Penrith Herald Jan 3 1874 Jan 3 1874 Wholesale Marriages

Jan 3 1874 Wholesale Marriages

WHOLESALE MARRIAGES. The "Echo" says: - It has been the custom in many large parishes to distribute the marriage service, when a great number of couples are to be married, by reading the opening and closing portions 'pro bono publico', and only repeating the sacramental vows for each pair. We have even heard of a case where a clergyman, wearied with the reiteration of the formula appointed for the publication of banns, read out straightforward the names of forty men and women consenting, and then simply added, "If any of you here present know any just cause or impediment why "all these people" should not be joined together in holy matrimony, you are now to declare it." This kind of marriage "en masse" - which rather reminds us of the recent American announcement that lions and tigers are now sold ' wholesale' in London - has proved a stumbling block to the REV. DR. LEE, curate of Preston parish church.  He has had conscientious scruples about curtailing the marriage service, and making the "Dearly Beloved" with which it begins apply to more than a couple at a time. Accordingly on Christmas Day, there being no fewer than twenty-two pairs anxious to avail themselves of the day's holiday to fasten the knot, DR. LEE patiently went through the entire office twenty-two times, beginning at nine in the morning, and only ending after eleven o'clock, when the ordinary congregation had already assembled, and found themselves unexpectedly witnesses of the interesting ceremony.                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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