The evening times., 1900-01-22
LOVE ON A BRICK TABLET.
An Inscription of Affection PreserN-
ed I'm the British Museum.

tFrom the ST. Louis Globe-Delnocrat)
The oldest known love letter in the world
is in the British Museum. 1t is proposa!
of marriage for the hand of an Egyptian
princess, and il was written 1900 years
ago. 1t is in the form of an inscribed
brick, and is therefore not only the oldest
but the most substantial love letter in tX-
istence.
The first silver wedding dates back TO the
time of Hugh Capet. Two servants belong
ing to him had grown grey in his service,
a man and woman, and what cou he d.
as a reward? Calling the woman he said:
Your service is great, greater than lis
mans, whose service is great enough. for
the woman always finds work harder tnan
a man, and, therefore, / will give you a
reward. At your age | know of none be-
ter than dowry and a husband. The
dowry IS here-ths farm from this time
forth belongs to you. If this man, who
has worked with you five and twenty years,
is willing to marry you, then the huS Ind
is ready"
Your Majesty" said the old peasant,
how is it possible that we should marry,
having already silver hairs?'
Then ii shall be a silver wedding, and
the king gave the couple silver enough to
keep them in plenty. This soon became
known all over France and raised such en-
twenty five years of married life to cele-
brate a silver wedding.
The practice of the wife assuming the
husbands name at marriage is a Roman
custom, and originated soon after the
Roman occupation. Julia, married TO Pom
pey, became Julia of Pompey." In later
times married women signed their names
in the same manner, but omitted the .'of. >
However, during the sixteenth and sew
enteenth centuries the usage seems doubt
ful, since we find Catharine Parreo signing
herself after she had been twice married.
In Iceland the opposite has always been
the custom There, after marriage. the hus-
band assumes the wife's name.
The word wedding is derived from the
wed, or security. which the Anglo Saxon
bridegroom gave at espousal for the due
performance of his contract This wed was
held by trustees and, in addition to it,
the groom wore an espousal ring. AS for
the wedding ring, it was first designed by
Prometheus according TO tradition, and
fashioned out of adamant and iron by
Tubal Cain. and was given by Adam TO
his son to the end that he herewith should
espouse wife.
Our wedding cake is the remains Of a
custom whereby a Roman bride held in her
left hand three wheat ears, and many CEN
turtles later an English bride wore chaplet
of wheat. The bridesmaids threw grains OF
corn or small bits of cake upon the heads
of the newly married and the guests picked
up the pieces and ate them. The wedding
cake did not come into general use until
the last century, and then composed
OF solid blocks, laid together, iced all
over, so that when the outer crust was
broken over the brides head the cakes
inside fell on the floor and were distrb-
uted among the guests. Bridal favors aIe
Of Danish origin, the true lovers knot hav
ing been first designed by Danish hearts
and derive its designation from the Danish
"truelofa," II plight my troth."
The throwing of the slipper comes from
the custom of a shoe being given by the
father of the bride to the new husband, in
token of transference Of power over her.
the groom lightly tapping the brides head
with it.
The best man is a survivor of the band
of friends who accompanied the sutor in
his wife winning and kept watch for him
over the brides tribe while the lover
sought the opportunity to carry off his
prize. The honeymoon journey is the hur-
ried flight of the husband with the wife
TO escape the vengeance OF the pursuing
tribe. The presents given the bridesmaids
and ushers are simply a relic OF the rough
bribery used by the ancient bridegroom
among his personal friends so that they
would assist in the capture of his chosen
bride when the day arrived on which he
had determined 10 carry her off. In The
fifteenth century a bride-if one OF the
aristocracy-often received twenty rings
from her relatives and six from the bride
groom-two when he became interested in
her, two for the espousal. and two when
they were married.