Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1888-06-07

wouIu scornIHliy REJECT the ox'S hea(
from her son-iIi-iaw. while the Barra
long mother wonld look with equa
disdain Oh our settlements. weddin:
breakfasts and showers Of rice an.
slippers.
How wonld it sou d if we read il
the journals which chronicle sucl
things: Among the bridegroom
gifts was lovely rib Of beef pre-
scented 10 the bride. f ur splendid car
cases of Welsh mutton as gifts t,
The bridesmaids. and the head of tn.
OK that took the first prz. in the re.
cent cattle show As tribute of re-
spect for the brides mother?" W.
are happily never likely to read any
thing of the sort; but ut the same
time, in an economical age like the
present there woul be distinct ad.
vantage in an inexpensive portion o,
a bullock given rs wedding present
instead of the costly offerings which
are usually co sidered essential.
Then. it would be curious to read.
THE brides travelling dress consisted
of a capital hid. tiavcd off prime
American by the bridegroom.
In old Scotch history we know thai
the presentation of bulls head new.
ly cut eff was the sign that the
person to whom this horrible gift
was made must prepare for death;
but in Barralong social circles they at.
tach no such gloomy significance te
the present The mother-in-law
smiles graciously, pats the head away
in her larder. if she possesses one.
and informs the Bridegroom that he
can lake his ride whenever he likes.
The young lady. 10 doubt, has fallen
in with the custom of the country and
would decline 10 give her hand to any
swai in who was to delicate TO wade
through slaughter to the ny menea
altar
The name of the female child OF
nature win IN Mr.. B,thell welded was
Teepoo She, ii appears. is still alive
and has borne him son. The Court
of Chancery some TN ago directed
inquiries to BE- made TO the proper
authorities in Bnchuana land. which is
now British territory. and the answer
received was that MI. Bethel married,
according TO Barraiong customs, this
young lady. Tcepoo. shortly before
the country was annexed. Therefore,
il would follow. if this were the fact
that she was his legal wife and the
child The legitimate heir to Mr..
Be'hell's property. That is just the
question which Mr.. Justice Stirling il
now considering.
Mr.. CHRISTOPHER Bethel was the sor
Of Mr.. W. p Bethel, member of Par.
lament for the West Riding of York.
shire. who died IN 1879 This gentle.
man by his will devised real and lease.
hold property TO trustees and ultimate.
ly 10 his son Christopher. when he
should attain the age of twenty-five;
or, if he died before that age, then tc
his wife and children. In case of his
dying childles>, the property was to
60 TO brother of Christopher Bethel,
who is the plaintiff in the present &C.
ton and who seeks to obtain the
estate as against the posthumous
child of The Barralong Teepoo. 1t il
4 nice question for the courts to
decide. Barraiong Teepoo's son j,
probably not I'll tied by nature to adorn
English rural society. SO that. even
if he were adj ldgel to be the rightful
owner Of the estates. he might not
know what TO do with them. How.
ever. we are net concerned with the
consequences of what seems to be a
foolish action on the part of this ill.
starred young Englishman, sent GU,
to try his fortune in South A Erica al
an early age. and subject TO all the
temptations of solitude and bar barous
surroundings. The whole point which |
the court has to onsder is practically |
what constitutes recognized Barra.
long marriage ceremony. and if Mr..
Bethel went through the rites ox's
head and all. is the rite itself |
which is our present theme.
On the whole. the custom. strange
rs it apre RS, is hardly more gro
tesque than The marriage fines"
which used to prevail in England. In
the custom roll Of Westhall Manor, in
Norfolk. it is recorded that every ten
ant who arried tout of the fealty"
was obliged TO pay to the lord of the
manor bed. bolster. sheet and pillow.
There are entries of such payments
having been frequently made. Even
down TO izabeth's reign the bolster,
sheet and pillow continued to be paid,
though the bed had been RENTED ..by
the lords kindness" The primitive
form of marriage among all peoples
was a contract or sale; the bridegroom
gave so many cattle or sheep or other
valuable articles 10 the brides parents,
and then took her away without any
further questions asked. 1t is a civ.
llized development altogether when
the young woman is consulted in the
NATTER and English maidens hardly
know how fortunate they are in not
being born III any part of Bechuana-
and. where young ladies are held 30
cheap that they are habitually snapped
tor raw bullock head. -Londou
Telegraph
Tho autobiography of the late
Prof Pond of Bangor Theological
who died in 1881 at the
'ge of niretv-one years. was pub.