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Show WHY LAUGH AT THE DOG. We laugh at the petted house dog when we see him appropriate the finest rug in the house and then turn around three or four times upon it before be-fore he lies down. We say to him, "You are giving giv-ing away your ancestors, you old, good-hearted imbecile, im-becile, those ancestors who were wild dogs, who lived in the early world's meadows, and who had to tread the grass down to make for themselves beds." But we watch and describe a modern weddings as the perfection of civilization and do not remember remem-ber that we are watching and describing some customs which began about the same time that the house-dog's ancestors were treading down the grass for beds. That is, the groom goes to the home of the bride, with him his "best man"; there are countless count-less presents given the bride, the groom places a .ring upon her finger and the ceremony over a bridal trip is in order. And as the pair depart they are showered with rice. Now, all that is but a modification of the savagery sav-agery marriage in the early world when woman was but a chattel, for in those days there were only two ways of winning a bride. One was to find her and capture her by main strength, and run away with her, and often a trusty friend (best man) was needed to help stand off the bride's family. The other way was to purchase her with gifts supplied by the would-be groom, his family and friends; it was a case of capture or purchase, but when finally possessed, a ring was put upon the woman's finger as a sign of her subjugation, for the ring was a badge of servitude. The rice throwing (for luck) is but a modification modifica-tion of the practice of including amon the gifts the wild rice that grew in the fields, for a starter in house (or cave) keeping. Not many modern brides are captured by the old heroic, fair-fight method, but countless num- bers are purchased, the groom goes to her home to secure her, the ring is an essential symbol that she has been subjugated, then comes the bridal journey. Why laugh at the dog? |