Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
their names enrolled among those of their ancestors . The priest ftien bestows a benediction npon them . If a wife elope from her husband , she is sentenced to be whipped , and he may dispose of her as a slave . If a man leave his wife and family , she may apply , at the end of three years , to the Mandarin for permission to take another husband .
In Mexico , the nuptial contract consisted in the priest tying a point of the bride ' s gown with the mantle of the bridgegroom , the two being seated on a new and curiously wrought mat placed in tho middle of the chamber , and close to the fire , which was kept lighted . In Peru , the Inca called the bride and bridegroom together before him , made them pledge fidelity to each other , after which they were
returned to their parents , and the event was celebrated during three or four days , or even more . Among the aboriginal Australians , wives were often carried off by force , and sometimes , in order to atone for this violence , the young men would have to submit voluntarily to the " trial of spears . " Ten men , belonging to tho cap . tire woman's tribe , armed each with three spearj , discharged them at
the offender , who had only his shield to protect him , and it rarely happened , owing to the skill of the natives iu the use of their weapons , that any wound was inflicted . In Lapland it is a capital offence to marry a maid without the consent of her parents , and the fashion is , when a young man has formed an attachment for a girl , to appoint a day when the two shall race together , tho girl
having a start allowed her of one . fchird the distance to bo run . If the man overtakes her he wins his bride . Under the head of " Irregular Marriages , " will be found particulars of Fleet , Savoy , May Fail " , and Gretna-green marriages . Among the local manners and customs are mentioned some very curious Scottish local customs . By one of these the parties having agreed to marry " licked the
thumbs of their right hands , which they pressed together , and vowed fidelity . " By another , when the girl had accepted her lover's offer , the pair proceeded to the nearest station , and " washing their hands in the current , vowed constancy , with their hands clasped across the brook . " In Highland districts , " a marriage was held only to promise good fortune , when , prior to the ceremony , all knots on the
apparel of both parties had been loosened . Formerly , in St . Petersburg , we are told , the ceremony of choosing brides took place on Whit Monday , on which day the sons and daughters—the latter arrayed in all their jewels and finery — assembled in the Winter Gar . den . The young men paraded among the damsels , and eight days after tho bride show , interviews took place at the houses of tho parents ,
and marriages were all but concluded , the young conples departing fully bethrothed to each other . In the anecdotes and miscellaneous information some strange particulars have been collected . As regards " Perplexing Marriages , " -rightly enough so called , the reader will say—We read the two following taken from Hone : — " At Gwennap , in Cornwall , in March
1823 , Miss Sophia Bavrdenwas married to Mr . R . Bawden , both of St . Day . By this marriage the father became brother-in-law to his son s the mother , mother-in-law to her sister ; the mother-in-law of the son , his sister-in-law ; the sister of the mother-in-law , her daughter-in-law 5 the sister of the daughter-in-law , her mother-inlaw : the son of the father , brother-in-law to his mother-in-law . and
uncle to his brothers and sisters 5 the wife of the son , sister-in-law to her father-in-law , and aunt-in-law to her husband ; and the offspring of the son and his wife would be grandchildren to their uncle and aunt , and cousins to their father . " We leave ifc to our readers to solve this knotty problem , and quote the second , which reads as follows;— " In an account of Kent , ifc is related that ono
Hawood had two daughters by his first wife , of which the eldest was married to John Casbick the son , and the youngest to John Casbick the father . This Casbick , the father , had a daughter by his first Wife , whom old Hawood married , and by her had a son ; with the exception of the former wife of old Casbick , all these persons were living afc Faversham in February 1650 , and his second wife could nay as follows : —
' My father is my son , and I'm mother s mother ; My sister is my daughter , I ' m grandmother to my brother . '" We add a third case , a little less complicated perhaps , bufc no doubt more familiar to our readers . The late Queen Hortense was stepdaughter of the First Napoleon , being daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first husband , the Count de Beauharnais , By her
marriage with the Emperor's brother , King Louis , she became sisterin . law to her mother and step . father , her husband step-son-in-law to his own brother , and son-in-law to his sister-in-law ; and their issue , the late Emperor Napoleon III ., was step . grandson as well as nephew of the First Napoleon , and grandson and nephew of the Empress Josephine , while King Louis was grand-uncle-in-law , as well
as father to his own son . We have , however , said enough to show that our opening statement holds good , to the effect that this work on marriage ceremonies and customs is replete with interest , containing , as it does , a mass of carefully-collated information , of various kinds , relating to the history of one of the most important events in a man ' s lifetime .
