§84. The third form, that is, the ceremonies preliminary to _ūsus_, probably admitted of more variation than either of the others, but no description has come down to us. We may be sure that the hands were clasped, the words of consent spoken, and congratulations offered, but we know of no special customs or usages. It was almost necessary for the three forms to get more or less alike in the course of time, though the cake of spelt could not be borrowed from the confarreate ceremony by either of the others, or the scales and their holder from the ceremony of _coēmptiō_. §85. The Wedding Feast.--After the conclusion of the ceremony came the wedding feast (_cēna nūptiālis_) lasting until evening. There can be no doubt that this was regularly given at the house of the bride's father and that the few cases when we know that it was given at the groom's house were exceptional and due to special circumstances which might cause a similar change to-day. The feast seems to have concluded with the distribution among the guests of pieces of the wedding cake (_mustāceum_), which was made of meal steeped in must (§296) and served on bay leaves. There came to be so much extravagance at these feasts and at the _repōtia_ mentioned below (§89) that under Augustus it was proposed to limit their cost by law to one thousand sesterces ($50), a piece of sumptuary legislation as vain as such restrictions have usually proved to be. §86. The Bridal Procession.--After the wedding feast the bride was formally taken to her husband's house. This ceremony was called _dēductiō_, and as it was essential to the validity of the marriage (§74) it was never omitted. It was a public function, that is, any one might join the procession and take part in the merriment that distinguished it, and we are told that persons of rank did not scruple to wait in the street to see the bride. As evening approached the procession was formed before the house with torch bearers and flute players at its head. When all was ready the marriage hymn (_hymenaeus_) was sung and the groom took the bride with a show of force from the arms of her mother. The Romans saw in this custom a reminiscence of the rape of the Sabines, but it probably goes far back beyond the founding of Rome to the custom of marriage by capture that prevailed among many peoples. The bride then took her place in the procession attended by three boys, _patrīmī et mātrīmī_ (§82); two of these walked by her side, holding each a hand, while the other carried before her the wedding torch of white thorn (_spīna alba_). Behind the bride were carried the distaff and spindle, emblems of domestic life. The _camillus_ with his _cumerus_ also walked in the procession.