Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol III, No 13, 1851Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol III, No 13, 1851
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The newly married couple are at the head of the train, preceded by
pipers, and fiddlers, and single-stick players, who triumphantly lead
the way; the nearest relatives of the young pair next follow; then the
rest of the guests without order, rushing on helter-skelter, each in the
varied and picturesque costume of his district; some on foot, some on
horseback, most frequently two individuals on the same beast, the man
seated upon a stuffed pad which serves as a saddle, and the wife, with
arm around his waist, seated upon the crupper;--an every-day sight, not
many years ago, in the rural districts of England, when roads were bad,
and the gig and taxed-cart uninvented. The mendicants follow at their
heels by hundreds, to share the remnants of the feast.
As soon as the confusion occasioned by the arrival of such a multitude
has subsided, the guests place themselves at the tables. These are
formed of rough and narrow planks, supported by stakes driven into the
ground, the benches constructed after the same fashion; and they are
raised in proportion to the height of the tables, so that you may have
your knees between your plate and yourself; if, in a real Breton
wedding, you happen to be supplied with such an article--for a luxury of
this description has not yet reached very far into Brittany: the soup is
eaten out of a wooden bowl, and the meat cut up and eaten in the hand,
or, as the phrase goes, "upon the thumb." Every individual, as a matter
of course, carries his own case or pocket knife; the liquids are served
in rude earthenware, and each drinks out of a cup apportioned to five or
six individuals. It is the height of civility to hand one's cup to a
neighbor, so that he may assist in emptying it; and a refusal would be
considered extremely rude and insolent.
The husband and his immediate relatives are in waiting, and anticipate
every one's wants and wishes--pressing each to take care of himself:
they themselves share in no part of the entertainment, save the
compliments which are showered, and the cups of cider and wine which
civility obliges them to accept. After each course music strikes up, and
the whole assembly rise from the tables. One party gets up a
wrestling-match; the Bretons are as famous as their cousins in Cornwall
at this athletic game--or a match at single-stick; another a foot-race,
or a dance; while the dishes are collected together, and handed to the
hungry groups of mendicants who are seated in adjoining paddocks. From
the tables to rustic games, reels, gavottes, and jabadoos; then to the
tables again; and they continue in this manner till midnight announces
to the guests that it is time to retire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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