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Show A PEASANT WEDDING. Mrs. Alec Tweedie, in her journey-ings journey-ings through Finland, appears to hava displayed a happy aptitude for forming friendly relations with all sorts and conditions of people. At one peasant cottage of the poorest sort, where shs stopped to buy a bowl of milk, she fell into conversation with its mistress, a very clean and apparently very aged woman, clad in a short serge skirt, a loose white chemise and a striped apron of many colors these simple garments being all of her own weaving. weav-ing. Over her head she wore a black cashmere kerchief. Her face might have belonged to a woman of a hundred hun-dred or a witch of ancient times, it was so wrinkled and tanned; hei hands were hard and horny; and yet, after half an hour's conversation, w discovered she was only about fifty-five. fifty-five. Hard work, poor food and lif in dark, ill-ventilated, smoky cottage! age the peasants fast; at seventeen many a girl begins to look like an old woman. The old, or middle-aged, woman was a cheerful and friendlj soul, and was soon beguiled, by th visitor's comments on a woven band hanging in sight, into narrating, ai episode of family history. It had beel one of the presents given by her soi on his marriage, to his groomsman He had married a girl of another village vil-lage asking her hand in accordance with immemorial Finnish custom through a puhemies, or spokesman, I kind of preliminary best man, wh must do all the talking while the suib or himself sits dumb. Being accepted he exchanged rings with his betrothei and gave her father the usual kihlarat "What is that?" the visitor asked "Why, it is a sort of a deposit given t the girl's father to show he reallj means to marry the girl a cow oi something of that sort." A tw( years' engagement, during which thi young people were earning their house, hold equipment, was followed by l grand wedding, celebrated, as usual il Finland, at the bridegroom's house "It is a very expensive thing to gel married," said the mother, "and mj son had to give many presents to tin father-in-law, mother-in-law, brides, maids and groomsmen. To all th( bride's maids he gave stockings, that being the fashion of our country; t the groomsmen he gave shirts; to hli mother-in-law a dress; to the father In-law a belt, and to other friends head handkerchiefs. In short, she confessed that the occasion was a very serloiu drain upon the family resources. "But oh, it was a lovely time." she added "A wedding is a splendid thing. W , had a feast all one day and the next, j and then tho priest enmo and thej were married. Every one we kno came from miles around. Sum) brought a can of milk, and some of them brought corn brandy, and othert brought porridge, and' Johnnseii had been to town, so ho brought buck wltl him some while broad. Aye, It was grand feast! We dunced and nto and sand and nindo merry for two days. and then we all walked with my son and his bride to that little cottage on tin other side of t tie wood and left tlu'iu there, where they have lived cvoi since." |