s arrangement was made to check the
power of the priests, who manipulated marriages much to their own
fancy under the Papal government. A youth must be eighteen and a girl
sixteen before they can marry. There are many superstitions about the
lucky and unlucky days for marriages. Sunday is the favoured day.
There are hardly ever any bridesmaids at an Italian wedding, as girls
are not supposed to be present on such occasions, so the married women
accompany the bride.

In Russia

no man under thirty nor woman under twenty-five may marry without the
consent of parents, but in the event of unreasonable opposition an
appeal may be made to the law. Both bride and bridegroom must give
costly presents {110} to the Church. The man comes to claim his bride
from her parents, and she kneels before them to ask pardon for all she
may have done to vex or grieve them. They raise her with a kiss of
forgiveness, and give her bread and salt in token that they will never
let her want. When she leaves her old home the door is left open as a
sign that she may always return to it. Rich brides wear nothing but
white and orange blossom; but pale blue and a coronet of silver ribbon
are more in accordance with the national custom. The religious
ceremony has all the ritual and grandeur of the Greek Church. The
bride has to prostrate herself before her husband in token of entire
submission. The best man attends the bride, not the bridegroom, and is
chosen by her. Seven o'clock in the evening is the time for Russian
weddings to begin. Mostly newly-married couples live with the
husband's family, who greet them on their return from church with
bread and salt. A dance follows, during which the bride has to change
her dress as many times as she has different costumes in her
trousseau. The supper is served at daybreak, after which the guests
depart. In Russia the wife's name is always a little different from
that of her husband, owing to the fact that the family name when borne
by a male is a substantive and can be used alone, while in a lady's
case it is only an adjective which requires completion to give it full
meaning.

In Sweden

a rainy day is considered lucky for a marriage, as it foretells
wealth. There is barbaric feasting at the wedding, and departing
guests are given a bottle of brandy and a huge ring of wheaten bread
with which to treat those they meet on their way home. The bride is
dressed by her particular friend, or by the pastor