Saturday, February 11, 2012

A Chinese wedding party in Canton

A Chinese wedding party in Canton reoently loat one ot the moet important items in the ceremony—the bride. The little lady had been oarried to her bridegroom's house, hidden in the oustomary embroidered red satin chair, deoorated with flowers, and put down at the door to await the auspioiouß moment for oro&sing the threshold, Her escort had oome a long way, and were weary bo they retired into a neighbouring opium den and went to sleep. They woke late in tho evening, rushed to the door, and, concluding that the bride had left, oarried the empty ohair baok to its loft. Soon afterwards the bridegroom and his family, dressed in their beßt, lighted the oandles and the inoensefitioks, laid out rioe and the orthodox viands, and opened the door. No eigne of either ohair or bride. They immediately deoided that Bhe had been oarried off by brigands, and they alarmed the whole district, the search going on for hours fruitlessly. At last the diatraoted bridegroom woko up tha chairbearers, and they, struck by a sudden idea, ran off to the loft. They opened the ohair, and there sat the poor little bride, stiff, frightened, and hungry. She bad felt that she was being oarried oft, but dared not cry out, bb no well-bred bride ought to open her lipa till after the marriage ceremony. Henoe all the trouble. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 87, 14 April 1891, Page 4

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