The herald., 1897-03-04
ATTACKS OF NERVES At ALTAR
Stories Of Brldeyrooins Who Failed to Meet
Their Marriage Contract

Possibly every man about to marry
experiences a novel inward fiutter when
the critical hour arrives and brings the
altar into sight, but II is not often that
one hears of a prospective husband
whose nerve deserts him to the extent
that he fights shy of the ceremony ut
the last moment. and allows the brid to
leave the church without having
changed her name. Hitches of this
startling kind do. however, now and
then occur. The bridegroom has not
the courage to face the public ordeal.and
the situation becomes both humorous
and dramatic.
A most amusing attack of nerve" OF
this order was witnessed by large
crowd at a country church not long
since The bridegroom was late in ar
rlving, when at length he came abreast
of the church gates, heated and fur
ried, the sight of his white-robed life
partner in the midst of an imposing
party fairly scattered what courage he
had churned for the occasion. He turned
across the country as fast as his shak-
Ing legs would carry him. The crowd
ard a number of his indignant friends
pursued him, he took refuge up trea,
and no remonstrances would induce him
to descend and go through with the cere-
mony. He paid rather dearly for his
cowardice. however, for the Drfde
promptly Tilted him, and walked to the
same church with bolder man rev.
months later.
At another church In the neighpor.
hood a number of people who had
focked to see a popular local couple
made one, were curiously disappointed
When II came to the turn of the bride
groom to give utterance to his vows ne
was found tongue-tied by sheer ner-
vcusness The longer they waited FOR
him to recover the worse he became.
and finally, whAe as ghost, he wheeled
around and ran out of the building. AS
no amount of jeers or encouragemenc
served to induce him to attempt the or.
deal a second time, he perforce remaine1
in single misery.
Plenty of humorous instances have
been recorded where the intended nus
band. brave enough in his wooing, mas
found himself unable to stano anu Do
puplicly married. One gentleman pc.
came so unnerved at the sight OF tho
swelling assembly and the preparations
that he slipped into the vestry ana
locked himself in, until the registrar
lost patience, and the ceremony had to
be abandoned
In another case a missing bridegroom
at home, and sheer force had to be used
by his friends before he could be In
duced to walk to the church. AS 1t
turned out he was too late. The bride
herself felt justified in declining to full
fill her part of the contract with so dihi-
dent a partner.
But perhaps as unique an example
Of what may be termed ALTAR fright"
as any known was one which caused
quite a sensation in a midland town
some years ago: The circumstances
were peculiar enough to bear repett.
ton A young man. standing at the
altar with the future participant of HE
Joys and sorrows, suddenly tainted when
asked to declare his willingness to take
a wife and hadto be carried home In
cab A few weeks later he essayed
to enter the lists of matrimony with
more success; but, strange to say, his
nervousness again reached such pitch
that he swoonsd at precisely the same
point in the proceedings. When, on
third occasion, the same weakness
overcame him as soon as he entered the
church, 1t became evident that his phyU-
ical courage was not equal to the or
deal Whether the bride declined to
look foolish for fourth time, or whether
the ceremony was subsequently per-
formed in private, did not transpire.
The brides, 1t is interesting to note,
do not appear TO suffer from any such
backwardness Their nervousness seems
to be of different order, and 1t ID sell
dom or never that one hears of q case
where a lady has failed to come up to
/, the 'llne" through mere dread of pub
licity.-Happy Thoughts.