The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-01-10
ODD WAYS OF DOING.
How the Tender Passion is Expressed by
Different Peoples.

LldTTid9edDIe young SiIis were doooHi-
lied at one place, and the public crier
ut them up for sale one after the
,ther, writes Frank II. Stauffer in The
Epoch. The money which was receiv-
ed for those who were handsome, and
consequently sold well, was bestowed
as wedding portion on those who
were plain. When the most beautiful
had been disposed of. the more ordin-
ary looking ones were offered for a
certain sum, and allotted to those will
ing to take them. -
In ancient Greece the lover was sell
dom favored with an opportunity of
telling his passion to his 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 He would decorate
the door of her house with garlands,
and make libations of wine before it, in
the manner that was practiced in the
temple of Cupid.
According to DR.. Hayes, courtship
among the Esquimau has not much
tenderness about it. The match is
made by the parents of the couple.
The lover must 90 out and capture a
polar bear as an evidence of his cour-
age and strength. That accomplished,
he sneaks behind the door of his sweet
hearts house, and when she comes out
he pounces upon her and tries to carry
her to his dog-sledge. She screams,
bites, kicks, and breaks away from
him. He gives chase, whereupon all
the old women of the settlement run
out and beat her with frozen strips of
sealskin. She falls down exhausted,
the lover lashes her to his sledge,
whips up his dogs, dashes swiftly over
the frozen snow, and the wedding is
consummated.
The Australian lovers are still more
lacking in tenderness, if the statement
made by Meyers 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 car
ries her off before she comes to. If he
does not get her off in his hut before
she RECEIVERS there is likely to be a
lively fight in the bush, for the Aus
tralian damsel is generally a vigorous
one, and may have reasons of her own
for obiecting to his attentions. The
lover may 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 to put as much soul and mus
Gle into his first love-trap as he can
summon.
In some parts of Asia the question of
mans title to bride must be settled
by fierce fight between the friends of
the contracting parties. If his forces
are victorious his sweetheart becomes
his trophy. If her friends are victor
ious, he must pay such price as the
victors demand. All over that country
some ceremony of violence or exhibi-
ton of physical power must precede a
wedding Some native tribes insist
upon foot-race between the bride and
bridegroom to decide the question of
marriage, and others require long
chase on horseback. In some sections
of Asia the lover must carry off his
bride on his back. If he reaches his
hut with her there can be no protest
against the marriage. Failing in that,
he must pay her parents for her in cat
tie. The willing bride makes no out
cry; the unwilling bride arouses the
whole village, the residents of which
try to rescue her.
In the Isthmus of Darien either sex
can do the courting, while in the Uk-
rainc the girl generally attends to it.
When she falls in love with man she
goes to his house and declares her pas
sion. If 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
| Beforehand, Holland. October is the
auspicious month, and on the first Sun
day (known as review day. the lads
and lasses, attired in their best. prom
enade the village separately, stare each
| other out of countenance, and then re-
| tire to make up their minds on the Sec
ond Sunday, which is called decision
day. The young men go up and pay
their compliments to the fair ones OF
their choice, to learn if they are re.
garded with favor On the third Sun
| day, or day of purchase, the swain is
expected to snatch the pocket-hand.
kerchef of his adored one, and if she
submits to it with good grace he un-
| derstands that his chances of winning
her are tiattering.
The captured pledge is restored to
| the fair owner on the fourth Sunday,
1.-The Sunday of taking possession, ,
and it rarely happens that the damsel
refuses the love for whom she has in.
dicated preference. On the Sunday
| following, the suitor. according to Gus
tom, calls at the house of his inamorata
| where he is asked to tea. If q piece
of a crust of gingerbread LOAF is
handed to him there is nothing left fol
him but to retire. If, on the other
| hand, the parents offer the young mar
a piece of the crumb, he is allowed tt
| come again aud is admitted into the
| family.
On the island of Himia, opposite
Rhodes. girl is not allowed to have
| a lover until she has brought up GER
tain number of sponges and giver
proof of her ability to take them from
a certain depth. On the island of Nj
carus the girl is not consulted. He
father gives her to the best dive
among her suitors. He who can sta,
| longest under the water and gather.
| the most sponges marites the maid.
Hone, in his Table Book" gives al
account of lover who walked thre,
miles every evening for fourteen year.
to court his sweetheart, besides dodg
| ing her home after church on Sunday
afternoons. The distance he Travelled
| was more than fifteen thousand miles
For the first seven years he only stood
and courted on the door porch, but fo
the remaining seven he ventured t,
hang his hat on pin in the passag'
| and sit in the kitchen settle. The,
| were finally married, and lived so un
happily afterward that their long
cool, and deliberate courtship failed Il
be of profit to them. Such prolong
| Il xro,,lt moi haro Stritaf