It was so usual to make matches of this
kind on occasions of public rejoicing, and marriages of convenience, as
they are not unaptly termed, enter so completely into the habits of all
European communities--perhaps we might say of all old communities--that
common opinion would not have been violently outraged had it been known
that the chosen pair saw each other for the second or third time in the
procession, and that they had now presented themselves to take the nuptial
vow, as it were, at the sound of the trumpet or the beat of drum. Still,
it was more usual to consult the inclinations of the parties, since it
gave greater zest to the ceremony, and these selections of couples on
public occasions were generally supposed to have more than the common
interest of marriages, since they were believed to be the means of
uniting, through the agency of the rich and powerful, those whom poverty
or other adverse circumstances had hitherto kept asunder. Rumor spoke of
many an inexorable father who had listened to reason from the mouths of
the great, rather than balk the public humor; and thousands of pining
hearts, among the obscure and simple, are even now gladdened at the
approach of some joyous ceremony, which is expected to throw open the
gates of the prison to the debtor and the criminal, or that of Hymen to
those who are richer in constancy and affection than in any other stores.
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