The St. Mary banner., 1904-09-10
MARRIAGE IN FRANCE.
NO MERE INDIVIDUAL AFFAIR
BUT A FAMILY MATTER.

|
riases-Courtships Unheard Of
Chapc-on With Eaderoicele.
~ he truth is. have no time to get
married., was the reply of a hard
worked French officer to an English
friend rallying him on the subject of
his old bacheloyhOod.
The retort was no mere pleasantly.
In England, alike from the humbl"st
married may be reduced to a minimum
of time, deliberation and expense.
In the case OF the wealthy, a. few
penciled instructions to the family law
yer as to marriage settlements end a
| special license are all the for4u!lries
| absolutely necessary; in the Gaze of
| the middle classes, the brief church
service and an equally brief rsccp-
| ton of friends and relations 2fterwsrI
entail comparatively little outlay, r.2n,
tai or material, on either side.
| In France wedlocli is no mere .nGi-
vidual but q family matter: q kind Ct
| Joint stock affair An EnClisl,man
| marries wife. A Frenchman takes
not only his bride for better, for
| worse, for richer, for poorer, but her
| entire kith and kin, fortunately far
less numerous continScn: than with
us.
Matchmaking in France is a very
delicate process of elimination. ride-
sirable social elements are shut out
The young girl emerging from her al
most cloiStered seclusion, the STRIPPING
having passed his baccalaurate anG his
military service, will be thrown in the
way Of desirable partners, and Of de-
sirable partners only. And as at Tuch
susceptible age falling in love Or what
takes the place of it, is excessively
easy, betrothals ofttimes appear quite
voluntary, an arrangement brought
about, as in England, by the young
people themselves.
Nothing like the free-and-easy COM
panionship of boys and girls. young
men and maidens, enjoyed by Anglo
Saxons, is permissible in France, in
this respect the most eclectic, least
But dances in the winter. croquet
and garden parties, both of English in
PRODUCTION, in summer, afford oppor-
tunities of acquaintance. The seaside
or inland resort. too. is fruitful field
for maternal matchmaking.
Two mothers who have taken their
first communion in company, often a
lifelong tie with Frenchwomen, VIII
arrange to spand the summer holi-
days by the seaside in order that their
sons and daughters may be thrown
together. And when they return home
the usual printed notice will be sent
ont on both sides: Monsieur and Mad
anne A. have the honor to inform
Monsieur and Madame B of the
betrothal Of their daughter Berthe |
with Monsieur Marcel c., and 40
on.
The word "courtship" has no equiv |
alent in the French tongue, because
the thing itself does not exist. Sto-
len tete-a-tetes, even furtive kisses
may. OF course, be indulged In, but
only under a modified chaperonage,
the half-shut eyes of parents or guar
1ians.
No young French lady would be
permitted, for instance, to undertake
cycling expedition with her future
husband. Still less could she take
rain With him for the purpose of visit
ng relations in the country, were the
nf ho1f |
'nly. Love-making begins with the
honeymoon.
For centuries. alike in the humblest
Is well as the highest ranks, matri
nonial settlements have kept family
possessions together in France-and
village notaries.
No sooner was surfdom abolished
han the peasants followed bourgeois
Examples, lowering their daughters
nd securing the interest of their sons
y law. In provincial archives exist
many OF these documents, the ruatic
rides portion consisting Of furniture,
lothes, money and sometimes cattle
r bit of land.
Church ceremonies are expensive af-
airs IN France. weddings. like funer-
Is. being charged for according to
lyle. Those Of the first and second
lass entitle the procession to entry
y the front door OF cathedral or
hurch, to more or less music of the
Ill orchestra, and to carpets laid down
'om porch to altar. Wedding parties
the third division 60 in by side
otrance, and without music or CARPET
'averse the aisle, the charges even
diminished being considerable.
l must say that were | a French
l should bargain for q
edding of the first class at any sacri.
ce. To have the portal of a cathe-
raj thrown wide at the thrice-repeat-
knock Of the beadle's staff, to hear
le wedding march from "Lohengrin" t
aaled from the great organ. to
Zach the altar preceded by that gor-
eous figure in cooked hat. red sash
ush tights, pink silk stockings and
shoes. all the congre-
alton a-titter with admiration-surely