[Ill.u.s.tration: A, JEWISH WEDDING RING, GERMAN, 17TH CENTURY; B, MODERN ITALIAN; C, ITALIAN, 14TH CENTURY; D, VENETIAN, 16TH CENTURY; E, ENGLISH, 1706; F, ENGLISH BRONZE BETROTHAL RING, 17TH CENTURY.]

A wedding ring of the Shakespearian era has a portrait of Lucretia holding the dagger, the reverse side of the circle being formed by two clasped hands. This is a very common shape, and is shown in the ill.u.s.tration of the English wedding-ring E, dated 1706, where white enamel fingers support a rose diamond. The modern Italian peasant wedding-ring B is of gold in raised bosses, while C is of silver; F, bearing initials on vezet, is of bronze. A is a handsome Jewish wedding-ring, bearing the ark, and D also has a Hebrew inscription.

The gimmal betrothal ring was formerly a favourite pattern, and consisted of three circlets attached to a spring or pivot, and could be closed so as to appear like one solid ring. It was customary to break these asunder at the betrothal, the man and woman taking the upper and lower ones, and the witness the intermediate ring. When the marriage took place these were joined together and used at the ceremony. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was a common practice to engrave these emblems of affection with some appropriate motto. It was from Pagan Rome that European nations derive the wedding-ring, as they were used in their betrothals long before there is any trace of them elsewhere.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN EASTERN BRIDE.]

In describing the bridal costumes of different nations, it should be distinctly borne in mind that a large majority of the upper cla.s.ses wear on such occasions the traditional white satin and orange blossoms with which we are all familiar. Many, however, prefer the picturesque national costume a.s.sociated with the land of their birth, and it has been my princ.i.p.al object, in selecting the ill.u.s.trations, to make them as typical as possible.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GARMENT FORMERLY WORN BY GREEK BRIDES.

(_From South Kensington Museum_)]

The Greek marriage service is full of symbol, and the sketch gives a good idea of the bridal costume. The bridesmaid is attired in a gold embroidered jacket, a skirt of brilliant colouring, and the crimson fez--the usual head-gear of a Greek maiden. She is depicted scattering corn, an ancient rite always performed at the conclusion of the ceremony. As she gracefully sways backwards and forwards, to the accompaniment of the jingling coins, which do double service as dowry and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, it is a pose and dress at once graceful and free. Formerly a wedding garment was often pa.s.sed down from mother to daughter, and such an example is given in the soft yellow silk robe, lined with white and enriched with elaborate embroidery. Tiny stars in delicate shades of red, blue, and green, divided by black lines form the design and proclaim the industry and skill of the worker. These robes, however, have not been used in Greece since the beginning of the seventeenth century.

In j.a.pan, the beautiful land of the lily and chrysanthemum, the bride usually takes little more to her husband's home than her trousseau, which is ample enough, as a rule, to satisfy even a woman's pa.s.sion for dress. The nuptials take place in the evening, and the bride is garbed in virgin white robes, figured with a lozenge design. These garments are the gift of the bridegroom, and in them she pa.s.ses from the home of her girlhood to that of her husband. The household G.o.ds of both families are a.s.sembled before an altar decked with flowers and covered with offerings. Near stands a large table, with a dwarf cedar; it also holds the j.a.panese Adam and Eve, and the mystic turtle and stork. The two special attendants of bride and bridegroom are called b.u.t.terflies, and in their dress and colouring rival these beautiful insects, which in this country are the symbol of conjugal felicity. The most solemn part of the marriage ceremony is the scene of the two-mouthed vase. At a signal, one b.u.t.terfly fills the vase, and the other offers it to the kneeling couple, the husband drinking first, and afterwards the wife.

This draught signifies that henceforward they are to partake equally of the bitters and sweets of the coming years. Rice is thrown from either side, so as to mingle, and the wicks of two candles are placed together, to symbolize the joining of body and soul.

