Identifier: plainhometalkabo00foot (find matches)
Title: Plain home talk about the human system--the habits of men and women--the cause and prevention of disease--our sexual relations and social natures
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Foote. Edward B(liss), 1829-1906. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Medicine, Popular Marriage
Publisher: New York : Murray Hill publishing company (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ngthis history of marriage, I find myself surrounded with entertaining factswhich could not relevantly find place in the narrative. We will gatherthese up in one pile at the close, and call them the historical chips.They exhibit the odd cus- Fig. 157. toms of various peoples indifferent ages, and may leadthe reader to analyze ourown. to see if some of themare not, to use a forcible ex-pression, ridiculous. It maycertainly be set down as apalpable fact, that everything in our customs whichis in any way prejudicial toour moral and physicalhealth, and true happiness,may some day receive thejust ridicule of posterity. Ishall place quotation marksbefore and after each ofthe various facts presented,for though the phraseologyis sometimes my own, thematter is derived and con-densed from various sources, u cnips.aDd to save space and the repetition of names, I will present my authoritiesin a lump. They are, then, Gide, Picart, Montfaucon, Alexander, Lecky,Lady Hamilton, Nichols, Norton, etc.29
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674: HISTORY OF MARRIAGE. Betrothing and espousals were held at night or at day-break among theRomans, and never at a period of earthquake or stormy weather. Thepledge given by the groom to the bride was an iron ring without a stone;a crow was often offered as a sacrifice among the ceremonies, it being con-sidered a bird of good omen, from the popular belief that when it had lostits mate it always remained in a state of celibacy. Another ceremony wasto comb the hair of the bride, and divide the locks with the point of aspear which had been dipped in the blood of a gladiator, as an omen thatshe would be the mother of valiant offspring, and also that she was underthe dominion of her husband. The Romans, too, washed the feet of theirnewly married women, as an emblem of that purity which was required ofthem when they entered the marriage state. At one time there was a lawthat restrained a Roman from marrying any one who was not a Roman, ora denizen of Rome. Nor were senators allowed to ma

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