unsettled condition of the States. As the sexes are kept apart, marriages are negotiated by a near relative of the man, or by a woman whose trade it is. A girl under age may be married by her parents without her consent; The Greek historian Procopius tells a story of otherwise she may choose her husband, or appoint an Anglo-Saxon heroine which will bear repeat- a wekeel to arrange her marriage. Previous to ing. It evidences spirit, if not delicacy. She was the nuptial contract, the amount of dowry, which betrothed to the King of the Varni, a German is indispensable, is decided, and two-thirds paid, tribe touching the ocean and the Rhine; but the the remainder being reserved for the wife in case lover was tempted by policy to prefer his father's of her husband's death, or of divorce without her widow, sister to the King of the Franks. The consent. At an early day after this the wekeel forsaken Angles princess, instead of bewailing her and the bridegroom sit on the ground, face to disgrace, avenged it. Her warlike subjects are face, each with one knee on the earth, the right said to have been ignorant of the use of a horse, hands joined, the thumbs raised and pressed and even of its form; but she boldly sailed to the against each other. A fikee, or schoolmaster, is mouth of the Rhine with four hundred ships and present to instruct the parties what to say. Plaa hundred thousand men. After the loss of a cing a handkerchief over their joined hands, he battle, the captive king implored the mercy of his pronounces a prayer or exhortation, with quotavictorious bride, who pardoned his offense, dis- tions from the Koran on the excellency of marmissed her rival, and compelled him to discharge riage. The wekeel then says after the fikee, "I with honor the duties of a husband. betroth to thee this adult virgin for a dowry This gallant exploit, an English historian sug- of" The bridegroom replies, "I accept her sug-of-" gests, was probably the last naval enterprise of the Anglo-Saxons. The arts of navigation by which they acquired the Empire of Britain and the sea were neglected, and thus were renounced the commercial advantages of their insular situation. betrothal, take her under my care, and bind myself to afford her protection, and ye who are present bear witness to this." Three times is this form repeated, when a blessing is spoken, and all the company partake of sherbet and sometimes of dinner. Each is presented by the groom with an embroidered kerchief, provided by the bride's family. The fikee receives a similar present from the husband, with a gold coin tied in it. The man waits ten days for his bride, keeping himself in her thoughts by presents. Meanwhile, her dress and household furniture are being prepared, an immense canopied chair, among other things, to hold the turban, which, when placed thereon, is covered by a silk kerchief ornamented with gold thread. One of these chairs is sometimes sent to the husband also. For four nights preceding "the night of the entrance," or that on which the husband receives his bride, the quarter about his residence is illuminated by chandeliers depending from silk cords drawn across the street and ornamented by particolored flags of red and green. On each night an entertainment is given by the groom, the guests contributing the refreshments. If the families are wealthy, the matrimonial agent, the midwife, the bride's nurse, and her bath-attendant are presented each with a piece of gold stuff or a Cashmere shawl. Placing these over the left shoulder, and attaching the edges together on the left side, these women, mounted on asses, with men beating kettle-drums before them, or in the absence of these, themselves uttering shrill, quavering cries of joy, go to the bride's friends, and invite them to accompany her to and from the bath, and to partake of the entertainment to be given on the occasion. The digestion of these females must be remarkable, for at each house they partake of a repast, having previously given notice of their intended visit. The bride goes in state to the bath which has been hired for her, unless she owns one. She is attended by her friends, a company of virgins wearing white shawls, by musicians, hautboys, etc., in procession. Men head the party, carrying round trays, covered with kerchiefs, on which are linen, utensils to be used in bath, a silver bottle of rose-water, and a perfuming vessel of silver with burning aloes. The bride walks in the procession under a yellow or rose-colored silken canopy open in front, and borne by four men, a pole, with a kerchief at the top, being at each corner. Her dress and jewels are concealed by a red Cashmere shawl, falling from a small pasteboard crown. In warm weather a woman walks backward before her, ceaselessly waving a huge fan of black