One Hour's Reading . Remarkable Customs , Seasons , and Holidays , Epithets and Phrases , & c , & c . Collected and Arranged by William Tegg , F . R . H . S ., Editor of "The Last Act , " "Hone's Three Trials , " & c , & c . London : William Tegg and Co ., Pancras Lane , Cheapside . 1377 .
THIS is another equally useful and interesting compilation . It ia divided into three Parts , of which Part I . ia devoted to " Remarkable Customs , " Part II . to " Seasons and Holidays , " and Part III . to " Epithets and Phrases . " Many of the customs described iu the first Part are no doubt familiar to our readers , or , at least , to those among them who , having a taste for this kind of study , have paid any attention to , and noted them from time to time , But there are
Reviews.
many which , when in' force , had a local interest only . Thus at Ashton-under-Lyne , there is a custom on Easter Monday which is known as " Riding the Black Lad . " On that day , " tho rude figure of a man , made of an old suit of clothes , stuffed with rags , hay , & o ., is carried on a horse through all the streets . " Those who attend it call at the different public houses , in order to beg liquor for tho
thirsty attendants . En route , the figure is shot at , * nd when the journey is ended , it is then tied to tho market cross , aud the shooting is continued till it is set on lire and falls to the ground . This is supposed to perpetuate tho memory of oue of the Ashetous who was Vice-Chancellor to Henry VI ., and exercised great severity towards the tenants ou his eetates in Lancashire , establishing the goal or guld riding . On Easter Monday he made his appearance ,
clad in black armour and attended by a numerous train , for the purpose of claiming tho penalties arising from tho neglect of tho farmers clearing their corn of the " carr gulds " or " marygold . " He is said to have been shot when riding down the principal street on ono of these occasions , and the tenants not only took no trouble to discover the murderer , bat made a subscription for the purpose of erecting au effigy to his honour . Tho memory of the stern landowner is still preserved in tho following verse : —¦
" Sweet Jesu , for thy mercy ' s sake , And for thy bitter passion ; Save us from tho axe of tho Tower , And from Sir Ralph of Asheton . " Bufc the origin of fcho custom has been forgotten .
In Part II ., under the head of " Plough Monday , " is given an account of the manner in which in the northern counties , and espo . cially in-Yorkshire , the day is celebrated . One of the principal items in the programme is the sword-dance . " The dancers arrange themselves in a ring , with their swords elevated , and their motious ana evolutions are at first slow and simple , but become gradually moro
rapid and complicated : towards the close , each one catches tho point of his neighbour ' s sword , and various movements take place in consequence ; one of which consists in joining or plaiting the swords into the form of an elegant hexagon or rose , in the centre of tho ring , which rose is so firmly made , that one of them holds it up above their heads without undoing it . The danco closes with taking it to pieces , each man laying hold of his own sword . During the dance ,
two or three of the company , called Toms or Clowns , dressed up as harlequins , in most fantastic modes , having their faces painted or masked , are making antic gestures to amuse the spectators : whilo another set , called Madgies or Madgy Pegs , clumsily dressed in women ' s clothes , and also masked or painted , go from door to door rattling old canisters , in which they receive money , and when they are well paid , they raise a huzza ; when they get nothing , they shoub out' hunger and starvation . '
In the third Part are given explanations of tho origin of different epithets and phrases . Some of these appear to be sufficiently familiar , while others , occurring no doubt more rarely , strike one as fresher and more curious . Thus , in the case of " shamming Abraham , " many there are probably who have nofc heard the origin of this kind of imposture . The idiots who
were formerly received into Bethlehem Hospital wero lodged in the Abraham ward , and were hence known as Abraham mon . On the 1 st April , thoso not too incapacitated were allowed a holiday in order to see their friends , while those who had none wandered about the streets begging . Their pitiful appearance brought ; them much alms , and this induced vagabonds to imitate their dross and pretend idiotcy ,
till an order was issued that any one caught shamming Abraham , should be whipped and set in the stocks . Among sailors , and wo believe among some schoolboys likewise , " an Abraham " is a person who is out of sorts or unwell . To " sham Abraham , " therefore , is to shirk duty or school . Our James L , albeit a pedant , said many wise things . Mr . Tegg traces two familiar sayings to this monarch , namely ,
" Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones , and "The proof of the pudding is in the eating . " The importunate Scottish gentry who thronged the court of the English Solomon were very unpopular with the English , and the favourite , Buckingham , connived at the annoyances—among others , that of pelting them with stonesto which they were subjected . Buckingham , however , lived in ahonse remarkable for the number of its windows , and hence known as the glass
house , and the Scotchmen , hearing this enmity of the royal favourite , retaliated by breaking his windows . Buckingham complained to the king , but the Scots had been beforehand , and James merely remarked , " Those who live in glass houses , Steenie , should he careful how thoy throw stones . " As to the proof of the pudding , the same favourite had been praising some particular dish , when the king said , " lb may be so , Steenie , but the prufe of a gude thing is in the eating on't , so here ' s at it . "
A number of " Topographical Rhymes" complete this , which is the concluding portion of the book , and there is a very well compiled table of contents , placed , somewhat unusually , afc the end ; but thou ifc answers the purpose of an index as well , so that alter all it is more convenient as it stands . In fine , Mr . Tegg has shown tho same judgment , and has do doubt expended as much labour in the compilation of this as of his other work , " The Knot Tied . " We congratulate him on the success of both his achievements .
HotxowAY a OiNTjiEjtr Asm PILM . — Rheumatic Pams , Tic DoKu'Ciix . —Those discuses arc unfortunately very prevalent in this country , and aro ( re ^ ueutly most distressing ' , sometimes for years baffling alt medical skill to ¦ ¦ 'deviate the sufferings of tiie victim . In no case have Hulluway's Oiutme :, ' . and Pi \ U failed to produce a cure . The Ointment exerts a peculiar and soothing influence
over the nerves and muscles , relaxing spasms and subduing pain . The a : taek soon becomes milder , and the intervals between the paroxysms longer , until they coaso altogether . The Pills restore tlio body from a weak and debilitated condition to a . state of health and strength . Persons bedridden for mouths with rheumatic pains and swel ' . ings , after vising the Ointment , have been cured in an incredibly short pariod ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
their names enrolled among those of their ancestors . The priest ftien bestows a benediction npon them . If a wife elope from her husband , she is sentenced to be whipped , and he may dispose of her as a slave . If a man leave his wife and family , she may apply , at the end of three years , to the Mandarin for permission to take another husband .
In Mexico , the nuptial contract consisted in the priest tying a point of the bride ' s gown with the mantle of the bridgegroom , the two being seated on a new and curiously wrought mat placed in tho middle of the chamber , and close to the fire , which was kept lighted . In Peru , the Inca called the bride and bridegroom together before him , made them pledge fidelity to each other , after which they were
returned to their parents , and the event was celebrated during three or four days , or even more . Among the aboriginal Australians , wives were often carried off by force , and sometimes , in order to atone for this violence , the young men would have to submit voluntarily to the " trial of spears . " Ten men , belonging to tho cap . tire woman's tribe , armed each with three spearj , discharged them at
the offender , who had only his shield to protect him , and it rarely happened , owing to the skill of the natives iu the use of their weapons , that any wound was inflicted . In Lapland it is a capital offence to marry a maid without the consent of her parents , and the fashion is , when a young man has formed an attachment for a girl , to appoint a day when the two shall race together , tho girl
having a start allowed her of one . fchird the distance to bo run . If the man overtakes her he wins his bride . Under the head of " Irregular Marriages , " will be found particulars of Fleet , Savoy , May Fail " , and Gretna-green marriages . Among the local manners and customs are mentioned some very curious Scottish local customs . By one of these the parties having agreed to marry " licked the
thumbs of their right hands , which they pressed together , and vowed fidelity . " By another , when the girl had accepted her lover's offer , the pair proceeded to the nearest station , and " washing their hands in the current , vowed constancy , with their hands clasped across the brook . " In Highland districts , " a marriage was held only to promise good fortune , when , prior to the ceremony , all knots on the
apparel of both parties had been loosened . Formerly , in St . Petersburg , we are told , the ceremony of choosing brides took place on Whit Monday , on which day the sons and daughters—the latter arrayed in all their jewels and finery — assembled in the Winter Gar . den . The young men paraded among the damsels , and eight days after tho bride show , interviews took place at the houses of tho parents ,
