The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1896-10-10
QUEER WEDDINGS.
Freaks Who Have Been Joined in
WedlOck--Many Cases of Mar
riage by Proxy. Welded
by PhOn0graph--Sym-
bOlical Marriages
of India.

The conventional idea of a wedding does
not agree with the tastes of some people
and occasionally very eccentric and some.
times romantic marriage ceremonies are
soemnzed. Men and women entirely OPP,
posite in disposition and character fire.
quently unite in the holy bonds of matri-
mony-sometimes much to their mutual
regret. This peculiar fact, it would seem,
also applies to oddities of human nature
In many of the travelling shows the freaks
who help to draw money from the public
intermarry, and it is not an unusual thing
to find the fat man welded to the skeleton
woman and the tattooed man to the bearded
lady.
Mrs Hannah Battersby, who one time
toured the country as fat woman, was
married to d Pennsylvania man, and it il
stated as curious fact that no sooner were
they married than she began to lose flesh
and he to gain it. His weight increased so
himself as a fat man. An exception to this
rule of contrast, however, was Colonel
Glover, the giant who stood 6 feet I inches
He was welded to Martha Peabody, the
American giantess. Several years ago,
when they appeared in public together,
they used to receive as much as $3.50 a
week.
The Italian consular agent at Cincinnati
performed the most peculiar marriage cere-
mony on record. The groom was well-tc-
do resident of the Ohio city, and his bride
lived in Italy. The contracting parties
were thousands of miles apart when the
wedding was performed, the marriage being
by proxy. The consul filled in a blank
certificate, which he forwarded to authori-
ties in Italy who, in the presence of the
parish priest exhibited it before the bride,
who affixed her signature, accepting it as
her action. The marriage was perfectly
binding.
A very similar ceremony was performed
some time ago. The affair took place by
proxy, and Miss Maple was married by a
clergyman in New York to a man who, at
the time of the marriage lay dying in a
Texas town. The bridegroom was repre-
sented in the ceremony by the brides
cousin, who made the necessary responses
and signatures as his proxy. The two
lovers had been engaged for long time,
and Miss Maple wished to bear the name OF
her betrothed even though she could do Sc
only as a widow.
The all-important ring is sometimes for
gotten, and in more than one case the door
key of the church has had to do duty, but
it is not often that portions of the marriage
service are omitted. In southern town,
however, little while ago, after the party
had left the church, it was discovered that
the clergyman had forgotten the words,
with this ring thee We'd" etc, thus
relieving the bridegroom of the most serious
part of his obligations, and the fair bride
was minus wedding ring. Instead of
sitting down to the breakfast the party
hurried back to the church and were thus
practically married twice in one day.
Cupid ran amuck some years ago among
the old folk Of a Georgia town An old
soldier, - years of age, led to the altar an
aged damsel who had seen - summers.
There were three bridesmaids, whose ages
respectively 60, IS and 20. There were all
spinsters. The best man, who was 10,
brought the combined ayes up to 423 years.
An unusual kind of marriage was cele-
bratcd in New York recently. This was
between a couple both deaf and dumb.
They held prayer books while friend
pointed out the different passages in the
service as they were spoken by the clergy
man, and they made the customary re-
sponses in the deaf and dumb alphabet.
An ingenious couple once conceived the
idea of being married by phonograph. In
the place where the bridegroom resided he
and the minister went over the marriage
service, and he rected the proper response.
into the instrument. The phonograph was
sent to the lady, she willingly supplying
the requisite, 81 will, and 81 do" in the
presence Of her pastor, who then pronounced
the pair united in matrimony. No eXpla.
nation is given of how they got over the
difficulty of the ring.
A well-known anthropologst, in describ
ing various marriage customs, refers to a
strange sort of symbolical marriage which
is supposed to have originated in India. 1t
is marriage with trees, plants, animals
and inanimatG objects. II any one pro-
poses to enter upon Il union which is not in
accordance with traditional ideas, it is be-
leved that i'll luck which rs sure to follow
may be averted by a marriage Of TIN, kind,
the evil consequences being borne by the
object chosen. In various regions a girl
must nos marry before her eldest sister, but
the difficulty is ovcrcome by the eldes;
daughter marrying the btarch OF tree.
| Then the wedding OF the younger ddu"hteI
cafa ha paln lnl p, l.,