The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-04-14
FRENCH MARRIAGES.
MOT OFTEN THE RESULT OF
NATURAL SELECTIONS,
Counting In France-Life1ong Prepara-
tion as to Clothes, but Not Much
Love-Making - The Brides Mother
Frequently Stands in the Way.

Frequently Stands In the Way.
In France the preparing of girls
trousseau begins almost as soon as she
is born. Year by year the drawers Of
one armoire after another are filled
with beautifully made garments, and
the work does not stop when she has
come to young WOmanhoOd and no
suitable lover has yet been found.
An American woman who has been
living in French family tells of the
exquisite underclothing which the
daughter of the family has laid away
against the day of her marriage. She
is Is years old, so that the aecumu-
lation has grown to great proportions.
There are from twelve to fourteen
dozens Of everything that girl can
use, and every piece is made through
out by hand, with the daintiest needle
work one could imagine. All the girls
life the mother has been collecting
rare lace, cluny, valenciennes and fine
torchon, and these have been used to
trim the garments, many of which are
made of linen as fine as that of costly
handkerchiefs. The hand-embroidered
garments were made by the sisters in
one of the French converts famous for
such work. Besides all the cambria
and linen underwear, there are dozen
silk petticOats, fourteen dozen hand
kerchiefs and other things in proper
tion.
One reason for the girls having
reached the mature age of Is and re-
naming unmarried lies in the peculiar
form of the contract which the mother
insists shall be drawn up when her
daughter is handed over to a husband.
She herself possessed a large estate,
a great part of which was dissipated
by her husband. Her daughters lot,
she insists, shall not pass into her hus-
bands absolute control.
A French husband of the most de-
sired kinds not easily obtained under
such restrictions. Only once has the
girl had a prospect Of marriage. That
was while the American was there,
and great was the furry in the house
hold in consequence. A young man
had had talk with "papa," he was
coming to call, mademoiselle remained
discreetly in her room, madame was
dressed in her tightest stays and her
most becoming costume While they
awaited the young mans coming
madame found herself too nervous to
sit still. Let us play cards. she
cried. Il must do something. I can't
bear this" Presently the bell rang,
there was grand commotion, but in
stead OF card telegram was handed
to madame. She withdrew and in
few minutes returned in comfortable
semi-negligee costume. "Let us play
cards" she said again, but this time
with no hint of excitement in her
tones. The girls lover had not come,
but the matter was not mentioned
again. Meanwhile her trousseau con-
tinues to grow, and she never ceases
to plan for a married life as a we'll
brought-up French girl with a COM
Portable little dot always does. Only
once has she been on the street unat-
tended, and that was an occasion al
most as exciting as the one when a.
lover was expected. Mamma needed
something from one of the great shops
and could not 60. Her daughter trem-
blingly offered and was permitted to
perform the errand. She wrapped her
mead In thick wells, cab took her
from her door, at the shop she hurried
to counter, was served and got back
again without being detected. "How
fortunate!" exclaimed mother and
daughter at the close of the adventure,
suppose anyone had seen you!" a
: thought which caused both to shudder
fearfully. -
The girl has brother over whose
affairs the mother exercises a vigilance
almost equal to that exerted over her
daughters affairs. He, too, has a
splendid equipment of fine raiment
ready for his use when he shall enter
the holy state of matrimony, and he
will come into a nice property, but 1t
8 Is not supposed 5he ca4 marry a girl
unless she has good sized dot. He is
about two years older than Antoinette.
and decided one day that he would
marry his sisters most intimate friend.
AS she was a girl Of good family and
would have comfortable dowry, this
decision was thoroughly satisfactory to
I his family, and the proposal prom pity
was, conveyed by his mother to the
d young woman's father, who acknowl-
edged the. honor in fitting terms, and
! begged to call upon madame the follow
& ing day with his answer. On this oc-
J. casion he did not fail to repeat how
much honored he felt by the. proposal
of the day before, but regretted that
Z it was impossible to accept it because
I of the necessity Of madame's honored
son spending so much time on his re-
mote country estates. They could not
endure SO much separation from. their