He was Omoto, who is a proprietor of a fruit stand. She was Shiari, a Geisha girl. And they fell in love, did this oval-faced little Japanese girl and the enterprising merchant, whom chance brought together in the Japanese village. That's why there was a wedding on the Midway last evening.

Shortly before 9 o'clock a muscular young Jap mounted to the belfry, where the quaint bell-ringing apparatus of the Japanese may be seen from the Midway, and swinging the great stick of wood suspended there, wedding bells rang out at the Exposition grounds for the first time. Meantime there had gathered a great crowd of curious amusement seekers, bent upon witnessing the peculiar service that was to make Omoto and Shiari man and wife.

The wedding took place on the platform of the pagoda, in the center of the village, which was brilliantly illuminated and decorated for the occasion, after the fanciful Japanese idea. The wedding party formed in the model Japanese dwelling house. An aisle had been left through the center of the spectators' seats for the approach of the party. Shortly after 9 o'clock the ladies' orchestra sounded the wedding march, and a party of attendants, led by Tsuji, the middleman, marched down the aisle to the pagoda, and after much bowing and a salaam or two took their places to the right. They were followed by a Japanese maid and two children bearing rice cakes. Then came more attendants, who took position on the left. This part of the ceremony was accompanied by many salaams.

When the bridegroom appeared, appropriately gowned in black satin elaborated embroidered, the excitement ran high among the spectators. Japanese bumped their heads on the floor many times as the bridegroom made his appearance on the platform. Then came the bride, an attractive little Jappy with an oval face and soft olive complexion touched up with with a bit of carmine for the auspicious event. Her gown was a quilted affair of brocaded silk. Some more heads were bumped. Now the bridegroom and the bride had taken positions side by side, kneeling on cushions in the center of the platform, and the ceremony began. Sake wasfirst passed to the bride and the bridegroom three times by the attendants who knelt ceremoniously. Then a dancer appeared dressed in fantastic costume and went through queer gyrations to the cadence of tom-tom and piccolo. This was the congratulatory dance. When this ceased the bride and bridegroom stood up, the attendants surrounded them in a circle and the ceremony concluded with the national anthem (kimiyayo).

As the newly wedded couple marched up the aisle hand in hand the spectators applauded them with vigor.