their right hands together, and they are Man and Wife.

say,

Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Blessing:

Then shall the Minister speak And the Minister shall add this unto the company: Forasmuch as M. and God the Father, God N. have consented to- the Son, God the Holy gether in holy wedlock, Ghost, bless, preserve, and have witnessed the and keep you; the Lord same before God and mercifully with his fathis company, and there- vour look upon you, and to have given and fill you with all spiritual pledged their troth, benediction and grace; each to the other, and that ye may so live tohave declared the same gether in this life, that by giving and receiving in the world to come ye a Ring, and by joining may have life everlasthands I pronounce that ing. Amen.

3

IV.

ANALYSIS OF THE CEREMONY.

L

IKE the concealed skeleton, the fair and

sinewy flesh, the invisible animating soul, and the decent dress overlaid and changing with the times and fashions, which go to make up the palpable being of a man; so the Ceremony of Marriage when subjected to a careful dissection, will be found to consist of certain elements which, though fused into one another in actual use, forming an individual harmony of living beauty, may yet with considerable advantage be separated in thought and brought successively into view, each apart from the others.

These distinct elements are the following: 1. The publication to the world, which opens and closes the Ceremony. (See Chap. V.)

2. The Symbolic Action of the parties and of the officiating minister, which extends throughout and may be called the Silent Ceremony. (See Chap. VI.)

3. The Audible Stipulations and Vows, which

are not only mutual, but two-fold. (See Chap. VII.)

4. The Official Cementing of the Union in the name and with the benediction of God. (See Chap. VIII.)

Of these the first and the third are duplicated in the Ceremony. The publication is repeated for reasons which will be explained under that head. The Stipulations of Espousal have the appearance of an immediate repetition, and almost in the same terms, but this is only apparent as will be shown in the proper place.

A

V.

OF THE IDEA OF PUBLICITY.

SECRET or private Marriage is, strictly

speaking, no Marriage at all, whether in a civil' or a religious aspect. The necessity, the

1 The evidence that cohabitation is marital must be constructed, not for the parties, but for the outside world. If she disregards this principle, the laws afford no remedy to the injured woman. Compare Bishop, Laws of Marriage and Divorce, hac super re.

The law distinguishes between an engagement of Marriage per verba de futuro [by words relating to the future] and one per verba in praesenti [by words relating to the present].

"The practice of the courts in this country, in one respect, seems directly opposed to the rule [which has sometimes been laid down] that if the contract be made per verba de futuro, and be followed by consummation, it amounts to a valid marriage, and is equally binding as if made in facie ecclesiae [in the face of the congregation].' A very large proportion of the cases in which an action is brought for breach of promise of marriage come within this definition. The man promised marriage, the woman accepted and returned the promise, and thereupon yielded to his wishes. How far may the seduction be given in evidence? If the fact exists, it is usually brought out. Then it becomes a case of marriage within that rule. But such a defence was never made by the party nor interposed by the Court. This would go far to show that the courts of this country do not regard such a contract followed by consummation as equivalent

obligations and the blessings of the Rite, have their essential roots in society at large, and are matters on which the rights and happiness of an unknown and unascertainable number of others may be, to say the least, quite as dependent as are the rights and happiness of the parties themselves.

Besides this, in a moral and religious view, publicity is, in some degree, both a test and a guaranty of virtue. For everything that is pure and good seeks or willingly abides the knowledge of men; while almost nothing is more hos

to a marriage in which the formalities sanctioned by law cr usage are observed.

"I cannot but think that he [Jacop, Addenda to Roper on Husband and Wife] places upon strong grounds his conclusion that a contract of marriage in verbis de praesenti, without ceremony or celebration of any kind, did not constitute a valid marriage at common law.

"But a precise compliance with all the requirements of law has not been deemed necessary. The essential thing seems to be the declaration of the consent, by both parties, before a person authorized to receive such declaration by law." Parsons on Contracts, Vol. I. p. 562.

Could all maidens understand this principle and firmly act on it, how many fruitless tears and lives of misery would be forestalled. Compare the frequent accounts in the daily newspapers of seduction under cover of "secret" or "informal" marriage. See a most illustrative case in the Court column of the journals of N. Y. city for Sat. Feb. 11, 1871, Brinkley vs. Brinkley.

* John iii. 20, 21. The words of our Lord apply to no subject more truly than to this.