The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1883-11-22
miscellaneous.
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COUssTENG VARIOUS
LAMBS.

Tbs Chinese do not do much
counting. The parents save them
the trouble. They believe that
Yue-Laon, the old man ofthe moon,
unites with silken cord all pre-
destined couples. The parents
arrange, sometimes, for unions as
soon as the child is born. 4 CO.
between, or matchmaker, arranges
all the details, and the couple never
sec each other until the wedding
day.
Perhaps one Of the most novel
modes of courtship ever heard Of is
that prevalent among a tribe in
Neilgher,y. The maids and bach
elors who wish to get married erect
4 hut inside an inclosed space of
ground, with a thick fence round it,
and the men without cannot see
each other. The females go into
the hut, and the males stick long
sticks through the fence. At the
same time the women come out and
each c,tch hold OF stick, the
owner of which becomes her hus-
band.
At Mocha, in the East Indies, q
man does his courtship by the aid
of marriage brokers, to whom
stipulated sum is paid. In Java
all the courtship is done by pa
rents, the children not being per-
mitted to interfere in any way.
In Africa are found many curious
courting customs. In Sierra Leone
the negroes had q house devoted to
the instruction of their daughters,
who remain there g year under the
care Of an old man. At the end of
this time they are dressed in their
best and assembled before the mar
riabeable young men, dance, and
the latter take their pick. On the
west coast, when 3 girl is of mar
riageable age she is led about the
village by her friends to advertise
the fact, her hands and arms adorn-
ed with gold trinkets to allure the
young men. Sheis sold into matri-
mony, the highest price being
twenty dollars, with rum and to-
bacco. In Congo, when : a girl is
marriageable, she is put in tent for
a month and suitors come and make
her presents. Then she takes her,
pick. Z The+slive. together then for
two or three years to see if they are
suited TO each other. In New
Zealand and the Feejee islands
courtship is done by capture. When
a man sees woman he likes he
tells her to follow him. If she re-
fuses he knocks her down and
carries her off.
The method Of courtship is
equally brutal. The young lovers
mode Of paying his addresses is
ehicacious and simple. With a
blow Of his nulla-nulla, or war-club,
he stuns The object of his affections,
and drags her insensible body away
to some secluded spot, carrying
her home as soon as she RECEIVERS
her senses. sometimes two join
in an expedition for the same pur-
pose says a writer, sand then for
several days they watch the move
ments Of, their intended victims,
using the utmost skillin concealing
their presence. When they have
obtained the knowledge they re-
quire they wait for dark, windy
night; then, quite naked and carry
ing only their long Jog spears
they crawl stealthily through the
bush until they reach the camp
fires in front Of which the girls are
sleeping. Slowly and silently they
creep close enough to distinguish
the figure of one of their cnbras;
then one Of the intruders stretches
out his spear and inserts it's barbed
point among her thick, flowing
locks; turning the spear slowly
around, some Of her hair speedily
becomes entangled with it; then
with sudden jerk she is aroused
form her sleep, and as her eyes open
she feels the sharp point of another
weapon against her throat. She
makes virtue Of necessity, and
follows her captor.'
At St. Petersburg it was long q
custom to hold a fair on Whitsun-
day of the women who wanted
husbands. The women carried in
their hands silver spoons to show
their possessions. Their parents
and friends went with them to
arrange terms. The young men
strolled about, and when they saw
girl they liked they spoke to her
custodian, and stated their pros
poets. In Bosnia, near the Danube,
young girls Of the Mohammedan
faith were permitted to walk about
with their faces uncovered, and if
a man inclined to matrimony fell in
love with one Of them as he passed
along he threw an embroidered hand
kerchief or some. other article on
her head or neck. She then retired
to her home, and appeared no more