The young females then sing stanzas suitable to the occasion, after which the company partake of a frugal repast consisting of bread, cheese, fresh butter, and goats’ or ewes’ milk, together with a few glasses of Meran or Brixen wine, or among the more opulent, of Hungarian wine. This repast being finished, the youths escort the bridegroom home with songs and the sound of the rustic flute. At dusk, the bridegroom serenades his beloved with a plaintive tune under her window, mingling the sounds of his voice with those of the bagpipe.
The wedding-day at length arrives, and gaiety pervades the hamlet. From the general rejoicing, a stranger would suppose all the inhabitants to belong to the same family. When the bride lives at a village remote from the residence of the bridegroom, the latter repairs thither, accompanied by a numerous party, demonstrating the harmony and brotherly love which prevail among the Tyrolese. To beguile the length of the way, the young lads stop now and then and join in the merry dance. On reaching the place of their destination, they repair to the abode of the bride, and while they enter, the musicians play the nuptial air. The music ceases, and the schoolmaster addresses a complimentary speech to the bride, who then delivers to the bridegroom the ribbons for his garters in token of his future authority. These ribbons the bridemaid attaches to his dress; he gives her a kiss, and, according to custom, she embraces him in return.
The procession then repairs to the church, headed by the musicians; next come the young men, and then the young women, who are followed by the bride and bridegroom. The former is dressed in white, with a nosegay of flowers selected by her lover in her bosom. She is placed on his right, and is attended by her bridemaid, as is the bridegroom by his man. Then come the parents and relations of the parties, whose serious looks and grave demeanour form a striking contrast with the wild mirth and frolicksome pranks of those who close the procession.
On reaching the church, a devout silence is observed by the whole assembly. The service begins, but before the priest pronounces the nuptial benediction, the young couple, falling on their knees before their parents, receive their blessing. On their return home, they are congratulated by their friends, who then partake of an entertainment provided for the occasion. When this is over, the head of the family rises, and after he has said grace, he offers up a prayer for the prosperity of the new-married couple; to give a still more solemn character to this pious ceremony, he pictures in glowing colours the virtues of their forefathers. Nor does he forget to pray for the parents whom death has snatched from them. The speaker resumes his seat, and when the tears of affection have ceased to flow, the cheerful songs of the young people awaken other emotions.
Impatient for the pleasures of the dance, the latter slip away by degrees to the meadow or the room prepared for dancing. How desirous soever the young couple may be to follow, they must not stir, till the father of the family taking hold of the bride and the mother of the bridegroom, conduct them to their companions. Here, seated side by side, they receive the congratulations of the young men, among whom the bride distributes flowers from a basket. By these flowers they prognosticate their future fortunes. If the honeysuckle or the Alpine lily falls to their share, they promise themselves extraordinary prosperity. The periwinkle and the rhododendrons betoken a happy, tranquil life; but the foxglove and the daphne are omens of misfortunes and afflictions. The young damsels then come to express their good wishes, and the bridegroom distributes among them ribbons, the different colours of which are in like manner supposed to indicate their future lot.
Next morning they do not fail to pay a visit to the young couple, because they attach great importance to the possession of a few flowers from the wreath that encircled the brow of the bride. To her greatest favourites she gives the pins which fastened the wreath, and these they regard as tokens that they shall be happily married themselves. Thus does hope reign among this people of brothers, and associate by propitious omens future happiness with present felicity.
CHAPTER X.
HUNGARY.
EXTENT—DIVISION—CONSTITUTION—VAST ESTATES OF THE MAGNATS—STATE OF THE PEASANTRY—THEIR INDOLENCE—THIEVISH DISPOSITION OF THE HERDSMEN—PUNISHMENTS—HUNGARIAN PRISON—GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE PEASANTS AND THEIR HABITATIONS IN DIFFERENT COUNTIES—HORNED CATTLE—SHEEP—VILLAGE HERDSMEN—RAVAGES OF WOLVES—GRANARIES—COSTUMES.