The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-01-20
A RACE FOR
A WIFE
The Girl Gave Answer In Llrlau6
Fashion TO a Proposal
By ELEANOR L. BRlTTON
ConYright 1ol1 hv American Press
Copyright. 1911, by American Press
Association.

globe, and | verify believe that If
aviation had come up in his day he
would have sailed up beyond tho
clouds to find others. When | mad
his acquaintance he had settled down
IN a place he called by a jawbreIi;in%
name signifying dwelling" that h2
had picked up among the EslimOS
or some other benighted people IT
was in the country situated on the top
of hill and looked more like a Chi
nese pagoda than any other structure.
Spitzburger was widower. with
one child, daughter. She was twcn
ty years old and for half her life had
Travelled during half of each year-th2
summer season-with her father. He
redity and travel had made her as
odd as he. Rather she was unique
She was of medium height, 1.-the wig
indeed Il feminine athlete of the
featherweight type. Her hair was black
and straight as an Indians; her eyes
large black ones, with lashes of the
Spanish type. wondered if her moth
VI ntiNl ilOI DCtll sunni utShN SCiiilNlN i
lized creature her father had picked up
on the underside of the world But
he told me his wife had been an Amer
lean creole.
The inside of the house in which
these two lived was as curious as the
outside. The furniture and ornamen
tai articles had apparently been gath
o1 Df I,o Iol,
ing from the south sea islands 70
Greenland. There was a mill for
grinding from the Holy Land similar
| to those used in Bible times. a wheel
from India to spin flax on, and the
bathtuh had been the sarcophagus Of
an Egyptian mummy.
! The reason for my making the Spit
| burgers acquaintance was this: / was
| taking a postgraduate course at the
! time, studying the customs of differ
ent races of men, the causes and ef
| fects which shape them and their re
lationship. Desiring some informN.
tion as to the people of Tibet, a lanG
| forbidden to foreigners and therefor.
little known. was recommended to
| Spitzburger as one who had penetrat,
ed to the interior of that country
went to see him, and my visit led to
my studying with him.
How long ] remained there doesn't
matter, but it was sufficient for my
enthrallment by that "little savage, '
as ] called his daughter, Irene. Not
that there was any outward intima
ton on my part that | was coming un,
der 4 spell, and, as for the girl. had
no idea that ] was any more to hei
than anOti er man. Indeed / some.
times fancied that she might have left
her heart in New Zealand, KamchatkH
or some other barbarous land. Wheth
er SpitZburger suspected the drift Of
my inclinations l don't know, but one
day he took occasion to mention with
appreciation the marriage customs il
Lapland, where one who marries Il
girl without her parents consent is
adiudged guilty of a crime next below
murder and is punished accordingly
] thought that he looked at me very
hard, but "a guilty conscience needs
no accuser." and l may have attached
more meaning to his words than they
| covered
The only thing to indicate that Irene
and were drifting together as lovers
was that we took long walks together
company / could both exercise ant
study. This was true. l could ge
| from her certain information of the
domestic habits of the people she haC
visited that ] could not get from he
i father. One day while we We're o.
one of these walks said to her:
"Your father tells me that in Lap
land to marry a girl without her par
ents' consent is punished as a crime
i Please tell me how man in that coun
try does his couting" r.
"He doesn't do any courting."
"Then how does he proceed"
He goes to her parents and ask
for her If he is refused there is n,
hope for him. If they approve of hi
suit they tell the girl of it. She ma,
or may not have seen the lover, bu
the process is the same in either case
Her parents give a feast at whicl
they. the girl, her suitor and mutua
friends are present. The two princi
pals are placed opposite each other a
table, where they can observe an
talk with each other all they like"
"Well, then what? / suppose tn
girl has something to say in the mat
ter, else this looking over her suite
would be useless"
Eyes, she has a good deal to sa,
about it. but she doesn't yet make
known She indicates her decision
later. After the feast all go to an opel
space suitable for running race.
course is marked off-a quarter of
mile usually-and the girl is given
handicap of a third of the distance
The handicap is intended to enable he
to win the race easily If she wishes
and if she wins that indicates her re
fusal of the offer. But If. ON the con
trary. she purposely lags and her suite
catches her, that indicates she accept
him for her husband" '
When Irene finished giving me thi
bit of lecture on Lapland customs
/ uyaItyadaaafOr ooUa dfotonaa hon,