Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/526

 MARRIAGE 502 the doctor when they did. Now, with the telephone beside the bed, she can try to answer their impossible questions as to how long will he be out, when they may expect him, etc., and at least be spared the shivering ten minutes at the hall-door. A doctor's wife must never be ill. He takes it as a slur on his professional skill, and says that it is as bad for a doctor to have a sick person in his house as it would be for a clergyman to have a hardened sinner or an atheist in his ! Should the children be ill. it is said that a doctor's family gets less medical care than that of other people's ; but, happily, this is not always the case. None but his wife knows of the amount of charity he does. No men are more generous with their hard-earned knowledge and money, and not only hardly earned, but hardly paid. For some extraordinary and indefensible reason, the doctor's bill is often the very last to be paid, even by many who are regular enough in discharging their debts of other kinds. There is injustice of a par- ticular sort in this. The doctor summoned is expected to lose not a moment in making his visit, but it is he who has to wait months and months for his money, and on his wife falls a great part of the consequent in- convenience. It is a point of honour with her to keep strict silence on every matter connected with her husband's patients ; never to allude to anything professional. It is not always easy to appear quite ignorant of some matter when listening to the marvellous theories and ridiculous suggestions made about it, while knowing the facts perfectly. These are some of the disadvantages of having a husband for a doctor. The advantages are not so obvious. The chief one lies in the growth of character involved in being the helpmate of a man whose profession is the service of humanity. WEDDIMG^DAY Continued iroin pa^t '<j. Part J By LYDIA O'SHEA The Bride's Favours — Colours to be Avoided— In Edward Chicken's poem, " The Collier's Wedding," we read of : " The blithesome, bucksome country maids. With knots of ribands at tiieir heads, And pinners flut'ring in the wind. That fan before and toss behind." And of the groomsmen on the same occa- sion : " Like streamers in the painted sky, At every breast the favours fly." The chief bridesmaid often spent hours in worrying perplexity over her choice of these ribands, until custom decreed the following for the bride's favours : red, peach colour, and orange-tawny ; for the knots and streamers, flame colour, straw colour (for plenty), peach colour, grass-green, and milk- white ; and perfect yellow (honour and joy) for the garters. Gold colour was avoided as being too suggestive of avarice, and pale yellow of jealousy ; violet was also prohibited; as it was deemed too significant of religious matters to be suitable for wedding festivities. One particularly picturesque wedding occurred at the close of the seventeenth cen- tury, when Monsieur de Overkerque was united to a daughter of the ducal hous3 of Ormond. This was the period when " favours " were very fashionable, and it is recorded that actually thousands of the bride's favours — of gold, silver, carnation, and white — were publicly worn all about London for several weeks. Rosemary for Remembrance Another and exceedingly dainty form which bride favours occasionally took was Bride Knives not Unlucky— Gloves at Weddings a sprig of rosemary tied with silver lace. Rosemary in this instance was chosen because of its signification, " rosemary for remem- brance," and therefore it was^held as sym- bolical of steadiness and change lessness. In a delightful bridal sermon preached by Dr. Roger Hackett (1607), that eminent divine said : '' The rosemary is for married men, the which by name and nature and continued use man challengeth as belonging properly to himself. It helpeth the brain, strengtheneth the memory, and is very medicinal for the head. It also affects the heart. Let this yos- niarinus, this flower of men, ensign of your wisdom, love, and loyalty, be carried not only in your hands, but in your hearts." From this sentiment arose the gallant custom which decreed that each wedding guest, on pledging the bride and bridegroom in the loving-cup, must dip their sprig of rosemary in the wine before drinking. " Before we divide Our army, let us dip our rosemaries In one rich bowl of sack, to this brave girl, And to the gentleman." Sometimes a bride was led to church by two little pages, their silken sleeves adorned with bride laces and rosemary, and followed by a bevy of pretty girls carrying floral chaplets. If a bride wished to look particu- larly pretty she wore a sweet little cap of lace upon her head, either with or without a coronet of flowers, and sometimes the lace was enriched by a tracery of gold thread. Wedding Scarves Scarves, whic h are now confined to funerals were in former days distributed at weddings