The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-09-03
0 MARRIAGE IN NO,.
American Missionary Gives soma.
teresting Information concsrn.
ing Wedding Of NATIVES.

y missionary who has sner,
years in India. and Whose work a,
ent is particularly concerned Win
orphanage conducted under Ams-s.s
auspices in Calcutta. interested a can
psny OK young people in this ei,v :
Gently with an account of the Way M
riages are arranged in India. Sbs :
ferred only TO the marriages betxs.,,
the girls In the ~orphanages ana ~
young Christian men of the neIghho-
hood. says the Brooklyn Eagle. and sa,a
that scarcely a week passes by tha, tba
managers OF the institution are not neil.
toned by some young man for assistance
in obtaining a wife.
"of course we never induce a girl IN
get married if she does not feel N.
clined that way" said the missionary
but the majority of them are perfectly
willing, and oftentimes We are nett.
toned by some of the girls to let them
have the next chance. The choice no.
tween the girls rests with us. not with
the young men, for ii the suitors were
permitted 10 meet The girls al the or
~phanage, and make their W choice
the fairest girl would inevitably he
selected. The Hindu Is not different
from other folks in his appreciation of
beauty, but the prettiest girl might not
be the wife best suited to the Young
man in whose behalf we are working.
so We make the choice, and if the girl
is willing, the young mar is informed Of
the fact. He usually comes to the mr.
phanage accompanied by his nearest
feminine relatives, and, as a general
thing, the preliminaries are soon ar
ranged. The period of engagement does
not last long. and the couple rarely ex-
press any desire to see much Of each
other. There is 10 h~indrance to a rea-
sonable amount OF intercourse, but they
do not are for it, and it is not the Gus
tom of the country. OF course, we never
let a girl marry from our home unless
the man is a Christian. And we make
all the necessary inquiries as to his
character and to his ability to maintain
a wife. Then, too, we have to be care.
full to select one suited to his station in
life-that is whether he is a hill man,
or resides in the city, and is in civil
So far as we have been able
to ascertain. the average of happy mar
that have been contracted in this
way equals that of the average in other
1T is customaryforthe bridegroom in
such marriages TO provide his bride with
her wedding gown ard accessories. We
provide the rest of the outfit, and a
marriage in the orphanage generally
means a gala time for the girls. All
those old enough to understand the
meaning of the ceremony are interest
ed, and the chapel is prettily decorated
with flowers and vines in honor of the
occasion. Sometimes the newly welded
couple make their home with the
yroom's people. but generally they take
possession OF a home of their own, and
his we consider the more satisfactory
arrangement. Girls marry very young
n India, the law permitting a girl to
a bride at II years of age. We
consider 16 a more preferable age, but
n India that is considered quite old. As
matter of fact. a girl who is no we'd
at Is is unlikely to be so unless she
be fancied by some widower,
Who, if he has children, generally pre-
a wife a little older than the aver
.ge."