148 SOCIETY. 



company wore dresses of such colors as suited their tastes, not even the young ladies appearing 

 in white ; and there was among them a staid undisturbed serenity, as though marriages were 



attended by them at least every day of their lives. Dona , the mother, was the only 



fluttered person present, or apparently so; herself a little fairy of a woman, scarce four and a 

 half feet high, here and there and everywhere in a minute, and nervous as an aspen leaf. 



Not expecting to find the bride in the parlor, I had seated myself in a corner by one of the 

 elderly ladies, and was chatting quietly for some minutes, when the former hailed to know if it was 

 my deliberate intention to pass her without notice all the evening, after having been specially 



invited to see herself and . Half an hour later the priest came, though, to my great 



disappointment, he had on no "regimentals," but only the long black robe or sutan usually 

 worn by secular clergy. Yet another half hour beyond the appointed time the bridesmaid 



(padrina) came ; and when Dona had almost flurried herself into a fever, the groom's 



attendant (padrind) made his appearance. As soon as the last had been presented to a brother 



of the groom and myself, Dona said to the priest, "As soon as it pleases you, these 



young folks will be married." The groom stepped across the room from his circle of friends, 

 offering an arm to the bride, who laid aside her furs for the moment. A like service was per- 

 formed by his attendant for her maid. The clergyman advanced toward the quartette, and we 

 all rose to our feet. It may not be amiss to mention here that the bridesmaid was her own 

 grandmother, and the groomsman the father of seven or eight children ! Think of that, now ! 

 An old lady with a score of great-grandchildren bearing a torch at the altar of Hymen ! Yet 

 the custom requires that married persons be selected for these offices, and the "padrinos" are 

 expected to make presents to the new couple. 



There was the delay of a minute in getting into proper place, and taking each other by the 

 appropriate hand, after which the priest asked each : " Do you love this woman (man), and are 

 you willing to take her (him) as your wife (husband)? Do you know any impediment why you 

 should not marry her (him)?" And the questions being satisfactorily answered, he made the sign 

 of the cross before them, pronounced them man and wife, and the ceremony was over. "Not one 

 minute by Shrewsbury clock !" Not altogether over, either ; for though there was no exhorta- 

 tion or prayers, there were embraces and congratulations, beginning with the newly married 

 couple themselves, and extended by them to all with whom such intimacy was warranted. I 

 had a squeeze from each the bride holding out her arms as I went up, telling me I was a friend 

 esteemed no less by herself than by her mother and father. There were no tears, except a few 

 drops by Dona , nor kisses by any of the parties. Indeed I never remember to have wit- 

 nessed any given in Chile except by parents to very little children. Five minutes afterwards all 

 the younger folks were engaged in a quadrille, in which the bride and groom led off the first set. 

 At 10 o'clock we went in to tea the bridesmaid falling to my charge, as I was seated beside her 

 when it was announced ; and half an hour afterwards the gentlemen were left to discuss alone the 

 superabundance of confectionery, ices, hams, wines, and flowers, with which the tables were 

 literally crowded. Escorting the old lady back to the parlor, I availed myself of the bustle to 

 take French leave. 



The first month is usually passed in the house of the bride's mother, where all to whom the 

 family have given "parte" that is, a formal notice of the marriage go to make congratula- 

 tory visits. But as soon as they have a house of their own, it is more than probable that the 

 couple will have distinct apartments the custom of occupying separate chambers having its 

 advocates among the ladies also. Almost invariably on the birth of a child, it is given in 

 charge to a nurse, few mothers being willing to encounter the trouble of rearing their own 

 offspring, alleging as a reason for turning it off, that in the climate of their country their con- 

 stitutions will not bear it. Nevertheless they are far more robust and healthy in appearance 

 than the men. In about a year another nurse is needed ; and so they go on, numbering in one 

 case as many as twenty-seven children a degree of fecundity rivalled only by the soil on which 

 they live. Calling to visit a friend one evening, I learned that within the twenty-four hours 



