The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-06-26
M iSGella
Cssa.iOstfies or .Way.riage.

HOW DIFFERENT NATIONS REGARD THE
MARITAL RELATION RESUME.
Marriage is the first and most ancient of
all institutions. AS the foundation of So
ciety and the family, it is universally OBJ
served throughout the globe, no nation
having been discovered, however barbar-
Gus, which does not celebrate the union of
the sexes by ceremony and rejoicing. The
abuses of the institution, as polygamy, in
fidelity, and divorces, have in no manner
touched its existence, however they may
have vitiated its purity.
The condition of women in all countries
has afforded a fruitful theme for the obser-
walton of the traveller, and the speculations
Of the philosopher and the novelist. 1t has
been uniformly found that the savage is the
tyrant of the female sex, while the position
and consideration given to women is adj
vanced in proportion to the refinement of
social life. Under the laws of Lycurgus,
Numa, and even later law givers, the pow
er of the husband over his wife was abso-
lutte, sometimes even including the power
over life or death. The wife was always de-
fined and treated as a thing, not as per-
son-the absolute property of her lord. In
the earlier ages a man might sell his chill
dren or his wife indifferently, and relics of
this rude custom still survive, even among
nations called civilized and christian.
In the countries of the east, where polyg-
amy is almost universal, marriage is not the
sacred tie which it is held to be in Chris
tian countries. In Persia men marry either
for life or for determinate time. Travel
ers or merchants commonly apply to the
magistrate for a wife during residence in
any place, and the cadi produces number
of girls for selection, whom he declares to
be honest and healthy. -Four wives are
permitted to each husband in Persia, and
the same number is allowed by the Mo-
hamedan law to the Mussulman.
In Chinese Tartary kind of male polyg-
amy is practiced, and q plurality of hus-
bands is highly respected. In Thibet it is
customary for brothers of a family to have
a wife in common, and they generally live
in harmony and comfort with her.
Among the Calmucks, the ceremony of
marriage is performed on horseback. The
girl is first mounted, and permitted to ride
off at full speed, when her lover takes a
horse and gallops after her. Ifhe overtakes
the fugitive she becomes his wife, and the
marriage is consummated on the spot. 1t
is said that no instance is known of a Cal
muck girl ever being oyertaken unless she
is really fond of her pursuer.
The Arabs divide their affections be-
tween their horses and their wives, and re-
gard the purity of the blood in the former
quite as much as in their offspring. Polyg-
amy is practiced only by the rich, and di-
vorces are rare. In Ceylon the marriage
proposal is brought about by the man first
sending to her whom he wishes to become
his wife, to purchase her clothing. These
she sells for 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, and they pass the
night in each others company. Next
morning, if mutually satisfied, they appoint
the day of marriage. They are permitted
to separate whenever they please, and so
frequently avail themselves of this privilege
that they sometimes change dozen times
before their inclinations are wholly suit
ed. 1
In Hindoostan the women have a peculi-
ar yeneration for marriage, as it is u popu-
lar creed that those females who die vir-
gins are excluded from the joys of paradise.
In that precious country the women begin
to bear children at about the age of twelve,
some even at eleven. The proximity of the
natives of India to the burning sun, which
ripens men, as well as plants, at the earli-
est period in these tropical ATTITUDES, is as
signed as the cause. The distinguishing
mark of the Hindoo wife is the most pro-
found fidelity, submission and attachment
to her husband.
On the banks of the Senegal, and among
many African tribes, the matrimd HAL prize
most sought after is abundance offesh.
To obtain corpulonce is regarded as the only