The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-10

From the Boston Herald.
THE other day 1 heard of a marriage
-r-sts not a score Of miles from Berlin
+-q suburb called Teltow. 1t was no joke,
f-.- tangible reality. and, as a reality,
Is ant 10 be very different from the rO-
mite. But I imagine the mere recital
III he facts will seem TO many readers
t-.robable enough, for it must be remem-
f.r.I that all this is annually taking place
in The Immediate vicinity of Berlin. a city
nj 100000 population, the center and "a
dating point Of the whole German-speak
iu- world.
Here we are. then, in Tetlow, a little
town of 5000 with public
s5u.re and gray, hchen-cov-
. church old as the hills,
t.0 crooked, grass-grown lanes. and ev-
e-vthing buried in trees and gardens and
orchards. This quaint town dates back
t5 musty antiquity. The chronicles tell
us that it was founded by the Slavonic alb
origines about 575 A. d. and that Charlie
mague during the war against the pagan
Slays in this region, camped at Teltow.
The population has long remained sta
tionary for the tiny town lies away from
an railroads and from the march of prog
ress. long while ago Teltow was the
seat of a district court, but the last
Judge who presided there, Prince Hand
Jerry, being very wealthy ana a member
of the highest aristocracy, used all his
influence IN Berlin to have the court
transferred from the stagnant little place
to the nearby capital, where he could
combine business with pleasure. Since
then the last VeSuge or town life has de-
serted TeltOW ana permitted II to drop
into its old, slumberous stage OF semi
existence.
however. once every year the people Of
TeltOW wake up, rub their eyes and be-
come very much alive. That is the time
OF Martini (St. Marines day., at the
beginning of November when geese are
al their Juciest and best, when crops of
every kind are under roof ana the peas
ants have lot OF money which they
don't know what to do with This is the
time of the marriage market. For il is
a market, not a mere fair For a week
the pilgrimage continues from all around,
tar Fellow lies in a thickly populated ag
Ntultural district ana within a radius of
d few miles there are a score Of villages.
The little town. meanwhile, has dOnned
hef nonday ATTIRE. Ihe deal tables ana
the pine noorlng in all these smOke-De-
grimed old houses have been secured and
white sand, as fine as dust, is under foot.
In the wide, low-ceihnged Kitchens of
the inns ana taverns the copper kettles
and tin plates are shining and birch or
pine Wreaths are swaying in the breeze
on the iron hooks outside. Every young
Fellow and every old fellow IS up 10 his
ears in business, and not one who can
scrape a fiddle or blow horn or flute but
must hire out as musician. For there
is dancing during this week of gayety-
dancing everywhere. And now, when all
IS prepared for them, When Sausages are
sizzling in their own fat and pancakes are
frying in the pan, the stream OF rustics
begins to arrive, until by noon the little
town is crowded.
They're not altogether bent on pleas
ure, though, these peasants, in their scar
let vests, with huge silver buttons. over
long coats, with narrow sleeves, boots
that reach up 10 the knees and odd-lOOk-
ing fur caps. Their grown sons and
daughters, the latter rObed in woolens and
calicoes that blind the eye, are with
them, and so are the fatted cattle and
is-gay with little booths, in which are lot
teries and wheels OF fortune gingerbread
and honey cakes. ribbons ana cheap fin
cry, Punch and Judy shows and sleight-
of-hand performances, acrobats and rope
dancers, even tank with a live seal and
a few other specimens of the Wild-beast
family concealed behind a tattered tent,
these staid peasants first attend to bust
ness.
Bargains are not easily made with them,
either, for with the cunning Of the true
rustic they screw up prices for their wares
as soon they see the market is lively.
Hours elapse before buyer and seller are
of accord. But once the money is paid and
slowed away in the capacious leather
pouch, secured by a broad strap around
the waist, the cautious peasant slaps him
self on the belt and is good for any amount
or run lie MES ElmSelI 10 the lIlus WhtIe
he has put up for generation or more,
and nothing is too good for him.
Inside, where the smoke from scores of
long pipes is thick enough to cut with a
knife he sits and drinks beer. wine or
strong liquor. talks cattle, grain, horse
or district politics, plays cards or tries his
wit at making good match for mis- son
or daughter.
And that brings me to the marriage
market at last. The lads and lassies, mind
you, are not marched up in a row, waiting
ar "a hfrrhogH In oct 90 aa.
neither the prospective groom nor bride
Is present The young folk, in fact, are
upstairs in the dance hall, where the shrill
notes Of polka and mazourka are accom-
panied by the stamping of the peasants
boots. But their papas are attending to
the serious business of life for them. There
is nearly always a middleman, an old, ex-
perienced sinner, who knows every man
and woman in the neighborhood, knows
the acres of each peasant owner, and the
cattle belonging to each. as well as the
amount of his savings, to a I. And this
old fellow Ii is who first brings available
parties together and then eggs them on to
further steps. 1t is money, money, money,
from the first to the last, or moneys
worth, which decides the point for or
against. Bid against bid, the value of each
piece of land, the question of mortgage or
no mortgage, the amount of ready cash,
the exact size of the dowry, the number
of heirs-all these things are brought up
and seriously, sometimes heatedly, dis
Cussed.
This is the alpha and omega of the
whole bargain and only after all these
preliminaFies have been settled to mutual
satisfaction does the conversation turn to
the two directly concerned, and then their
physical and moral PROJECTIONS and i'm
Projections are mentioned solely from a
practical point of view. Sentiment there
is none in the whole transaction. The idea
of calling in either the son or the daugh-
ter and asking them whether they are
willing to marry each other or whether
such a thing as affection or its reverse
Is entertained between them, never enters
the minds of these bronzed, sinewy peas
ants Such thing is not to be dreamed
or 1t is "city nonsense" Where an
agreement on all the principal points has
been reached the middleman at once makes
a rough draft of the contract between
the two fathers, in which especially the
cash and other points in the dowry are
accurately set down and witnessed by
mutual friends.
And now at last the son of one and the
daughter of the other are sought for and
q hint is dropped to them. The young
fellow presents the girl with little nose
gay which she at once transfers TO her
'Slrdle, and then they join once more the
crowd of dancers. They're now looked
upon as a couple. After the return home
on the Sunday succeeding the parents of
the young man pay visit to the brides
mouse on leaving the services in the viii
l1Ee church and then the last 1oinfS dis