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 hundred francs each, provisionally registered on May 10, 1850. Chief Office, No. 17, Rue Vivienne.” The promoters of this precious CERCLE DE SAN FRANCISCO declare that certainty will be the issue of this notable scheme, the essence of which is hazard. “There never was,” they say, “an enterprise more sure of gain. Three years, with twelve dividends, paid once a quarter, will produce enormous results. These have been accurately tested by the most conscientious (?) calculations, based on the produce of the German gaming-houses, and we have ascertained that each share of five hundred francs will yield an annual dividend of three thousand francs over and above interest at six per cent!”