The marriage processions of other Oriental nations have already been referred to, and in India it is customary to perform the ceremony under a species of canopy richly ornamented and lighted by lamps. The bride wears, in addition to the native costume, a curious veil composed of strings of gold beads and ta.s.sels. In Hindu marriages the sacred fire or _oman_ (which is constantly renewed by throwing upon it scented oils, sandalwood, incense, and other aromatic perfumes) is a prominent feature, and the union of a couple is consecrated by sprinkling a handful of saffron, mixed with rice flour, on their shoulders. Finally, the husband presents his wife with a little golden image called _talee_, a subst.i.tute for the wedding ring, and worn by Indian women as their symbol of matrimony.

A missionary thus describes a Buddhist marriage:--"The bride, loaded with jewellery, accompanied by women richly attired, entered the room, and sat down with the bridegroom on the floor. A number of candles were then lighted, and the company saluted and congratulated the happy couple, and expressed their kind wishes by blowing smoke towards them, while a band of string instruments discoursed sweet music. Two cushions were placed before the bridegroom, on which a sword was laid, and food was also near them. Next the hands of each were bound together, then the two to each other with silken threads. This act was performed by the nearest relative present, and completed the ceremony." Brief, indeed, are the forms of marriage indulged in by the people of Borneo. Each of the contracting parties chews a betel nut; an elderly woman mutters some sort of incantation, and brings the heads of bride and bridegroom in close contact, after which they are declared man and wife, and are no longer regarded as twain, but one flesh. The Cherokee form of marriage is perhaps the most simple. The two join hands over a running stream, emblematic of the wish that their future lives, hopes, and aspirations, should flow on in the same channel. A peculiar custom of the Lascars is the putting of a ring on the great toe when they marry. Mrs. Bishop, who has explored Tibet and studied the habits and customs of the people, informs us that polyandry is favoured by the women of that country. The heir of the land and eldest son appears to be the only member of the family who can contract a marriage in the legal sense as we understand it, but all his brothers are accepted by the wife as inferior or subordinate husbands. By this means they are kept well under the control of the superior husband, whom they regard as the "Big Father," and, as a matter of form, any children who may be born are accepted by him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HINDU BRIDEGROOM'S PROCESSION.]

Thus the whole family are attached to the soil, and seem to work in concord, and the women have the satisfaction of knowing that in the average course of Nature they can never become widows, and that there will always be someone to work for them and their offspring. "It is the custom for the men and women of a village to a.s.semble when a bride enters her home with her husbands, and for each of them to present her with three rupees. The Tibetan wife, far from spending these gifts on personal adornment, looks ahead, contemplating possible contingencies, and immediately hires a field, the produce of which is her own, and acc.u.mulates from year to year, so that she may not be portionless should she desire a divorce."

The African tribes, of course, differ materially in their marriage customs, but some form of exchange for the services of the woman are insisted on, and often take the shape of a present of cattle to the bride's father. On the West Coast, in the neighbourhood of Gaboon, where slavedom is recognised, there is an understanding that a wife may be purchased for a slave bundle, valued at about 6 in English money, and there appears to be no sliding scale as to youth, beauty, form, or degree. A bundle contains specimens of every article sold by a general storekeeper. The most important features of a slave bundle are a Neptune, or bra.s.s pan used for making salt, which is a current article of commerce, and a piece of native cloth, manufactured by these people for dress purposes, from a species of palm which grows on the river banks in great luxuriance. Both s.e.xes anoint themselves with palm oil and other greasy substances, and no greater compliment can be paid to an African belle than to say she looks "fat and shining."

[Ill.u.s.tration: VEIL OF HINDU BRIDE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HINDU MARRIAGE CEREMONY.]

Mr. Hutchinson, in his interesting work, "Ten Years in aethiopia," gives a quaint and amusing account of the toilet of a Fernandian bridegroom: "Outside a small hut, belonging to the mother of the bride expectant, I soon discovered the happy bridegroom undergoing his toilet at the hands of his future wife's sister. A profusion of Tshibbu strings being fastened round his body, as well as his legs and arms, the anointing lady, having a short black pipe in her mouth, proceeded to rub him over with Tola pomade. He seemed not altogether joyous at the antic.i.p.ation of his approaching happiness, but turned a sulky gaze now and then on a piece of yam which he held in his hand, and which had a parrot's red feather fixed on its convex side. This was called 'Ntshoba,' and is regarded as a protection against evil influences on the important day.

