It is in the Old Church that most of the weddings of Amsterdam are
celebrated. Thursday is the day, for then the fees are practically
nothing; on other days to be married is an expense. The koster
deplores the modern materialism which leads so many young men to be
satisfied with the civil function; but the little enclosure, like a
small arena, in which the church blesses unions, had to me a hardly
less business-like appearance than a registry office. The comedian
overflows with details. For the covering of the floor, he explains,
there are five distinct carpets, ranging in price from five guelders
to twenty-five for the hire, according to the means or ostentation
of the party. Thursdays are no holiday for the church officials, one
couple being hardly united before the horses of the next are pawing
the paving stones at the door.
I saw on one Thursday three bridal parties in as many minutes. The
happy bride sat on the back seat of the brougham, immediately before
her being two mirrors in the shape of a heart supporting a bouquet of
white flowers. Contemplating this simple imagery she rattles to the
ecclesiastical arena and the sanctities of the five, ten, fifteen,
twenty or twenty-five guelder carpet. After, a banquet and jokes.
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