ostrich feathers. The procession, leaving the house, moves to the right at a slow pace, and pursues a winding route for the sake of display. Hours are spent at the bath in washing, sporting, and in feasting at the bridegroom's expense. Returning from bath, the bride and her friends sup together. Then a large quantity of henna is made into a paste, and the bride, with a lamp in her hand, takes up a contribution, each guest sticking a gold coin in the lump. When this is filled, it is scraped off into a basin of water. Other henna is applied to her hands and feet, these are bound in linen till the next morning, when they are of a deep orange tint. The guests also dye their hands and feet. On this, "the night of the henna," the bridegroom gives his chief entertainment. The next day the bride, in another more magnificent procession, goes to the husband's house. Any one who can perform a feat, amusing, monstrous, or extraordinary, is sure to be welcome in the procession. Peasants cudgel each other, swordsmen engage in mock combat, a man runs a sword through his body. On one occasion a youth made an incision in his abdomen, drew out a large portion of his intestines, and carried it on a silver tray before the procession. This recherche entertainment cost the youth a long sickness. Before sunset, the bridegroom goes to the bath, and changes his garments. Then, attended by friends, musicians, etc., he repairs to a mosque for prayer. He wears a kuftan with red stripes, and a like-colored Cashmere shawl and turban, and walks between two friends in similar attire. The procession returns with order and display. There are numerous attendants carrying meshals, or torches, and borne by two of them is a hanging frame of sixty small lamps, in four circles, the upper one revolving. Through the brilliant street the party advances in the form of an oblong ring, all facing the interior of the ring and each, except the bridegroom and the two friends on his either side, bearing a sprig of henna. At frequent intervals the party halts, while one sings an epithalamium. At his home he leaves his friends below with pipes, coffee, and sherbet, while he goes to the bride's room above, where she sits covered with a shawl. Before removing this, he makes her a present of money called "the price of the uncovering of the face." With the words, "In the name of God, the compassionate and merciful," he removes the shawl and sees her face for the first time. If disappointed in her, he seldom disgraces and divorces her immediately, but retains her a few days. "The night be blessed!" he says. She responds, "God bless thee!" He then calls to the women assembled at the door in anxious suspense, to proclaim his satisfaction with his bride. One after another takes up the joyful cry till the neighborhood and the community at large are informed of the result. One might presume that a knot tied with formalities so complicated and pretentious would be enduring; that, after the pomp and painstaking of a wedding, a man would be chagrined at having to put away his wife. But divorces are almost as common in Egypt as marriages. There is absolutely nothing to prevent a man on the slightest pretext-indeed, without any pretext—from saying to his wife, "You are divorced," when, if he wills it, she must return to her friends. There is scarcely a man in Cairo, it is stated, who has not, unless recently married, divorced a wife, and many have, in ten years, had over thirty consorts ; and women, yet young, have been wives to a dozen men successively. Some men marry a new wife each month. This reminds us of the poet Martial's ten husbands in a month, a story more difficult of credit than Jerome's, who claims to have seen at Rome a triumphant husband bury his twenty-first wife, she having interred twentytwo of his less sturdy predecessors. The light in which widows are viewed in different nations, might be an interesting study. All of Mahomet's wives, except Ayesha, were widows. In China a woman's second marriage is disreputable, and is often punished. Some nations require a widow to be buried alive with her husband's corpse; others, to yield her life on his funeral pile. Though we should consider a widow-who has presumably attained wisdom and discretionfitted to be mistress of a parsonage, the union of a Jewish high-priest with one was interdicted. The Armenian priest can marry but once; the primitive monks censured a third marriage as legal fornication, while a fourth was an unknown scandal. Nicholas, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in spite of bribes and punishments, persisted in opposing the fourth marriage of Leo, the philosopher. A widow's wedding in Egypt is not considered worth the formalities attending a first marriage. The man need only say to the woman, "I take