and marriages were all but concluded , the young conples departing fully bethrothed to each other . In the anecdotes and miscellaneous information some strange particulars have been collected . As regards " Perplexing Marriages , " -rightly enough so called , the reader will say—We read the two following taken from Hone : — " At Gwennap , in Cornwall , in March
1823 , Miss Sophia Bavrdenwas married to Mr . R . Bawden , both of St . Day . By this marriage the father became brother-in-law to his son s the mother , mother-in-law to her sister ; the mother-in-law of the son , his sister-in-law ; the sister of the mother-in-law , her daughter-in-law 5 the sister of the daughter-in-law , her mother-inlaw : the son of the father , brother-in-law to his mother-in-law . and
uncle to his brothers and sisters 5 the wife of the son , sister-in-law to her father-in-law , and aunt-in-law to her husband ; and the offspring of the son and his wife would be grandchildren to their uncle and aunt , and cousins to their father . " We leave ifc to our readers to solve this knotty problem , and quote the second , which reads as follows;— " In an account of Kent , ifc is related that ono
Hawood had two daughters by his first wife , of which the eldest was married to John Casbick the son , and the youngest to John Casbick the father . This Casbick , the father , had a daughter by his first Wife , whom old Hawood married , and by her had a son ; with the exception of the former wife of old Casbick , all these persons were living afc Faversham in February 1650 , and his second wife could nay as follows : —
' My father is my son , and I'm mother s mother ; My sister is my daughter , I ' m grandmother to my brother . '" We add a third case , a little less complicated perhaps , bufc no doubt more familiar to our readers . The late Queen Hortense was stepdaughter of the First Napoleon , being daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first husband , the Count de Beauharnais , By her
marriage with the Emperor's brother , King Louis , she became sisterin . law to her mother and step . father , her husband step-son-in-law to his own brother , and son-in-law to his sister-in-law ; and their issue , the late Emperor Napoleon III ., was step . grandson as well as nephew of the First Napoleon , and grandson and nephew of the Empress Josephine , while King Louis was grand-uncle-in-law , as well
as father to his own son . We have , however , said enough to show that our opening statement holds good , to the effect that this work on marriage ceremonies and customs is replete with interest , containing , as it does , a mass of carefully-collated information , of various kinds , relating to the history of one of the most important events in a man ' s lifetime .
One Hour's Reading . Remarkable Customs , Seasons , and Holidays , Epithets and Phrases , & c , & c . Collected and Arranged by William Tegg , F . R . H . S ., Editor of "The Last Act , " "Hone's Three Trials , " & c , & c . London : William Tegg and Co ., Pancras Lane , Cheapside . 1377 .
THIS is another equally useful and interesting compilation . It ia divided into three Parts , of which Part I . ia devoted to " Remarkable Customs , " Part II . to " Seasons and Holidays , " and Part III . to " Epithets and Phrases . " Many of the customs described iu the first Part are no doubt familiar to our readers , or , at least , to those among them who , having a taste for this kind of study , have paid any attention to , and noted them from time to time , But there are
Reviews.
many which , when in' force , had a local interest only . Thus at Ashton-under-Lyne , there is a custom on Easter Monday which is known as " Riding the Black Lad . " On that day , " tho rude figure of a man , made of an old suit of clothes , stuffed with rags , hay , & o ., is carried on a horse through all the streets . " Those who attend it call at the different public houses , in order to beg liquor for tho
thirsty attendants . En route , the figure is shot at , * nd when the journey is ended , it is then tied to tho market cross , aud the shooting is continued till it is set on lire and falls to the ground . This is supposed to perpetuate tho memory of oue of the Ashetous who was Vice-Chancellor to Henry VI ., and exercised great severity towards the tenants ou his eetates in Lancashire , establishing the goal or guld riding . On Easter Monday he made his appearance ,
clad in black armour and attended by a numerous train , for the purpose of claiming tho penalties arising from tho neglect of tho farmers clearing their corn of the " carr gulds " or " marygold . " He is said to have been shot when riding down the principal street on ono of these occasions , and the tenants not only took no trouble to discover the murderer , bat made a subscription for the purpose of erecting au effigy to his honour . Tho memory of the stern landowner is still preserved in tho following verse : —¦
" Sweet Jesu , for thy mercy ' s sake , And for thy bitter passion ; Save us from tho axe of tho Tower , And from Sir Ralph of Asheton . " Bufc the origin of fcho custom has been forgotten .
