UNSUPERSTITIOUS BRIDE

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 16

UNSUPERSTITIOUS BRIDE

Miss Dorothy Loder, a niece of the Duke of St. Albans, who was married a few days ago to Captain the Hon. W. J. L. Palmer, the youngest son of the Earl of Selbourne, bravely defied a number of superstitions which surrounded the marriage ceremony, says, a writer in the Melbourne Age. First of : all, she decided to be married in May, although this month is usually avoided by society brides because of the widespread belief that it is an unlucky month for entering the matrimonial state. A more pronounced defiance of superstition was in choosing the thirteenth of the month for the ceremony. Part of the decoration of her bridal train consited of peacock's feathers, which are considered to be very unlucky. And in her going-away dress and her hat she wore green, which is an unlucky colour. She also offered to walk under a ladder if anyone would put it up in a convenient spot. Her marriage was a social event of some importance, and in order to allay the alarm of superstitious friends present a. the ceremony and the wedding breakfast, each of them was presented with a bunch of white heather, which is considered to be a particularly lucky flower. No doubt Miss Loder's defiance of superstition was Based on serene confidence in her future happiness with the husband she has chosen. But the pessimistic outlook on matrimony, as well as the optimistic outlook such as she displayed, has been known to exhibit indifference to superstition. What a triumph for pessimism was the reply of the confirmed bachelor who, when asked if he didn't agree with the belief that it is unlucky to marry on Friday, said, "Why only Friday?"