Various expedients have been resorted to by different rulers of sparsely populated kingdoms to encourage men to enter the married state. In ancient Rome the law forbade that a bachelor should inherit any legacy whatever, and in Sparta, under the rule of Lycurgus, they were not permitted to have a part in the government, nor might they occupy any civil or military post. They were excluded from participation in public festivals, except on certain fixed occasions, and then the women had the right to lead them to the altars, where they were beaten with rods to the sound of scornful songs. As late as the reign of William and Mary, widowers were taxed in England at the following rates:--Dukes, £12 10s.; lower peers a smaller sum, and commoners one shilling each, if they elected to remain in a state of single blessedness. Widows also, especially those of high degree and fortune, were encouraged to dip again in the matrimonial lottery, and children were betrothed at a very tender age. [Illustration: AN ENGLISH BRIDE.] Bridesmaids in Anglo-Saxon times attended on the bride, and performed specified duties, particularly in the festivities which usually followed on such occasions. Even during the earlier portion of the present century it was a common custom for one to accompany the bridal couple on their honeymoon; and it was also her duty to prepare and present the "benediction posset," which is referred to by Herrick in "Hesperides:"-- "A short sweet prayer shall be said, And now the posset shall be made With cream of lilies not of kine And maiden blush for spiced wine." The fashion of brides wearing spotless white is a comparatively modern one. From accounts of bridal gowns in bygone times, we find rich brocades, golden tissues, and coloured silks were employed for this purpose; and at the present day white is considered only appropriate to the virgin, and is absolutely dispensed with by those women who have been married before. Of modern marriage customs in England there is no occasion to speak, for what woman is there among us who has not made an exhaustive and complete study of this vital matter? It may, however, comfort those who are beginning to wonder if marriage and giving in marriage is going out of fashion, to know that during the first quarter of 1894, 95,366 persons were joined together in the British Islands, an increase of 18 per cent. over the first three months of the previous year, 1893 and 9 per cent. over the mean rate for the same quarter for the preceding ten years. Figures are incontrovertible facts, so our ears need no longer be assailed by the bitter cry of "DARKEST SPINSTERDOM." CHAPTER VI. MOURNING. "The air is full of farewells to the dying And mourning for the dead."--_Longfellow._ [Illustration: ANCIENT JEWISH FUNERAL PROCESSION.] [Illustration: LAYING OUT AND MOURNING THE DEAD.]