A FASHIONABLE MARRIAGE IN PARIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6811, 15 September 1883, Page 2 (Supplement)

A FASHIONABLE MARRIAGE IN PARIS.

A Pauis correspondent of tho Daily News says The marriage of a French Rothschild is always a great Parisian event. Their fabulous wealth has peculiar attraction for Frenchmen, among whom the theories of equality always supply the requisite effect of contrast for the proper contemplation of its opposite. The half-dozen hotels of the half-duz n Barons of the Paris branch are sail to be worth thirty-five million francs just as they atand, aud these are, of course, the mere town dwelling houses, without counting the country estates and the capi tal employed in the affairs. It bewilders like a detailed account of the solar system. There was another reason for universal interest in the piesent marriage. This time the Rothschild* marry out of the family; Mdlle. i Beatrice, the daughter of the JiarOn Alphonso, becomes Madame Maurice Euphru3si. Usually a Rothschild is ooupled with a Rothschild, and this is the oho great secret of their enormous wealth. There have been exceptions. There are the marriages with the Ansphachs, with the Lamberts of Brussols, with our own Yorkes and Roseberys ; but thoy only prove the rule., and they arc duo perhaps to the fact that for the time being the s'ock of eligible Rothschilds has run alio; t. These cross unions are of the most complicated character ; and it would require a strong mathematician to botaniae with comfort about the family tree. Tho R-itbachilds have married their cousins without number; they have even been known to marry th'ir aunts, so that some of th«iu have stood in the curious ship of uucles to themselves. The present marriage, however, was strictly in the monetary traditions of these alliances. The Euphruasis are minor Rothschilds; Presents for tho wedding came from Hiuphrussis in the most distant places. "V'ienua seemed just as much alive in the interest of the event as Paris itself. Tho soiree dil contral which took place the o her aud the marriage which came off recently, were botli of exceptional magnificence. Two thousand five hundred invitations were sent out. These people uaually meet only to look at one another, and it is a striking testimony to the value of the presents that On this occasion they looked at them. The onormOus valu'i of the display absolutely precluded the very affectation of indifference. There was a certain paru e of rubies given by- Biron Alphonse to his daughter, which he has been collecting in hia spare moments any time these dozen years past. They were simply tho finest rubios to be had for monoy in the pnblic or the private market of the period. The bridegroom gave a foolish trifle in sapphires almost of equal Value, and a book of devotion from which no one could possibly read vows of poverty without a strong effort of the will, with a quantity of Venice point to wrap th'-m in, worth almost as much as all the rest put together. The dowagerbironeas. tho grandmother of the bride, gave a diadem of diamonds, the Baroness Lionel, of London, gave another; the Marquis of Gallifet, Lady Lonsdale, the Chevalier Nigra, and another big baron of finance, tho Baron Hossinguer, wero only less munificent. The wc Iding at the Israelite Temple, in the Hue de la Victoire, was the crowning splendour, All tho choirs of the Paris synagogues were united to form one grand choir of 150 voices. Lassalle, of the opera, sang. There were special marches written for tlie occasion, and special hymns, with solos of harps by the first players. The tabernacle, of gold and red volvet, iu the midst of the synagogue, seemed to bo carpeted with flowers; it was almost a rude and reckless splendour, but the effect was certainly dazzling to the imagination. The temple is a magnificent building, whita stone without and within, with its glare tempered by the light from Btained glass. At I o'clock it was filled. T!he men occupiod the floor space, and most of the ladies were in tho galleries. The show of toileta was dazz iug. The scene was very imposing, though it might have been still moresut) uaicj.n tomed eyes if the sacred etiquette of the building had not compelled the mon to keep on their hats, The tabernacle stood well in advance of what in a Christian church Would be an altar-space, surmounted by carved tablets of the law, and wi hin this in a vast semi-circle, were arranged the most intimate friends of the families—the ladies on one side, the men on the other—with *;he diplomatic corps to the right. Half the mon, still following the old French fashion, were in evening dres >; the other half, following tho newer and English fashion, in morning costume. As the procession advanced, tho 150 choristers burst out in a mighty song, which was understood to be tho Tdhiled, or Praise to God. Next the strong, penetrating voice of Lasaalle was heard in a long solo, and then bride and brid-gr-'om, the latter wearing, a kind of short white silk shawl round his shoulders, stood up to listen to a rather long discourse by the Grand Rabbi in French. After this came more music, and some magnificent effects of harps, which seemed to thrill the auditory through and through. While this was being played, half-a-dozen young girk filod out of the sanctuary, and made a collec- , tion for the poor. The poor are always largely rettiemhered both in the Rothschilds" festivities and it> the Rothschilds' daily life, ' Then came the decisive moment of the cere- , mony, when the parties stood up and moistened their lip* with the sacred wine, while the Grand Rabbi dictated to the bridegroom, a sentence to be repeated word for word. All Paris waited for the coming out as it had waited fur the going iu. The crowd reached almost down to the Boulevards.