The Opelousas courier., 1884-05-31
CURIOsITIEs OF COURTsHIP.
peculiar ways of Waking Love Inn
Various Lands.

5&
Sir Arthur Helps gave it as his belief
that since the world was created no two
couples ever made love after the sanfn
fashion, And since sit takes all sorts OF
folks to make a world" they may be
fairly supposed to do their counting IN
all sorts of ways. For in
stance, the courtship of the abo-
riginal of Australia consisted simply IN
knocking the woman of his preference
down with a club, and carrying her off.
This form of wooing was as ellicaclous
as brief, and was certainly commendabie
on the score of economy, since it sub.
iected neither party to the expense OF
lights, fires, oyster suppers, ice cream,
elaborate dresses, flowers, &C., which
are the usual concomitants of civilized
love-making. But the method OF the
Australian has been tiled by other than
the dusky savages.
It is an historical fact that William the
Conaueror conducted his courtship in d
similar manner. Having fallen in love
with a Flemish maiden, he had told her
of his preference, but received in return
only scorn and Indifference. Becoming
enraged at this, he one day attacked the
damsel in the open street and pommelcd
her numerically. The result was that
she consented to his suit and made him,
when married, one of the meekest wives
imaginable. in civilized countries OF our
day this counting ceremony is, strange to
saw, sometimes used after marriage.
Some curious counting customs prevail
in Africa. In one tribe of Eastern Africa
it is regarded as the nc plus ultra of gal
lantry for the lover to parade before the
hut of his inamorata astride of Il huge
boar. Mungo Park tells of a tribe in
the interior where custom compels a
woman to carry a callbash of water to
the man who expressed q pref
erence for her. Seated on a mat before
his door he washes his hands in the YES
sci, and then the woman drinks the water
as a token of her affection. Less repul.
sive was the act of the lover among the
ancient Persians, who burned his hand or
cheek to prove his devotion, and then
showed it to his lady-loye. If she was
"willin' she bound the injured part with
a silken scarf; but if obdurate she sent
the man to the physician for healing
salves.
Among the Moravians it was the Gus
tom for the minister to select wives for
the men of his congregation. If a isis
ter" had any objection to the 'brother"
selected for her life partner she was per-
mitted to state it, but it was generally
overruled by the priests %eloquence,
Strange to say, the historian tells us that
these. marriages were generally happy.
In Greenland the services of the pastor
of his flock are also called in. A man
who has made up his mind that his cir
cumstances warrant him in INDUCING in
what has been called 1.-The abstract de-
sire of every man to furnish board and
lodging to some young lady," and has
decided what young lady he wishes to
be taxed for, calls ON the reverend father
and states the case. The inquiry Is
made whether the girl knows of the
ssait, to which the man replies that he
has tried some preliminary love-making
which was not very kindly received, but
adds: tsThou knowest the ways of MAN.
kind" In Greenland, be it remarked, it
is an accepted fact in social philosophy
that "a woman's no means yes" The
priest calls upon the young woman and
pleads the case of her lover, assuring her
that he is a good man; that he catches
many seals, etc. 1t is the custom for the
woman to reject all proposals at first, but
to yield at last an unwilling assent. If
the priest thinks she is too obstinate he
generally remarks: "Ah, well, it is no
matter; I can easily find another woman
who will have such a good proyider, "
and turns to leave, which action brings
the stubborn maiden to terms at once.
In st. Petersburg, Russia, a custom
prevailed for many years-though de-
clined greatly in importance, it has not
yet gone wholly out of use-Which was
designed to stimulate the laggards in
courtship. On Whit Sunday there was
held, in the Summer Garden, one of the
city's parks, a fair of all the damsels of
the city who wanted husbands. Dressed
in their best, with all the ornaments at
command, and holding silver spoons or
other ware in their hands, to show that
they we're not wholly %portionless, they
stood in rows under the trees, attended
by parents or guardians, to insure pro-
priety of behavior to facilitate matri-
monial bargains. The men in search of
wives stroll about scrutinizing all the
candidates at leisure. When q man saw
one that pleased him he usually intro
duced himself to her custodians, and if
his statement of family, business, and
prospects were satisfactory, he was made
acquainted with the young woman and
invited to her residence. After this the
nuptial ceremony followed as speedily as
the would-be bridegroom desired. We
find a custom precisely this still in ex-
istence in a district in the south of Ire
land. There it is known as ssshafting, y
the name being derived from Shrove
Tuesday, the day on which it is held.
On that day all the manageable young
people of both sexes are marshaled on
the village green by their parents, the
girls in all the glory of Sunday gowns
and gay ribbons, al lovely as fresh-blown
roses, evidently enjoying their bushes,
and the young men, also in their best at
tire, looking as foolish as only the male
human can look on exhibition. The two
sections are stationed in line apart from
each other and the parents pass between
to vouchsafe proposals or to receive them,
and to haggle over marriage portions.
The preferences of the young men are
fully understood by the elders, and COM
mendable effort is made to crafty them,
the main object of the parents being to
secure as good q set-out as possible for
the young couples. AS this ceremony oc-
ours on Shrove Tuesday, it is often "a
short shrift and a long rope to the will