THAT the Romans left a lasting impress on this country is evident from only a casual survey of some of those usages which prevail amongst us. An interest ing instance of this fact may be gathered from the many marriage observances of a religious or superstitious character practised in ancient Rome, and which were quite common in England within the present century. Although, in certain cases, these have lost much of their identity through the lapse of years, yet the greater part of them are little altered, serving as valuable historical curiosities in so far as they illustrate the primitive manners and customs of our ancestors. These relics, too, of early social life have an additional importance whenever they are found closely connected with such an eventful crisis in each one's domestic history as marriage. Indeed, their very existence in the nineteenth century sufficiently indicates that, in spite of the world's advanced culture, man's feelings have not altered, finding their expression in the same outward signs as those which marked similar observances in a remote period.

Commencing, then, with that preliminary stage of matrimony, the "betrothal, or engagement, we find that with the Romans this was regarded as quite a solemn act; and hence, was attended with various ceremonies, the object of which was to make the contracting parties realize the momentous step they were about to undertake. In truth, the betrothal day was designed to be a thoroughly impressive one; each being taught the moral obligation of the compact they were ratifying, and the influence it should exert on their daily life. Consequently, unlike some of our modern engagements, which are often thoughtlessly and prematurely made, the

Roman ones were considered as strictly sacred, and their enactment was effected by the drawing up of an agreement formally signed and sealed after the manner of marriage settlements at the present day. In our own country, however, in days gone by, much the same usage was practised; and Shakespeare, whose plays contain so many references to the customs of his day, has recorded in a few well-known lines the principal incidents of betrothal as it formerly existed.

Describing the ceremony of espousals in the last act of "Twelfth Night," the priest says:

"A contract of eternal bond of love,

Confirmed by mutual joinder of your hands,
Attested by the holy close of lips,
Strengthened by interchangement of your
rings;

And all the ceremony of this compact
Sealed in my function by my testimony."

As soon as the Roman girl was betrothed she received from her lover a ring, which she wore as an evidence of her engagement. It was generally made of iron, symbolical of the lasting character of the engagement, and probably, it has been suggested, springing out of another Roman custom, the giving of a ring as earnest upon the conclusion of a bargain. It appears that this betrothal ring, apart from its associations, was superstitiously treasured up, and was often believed to be a safeguard against unseen dangers. Coming down to comparatively modern times, we find that in England, in past years, the betrothal ring was looked upon as the most important of all the presents given by lover to lover at first only one ring being employed at a love-contract, the circlet given by the man to the woman. Later on, however, it was the fashion for lovers to interchange rings, allusions to which

custom are frequently to be found in Shakespeare's plays, as, for instance, in the passage quoted above, and in the "Two Gentlemen of Verona," where we read (ii., 2):

"Julia. Keep this remembrance for thy Julia's sake (giving a ring).

Proteus. Why, then, we'll make exchange; here, take you this.

Julia. And seal the bargain with a holy kiss."

Espousals, on the other hand, were also made without the use of the ring. Thus in the "Tempest" (iii. 1) Shakespeare makes Ferdinand and Miranda join hands only. The history, therefore, of the modern engagement ring is exceedingly old, and although by most persons regarded as nothing more than a graceful tribute on the part of the lover to his future bride, is a survival of the Roman practice of presenting a ring to the lady on the conclusion of the engagement contract. When betrothed, the Roman maiden laid aside her girlish dress, some parts of which were offered as a sacrifice to the Penates, or household gods. She was now clothed in the dress of a wife, and, says Mr. Napier,* "secluded from her former companions, and put under training for her new duties." A similar practice remained in force in Scotland about sixty years ago; for as soon as a girl became a bride she excluded herself in a great measure from society, and it was supposed to be highly unlucky for her to be seen at church until after the wedding-day, and on this account she was careful to keep away.

