The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-01-03
SWEARING mo- rEL1 Tnn rRuTH.

How the Ceremony of Taking the Oath
Is Performed In Many Courts OF the
World.
In most continental countries the
practice of kissing the book is I'M
known, the ceremony of oath-taking be-
ing more akin to the Scottish than to
the English form. A French witness
has a very simple ordeal to pass
through before unfolding his tale. The
judge, seated beneath a crucifiX, says,
You swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth" and
the witness, lifting up his right hand,
answers, II swear It," In Austria a
Christian witness Is sworn before cru
cifx between two lighted candles. and,
holding up his right hand, says: II
swear by God the Almighty and All
Wise that will speak the pure and
full truth, and nothing but the truth, in
answer to anything may be asked by
the court" Jewish witnesses while
using the same words, add to their So
lemnity by placing their hands on the
page of a Bible on which Is printed the
third commandment. A Belgian wit
ness swears Ito be veracious in these
words: II will speak the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
so help me God and all the saints"
In Italy the form is much the same,
but the use of the Bible imparts
greater degree of seriousness to it. II
will swear to tell the TRUTH the whole
truth, and nothing but the TRUTH" ex-
claims the italian witness, resting his
hand upon an open Bible. The Spanish
oath is more elaborate. The witness,
pkneeling on his right knee, places his
hand on the sacred book, and being
asked by the judge, will you swear by
God and by these holy gospels to speak
the truth to all you may be asked?'
answers, Yes, I swear" Thereupon
the Judge says: '"Then If thus you do,
God will reward you, and If not, will re-
quire it Of you" In some parts of the
country the ceremony is different The
witness forms a cross by placing the
middle of his thumb on the middle of
his forefinger, and kissing his thumb-a
practice which would probably be very
familiar to some English witnesses
exclaims: by this cross swear"
"The most curious European oath Is
administered in Norway. The witness
raises his thumb, his foreflnger, and his
middle finger. These signify the Trini-
ty, while the larger of the uplifted fin
ger is supposed to represent the soul of
the witness, and the smaller to indicate
|. his body Before the oath Is taken a
long exhortation is delivered, the most
material parts of which are as follows:
Whatever person Is so ungodly, cor
rupt or hostile to himself as to swear a
| false oath, or not to keep the oath
| sworn, sins In such manner as if he
| were to say: If swear falsely, then
may God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Ghost. punish me, 50 that
| God the Father, who created me and
| all mankind in His image, and His
fatherly goodness, grace and mercy,
may not profit me, but that I, as per-
verse and obstinate transgressor and
| sinner, may be punished eternally in
| hell. If I swear falsely, then
may all have and own in this world be
cursed; cursed be my land, field and
| meadow, so that may never enjoy any
| fruit or yield from them; cured be my
cattle, my beasts, my sheep, so that af-
| ter this day they may never thrive or
| benefit me; yea, cursed may | be and
everything possess" If the laws dee
lay is among the grievances Of the Nor
wegians, it would not be difficult to
trace 1t to the good mouth-filling
/ oath" that precede the real business OF
/ their courts.
For real picturesqueness in oath
/ taking the courts of less civilized coun.
| tries must be visited. Like the soldier
| in Jacques familiar speech, they are
"full of strange oaths." The people
| who have shown themselves to be mos,
resourceful in the making of oaths are
1 the Chinese. Slicing off cocks heac
! is one mode of impressing Chinamar
with the Importance of telling the
truth; breaking a saucer Is another
| blowing out lighted candieris third
| The heheading Of the cock is supposed Il
| represent the fate of the liar; the crack
! ing of the saucer and the extinguishing
| of the candle indicate what will harper
| to the soul of the witness who does MOI
tell the truth. Tn Mohammedan coun
tries every witness holds the Koran II
| front OF him, and bends down until hi'
| forehead touches the sacred volume
JUe pOSltiOH VI tiiC pO0y - VI et'N -
most Importance In most countries. bu
in none has superstition left the su
| preme conscientiousness that distin
guished the Irish witness in the days O
/ the Brehons. He took three separate
oaths, the first standing, the second sit
ting and the third lying, as these wert
the positions in which his life was spent
Many Indians are sworn on tigers
skins, in the belief that if they defilt
their lips with lies their bodies will be
come food for tigers, while others stant
upon lizards skin, and ask that thei
| bodies shall be covered with the scales
4 of the reptiles If they forswear them
selves The Burmese witness, who re
quests to be destroyed in no fewer thar
/ five different ways if he is guilty o
perjury, Is not content that the punish
ment should fall upon himself alone
He includes his relations. Let us b.
subject" he prays, ito all the calami
ties that are within the body and al
that are without the body. May we b.
seized with madness dumbness, deaf
ness, leprosy and hydrophobia. Ma,
we be struck with thunderbolts ant
} lightning and come to sudden DEATH
London Globe.
SOME BEAUTY RULES.