, 1867-09-27
CuriositIes Of Marriar.-

the family, 1t is universally observed throughout
the globe, no nation having been discovered
however barbarous, which does not celebrate
the union Of the sexes by ceremony aud rejoicing
The abuses of the institution, as a poiyRamy,
in6delity and divorce, have in no manner touch
ed its existence, however they may have vitiated
its purity.
The condition Of women 10 all countries has
afforded fruitful theme for the observation of
the traveller, and the spseulstons Of the philoso-
pher and the novelist. 1t has been uniformly
found that the savage is the tyrant Of the female
! sex, while the position and consideration given
1 % women is advanced in proportion to the res
nnement Of social life. Under the laws Of Lycur-
gus, Numa, and even later law-givers, the power
OF the husband over his wife was absolute, some
times even including the power over life or death
! The wife was always defined and treated as
thing, not as person-the absolute property of
her lord. 10 the earlier ages a man might sell
bis children or bis wife indifferently and relics
| OF thls rude custom still survive, even among
nations called civilized and Christian.
ln the countries Of the East, where polygamy
Is almost universal, marriage is not the sacred
tie which it is held to be in Christian countries.
10 Persia men marry either for life or for deter
/ inmate time. Travellers or merchants commonly
apply to the magistrate for a wife during their
residence in any place, and the Cadi produces
number Of girls for selection, whom be declares
to be honest and healthy. Four wives are per-
mitted TO each husband in Persia, and the same
number is allowed by the Mahommedan law to
| the Mussulman.
In Chinese Tartary kind of male polygamy
| is practised, and plurality of husbands is high
| y respected. In Thibet it is customary for the
brothers of a family to have wife in common,
and they generally live in harmony and comfort
with her, Among the Calmueks the ceremony
of marriage is performed on horseback. The
girl is first mounted ard permitted to ride off at
| full speed, when her lover takes a horse and
| gallops after her. If he overtakes the fugitive
she becomes his wife, and the marriage is con.
summated on the spot. 1t is said that no instance
is known of Camuck girl being overtaken un-
less she is really fond of her pursuer.
The Arabs divide their affections between their
horses aud their wives, and regard the purity of
blood in the former quite as much as in their
offspring. Poygamy is practiced only by the
rich, and divorces are rare. ln Ceylon the mar
riage proposal is brought about by the man first
sending to her whom he wishes TO become his
wife, to purchase her clothes There she sells
for a stipulated sum, generally asking as much
as she thinks requisite for them to begin the
world with. In the evening he calls on her.
with the wardrobe, at her fathers house. aud
they pass the night in each others company
Next morning, if mutually satisfied, they appoint
the day of marriage. They are permitted to sep
arate whenever they please aud so frequently
avail themselves of this privilege that they some
times change dozen times before their inclina-
tions are wholly suited.
In Hindostan the women have a peculiar vene,
ration for marriage, as it is popular creed that
those females who die virgins are excluded from
the joys of paradise. In that precocious country
women begin to bear children at about the age
of twelve, sometimes even at eleven. The prox-
unity of the natives of India to the burning sua
which ripens men, as well as plants, at the ear,
lest period in those tropical atitudes, is assign
ed the cause. The distinguishing mark of the |
Hindoo wife is the most profound fidelity, subs |
mission and attachment to her husband
Ga the banks Of the Senegal, and among many |
African tribes, the matrimonial prize most sought
after is abundance of flesh. To obtain corpu- |
lence is regarded the only real comeliness. A |
female who can move with the aid of two men |
is but moderate beauty, while the lady who
cannot stir, and is only to be moved on camel |
is esteemed perfect paragon.
Nor is this queer fancy Tor obesity in women |
confined to the savages of the torrid zoGe since |
we read in Wraxall's Travels in Russia, that
Sin order to possess any pre-eminent degree of
lovelness, a woman must weigh at least two
hundred weight" The Empress Elizabeth and
Catharine ii, both accounted very fine women,
were of this massive kind.
In Italy, matches are made with proverbial
levity, and marriage VOWS if report speaks truly,
u -
ically bartered and sold by their parents and
young people are married every day who never
saw one another before. Concubinage is a con-
staut remedy for these i'll advised and deceitful
marriages and the peculiarly Italian term eieisbeo
indicates the indemnity which custom prescribes
for the fair sex fettered to husbands unlOved.
In France, as has often been remarked, women
monopolize all the society and large share OF
the business of life. The coffee houses the thea
ters, the shops, the cabarets, or drinking shops,
are filled with women. Women lord it at all
assemblies and are better informed and more
capable managers than men. Marriage is looked
upon not SO much as matter of affection of
interest, and the sacredness of the tie is propor>
tionately slender.
Marriage in Sweden is commonly governed
wholly by the will of the parents, and is founded
upon interest. A stolen match is almost unheard
of, and persons of either sex seldom marry before
the age of twenty-five or thirty. Divorces are
very rare.
Russia appears to be the most preposterous
country in Europe in its treatment of women.
The nuptial ceremonies, all and singular, are
based upon the idea of the degradation of the
of the female When the parents have agreed
upon the match, the bride is examined by num-
Der of women to see if she has any bodily defect.
On her wedding day she is crowned with a gar
land of wormwood, to denote the bitterness of
the marriage state. She is exhorted to be obedi'
ent to her husband, and it is custom in some
districts for the newly married wife to present
the bridegroom with a whip in token of submis-
sion, and with this he seldom fails to show his
authority In this cold and cruel country hus-
bands are sometimes known to torture their wives |
to death without any punishment for the murder
If a woman proves barren, the husband generally |
prevails on her to retire into convent and |
leave him at liberty. If he fails in persuasion,
he is permitted to whip her into condescension.
Such is the slavery in which the Muscoyites
are kept by their parents and guardians, that
they are not allowed TO dispute any union agreed |
upon by their elders, however odious or iucom>
patible it may be. This extends SO far that Off
GERS in the army are not permitted to marry |
without the consent of the sovereign, and wives
whom they do not want are even sometimes fore
ed upon them.
whether it be the result Of this system OF oP-
preston, or of their savage climate, or OF tne
unnatural hot air of the stove-heated depart,
ments, it is certain that more unloVely race Oh
women than the Russian would be difhcuit 70
find. "They want" says an Englisn uaFeleI'
"the genuine flavor which only nature can give
That charming frmness and elasticity OF hesn'
so indispensably requisite to constitute beauty,