Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023267358 Cornell University Library GT 2660.W87 The wedd ng dav in al ages and countrie 3 1924 023 267 358 New and Interesting Books JUST PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. Harper & Brothers will send any of the folhwing Books by Mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States^ on receipt of the price. For an extended list of valitable books in all departments of literature^ see Harper's CATALOGUE, With Classified Index of Contents, which will be sent by Mail on receipt of Five Cents, or it may be obtained gratu- itously on application to the Publishers personally. WALLACE'S MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. The Malay Archipelago : The Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel, 1854-1862. With Studies of Man and Nature. By Alfred Russel Wallace. Witn Ten Maps and Fifty-one Elegant Uhistrations. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $3 50. WOOD'S WEDDING DAY. The Wedding Day in all Ages and Countries. By Edward J. Wood, Author of "The Curiosities of Clocks and Watches from the Earliest Times," and " Giants and Dwarfs." izmo. KATHLEEN. A Novel. By the Author of "Raymond's Heroine." 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. • BARNES'S NOTES ON THE PSALMS. Notes, Critical, Explana- tory, and Practical, on the Book of Psalms. By Albert Barnes, Author of "Notes on the New Testament," "Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity," &c., &c. Complete in Three Volumes. Vols. II. and III. just ready. i2mo, Cloth, $1 so per volume. FLAGG'S EUROPEAN VINEYARDS. Three Seasons in European Vineyards. Treating of Vine-Culture ; Vine Disease and its Cure ; Wine-Making and Wines, Red and White ; Wine-Drinking as affecting Health and Morals. By William J. Flagg. i2mo. Cloth, %x 50. MILES O'REILLY'S POEMS. The Poetical Works of Charles G. Halpine (Miles O'Reilly). Consisting of Odes, Poems, Sonnets, Epics, and Lyrical Efiiisions which have not heretofore been collected together. With a Biographical Sketch and Explanatory Notes. Edited by Robert B. Roosevelt. Portrait on SteeL Crown Svo, Cloth, $2. 50. NEVIUS'S CHINA. China and the Chinese : a General Description of the Country and its Inhabitants ; its Civilization and Form of Government ; its Relidous and Social Institutions ; its Intercourse with other Nations ; and its Pres- ent Condition and Prospects. By the Rev. John L. Nevius, Ten Years a Mis- sionary in China. With a Map and Illustrations, izmo. Cloth, $1 75. ANTHONY TROLLOPE'S LAST NOVELS : " Phineas Finn, the Irish Member. By Anthony Trollope, Author of "Orley Farm," " Small House at Allington," " Can You Forgive Her ?" " Doctor Thome," &c. Illustrated by Millais. Svo, Paper, #1 25 ; Cloth, #1 75. He Knew He was Right By Anthony Trollops. Beautifully Illustrated. Part I. Svo, Paper, 30 cents. ABBOTT'S LIFE OF CHRIST. Jesus of Nazareth: his Life and Teachings ; Founded on the Four Gospels, and Illustrated by Reference to the Manners, Customs, Religious Beliefs, and Political Institutions of his Times. By Lyman Abbott. With Designs by Dor6, De Laroche, Fenn, and others. Crown Svo, Cloth, Beveled Edges, $3 50. New and Interesting Books. SCOTT'S FISHING-BOOK. Fishing in American Waters. By Ge- Nio C. Scott. With 170 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $3 50. ROBINSON'S FOR HER SAKE. For Her Sake. By Frederick W. Robinson, Author of " Carry's Confession," " Mattie : a Stray," " Christie's Faith," "No Man's Friend," "Poor Humanity," &c. With Thirty Illustrations. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents. BALDWIN'S PRE-HISTORIC NATIONS. Pre-Historic Nations; or. Inquiries concerning some of the Great Peoples and Civilizations of Antiquity, and their Probable Relation to a still Older Civilization of the Ethiopians or Cush- ites of Arabia. By John D. Baldwin, Member of the American Oriental Society. i2mo. Cloth, $1 75. CHARLES READE'S NOVELS: It is Never too Late to Mend. A Matter-of-Fact Romance. 8vo, Paper, 35 cents. Griffith Gaunt ; or, Jealousy. FuUy Illustrated. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents. Hard Cash. A Matter-of-Fact Romance. Illustrations. New Edition. 8vo, Pa- per, 35 cents. Lovfr Me Little, Love Me Long. 8vo, Paper, 35 cents. WHYMPER'S ALASKA. Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska, formeriy Russian America— now Ceded to the United States— and in vari- ous other parts of the North Pacific. By Frederick Whymper. With Map and Illustrations. Crown Svo, Cloth, %-z 50. META'S FAITH. A Novel. By the Author of "St. Olave's," "Jeanie's Quiet Life," &c. Svo, Paper, 50 cents. ^ BUFFUM'S NOTES OF TRAVEL. Sights and Sensations in France, Germany, and Switzerland : being Experiences of an American Journalist in Europe. By Edward Gould Buffum, Author of "The Parisians," "Six Months in the Gold Mines," &c. i2mo, Cloth, ;^i 50. LEVER'S THAT BOY OF NORCOTT'S. That Boy of Norcott's. By Charles Lever, Author of "The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly," "Barring- ton," "Maurice Tiemay," "The Daltons," "Charles O'Malley," &c. With Il- lustrations. Svo, Paper, 25 cents. . THE STUDENT'S OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY. The Old Tes- tament History. From the Creation to the Return of the Jews from Captivity. Edited by William Smith, LL.D. With Maps and Woodcuts. Large i2mo. Cloth, %'z 00. Uniform with The Studenfs New Testament Historyy a New Edition of which is Just ready. BREAKING A BUTTERFLY ; or, Blanche Ellerslie's Ending. By the Author of "Guy Livingstone," "Sword and Gown," " Brakespeare," "Sans Merd," "Maurice Derihg," &c. Illustrated. Svo, Paper, 35 cents. BOURNE'S LONDON MERCHANTS. Famous London Merchants. 'A Book for Boys. By R. H. Fox Bourne, Author of " English Merchants," " En- glish Seamen under the Tudors," "A Memoir of Sir Philip Sidney," &c. Illus- trated. i6mo. {In Press.) DE MILLE'S DODGE CLUB. The Dodge Club; or, Italy in 1859. By James De Mille, Author of "Cord and Creese," &c. With One Hundred Illustrations. Svo, Paper, 75 cents. ROOSEVELT'S FIVE ACRES TOO MUCH, Five Acres too Much. ATruthful Elucidation of the Attractions of the Country, and a Careful Consideration of the Question of Profit and Loss as involved in Amateur Farmmg with much Valuable Advice and Instruction to those about purchasing Large or Small Places in the Rural Districts. By Robert B. Roosevelt, Author of " Game Fish of North America," " Superior Fishing," " Game Birds," &c. With Charac- teristic Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1 50. THE WEDDING DAY IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. EDWARD J. WOOD, AUTHOR OF " THE CURIOSITIES OF CLOCKS AND WATCHES FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES," AND "giants AND DWARFS." NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1869. W ^1 10| PREFACE. IT was at one time the custom' in Wales for the intend- ed bride and bridegroom to issue bidding-letters, in the form of newspaper advertisements and circulars, in- viting all . who chose, whether friends or strangers, to come to their marriage, or bidding, as it was called. Each guest was by these letters respectfully asked to con- tribute something towards the expenses of the wedding; and it usually happened that the visitors were many, and the gifts numerous. This Preface may, perhaps, bear an analogy to a bid- ding-letter. All the preparations for our " Wedding Day " have been with some anxiety completed ; the banns have been duly published by Mr. Bentley ; and the " best-men," Dr. Robert Bigsby, John Bullock, Esq., and T. C. Noble, Esq., have rendered their friendly help. It remains only to invite the public, which we now do most cordially. The amount of their individual money contribution is, for the sake of convenience, limited and fixed ; but their gifts of good wishes and hearty friend- ship may be as large as they please. In the words of an old bidding-letter, we can assure them that what- ever sympathy they may give "will be now thankfully received, and gratefully returned in the future." VI PREFACE. Dropping metaphor, and in all seriousness, the Author offers his best thanks to the three before-named friends for many valuable notes on the subject of this book. He also acknowledges his indebtedness for much information to those rich and almost inexhaustible stores of facts and references, Dr. William Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible," and "Dictionary of Greek and Eoman Antiquities," Brand's "Popular Antiquities," by Ellis, and "Notes and Queries " — works which, to use a common form of ex- pression, " should be in every library." The Author has perused with advantage Burder's "Eeligious Ceremo- nies," and M'Lennan's erudite treatise on "Primitive Marriage." March, 1869. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Marriage Instituted. — Monogamy and Polygamy.— Marriage among tlie Primitive Jews. — ^Early Marriage. — Days for Maariage.-^Parental Con- sent. — Betrotlial. — Espousal Gifts. — Hebrew Marriage, a Taking of the Woman. — The Bride's Bath. — ^The^resses of the Bride and Bridegroom. — The Wedding Festivities —Corn Symbol.— Bridal Bower. — Talmud Mar- riages. — ^Divorce. — A Brother's Widow. — Shoe Symbol.^Shoe Tlirowing. — A Modern Jewish Marriage. — The Wedding Girdle. — The Nuptial Cano- py. — Egg Symbol. — ^Wedding Dance.— Evelyn at a Hebrew Marriage. — The Taleth. — Glasses Broken at Hebrew Weddings. — Jewish Betrothal and Wedding Kings. — The Wedding Ring of Joseph and Mary. . . . Page 13 CHAPTER II. Cecrops and Marriage. — Marriage among the Ancient Greeks. — Celibacy In- terdicted. — Parental Authority. — Professional Match-makers.— Betrothal. —Sacrifices to the Gods. — ^Seasons for Marriage. — The Moon and Mar- riage. — Nuptial Bath. — Ivy Symbol. — Leading Home the Bride. — The Arrival at the Bridegroom's House. — The Wedding Feast and its Uses. — The Epithalamium. — Wedding Presents. — Spartan Marriages. — Capture of the Bride. — Condition of Greek Wives. — ^Marriage in Modern Greece. — Nuptial Crown. — Sieve Test of Virtue. — Portion-money Worn on the Bride's Hair. — Albanian Marriages. — ^Eock of Fertility. — Greek Church Mar- riages. — Crowning Roman Marriages. — Of three Kinds. — Symbol of Cap- • ture. — Divorce. — Wife Tax. — ^Betrothal. — Ring Pledges. — Marriage Days and Months. — May Marriages Unlucky. — Dress of the Bride. — Confarrea- tio. — Taking Home the Bride. — Symbols. — Threshold Omens. — Etruscan Marriages. — Syracusan Marriages 29 CHAPTER III. Scythian Marriages. — Lydian Marriages. — Lycian Marriages. — Rhodian Mar- riages. — Parthian Marriages. — Nestorian Marriages.^-Chaldean Marriages. — Fire Custom. — Assj'rian Marriages. — Babylonian Marriages. — Women vni CONTENTS. put up for Sale.— Marriage at Nimroud.— Coins stuck on the Bridegroom's Head.— Egyptian Marriages.-^Copt Marriages.— Moorish Marriages.— Al- gerian Marriages.— Morocco Marriages.— Barbary Marriages.— Arabian Marriages.— Marriage for a Term.— Wives in Common.— Bedouin Mar- riages.— Green Leaf Symbol.— Marriages near Mount Sinai, — Wife-cap- turing.— Wife-escaping. — Marriages by the Medes. — Persian Marriages. — Marriage to the Dead. — Marriage of a Persian Prince. — Caubul Marriages. —Wives lent. — Sabean Marriages. — Marriage in Georgia and Circassia. — Sewing the Couple together. — Sham Fights at Circassian Marriages. — Ar- menian Marriages Page 50 CHAPTER rv. Chinese Marriages. — Destiny. — ^Match-makers. — Fortune-tellers consulted. — Omenj. — Betrothal«Cards. — Food Presents. — Preparations for the Wed- ding. — Cake Omens. — Taking the Bride to the Bridegroom. — Compulsory Marriage. — Japanese Marriages. — Bridal Torches. — Marriages in India. — Hindu Marriage Laws. — Racshasa. — Forms of Marriage. — Brahmin Mar- riages. — Omens. — Sattis. — Marriages at Goa. — At Canara and Kankah. — Among the Konds.^ — Wife-capture. — Malabar Marriages. — ^Marriages of the Nairs. — Banian Marriages. — Marriages at Bannaras. — At the Maldivo Isl- ands and Cambay. — At Ceylon. — Siamese Marriages. — Burmese Marriages. — Bengal Marriages. — Tonquin Marriages. — Neilgherry Marriages. — Wives lent. — Mocha Marriages. — Celebes Marriages. — Amboina Marriages. — Javanese Marriages. — Symbols of Subjection. — Maroon Marriages 71 CHAPTER V. African Marriages. — At SierraLeone. — Affiancing Custom. — Moorish Marriages in Africa.- Infant Betrothal.— Cloth Symbol. — Angola Mamages. — Hot- tentot Marriages. — Loango and Mpongme Marriages. — Karague Marriages. — Uganda Marriages. — Congo Marriages. — E.'t perimental Marriages. — Marriages in Canary Islands. — Fattening for Mamage. — Abyssinian Mar- riages. — Guinea Marriages. — ^Ethiopian Marriages.— Mexican Marriages. — ' Divination. — Fire Symbols. — Peruvian Marriages.— Carib Marriages. — Florida Marriages.— Cuba Marriages.— Brazilian Mamages.— Child Wife. -Stone-piercing.— Guiana Marriages.— Earning {i, Wife.— South American Marriages.— Wives on Trial.— Patagonian Marriages.— North American Marriages.— Tarrying.— Marriage en Chemise.— Ring Signs.— Australian Marriages.— Wife-captuie.— The Trial of Spears 100 CHAPTER VI. Turkish Marriages.— Russian Marriages.— Hop and other Symbols.— Peasants' Marriages on the Caspian and Black Seas.— Marriage Fail-.- Tartar Mar- riages.— Kalmuck Marriages.— Wlfe-capture.—Mongol Marriages.— Mar- CONTENTS. IX riage to the Dead. — Ostiack Maniages. — Toorkoman Mavriages. — Polish Marriages. — Symbolical Bouquet. — Hungarian Marriages. — Marriages at Bosnia. — In Wallaohia and Moldavia. — Scandinavian Marriages. — Swedish and Danish Marriages.-»Superstitions and Charms. — Norwegian Marriages. — A Bryllup. — Icelandic Marriages. — Large Rings. — Finland Marriages. — Health - drinking.— Knife Sign.— The Week of the Breeches. — Kamt- chatkadale Marriages.^— Earning and Capturing a Wife. — Lapland Marria- ges. — Lovers' Wine. — ^Esquimaux Marriages. — Tibet Marriages. — ^Broth- er's Wii'c.— rMarriages among the Dyaks of Borneo Page 121 CHAPTER VII. Gei'man Marriages. — Wife-buying. — The Morgengabe. — Straw Symbols. — Pay Weddings. — Nuptial Medals. — Silver and Golden Weddings. — Mor- ganatic Marriages. — Marriages in Franconia. — Prussian Marriages. — Crockery thrown at Marriages. — Marriage Trees. — Swiss Marriages. — Mar- riages in Holland. — ^Friesland Marriages. — ^The Bride-lifter. — Maniages in France. — Marriages at the Church Door. — Monej' distributed at Marriages.^ — Bride Favors. — Knot-loosing. — Infant Marriages. — ^Nail-parings. — Mar- riage by Proxy. — Marriage under the Gallows. — Marriage Portions in France. — Marriage Brokers. — Brittany Marriages. — Belgium Marria- ges. — A Flouncing in Guernsey. — Italian Marriages. — Roman Catholic Forms in Marriages. — Blessing the Bed. — Betrothal Pottery. — Venetian Marriages. — Genoese Marriages. — ^Marriages at Elba. — At Eagusa. — In Dalmatia. — Liburnian Marriages.— Spanish Marriages. — Wheat and Nut throwing 145 CHAPTER VIIL Irish Marriages. — Wife-seizing. — The Agreement Bottle. — Casting Darts. — .Horsing and Goaling.— Changing Wives.— Lending Wedding Rings. — Scotch Marriages. — Gretna Green. — Banns Superstition. — Unlucky Wed- ding Days. — ^The Threshold. — Money and Shoe throwing. — Winning the Kail.— Creeling the Bridegroom. — The Deasuil. — Highland Weddings. — Bedding the Bride. — Penny Weddings. — Wedding Presents.- Handfast- ing. Under the Apron String, — St. Andrew and Marriages. — Orcadian Marriages. — Manx Marriages 172 . CHAPTER IX. Welsh Marriages. — Biddings. — Bidding Letters.— Purse and Girdle. — Wed- ding Gifts. — Bride Wains. — Bride Ales. — Bride Bushes. — Bride Stakes.