AMONG THE T RAN SYLVAN I AN SAXONS. 105 



get to like him ; and if not, well, the misfortune is not so great, and it 

 will then be time enough to seek for a divorce." 



When the answer to the proposal has been a consent, then the com- 

 pact is sealed by a feast, called the JBrautvertrlnken (bride-drinking), 

 to which are invited only the nearest relations on either side, the places 

 of honor at the head of the table being given to the two ambassadors 

 who have transacted the business. A second banquet, of a more solemn 

 nature, is held some four weeks later, after the rings have been ex- 

 changed in the presence of the pastor. 



The 25th of November, the feast of St. Katherine, is in many dis- 

 tricts the day selected for tying all these marriage-knots. When this 

 is not the case, then the weddings take place in Carnival, oftenest in 

 the week following the Sunday when the gospel of the marriage at 

 Cana has been read in church, and Wednesday is considered the most 

 lucky day for the purpose. The preparations for the great day occupy 

 the best part of a week in every house which counts either a bride or 

 a bridegroom amonsr its inmates. There are loaves and cakes of vari- 

 ous sorts and shapes to be baked, fowls and pigs to be slaughtered 

 in wealthier houses even the sacrifice of a calf or ox is considered de 

 rigueur for the wedding-feast ; and when this is the case, the tongue 

 is carefully removed, and, placed upon the best china plate, with a few 

 laurel-leaves by way of decoration, is carried to the parsonage as the 

 customary offering for the reverend Ilerr Vater (the pastor). The 

 other needful provisions for the banquet are collected in the following 

 simple manner : On the afternoon of the Sunday preceding the wed- 

 ding, six young men belonging to the brotherhood are dispatched by 

 the Altknecht from house to house, where, striking a resounding knock 

 on each door, they make the village street re-echo with their cry, 

 "Brbxgt Hahm ! " bring cream. Thi3 is an invitation which none 

 durst refuse. All those who belong to that neighborhood are bound 

 to send contributions in the shape of milk and cream, eggs or butter, 

 lard or bacon, to the wedding-houses within their quarter. Every 

 gift, even the smallest one of a couple of eggs, is received with 

 thanks, and the bringer rewarded by a draught of wine. 



Next day the women of both families assemble to bake the loaves 

 for the wedding-feast ; the future mother-in-law of the bride-elect 

 keeping a sharp lookout on the girl, to note whether she acquit her- 

 self creditably of her household duties. This day is in fact a sort of 

 final examination the bride has to pass through, in order to prove her- 

 self worthy of her new dignity ; and woe to the maiden who is dilatory 

 in mixing the dough or awkward in kneading the loaves ! While this 

 is going on, the young men have been to the forest to fetch wood ; 

 for it is a necessary condition that the wood for heating the oven 

 where the wedding-loaves are baked should be brought in expressly 

 for this occasion, even if there be small wood in plenty lying ready 

 for use in the shed. The cart is gayly decorated with flowers and 



