The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-02-21

this time, not the results OF french
marriage customs, but the customs
themselves,
HOW IT IS DONE.
The usual course with the young
! man is, as We have limited, to first make
up his mind whether he will or will not
get married. This question he will set
tie as rule when he is thirty, or there
about. Then, the question arises, who
are the availables, and amongst these,
which il the most promising, To settle
these matters he must confer with his
friends, and always one OF the CHIEF
points Of inquiry will relate TO financial
matters. The girl being found. the
next thing is to become possessed oil
her-more particularly OF her dowry.
! But this being purely business matter,
il must be attended to in business-like
manner. II there are parents, the ar
rangements are all left to them. II not,
the kindly services OF Others must be
invoked. Perhaps a priest VIII be IN
duced TO mediate, but more frequently
still it is some middle.aged and saga
cious female who acts, And now, with
out ever having spoken to each other
except in the most casual way, the
couple are engaged. In fact, it not
infrequently happens that they ind
themselves betrothed before they have
even met; in somes cases before they
have seen each other.
This is not a cariCature; 1t ia only q
fair representation OF how, in the upper
and middle classes, an engagement" is
effected. What occurs afterwards may
easily be inferred from what we have
previously said on the subject OF court
ing. We can only reiterate that there
is no counting either before the engage
ment or after 1t. The interchanges be.
tween the couple are purely formal, and
always in the presence OF third parties.
After certain probation they may en-
brace at their meetings and parllngs,
but that is all $50 matters 20 on till the
wedding day,
Are there no love matches in France2
Undoubtedly there are, because ii love
laughs at locksmiths, what is TO hinder
him from being equally defiant towards
ridiculous social customs? 1t may even
happen occasionally that the restraints
thrown about young hearts over here
are help to the tender passion rathCr
than hindIanGe for is there not q
proverb about distance lending charm,
and another one about familiarity
breeding contempt AS TO money be.
ing hindrance to affection, few will
suppose that charming girl could be
any less lovable simply beGause she was
rich, or that in game Of hearts q good
sized bank account would be any dsad-
vantage to a decent man. Yes, un-
doubtedly there are love matches in
France, and 1t is equally beyond ques-
ton that many marriages here turn out
happily enoughN 1t can,hardly be said,
however that the customs in vogue are
favorable to such results, and one would
have to be very blind or else very kind
IL he failed to conclude otherwise, after
studying thematter, than that such re-
suits are exceptional.
THe CEREMONIES lag
The only wedding ceremony recog-
nized by French law is that performed
by the civil authorities. In Paris the
knot is tied at the Mayoral Office of one
OF the twenty ACCOMPLISHMENTS Due
notice must be given, ana no end OF
legalformalities must be complied with.
But the marriage itself IS soon over;
that is, the legal part Of ii, for the
mayor, or his assistant, after satisfying
himself that all parties are agreed, sim
ply reads TO them, from government
Il .F hal al
rights and duties, and then tells them
that they twain are one In TACT, this
part OF the business is done up in much
the same style in which our American
justices OF abe peace dispose Of such
cases. But usually, OF course, there is
a religious ceremony,an that takes
longer. Those who haven't much time
to spare so to church directly from the
mayors Office but in other circles the
fashion Ia to climb the ladder OF domes-
tic bliss by easy stages-the legal we'd
ding one day and the religious cere-
mony day or two afterwards.
A distinct popularity OF the invita-.
tions sent out to those whose presence
lie desired at French weddings is that
they are issued in the names OF the
parents on both sides, instead Of by
those Of the bride only; ana still an
other popularity Is that the wedding
ceremony is always signalised by col
lection for the poor. The basket is In
variably passed even at the mayoral
office, and at church, the function is
quite an elaborate one. Usually, it is
tho bridesmaids who attend to it. In
authorization OF this service they pro.
vide themselves with dainty silk bags,
perfect match for tho dresses they
wear, and, of course, their passage
through the aisles affords q raro chance
such as no French girl could regard
with indiferenco-to exhibit for
time, in the best possible light their
charming toilets. After all, though,
the most wonderful things about French
marriages arc tho laws which govern
them, and which seem really, in their
complicated aud oppressive require
ments, to BIO framed less with tho OBJ