— Racing at Welsh Weddings.— Helen's Hunt.— Riding for the Ribbon.— Westmoreland Weddings.— -Bell Inscriptions. — Quintain Sports at Wed- dings. — Bundling. — Chaining. — Sanding. — Marriage Tithes. — ^Money giv- en at Marriages in Wales.— Wife-beating. 1* X CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. Marriage among the Early Christians.— Marriage among the Ancient Britons. —Marriage among the Anglo-Saxons.— Marriage among the Anglo-Nor- mans.— The Power of Feudal Lords over their Wards.— Infant Marriages.— Betrothal Customs.— The Nuptial Kiss.- Breaking Money.— Crooked Nine- pence.— Locks of Hair.— Tokens of Engagement.— Love Pledges.. Page 203 CHAPTER XL Archeology of the Wedding Ring.— First Use of Rings.— Ring Finger.— Be- trothal Rings. — Rings necessary in English Church Marriages. — Objections to the Use of Wedding Rings.— Substitutes for Rings.— Gemmal Rings.— Joint-ring Posies. — Poetical Allusions to the Gemmal. — Examples of Betrothal Rings.- Examples of Wedding Rings.— Royal Rings.— Ring Posies. —Rienzi's Wedding Ring. — Rings given at Weddings. — Rush Rings.— Superstitions attaching to the Wedding Ring. — The Ring and the Cake 217 CHAPTER XII. Prohibited Times jfor Marriage. — Folk-lore on the Subject. — Lucky and Un- lucky Days. — Hours for Marriage. — ^Veils worn at Marriages. — The Care Cloth. — Crowning at Marriages. — Ballad of " I'm to be Married o' Sun- day." — Distribution of Money at Marriages. — ^Money given to Priests. — Nuptial Benediction. — Mass and Communion at Marriages. — ^Tapers at Marriages. — The Nuptial Kiss, — Wine and Sops at Marriages. — Bride- maids and Bridemen. — True-love Knots. — Wedding Favors. — Gloves at Weddings. — The Brides's Garters and the Bridegroom's Points. — Bride Laces. — Wedding Shoes. — Bride Knives. — Bouquets at Weddings. — Orange Blossom. — Herb and Flower Strewing at Weddings. — Rosemary and Bays at Weddings 235 CHAPTER XIII. Music at Weddings, — ^Musical Priest. — ^Dancing at Weddings. — Dancing the Bride to Bed. — Money given to the Po^r at Marriages. — Bedding the Bride and Bridegroom. — The Bride's Pins. — Flinging the Stocking. — Sack Pos- set Drinking.— Benediction Posset. — Sewing up the Bride in the Sheets. The Bride-cake. — Divinations therewith. — Riding for the Bride-cake. Foot-ball at Weddings. — Presents by Masters to Servants at Marriage.— Royal Gifts at Weddings. — Meanness of Pepys 261 CHAPTER XIV. The Banns — Fleet Marriages.- Marriage by Licence.— Marriage during the Commonwealth.— Marriage proclaimed by the Bellman.— Marriage Tax.— CONTENTS. xi Second Marriages. — Persecutions of Persons Twice Married. — Batchers' Serenade, — Instances of frequent Marriages. — ^Marriage Toll. — Brides' Seat. — Parish Clerk's Kesponses. — Wedding Psalm. — Wedding Pies. — Mar- riage Settlements. — Wife Selling and Leasing. — Marriage of the Deaf and Dumb. — Superstitions relating to Marriage. — Hen Drinking. — Shoe Throwing. — The Petting Stone. — ^Marriage Stone. — Bell Custom. — Wed- ding Cards Page 277 Index 291 THE WEDDING DAY IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. CHAPTER I. Marriage Instituted. — Monogamy and Polygamy. — Marriage among the Primitive Jews. — Early Marriage. — Days for Marriage. — Parental Con- sent. — Betrothal. — Espousal Gifts. — Hebrew Maniage, a Taking of the Woman. — The Bride's Bath. — The Dresses of the Bride and Bridegroom. — The Wedding Festivities. — Corn Symbol. — Bridal Bower. — ^Talmud Mar- riages. — ^Divorce. — A Brother's Widow. — Shoe Symbol. — Shoe Throwing.-*- A Modern Jewish Marriage. — The Wedding Girdle. — The Nuptial Cano- py. — ^Egg Symbol. — ^Wedding Dance. — Evelyn at a Hebrew Marriage. — The Taleth. — Glasses Broken at Hebrew Weddings. — Jewish Betrothal and Wedding Rings. — The Wedding Ring of Joseph and Mary. IN" this work will be found a record of the marriage cere- monies, customs, superstitions, and folk-lore of many countries ; but not an exhaustive account of the origin and history of matrimony, nor an elaborate statement of the conditions under which it could or can be legally effected, nor a disquisition upon the religious, social, and domestic relations and duties of a married life. These several mat- ters have so wide a compass, that our volume could not contain even a summary of the treatises which have been already written upon them. Our task has been rather to chronicle in these pages for popular reading the various modes by which marriage has been effected from the earliest times in all nations, and the many curious usages which have attended the weddings of our ancestors. 14 * THE WEDDING DAY The origin of, and the necessity for, marriage seems to be based upon the command given to our first parents in Genesis i. 28 : "Be fruitful, and multiply, and repleaisb the earth." The Jews so understood these words, which they regarded as a solemn precept to, and a strict obligation upon, them. Out of this mere duty to procreate grew the necessity for a binding contract, either religious or civil, or both, whereby a particular man should be united to a par- ticular woman for the expedient purposes of civilized so- ciety. Bolingbroke says that marriage was instituted be- cause it was necessary that parents should know certainly their own respective offspring ; and that as a woman can not doubt whether she is the mother of the child she bears? so a man should have aU the assurance the law can give him that he is the father of the child reputed to havq been begotten by him. Taking this to be the first reason why marriage as a contract was entered into, it is easy to under- stand why certain civil and moral rights, duties, and obliga- tions, should follbw as corollaries to the matrimonial agree- ment. Monogamy was the original law of marriage ; but the unity of the bond soon became impaired by polygamy, which seems to have originated among the Cainites, as we are told in Genesis iv. 19, that Lamech took unto himself two wives. Polygamy afterwards prevailed among the Jews ; but the principle of monogamy was retained even in the practice of polygamy, by a distinction being made between the first wife and the subsequent ones. She was regarded as the chief, and they were little better than con- cubines. Polygamy became common among many people besides the Jews, as we shall have occasion to mention hereafter ; but- it was condemned both by the law of the New Testament and the policy of all prudent states, es- pecially in northern countries. The Hebrews in modern IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 15 times have been monogamists ; but the Sicilian Jews, early in the last century, practiced polygamy, and by reason of that and of their early marriages they rapidly increased. In Leviticus xviii. will be found a table of the prohibit- ed degrees of consanguinity or relationship within which it was declared none should marry. There is no jestriction in the Bible as to the age-when marriage might lawfully be entered into ; but early matrimony is in several places men- tioned with approval. The Jews, in common with other Oriental. people, married when very young; probably be- cause they arrived at the age of puberty at an early period of life. The Talmudists forbade marriage by a male under thirteen years and a day, and by a female under twelve years and a day. The usual age was highei', and generally about eighteen years. The Jews fixed certain days for the respective ceremo- nies of betrothal and marriage ;. thus, the fourth day was appoipted for virgins, and the fifth for widows. Similarly, the more modern Hebrews fixed "Wednesday and Friday for the former, and Thursday for the latter. In the present century Wednesday is generally the day on which the Jew spinsters and bachelors celebrate their marriages, and on the following day a ball concludes the afEair ; but if either of the parties has been previously married, the Sabbath is the day chosen, and%iusic and dancing form- no part of the en- tertainment. The original reason for selecting Wednesday was because the Sanhedrim held its sitting on Thursday, and therefore the newly married man could immediately after his wedding bring his wife before the meeting if he had any groimd of complaint against her. Among the early Hebrews, and the Oriental nations gen- erally, the choice of a bride devolved, not upon the bride- groom himself, but upon his relations, or some friend de- puted by him for the purpose. His wishes, however, were 16 THE WEDDING DAY consulted in the arrangements, and parents made proposals at the instigation of their sons. As a general rule the pro- posal originated with the family of the bridegroom; but occasionally, as in the case of difference of rank, the rule was reversed, and the bride was offered by her father. . The consent of the maiden was sometimes asked ; but this ap- pears to have been subordinate to the previous consent of her father or other relation. The selection of the bride was followed by espousal or betrothal, which was a formal proceeding underta,ken by a friend on the part of the bridegroom, and by the parents on the part of the bride. It was confirmed by oaths, and accompanied with presents from the man to the woman. Thus, a servant on behalf of Isaac, as a preliminary, propi- tiated the favor of Rebekah by presenting her with a mass- ive earring and two bracelets ; he then proceeded to treat with her parents, and, having obtained their consent to the match, he gave her more costly presents, " jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment," and to her mother and brother "precious things" (Genesis xxiv. 22, 53). Such presents as these were described by different names, those to the brides being dowries, and those to the relations gifts. It has been supposed that the dowry was a price paid to the father for the sale of his daughter ; but, although such a payment is made in certain parts of the EAst at the present day, it does not appear to have been made in patriarchal times for a free woman. Occasionally the bride received a portion from her father. Marriage settlements in the mod- ern sense of the term, namely, written documents securing property to the wife, did not come into use until the first Babylonian period ; and the only instance we have of one is in Tobit vii. 14, where it is described as an instrument. The act of betrothal among the Jews was celebra,ted by a feast, and among the more modern Hebrews, who still re- IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 17 tained the ceremony of a formal betrothal, it was the cus- tom in some parts for the bridegroom to place a ring upon his intended bride's finger. Although there is no mention in the Bible of betrothal finger-rings, we find that a ring is mentioned therein as a token of fidelity or friendship (Genesis xli. 42), and of adoption (Luke xv. 22). Between the betrothal and the marriage an interval elapsed, varying from a few days in the patriarchal age (ten in the case of Rebekah) to a year for virgins, and a month for widows in later times. During this period the bride- elect lived with her friends, and all communication between herself and her future husband was carried on through the medium of a friend, who was deputed for the purpose, and termed the " friend of the bridegroom." She was virtually regarded as a wife, her betrothal having an equal force with marriage ; hence faithlessness on her part was punishable with death ; but her husband-elect had the option of putting her away. Thus, Joseph, after his espousal to Mary, finding her to be with child, and not being willing to make her a public example, " was minded to put her away privily." After betrothal a woman could not part with her property except in certain cases. No definite religious ceremonies appear to have been per- formed at the wedding itself ; but probably some formal ratification of the .espousal with an oath took place, as may be implied from some allusions to marriage in Ezekiel xvi. 8, and Malachi ii. 14. The main part of the ceremony was the removal of the bride from her father's house to that of the bridegroom or of his father ; in fact, there was a literal truth in the Hebrew expression " to take " a wife, the tak- ing being the essential act. This symbol of capture was not peculiar to the Jews, but was common to nearly all nar tions in some form, and it was in most cases based upon an actual seizure of the woman by force in the primitive ages. 18 THE WEDDING DAY On the day preceding the wedding the bride took a bath, which was in ancient as well as in modern times a formal proceeding, and accompanied with much ceremony. On the wedding day the bridegroom dressed himself in festive attire, and particularly placed on his head a beauti- ful turban and a crown or garland, which was made either of gold, silver, roses, myrtle, or olive, according to his cir- cumstances, and he was highly perfumed with myrrh, frank- incense, and other sweet powders. A distinctive feature of the bride's dress was a veil or light robe of ample dimen- sions, which covered not only her face but also her whole body, and was intended to be a symbol of her submission to her husband. It is still used by Jewesses. The bride also wore a peculiar girdle, and her head was crowned with a chaplet, both of which articles were very distinctive of her condition. The latter was either of gold or gilded. The use of it was interdicted after the destruction of the second Temple, as a token of humiliation. If the bride were a virgin, she wore her hair flowing ; her robes were white, and sometimes embroidered with gold thread ; she was much perfumed, and decked out with jewels. When the fixed hour arrived, which was generally late in the evening, the bridegroom set forth from his house, attended by his friends, preceded by a band of musicians or -singers, and accompanied by men bearing torches. Hav- ing reached the house of the bride, he conducted her and her party back to his own or his father's house, with audi- ble demonstrations of gladness. Even to this day the noise in the streets attendant upon an Oriental wedding is re- markable. Sometimes a tent or canopy was raised in the open air, under which the bride and bridegroom met, and, the former being delivered to the latter, they came forth with great pomp and joy. On their way back the wed- ding party was joined by other friends of the bride and IN ALE AGES ANT) COUNTRIES. 