Curious Marriage Superstitions.

Western Star, Issue 1548, 28 March 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

Curious Marriage Superstitions.

There ia a curious custom in modern Greece. The groom ia shaved by a young man whose parents are living, while the young men and girls sing: " .Razor silvered and gilt, shave tenderly the young man's cheeks ; don't leave a hair, lest the parents of the bride should think him Ugly." In the Vosges Mountains, the young women who dress the bride strive as to who shall stick the first pin in the bridal robe, as the successful one will be married the same year. , ~ It was lucky for English bridemaids to throw pins away. The bride must not look into the mirror after she is dressed for the ceremony, unless she puts on some article of apparel afterIn Russia the bride must avoid eating the wedding cake on the eve of the ceremony, or will lose her husband's love. The sneezing of a cat on the eve of a marriage was considered a good omen in the middle ages, but the howling of a dog then, as now, was especially ominouß. The bees are informed of a wedding in Derbyshire and their hives decorated. In Scotland it is deemed especially ominous for a lump of Boot to fall down and spoil the breakfast on the day of the wedding, for a bird to die in its cage, or for a bird to sit on the window-sill and chirp long. The bride must carefully avoid breaking a dish on that day. . In Greece the groom is lightly sprinkled with water on leaving the home for the ceremony, A priest, hare, dog, cat, lizard, or serpent was unlucky in the middle ages—a wo;f, toad, or spider lucky. In Scotland it is particularly ominous to meet a funeral. Bride or groom was certain to die soon, as the sex of the person buried was female. In one part of Yorkshire the groom, on meeting a male acquaintance, rubbed his elbow for good luck. Especially ominous are hitohes or accidental happenings daring the ceremony. In France, during the middle ages, a ring of straw, or one made from a horseshoe nail, was placed on the bride's finger, and some had as many as five such rings. The couple also stood on a ring duriag the ceremony. In Brittany, if the wife seeks to rule, she must take oare that the ring, when placed on her finger, shall slip at once to its place, instead of allowing it to stop at the first joint. The bride who lost her ring lost her appetite, and to break it portended death. Attention is also paid in this province to the altar candles. If they burn brightly throughout the mass, the couple will live harmoniously. The one whose candle burns with the brightest flame will live longest. If one goes out, then its donor will die that year. The Swedish bride tries to see the groom before he sees her, to gain the mastery. She places her foot before his at the ceremony and sits on the bridal chair first. She must stand near the groom, so that no one can come between them. How to Win Attention. A well-known and very successful woman in society easily wins admiration by seeming to give herself wholly up to the person talking with her. If it is a man, he hasher entire attentioneyes, ears, mind—as though he were the only person in the room or the world for that short, delicious moment, while at the same time she seems to feel the presence of those about her, and yields her motions to surrounding circumstanoes in a graceful, easy Way, that makes the onlooker feel certain of a possible " grand future in store " for him also. It is a rare combination of concentration and adaptability which many of our young ladies would do well to cultivate. You know how disagreeable it is to have them U'.k to you, with their eyes all the time flying heie and there, over your shoulder, over their own; fixing dreßS or bracelet; seemingly forgetful of your presence, often in scma by-current of thought. You never feel like saying anything worth while. With this lady, however, you are sure that you alone have the -floor till you withdraw. A little ammonia in trepid water will soften and cleanse the skin.