like his intended, is not remarkable for his
personal beauty. Friday was fixed for the
happy day, and about two in the afternoon I
caught sight of the bride, weeping and wailing
in a most doleful manner. I saw or heard
no more of her till six in the evening, when
she appeared in Mad. A.'s room, attired for
the ceremony. Her dress was of dark silk,
(she not being allowed to wear white, in
consequence of some early indiscretions,) with a
wreath of white roses round her head, and a
long white veil, which almost enveloped her.
She sobbed, howled, went off into hysterics,
and fainted; I felt excessively sorry for her,
but did all my soothing in vain, for she refused
to be comforted. As soon as she became
calm, we all assembled in the drawing-room,
and Mons. A.'s godson, a little fellow of
five years old, entered the room first, bearing
the patron saint, St. Nicholas, then came the
bride, followed by her train of female friends.
She knelt down before Mons. and Mad. A.,
and they each in turn held the image over her
head, saying they blessed her, and hoped she
would "go to her happiness." She kissed their
feet frantically; and they then assisted her up,
kissed her, and she was conducted weeping
to the carriage.

On arriving at the church about half-past
seven we were met by friends of the
bridegroom, who stood at one end of the church,
surrounded by his family, and every now and
then casting anxious and tender looks at the
beloved one, who was again howling and
sobbing like a mad woman. I thought how
painful it must be for him, poor man, to
witness such distress, and wondered why she
should marry any one for whom she manifested
so much dislike. After administering restoratives,
she became calmer, and the priests
appeared—when off she went again into a fit of
hysterics more sudden, though not so violent
as her previous performances; but, this time,
was soon restored, and the ceremony
commenced.

One priest stood at the altar, and two others
at a kind of table or reading-desk at some
distance. The un-happy couple were placed
beside each other, behind the priests, who
commenced chaunting the service in beautiful
style. The bride and bridegroom held each a
lighted wax taper in their hand; a little more
chaunting, and rings were exchanged; more
chaunting, and then a small piece of carpet was
brought, upon which they both stood; two
crowns were then presented to them, and after
they had kissed the saint upon them, these
were held over their heads by the bridesmen.
More chaunting; then there was wine brought,
which they were obliged to drink, first he and
then she; they made three sups of it, though,
at first, there appeared only about a wine-
glassful; after this the Priest took hold of
them and walked them round the church
three times, the bridegroom's man following
holding the crowns over their heads to the
best of his ability; but he fell short of his
duty, for the bridegroom was rather tall and
his man rather short: hence there was some
difficulty and slight awkwardness in this part
of the proceedings; then followed a kind of
exhortation, delivered in a very impressive
manner by the senior Priest. After this,
they proceeded to the altar, prostrated,
themselves before it, kissing the ground with
great apparent fervour; then all the saints
on the wall were kissed, and lastly the whole
of the party assembled. We then adjourned
to the carriages, and after a quick ride soon
found ourselves at home.

Here Monsieur and Madame A. performed
the part of Père et Mère, met the bridal party,
carrying the black bread and salt which is
always given on such occasions. This was, with
some words—a blessing, of course—waved over
the heads of the newly married couple, who
were on their knees kissing most vehemently
the feet of their Père et Mère. After this
ceremony, which means "May you never want
the good here offered you," they arose,
and again the kissing mania came upon the
whole party with greater vehemence than
ever. Nothing was heard for some time but
the sound of lips; at length a calm came, and
with it champagne, in which every one of
them drank "Long life and happiness to the
newly-wed pair," all striking their glasses till
I thought there would be a universal smash,
so violently were they carried away by their
enthusiasm; then came chocolate, and lastly
fruit.

As soon as the feasting was over, the dancing
commenced with a Polonaise; the steward, a
great man in the house, leading off the bride,
who by this time had forgotten all her
sorrows. About twenty couple followed, and
away they went, through one room, out at
another, until they had made the whole
circuit of the apartments.

We left them at half-past eleven, but they
kept up the fun till five in the morning, when
they conducted the happy pair to their
dwelling.

Upon my expressing pity for the bride, and
also my astonishment why she married a
man who appeared so very repugnant to her,
I learnt that she would not be considered
either a good wife or a good woman unless
she was led to the altar in a shower-bath of
tears; in fact, in Russia, the more tears a
woman sheds, the better her husband likes
her!

A NEW JOINT-STOCK PANDEMONIUM
COMPANY.

GAMING without risk, certainty in chance,
Fortune showering her favours out of the
dice-box, are promised by the promoters of a
New Joint-Stock Company just set on foot
in Paris, the prospectus of which now lies
before us. This is nothing less than a society
for the propagation of gambling in San
Francisco; "capital, one hundred and fifty thousand
francs, in three hundred shares of five