19 bridegroom who were in waiting to mix with the proces- sion as it passed, and the inhabitants of the place came out into the streets to watch the cavalcade. At the bridegroom's house a feast was prepared, to which all the friends and neighbors of the couple were invited, and which , was a most essential part of the marriage cere- mony. After the feast came music and dancing, the latter being performed by the male guests round the bridegroom, and by the women round the bride. The festivities were protracted for several, sometimes as many as fourteen, days ; seven days being the usual number at the wedding of a virgin, and three at a widow's. The guests were provided by the host with suitable robes, and the feast was enlivened with music, riddles, and other amusements. In the case of the marriage of a virgin, parched corn was distributed among the guests, the significance of which is not certain, but probably it was intended to suggest a hope of fruitful- ness and plenty. This custom bears some resemblance to the distribution of the mustaceum among, the guests at a Roman wedding, of which we shall make some mention hereafter. The last act in the ceremonial was the conducting of the bride, stiU completely veiled, to her bed-chamber, where a canopy, which was sometimes a bower of roses and myrtle, was prepared. This act was preceded by formal prayers. If proof could be subsequently adduced that the bride had not preserved her maiden purity, the case was investigated ; and, if convicted, she- was stoned to death before her fa- ther's house (Deuteronomy xxi. 13-21). A newly-married man was exempt from military service, and from any public business which might take him away from his home, for the space of one year after. his marriage ; and a similar privilege was granted, to a betrothed man. The above usages of marriage among the Jews are most- 20 THE WEDDING DAY ly ascertained from the Bible, but the Talmudists specify three modes by which marriage might be effected. One being by a presentation of money in the presence of witness- es, accompanied by a mutual declaration of betrothal ; an- other being by a written instead of a verbal contract, with or without money ; and another being by mere consumma- tion, which, although valid in law, was discouraged as being contrary to morality. The condition of Jewish married women in the patriarch- al days was very favorable ; they enjoyed much freedom, independence, and authority in their homes ; and the rela- tionship of husband and wife was characterized by great affection and tenderness. Divorce was allowed, and the first instance of it mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis xxi. 14, where we are told that Abraham sent Hagar and her child away from him. In Deuteronomy xxiv. 1, a man had the power to dispose of a faithless wife by writing her a bill of divorcement, giving it into her hand, and sending her out of his house. The brother of a chUdlessman was bound to marry his widow ; or, at least, he had the refusal of her, and she could not marry again until her' late husband's brother had for- mally rejected her. The ceremony by which this rejection was performed took place in public, and is mentioned in Deuteronomy xxv. 5-10. If the brother refused her, she was obliged to " loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face," or, as some Hebraists_ translate it, " spit before his face." His giving up the shoe was a symbol that he aban- doned all dominion over her ; and her spitting before him was a defiance and an assertion of independence. This practice is still further illustrated by the story of Ruth, whose nearest kinsman refused to marry her, and to redeem her inheritance. He was therefore publicly called upon to do so by Boaz, and he publicly refused. The Bible IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 21 adds, " as it was the custom in Israel concerning changing, that a man plucked ofB his shoe and delivered it to his neigh- bor," the kinsman plucked off his shoe and delivered it to Boaz as a renunciation of Ruth, and of his right of maf- riage to her. These ceremonies were evidently not unknown to the early Christians, for when the Emperor Wladimir made proposals of marriage to the daughter of Raguald, she re- fused him, saying that she would not take off her shoes to the son of a slave. Gregory of Tours, writing of espous- als, says, " The bridegroom having given a ring to the fian- cSe, presents her with a shoe." Michelet, in his " Life of Luther," says that the reformer was at the wedding *of Jean LufEte; and after supper he conducted the bi-ide to bed. He then told the bridegroom that, according to common custom, he ought to be master in his own house when his wife was not there ; and for a symbol he took off the hus- band's shoe and put it upon, the head of the bed, " afin qu'U. prit ainsi la domination et gouvernement." In some parts of the East it was an early custom to carry a slipper before a newly-married couple as a token of the bride's subjection to her husband. At a Jewish wedding at Rabat the bride- groom struck the bride with his shoe as a sign of his au- thority and supremacy. It has long been a custom in England, Scotland, and elsewhere to throw an old shoe over or at a bride and bridegroom upon their leaving the church or the parental home after their wedding. Sometimes -it is thrown when they start for the church, and occasionally the shoe is taken from the left foot. The usual saying is that it is thrown for luck ; but possibly it originally was meant to be a sign of the renunciation of dominion and authority over the bride by her father or guardian. One author, however, suggests that the hurling of a shoe was first intended to be 22 THE WEDDING DAY a sham assaiilt on the person carrying off the woman, and is a relic of the old custom of opposition to the capture of a bride. In the seventeenth century, when a marriage between a Jew and a Jewess had been arranged, they with many of their friends met at some public covered place, where the contract was read over aloud, and notice was given of the intended day of the wedding. The company then saluted the couple, and wished them happiness in their new Ufe. Then the younger men threw down and broke certain earthen vessels which they had brought with them. A person waited at the door to give to each guest a glass of wine, and sometimes comfits, as he left. The priest who was to offer the marriage benediction took a glass of wine, and, having blessed and tasted it, he gave it to the couple to drink. After this ceremony neither of them went out for eight days, during which period many friends visited the bridegroom, and made merry with him. On the day before the wedding the bride bathed in cold water, accompanied and assisted by her female companions, who sang and danced to amuse her. It seems to have been assumed that the impending ceremony had a very depress- ing effect on the couple, and therefore their friends boister- ously endeavored to keep them in good cheer. The bride- groom sent to his bride a matrimonial cincture or girdle, with a gold buckle ; and she in exchange sent a similar ar- ticle to him ; but hers had a silver buckle. TTpon the wed- ding day the bride was dressed as richly as she could be, according to her condition and the fashion of her country ; and her head was finely adorned. Still attended by her maids, who sang and danced before her, she was conducted to the place of the marriage. When the pair were to re- ceive the benediction publicly, four young men carried a canopy into some frequented place, such as a garden, where IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 23 the bride and bridegroom and their respective friends met, "OGompanied by singers and inusicians. The couple stood tinder the canopy, and all present cried : " Blessed be he that Cometh !" The bridegroom then -walked three times round the bride, and took her by the right hand ; and the company threw corn upon them, and said, " Increase and multiply." In some pfaces the visitors threw money as well as corn, the poorer Jews being allowed to pick up the coins. Still holding the bridegroom's hand, the bride stood with her face towards the south, in • which there was as- sumed to be a fruitful influence ; for the " Talmud " teaches that if the marriage bed be turned in that direction, the pair will have many children. The Rabbi then took a glass of wine, and, rehearsing prayers, he tasted it and gave it to the couple to drink. If the bride were a virgin, he gave her a narrow glass ; and if a widow, a wide one. He then received from the bridegroom ' a gold ring, which, according to the Jewish law, must be of a certain value, and the absolute property of the bridegroom, not ob- tained by credit or gift. The Rabbi called some of the company as witnesses to examine if it were of gold, and, if so, he and the chief officers of the synagogue certified the fact. When this had been properly done, the ring was re- turned to the bridegroom, and he placed it upon the bride's second finger, at the same time proclaiming that she was by means of it consecrated unto him : and so completely binding was this action, that, even without any further ceremony, no other marriage could be effected by either party, except after a legal divorce. The marriage contract was then read ; after which the Rabbi took another glass of wine, and, giving thanks to God, he offered it to the pair to drink again. The bridegroom having drunk, cast the glass with force against a wall or the earth, so that it might be shattered into many pieces. In some places ashes were 24 THE WEDDING DAY put upon the bridegroom's head in memory of the burning of the Temple, as a sad memento of which, even among their rejoicings, both the bride and the bridegroom wore black caps. The couple were then conducted to a banquet, at which, all being seated, the bridegroom had to sing a long prayer. A hen ready dressed, and a raw egg, were then placed be- fore the bride, as emblems of prolificness, and for an omen that she should bear many children. , The bridegroom pre- sented her with a small piece of the hen, and then the guests, male and female, scrambled for the rest- and tore it to pieces with their hands. Whoever got the greatest share was reputed to be the most fortunate one of the com- pany. The egg was thrown in some person's face ; and if a Christian happened to be present, which was not often the case, he was not spared ; at least, so says Le Sieur de Gaya, writing about 1685, and relating these nasty inci- dents of a Jewish wedding in his day. After the above diversions the table was spread with an abundant feast, and the wedding dance was performed. The most honorable person present took the bridegroom by the hand, he took another, and so the rest, until all joined. The chief lady of the company likewise took the bride by the hand, she took another, until all the women likewise joined ; and then came a long and confused dance. The wedding festivities sometimes lasted eight days. In 1646 Evelyn was taken to the Ghetta, at Venice, the colony of the Jews, where he saw a Hebrew marriage. He thus describes the ceremony in his " Diary : " — " The bride was clad in white, sitting in a lofty chair, and cover- ed with a white veil ; then two old Rabbis joined them to- gether, one of them holding a glass of wine in his hand, which, in the midst of the ceremony, pretending to deliver to the woman, he let fall, the breaking whereof was to sig- IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 25 nif y the frailty of- our nature, and that we must expect dis- asters and crosses midst all enjoyments. This done, we had a fine 'banquet, and were brought into the bride-cham- ber, where the bed was dressed up with flowers, and the counterpane strewed in works." A Jewish marriage in the present century is always cel- ebrated with much show and splendor. As every guest brings a present, chiefly consisting of plate, the poorer couples especially invite as many friends as they can ; and their friends are always. wiUing to go, as they consider it to be a highly meritorious act to promote marriage, or in any way to assist in its celebration. The Talmudists carry the obligation of getting children so far, that they declare the neglect of it to be a kind of homicide. On account of the many visitors at a Jewish wedding a large public room is generally hired. A friend is stationed near the entrance of the apartment to receive the presents of the guests as they arrive ; and another friend writes down each person's name and gift. If any one who has been invited can not attend, his gift is received in his absence. The friends who are merely invited to the evening dance are not expected to bring any presents. Not unfrequently, when the wedded pair are poor, their gifts are sold to defray the expenses of the feast, and to assist the couple in their household. The bride and bridegroom, the Rabbi, and all concerned in the marriage, stand upon a carpet under the Taleth, a nuptial canopy, while the contract is read and the ceremo- nial performed. This canopy is square, and generally com- posed of crimson velvet, with pendants aboixt it. It is sup- ported at each corner by one of the visitors, and after the marriage it is taken back to the synagogue, whence it had been brought by the servants of that place. The use of it is a most important part of the marriage cere- mony. 2 26 THE WEDDING DAT The modern Jews still retain the old custom of shatter- ing glasses or other vessels by dashing them on the ground at their nuptials. Various reasons have been assigned for this usage. One is, that it suggested the frailty of life ; another, that it foretold good fortune and plenty ; another, that it reminded the people of the destruction of Jerusa- lem ; and another, that it hinted at the fate of the married pair if they broke their nuptial vows. Although, as we have before mentioned, there is no rec- ord in the Bible of the use of betrothal finger-rings among the Jews in the patriarchal days, it is certain that they were common in later times in some places ; and, as Selden says, were first given in lieu of dowry money. Some authors are of opinion that wedding rings did not exist in the Mo- saic days, and no mention is made of them by the Tal- mudists. Ugolini says that they were used in his time ; and Basnage says that formerly a piece of money was giv- en as a pledge, for which at a later period a ring was sub- stituted. Leo of Modena records that rings were rarely used, and that neither the Italian nor the German Jews ha- bitually used them ; some did, but the majority did not. Selden states that the wedding ring came into general use by the Jews after they saw it was everywhere prevalent. Jewish wedding rings are sometimes of large size and elaborate workmanship, and have generally engraved upon them, in Hebrew characters, a sentiment conveying an ex- pression of good wishes, and very often the posy, " Joy be with you," which is thought to be of Syrian origin. It is recorded that the ancient Hebrews considered the planet Jupiter, which they called Maaal Tob, to be a very favora- ble star ; for which reason newly-married men gave their wives rings, whereon those words were engraved in Hebrew characters; the signification being that the bride might have good fortune under that lucky star. IN ALL AGES AND OOUNTEIES. 27 Few, if any, Jewish rings now existing are of a date earlier than the sixteenth century. A specimen belonging to the late Lord Londesborongh was of gold, richly enamel- led, and decorated with beautifully wrought filigree. At- tached by a hinge to the collet, in the place of a setting, was a little ridged capsule like the gabled roof of a house, which probably once contained some charm or perfume. Within the ring were inscribed two Hebrew words signifying the posy above named, or good luck. In the South Kensington Museum are two Jewish, marriage rings. One is of gold, enriched with filigree-work bosses ; it has a Hebrew inscrip- tion inside, and its diameter is one inch and a quarter. It is of the sixteenth century. The other is also of gold, and enamelled ; an inscription runs round the broad margin in raised letters of cloisonn6 enamel ; on one side is affixed a turret or louvre, with triangular gables and movable vanes ; the length of the ring is one inch and three-quarters, and the width one inch. "Whatever may be the fact as to the use of marriage rings in the Bible days, monkish legends relate that Joseph and Mary used one, and, moreover, that it was of onyx or amethyst. It was said to have been discovered in the year 996, when it was given by a jeweller from Jerusalem to a lapidary of Clusium, who had been sent to Rome by the wife of a Marquis of Etruria, to make purchases for her. The jeweller told, the lapidary of the preciousness of the relic; but he despised it, and kept it for several years among other articles of inferior value. However, a miracle revealed to him its genuineness; and it was placed in. a church, where.it worked many curative wonders. In 1473 it was deposited with some Franciscans at Clusium, from whom it was stolen; and ultimately it found its way to Perusia, where a church was built for it, and it still per- formed miracles ; but they were, as Hone says, trifling in 28 THE WEDDING DAY. comparison with its miraculous po-wers of multiplying itself. It existed in different churches in Europe at the same time, and, each ring being as genuine as the others, it was paid the same honors by the devout. CHAPTER n. Cecrops and Marriage. — Marriage among the Ancient Greeks.