The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-04-10

qlFF Elstst> --tESL
and prosaic poesy is that line of Tenny.
| son:
an the spring young mans fancy
Lightly turns to thoughts OF love-
! There are young men and maidens
everywhere who entertain all of the
! old-woyld ideas, have faith In ancient
omens, have dread of certain phases Of
| the moon, and who name the day and
date of their nuptials according to
! crude and barbaric precedents. For
| example, one of the most beautiful and
vivacious young ladies in wealthy and
fashionable northwest Washington, who
| is to be married next week, tells a
| story about her engagement which
points moral in matrimonial philoso-
ply. She says: when Mr.. R. asked
me point blank TO name the day, put
my hands on his shoulders, and said:
Monday for wealth,
Tuesday for health.
Wednesday, the best day Of all;
Thursday for crosses.
Friday for losses,
Saturday, no day at all
''He said Wednesday should be tho
day, and thought Tuesday, for health
would be the best, but we finally COM
promised on Monday for wealth. Love
in a cottage without wealth is not de-
SRA BILE nowadays"
So she followed the dictum of that
doggerel of ancient nations; doggereli
soh 1o4c ho o.,-,p
NAL calendar; says Saturday is no day
at all, and makes one shiver for fear of.
the losses and crosses of Thursday and
Friday. That doggerel, strange as it
may seem, is responsible for the selec-,
ton of the first three days Of the week
as the best wedding days all over the
civilized world; and the superstitious
influence of the lines is more weighty
with church people than with our IN
pretentious modern pagans.
Friday is not tabooed by all nations,
although nearly every province is
saturated with the belief that Friday
is the most uplucly day for any VEN,
ture. 1t is hangman's day, and has
been ever since the light from the star
of Bethlehem penetrated the court of
the Roman emperor in the dawn of the
fourth century, and shed thence its re-
fected beams to every corner of the
Roman empire. The day when the
cross bore the Saviour of the world,
and also two criminals, became the day
of punishment and death in all Roman
courts. and until this day it is called
unlucky. Yet, in the superstitious
Scotian country, Friday is regarded as
a good day for weddings or any other
venture.
The better the day the better the
deed" Is an aphorism which does not
day than Sunday. and yet marriages
seldom occur on the Lords day. 1t is
generally believed that Sunday we'd
Gings are expedients which do not meet
with approval of the gods of love or
fortune. There are no flowers, no sup
pers nor other normal features with
the Sunday weddings. They are never
provocative of hearty congratulations.
Society is not religious. Society goes
TO church. but that isanother story. One
may go to church decked in purple and
fine linen, and one may sing in harmo-
ny with the sackbut, psaltery and harp,
and yet not be religious. But society
is consistent with itself and makes no
great blunders. 1t is well known that
society never marries during Lent,
though it is not at all probab bic that the
ancient rhyme:
Marry IN Lent
Live to repent
has anything to do with 1t. Still, it is
a fac. that a society deyotee would
rather wear rue the rest OF her life than
invoke rice shower during the Lenten
season. An old church canon forbade
marriages between Rogation and Whit
Sunday, and another old-time jingle
rhymes some of these church canons
as follows:
Advent marriages doth deny,
But Hillary gives them liberty;
Septuacestna says thee hay,
Eight days from Easter says thee nay.
Rogstion bids thee TO contain,
But Trinity sets thee free again"
The day Of the week upon which the
ma ioritv of the weddings occur is
Wednesday: and that is because that
miserable old doggerel SAYS: -'Wednes-
day, the best day of all But there
are many days throughout the year
that the ancients looked upon as
Ominous for those who entered the
marital state on those dates 4 very
old Scotch folklore writer says: That
day o: the week upon which the I4th
of May happens 10 fail in any year Is
esteemed unlucky through all the re-
nlsinder OF the year. None marry or
begin any business upon IL. None
choose 10 marry in January or May or
80 have their banns proclaimed IN the
end OF one quarter OF the year and 20
marry in the beginning OF the next"
Another tabooed day is -Innoccnts'
day" upon which Herod killed the
2bieS- The Romans never contracted
marriage on the 'i6es" or ''nones" Of
any month. and marriage contracted