Possibly the annals of costume contain no more extravagant wedding-dress than that peculiar to the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. The bridal crown is certainly unique. It is made of little quadrangular pieces of metal which display a raised design and are mounted upon a high cylindrical shape of pasteboard encircled by a fringe of gilt leaves attached to silver buttons. These buttons head a band of red velvet ribbon tied in a huge bow behind, where a curved handle of twisted green velvet extends itself with wide ends of green velvet ribbon that conceal the ears and are tied in an enormous bow under the chin above a stiff gigantic bow of black silk. The tight short skirt is of dark wool with a scolloped border of red and yellow, and a narrow pleated apron is in a dull shade of tangerine. About the waist is a broad sash of black silk tied in a monster bow in the front, and the tight bodice introduces the multi-coloured vest. Little can be seen of the bride or her gown beyond the Brobdingnagian bows, and her costume might be thought to embody the axiom--it is well to have more than one bow to your string. The peasantry of the Swiss canton of Fribourg hold reverently to ancestral tradition, wearing the dress of their grandparents in token of their resolve to remain faithful to ancient custom. The bride plaits her hair in a single plait under an erection like the hussar's cap, made in pale blue trimmed with narrow lines of rose silk ruching, and banded across the forehead with black velvet. Her stockings, short skirt, and bodice are of scarlet, the sleeves terminating with velvet cuffs, and her apron is of black or of silk of some sombre shade. The indispensable plastron-vest is of pink edged with silver lace and loaded with silver buttons, and the flat circular ruffle is of pale blue edged with silver braid; and below it hangs a fine silver chain supporting a large medallion. Mystic in its simple grandeur is the dress of an Armenian bride, consisting of a long trailing gown of thick silk, richly interwoven with gold, held at the waist by a golden girdle, and opening down the front to show a petticoat of a contrasting colour. On the head is a wreath of white flowers, overspread by a veil of misty white, which falls to the ground above a shower of glittering gold streamers.