RUSSIAN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 33, 7 February 1878, Page 4

RUSSIAN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

Russian marriages are generally arranged through priests. Bt?ing matters of business it is desirable that there is no mistake as to the amount of dower which the bride is to bring, and there would very likely be mistakes if some member of the upper clergy were not io act as an intermediary in preparing the settlements. An archimandrite does much of the work that falls to notaries in other countries ; only he charges more, an 1 a portion of the dower is apt to slick between. his fingers. A well-bred bridegroom must present a gift to a monastry, and another to his parish churcb; the bride, through her friends, is expected to clothe some statue of a Virgin with a ' gown ef silver brocade, enriched with more or less jewels, and in some parts of Southern Russia she adds a gift of two white doves to the Pope, which looks rather like a relic of tbe worship of Venus. The consent of parents is necessary for a marriage : until the age of thirty in the case of men, twentyfive in tbat of women ; but young people are at liberty to appeul to the civil authorities if consent be arbitrarily withheld. Iv this event the parents are called upon to show reason for their refusal. The reason must not be mercenary, unless one of the you.ig people be heir to a landed estate, then the question is referred to the marshal oi tbe nobility of the people in the district, whose decisions are based upon expediency rather than upon fixed principles. These appeals are rare, because the Russians are a marrying people, and dispose of their children early. In the middle and lower classes men marry at twenty when not drafted by the conscriptiou. In the higher aristocracy a young man goes the "grand tour" before settling down, but he is often betrothed before starting to a young iady not yet out of the schoolroom, and he weds her immediately upon his return. There ia no country wbicb haß so few old maids as Russia. The great ridicule attached to the title, when not borne by a nun, has possibly something to do with the unwillingness of ladies to support it. When a girl has reached the age of twenty-five without finding a mate, she generally sets out on what ehe calls a pilgrimage, if poor— on a round of travels, if rich; and in either case she turns up some years later as a widow. Widows are as plentiful as old spinsters are scarce, and widows whose husbands were never seen, are more numerous thau the rest. Etiquette forbids any allusion to a lady's dead hushand in her presence, anj thia is perhaps sometimes convenient. When a couple are engaged, a betrothal feast is held, and the bride elect has a lock of her bair cut off in the presence of (he witnesses, and giveu to the bridegroom, who in return presents a silver ring set with a turquoise, an almond cake, and a gift of bread and Bait, From this moment the two are plighted j nor can the relatives break the match except with the consent of the parties themselves, which is signified by the return of the ring and the lock of hair. So much importance is attached to tbe ring, at least in the north of Russia, that among the poor people who cannot afford silver and a turquoise, tin and a bit of blue stone are substituted. These betrothal rings are kept as heir-looms, but must not be made to serve twice ; a son cannot give his biide tbe ring which bis mother received, for instance — though why this is bo is a mystery which the clergy, who sell the riDgs, could beat explain. Oa the wedding day the bride comes to church dressed in white ; but it is only among the highest classes, who copy Western fashions, that the bridal cobtume is entirely white, and tbat a wreath of organe-llowerblosacyns is used. Among Russians pure light blue is the nuptial color, and a coronet of silver ribbon stands in place of the wreath. The wedding-ring for the bride is of gold or some yellow metal, but not a plain' hoop; it is generally a double ring with enchased stars. Tbe bridegroom has a ring, too, which the bride puts on his finger at the alter after she has received his, end this is mostly a plain one. The clergy mske much ado about the riDgs being of pure metal, and thereby keep the sale of then in their hands, though it would not always be safe to test the purity of the ecclesiastical gold with a touchstone. After the wedding service, which comprises in some of tho less civilised districts the breaking of an eatheroware vessel in token that the bride renounces her own possession (or is ready to smash all her father's crockery for her busbaud's sake — explanations differ) — afier this there is an adjournment to a banquet in which mulled hvass (sm »1! beer) and almond cakes play a great p;rt. Weddings need not be celebrated before midday, nor must they take place in a Churcb. Iv farhiouahla circles it is the custom to solemnisa tiiem in n drawin^room, and by candle litrhi. There is no lieparture on a honeymoon tour, The banquet is followed i y a ball, and theu by a supper ; und at tliis laat repast, when luld in houses whero old customs ure observed, a »e*.v smin sliupar, supp <sel to he the hriioV, Is produced, anil used as a di inking vetSdl by the bridegroom's /u<m is who pass it arouud anl drink the brido'd beaitb in it till ii is soaked through and will hold liquor uo lou4er. Li houses where speeches tiro made it is not the briJegroon but iha bride'j father, wbo returns thanks whon her health is drunk — this usage being owing to (he fact thut a father sill retains authority over his child after #be ig married, Ho may summon her

I from home to tend him when he is | sick. If he lose his wife he may claim his married daughter's services as a housekeeper during the first three months of his widowhool ; and he very often does so. If tha daughter's husband dies, her father may order her to return to his roof, and he becomes de jure the guardi m of her children. None of these privilege are retained by a married woman's mother. Divorces are not allowed in Russia, but a marriage may be annulled for informality ; and so divorces are pretty frequent. It is only a question of money like most Russian things.