es. He is expected to have the ring in readiness, to
provide a conveyance to take himself and the best man to the scene of
the ceremony, and, above all, to be in good time, waiting in proud
anticipation for the bride's arrival. He does not always look happy or
quite at his ease with the eyes of the curious congregation upon him,
but that is only his modesty. He has to give the bridesmaids a present
(generally some trinket is chosen), and the bride receives her bouquet
from him. Sometimes the best man gives the bridesmaids their bouquets,
but it is generally the bridegroom, unless they are all related
together.

The Best Man.

I have heard it said that the office of the Best Man is to see that
the bridegroom does not run away at the last moment. We will hope he
does not often have hard work in that case. He certainly has to see
that love does not make the bridegroom oblivious to the practical
details of life. He escorts him to church and supports him through the
service. He pays the fees of clerk and clergyman and calls the
carriages when the register is signed. He is a very busy and useful
person, if he does his duty, and much of the success from a social
point of view may lie in his hands.

The Bride's Parents.

The heaviest burden of responsibility falls upon the shoulders of the
bride's mother. She has to arrange with a caterer for the
refreshments, unless she prefers to have all the trouble of {89}
preparing them at home; she must order the carriages, arrange the meals
for guests staying in the house, and settle the order in which the
wedding party is to go to church. She has to see about floral
decorations wherever they are wanted, and now flowers play such an
all-important part in every festivity. She will be the one to whom every
one will go for instructions, and it may be her own heart will be very
sore at the thought of parting with her daughter. Where there are other
grown-up girls they would naturally take some portion of the work off
her hands, but she is nominal head of affairs in most households.

The _father_ has to escort his daughter to church and bestow her upon
her husband. In the event of his being prevented from doing this, her
mother would drive with her, and the relation or friend who was acting
as her father's deputy would meet her at the church door. The bride's
father pays all the expenses of music or decoration in the church in
addition to those of entertainment at home and conveyanc