In selecting the time for the marriage ceremony, every precaution was taken to avoid an unlucky month, day, and hour for the knot to be tied. On these several points the Romans were most superstitious; and eighteen centuries ago Ovid mentions the objection to marriages in May, which he not unreasonably explains by the occurrence in that

month of the funeral rites of the Lemuralia: t

"Nec viduæ tædis eadem, nee Virginis apta

Tempora. Quæ nupsit non diuturna fuit. Hae quoque de causa, si te proverbia tangunt,

Mense malus Maio nubere vulgus ait." Indeed, the sayings that marriages in

"Folk-Lore of West of Scotland," 1879, 46. Ovid, Fasti, v. 487.

May are unlucky survives to this day in England, a striking example, as Mr. Tylor points out, how an idea, the meaning of which has perished for ages, may continue to exist simply because it has existed. That May with us is not a month for marrying may easily be seen, any year, from the lists of weddings in the Times newspaper, the popular belief being briefly summed up in the subjoined familiar proverb :

"Marry in May, and you'll rue the day."

Although, however, there has generally been a prejudice against May as a month unpropitious for marriages, yet it was honored in feudal England as the month of all months especially congenial to lovers. What time, indeed, so appropriate for the expression of the tenderest and purest affection as that season when all nature is rejoicing over the earth's new life, as seen in the thousand flowers that deck the meadows, and the countless fragrant blossoms that clothe the trees, while happy birds fill the sunny sky with their jubilant anthems of thanksgiving? Most readers are doubtless acquainted with the following stanza in "The Court of Love"-that charming composition of graceful fancy and thought:

"I had not spoke so sone the worde, but she,
My soveraine, did thank me heartely,
And saide, 'Abide, ye shall dwell still with me
Till season come of May, for then truly
The king of love and all his company
Shall holde his feste full rially and well,'
And there I bode till that the season fell."

Some of the reasons assigned for not marrying in May have been these that childless; or, if they had children, that women disobeying this rule would be the first-born would be an idiot, or have some physical deformity; or that the married couple would not be happy in their new life, and soon become weary of each other's society-superstitions which still retain their hold throughout the country. The most fortunate month, however, for marrying was June, and so, when Ovid was anxious about his daughter, he

"Resolved to match the girl, and tried to find What days unprosp'rous were, what moons were kind;

After June's sacred ides his fancy strayed
Good to the man and happy to the maid."

At the present day June is a popular month for marrying; and in many places the old Roman fancy of its also being a lucky month for birth is still firmly believed. Again, in arranging for a wedding, the Romans always took special care to avoid the kalends, nones, and ides of every month, as also the Feast of the Parentalia. Equal care, too, was paid to the time and hour for the performance of the ceremony; and advice was sought from astrologers and soothsayers, who, by divinations and a critical observance of omens, recommended the contracting parties as to the most favorable opportunity. Thus, the appearance of a crow or a turtle dove was considered an auspicious omen, these birds being considered as symbolical of conjugal fidelity. In the same way, too, with us, not only is Friday avoided as an ominous day, but no greater dread is perhaps occasioned among the credulous than by the approach of a raven :

"Which, seldom boding good, Croak their black auguries from some dark wood."

This, when seen over the head either of

the bride or the bridegroom, is regarded as the harbinger of coming misfortune or sorrow, its presence alone, even for a minute or so, being sufficient in the

eyes of the fanciful to dampen the joy of such a bright occasion. Pliny tells us, that in his day the circos, a kind of tame hawk, was looked upon as a good omen at weddings, a further proof of the antiquity of this class of superstitions. It was formerly believed, also, that a union could never be happy if the bridal party, on their way to church, were unfortunate enough to meet one of the following animals: a hare, a dog, a cat, a lizard, or serpent; but, on the other hand, if a spider, toad, or wolf came across their path, they were sure to have prosperity and happiness. While, too, on the subject of omens, it is a good sign for the sun to shine upon the bride, an allusion to which we find in Herrick's" Hesperides" :

"While that others do divine,

Among other omens, it is said to be unlucky for a woman to marry a man whose surname commences with the

same letter as her own:

"To change the name and not the letter

Is a change for the worse and not for the better."

Those, therefore, who are believers in such matters always take care to make use of every precaution so as to avoid their occurrence.

