Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/524

 MARRIAGE 500 music ; the guests come arrayed in lovely colours. In the working classes the humble pair make a dav of it, with all their relatives and other guests. The bride, still in her wedding gown and vei], is to be seen in the Bois, at St. Cloud, at Suresnes, at Meudon, or other of the environs of Paris, happy, laughing, full of gaiety, followed by a troop of friends, and enjoying a whole day's holiday in the course of a hard-worked life. Here, in England, the happy pair prefer soUtude after the ceremony. This is one of the many differences in matrimonial customs between ourselves and our blithe neighbours. At a recent military wedding in France, the bridegroom's brother officers surrounded the young couple, and, with drawn swords, formrd a complete circular arch above them. This picturesque ceremony is supposed to bring good luck to the newly-married, if care be taken that the officers stand shoulder to shoulder, forming a complete circle. At another recent marriage, in Calais, the bridegroom delighted the citizens by arriving in a gaily-decorated barrow belonging to a costermonger. A dog was harnessed be- neath it, his best man drew it, and his second groomsman pushed behind. After the wed- ding, both bride and bridegroom drove through the boulevards in this vehicle, and were received with delighted shouts by the entire population. Taxing the Bachelor In France it has been suggested that the bachelor who reaches the age of twenty- nine should be penalised. Having failed in his duty to his country by abstaining from marriage, he is to become subject to extra military service. If he is employed by the State or the municipality, and is still a bachelor at twenty-five, he is to be dis- missed. This seems severe, but the rapidly decreasing birth-rate is a very serious matter all over France. The proposed en- actment is one of the measures that states- men have adopted to counteract it. Ever since the days of Balzac, the mercen- ary fortune-hunter has been a feature of French society. The great novelist sketched him over and over again in his " Comedies." He is young, good-looking, poor, ambitious, fond of luxury, an egoist, and he is to be found even to this day in Paris in scores. He finds out who are the wealthy women, and makes his court first to the young, then, if they will have none of him, to the old and plain. Money is his god, and he sells his youth and good looks to buy it. It is a despicable bargain, but the man 'who makes it does not lose the respect of his fellows as he would in England. How Finland Secures Presents In Finland there is a very practical method of getting handsome presents out of relatives and friends. At a wedding reception the bride and bridegroom are seated in the two places of honour, arrayed in all their splendour, and the bride holds on her knees a sieve, covered with a rich silk shawl. As the guests advance one by one, according to their rank, to congratulate the pair, each guest slips a monetary offering into the sieve. The sum collected is towards the outfit of the bride. The most trying part of the proceedings is, that as each offering is put into the sieve, the name of the donor and the sum given is shouted out in a loud voice by a groomsman standing beside the bride. Truly an astonishing proceeding to the English mind ! Though the Turkish law allows a man four wives, polygamy is rapidly going out of fashion. It is chic to imitate the rest of Europe and practise monogamy. Young Turkey is extremely keen on this point. Turkish women are much better off than Englishwomen in matters concerning pro- perty. At marriage a Turkish lady is en- dowed with a separate estate, over which her husband has no control, and she retains it even alter having been divorced. She can dispose as she wishes of any property that was hers before her marriage, and this is often considerable, as in Turkey daughters inherit equally with sons. A very excellent custom, that ought also to be followed in England, is that in the marriage settlement a stated sum is allowed her for housekeeping expenses, and no one has a right to inquire how it is spent. In many other ways, too, the Turkish law favours women. A husband is obliged to maintain his wife and children according to his means. Should the wife die while her children are under age, their custody is given to the mother's relations, and her own mother has the first right to them. When one realises all this, one perceives that Great Britain, foremost in almost everything else, is really a long way behind the nations in her treatment of her women. The Russian bride is allowed no veil at a Greek church marriage, no gloves, no brides- maids. She stands at the left side of her husband, and is followed by twelve young men ; twelve others follow the bridegroom. The bride is preceded. by a small boy carrying an icon or, sacred image. She is given a taper, and the bridegroom also carries one. These are held aloft during the whole of the proceedings, which include a procession three times round the church. The twelve young men take it in turns to hold a crown over the heads of the happy pair, singing while they do so. The party then retires to the scene of the wedding reception ; champagne is poured out in glasses for every guest, and the clinking of these glasses is an important part of the proceedings. The rule about presents is an inversion of our own. Each guest is given one, the happy pair receiving gifts only from near relatives. The bride usually wears a little jacket made of imitation lace while the service is going on. Real lace is never worn except at royal weddings, on account of the grease from the taper. It is liable to fall over the lace and so to ruin it. To be continued.