Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 244, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1911 — CUTS A SMALL FIGURE [ARTICLE]

CUTS A SMALL FIGURE

BRIDEGROOM AMOUNTS TO BUT fef- LITTLE AT THE WEDDING. He Must Assume Neutral Demeanor H and Dress for Ceremony, and Then Is Made to Feel Like a Brigand. To realise the small figure cut by a bridegroom at bis own wedding, one need only peruse the pages of a book of etiquette having to do with the marriage ceremony. There are reams at instructions for the bride, from i»W to carry her veil to how she j shall greet the business acquaintances of her father. But how about the poor, neglected bridegroom* There are no pages written, for his enlightenment HO does well to get a paragraph or so tucked down near the end of the stpry. No one tells Mm how to carry his hat or cares whether he has a hat at ail. He is supposed to efface himself —to enter into the scheme of things only when the ceremony cannot go along without him. , There is only one occasion upon which the bridegroom is absolutely necessary, and that is when the minister must have * someone to pronounce the husband of the fair bride. Even then the poor harassed man has a propensity for slipping the ring Into the wrong pocket, so that he is compelled to fumble for it. In the end he drops it, whereupon it promptly >©llß out of sight, and is rescued only after much contusion and considerable embarrassment. Men without number have been known to forget the golden circlet of sweet bondage altogether. Not only must the man in the case assume a neutral demeanor during the festivities, but he must dress the part. His clothes are black and solemn to behold; he is allowed to display absolutely no partiality in the choosing of his wedding garments. He looks very much the same as he has dozens of times when attending formal affairs. The bride may be a veritable Flora, wreathed with garments, veiled in mist of tulle and fihny lace. The only festal note allowed the bridegroom is a single blossom or boutonniere of white against the somber blackness or bis neat Another thing—he has always been led to believe the woman of his choice loved him devotedly, that her parents approved of him as a son and that he was generally persona grata. Yet when the day of happy consummation arrives every one weeps over the bride, who thereby endangers her •wn loveliness by wiping the teardrops from her shining eyes with a wisp of lace masquerading as a handkerchief. Every tear is like a stab to the man standing by wondering what It is all about and feeling very much like a brigand caught in the act of stealing away a beautiful young maiden. AD this sentimentalism and panoply of love is yery dear to the heart of a girl, dreaming, as she has, over the most wonderful, the most eventful day of her life. Yet when the loneltness of the bridegroom, despite the fact that this is his wedding day and one quite as momentous to him as to the bride, is taken mto consideration, small wonder then that so many pairs of lovers wing their way secretly'to some quiet nook and take the vow of eternal constancy away from the sifht and sound of ceremony.—Pittsburgh Sun.