As far as the nuptial ceremony itself was concerned, the Romans were in the habit of celebrating it with many imposing rites and customs, some of which are still in use in this country. As soon, therefore, as the soothsayer had taken the necessary omens, the ceremony was commenced by a sheep being sacrificed to Juno, under whose special guardianship marriage was supposed to

rest.

The fleece was next laid upon two chairs, on which the bride and bridegroom sat, over whom prayers were then said. At the conclusion of the service the bride was led by three young men to the home of her husband. She generally took with her a distaff and spindle filled with wool, indicative of the first work in her new married life-spinning fresh garments for her husband. has been suggested that the custom once torches were carried to light her. It

existed in this country.

Five

Shakespeare speaks of this practice in

Henry VI. (iii. 2), where Joan of Arc, thrusting out a burning torch on the top of the tower of Rouen, exclaims, "Behold, this is the happy wedding torch That joineth Rouen with her countrymen."

The threshold of the house was gayly decorated with flowers and garlands; and in order to keep out infection it was anointed with certain unctuous perfumes. As a preservative, moreover, against sorcery and evil influences, it was disenchanted by various charms. After being thus prepared, the bride was lifted over the threshold, it being considered unlucky for her to tread across it on first entering her husband's house. The musicians then struck up their music, and the company sang their "Epithalamium." The keys of the house were then placed in the young wife's hands,

shine."

tress. A cake, too, baked by the vestal

virgins, which had been carried before her in the procession from the place of the marriage ceremony to the husband's home, was now divided among the guests. To enhance the merriment of the festive occasion, the bridegroom threw nuts among the boys, who then, as nowadays, enjoyed heartily a grand scramble. In this description of a Roman wedding the reader will observe how many of its details correspond, more or less, with similar ones practised among us, some of which indeed have not altered in any respect, in spite of their remote antiquity.

46

Thus, for instance, cakes, which, in one way or another, have been from the earliest times associated with weddings, held a prominent place in the Roman wedding. The Confarreatio," the most sacred of the Roman forms of marriage, in which the rites were performed with solemn sacrifices and offerings of cakes, was so called from the cake which was carried before the bride, and the offerings of burnt-cakes by the Pontifex Maximus. Our modern wedding-cake, therefore, while bearing a striking resemblance to the "Confarreatio" of the Romans, may possibly have been partially derived from it. At the same time, however, as Sir John Lubbock has pointed out in his "Origin of Civilization," the presence of a similar custom, under various forms, has existed from time immemorial among remote savage or semi-civilized people, who cannot be supposed to have adopted it from the Romans. Thus he tells us that among the Iroquois the bride and bridegroom used to partake together of a cake of sagamite," which the bride. offered to her husband. The Fiji Islanders have a very similar custom. Again, among the Tipperahs, one of the hill tribes of Chittagong, the bride prepares some drink, sits on her lover's knee, drinks half, and gives him the other half; in short, in one form or another, a similar custom is found among most of the hill tribes of India. One point, however, it is interesting to note, that, just as the Roman bride, in accordance with the practices of Confarreation, while giving her right hand to her spouse, held in her left three wheat-ears, so the English bride, in later centuries, bore in her hand or on her head a chap

let of bearded spikes of wheat. Indeed, corn in some form has always entered into the marriage ceremony, and it is curious to trace its history. In days gone by, either corn ears or small fragments of broken biscuit or cake (as rice is now) were dropped on the newly-married couple on their return from church, a custom which is still kept up in some country districts. In Scotland and the north of England, as soon as the bride returns to her new home, one of the oldest inhabitants, who has been stationed on the threshold, throws a plateful of short-bread over her head, taking care that it falls outside the house. This is immediately scrambled for, as it is considered most fortunate to secure a piece, however small. In Yorkshire, on the bride's arrival at her father's door, a plate of cake is flung from an upper window upon the crowd below; and a method of divination consists in observing the fate which attends its downfall. If it reach the ground in safety without being broken, the omen is a most unfavorable one. If, on the other hand, the plate be shattered in pieces, the auspices are looked upon as most happy. The same custom exists in some parts of Northumberland, where, on the bride's entry of her father's house, she is met at the door, a veil thrown over her head, and a quantity of cake pitched over her. This practice is thus alluded to by Herrick :

"While some repeat Your praise, and bless you, sprinkling you with

wheat.