thee for my wife." His divorced wife he can appropriate again without any formality whatever, even after a second divorce; but after a third she cannot return to him, unless she has, in the meantime, been the wife of another. One wishing to restore a thrice-divorced wife can satisfy the law by hiring a man to marry and immediately divorce the ex-wife. He often employs a slave for this purpose, the more hideous the better. When this instrument has been married to the ex-wife, his master the next morning presents the slave to her, which act dissolves the connubial union, for the marriage of a woman with her slave is prohibited by statute. Of illiberality toward woman, the mind of man has ever shown itself tenacious. The Armenians, though holding many enlightened views, being Christians of the Eutychian sect, make woman the servant of man. She is muzzled with an enormous muffler on the lower face to the nose, while a white cloth over the forehead flows down the back. Their poets have not woman's voice as a theme of inspiration, for she is never heard to utter a loud word, at least while young, and poets are not used to inditing sonnets to the cracked voices of old ladies. A group of elderly Armenian women, it is said, almost deafen with their chatter, notwithstanding their mufflers. There would be poetic justice in their talking their tyrant husbands deaf, when the fetters were finally taken from their speech. (Is talkativeness in woman really so offensive to man? In China he makes it a ground of divorce.) Turning to modern European nations, we find at Saardam, Holland, a custom of announcing marriages and deaths by windmills. These, by the way, originated in the dry country of Asia Minor, and were introduced in Normandy as early as 1105. At death, the sails of all the family mills are made to stand still. On a wedding occasion, the relatives of the pair decorate the sails with ribbons and garlands, fixing crowns on the points, and set them in motion with gay and fantastic effect. In Switzerland a marked social feature is the Saturday-night visiting, the prolific season for love-making. A youth, desiring a lady's acquaintance, introduces himself by appearing under her window and making his petition, which is drawn up in regular form, usually in verse and committed to memory. His petition being granted, he climbs to her window, usually on the third floor. There is no risk to limb, as the houses are constructed. with conveniences for this novel manner of courtship. Sitting on the window, he is regaled with ginger-bread and cherry-bounce. If his views are serious and he acceptable, he-think of it—enters her room and the conversation continues, perhaps, till early dawn. But he has often to pay for his night's pleasure by having to maintain a bath, on his return home, by some waylaying and lessfavored rival. Among remarkable wedding occasions is that of Tamerlane's six grandsons, in whose nuptials was revived the pomp of the ancient Caliphs. The rites were celebrated in gardens, spotted with countless tents and pavilions, displaying the wealth of Samarcand and the spoils of a conqueror. Forests were cut down to supply fuel for the kitchens; the plain was spread with pyramids of meat and vases of liquor, to which guests by the thousand were invited; the orders of the State, the nations of the earth, including European ambassadors, were marshaled at the royal banquet. pavilion was erected on a plain near the city. It rested on pillars sixty feet high, glittering with gold and precious stones, and was hung and spread with the richest tissues. Adjoining the building were a hundred chambers, gorgeously furnished, while for the reception of the ten thousand bridegrooms an outer court was closed and hung with costly tapestry. In the foreground without, tables were spread for the immense multitude of guests. en The populace joined in the illuminations and masquerades; the trades passed in review, each emulous to show some quaint device or marvelous pageant of its peculiar materials. Shops were erected, furnished with whatever was rare; amphitheatres, covered with Persian carpets and brocades, were filled with dancers and musicians. Every trader was in suitable disguise, and exhibited the attributes of his profession. Butchers wore the skins of beasts; furriers appeared as lions, leopards, etc.; upholsterers as painted calicoes; the cotton-workers as a lofty minaret; saddlers as letters; the fruit-sellers as portable gardens, abounding with nuts and fruits. There was scarcely an animal that was not imitated by bridegroom had received a golden vessel for his machinery. When the marriage contracts had been ratified by the cadis, the couples retired to their nuptial chambers. Nine times, by Asiatic usage, they were dressed, and at each change of