innovation of gold, purple and pink 
was introduced. 
One of the ‘daintiest and luckiest 
of color schemes for a bride is white 
and blue. According to ancient cus- 
tom, all girls named Mary will be 
fortune’s favorites if choosing these 
colors for their wedding frock, blue 
being the color consecrated to the 
Virgin Mary. Mary Stuart, how- 
ever, was married in white and blue, 
but in her case the charm was not 
potent. 
Old superstition forbade the 
groom to gaze on the bride in festal 
attire until he saw her at the altar; 
if he did, the wedding was put in 
peril. The bride must not look 
upon her image after she has com- 
pleted her toilet, but should turn 
her back to the mirror while putting 
on her gloves. 
She may choose whatever jewels 
she fancies, except pearls; these, 
beautiful though they always be, 
are forbidden all brides, since they 
bespeak of future tears. 
The bridal wreath or crown and 
the voluminous veil all have their 
legendary ‘significance. No _ satis- 
factory explanation has been found 
for the origin of the usage of or- 
ange blossoms. According to some 
old writers the custom was intro- 
duced by the Crusaders, who 
brought it from tthe Saracens. In 
the orient these flowers ever were 
considered the favorites for the 
decking of brides, having been 
thought so on account of the orange 
trees in the east bearing ripe fruit 
and blossoms simultaneously. Be- 
sides, the pure white of their sheen 
speaks of innocence and ideal pur- 
ity. 
A legend tells of a beautiful Span- 
ish girl, daughter of a gardener in 
royal favor, who owned an orange 
tree of singular beauty. She loved 
a youth dearly, but her father was 
too poor to give her a_ sufficient 
dowry, and her lover was too poor 
to marry without this. 
It so happened that the king of 
France sent an ambassador to the 
king of Spain to obtain a cutting of 
this famous tree. He found this im- 
possible, but finally bribed the 
pretty girl by promising her that he 
would pledge himself to fulfil her 
heart’s dearest wish. She managed 
surreptitiously to obtain the cutting, 
and as a reward was given the sum 
needed for her dowry. On her wed- 
ding day she wore a wreath of the 
floers through which she had won 
her happiness. No mention is made 
of hat the owner of the tree said. 
In Greece the wreath is often 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
fashioned of the heads of wheat or 
barley and worn by both bride and 
groom. It is a remnant of the Ceres 
festival, signifying fruitfulness, and 
is exchanged during the ceremony. 
In Bavaria the wreath is made of 
beads or gold thread; in Italy, 
France and parts of Switzerland it 
is made of white roses. In Servia, 
Denmark, Norway and Sweden they 
wear crowns of silver, also wreath 
and a tiny crown of myrtle—the an- 
cients considered this plant sacred 
to Venus—and if a bride wears such 
a crown she must plant a twig from 
it. which by its growth will predict 
her future. 
A curious old custom in Ireland 
is to endeavor to procure for the 
yougn bride a sprig of hawthorn or 
an old twig of mistlettoe; both are 
used as a primitive fibula to hold 
the bridal veil in place... A German 
bride is not content unless her 
wreath is of red and white roses 
mixed with myrtle leaves. 
The bridal veil has been the sub- 
ject of much discussion. Source of 
origin of custom not definitely 
known. The ancient Anglo-Saxons 
had four men to hold a square piece 
of cloth—in place of the present veil 
—over the bride and groom during 
the ceremony, to hide their blushes! 
Then it was argued that it was 
really the bride that needed it. 
Thus the heavy cloth was gradually 
transformed into a gossamer fabric, 
which, if perchance the bride really 
should blush, only serves to enhance 
the loveliness of the shy maid. 
If while on the way to the church 
the bride should see a dove, a lamb, 
a spider, or a toad, or a wolf, she 
can always be certain of good luck. 
On the otherhand, it is rather a bad 
omen to meet a pig, a monk, a eat, 
a hare, or a serpent. 
On arriving at the church, the 
bride should be careful to step over 
the threshold with the right foot 
first. This will insure happiness in 
her marriage state. Under no cir- 
cumstances must the wedding ring 
be tried on before the ceremony, 
and the one of the bridal pair who 
first sights the other will be the 
reigning spirit in the home.—Fred 
Sandberg, in Chicago Tribune. 
The Editor—This obituary is en- 
tirely too flattering for that con- 
firmed old reprobate. 
Reporter—I know it, but now that 
he’s gone it won’t hurt to give him 
a little epitaffy. 
Count that day lost, 
Whose low, descending sun, 
Sees printing sold for less than cost, 
And presses run for fun. 
43 
VACATION ADVICE 
Don’t anticipate having a good 
time unless you can stand disappoint- 
ment. 
Don’t fail to look forward to your 
vacation, as that’s all the fun you'll 
have out of it, anyway. 
Don’t go away from home, or you 
will not be comfortable. 
Don’t stay at home, or you'll long 
for a change. 
Don’t save up your money to lose 
it at poker before you start. 
Don’t fail to have a goodly wad, 
so that you will not have to deny 
yourself anything. 
Don’t go to the city and be hot and 
crowded. 
Don’t go to the country and be 
eaten by mosquitoes and choked with 
dust. 
Don’t go to the mountains and be 
lonesome. 
Don’t go to the seaside, where 
you'll have to mix with the vulgar 
herd. » 
Don’t go away with a chum if you 
expect to keep him as a friend. 
Don’t mix with strangers, because 
you will have to be polite to them, 
and it will be difficult to find any- 
thing in common. 
Don’t go to or with relatives, as 
the more they see of you the more 
they'll knock you. 
Don’t pay any attention to these 
rules. Advice has spoiled many a va- 
cation. 
Chinese Bluffing. 
Prof. Ian C. Hannah in his new 
book, ‘‘Eastern Asia; A History,”’ 
says that taxicabs, or rather auto- 
matic registers attached to horse 
cabs, were invented about 630 A. D., 
during the Tang dynasty in China. 
In his opinion the Chinese Empire 
is ‘‘the greatest bluff in the world,’’ 
and it suggests to him a very an- 
cient Chinese fable, which he relates. 
A monkey was captured by a tiger. 
He whined that he was thin and his 
flesh of poor taste, but he knew of 
a fine fat donkey for the tiger. The 
tiger consented to be led to where 
the donkey was tied. 
When the donkey saw them com- 
ing he was frightened, but. re- 
covered his composure and bawled 
in his masterful donkey voice: 
‘Monkey, you used to bring me 
two tigers. Why only one today?’’ 
The tiger did a record hustle back 
to the jungle. 
China, says Prof. Hannah, has 
shown much of that donkey’s re- 
sourcefulness in her history. 