The bride was borne down by the weight of rings and wreaths and girdles of Tshibbu. Tola pomatum gave her the appearance of an exhumed mummy, save her face, which was all white; not from excess of modesty, for the negro race are reported to blush blue, but from being smeared over with a white paste, the emblem of purity." What a hideous subst.i.tute for the cla.s.sical wreath of orange blossoms, and what a contrast must be offered when the cosmetic peels off and displays the dusky skin upon which it is laid!

According to Russian law, no man can marry before he is eighteen years of age, or a woman before she is sixteen; nor after he is eighty, and she is sixty. Priests are permitted to marry once. Secret marriages without witnesses are regarded as invalid, and both bride and bridegroom must be baptized persons. If a Russian takes a foreigner for a wife, she must bind herself in writing to bring up any children she may have in the Greco-Russian faith. According to an ancient custom the bridegroom presents his bride with the costume and jewellery worn at the marriage.

The dowry comes from her family, and consists of a complete wardrobe, silver, linen, and household furniture of all kinds. The hair of an unmarried woman of the peasant cla.s.s in Russia is dressed in a single plait hanging loose upon the shoulders, and tied with ribbon. After marriage it is arranged in two braids coiled round the head, covered with a cap tied behind, or with a cotton or silk handkerchief and a little lappet of linen rests on the forehead, and is considered an inevitable symbol of marriage. Marriages are performed after banns, and much of the finery used by the lower cla.s.ses is hired for the occasion; and the crowns used in the Russian ceremony are generally the property of the Church. Formerly they were worn for a week, but this practice has been discontinued.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A RUSSIAN BRIDE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: NORWEGIAN PEASANT BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.]

There are three distinct periods in the life of a Norwegian woman, and each one has marked characteristics, particularly as regards dress.

During girlhood, up to the time of confirmation, a solemn occasion for which there is much preparatory training, girls do not usually go from home to work, or earn their own living. Among the poorer cla.s.ses this ceremony takes place when they are about fifteen. Their petticoats are short and their hair is arranged in two long plaits. After confirmation they are supposed to regard life from its more serious aspect, and to engage themselves with various duties, according to their station. The third stage, of course, is married life, and it should be stated that neither men nor women can enter upon the holy contract unless they can bring proof of their confirmation, and can show ample evidence of sufficient means to provide for a household. The marriage is preceded by a betrothal ceremony, when the young couple go to the church, accompanied by their friends, and exchange rings of plain gold and presents of jewellery and apparel, which must be worn on the wedding day. At her marriage the peasant bride wears the crown. It has a rim of bra.s.s to fit the head, and the upper portion is of silver and gold, sometimes embellished with precious stones. Such crowns are generally heirlooms, and it is not uncommon for all the brides of one family for centuries to wear the same adornment for the head. A very usual dress on such an occasion is a plain skirt of some woollen material, with a bodice and full sleeves of snowy linen, a corselet of red and green, ornamented with bands and buckles, and a white ap.r.o.n trimmed with embroidery. A silver-gilt breast ornament is worn by Swedish brides. The band is wrought with bosses, and depending from it are small beaten discs, and a medallion bearing the sacred initials I.H.S. The bridegroom's hat in the ill.u.s.tration was probably an heirloom too, from its shape and fashion. He wears a red waistcoat cut short and fastened with bra.s.s b.u.t.tons, and a loose cloth coat ornamented with embroidered revers. The black small clothes show to advantage a well-shaped leg, and on the feet are low shoes. Usually the festivities in connection with a peasant wedding in Norway are kept up for three days, and during the time there is much feasting and merrymaking among the friends of bride and bridegroom.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ORNAMENT WORN BY SWEDISH PEASANT BRIDE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A BRIDEGROOM'S TOILET AT FERNANDO PO.]

