Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-11

essaries Of life. according to his state and
abilities"
Then. following the usual questions" the
legal marriage terminates in q great sign
a $50 bill for the poor of the ward, takes
the girl-back to her mother!
They are not yet married In the eyes Of
society. I have seen a nice girls mother
swell up with hot indignation when guests
at the luncheon addressed the young thing
as Madame"
''Mademoiselle. If you pleasev' snapped
the mother, they have not passed by the
church yeti" Overnight she is maiden
bride.
The Ceremony at the Church.
1t is ;ong-drawn-out glory. with car
pets. candles, flowers and Swiss in blue
velvet, knee breaches. white stockings, gold
lace. cooked hats. pounding the church floor
with their halberds.
The girls father leads her: the groom has
his mother, and the father Of the groom ac-
companies the mother OF the bride, while
the organist. assisted by harps. If not a
whole orchestra. tears off Bach's Prelude"
The Swiss (verger). tells them what to do,
kneei, rise, take the candle The groom
when he places the ring on, pushes it below
the second joint with Observation-Disclosures
his wife will not turn out obedient. Also he
must see that she does not get entangled in
her train. Roll, music! the bride Is in the
sacristy weeping with her mother, let US
go and cheer her up.
If you think that all those carriages are
just to take folks to the wedding break
fast you are mistaken. Really fashionable
folks have given it up; but Paris streets in
summer time are still gay with these won
derful professionalism the upper middle
class, and all below 1t cling to the ballade
tenaciOusiy!
The guests pile into the carriages. The
bridal party leads. Houp-la! They go ca
reering through the avenues of Paris. every
one smiles on them. many call out to them,
traffic stops, the mother sniffies, but Is
proud the father swells up-they are get
ting nothing less than the benediction Of
Paris!
Houp-la! the procession rolls into the
Bos. At the end Of forest avenue there
is a waterfall. Behind the waterfall there
is a path. And in the path there is a tiny
pool.
The procession stops. The guests pile out.
The bridal party leads the way.
At the Waterfall. =
Look, the bride Is going back. behind the
waterfall! The young man holds her tight.
she must not sip in what she has to do! :
The guests all follow. Smack! smack! II
sounds like many cows when they pull their
feet out Of the mud. but 1t Is honest kiss
ing, every one Is kissing behind the white
veil of falling water-while the bride hunts
the little pool with her white sdppered foot.
Why does she hunt the pool? To dab her
foot into it. Why does she dab thus: Thus
she will be prolific 1t Is Partisan belief
and custom dating back before the Chris
tan era. One-time bishops Numbered
against it. as a pagan superstition. Now
they smile ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1t shows
reverence for old tradition!
Beside the cascade there Is swell res
taurant, Phiander! But that Is nothing,
there are restaurants all over Paris. Some
lob wedding breakfasts for the poor, some
furnish wedding banquets for the we'll
to-do.
In every case 1t is loud and gay event.
The conversation sparkles before the cham
paene and explodes after 1t. The poet OF
the family reads his verses. Every one must
make a speech or sing song-even the
bride who, like a girl Of spirit, lifts her
glass and trills out bravery!
Corks pop. A pandemonium of happiness
let's itself loose-until a small boy, instruct
ed for the office, crawls beneath the table
and attacks the brides left leg.
He is hunting for her garter, special
garter made of ribbons. How she squeais
and wriggles! When the small boy gets
what he Is after 1t is taken from him and
cut into little pieces.
Each guest pins his bit of ribbon In his
buttonhole 1t Is the French Order of the
Garter-Honi soft qui NAL pense!
STERLING HELLO.