— Celibacy In- terdicted. — Parental Authority. — Professional Match-makers. — ^Betrothal. — Sacrifices to the Gods. — Seasons for Marriage. — The Moon and Mar- riage. — Nuptial Bath. — Ivy Symbol. — Leading Home the Bride. — The Arrival at the Bridegroom's House. — The Wedding Feast and its Uses. — The Epithalamium. — Wedding Presents Spartan Marriages. — Capture of the Bride. — Condition of Greek Wives. — ^Marriage in Modern Greece. — Nuptial Crown. — Sieve Test of Virtue. — Portion-money Worn on the Bride's Hair. — Albanian Marriages. — Eock of Fertility. — Greek Church Mar- riages. — Crowning Koman Marriages. — Of three Kinds. — Symbol of Cap- ture. — Divorce. — ^Wife Tax. — Betrothal. — King Pledges. — ^Marriage Days and Months. — May Marriages Unlucky. — Dress of the Bride. — Confarrea- tio. — Taking Home the Bride. — Symbols. — Threshold Omens. — Etruscan MaiTiages. — Syracusan Marriages. lY/TARRIAGE, as a life union, with certain ceremonies cf ■^-*- a binding and solemn nature, is said to have been first introduced among the Athenians by Cecrops, who built their city, and deified Jupiter, long before the time of Christ, The ancient Greek legislators considered, marriage to be a matter of public as well as of private interest, on the principle that it was the duty of every citizen to raise up a healthy progeny of legitimate children to the state. This was particularly the case at Sparta, where celibacy in men was infamous ; and by the laws of Lycurgus, criminal proceedings might be taken against those who married too late or unsuitably, as well as against those who did not marry at all. An old bachelor was stigmatized, and 30 THE WEDDING DAY obliged to walk naked in the winter through the market place, singing a satirical song on himself. Under Plato's laws any one who did not marry before the age of thirty- five years, or who married above or below his rank, was punishable ; and the philosopher held that in choosing a wife every man ought to consider the interests of the state rather than his own pleasure. Great immunities, preroga- tives, and other encouragements were granted to those who had a large legitimate issue. Those who had three children were entitled to a diminution of their taxes, and those who had four paid none. So entirely did the Spar- tans consider the production of children as the main ob- ject of marriage, that whenever a woman had no issue by her own husband she was required by law to cohabit with another man. The Spartans fined their king, Archidamus, for marrying a very little woman, considering that her is- sue would be degenerated and unworthy. Private rea- sons, moreover, made marriage among the ancients impor- tant. Thus, they considered that it was the duty of every man to produce representatives to succeed himself as min- isters of the gods, to perpetuate his name, and to make the custonjary oiferings at his grave. The choice of a wife was seldom based upon affection, and rarely the result of previous acquaintance. In many cases fathers chose for their sons brides whom the lat- ter had never seen, and compelled them to marry. Nor was the consent of the female to the match which was proposed for her usually thought to be necessary. She was obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents, and to receive from them perhaps a stranger for a husband. The result of such marriages was not unfrequently unhappi- ness. Match-making was not entirely left to the care of parents, inasmuch as some women made a profession of it ; which, however, was not held to be reputable, as it was IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 31 likely to lead to mere procuring. In fact, many of the ■women who arranged marriages were bawds and " couple- resses." The custom of purchasing wives was known to the ancient Greeks, and was strongly reprobated by Aris- totle. By the Athenian laws a citizen was not allowed to marry a foreign woman, nor conversely,' under very severe penalties. Direct lineal descent from a common ancestor was a bar to marriage ; but proximity by blood or consan- guinity was not. Usually men^ married when between thirty and thirty-five years of age, and women when about twenty, or shortly before that period. Monogamy was the law and practice of all the Greek and Italian communities as far back as our records reach. The Athenians regarded a formal betrothal as indispen- sable to the validity of a marriage contract, to which it was a most important preliminary. The issue of a marriage without espousals lost their heritable rights, which depend- ed upon their being born of a citizen and a legally betroth- ed wife. The betrothal was made by the natural or legal guardian of the bride-elect, and attended by the relations of both parties as witnesses. The wife's dowry was settled at the espousal, and some token was given by the man as an earnest. The next ceremony, which was generally performed on the day before the wedding, consisted of sacrifices or offer- ings made to the divinities who presided over marriage. The sacrifieer was the father of the bride-elect, and the di- vinities were, according to PoUuxj-Hera, the goddess of the marriage bed, Artemis^ the goddess of virgins, and the Fates, to whom brides then dedicated locks of their hair:- According to another author, the deities were Zeus and Hera ; but they probably varied in different countries, and were sometimes local divinities. 32 THE WEDDING DAY Particular days and seasons of the year were thought to be auspicious and favorable for marriage among the Greeks. Winter was generally so considered, and at Ath- ens the month partly corresponding to our Januaiy received its name, Gamelius, from marriages being frequently cele- brated in it. Hesiod recommends marriage on the fourth day of the month ; but whether the fourth from the begin- ning or the end is uncertain. Euripides speaks as if the time of the full moon was thought to be favorable, in which he is confirmed by a reference to the fiill-moon nights in Pindar. Proclus tells us that the- Athenians selected for marriages the times of a new moon, that is, when the sun and moon were in conjunction. On the wedding day the bride and bridegroom, in ac- cordance with a ceremonial custom similar to one adopted by the Jews, bathed in water fetched from some particular fountain. At Athens the lustral water was fetched from the fountain Callirrhoe, at the foot of the Acropolis ; and, according to some authors, it was always fetched by a boy who was a near relation to one of the parties, and, accord- ing to another writer, by a female. After this preliminary the couple went in a procession to the temple, attended by their friends, who sang the praises of the pair. At the tem- ple they were each presented with an ivy branch as a sym- bol of the indissoluble bond of matrimony. At the altar various sacrifices were made, the victims were cut up, and their entrails scrutinized for auguries ; and various deities were invoked. ' In the evening the bride was conducted from her father^s house to that of the bridegroom, that time of day being cho- sen to conceal her blushes. She was conveyed in a chariot, drawn by a pair of mules or oxen, and furnished with a couch-seat. On either side of her sat the bridegroom and one of his relations or friends ; but if he had been married IN ABL AGES AND COUNTRIES. . 83 before, he did not so conduct her. They were generally- accompanied by many persons, some of whom sang an hy- menean song to the accompaniment of flutes, while others danced, and sonie carried nuptial torches. A scene of this kind was thus pictured upon the shield of Achilles : " Here sacred pomp and genial feast delight, And solemn dance and hymeneal rite: Along the streets the new-made brides are led, With torches flaming, to the nuptial bed. The youthful dancers in a circle bound To the soft flute and cithera's silver sound, Tlij-ough the fair streets the matrons in a row Stand in their porches, and enjoy the show." At Boeotia, and other places, the axle-tree of the car- riage was burned upon the arrival at the bridegroom's house, as a symbol that the bride was not to return, or to go abroad. . The door of the house was decked with festoons of ivy and bay, and against it was tied a pestle. Upon entering, the married pair received the greetings and con- gratulations of the friends who were waiting to meet them. The bride was generally conducted into the house by hor own or her husband's mother, bearing a lighted torch. A servant carried a sieve, and the bride herself bore a vessel in which was parched barley, a symbol of her readiness to attend to her household duties. Upon entering the house, sweetmeats were showered upon the pair, as emblems of plenty and prosperity. A formal kiss confirmed the nup- tials. The bride and bridegroom were both dressed in their best attire, and wore crowns or chaplets on their heads, the bride being veiled. The wreaths were made of evergreens, myrtle, wild thyme, and roses, which had been plucked by the bride herself, and not bought, as that would have been of Ul-omen. The nuptial feast, which was generally given at the house of the bridegroom or of his parents, besides being 2* S4f THE WEDDING DAY a festive meeting, served another and a more important purpose. Inasmuch as no public rite, either civil or relig- ious, connected with the celebration of marriage, was re- quired by law among the Greeks, and as therefore no pub- lic record of its solemnization was kept, guests were invit- ed to a wedding feast partly to qualify them to be able to prove the fact of the marriage having taken place. Con- trary to the usual practice among these people, women as well as men were invited to nuptial feasts ; but they sat at a separate table, the still-veiled bride being among her own sex. At the conclusion of the banquet she- was con- ducted by her husband into her bridal chamber ; and a law of Solon required that they shoulji on entering it eat a quince together, to indicate that their mutual relation- ship should be sweet and agreeable. A nuptial song or epithalamium was sung before the doors of the. chamber by virgins, accompanied by dances. Another song, called the waking song, was generally given on the following morning. On the day after the marriage friends sent the custom- ary presents to the newly-married couple. Some of them were called the unveiling presents, because they were given on the occasion of the bride first appearing unveiled. Gen- erally on the second day the bridegroom left his house to lodge apart from his wife at the residence of his father-in- law, and the bride presented him with a garment. He also ofiered up a sacrifice in commemoration of the bride being registered among his own phratores. It seems that mar- riage rings were not in use among the ancient Greeks. The above account of Grecian marriage ceremonies ap- plies particularly to Athens. At Sparta, where a general promiscuity of wives is said anciently to have prevailed, the betrothal of a bride by the father or guardian was a requisite preliminary to marriage, as it was at Athens. IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 35 The Spartans pursued on horseback, and captured their in- tended brides with some show of violence, but with the sanction of her friends. A similar custom prevailed at Crete. Plutarch says that the Spartans always carried off their brides by feigned violence, and that the abduction was a concerted matter of form, in order to make the mar- riage valid. MuUer says that the capture of brides at Sparta indicated the feeling that they could not surrender their freedom and virgin purity unless compelled by the violence of the stronger sex. The form of feigning to steal the bride, or to carry her off from her friends by force, after the marriage had been agreed upon, was, equally with be- trothal, requisite as a preliminary to marriage among the Dorians. The Spartan and Cretan wife was not immediately after her marriage taken to the bridegroom's house ; but cohab- ited with him for some time clandestinely until he brought her, and frequently her mother also, to his home. A Spar- tan woman appeared in public with her face uncovered un- til she was married ; but afterwards she never went abroad without a veil, a custom which also prevailed at Athens. At Sparta, Crete, and Olympia virgins were permitted to be spectators of the gymnastic contests, while married women were excluded from this privilege. Greek wives were con- fined to distinct apartments ; they had little liberty ; were strictly subject to their husband's rule ; and were not al- lowed to go out without their lord's permission. The strictest conjugal fidelity was required from the wife un- der very severe penalties, while great laxity was allowed to the husband. Nevertheless concubinage was in use only in its mildest form. A wife convicted of infidelity was re- pudiated, and the laws excluded her for ever from all relig- ious ceremonies. A husband obliged to divorce his wife first addressed himself to a tribunal, in which one of the 36 THE WEDDING DAY chief magistrates presided; and the same tribunal received the complaints of wives who sought to be divorced from their husbands. Among the peasantry in modem Greece marriage was contracted from mutual knowledge and attachment, but among the higher orders the match was generally made by the parents or friends without the parties either seeing each other or consenting. Often some matron, like the ancient medium in such cases, managed the courtship and concluded the treaty. Then the couple were at liberty to see and converse with each other ; this, however, was not always the case, for sometimes the bride and bridegroom met on their wedding day for the first time. The bride generally worked her wedding garments ; and on the eve of the day appointed for her bridal she was con- ducted by her young female friends in procession to a bath. On the following morning, at an early hour, the bridegroom proceeded to the house of her parents, attended by a crowd of young men, who sang, and danced, and shouted out the perfections and virtues of the couple. The.lady was led forth loaded with jewelry, and supported by her father and a brideman. As she proceeded, followed by her moth- er and the matrons, showers of nuts,- cakes, and bouquets were poured out of the windows of her friends. The nuptial ceremony was performed with many fonns and but little solemnity. On the heads of ihe bride and bridegroom were placed altemately by one of the priests chaplets of flowers, among which were, if obtainable, lilies and ears of corn, as emblems of purity, and abundance. Two rings, one of gold, the other of silver, were inter- changed several times between the parties, and the cere- mony concluded by their both drinking wine out of one cup. The bride was then conducted to her husband's abode, and she was carefully lifted across the threshold by IN ALL AGES AND COUNTEIES. 