The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-08

ceremony all return O. tte
mer home for a meal. ftF #zf4 ~
bridegroom being steated sh i.s ~
"fedthed chairs between the afHae
Here my observation cease. s
saw the happy couple no more asfa4
lelt the church, but was told of vi
ioiioWed. The great meal was com
posed of various sorts of sausaaes.
meats and beer, the latter being served
from pair of jugs that were great
helrlooms The feast closed with the
pi1de walking over the table and all
al midnight proceeded amid songs to
the village inn. Here in the largest
hall the bride and bridegroom seated in
the middle back to back and around
them moved in pairs the groomsmen
and bridesmaids The BRIDES wreath
was then tossed into the all, and the
bridesmaid who caught ii was believed
to be the next bride. A grand dance
was then inaugurated, in which tho
bridegroom was not permitted to par
tlcipate, but the bride danced with
edch of her guests. Shortly after mid
night the newly welded couple we1.s
escorted nome, but the dancing at the
INN continued until morning
passed Glaubers house the follow
ing afternoon as | was quitting Burg
Wheh saw the same people whom I
had observed at the wedding in the
church gathering for another supper.
~ seems that on the morning fol-
lowing the bridal dance at the inn q
is customary for the guests 10 cali az
tne pride old home to partake of a
uihhef This meal consists of boiled
peer with sauce of horse radish. roast
peei' etc. but the sweets are the most
ODD, comprising bacon and svrun az.
eahe served with linseed oil After
the meal a plate of salt Is nassaa
around Tor collection for the cooix
anu another containing water ana a
ounch OF straw for the dish washer.
me briaal presents are then displayed
and while the groom and bride aro
bidding friends good-bv the nresaa,,
are then packed up and taken win ~
ne"iy Weds IN boat to the groom.s
nome where supper is partaken or
II was the preparation for this sumner
,at ,hat observed as | passed Glauber's
If tie marriage ceremonies arc nec,,,a.
the funeral rites of the Wends aro n,ara
50. during the evening previous IN tha
Hlefment the coffin is kept omen and ia
surfouhded by as many candles as the
deceased had lived years and at ti,e IN
nei al an the female relatives sit envelop-
Ell III white sheets so that only their aves
ana hands are visible. The school teach
er or the vicinity usually delivers an ad-
uress ana the young girls of the neigh
porHood sing the hymns. When the cof
IN IS carried out. IL the deceased had
peen the head of the house. the bees ana
catue Wmeh he previously had whis-
pered INTO their ears the death of their
master, are now told that they must
OBEY their new lord. Immediately after
the demise all the windows of the house
are thrown open so that the soul NAV bs
laeintated In its upward flight. The truss
upon which the coffin has rested Is at
once turned over to prevent any one Sit
tins upon it inadvertently and thus being
the next TO die. All of the surviving
relatives are named in the funeral sery-
ice SO that the grave may be prevented
IRON falling in. A small meal before and
a bounteous repast after the funeral are
always partaken of so that Wend- Land
may be deemed a land of many meals.
| was passing through the most pic-
turesque section of the Mark and as my
boat glided noiselessly through long and
densely shaded reaches l drank in the
beauty of the scene and listened to the
story and legends of the various localities
through which we were moving W hen
the sun sank al the end of the waterv
track, the scene became more romantic
ana the stories grew more wierd. | heard
how in the former wilderness of the
Lausitz the Wends found an impregnable
refuge in the defense of their religion and
their nationality; how the labyrinth of
bogs and impenerable thickets thwarted
the advance of the Saxon heavy cavalry
who were fighting the Poles show the
place afforded and asylum for refugees
during the Thirty Years War and a de-
pository for their effects and how under
the deep shades of the venerable oaks
upon which l gazed rose the grotesqus
figures of the Wendish gods in DAYS long
gone.
When I again reached Berlin l felt as
though / had come from another world
and L have never forgotten nor ceased
to cherish those strange stories of Wend-
Land which heard told in the twilight.