The Somerset reporter., 1894-12-13
MARRY IN GERMANY.
BUT IF YOU ARE AMERICANS BE FIRE.
PARED FOR A SIEGE.
Documents of All Kinds and Witnesses
Must he Presented to the Civil Func-
tionary-The Trials of "A Young Couple
of Americans In Berlin.


tionary The Trials of Young Coupi.
of Americans In Berlin.
Ii is often almost impossible for AZ
American II secure the papers necessary
to make a European marriage valid, es
peeially in Germany. The lovers are fire.
nuently Obliged to wait until they can
repair to some less inqui.itiye land,
where a priest or legal fuuetionary will
consent 10 unite them without asking
Iupcrfuous questions. When the COLI
tracing parties are themselves Euro
reans, the formalities are probably for
midable enough, for besides the actual
marriage papers there are settlement
papers and various preliminary doeu-
ments to be drawn up, Bat if ynn are an
American Of course you are a suspicious
character, and you will find il even
doubly difficult to marry the girl Of
your choice You must fr-t prove Your
right to live and breathe and have your
being, and y9ur bride must prove her
right to live and breathe aud have her
being, and your father, AMI Nour moth
or, and your brides father, and your
brides mother must also prove that they
Were born in due time and have lived
irreprOachahly ever after and i'll case
they no longer exercise the functions Of
living breathing and having their be
ing it must he shown THAI they ceased
10 do so in sober and godlike maIner
All this and much more must be set
forth in i quod erat demon strandum
fashion by means Of documents before
you will be allowed to bend your neck
to the conjusal yoke.
The truth Of these remarks was illus
trated few weeks ago in Berlin, when
the happiness Of two young Americans
hung for long time in the balance I'M
til German authorities finally consented
to let them join hands and hearts. The
young man was an Psychologist and
found it necessary to be in Egypt at a
certain time. He hoped to take his bride
with him, but almost up to the last mo-
ment he was uncertain whether he
should have a bride to take For months
he had been trying to bring about this
marriage, but the requirements of the
German law were enough 10 drive even
man accustomed to the complications
of the Tel-el -ch- Manah tablets to de-
spair. The bride had lived formerly on
the other sido Of the world, and as there
existed in the cautious German mind
the possibility that she might have gone
through the marriage ceremony ON some
previous occasion it was necessary to
publish the banns weeks beforehand, not
only in the Berlin papers, but also in
the journals of her native American
town. Both parties were obliged to Sc
cure certificates Of the birth and bap-
tism of themselves and their parents
and to furnish an epitomo of the family
histories down to date There is ru
NOR that testimony was even demanded
as to the number of times certain rela-
tives had been vaccinated and the sue
cess of the operation. Gho young wom-
ans father had died when away from
home, and it was rather di fficult to sat
isfy German authorities as to the man
ner of his taking off. Finally all the
papers arrived, and the couple repaired
one day with their friends and witnesses
to tho Office of the legal functionary i'll
whose hands their happiness reposed.
Tho legal functionary, of course, had
witnesses on his side. The Germans
never transact any business except in
the presence Of witnesses If you quar-
rel with the guard on "A railway train,
he Immediately summons another guard,
30, l., La, Il lint tn
it. They put their two solemn heads to-
gether, shake them at each other and at
you, mako copious notes of tho facts
and finally take themselves off. This
bridal couple and friends wore silently
surveyed by the band Of witnesses.
Then the bride was placed in one chair
and the bridegroom in another at re-
spectful distance. The papers were pro
duced. The bride told all about herself,
and tho bridegroom told all about him
self, and the friends and witnesses told
all about both of them. The mother of
tho bride assured the assembled com
pany that this man was not insidiously
defrauding her Of her daughter. The
company began to breathe more freely.
The bridegroom hcaved IA sigh of relief
Tho tired bride moved in her chair
YEARLY. But the legal functionary was
not going to let them off so easily. He
shook his head over the papers, pursed
up his lips and then turned on the
whole crowd and asked them tiercely for
their passports OF course no one had
such thing about him, so the ladcd
bridegroom had to rush off in "a drosky
10 secure as many as were necessary.
Meantime a German couple appeared.
/ Their papers, of course were all right.
The German bridegroom took possession
of the American bridegroom S vacant
, chair. and the American bride, who, by
this time, was almost III tears, yielded
her seat to the German bride. By tho
time they had been safely launched upon
the sea of married life the passports had
been found and the Americans again
took the chairs and were finally made
man and wife, to the satisfaction of Il
legal functionary, themselves and their
friends.
That wasn't all, Of course. They had
to rush off, after the legal functionary s
fee had been paid, to do honor to the
ordinary convontionalities, array Their :
| selves in festal robes and be marie ,
lsain by minister who spoke the Eng
/ fish tongue, shake hands with their sc
/ friends and catch the first train for
/ Egypt. Berlin Cor New York Sun.
A Simple Remedy.