37 her parents. If the hushand entertained any suspicion of her honor, she was made to tread on a sieve covered with a skin, and should it not yield to her pressure she was deemed to be guilty. Among the peasantry, the bride, accompanied by her bridesmaids and her husband's relations, went from house to house of her neighbors, and received from each male in- habitant a few coins. In the more remote parts of Greece it was customary to receive these presents before marriage ; and early in the present century the village girls used to collect their portions and arrange them as ornaments for their hair. Their tresses were hung with coins nearly down to their feet; and under no circumstances would they use these ornamental moneys except for their mar- riage portions. Dodswell, in his "Tour Through Greece," in 1801-6, says that the Albanian unmarried girls wore red skull-caps, which were covered more or less with money, according to the wealth of the persons. They sometimes wore their dowei'S upon their heads, consisting of Turkish paras, small silver coins, and piastres, which were perforated and strung round the cap, each overlapping the other like scales. In the front was sometimes a row of Venetian sequins ; and if the lady was very rich, some larger pieces of gold coin attracted the eyes of her admirers. The Montenegrin dam- sels adopted a similar custom. Dodswell also says that hfe saw at Athens the ceremonies of- an Albanian marriage. The bride arrived from the country riding on horseback ; a man walked before her, and a female on each side of her. She was covered with a long and transparent veil, through which she could see, while it concealed her features entirely. She was accompanied by a Papas, and a great crowd of both sexes, as well as by drummers and fifers. The nuptial bed, brought from the 38 THE WEDDING DAY bride's village on horseback, formed a conspicuous feature in the procession. "When the bride reached the bride- groom's house she was welcomed by women, who danced and sang nuptial songs. When she alighted her veil was taken off, and she was conducted into the presence of her husband. A feast followed^ at which the pair were pre- sented with pomegranates, as emblems of fertility. The same author says that near Athens was a rock of a few feet in height, on which newly-married women sat and slipped down, in order that they might be blessed with numerous sons. The faith of the Greek church is not now confined to Oreece, but is spread extensively over Russia and Turkey. In the seventeenth century a rule among the people profess- ing the religion of this church was that the bridegroom must be. at least fourteen years of age, and the bride at least thirteen. A woman who married a Christian of the Western churches was excommunicated, and precluded from participating in any communion with her own relig- ious body. In a Greek church marriage the parties often actually bought each other ; the bride counted down her dowry, and the bridegroom his price, in the presence of themselves and of their relations and friends ; the men sit- ting round a table, and the women on raised benches, to witness the ceremony. The bride was then placed on a seat in her apartment, with a gilt crown on her head, and there she received the presents of her guests. These cere- monies generally took place early in the day, and after par- taking of some wine and sweetmeats the guests separated, but they returned at night to supper. On the next day, if it could be proved to the satisfaction of attendant women ^that the bride had been pure, a feast celebrated the event ; but if otherwise, no rejoicings took place, and the bride- groom sent the bride back to her friends. IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 39 Often the mere money contract was the only form of a Greek marriage, and no proclamation in church was made, or intervention of a priest had. When, however, the rite& were fully performed, they consisted of two parts, the be- trothal and the actual marriage, and were as follows : — At the betrothal the priest, remaining in the sacrarium, de- livered to the couple, who stood without the sacred doors, lighted candles. He then returned with them into the body of the church, and there two rings were produced, one of gold, the other of silver. These were placed upon the altar, and dedicated and consecrated. The priest gave the gold ring to the bridegroom, and the silver ring to the bride, repeating three times, " The servant of God (naming the husband) espouses the handmaid of God (naming the wife)." Then turning to the woman, he thrice repeated the same form, changed according to the circumstances. The rings were put on the right-hand finger of both of the parties, taken off, and interchanged by the bridegroom's man, in order, as it has been said, that the woman might not feel too deeply her inferiority, which the less costly material of her ring seemed to hint at, as also to confirm the mutual right and possession of property in common. After the betrothal the marriage followed, and it was not allowed to be private. Crowns made of olive branches, surrounded with white threads interwoven with purple, were used at the marriage ; hence a wedding was often called a crowning. The priest, putting one crown on the head of the man, said, " The servant of God (naming him) is crowned, that is, marries the handmaid of God (naming her)." He then crowned the woman with another chaplet, saying similar words. Then joining their right hands, he blessed them three times, and handed them a cup of wine to drink, as a token of unity and a pledge of community ' of possession. 40 THK WEDDING DAY Dallaway, in his " Constantinople," 1797, says that mar- riage in the Greek church was called "the matrimonial ■ coronation, from the crowns of garlands with which the parties are decorated, and which they solemnly dissolve on the eighth day following." A writer early in the present -century says that at Greek marriages at that time tinsel crowns were placed, on the couple's heads in the church, where also tapers were light- ed, and rings were put on the fingers of both the bride and the bridegroom. After the wedding the .husband scatter- ed money at the door of his dwelling. A procession al- ways accompanied the bride and bridegroom from the parental home of the former to the house of the latter at night. Consummation was deferred until the third day of the ceremonials, on which day the bride unloosed a mystic zone which hitherto she had worn. By the Romans, as well as by the Jews and Greeks, mar- riage was considered to be an imperative duty; and par- ents were reprehended if they did not obtain husbands for ,their daughters by the time they had reached the age of twenty-five years. The Roman law recognized monogamy only, and polygamy was prohibited in the entire empire. Hence the former became practically the rule of all Chris- tians, and was introduced into the canon law of the Eastern and Western churches. The ceremonial parts of the marriage were of three kinds : 1. Awoman who lived one year Tyith a man without interruptionbeca^ cohabitiiiipn ; terinror3erto avoid the legal effect of this icsm it was necessary only for her to absent herself from the man for three nights during the year, which would be a sufficient legal interruption of the cohabitation. 2. T he confa rreatio, which was in the nature of a religious ceremony, and was so called from the use of a cake or loaf of bread on the oc- IN ALL AGES AND COUNTBIES. 41 casion, 3. The coemgtiojjwhichjivas a kind of mock sale of the woman t o the man before five witnessesT ProBably the usus and coemptio came first in order of age, and the confarreatio later. The fictitious sale in the coemptio was no doubt based originally upon an actual sale and purchase, the latter being a marriage form which was prevalent al- most universally among primitive people. The only form _ of marriage that was celebrated with solemn religious rites was that by confarreatio ; the other unions, b eing mer e civil actSj^ were solemnized without any religious ceremony. No forms were absolutely necessary, the best evidence of mar- riage being cohabitation. In plebeian marriages, which were not conducted by con- farreatio or coemptio, the symbol of capture was used ; and Festus says that this sign indicated the good fortune of Romulus in the Rape of the Sabines. Probably, however, it was a relic of the very ancient custom of actual capture common to all primeval and savage people; When the Roman bridegroom adopted this symbol, he and his friends, at a pre-arranged time, went to the house of the bride, and carried her off with feigned force from the arms of her near- est female relation. Concubinage was a kind of legal contract, inferior to that of marriage, in use when there was a considerable disparity between the parties ; the Roman law not sufiering a man to marry a woman greatly beneath him; but he was not to have, a wife besides a vice-conjux. The censors observ- ing a great diminution of the population, believed it to orig- inate in ill-assorted marriages. They therefore obliged every citizen to engage by oath to marry only to certain subjects ; but it was not intended that other marriages should be dissolved. Nevertheless the law was so inter- preted by a citizen named Carvilius Ruga, who repudiated his wife for barrenness, and espoused another ; thus first in- 42 THE WEDDING DAT troducing the practice of divorce, of which, although it had long been authorized, there had not been as yet any exam- ple. This practice first gave rise to contracts or settle- ments securing the property of the woman to herself in case of divorce. Augustus endeavored to check the license of divorce, as well as celibacy, then very fashionable ; to remedy which latter evil, he imposed a wife tax on those who persisted in a contempt of matrimony. It was a custom among the Romans,' where immediate union from tender years or other causes was not conven- ient, to betroth themselves before witnesses, but it was not absolutely necessary. Sponsaha might be contracted by those not under seven years of age; but the consent of the father was necessary. Towards the close of the Republic it was customary to betroth young girls while yet children. Augustus therefore limited the time during which a man was allowed to continue betrothed to a girl to two years, and forbade men to be so engaged before the girl had com- pleted her tenth year. The sponsalia were betrothal con- tracts made by stipulationes on the part of the future hus- bands, and sponsiones on the part of the relations who gave the women in marriage. The contract was, in fact, an agreement to marry, and notwithstanding that Jove laughed at the vows of lovers — perjuria amantwn — it gave each party a right of action for non-performance. Al- though a simple consent by letter or message, even with- out witnesses, was sufficient, yet in general the contract was accompanied with ceremonies at which priests and augurs assisted. Tabulae were executed, sealed with the signet-rings of the witnesses ; a straw was broken as in other contracts; and a present of money or trinkets was made by the man to the woman. A ring of iron in the time of Pliny was sent to the in- tended bride as a pledge. According to Swinburne, these IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 43 iron rings were set with adamants, the hardness and du- rability of both materials being intended to signify the durance and perpetuity of the contract. TertuUian says , a gold ring was uSed in his time, and adds that the bride gave a supper to the bridegroom and his relations. From Juvenal it appears that during the imperial period a ring was. placed on the woman's finger by the man as an earn- est of his fidelity ; and probably, like all rings at this time, it was worn on the left hand, and on the finger nearest to the smallest one. Isidore says that women either wore no other ring, or never more than two. Some nuptial rings were of brass, and some of copper, and had upon them in- scriptions and devices, such as the figure of a key, to signi- fy the wife's domestic authority. The circular continuity of the ring was a type of eternity, and it was given as a token of everlasting love, or as a sign that love should cir- culate continually. The Roman nuptial rings were often inscribed with words suggestive of this sentiment. " May you live long " is engraved on one published by Caylus. " I bring good fortune to the wearer " was another usual inscription. Sometimes a stone was inserted in the ring, upon which was engraved an intaglio representing a hand pulling the lobe of an ear, with the word "Remember" above it. Others had the wish, " Live happy," and others, "I give this love pledge." Some had two right hands joined, a design which is often observed on ancient coins ; and some were cut in cameo. The damsels also gave rings to their lovers. Mr. Tfiomas Gunston possesses a rare Ro- man wedding-ring of iron, which was lately found in To- kenhouse Yard, London. This article is of neat, plain de- sign ; and at the top, which is depressed, is a plate, either of gold or brass, inscribed with the motto, " Vita volo." The Romans believed that certain days were unfavor- ble for the performance of marriage rites, either on account 44 THE WEDDING DAT of the religious character of the days themselves, or of those which immediately followed them, as a woman had to perform certain religious ceremonies on the day after her wedding, which ceremonies could not be performed on particular days. The unsuitable times were the Calends, Nones, and Ides of every month ; the whole months of May and February ; and many festivals. Widows, how- ever, might marry on days which were inauspicious for maidens. June was considered to \)e the most propitious season of the year for contracting matrimony, especially if the day chosen were that of the full moon, or the con- junction of the sun and moon. The month of May was especially to be avoided, as it was under the influence of spirits adverse to happy households. Ovid, in his " Fasti," tells us that May marriages were unlucky ; and the super- stition was evidently of long standing in his time, for lie says that it had then passed into a proverb among the peo- ple. Nearly two centuries afterwards, Plutarch - asked why May marriages were unfortunate ; and, although he made an unsatisfactory endeavor to answer the question, he assigned three reasons. First, because May being be- tween April and June, and April being consecrated , to Venus, and June to Juno, those deities who were propitious to marriage were not to be slighted. Secondly, on account of the great expiatory celebration of the Lemuria, when women abstained from the bath and the decoration of their persons, so necessary as a prelude . to the marriage rites. Thirdly, because May was the month of old men, and there- fore June, being the month of the young, was to be pre- ferred. These pagan superstitions against the month of May are retained in Sicily, and in our own country, to the present day. Ovid's line referring to the custom : — "Mense malas Maio nubere vulgus ait" was fixed on the gates of Holyrood on the morning after IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 45 the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Bothwell, the 16th of May. Carmelli tells us that the superstition pre- vailed in Italy in 1760. February Tvas unfavorable to marriage because the Parentalia was celebrated upon cer- tain days in it. ^ Among the Romans no marriage was celebrated without an augury being first consulted, and its auspice^ proved