144 HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SKETCH OF 



and all arrangements completed, the day would be 

 fixed and invitations extended. Several days be- 

 fore the wedding the bridesmaids would assemble 

 at the house of the betrothed, and to them were 

 committed all the preparations for the feast. The 

 master of the house furnished the materials, and the 

 busy and active fingers of the bridesmaids trans- 

 formed them into cakes and confections, jellies, 

 custards, tarts, and all other dainties which the 

 occasion demanded. The master and mistress ap- 

 peared, as it were, to retire from the management 

 of the household, and leave every thing to the con- 

 trol of those young friends who came to attend 

 their companion to the sacrifice, and to prepare her 

 for it. On the evening appointed the bridegroom 

 (who has been denied the eiiti^ee to the house since 

 the arrival of the bridesmaids) arrives, the invited 

 guests follow, and, at the hour appointed, the happy 

 couple stand before the priest and receive the nup- 

 tial benediction. And, as soon as this is pro- 

 nounced, the fiddles, which are in waiting, strike up 

 the time-honored air of "■ A Health to the Bride.'* 

 Friends and relatives crowd up to offer their con- 

 gratulations and good wishes, and the poor bride is at 

 last permitted to take her seat, sadly in doubt whether 

 the ceremony itself or the congratulations upon It 

 were the severer trial. Now the waiters appear with 

 tea and coffee, followed up directly with wine, cake, 

 and cordials, and this over, the dancing commences. 