The modern wedding-cake is doubtless a survival of the symbolical cornears originally worn by the bride, and which in after times were made into cakes and sprinkled upon the bride's head. In course of time these cakes were converted into one large mass, enriched with almond-paste; and that the ingredients of a bride-cake in the seventeenth century were not unlike one at Herrick, who says: the present day may be gathered from

"This day, my Julia, thou must make,
For mistress bride, the wedding-cake;
Knead but the dough, and it will be
To paste of almonds turned by thee;
Or kisse it thou but once or twice,
And for the bride-cake there'll be spice."
Just, too, a century ago, Smollett, in

his "Expedition of Humphrey Clinker" (1771), described how Mrs. Tabitha Lismahago's wedding-cake was broken over her head, and its fragments distributed among the bystanders, according to the custom of the ancient Britons, who imagined that to eat one of the hallowed pieces would insure the unmarried eater the delight of seeing in a vision the person to be his wife or her husband.

Again, the Roman custom, already referred to, of lifting the bride over the threshold of her husband's home had its exact counterpart in Scotland within the present century, it being customary to lift the young wife over the doorstep, lest, as Mr. Napier * says, any witch craft or ill e'e (evil eye) should be cast upon and influence her." Indeed, we are informed that the same practice prevailed in the north of England some years ago an interesting survival of the primitive superstitions of our ancestors. In the same way also as the Roman bride was presented with the keys of her husband's house, so in Scotland and in our own country, "her mother-in-law handed her the keys of the house and furniture, thus transferring the mother's rights over her son to his wife."

Lastly we must not omit to mention the Roman bride. As far as we can

It

judge, her attire must have been exceedingly graceful, consisting of a simple tunic with tunic with a girdle. Her hair was divided with the head of a spear, to remind her that she was about to be married to one of a warlike race, and therefore must acquit herself in a manner worthy of her dignified position. must be remembered, too, that the spear was sacred to Juno, who, as we have already seen, was considered to be the special guardian of the marriage state. A wreath of flowers was generally placed on her head flowers, as nowadays, having entered largely into most of the ceremonies of the ancients. In short, it has been truly remarked that one of the chief characteristics of the Roman bride was the simplicity of her dress, which harmonized completely with the solemnity of the occasion.

In the above brief survey of the old marriage customs and superstitions connected with a Roman wedding, we have endeavored, while describing these, to show how intimately they are interwoven with those of our own country, and how, after the lapse of many centuries, they still survive in our midst as interesting relics of the primitive life of our ancestors.-Leisure Hour.

[A BISHOP having preached with effect on the Sunday in the rural parish of Winford, has set forth on the Monday to ride through the wood to Winbeach, where he is to open a church. He has sent his man and his luggage by train; and, as the way is not long and the day exceeding fair, he rides along on a bridlepath. Ambling easily, he permits himself to be soothed by the sweet air of spring.]

How sweet the air is! It is an old saying-but oh, how profoundly true! that the renewal of the year suggests alway the renewal of youth. The memory of childhood's hours is strangely clear with me to-day. That looks a delightful seat; Nature seems to have prepared a throne for me in the forest; I

Ha!

should like to get off and try it. And why should I not? I have abundance of time. Whoa! Steady, old horse, while I dismount. Good Robin! There you are securely fastened; and now— yes; the seat is most excellent. what a change from the saddle!-capacious, soft, delightful! I think I may venture to lay aside my hat; the air is so soft that I have no fear of taking cold; this glade is so secluded that surely I need not hesitate to lay aside my dignity for the moment-(he lays aside his hat). Memories of my careless, wayward boyhood throng thick upon me.

What a climber I was! I

should have been up among the branches in those days, not sitting among the roots. And I have climbed since then ; I have risen to some eminence ;-yes. I can afford an idle hour-an hour of