to be favorable. On her wedding day, the bride was dressed in a long white robe with a purple fringe, or adorned with ribbons ; and she wore round her waist a girdle of wool, which was an important article of her attire, and which her husband had to untie in the evening as a sign of her abandonment of her virgin condition. Her corona nup- tialis, or bridal wreath, was made of verbena, .gathered by the bride herself, and worn under the flammeum, or veil, which was of a bright yellow color (as also were her shoes), and with which a bride was always enveloped. Her hair was divided on this occasion with the point of a spear, either in memory of the Sabine virgins who were espoused by violence, or of the warlike customs that were adopt- ed in primitive marriages. The bridegroom also wore a chaplet. At a marriage by confaiTeatio the farreum libum and a sheep were sacrificed to the gods. The skin of the sheep was spread over two chairs, upon which the bride and bridegroom sat down with their heads uncovered. Then the marriage was completed in the presence of the Ponti- fex Maximus and ten witnesses, by the pronunciation of a solemn prayer ; after which another sacrifice was offered. A cake was made of far and mola salsa by vestal virgins, and was carried before the bride when she was conducted to the residence of her husband. It is uncertain whether this cake was the same as that which was called musta- ceum, which was made with flour, and •sweet wine, and 46 THE WEDDING DAY distributed in the evening among the guests assembled at thp bridegroom's house. A Roman marriage by coufarrea- tio is denoted, in many antiquities, by a man and woman standing ; she gives her right hand to the man, and in her left holds three wheat ears. The man wears a toga, the woman a stola and peplum, thrown over her shoulders. Her hair is rolled and raised round her head, as in Diana and Victory, a fashion usual with virgins and brides. Hands touching each other, with wheat ears, are also emblems of marriages by confarreatio. There are many bas-reliefs of marriage in Montfaucon. In one of the Villa Borghese, and another of the Justiniani Palace, the bride is veiled, and an old woman by her side is probably the nurse, the constant attendant oZ young girls. The gall was taken out of the animal which was slaughtered at the marriage, so that no bitterness might follow the union. The bride was conducted to the house of her husband in the evening. She was taken with apparent violence from the arms of her mother, or of the person who had given her away. On her way she was accompanied by three boys or bride-knights, dressed in the prsetexta, and whose fathers and mothers were still alive. One of them, or sometimes a virgin attendant, carried before her a torch of white thom or pine wood. .The two other boys walked by her side, sup- portingherby the arms ; and she carried a distaflfof flax, and a spindle of wool. A boy, called Camillus, carried in a cov- ered vase the so-called utensils of the bride and playthings for children. Besides those persons who officiated on the occasion, the procession was attended by numerous friends of both parties. Plutarch speaks of five wax candles which were used at marriages; if these were borne in the proces- sion, probably they were to light the company which follow- ed the bride, but it may be that they were lighted during the marriage cersmony in the bride's house. The bringing IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 47 home of the bride was regarded in the later days of the Roman empire as one of the most important parts of the marriage ceremony. When the procession arrived at the bridegroom's house, the door of which was adorned with garlands and flowers, the bride was carried across the threshold by men who had been married to only one woman. It is said by some that this custom was a relic of the usage of capture or force in marriage, and by others that it was to indicate that the bride lost her virginity unwillingly ; while others say that it was followed so that the bride might not strike her foot against the threshold, and thus cause an evil omen. Prob- ably, the first is the correct reason. Before she entered the house, she wound wool around the dooi-posts, and anointed them with lard or wolf's fat; in order to avert enchantments. Her husband received her with fire and water, which she had to touch. This was either a symbol of purification, for the couple washed'their feet in the wa- ter, or of welcome. The bride saluted her husband with the words, " Ubi tu Caius, ego Caia." Having entered, she was placed upon a sheepskin, and the keys of the house were delivered into her hands. The nuptials were also ^confirmed by a kiss. A repast, given by the bridegroom to all the relations . and friends who accompanied the bride, generally conclu- ded the ceremonies of the day. Many ancient writers mention a very popular song, called Talasius or Talassio, which was sung at weddings,' but whether it was sung during the repast, or during the procession, is not certain, 'although we may infer, from the story respecting the ori- gin of the song, that it was sung while the latter was pro- ceeding to the bridegroom's house. A variety of jests and railleries took place sometimes, and Ovid mentions obscene songs which were sung before 48 THE WEDDING DAY the door of the Ibridal apartment by girls, after the com- pany had gone. These songs were probably the old Fe- scennina, and are called also Epithalamia. At the end of the repast the bride was conducted by matrons who had not had more than one husband to the lectus genialis, or bridal-bed, in the atrium, or hall, which was magnificently adorned and strewed with flowers and evergreens for the occasion. On the following day the husband sometimes gave an- other entertainment to his friends, and the wife, who on this day undertook the management of her husband's house, performed certain religious rites, probably consist- ing of sacrifices to the Penates, Both parties gave pres- ents to those friends who had negotiated or favored their marriage. At Roman weddings the bridegroom threw nuts about the room for boys to scramble, as a token that he relinquished his childish diversions. The classical epi- thalamia refer to this custom, and some authors say the nuts which Were so scattered were walnuts. Pliny says that, in his time, the circos, a kind of lame hawk, was ac- counted a lucky omen at weddings. The position of a Roman woman after her marriage was very difierent from that of a Greek woman. The foi-mer presided over the whole household, and shared the honors and respect shown to her husband. She also, at least dur- ing the better times of the Republic, occupied the most important part of the house, the atrium. The Roman la- dies usually bound their heads with fillets, as a mark of their chastity, which common women were not allowed to do. Seduction under promise of marriage, marriage for mere money, and the prejudice against mothers-in-law, were common among the Romans. The ancient Etruscans always were married in the streets, before the door of the house, which was thrown IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 49 open after the ceremony. In the " Memoirs of the Etrus- can Academy of Cortona " is a drawing of a picture found in Herculaneum, representing a marriage at which a sorcer- ess is practising divination with five stones. The Syracusan virgins,' when about to enter the matri- monial state, used to go in procession to the Temple of Di- ana, the goddess of chastity, preceded by chanters, musi- cians, and persons carrying flowers and vessels of mcense, and accompanied by tamed tigers, leopards, and the like animals. Theocritus, in his second " Idyll," alludes to this custom. 3 CHAPTER III. Scythian Marriages.— Lydian Marriages.— Lycian Marriages.— Ehodian Mar- riages.— Parthian Marriages. — Nestorian Marriages. — Chaldean Marriages. — Fire Custom.— Assyrian Marriages. — Babylonian Marriages. Women put up for Sale.— Marriage at Nimroud.— Coins stuck on the Bridegroom's Head.^Egyptian Marriages. — Copt Marriages. — Moorish Marriages. Al- gerian Marriages. — Morocco Marriages. — Barbary Marriages. ^Arabian Marriages.— Marriage for a Term. — ^Wiyes in Common. — Bedouin Mar- riages.— Green Leaf Symbol.— Marriages near Mount Sinai. — Wife-cap- turing.— Wife-escaping.— Marriages by the Modes.- Persian Marriages.— Marriage to the Dead.— Marriage of a Persian Prince.— Canbnl Marriages. —Wives lent.— Sabean Marriages.— Marriage in Georgia and Circassia.— Sewing the Couple *)gether.— Shaa Fights at Circassian Marriages.- Ai^ menian Marriages. T^HE ancient Scythians, being a warlike people, would -■- not marry a maiden who had not killed an enemy. Polygamy was prevalent among them, and marriage with the wife of another- man Tvas allowed. Some tribes had wives in common. The more modern Scythians, however, had a horror of conjugal infideUty, and their laws rigorous- ly punished that crime with death. Among the Lydians the gains of prostitution furnished a marriage portion for their women. So at Carthage fe- male prostitution was recommended as an act of piety, and the profits of it served as the woman's fortune. The children of the Lycians took their names and condi- tions, not from their fathers, but from their mothers; so that if a free woman married a slave, her children were free like herself; but if a man who was free married a slave, the children were slaves like the mother. THE WEDDING DAY. 51 The Rhodians had a peculiar custom of sending foi- a * bride by the public crier. When she and her friends ar- rived at the bridegroom's house they found a sumptuous repast prepared for them. The object of these forms was to make the marriage public, and to show respect to the divinities. During the time of the banquet a boy, covered with thorn boughs and acorns, brought in a basket full of bread, and cried out, " I have left the worse and found the better;" signifying how much the married state was prefer- able to the single one. The Parthians allowed polygamy, and even marriage with sisters and mothers. The inarriage customs of the Nestorians afforded several points of similarity with those of the Jews, both in respect to the mode of effecting betrothal, and in the importance attached to it. The bridegi'oom was conducted to the house of the bride on horseback between two drawn swords, which were carried by two men, one before and the other behind him. The friends of the bride received him with lighted flambeaux, music, and acclamations of joy. On the wedding night the bridegroom gave the bride a kick, and commanded her to pull off his shoes, as a token of her sub- mission to him. In Chaldea, on the wedding day the priest came into the bridegroom's house and ignited a fire, which it was thought ought never to be put out until the hour of the death of one of the pair. If, during the life of the husband and wife, the fire went out, it was deemed to be a sign that marriage be- tween them was dead also, and hence, says a writer in 1581, arose the proverb, " Provoke me not too much, that I throw water into the fire." Among the ancient Assyrians all marriageable young girls were assembled in one place, and the public crier put them up to sale one after another. The money which was received 52 THE WEDDING DAY for those who were handsome, and consequently sold well, was bestowed as a wedding portion on those who were plain. When the most beautiful had been disposed of, the more or- dinary looking were offered for a certain sum, and allotted to those who were willing to take them. Hence all the women were provided with husbands. The Babylonians, like the Assyrians, held a kind of mar- ket of their daughters at certain times every yeaii They were assembled in a public place, where they were exposed to general view, and disposed of to the best bidders by the publiccrier. The money given for the purchase of the hand- some ones was applied to portion out those who were defi- cient in personal attractions. This custom is said to have originated with Atossa, the daughter of Belochus. Layard, in his " Nineveh and Babylon," describing a mar- riage celebrated in recent times near Nimroud, says that the parties entered into the contract before witnesses, amidst dancing and rejoicing. On the next day the bride, covered from head to foot by a thick veil, was led to the bride- groom's house, surrounded by her friends dressed in their gayest robes, and accompanied by musicians. She was kept behind a curtain in the corner of a darkened room for three days, during which time the guests feasted ; after this the bridegroom was allowed to approach her. The courtyard of the house was filled with dancers and players on the fife and drum during each day and the greater part of each night. On the third day the bridegroom was led in triumph by his friends from house to house, and at each he received a tri- fling present. He was then placed within a circle of dancers, and the guests and bystanders, wetting small coins, stuck them on his forehead. This money was collected as it fell in an open kerchief, which was held by his companions un- der his chin. After this ceremony a party of young men rushed into the crowd, and carrying off the most wealthy IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 53 guests, locked them up in a dark room until they paid a ransom, for their release, which ^ey good-humoredly did.. AU the money that was collected was added to the dowry of the couple. The remainder of the day was spent infeast- ing, raki-drinking, and dancing. The custom of sticking coins on the bridegroom's forehead is common to several Eastern races, among others to the Turcomans of Mosul and the Moors of West Barbary. In Syria every man pays a sum for his wife, proportion- ate to the rank of her father. In one tribe the father re- ceives for his daughter five special articles ; namely, a car- pet, a nose-ring, a neck-chain, bracelets, and a camel-bag ; these, however, belong and are delivered to her. We are entirely. ignorant of the marriage contracts of the ancient Egyptians, among whom marriage is stated to have been instituted by Menes ; and Wilkinson says that not even the ceremony is represented in paintings on their tombs. We may, however, conclude that the customs were regulated by those usual among civilized nations ; and, if the authority of Diodorus can be credited, women were in- dulged with greater privileges in Egypt than in any- other country. The Egyptians were not restricted to any num- ber of wives ; but every man married as many as he chose, with the exception of the priesthood, who were by law con- fined to one consort. It does not appear, however, that these people took advantage of the privilege of polygamy. There is no evidence that the women wore wedding rings, although it is certain that they wore rings. In modern Egypt a woman can never be seen by her fu- ture husband until after she has been married, and she is always veiled. The choice of a wife is sometimes entrust- ed to a professional woman, who conducts the negotiation for a price. Generally a man inclined to beconie a husband applies to some person who is reported to have daughters. 