Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-05-17
Curiosities of Marriage.

MdfGid0C Is ttlG lFSI dU1 UlOSI du-
cient of all institutions. As the foun-
dati0n of society and the family, it is
universally observed throughout the
globe, no nation having been dis
covered, however barbarous, which
does not celebrate the union of the
sexes by ceremony and rejoicing =
The abuses of the institution, as po-
Iygamy. iufdelity and divorce, have
in no manner touched its existence,
however they may have vitiated its
purity.
The condition of women in all
countries has afforded fruitful theme
for the observation of the traveller,
and the speculations Of the phlloso
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
TO woman is advanced in proportion
to the refinement of social life. Un-
der the laws Lycurgus, Numa, aud
even later law glvers, the power OF
the husband over his wife was abso-
lutte, sometimes even including the
power of life or death. The wife
was always defined and treated as a
thing, not as a persOn-the absolute
property of her lord. In the earlier
ages a man might sell his children 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
poIygamy is almost universal, mar.
riage is not the sacred tie which it is
held to be in Christian countries. Iu
Persia men marry either for lie or
for q determinated time. Travellers
or merchants commonly apply to the
magistrate for wife during their res
idence III any place, and the Cadi
produces a number of girls for a Sc
lection. whom he declares to be hon
est and healthy. Four wives are per-
mitted to each husband in Persia, and
the same number is allowed by No.
hammedan law to the MusSulman.
In Chinese Tartary a kind of male
poiygamy is practised, and plurality
Of husbands is highly respected. In
Thibet it is customary for the brothers
of family to have a wife in common,
and they generally live in harmony
and comfort with her. Among the
CaImucks the ceremony of marriage
is performed on horseback. The girl
is first mounted. and permitted to
ride of at full speed when her lover
takes horse and gallops after her
If he overtakes the fugitive she be.
comes 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 overtaken IN
less she is really fond of her pursuer
The Arabs divide their affections
between their horses and their wives
and regard the purity of blood in the
former quite as much as in their off
spring. Polygamy is practised only
by the rich, and divorces arc rare
/ In Ceylon the marriage proposal i;
brought about by the man first send
ing to her whom he wishes to become
his wife. to purchase her Clothes
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 call;
on her, with the wardrobe, at her ia
theirs house, and they pass the nigh
in each others company. Next morn
ing, if mutually satisfied, they appoin
the day of marriage. They are per
mitted to separate whenever the,
please, and so frequently avail them
selves of this privilege, that the,
sometimes change dozen times be
fore their inclinations are who'll,
suited.
In HindoStqn the women have
peculiar veneration for marriage, a
it is a popular creed that those fe
males who die virgins are excluded
from the joys of paradise. In tha
| precocious country the women begin T.
? bear children at about the are 0
twelve, some even at eleven. Th
= proximity OF the natives of India t.
2 the burning sun, which ripens men, a
! well as plants, at the earliest period
: in these tropical latitudes, is assign
: ed as the cause. The Distinguishing
: mark of the Hindoo wife is the mos
e profound fidelity, submission and al
2 tachment to her husband.
: On the banks.of the Sengal, an
among many African tribes, the ma
4 rimonial prize most sought after
: abundance of flesh. To obtain col
9 pulence is regarded as the only res
e comeliDess. A female who can NOV
n with the aid of two men is but moo
k crate beauty, while the lady who car
v not stir, and is only to be moved 0
J. a camel, is estimated perfect pars
:. gon.
; Nor is this queer fancy for obesit
p in women confined to the savages