Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-10-13

Tho Financial Havoc Created by
Cupsd's LATHE Dart

Last year there were. according 20
the returns of the registrar general.
ssc.se2 marriages In England and
Wales. says London Tid-Biss The re-
turns from Scotland and Ireland bring
IL up 20 total Of moro than a75.ooo
for the United Kingdom. just con-
slider the amount OF money that must
be spent In connection with 275.ooO
marriages. and the conclusions that
follow have suggested new train of
thought 10 = contributor. IL means.
Ia the trst place. IS many eourtshipS
What II tho usual length of a court
ship? That depcnds-like many other
things But. seeking happy medium.
we may fairly take eighteen months ~
an average. Say one-hah of our sweet
hcsrting couples are 80 situated that
letter writing becomes q necessity.
Say they correspond with each other
only once fortnight. q calculation
which must be far below the mark;
put them on the moderate allowance
Of no more than two sheets of note
paper. and we shall see the dainty col
lection Of sweet nothings amounting
In the mass to q postal revenue of
seo5.ooo. and . yearly stationcr's bill
of 100000. But these are very small
items % think about The jeweler
will come in for q heavier share of the
profits There will be 275. 600 wedding
rings at q guinea apiece, and engage
ment rings which We shall be well
within the line in assessing NJ the
same price. Then there arc the prcs-
ents which the lover viii naturally be-
stow upon the lady Of his choice. rang
ing from the 5000 bracelet OF the
duke 10 the shilling brooch of the
eoster. IL we put them down with the
rings NJ guinea In each case, and
credit them 10 the jcweler again. We
shall have an account Of nearly S.
900. oD0.
Then come the railroad companies.
They must surely reap golden harvest
out of counting. With the inevitable
trips and the travelling Of separated
sweethesrts 20 see one another. we
may safely strike an average OF SIS for
each courtship, which viii give Us
round sum of s7so.0o0. But all these
are only prelifninaries- The greatest
expenditures will como with the we'd
ding day. There Is the trousseau
,more or less costly according 20 cir
cuuistancesl for tho bride. and ut least
. new suit for the bridegroom IL can
bc done cheaply enough. goodness
knows. when bridal dresses are To be
bought secondhand and top hats arc
obtainaSle ION the hire system" But
"a
the best Of their ability. and In the up
per and middle classes. at any rate, the
tailor's share OF the profit Is n large
one. Taking only the moderate sum
Of SIS in each case viii give us total
of nearly 5000. COO. Then there are
wedding cakes aud marriage break
fasts- Eeckon these expenses 81 social
entertainment az only $40 a head. and
We get another half million. 2ss.oo0
wedding fees. licenses and clcrRyman's
charges will amount 20 above s50O. 600.
and as many half crowns 90 pew own
erS viii tot up 90 $4,000 mor,. while
The livery stable mans bill. allowing
only one carriage a. every wedding.
will make s3O0 900 more. Finishing up
the honeymoon We shall find another
toierabie sum IA BE- added % the costs
of mstriInony. Here there will sure
~ b. diversity enough. every stage be-
tween the fsvorites of fortune who
may dit lusurisntly through Europe
for rear and the daily laborer whose
Idea Of bliss Il limited % day OF II
We accept s1s a. . reasonable average
~ ~ many houeymoons Ne have a
final sum Of a million and quarter -
carry On our sccount Tins. without
sp~aking - furnishing and other prep
sratipns for married life and eonaning
eur calculations only sn the expenses
q cernrtship aud the honeymoon. We
shall be within the mark In saying
TIA. the annusl marriage c~nsns Of the
United Kingdom repre- s~nts a total ex-
pentisore Of IS. ooo. eoo. a consideration
which would certainly indicate that
nsr-i@rn 10 By no means bad thing