54 THE WEDDING DAY and desires to know if any are to be disposed of. If the father replies affirmatively, the aspirant sends one of his fe- male relations who has been already married, to see the girl and report the result. Should the representation be favor- able, the intended husband pays the father a stipulated sum ; and on an appointed day all parties interested in the event assist at the solemnization of the marriage. On the day before the wedding the bride goes in state to a bath, walking under a canopy of silk, which is carried by four men. She is covered from head to foot in an am- ple shawl, which in size much resembles the Hebrew veil. On her head is a smaU cap or crown. Following the bath, the bride and bridegroom and their friends have a supper ; after which a quantity of henna paste is spread on the bride's hands, and the guests make her contributions by sticking coins on the paste ; and, when her hands are cov- ered, the money is scraped off. On the following day the bride goes in procession to the bridegroom's house, where another repast is given. At night the bridegvoom goes to prayers at the mosque ; after which he returns home, and is introduced to, and left alone with his bride. He first gives her money, and then, having paid for the privilege, he lifts the shawl from her face, and sees her for the first time. He then divests her of all her garments except one. During the whole of these proceedings she is by custom compelled to offer all the resistance in her power. The bridal bed is turned towards the East. Girls generally marry before they are sixteen years of age, frequently at twelve, and occasion- ally at ten. The Copts, an Egyptian race, who were semi-Christians, had the following marriage customs in the seventeenth cen- tmy. On the wedding day the bride came to the husband's house, and then they both, with their relations and fi-iends, went to the church. The procession, which generally start- IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 55 ed in the evening, was accompanied by singers, who chanted hymns, men who struck little tablets of ebony with wooden hammers for music, and others who carried hghted torches and candles. On reaching the church, the bridegroom, to- gether with the other men, was seated in the choir ; and the bride was placed apart with the women. The priests at intervals, accompanied by the people, recited lengthy and monotonous prayers and hymns. Then the chief priest ap- proached the bridegroom, and read several more prayers to him, and signed him with the cross at the beginning and end of each. The bridegroom then sat down on the ground with his face towards the East, and a silver cross was held over his head until the remaining prayers were concluded. The sacristan then placed a seat for the bride and one of her nearest relations outside tke choir, and led her to it. He then robed the bridegroom in a long white garment reaching down to his feet, bound his waist with a girdle, and put a white cloth upon his head. Thus attired, he was led to the bride, and the priest, placing them close to each other, covered both with the same cloth, and anointed their foreheads and wrists with oil. He then joined their right hands, and read -aloud the duties of their new life. More prayers followed, and after mass, in which the couple com- municated, the ceremony was at an end. A Copt priest at the present day is forbidden to marry again on the death of his wife. The Mahomedan Copts kill a sheep as soon as the bride enters the bridegroom's house, and she is obliged to step over the blood, which is made to flow upon the threshold of the door. The Moors of modern Egypt had many wives, which they kept in a seraglio ; while the Moors of Granada who were • driven from Spain had each only one wife. The Moors of Morocco also had several wives, besides the con- 56 THE WEDDING DAY cubines which the Koran permits. Marriage with them was a civil contract made in wi'iting before a Cadi, and in the presence of a formal witness. Their weddings were very expensive and festive events, and the processions at- tending them were most gorgeous affairs. The chief of the company rode upon richly caparisoned camels or mules, and male and female attendants followed, the latter singing to the noisy accompaniment of drums. The wedding feast lasted several days. SitoUar customs were followed at Fez and Algiers. In Fez three feasts were given : the first being on the night when the bf ide was brought home ; the second on the fol- lowing day, for the women only ; and the third on the seventh day, when it was said the bride became a woman, and on which her father, mbther, and other relations attend- ed. The husband did not go out imtil this seventh day, when he bought fish, and cast it at his wife's feet, as a to- ken of good luck. In Algiers and Tunis men. had never more than two wives. The Algerine lovers explain the im- pulses of their passion by the manner in which they make up a bouquet for their sweethearts. It is constructed in a particular form, and contains as many tender ideas, ex- pressed in flower language, as a letter of several pages. In ancient times, at Morocco, some days previous to a wedding the bride and all her female relations had their faces painted red and white, and their hands and feet stained yellow with henna, a variety of figures being marked on them with this herb. The wife was carried to her hus- band's house in a procession ; and when he was introduced to her he found her sitting in her apartment on a cushion, with two candles standing before her on a small table. The Mahomedans of Barbary do not buy their wives, like the Turks, but have portions with them. They retain in their marriage rites many ceremonies in use by the ancient IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 57 Goths and Vandals. The married women must not sho-w their faces, even to their fathers. The Moors of West Barbary much respect the state of wedlock. Generally the bridegroom does not see the bride until he is introduced to her in the bridal chamber ; but a woman, on his behalf, views her in her bath before marriage, and reports to him her bodily charms and defects. Articles of marriage are signed by the relations on both sides before the Cadi, and the next ceremony consists in the bridegroom taking home his bride. This is usually done in the after- noon or evening, and is prohibited during the Eamada,n, or Lent, and also on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at all times. With music, dancing, and other expressions of joy, the bride is conducted in a covered chair to the bridegroom's house. On this occasion he receives ofEerings of money from his bachelor friends, who cover Ms forehead and brow with gold coins. As they are put on, the attending servants shake them off into a basin which is set in the bridegroom's lap, his eyes being meanwhUe shut, and the name of the donor and the amount of the gift ai"e called out. At night the husband undresses the bride himself, as a sign that she is entirely his ; and at midnight certain selected friends re- ceive tokens of her previous purity. The Nasamones, a people of Barbary, used to plight their troth by drinking out of each other's hands, that being the only ceremony of marriage. The parents arranged the match, and settled the terms of it, and the parties did not meet until the nuptials were about to be consummated, when the bridegroom imveiled and undressed the bride. In the Molucca Isles a man was not allowed to see his wife until he was married to her; she was introduced to him as a stranger, and as such he took her home to be his bride. The people had as many wives as they pleased, and they were all shut up jealously from the public gaze. 3* 58 THE WEDDING DAY Marriage settlements and portions given with daughters and sisters appear to have been of great antiquity in Arabia. Long before Mahomed, it was common, when two men were obliged to give great fortunes with their female relatiotis, to evade payment by making a double marriage, one espous- ing the daughter or sister of the other, and giving his daugh- ter or sister in return. This practice was condemned by Mahomed in the Koran. The Arabians formerly took their wives only for a limit- ed and agreed period ; and so that there might be a form of matrimony in the contract, the wife gave her temporary husband a bearded arrow for a portion. The contract was made in writing, and witnessed by the Cadi, and a certain sum was settled on the woman. She was compelled to leave her husband at the end of the time specified if he chose, and her issue did not inherit. In Arabia Felix each tribe and family had their wives in every house in common. The man who came first left his stafE at the woman's chamber door, as a sign that she was engaged for a time. The women strictly adhered to men of their own tribe, as it was adultery to associate with any other men. The modern Arabians, siuQe they have conformed to the laws of the Koran, marry as many wives as they please, and buy them as they do slaves; but always out of their. own f g,mily or tribe. The bridegroom makes the bride presents, which are sent a day or two before the nuptials in a pom- pous procession of camels and servants. In the ceremonial they observe the same formalities as the Turks. Their marriages are attended with much festivity and public pa- rade, and as the lengthy procession of friends and relations moves along, money, sweetmeats, and flowers are thrown among the populace. Immediately on the ai-rival of the bride at the bridegroom's house she makes him presents of IN" ALL AGES. AND COUNTRIES. 59 household furniture, a spear, and a tent. The custom of capturing and removing the bride with a considerable show of violence is still prevalent among the modern Arabs, and is similar in its intent to the form of taking the bride by the ancient Jews and others. Among the Bedouins polygamy is allowed, but generally a Bedouin has only one wife, who is often taken for an agreed term, usually short. The marriage, which is gener- ally celebrated on a Friday, is preceded by a formal be- trothal. It is considered by some to be scandalous for the bride's father to accept any price or present from the bride- groom. Burckhardt says that the marriage ceremony among the Aenezes, a Bedouin tribe, is very simple. " The marriage- day being appointed (usually five or six days after the be- trothing), the bridegroom comes with a lamb in his arms to the tent of the girl's father, and there cuts the lamb's throat before witnesses. As soon as the blood falls upon the ground the marriage ceremony is regarded as complete. The men and girls amuse themselves with feasting and singing. Soon after sunset the. bridegroom retires to a tent pitched for him at a distance from the camp ; there he shuts himself up and awaits the arrival of his bride. The bash- ful girl meanwhile runs from the tent of one friend to an- other tiQ she is caught at last, and conducted in triumph by a few women to tha bridegroom's tent ; he receives her at the entrance, and forces her into it ; the women who had ac- companied her then depart." Among one tribe of Bedouins the bridegroom's father, after the terms of a marriage have been agreed to, presents to the bride's father a green leaf, and calls all around to wit- ness the gift. In another tribe the girl's father, after the settlement of the terms, gives the bridegroom the branch of a tree or a shrub, which he wears in his turban for three 60 THE WEDDING DAT days, to show that he was engaged to marry a virgin. This ceremony is not adopted in the case of a widow. Burckhardt says that among the Bedouins of Mount Si- nai marriage is a matter of sale and purchase, in which the inclination of the girl is not studied. " The young maid comes home in the evening with the cattle. At a short distance from the camp she is met by the future spouse and a couple of his young friends, and carried off by force to her father's tent. If she entertains any suspicion of their designs, she defends herself with stones, and often inflicts wounds on the young men, even though she does not dis- like the lover, for, according to custom, the more she strug- gles, bites, kicks, cries, and shrieks, the more she is applaud- ed ever after by her own companions." She is then taken to her father's tent, where a man's cloak is thrown over her, and the name of her future husband is formally announced. After this she is dressed in suitable apparel, and mounted on a camel, " although stiU continuing to struggle in a most unruly manner, and held by the bridegroom's friends on both sides." She is led in this way to, and three times round, and finally into the bridegroom's tent, still resisting. Several sheep are killed, and the guests eat the meat, and also bread, which is a most important part of the feast. Pres- ents are made to the bride. Among the Mezeyne Arabs marriage is a matter of sale and purchase, and is conducted with the foiin of capture. Burckhardt says : " A singular custom prevails among the Mezeyne tribe, within the limits of the Sinai peninsula, but not among the other tribes of that province. A girl hav- ing been wrapped in the abba at night, is permitted to es- cape from her tent, and fly into the neighboring mountains. The bridegroom goes in search of her next day, and remains often many days before he can find her out, while her fe- male friends are apprised of her hiding-place, and furnish IN ALL AGES AND COUNTEIES. 61 her with provisioijs. If the husband finds her at last (which is sooner or later, according to the impression that he has made upon the girl's heart), he is bound to consummate the marriage in the open country, and to pass the night with her in the mountains. The next morning the bride goes home to her tent, that she may have some food ; but again runs away in the evening, and repeats these flights several times, till she finally returns to her tent. She does not go to live in her husband's tent till she is far advanced in pregnancy ; if she does not become pregnant, she may not join her husband tiU after a full year from the wedding day." The same custom is observed among the Mezeyne Arabs elsewhere. It is a great point with all the Arab girls that they shall go to their husbands pure, and lose their virgin freedom reluctantly, and with actual resistance. Husbands repu- diate their newly-married wives if they find them to be unchaste ; and if the want of purity be clearly proved, the fathers or brothers of the women are allowed to cut their throats. Among the Medes reciprocal polygamy was in use, and a man was not "considered entitled to a full degree of re- spect unless he had seven wives, nor a woman unless she had five husbands, says Strabo. The ancient Persians, fpom a notion that married people were peculiarly happy in the future state, used to hire per- sons to be espoused to such of their relations as had died in celibacy. In fact, living people were married to the dead. The Persians considered a numerous posterity to be a gift from heaven, and the fathers of large families received re- wards from the state. They had many wives and concu- bines, and, according to some authors, the grandees piarried their nearest female relations. In the seventeenth century the nobility might have as many wives as they pleased; 62 THE WEDDING DAY but the commonalty were limited to seven ; and they might part with them at discretion. When a Persian made love he sometimes burned hiniself on a visible part, in order to prove his faithfulness to his mistress, who, if she accepted him, gave him silken scarfs to bind up his wounds. On the wedding day of a wealthy man his relations and friends met at his house, the nearest of them being dressed in his livery, and the rest as well as they could be. The bride started from her house on horse- back, accompanied by her relations and friends, all mounted, with many singers in front. The bridegroom also left his house in similar style ; and the two companies having met, they all went together to the bride's house, where they danced. At night