In Part II ., under the head of " Plough Monday , " is given an account of the manner in which in the northern counties , and espo . cially in-Yorkshire , the day is celebrated . One of the principal items in the programme is the sword-dance . " The dancers arrange themselves in a ring , with their swords elevated , and their motious ana evolutions are at first slow and simple , but become gradually moro
rapid and complicated : towards the close , each one catches tho point of his neighbour ' s sword , and various movements take place in consequence ; one of which consists in joining or plaiting the swords into the form of an elegant hexagon or rose , in the centre of tho ring , which rose is so firmly made , that one of them holds it up above their heads without undoing it . The danco closes with taking it to pieces , each man laying hold of his own sword . During the dance ,
two or three of the company , called Toms or Clowns , dressed up as harlequins , in most fantastic modes , having their faces painted or masked , are making antic gestures to amuse the spectators : whilo another set , called Madgies or Madgy Pegs , clumsily dressed in women ' s clothes , and also masked or painted , go from door to door rattling old canisters , in which they receive money , and when they are well paid , they raise a huzza ; when they get nothing , they shoub out' hunger and starvation . '
In the third Part are given explanations of tho origin of different epithets and phrases . Some of these appear to be sufficiently familiar , while others , occurring no doubt more rarely , strike one as fresher and more curious . Thus , in the case of " shamming Abraham , " many there are probably who have nofc heard the origin of this kind of imposture . The idiots who
were formerly received into Bethlehem Hospital wero lodged in the Abraham ward , and were hence known as Abraham mon . On the 1 st April , thoso not too incapacitated were allowed a holiday in order to see their friends , while those who had none wandered about the streets begging . Their pitiful appearance brought ; them much alms , and this induced vagabonds to imitate their dross and pretend idiotcy ,
till an order was issued that any one caught shamming Abraham , should be whipped and set in the stocks . Among sailors , and wo believe among some schoolboys likewise , " an Abraham " is a person who is out of sorts or unwell . To " sham Abraham , " therefore , is to shirk duty or school . Our James L , albeit a pedant , said many wise things . Mr . Tegg traces two familiar sayings to this monarch , namely ,
" Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones , and "The proof of the pudding is in the eating . " The importunate Scottish gentry who thronged the court of the English Solomon were very unpopular with the English , and the favourite , Buckingham , connived at the annoyances—among others , that of pelting them with stonesto which they were subjected . Buckingham , however , lived in ahonse remarkable for the number of its windows , and hence known as the glass
house , and the Scotchmen , hearing this enmity of the royal favourite , retaliated by breaking his windows . Buckingham complained to the king , but the Scots had been beforehand , and James merely remarked , " Those who live in glass houses , Steenie , should he careful how thoy throw stones . " As to the proof of the pudding , the same favourite had been praising some particular dish , when the king said , " lb may be so , Steenie , but the prufe of a gude thing is in the eating on't , so here ' s at it . "
A number of " Topographical Rhymes" complete this , which is the concluding portion of the book , and there is a very well compiled table of contents , placed , somewhat unusually , afc the end ; but thou ifc answers the purpose of an index as well , so that alter all it is more convenient as it stands . In fine , Mr . Tegg has shown tho same judgment , and has do doubt expended as much labour in the compilation of this as of his other work , " The Knot Tied . " We congratulate him on the success of both his achievements .
HotxowAY a OiNTjiEjtr Asm PILM . — Rheumatic Pams , Tic DoKu'Ciix . —Those discuses arc unfortunately very prevalent in this country , and aro ( re ^ ueutly most distressing ' , sometimes for years baffling alt medical skill to ¦ ¦ 'deviate the sufferings of tiie victim . In no case have Hulluway's Oiutme :, ' . and Pi \ U failed to produce a cure . The Ointment exerts a peculiar and soothing influence
over the nerves and muscles , relaxing spasms and subduing pain . The a : taek soon becomes milder , and the intervals between the paroxysms longer , until they coaso altogether . The Pills restore tlio body from a weak and debilitated condition to a . state of health and strength . Persons bedridden for mouths with rheumatic pains and swel ' . ings , after vising the Ointment , have been cured in an incredibly short pariod ,