ROMANCE IN A BLUE BOOK.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9709, 3 February 1910, Page 7

ROMANCE IN A BLUE BOOK.

Statistics are not usually as interesting as a novel, but in the Blue Book recently issued by tbe British Registrar-General, giving the detailed analysis of the births, deaths, and marriages in 1908, every figure has a romance behind it. The specially interesting portion of the book is that takes the marriage registers of England and Wales, and reveals some interesting secrets about the love stories which brought about the 264,940 marriages which took place in the year. Here, for instance, are a few facts which might give hints to the novelist in search of a plot:—One bride of 50 married a bridegoom of 20. One gir! of 14 was married to a youth of 19, while an other girl of the same age found a husband 21 years old. Among the brides who found husbands over 70 years old were one aged 19 one aged 20, and two aged 21. Two old women | over 75 years of age married men over 85 years, while in all 77 were married who were over 70 years of age, three finding bridegrooms under 45 years of age, and 26 under 65 years, while 48 married men as old as, or older than, themselves. Three women between 25 and 30 years of age married youths of 17 years, while 31 between 30 and 35 married husbands who were under 20 years of age. In 5,474 marriages both bride and bridegroom were between 21 and 24 years of age, while in 38,984 marriages the husband and wife were between 25 and 30 years of age There were in all 32,832 brides who were older than their bridegrooms. Two widows of 20 years married bachelors between 19 aniS 20 years, while 14 widows between 25 nad 35 years or age married bachelors who were 20 years. One widow of 50, one of 55, and one of 60 years, married bachelors between 21 and 25 years of age. ,Fourteen widows over 70 years of age found second husbands whose ages varied from 30 to 80 years. The widowers who remarried numbered 22,716, and of these 14,593 chose spinsters, while 8168 chose widows. Of the 16,791 widows who remarried, 8,623 took bachleors for their second husbands. One spinster bewteen 25 and 30 years of age married a widower of 20 years, whiJfe one spinster aged 19 married a widower aged 70 years,