Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-11-22
ALL KINDS OF CouRTsHIP.
Inc Queer Methods Resorted 60 q
Procure Lie Partners.
Frank II. stsuffer in Fposh

Frank n. stsufer in Frosh
Among the ancient Assyrians all manageable
Young girls were assembled az one place. and
the public crier put them up for sale one after
the other. The money which was rece;xea for
those who were handsome, and. consequently.
sold well, was bestowed as a wedding norsion
on those who were plain. When the most
beautiful had been disposed OF the more ora,-
nary looking ones were offered for n eertain
sum and allotted 10 those willing to take them.
In ancient Greece the lover was seldom
favored With an opportunity OF telling his pas
sion to his mistress, and he used to publish il
by inscribing her name on the walls and ON
the bark of trees in the public walks. and upon
the leaves of books. he would decorate the
door OF her house with garlands. and make IL
batons of wine before IL. in the manner that
was practiced in the temple of Cupid.
According TO DIR. Hayes. courtship among
the Esquimaux has not much tenderness about
H. he match Is made by the parents OF the
couple. The lover must go out and capture q
polar bear as an evidence of his courage and
strength. That accomplished. he sneaks be-
hind the door Of his sweetheart's house. and
when she comes out he pounces upon her and
,rles 70 carry her TO his dog sledge. She screams
bites, kicks, and breaks away from him. He
gives chase, whereupon all the old women in
the settlement rush out and beat her with
frozen strips Of sealskin. She falls down ex-
hausted. the lover lashes her 10 his sledge
whips up his dogs. dashes swiftly over the
frozen snow. and the wedding If contaminated
Inc Australian lover Is still more lacking in
tenderness. N the statement made by Myers
Deiey Is true. The lover makes up his mind
as 20 which woman shall be his bride. and then
hides IN the bushes in the vicinity of her DWELL
ing. As soon as she comes near the spot where
he is concealed he knocks her down with a club
and carries her off before she comes 20. IL he
does not get her TO his hut before she recovers
there Is likely TO be lively fight in the BUSH
for the Australian damsel is generally a vigor-
Gus one. and may have reasons of her own for
Directing TO his attentions The lover NAV
then be obliged TO club her again. and as that
Is considered to be somewhat of a reflection on
the ardor with which his earlier effort was
made. he is apt 20 put as much soul aud mus
cles into his first love tap as he can summon
In some parts of Asia the question of a mans
title to a bride must Toe settled by a fierce
fight between the friends of the contracting
parties. If his forces are victorious his sweet
heart becomes his tropy. II her friends are
victorious he must pay such price a. the vic
tors demand. All over that country some cere-
mony of violence or exhibition of physical
power must precede wedding. Some native
tribes insist upon foot race between the bride
and bridegroom TO decide the question of mar
rage, and Others require long chase on horse
back. In some sections of Asia the lover must
carry of his bride on his back. IL he reaches
has hut with her there can be no protest against
the marriage. Failing in that he must paw her
parents for her in cattle. The willing bride
makes no cutlery; the unwilling bride arouses
the whole village, the residents of which try to
rescue her.
In the isthmus of Panama either sex can do
the counting. while in the Ukraine the girl
generally attends to il. When she falls in love
with man she goes to his house and declares
her passion. Ii he declines TO accept her she
remains there, and his case becomes rather
distressing. To turn her out would provoke
her kindred to avenge the insult. The Young
fellow has no resort left him but TO run away
from home until the damsel is otherwise dis
posed of.
A curious custom prevails in Oud Beierland,
Holland. October is the suspicious month,
and on the first Sunday known as review day)
the lads and lasses, attired in their best. prom
enade the village separately, stare each other
out of countenancs. and then retire to make up
their minds on the second Sunday. which Is
called decision day. The young men 90 mp
and pay their compliments to the fair ones OF
their choice. to learn if they are regarded with
favor On the third Sunday. or day of pur-
chase the swain as expected to snatch the
pocket handkerchief of his adored one, and il
she submits to il with good grace he UNDER
stands that his chances of winning her are fat
tering.
The captured pledge is restored to the fair
owner on the fourth Sunday the SUNDAY OF
taking possession, and 1t rarely happens that
the damsel refuses the lover for whom she has
indicated preference. On the Sunday follow
ing the sutton. according to custom, calls at the
house of his inamorata, where he is asked to
tea. If piece of the crust of a gingerbread
loaf is handed 20 him there is nothing left for
him but to retire. If. on the other hand. the
parents offer the young man a piece of the
crumb. he is allowed to come again and 10 adj
mitted into the family.
On the island of Himla, opposite Rhodes, o
girl Is not allowed to have a lover until she has
brought up certain number of sponges and
given proof of her ability TO take them from Q
certain depth. On the island of Nicarus the
girl is not consulted. Her father gives her to
the best diver among her suitors. He who can
stay longest under the water and gather the
most sponges marries the maid.
Hone, in his Table Book" gives an ac-
count of a lover who walked three miles every
evening for fourteen years to court his sweet
heart. besides lodging her home from church
on Sunday afternoons. The distance he trav-
eled was more than 10. 900 miles. For the first
seven years he only stood and courted in the
door porch, but for the remaining seven he
ventGred to hang his hat on pin in the pas
sage and sit in the kitchen settle. They were
finally married and lived so unhappily after
ward that their long. cool and deliberate court
ship failed to be of profit TO them. Such pro-
longed courtship would not have suited Shirley,
who says:
Il not love
Much ceremony suits in love should not
Like suits in law, be rocked from term to term-
According to the CHRONICLES Of Ingerbe."
William, the conquerer. conducted his wooing
in semi-civiliZed manner. We are gravely
told that he met Matilda in the streets of Bruges
as she was returning from mass He seized her,
struck her several times with his fist rolled her
in the dirt, thereby spelling her rich array"
then rode of at full speed. Convinced OF the
intensity of his ardor, Matilda subsequently
consented to marry him.
The brothers, Jacob and William Grimm,
authors of the wonderful fairy stories, con-
cluded that one or the other should marry
Oficious friends found a suitable lady for
Jacob, but he declined to do the counting SO
William acted as his proxy. In doing SO he
fell in love with the lady himself, which
troubled him greatly, as he did not want to
betray Jacob. The latter solved the dilemma
by telling William he could have her.
A Scotch beadle took his sweetheart to Q
and showing her a dark corner said:
Mary, my folks lie there. Would you like to
lie there?" 1t was a grim way of proposing,
but Mary was a sensible Scotch lassie and she
accepted him.
Frenchmen's Liberal ''Tips" to Walters.