Gipsies are, as a rule, married at a very early age. A girl is generally betrothed at fourteen, and becomes a wife two years later. The marriage ceremony is performed by a priest wearing a ram's horn as a sign of office, and, as becomes a nomadic race, the four elements--fire, air, earth, and water--take a prominent position. The horn is the symbol of authority, and is often made use of in Scripture. So much were rams'

horns esteemed by the Israelites that their priests and Levites used them as trumpets in the taking of Jericho; and modern Jews when they confess their sins announce the ceremony by blowing a ram's horn. In ancient Egypt and other parts of Africa, Jupiter Ammon was worshipped under the figure of a ram, and to this deity one of these animals was sacrificed annually. It seems to have been an emblem of power from the remotest ages. It would therefore appear that the practice of the gipsy priest wearing a ram's horn suspended from a string round his neck at a marriage is derived from the highest antiquity, and undoubtedly points to the Oriental origin of the gipsy race.

Various expedients have been resorted to by different rulers of spa.r.s.ely populated kingdoms to encourage men to enter the married state. In ancient Rome the law forbade that a bachelor should inherit any legacy whatever, and in Sparta, under the rule of Lycurgus, they were not permitted to have a part in the government, nor might they occupy any civil or military post. They were excluded from partic.i.p.ation in public festivals, except on certain fixed occasions, and then the women had the right to lead them to the altars, where they were beaten with rods to the sound of scornful songs. As late as the reign of William and Mary, widowers were taxed in England at the following rates:--Dukes, 12 10s.; lower peers a smaller sum, and commoners one shilling each, if they elected to remain in a state of single blessedness. Widows also, especially those of high degree and fortune, were encouraged to dip again in the matrimonial lottery, and children were betrothed at a very tender age.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ENGLISH BRIDE.]

Bridesmaids in Anglo-Saxon times attended on the bride, and performed specified duties, particularly in the festivities which usually followed on such occasions. Even during the earlier portion of the present century it was a common custom for one to accompany the bridal couple on their honeymoon; and it was also her duty to prepare and present the "benediction posset," which is referred to by Herrick in "Hesperides:"--

"A short sweet prayer shall be said, And now the posset shall be made With cream of lilies not of kine And maiden blush for spiced wine."

The fashion of brides wearing spotless white is a comparatively modern one. From accounts of bridal gowns in bygone times, we find rich brocades, golden tissues, and coloured silks were employed for this purpose; and at the present day white is considered only appropriate to the virgin, and is absolutely dispensed with by those women who have been married before.

Of modern marriage customs in England there is no occasion to speak, for what woman is there among us who has not made an exhaustive and complete study of this vital matter? It may, however, comfort those who are beginning to wonder if marriage and giving in marriage is going out of fashion, to know that during the first quarter of 1894, 95,366 persons were joined together in the British Islands, an increase of 18 per cent.

over the first three months of the previous year, 1893 and 9 per cent.

over the mean rate for the same quarter for the preceding ten years.

Figures are incontrovertible facts, so our ears need no longer be a.s.sailed by the bitter cry of

"DARKEST SPINSTERDOM."

CHAPTER VI.

MOURNING.

"The air is full of farewells to the dying And mourning for the dead."--_Longfellow._

[Ill.u.s.tration: ANCIENT JEWISH FUNERAL PROCESSION.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAYING OUT AND MOURNING THE DEAD.]

