New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-20
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.
Hoe They Cree Up Among Various
Nations and Their SYMBOLISM.

q
Oh opinions and suggestions regarding the subject
advanced by well known public men as won as Nv
an official bulletin OF the Census Bureau al WasN-
iHE'oh' according 70 which divorce, the .rcat so
citl evil Is stated to be the steady increase.
Reasons why young and impecunlous army on
GERS should not contract marriage AMI thereby
save themselves and the government possible from,
H'e and annoyance. and at the SINE time render
more efictent service. formed an important chap
ter IN General Corbins annual report 10 the War
Department. \ well known English writer hes
lately been reported as favorinr marriage CON
tract covering limited number % years only. Is q
solution for the 'aIarmiugIy growing divorce mn
ma and bishop Potter and other prominent
members o. the clergy OF other denominations are
eSertins their Influence to bring about a change
for the better.
Naturally the question to Who should an4
VINO should not marry has agtated the public
Hind almost ever since the institution OF marriage
~ known biSTaeh SAYS that matrimony has often
'fen considered as condition not well suited t.
the domestic life Of genius lit is acconDanled BY
too many emoarrassments for the head and tho
heart FuessH. the Swiss artist. commended that
the marriage state incompatible with a high
cultivation Of the fine arts Peiresc the great
French collector. refused marriage convinced that
the cares OF a family were too absorbing for the
freedom necessary TO literary pursuits and sacri-
flee of fortune incompatible with his great designs
Boyle. who would not suffer his studies to be IN
terrUpted by household affairs. lived as board
er with his sister Lady Rauelash Bayle AMI
Hobbies and Hume and Gibbon and Adam smith
decided for ceibacy- Regarding the literary genius
blSra'H says; If the literary man united himself
10 a woman whose taste and whose temper ara
adverse 10 his pursuits. he must couraSeousIv
prepare for a martyrdom." And thus the wife %
bishop Cooper, while her husband was employed
on his Lexicon. one day consigned the work OF
many years TO the flames and Obliged that scholar
10 begin second siege Of Troy IN a second I,exi-
con. The wife OF Whiteocke often destroyed his
manuscripts. and the marks of her nails have
come down % posterity i'm the numerous Iacera-
lions still gaping in his Memorials" Th. learned
Sir Henry SaviIIe. who devoted more than half o.
his life and nearly tlelt0 his magnificent eIi-
tion of "St. ChrysostoIn." led n very uneasy life
between that saint and Lady Saviue Milton car
ried nothing of the greatness of his mind IN thu
choice OF his wives. his first wife the object
OF sudden fancy lie left the metropolis. AMI I'M
expectedly returned married man. united to a
woman OF such uncOnEeniaI dispositions that thu
romp was frightened at the literary habits OF the
great poet found his house solitary. beat his
nephew and ran away after single months resi-
dence- To this circumstance the world owes his
famous treatise on Divorce and . party who
similarly situated Milton. calling them
selves Miltonists. Thomas Hollis. solely devoted
TO literature and repubhcanism when occupied iu
furnishing Europe and America with editions OF
his favorite authors. would not marry lest mar
riage should interrupt the labors Of his platonlc
politics. Moere married a girl from his own
troupe. who made him experience all those bitter
disgusts and ridiculous eInbarr2ssments which he
himself played of at the theatre Addison Steele
and Rousseau were similarly married to uncon-
genial partners who were the source Of much IN
ha ppiness to them
AS TO the marriage contract Itself history records
that In the earliest times Of purchase a woman
bartered for useful goods or for services rem
dered to her father In tais latter way Jacob pur-
chased Rachel and her sister Leah, This was a
marriage where a man. in Genesis. leaves hts
father and his mother and cleayes unto his wife.
and they becoms one flesh kin. the womans-
When Augustine converted the AnslO-Saxons 20
Christianity marriage by capture was dying out.
and purchase had become general Nevertheless
capture was not extinguished In England until
centuries later for Ethelbert while enforcing ths
law, also ratified the old one. that they
concurrently. He recognized the right OK .
captor TO carry or a woman by force on his after
ward paving fifty shillings 20 her owner as q
fine and then buying her rom him az a reasonable
price IF she a maid the fine went 70 her
father: II wife. then 20 the husband: but the
captor had 10 buy the defraujed husband another
wife, and IN each case he retained BY law tbs
woman whom he had stolen. The transition from
capture to purchase IN England very gradual.
and both methods existed for time together.
Even the princesses we're bought by kings with
cattle and costly articles. Just those less fort-
nately situated obtained by humber pur-
chase History records that the covetous Anglo
Saxon fathers drove extortionats bargains and
cheated simple buyers like modern horse dealers ~
a fair. Ethelbert provided against this by enact
ing: IF there be any deceit. let him bring her
home again, and let the man give him back his
money" This privilege IN its turn became obso-
Iete when morning gifts were general These
were presents made 10 the BRIDE by her husband
the morning after the marriage night TO snow ais
satisfaction with his bargain. and she who received
a morning gift could not be afterward returned In
process OF time when the brutality of selling ones
own offspring dawned upon the coarse minds
OF our ancestors, a euphernism invented TO
conceal It's baseuess and satisfy public conscience
Contracts for future marriages had been called
'.espousaIs' The bride price paid at the time
OF the espousaI and now called foster lean
or a supposed repayment to the Tarent OF the
dauchter's cost for nurture and trairin~- Greedy
fathers made n trade OF this by accepttLf foster
lean from many sutOrs and cheating all out one
But at length this fraudulent practice was checked
nv the public sentiment demandi1g that foster
lean should be paid the marriage day. instead
of the day of espOusaI. In those days the wedding
day was only the day OF betrothaL when the
sutton gave n wed or pledge for the due per-
formance OF his contract. Breach OF promise BY
the maiden incurred forfeiture of presents and
the foster lean and another third OF the latter
by way of penalty The who refused 70 marry
his spouse or delayed more than two years when
she was of marriageable age forfeited all further
right to her and 10 the foster lean which had
paid. Subsequently, when the Church controlled
marriage. she dealt more severely with firts and
dishonest fathers and compelled ne latter IN the
event Of breach on the womanS part. TO pay back
four times The amount OF the foster lean Later
il was reduced 20 twice the
Among civilizations far older than ours the sys-
tenn Of purchase had ceased before We were peo-
H. and said. y who. through avarice. takes
q gratuity. Is a seller Of his onsPrins. In the
historical times of the Greeks they no longer
hi Gf the ancient custom In the Jewish TaInud
Mahometan "mahr-" WiJhaL the bride price. "fos-
ter leans and marriage gittS, when retarged,
wera converted into dowry- and became nj first