two men conducted the bridegroom into the bride's chamber, and the couple were left together ; the company in the meantime continuing their ball. About midnight an old woman brought to the company some evi- dence of the'bride's purity, and then great rejoicing follow- ed. But if such evidence could not be produced, the old woman took the bride from the bed ; and the bridegroom rejected her in the presence of the company, and sent her home by her parents. In more modern times matrimony in Persia was so ex- pensive an affair, that the meaner class of the people took concubines instead of wives. The Mahomedans in that coun- try took wives in one of three ways ; namely, by purchase, hire, or marriage. Of the espoused wives, four were al- lowed, but in general only one was taken. Marriage con- tracts were made by parents for their children when the latter were at a very early age — girls at twelve, and boys between twelve and fourteen. Frequently the man mar- ried by proxy, and did not see his wife until after consum- mation, which sometimes did not take place until several days after the wife had been at her husband's house. Gen- IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 63 eiKilly the husband and wife were strangers to each other until they were actually pledged in matrimony. "The courtship commenced by an elderly female being employed by the bridegroom's relations to visit the lady selected by them ; and her oflSce was to ascertain the, maid- en's personal attractions and endowments, and other requi. site information. If the report was favorable, the friends of the intended husband sent sponsors to the lady's relations to explain his merits and pretensions, and to make a formal ofEer of marriage. If he was accepted, the chiefs of the two families met, and the necessary contract was drawn up ; the presents and gifts proposed by the bridegroom's parents were arranged ; and when all was finally settled, the docu- ments were signed and witnessed before the Cadi. Some- times the marriage-broker was a man who lived by the pro- fession of match-making. On the day before the wedding, the bride took a bath ; and the bridegroom sent her some henna, with which after her bath her hands and feet were stained. Her eyebrows and forehead also were tinted with a powder. The bride- groom was colored in the same way with henna. On the eve of the nuptial celebration, the bride's friends assembled at her house, attended by musicians and dancing-girls. On the moming of the Tvedding day the husband sent a train of mules, laden with the promised gifts to his bride ; the whole being attended by numerous servants, and preceded by music. Besides the presents for the lady, the servants car- ried rich viands on silver trays, ready prepared to be im- mediately placed before the inmates of the bride's house. The day was spent by them in feasting and rejoicing. Towards the evening the maiden was enveloped in a long veil of scarlet or crimson silk, placed upon a horse or niule splendidly caparisoned, and conducted to her husband's house, accompanied by all her relations aiid a noisy band of 64 THE WEDDING DAT musicians. On the way, a large looking-glass -v^as held be- fore her by one of her maidens, as an admonition that that was the last time she would see herself as a virgin. "When she had alighted at her husband's door, she was met by his father and mother, and led by her female relations and serv- ants to her apartment. Her male friends repaired to the bridegroom's rooms, where, being met by his relations, all of them feasted and made merry, with musical accompani- ments. The men and women supped separately. When the meal was ended, the bride was conducted to the nuptial chamber, where her husband met her and beheld her for the first time. Shortly afterwards he returned to his party, and an old woman in waiting led the lady back to her female friends. A space of time being allowed for both sets of re- lations to congratulate the couple on their marriage and its consummation, the couple repaired again to their chamber for the night, leaving their friends to keep up the revelry, which lasted for several days. The marriage contract stipulated for the settlement of a certain sum of money and other presents on the bride, pro- portionate to the fortune of the bridegroom. This jointure was intended for her support in case of a divorce. If the bridegroom was in medium circumstances he gave his bride two complete dresses, a ring, and a mirror ; he also supplied the furniture, carpets, mats, culinary utensils, and other nec- essaries for their home. It was deemed the greatest pos- sible disgrace to take back an affianced bride after she had left her home to go to the bridegroom's house. When, therefore, the latter had promised a jointure beyond his means, he shut his door against the bride's cavalcade, and declared that he would not have her unless the jointure would be reduced. A negotiation took place between the parties, and the matter was finally adjusted according to his wisbes, to save the scandal of taking back the maiden. IN ALL AGES AND CO,UNTEIES. " 65 Another marriage custom with the Persians, was for the parties to meet at midnight on a bed in the presence of two sponsors, who held rice in their hands as an emblem of fruit- fulness. The sponsor for the man, touching the woman's forehead, asked her if she would have the man; and the sponsor for the woman performed the same ceremony to the man. The hands of the parties were then joined, the rice was scattered over them, and prayers for their fruitful- ness were offered. In October, 1867, the heir to the throne of Persia was married to his cousin, both of them being only sixteen years of age. The ceremony was conducted with great pomp. The cavalcade in which the bride left her home was pre- ceded by about one hundred horses, mules, and camels, car- rying servants, carpets, tents, and her outfit; then followed many led horses covered with rich housings ; and next came the carriage containing the princess, who was concealed be- hind wooden blinds. The vehicle was drawn by six horses. It was followed by mules carrying palanquins closed with curtains, and containing the women of the bride's suite. The procession was closed by a large number of ojficers and dignitaries on beautifully caparisoned horses ; and it was accompanied by violin, trumpet, and tamborine players. The princess was thirty-three days upon her journey ; and having arrived at the city of her intended husband, she was provisionally lodged in a palace thei-e. Public rejoicings preceded the mamage ; and on the day fixed for the cere- mony, three hours after sunset, the princess was conducted in a litter with torches, to her lord's palace, where the mar- ital rites took place. Some Persians take their wives for short terms only; in fact, the marriage contract is seldom intended to last the life of either party, and a new wife is a common luxury fre- quently taken by these people. Persian etiquette demands 66 . THJ! WEDDING DAY that before the master of the house no person must pro- nounce the name of his wife ; a kind of paraphrase must be employed, as " How is the daughter of (naming her father or mother) ?" Among the Vizerees, living in Caubul, among the mount- ains between Persia and India, the following custom ob- tains. When a woman is smitten with a man she sends the drummer of the camp to fasten a handkerchief to his cap with a pin she has used to bind up her hair. The drummer, having watched an opportunity, does this in public, at the same time naming the woman, whom the man is obUged to marry immediately if he can pay her price to her father. The Eimauk of Caubul lend their wives to their guests. The Sabeans, or Christians of St. John, living on the bor- ders of Persia and Turkey, might have two wives. Having proceeded to the church, the parties were received by the priest, who administered an oath to the bride, by which she solemnly declared that she had hitherto been virtuous. Fe- males appointed for the purpose took her aside to converse with and examine her on this point ; and if they were satis- fied, the priest duly baptized the bride and bridegroom. He then read prayers to them, the couple meanwhile stand- ing back to back. They were then conveyed to the house of the bride's father, where they fasted for an appointed time. The quasi-Christians of Georgia and Cii'cassia contract- ed their marria,ges on very sudden resolutions, and treated them as mere matters of purchase and sale, according to the value of the women. Before the wedding the man prom- ised in the presence of witnesses to be faithful, and not to unite himself to another woman so" long as either par- ty lived, unless compelled by urgent necessity. On the wedding day the bridegroom's father gave an entertain- ment, at which his son attended with the agreed dowry, IN" ALL AGES AND CaUNTRIES. 67 which he delivered to the bride's friends, who in return of- fered some equivalent. After the repast the bride went to the bridegroom's house, attended by her relations and by musicians. Some of the company went on before, and an- nounced her coming. These messengers were presented with food and wine, which they poured round the house as a libation for the prosperity of the couple. The bride and the rest of the party were conducted to an apartment^ in the middle of which were a pitcher of wine and a vessel full of bread dough, standing Upon a carpet. As soon as she had entered the room, the bride kicked over the wine and scattered the paste with her hands about the apartment. The actual ceremony of marriage was performed in a private room, where the couple and their sponsor stood before a priest, who by the light of a wax taper read the marriage service to them. The sponsor, or sometimes the priest, meanwhile placed a veil on the bridegroom's head; sewed the garments of the couple together ; crowned them both with a garland of flowers and tufts of various colors, chang- ing the crowns several times ; and gave bread to the bride- groom and the bride three times, and then a glass of wine also three times. The sponsor or the priest said each time when he placed the crowns upon the couple, " Let the serv- ant of God (naming him or her) be crowned by the serv- ant of God (naming himself)." He ate the remainder of the bread, and drank the rest of the wine himself ; he then cut the thread by which the couple's garments were united ; and the ceremony was at an end. No consent of the parties was declared during the rites, which much resembled those of the Greek church before described. Among the Circassians, when two persons wished to be united, the man caused the woman to be demanded of her parents ; and if they agreed to his suit, his father went to them to settle the dowry, of which half was always paid at 68 THE WEDDING DAY the time of the marriage, and the other half at a time agreed upon, which was generally when the first child -was born. Until that event happened the marriage was incom- plete. After the first birth the wife was invested with the distinguishing badges of her matrimonial state — a long white veil, worn over a red coif, the rest of her, dress being also white. The preliminaries being settled by the parents, the lover met his bride-elect by night, and with the aid of some of his male friends he seized her and carried her off. Somcr times it was • in the midst of a noisy feast that the bride- groom rushed in, and with the help of a few daring young men bore off the lady by force. They usually conducted her to the wife of a mutual friend of the two families. The parents of the lady went next morning to seek her, affect^ ing an enraged manner, and requiring to know the reason why she had been carried away. The parents of the bride- groom replied that, as their son wished to be married, he had complied with the customs of his country ; and they asked the consent of the lady's parents to the union. The latter then demanded the dowry, and the former offered them half of it down, and the balance at a certain time al- ready arranged between them. But custorp. required that the matter, being in supposed dispute, should be referred to arbitrators, who of course decided in the manner previously settled by- the parties. On the day following the marriage all the relations and friends assembled, armed with sticks, and divided them- selves into two parties, of which one proceeded to the house where the bride was staying, and the other accompa- nied the husband when he went to the house to claim her. The first party waited for the second in defensive order, and a sham fight ensued, during which the bride appeared at the door, and the bridegroom carried her off, amid cries IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 69 of victory from his adherents. The united factions then followed the conqueror and his prize home in triumph, and feasted, danced, and had music. " ~- An Ai-menian mother usually selected a husband for her daughter. After the terms had been agreed to, the bride- groom's mother, accompanied by a priest and two matrons, visited the bride, and gave her a ring as a token of espous- al. Qn the evening before the wedding the couple sent each other presents. On the wedding day a procession was formed, in front of which the bridegroom rode, having on his head a gold or' silver net, or a flesh-colored gauze veil, hanging down to his waist. The bride rode behind him on horseback, entirely covered with a long white veil. In his right hand the bridegroom held one end of a girdle, and the bride held the other end. An attendant walked on each side of her horse, holding the reins. Sometimes the bride ■was conducted to church on foot between two matrons, and the bridegroom also walked, accoinpanied by a friend, who carried his sabre. Their relations attended them with ta- pers, and a band of music headed the procession. Still holding the ends of the girdle, they went up to the altar, where, standing side by side, the priest put a Bible on their heads, married them with a ring, and celebrated mass. An Armenian girl's marriage has been thus described. She had flowers of celestial blue delicately painted all over her breast and neck ; her eyebrows were dyed black ; and the tips of her fingers and nails were stained a bright orange color. She wore on each hand rings set with precious stones, and round her neck a string of turquoises. Her shirt was of fine spun silk, and her jacket and trowsers of cashmere of a bright color. The priest on arriving at the house placed a mitre ornamented with jewels uppn his head, and a metal collar on which the twelve apostles were represented in bas- relief round his neck. He began by blessing a temporary 70 THE WEDDING DAY. altar which had been raised in the middle of the room. The mother of the bride then took her by the hand and led her forward. She bowed at the feet of her future husband in acknowledgment of his supremacy. The priest, placing the couple's hands together, pronounced a prayer; and then drew their heads together until they touched three times ; while with his right hand he made a gesture as if he were blessing them. A second time their hands were joined, and the bridegroom was asked whether he would be the wom- an's husband. He answering yes, at the same time raised her veil as a token that she was now his, and then let it fall. Whereupon the priest placed upon the head of each a wreath of flowers ornamented with a quantity of hanging gold threads. These coronets he changed three times from the head of one to the head of the other, repeating each time, " I unite you, and bind you one to another. Live in peacel"