Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-24
cuRIosITIEs OF couRTsHIP.

DR.. johnson convinced his sweetheart Of
ais appreciation of her by taking her finger
20 poke the tobacco in the bowl OF his pipe.
On the Island of Hiuia, oppositeS Rhodes,
4 girl is not allowed TO have a lover until she
aas brought up certain quantity of sponges,
md given proof Of her ability to take them
,ror, q certain depth.
Daniel Webster proposed to Miss Fletcher
while aiding her to unravel skein Of thread
Grace" he said, 1--WE have been untying
knots Let us see if we cannot tie one which
WILL not unite in life time"
In some parts Of Asia the question of
mans title to a bride must be settled by
herco fight between the friends Of the con-
tracing parties. If his forces are victorious
his sweetheart becomes his trophy.
In ancient Greece the lover was seldom ia
vored with an opportunity of telling his pas
sion to bis mistress, and he used to publish it
by inscribing his name on the walls, on the
bark of the trees in the public walks and
upon the leaves of books.
A Scotch beadle took his sweetheart to
graveyard, and showing her a dark corner
said: Mary, my folks lie there Would
you like to lie thereF' It was grim way of
proposing, but Mary was sensible Scotch
iassie, and she accepted him.
According to Dr.. Hayes, courtship among
the Esquimaux has not much tenderness
about it. The match is made by the parents
Of the couple. The lover must so out and
capture polar bear as an evidence Of his
courage and strength, and then steal his
sweetheart.
INT hoI -fl, = ,o:%1 ,a,, IL
the counting, while in tho Ukraine the girl
generally attends to it. When she falls in
love with man she goes to his house and
declares her passion. Ii he declines to ac-
cept her she remains there, and his case be-
comes rather distressing.
Among the ancient Assyrians all marriage
able young girls were assemble at one place
and the public crier put them up for sale one
after the other The money which was re-
ceived for those who were handsome, and
consequently sold well. was bestowed as q
wedding portion on those who were plain.
According to curious old marriage custom,
still prevalent in Brittany, the bridegroom,
immediately after the priest has welded the
couple, strikes his wife in the face, saying,
This is how you will fare if you make me
angry" and then, kissing her, he says, "And
this is how you will fare if you treat me
we'll"
A curious custom prevails in Oud Beier-
land, Holland. October is the suspicious
month, and on the first Sunday Glnown as
review day. the lads and lasses, attired in
their best, promenade the village separately,
stare each other out Of countenance, and
then retire to make up their minds on the
second Sunday, which is called decision day.
The Australian lover is lacking in tender
ness, if the statement made by Myers Deley
is true. The lover makes up his mind as to
which woman shall be his bride, and then
hides in the bushes in the vicinity Of her
dwelling. As soon as she comes near the
spot where he is concealed he knocks her
down with club and carries her off before
she comes to.
The brothers Jacob and William Grimm,
authors Of the wonderful fairy stories, con-
Guided that one or tho 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. This latter solved the dilem-
ma by telling William that he could have
her.