The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-11-26
OFF DAY FOR TUB CADETS.
Continued from First Page)
Jr.. Of Bedford city. referee; and r p.
Clapp of 81. Adams. ana Dexter ''oS'
OF the v NJ L. ilnesmen
Hindoo Wives Disputed over the fr''i-
Iege Of Being burned.

"The Autobiography OF the Earth
prehistoric Man and Beast,' and o'hSr
works dealing with archaeological anu
geological subjects. In book now pup
lished BY the Appletons and entitled Mar
riage Customs i'm Many Lands, he mas
undertaken. not to discuss sclehlihc H"o'
tlons connected with the origin OF mar
rlage and OF the human fanny ou1 -
present a careful account Oh quaint a.iu
interesting matrimonial customs A"o
given are as follows -.
The cruel treatment Of WIDOWS aho"e
the IIindus Is well known. indeed u n"s
been praoticed within the memory % nv"
now living. The horrible custom Oh SUI.
lee. or burning alive. was suppressed py
tho Indian government only about the
wear 1880, and cases have occurred wlthih
the reign OF Queen Victoria. The usage
was certainly ancient. though not so oid
as some Of the native codes. Diodoru5
relates how the two widows OF 6eteus,
an Indian General OF Eumenes disputed
the honor OF being burned with me ooay
Of their late husband. The incident oe-
scrtbed bv him. though 1t dates na'k
- no wears. corresponds In every detail
Nth The ceremony as performed IN recent
times. one OF the wives me- Sd! ~ SVulu
not no burned because she was anout w
become "A mother. The other advanced
10 the funeral prye, crowned with myI'ie'
adorned Tor a wedding, ana, preceueu ~
her relatives who sang hymns lh he'
praise. all OF which no doubt Woul9 pe
comforting. but could scarcely dlnhtl7h
the main AZ such cruel death. Having
bestowed her Jewels on friends ana ser
wants she las down by the side or her
husbands body. and died amid The lanes
without utlerlng cry. Now let us lolN
al a relatively modern parcllcL Early In
the last century. at the funeral OF the
Prince Of MartNa. 400 his wives, 90 the
number of fOrtN-scytn. were burned on
the pvre with his body. The Prince was
eighty years Of age when Dee died, anu
his body. richly adorned was placed in
large grave llled with highly comousu-
BILE wood The unfortunate victims were
covered with precious stones ANA nc hrft
appeared very brave, hut as soon as the
flames reached them they uttered loud
cries and rushed ou each other Ib'n
the onlookers end .tNored Goo diminish
their sunerngs hy Summing them with
pieces of wood which they buried at them-
When all was over. and these poor
wretches had joined their lord and master
in the spirit w0rld-such was fle aim of
were gathered up and thrown lnto OBJ.
sea. pa time. temple was erected i1
their honor ON the size whore they per-
ished. these hIdeous practice wori mot
compulsory. as ls sometimes asserted,
that is 10 say, the laW did NOT enforce
them but DO was considered 3D. POINT of
honor FOR the widow to die ON the funeral
pyre of her husband even when her rela-
tons endeavored t0 dissuade her from sO
doing Death. however painful. WAS
deemed preferable to living in % kind o.
disgrace. In Bengal The woman was
bound firmly 20 the corpse and the two
bodies We're covered with iniiammlhIe
bamboos ln Orissa the widow throw
herself on the pile. which was in a uit
or grave. In tho Dckkan she SAT- ora tho
pile and placed the head OF her husband
on her knees Sometimes she would he
thrown down by the FAN of heavy logs
of wood attached with cords 10 posts
placed az the four corners OF tho pile
The smoke from the burning logs often
suifocated the victim before the flames
reached her. and 10 is said that in some
provinces she was previously Intoxicated
with opium But if none Of these procau-
tons were taken. 30 might happen that
she would rush madly out off thc flames.
I'm which case the spectators cruelty
thrust her back
The method of selecting ID wIf. for OBJ.
Emperor OF China furnishes remarkable
example of tho difference between chi
nese and Western ideas. Strange 10 say.
Chinese girl is not DESTROYS of being
chosen for Empress and OF wearing the
crown Parents also have no such am
bition for their daughters chiefly be
cause when young woman has been
oh tta hf f.Hs Irf.I nj
has been crowned Queen She is kept in
such seclusion i8 hs palace that her
relatives seldom or never see her. Such
"a marriage. also. brings her into a posi-
ton attended with many serious draw
backs and even dangers. hence. there
are difficulties in the way Of "A Manchu
Emperor obtaining bride. As he ac-
knowledge no other King as his equal.
no Princes daughter can be his cOnsOrt
He must select his wife from "the poo
PIE" which seems strange in a country
where rank is Of so much Importance. Ie
is recorded that i'm recent times. when n
was necessary 20 select a bride for
young Emperor the two dowager En-
presses issued orders TO all the chiefs who
had daughters Of the desired age 10 send
them 10 the palace. When the day came
very few presented themselves. All sorts
OF polite excuses were made by tho pa
rents Some alleged that their daugh-
ters were crippled others that they were
blind. In some cases lameness was sue
cessfully initiated or deformities were ar
tihcially produced To such an extent
was this carried that the Expresses gave
orders that all the maidens said 10 be
lame and the deaf or dumb or blind
should be sent 20 the palace Tho result
was that on the day fixed about six or
seven hundred girls appeared. Of whom
about fifty were selected after a first I'M
speclon. II is hardly needful 10 add that
none Of them was lame or blind or deaf
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