Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1897-11-19
ENGLISH lOvE-MAklNG.
Curious Statistics I'm Regard to Brit
ish PrOpOSnIs of MnrrInge.


Curious Statistics in Regard to Brit
ish Proposals of Marriage.
Statistics are at present being col
lected on almost every conceivable sub
ject. What do you think of an English
scholar who has actually thought II
worth his while to collect statistics in
regard to the manner in which men and
women make love to each other? lie
has spent considerable time over this
delicate work, and now at last he in.
forms the world how the men, as rule,
propose to the women, and how the
women, as a rule, accept the proposals
of the men.
According to the English scholar, the
number of young Englishmen who em
brace their sweethearts at the moment
when they are inviting them to become
their wives amounts to 36 per cent,
On the other hand, CT per cent. Of the |
men in love kiss their sweethearts on
the lips at the critical moment, while
four per cent. shower kisses on their
hair and two per cent. content them.
selces with kissing their hands.
At one time it was the fashion for love
intoxicated youths to fall on their knees
when about to make proposals of mar.
rage, but this fashion is evidently dy.
ing out, for we are assured that only
three per cent of those in love at pres.
ent fall on one knee, while only two per
cent. venture to sue for their ladies' ia.
vor on both knees. A curious reason has
been assigned for the decadence of this
chivalrous custom, which is, that OF
late years the neither garments of males
have been so constructed that it is
rather risky for any man to flop down
suddenly on his knees in lady's pres
ence. Garments, when strained, will
rip and tear, and no self-rcspecting
lover desires to have his act of alteration
turned into farce by any such cas-.
ualty.
On the other hand wooers of to-day
seem to be far more nervous than the
gallant men who wooed and won CEN
fury ago. Just fancy, 20 per cent OF
the English lovers of to-day are awfully
nervous when the decisive moment
comes, and in the throat of each moth.
er's son OF them there seems to be
huge lump, which it is impossible for
them to swallow. How they get over
this difficulty Heaven only knows.
Somehow the lump disappears after
they have struggled with it a minute
of two, after which it is to be hoped that
their agony is at an end.
The behavior of the young women is
similarly remarkable. When the men
invite them to share their homes they
by no means all act alike. Eighty-one
out of every hundred fall without a
word into the outstretched arms Of
their chosen ones and so very easily put
an end to a rather embarrassing, II
otherwise very delightful, situation;
6s per cent. blush very becomingly, and
in maidenly fashion shrink away as
though frightened at their companions
boldness; one out of every hundred
possibly more, possibly less, says the
English tatistician-falls on a sofa as
though about to faint, and four per
cent. are really astonished at receiving
proposals Of marriage.
On the other hand so out of every 100
know very well what the men have come
for, and hence they are not taken una
ware, and they behave just as they
should behave on such n momentous oc-
casion. Furthermore, GO per cent. look
their wooers boldly in the eyes, evident
ly with the idea either Of still further
bewitching them, or Of relieving them
from their apparent embarrassment
Curious facts these, but the most
curious fact of all is that one maiden
out of every hundred runs away before
the young man has finished his pretty
love tale, with the object of telling the
good news to her girl friends.
1t is pleasant to know that wooing In
England is, as n rule, the preliminary
to long and happy union. The latest
statistics show that the average annual
number Of applications for divorce does
not exceed SIS, which is certainly small
considering that the number Of Eng
lishmen and Englishwomen who marry
each year is computed at 100000. five
take the ten years from 1886 to 1896, WI
find that the annual number of divorces
has been about 500 and the annual mum
Der of marriages about 400, 00O.-N. Y
Herald.