apparel pearls and rubies were showered on their heads, and abandoned to the attendants. A general indulgence was proclaimed; every law was relaxed; every pleasure allowed. The emperor's proclamation went forth: "This is the season of feasts, of pleasure, and of rejoicing. No one is allowed to dispute or reprimand. Let not the rich exult over the poor, nor the powerful over the weak. Let no one ask his neighber, 'Why hast thou acted thus?' "' The festival continued two months; the people were free; the sovereign was idle; and, continues the historian, after devoting fifty years to the attainment of empire, the only happy period of his life was, probably, these two months when he suspended the exercise of his power. The nuptials were solemnized in accordance with Persian customs. A separate seat was assigned to each pair-all being arranged in a semicircle on either side of the royal throne. Each libation, and when the last of these had been announced by trumpets to the multitude without, the brides entered the banquet-hall and took their places. The king first gave his hand to Statira, saluting her as his wife. The other bridegrooms followed his example. Music, dramatic performances, feats of jugglery, marked the five festival days which followed. Magnificent offerings poured in from all parts of the empire. The value of the crowns Alexander received was estimated at fifteen thousand talents. There are at hand some curious marriage statistics which might prove interesting reading, but their quotation would unduly prolong this paper. Some of these figures ought to alarm Shakers, monks, and bachelors, for their pointings are that celibacy is unfavorable to longevity. To this a waggish bachelor replies, that to each person is allotted a certain amount of happiness, and that married people must live a longer life to secure their share. A plea for the element of love in marriage entered the original design of this article. The writer is so old-fashioned as to believe that love is the only basis for a right union between man and woman. But it is no matter, perhaps, if the plea be unsaid; for, though the tongues of angels should protest, men and women would go on marrying for wealth, for convenience, for position, and for reasons as foreign to any right reason as that which moves the Libyan youth, who, according to Jean Paul, marries the girl among his guests who laughs at his jokes. But perhaps the most remarkable marriage of history occurred at Suza, during its occupation by Alexander. Desiring to unite victor and vanquished by the strongest of all alliances, and to form a new people, destitute alike of Persian and Macedonian prejudices, Alexander decreed a wedding festival, to celebrate at once his nuptials with Statira, daughter of Darius, the union of one hundred of his principal officers with Persian and Medean ladies of the noblest families, and that of ten thousand private Macedonian soldiers with Asiatic women. The gold of Asia and the arts of Greece united to celebrate the occasion. For "Though," in the language of an American the accommodation of the numerous bridal party, humorist, "marryin' for love may be risky, it's and the vaster multitude of guests, a magnificent | so honest that God can't help smilin' at it." On the continent, in all societies, from that of the Papal court to the modest home of the Protestant "pasteur"-from the palaces of Petersburg or Berlin to the quiet library of Dölllingeramong Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed, his great position, his manysided affinities, his social charm and grace, his intellectual eminence, won for him a universal welcome. In this country all churches and classes received him with open arms. THE Dean of Westminster was a great Church- who hold that "the deil and the dean begin wi' man in that wider and higher sense which over-, ae letter," forgot their rigidities in his genial looks the barriers that divide one communion presence. from another. We should hardly exaggerate if we said that when he died, Dean Stanley stood higher in the respect and affection of a larger and more varied circle of members of many churches than any other ecclesiastic in the world. By all in his own Church, at home and abroad, except a few standing at two opposite extremes of fanatical intolerance, he was held in esteem and honor. The English Nonconformists recognized in him a friend, who understood their position, and sympathized with their best traditions. In Scotland his name was a household word; and even the ultra-Calvinists, who could not find the "root of the matter" in him, and the ultra-Presbyterians, "The Dean of Society," he was sometimes called, by people whose outlook does not range beyond the smoke of London; but on many societies which had scarce any other link to that |