The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-04-30
A MEXICAN
MARRIAGE GIFT
Being a Story OF Second.
hand Furniture.
BY F. A. mitchell

lZe tnat all OVer the WOrlu tnese GUS
toms vary. In Europe Il prevailing re-
quirement is that the bride shall fur.
nish IL dowry, eve among the lower
classes. In Russia there are Il mum
Der of singular customs. the most
unique of which is that u woman dc
string to marry a man may 80 TO his
house and remain there till he marries
her. If he puts her u her relatives
will avenge the act as an insult. In
northern Italy the matter Of marriage
is largely in the hands Of brokers. but
after an engagement is broken the
man must pay all damages. In Japan
Il marriage may be contracted for Il
limited period, the man paying down Il
specified sum. which goes to the brides
parents.
In Mexico they have Il custom differ
ent from amy of these. The man pays
all the wedding expenses, including Il
rousseau for the bride. He provides
rhe wedding feast. with plenty of wine.
The most expensive part of his outlay
is furnishing the home.
i'epita Sierra. Spanish girl of Mex
leo City, was a cOquette. She was
very pretty. with her olive and red
complexion aud long. Spanish laSheS.
| which. when she dropped them owe
her flaming dark eyes before the adj
miring gaze Of Il man. rendered her
very attractive. When she was fifteen
ii manageable age in Mexico-she
was wooed by Leandro Ortez, Il
wealthy Ia twenty years her senior.
and, since he was well off. her father
accepted him for her. She had never
had a lover and was not averse to the
wedding till she me- a man nearer her
own age, whom she liked better. The
| wedding outfit had been provided 10y
her fance, and the ceremony was to
take place in Il few days. But this
did not prevent Pepita from breaking
Off the match. Ortez had provided the
| rousseau and the furniture. Being a
gentleman descended from Il Spanish
grandee. he declined to take back the
%trousseau and insisted also on Pepita's
retaining the furniture. Pepita's ia.
Their protested against this. but OrteZ
Overcame his scruples. and the SenOrita
found herself in possession Of all the
fine clothes she would need for some
time and a large stOreroom filed with
elegant furniture.
She did not succeed in catching the
young man who had caused the break
between her and Ortez. 50 the outfit
was not used. She wore the clothes
that had been provided until the fash
ions changed. then gave them to the
poor, but the furniture remained in
storage.
Pepita. though she had many minor
affairs of the heart. did not become en
gagged again till she was twenty: then
she was betrothed to Joaquin Molina.
This time she was very much in love,
Molina. who was full of romance. told
her that he had never loved and never
| could love any one but her. OF curse
Pepita responded that she had never
loved any one but him. All went pleas
antly between the pair until the we'd
ding day was set. Then Joaquin told
lAS btN1NCC lAi' NhS "ouiN ! On
Il day when they would go together
and select the furniture for their HON"
BY this time Peuitl had grown clean
out of childhood and had begun to
look to the pccuniary requirements Of
life. Her tiance was not wealthy. II
her father could do very little for her
in the way Of dowry. There was plnn
ty Of furniture in storage that needed
only to be brought forth and placed III
the house the couple would occupy
Pepita would not be averse to this
Women are accustomed to receive
gifts. and she had no conjunction as
to using what had been provided by
another. But what would Senior Molina
say to doing so?
Molina was very sensitive. If she
told him that she possessed furniture
that had been given her by one whom
she had expected to marry it would
bring up Il matter that might have an
unpleasant effect Oh her present lover
On the other hand. Molina could not nf
ford-so she believed-to provide such
handsome furniture as that already
possessed, and why should money be
thus wasted?
She tried hard to bring herself to
breach the matter to Molina. but dared
not do so. Then it occurred to her to
sell what furniture had been provided.
turning it into money. She made in
quiries as to what she could get for IL
and was surprised to find that although
it was as good as new 1t must he sold
for secondhand furniture and would
not bring 20 per n Of cost.
Pepita would not have been il WON.
IN il she could have consented to this
sacrifice. What Il pity that men We're
so averse to using anything as Il h.ls-
band that had been provided by a
former lover Of his wife's! II she
could arrange to utilize the furniture
a few years after marriage. when their
love had become more practical. the
difficulty might be overcome. But be.
tween lovers on the eve of marriage.
| -hon <hopo - - 80 ~n,,oh uAnk@unnnt In.