The signs of mourning in ancient times were by no means confined to the apparel. Fasting, laceration of the flesh, throwing dust on the head, and shaving the hair, were outward and visible signs of grief, accompanied by piercing cries of the most heartrending description. It was also customary to abstain from ornaments, to rend the clothing, and to put on filthy garments of sackcloth. This fabric was, and is still in the East, made of hair, which has an irritating effect upon the skin, and was for this purpose adopted as a penitential dress by the early Roman Church. The covering of the head was another manifestation of sorrow--a practice indicated by the hoods worn by female mourners, and the flowing hat-bands for men, so common at funerals a few years ago. In "A History of Mourning," by Richard Davey, from which many interesting facts on this subject may be gathered, we learn that the Egyptians, over three thousand years ago, selected yellow as the colour for mourning garments. The Greeks chose black as the most appropriate--a fashion followed by the Romans. The women of Rome had robes of black cloth, with veils of the same shade; but by a wise dispensation, young children were not compelled to adopt the symbols of woe. A year was the usual period for mourning a husband, wife, father, mother, sister, or brother; but relations who had been outlawed, imprisoned, or bankrupt, were not accorded this mark of respect. Numa published certain laws for the guidance of mourners, including one forbidding women to scratch their faces, or to make an exceptional display of grief at funerals. The Emperor Justinian (A.D. 537) also turned his attention to this subject, and regulated the expenses at funeral ceremonies, so as to secure those who remained from the double calamity of losing their friends and, at the same time, incurring heavy pecuniary liabilities on their account.

Provision was made for burying each person free of cost, and for protecting the survivors from various extortions. Funds were appropriated for the purpose of interments, which were conducted by those appointed for the purpose. All persons were to be buried in the same manner; though those who desired to do so could, at their own cost, indulge in certain display, but this additional expense was limited. On state occasions, as, for example, on the death of an Emperor or a great defeat, the whole nation a.s.sumed the mourning garb. The defeat of Cannae, the conspiracy of Catalina, and the death of Julius Caesar, were all considered of sufficient importance for the observance of this custom.

Private mourning could be broken among the Romans by certain domestic events, as the birth of a son or daughter, the marriage of a child, or the return of a prisoner taken in war. Both s.e.xes were expected to abstain from going to public ceremonies and places of amus.e.m.e.nt; and women were not allowed to marry till a year had elapsed from the husband's death, without the special permission of the Emperor. History, however, does not record that their lords and masters applied this rule to their own conduct.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE MODE OF ENFOLDING THE DEAD.]

The Greeks buried their dead before sunrise, so as to avoid ostentation.

Mourning women took part in the procession, and accompanied the chief female mourner in her visits to the grave, on the seven days following interment. This custom, which was derived from the East, was a usual feature in Jewish, Roman, and Egyptian, as well as in Greek funerals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CUP OF CONSOLATION.]

The funeral feast was a common practice among the cla.s.sical ancients, and was kept up to a comparatively recent period, in various European countries. The Cup of Consolation consisted of light refreshments prepared and sent in by the friends of mourners, who were not supposed to busy themselves with domestic affairs at such a time. The ill.u.s.tration gives a good idea of the mourning habit adopted by the immediate family of the deceased. Caves were used for the disposal of the dead, as well as elaborately constructed sepulchres, of which many remain to this day. Earth burial was in favour with some nations, but in time of war or pestilence cremation was resorted to. The practice of embalming we owe to the Egyptians, who carried it to a great state of perfection. One of the earliest embalmments on record is that of Joseph, whose body accompanied the Israelites on their journey through the Wilderness. He was placed in a coffin, a distinction in the East only accorded to those of the highest rank, the usual mode being to simply swathe the corpse closely in wrappers and bandages, thus retaining the shape of the human form. The Jews largely used spices and perfumes, which were employed both for anointing and for wrapping up the body--a very necessary precaution in hot climates. The Egyptians, on the death of a relative or sacred animal (the cat, for instance), attired themselves in yellow garments and shaved off their eyebrows. Their funeral processions were magnificent. When a king quitted this mortal sphere, the temples were closed for seventy-two days, and there were no sacrifices, solemnities, or feasts. Companies of two or three hundred men and women, in mean attire paraded the streets, singing plaintive songs and reciting the virtues of him they had lost. They ate no meat, or food dressed by fire, and omitted their customary baths and anointings. Every one mourned as for the death of a favourite child, and spent the day in lamentations. The Pyramids, those wonderful monuments to Egyptian monarchs, are memorials of the reverence and industry of the nation, whose high state of civilization is attested to by their works.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ANGLO-SAXON WIDOW.]