comfort and respect of her after connubial life, to consent to be
married in the Registrar's back parlour, after due proclamation by the
Overseers and Poor-Law Guardians.

_The Bridal Trousseau, and the Wedding Presents_.

The day being fixed for the wedding, the bride's father now presents
her with a sum of money for her _trousseau_, according to her rank in
life. A few days previously to the wedding, presents are also made
to the bride by relations and intimate friends, varying in amount and
value according to their degrees of relationship and friendship--such
as plate, furniture, jewellery, and articles of ornament, as well as
of utility, to the newly-married lady in her future station. These,
together with her wedding dresses, &c., it is customary to exhibit to
the intimate friends of the bride a day or two before her marriage.

_Duty of a Bridegroom-Elect_.

The bridegroom elect has on the eve of matrimony no little business
to transact. His first care is to look after a house suitable for his
future home, and then, assisted by the taste of his chosen helpmate,
to take steps to furnish it in a becoming style. He must also, if
engaged in business, make arrangements for a month's absence; in
fact, bring together all matters into a focus, so as to be readily
manageable when after the honeymoon he shall take the reins himself.
He will do well also to burn most of his bachelor letters, and part
with, it may be, some few of his bachelor connections; and he should
communicate, in an easy informal way, to his acquaintances generally,
the close approach of so important a change in his condition. Not
to do this might hereafter lead to inconvenience and cause no little
annoyance.

We must now speak of

_Buying the Ring_.

It is the gentleman's business to buy the ring; _and let him take
especial care not to forget it_; for such an awkward mistake has
frequently happened. The ring should be, we need scarcely say, of the
very purest gold, but substantial. There are three reasons for this:
first, that it may not break--a source of great trouble to the young
wife; secondly, that it may not slip off the finger without being
missed--few husbands being pleased to hear that their wives have lost
their wedding rings; and, thirdly, that it may last out the lifetime
of the loving recipient, even should that life be protracted to the
extreme extent. To get at the right size required is not one of the
least interesting of