The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-10-15
WEDDING SUPERSTITIONS.
Old Saws in Which Scottish People
Have Implicit Faith.


Old Saws in Which Scottish People
Have Implicit Faith.
In the matter of courtships and we'd
dings Scottish people preserve an ex-
traordinary number of peculiar Gus
toms and fanciful superstitions, writes
a correspondent of the Boston Tran
script. 1t is deemed unlucky to alter
the first width of an engagement ring.
Many troths have been broken as a
result. The giving of brooches and
pins by lovers is full of ill conse-
quences. No young man or woman,
in the tender relation, will take a pin
from the other without returning the
same after use. Pins. needles, ETC..
are all emblematic of the cessation OF
friendship and affection. 1t is very
fortunate for the bride to wear ON
borrowed article of apparel at her
wedding. IT swine cross the path OF
the bridal darty before it. it is an
omen of the direst import; but II they
should cross it's path behind the party
it would be a happy augury. A we'd
ding after sunset entails on the bride
a ioyless life, the loss of children and
an early grave. In the south of Scot
land a rainy day for a marriage Is an
unlucky one. The bride is hen
called IA greetin' BRIDE; whereas,
s'Blest is the bride that the sun shines
on To rub shoulders" with h
bride is a sign of speedy marriage; n
first among the unmarried female
friends who succeeds in doing it will
be the first to we'd; and SO | have my
self witnessed scrambles on the part OF
buxom Scotch lasses for precedence
quite closely approaching f~isticuffs.
As q newly married wife first enters
her new home, some elderly person
must throw a cake of shortbread into
the door before her. One securing a
piece of cheese cut with the brides
own hand before she has left the we'd
ding feast is certain to be shortly hap
pily married. And it is everywhere in
Scotland as inauspicious for the
brides mother to be present at a we'd
ding as it is unfortunate in our coun-
try to have the same individual ar
rive to remain at any SUBSEQUENT
period.
The PEOPLES Kitchen.
One of the finest traits of h Wen
nese aristocrat is his untiring charity.
In the year 1872 an association OF 4oO
ladies and noblemen belonging to the
l~oftiest ranks of society was formed
for the purpose of supplying whole
some dinners to the poor at the low
est possible price. Each member gave
a sum of $500 toward the initial out
lay, and with this money the first
s.Volkskuschen Peoples Kitchen) was
opened. Today there are ten of those
in Vienna. and in the course of the
wear food is sold in them to the value
of more than $500, 600. The ladies and
gentlemen who manage this superb
association have done wonders, and
eight or ten ladies make it a point of
being in each kitchen while the din
ners are being served.
ssVolkskuchen" are huge rooms,
with great windows letting in both
sun and air, and provided with oak
tables and benches, which are kept
scrupulously clean. The floor is paved
with marble, and at the lower end of
the hall a wooden counter divides it
from the actual kitchen, where many
cooks are at work preparing the food.
All classes, from poor university
students to ragged-looking tramps,
receive a kindly welcome. Each per-
son approaches the counter and buys
a pasteboard chip, or check, for a din
ner, generally consisting of soup,
beef, vegetables. a sweet, and bread.
This check is delivered to the ladies
in attendance, who serve the portions
on china plates, and hand them to the
hungry customers. The latter carry
their food to the tables, upon which
are placed great jugs of water, to-
gether with drinking mugs of pewter,
and comfortably seated On the
benches, they eat to their hearts
content. The complete dinner,
well cooked and daintily served,
costs four cents, and a break
fast of coffee, bread and butter, and
some kind of stew hat can be OBJ
tanned in the early morning for one
cent. From six to nine in the even
ing supper is served at a cost of two
cents. 1t is generally composed OF
cold meat, soup and pudding. 1t is a
touching sight to watch the lovely and
~aristocratic court beauties of Vienna,
wearing snowy aprons oyer their ele-
giant walking dresses. distribute the
food to the poor ill-fed wretches who
crowd the room. A kind smile OF
word of sympathy always accompan-
les the action, and when a particu-
larly miserable fellow creature APP
proaches the counter 1t often occurs
that one or the other OF these charm
ing ministering angels inquiries into
his or her case, and undertakes to aid
them in their trouble. Every day
over ten thousand persons dine in the
V~olkskuchen, and the marvellously
: low prices at which the food is sold
can only be accounted for by the huge
quantities in which it is bought anc
|, prepared.-Ha7per's Weekly.
Handy to Have Around.
A lady never goes with unmended
gloves, and a dainty woman likes to
have the little belongings that tend tx
make her gloves fresh and new a
pretty as possible; scout of her imag
NATIVE brain has sprung this arrange
ment of thread, needles, scissors anc
member, all prettily grouped and ready
to be fastened on the dainty silk
apron, in the pockets of which are the
~pl0yes that are To receive attention.