Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1878-05-30

and us that means marriage, of course the
maloe got her h~oliday-and her husband
in due course. The possession of a few
roubles, more or less, will always secure a
young Russian peasant girl a husband, be
she ever so plain, as the following truthful
anu Withal humorous anecdote will show
Some years ago, in Moscow, my informant
had a handsome young Russian woman as
servant, one in whom the lady of the pro-
prietor Of the mill of which he was mana
ger took special interest, aud wished to see
well married. The girl was as industrious
and well-conducted as handsome, was well
supplied with clothes, and had-greatest
charm of all from a Russian point OF view
saved Fifty roubles for herlowery. She
was asked in marriage by the parents of one
OF his mill hands the lady was by no means
coy, and, preliminaries settled, preparations
were made for the wedding. But, alas /! lu-
ere, in the eyes Of the, youths parents, wa
far before beauty. In the interim they had
found out a very plain but more eligible
parti. who had a dowry of %seventy-five roll-
bles, or "a sterling, no more, no less, than
the tocher Of the handsome lass who had
been first fixed upon. The poor beauty, on
the eve of the bridal, was summarily dis
carded by the mercenary parents-breach
of promise, it seems, is not an institution in
Russia-and'the young man, nothing loath,
obeyed his parents, and took the plain
bride with her dowry of ~seyenty-five rou-
bles. The lady Of the proprietor OF the mill
"a Russian, of coulse-Was much disap-
pointed when she learned that the match
with the handsome ervant girl had not
come off. She told my informant he should
at once have made up the difference, e4
sterling, and not let the poor lass go hus-
bandless after she had been asked. The la
DIV told him that if he had done SO. she (the
LADY, would have refunded him the money
out of her own pocket. In matrimonial at
fairs the Russians are described as very
kind and helpful to each other and any la
DIV, no matter how high her rank, will lend
a young Russian peasant girl her best dress
and Jewels to be married in, while the hus-
band supplies horses and a conyeyance-for
it Is a de 7igean' Russian custom that the
poorest couple have to be driven to and
from church in a conveyance, and the more
bells there are on the harness of the horses
the better are the wedding party pleased.
The business-like marriages of the Rus
sian peasants remind me Of what I have
read somewhere of the disposal of the mar-
riageable Circassian girls in the Caucasus
the source from whence the Turkish harems
were formerly supplied. Now the Russians
have placed and embargo on this Infamous
trade In young women in the Caucasus. On
a given dav. in Russian Circassia, the mar
riageble young women of village or dis
trict are gathered together. The most beau
ttnl damsels are put UP to what we would
call sale by auction, and the wife-seeking
gallant with the heaviest purse secures the
handsomest . lot" After the beauties have
been disposed of, the plain ~lasses, if any,
are then paraded. But the process OF dis
posal is now reversed. 1t is not. "How
much will you give for this lot" but
"How much money will you ask to take
this young damsel for your wife"' The
moneyless bachelors are thus provided with
wives. and the money will no doubt recon-
pense them for the %plainness of their future
spouses; the money being made up. out Of
the purse of the handsome bellies. This
system, however revolving to our ideas,
NAV be considered a fair all-round arrange
ment, especially tor the plain Circassian
damsels.
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SHOT IN THE NECK"