence of the Lord and these
our friends, l take thee, - -, to
be my wife, promising, with divine as
sistance, to be unto thee faithful and
loving husband until death shall separ-
ate u.s." As soon as he has finished, the
bride says, in substance, the same thing,
after which they resume their seats A
table is then brought in and placed be-
fore them by the ushers, on which the
marriage certificate is signed. The GER
tificate is then handed back to the near
est relative of the bride and the table
removed. 1t is necessary that the GER
tificate be signed by the bridesmaids
and groomsmen also. After a short Pc
riod of silence the person holding the
document arises and reads it aloud.
After this reading, it is often customary
to have a sermon preached by some
prominent person. Another period of
| silence then follows, and is closed by
one of the relatives rising and asking
that the guests remain seated until the
bridal party have passed out, which is a
signal for them to do so.
The entire ceremony takes less than
half an hour, and the strange solemnity
of itall, together with the absence Of
clergyman, gives it rather strange ap-
pearance.-Cor. Boston Transcript.