Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1894-04-15
WEDDING LORE.
HOW PAST GENERATIONS FAVE CELEBRATED
MARRIAGES
Simple Love Tokens Proudly Woru-Curious
BstrOthal CusiOms in Africa and Scotland.
Lucky and Unlueky Days for Weddings.

and costly jewels are considered worth
offering AZ loves shrine, that the
knights OF old counted the yeriest tribe
q sufficient reward from their lady love
for the prondest deeds Of vslor and
chivalry.
During the reign of Elizabeth, dainty
little handkerchiefs three or four
inches square were In high favor
These were usually embroidered by the
hands of the fair giver or ornamented
with fine gold lace buttons, tassels, and
the like.
Folded so as to display the artistic
workmanship to the best advantage,
they were conspicuouslY placed in the
cap. Ny lady's glove, scarf or ribbon
was also similarly worn, as is widely
chronicled in story and verse. More
popular than any OF these, however,
was the joint ring thus described In Don
l,Sebastian,
| curious artist wrought 'em,
| With Joints so close As not 20 be perceived;
! Yet are they both each others counterpart.
| (her part mad Juan inscribed ana his had
Zayda,)
You know. those names were theirs;
| And in the midst heart,
| Divided in two halves, was placed.
OF curious affiancing customs history
gives many accounts. Parke, in his
travels in the interior OF Africa, gives Il
glimpse of courtship in that remote re-
! gion, where he witnessed al act OF ro-
mantle devotion.
A young Slatee, who was about TO be-
| come a benedict, seated himself one
evening on mat near the door OF his
! house. Ia a few moments 4 young
woman, his selected bride, approached
! him, bearing In her hands calAbash
! containing water. Kneeling by his side
she desired him to battle his hands, and
after he had graciously complied with
her request, with tear OF JOY slittering
| in her eye, she put the vessel TO her lips
and drank the water.
This act is considered, in that part
OF the world, the greatest proof OF fdel-
| ity and love q woman can offer.
Equally curious is practice In vogue
in some parts OF Scotland. There, when
Young man wishes TO pay court TO 3
young woman, instead OF going 10 her
father aud making known his wishes be
proceeds TO public house and coniides
his secret 10 the andlady. This sympa-
| thetic individual at once dispatches q
, messenger for the object Of his atfec-
| tions. The summons is rarely disre-
garded, and when the girl arrives upon
the scene she is entertained In the most
lavish manner the house affords, after
which the details OF the wedding are
decided upon.
In Guernsey An engagement IS almost
as binding as marriage. When a
young man is accepted by the lady Of
his choice the parents give them 4
feast, TO which are invited all their
| friends.
In the course OF the entertainment the
| young woman Is led aroung the room
by her prospective father-in-aw TO re-
ceive congratulations, and the young
man is similarly escorted by his, after
which they exchange rings and other
gifts.
This public announcement over, the
girl must never thereafter, on any &C
count, be seen walking with any one
but her fance while he Is scarcely
allowed TO even so much as glance at
ANYTHING feminine. These cOurtships
are often carried on for years, and II In
the course Of time the Alterations OF
either undergo a change, and the en-
gagement be broken, half OF the prop
erty of the inconsistent one may be
claimed by the other.
OF significance, too, Is the remote an
tiQuity OF nearly all OF our marriage
customs. The use OF the ring and cake
at wedding Is almost as ancient as the
ceremony itself. In an old book. "SWln-
burns Treatise OF Spousais, Is the fol-
! lowing:
THE first inventor OF the ring, rs Is
reported, was one Prometheus. The
workman which made II was TubAl-
| Cain. Aud Tubhl-Cain, by the counsel
OF our first ptrent, Adam, as my author
] lelleth me, gave unto his sou, to this
end, that Herewith he should spouse q
wife like as Abraham delivered unto
| his servants with bracelets and earrings
Of gold.
"The form OF the ring being circular,
that is round and without end, import
eth thus much. that their nuptlal love
and hearty affection should roundly
flow from one TO the other as 10 cir
Gle. and that continually and forever"
From the earliest times the third I'm
ger OF the left hand was the one chosen
TO wear the golden band. because OF q
supposed artery connecting that finger
with the heart
Auciently the wedding cake was usu-
ally broken over the head OF the bride,
and then thrown among the guests TO
be SCRAMBLED" for. Sometimes slices
OF the cake were passed through the
ring nine times, and then distributed
among the friends to be carefully pre-
served to dream upon under the follow
ing conditions
Fast any Friday In the year
| Whsn Venus mounts the starry spheres
| Thfustthls, a. night, 10 piliowOesf
| IA morniDg slBmbers sou viii seen
| T'cnioy your lover ia dream.
bridesmaids have figured at weddings
since the ,time OF the Anglo-SaIons, but
at that period their dutios were some
VIVA, more onerous. IL was then their
esteemed privilege 70 escort The groom
to church, "a fl was that oil the BRIDE
rroommen 10 conduct the bride. 10 40
Old provincial poem telling OF the col
| lier's wedding Is the verse:
Two lusty lads. well dressed and strong,
| stepped out 70 lead the Dride along,
| And two Young mAIds. Of eeual siLs.
As sooH tns bridegroons bAad surprise.
One of the Oldest customs was that OF
| strewlng flowers from the residences oil
the bride and groom to the church, as
mentioned in the following:
( All halle 70 Hymen and bis wedding day.