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Show I-. M Several Courtship Curiosities jfljl Told in a lamer to Entertain It St.1 I ' j'jt j ANLT tho other day an English I ' 1m ' Si torso's brother and brothor-in- I , t H j' jl law had to pay 52000 for Uio for- i clblc abduction of her from her I (f j humble bridegroom. The bereaved hua- I i j !, j band had been her father's groom, and I the courtship was carried on -when ho Ml!?! ,; I accompanied her In that capacity on ' ' j ! horseback. "When she had been left by I ! f j '! her aunt ?20,000 she eloped with her -( 11 ' ! lover. Immediately after tho marriage, I 1 '.'! though the gride's father wished them I F'! all happiness, her brother and broiher- I i In-law, with the help of a detective I M ' i who kept the bridebroom In play car- I Li rlcd her off forcibly, and kept her in I i ddranco till her father could convey 1 ! 'i ; her to the continent her vague address I ' t !' 1 1 at present I i T1,Is ca6C recalls yet moro ' .,! ; handed abduction In the days of great thji Elizabeth, when, however, it was tho 1 't rather who waa Imprisoned for his con- j', tumacy by the noble lover I Ah this fa- i . ihcr, Sir John Spencer, lord mayor of 1 j,' London, was the richest merchant in ! ' (il Europe, his daughter's hand was ' j; sought by a crowd of suitors of high degree Among them were Lord Comp- . j j'' ! ton and the son of Sir Arthur Hennlng- j , ham, tho peer belnc proforrcd by tho i ' I'j ! daughter and the commoner by her fa- 1 ! ' Xher. I't Imprison Father for Obstinacy, i li; In thoso flno old feudal days tho au-i au-i : . thorlty of a father, even if ho wero 1 jj lord mayor of London, weighed lightly j , ftgalnst that of a noblo In tho eyo of I , tho law, and Sir John, theroforo, was ! . ; fluns InO tho Fleet prison for prosum- 1 ' 1 rig to havo a eay in the disposal of his 1 j daughter's hand! John Chamborlaln . '' ti writes thUB of tho case on March 15, l, 3598-9; "Our Sir John Spencer was tho I " last week committed to tho Fleet for a ' i contempt and hiding? away his daugh- t i , ter, who, they Bay, is contracted to tho Lord Compton; but now Sir John is out ' ngain, and by all means seeks to hinder . ! 1 the match, alleging a precontract to 1 1 ' Sir Arthur Henningham's 6on. But up- ) V on Sir John beating and misusing her, 'i she was sequestered to ono Barkers, a . ! proctor, and from thence to Sir Henry ' Hllllnbsley's, where she yet remains till . the matter is tried. If the obstinate ' sind self-willed fellow should persist in i his doggedness (ns he protests ho will), k ond give her nothing, the poor lord , should have a warm catch!" J ,;! As "the obstinate and self-willed fel- ' low did persist In his doggednesK," tho J , ' noblo lord found ho had made a poor J : 1 oatch after all. Sir Jchn gavo his dls- ', ' obedient daughter neither dowry nor ; . ' ountenance, and Lady Compton, in all , ( j)robabillty, would never liave received ' ' a single penny of hor father's vast for- tune if it were not for the romantic j intervention of Queen Elizabeth. I.', I Queen Bess Plays a Wily Trick. ; i! j The wily Queen begged Sir John to stand sponeor with her for tho first V born of a young couple, happy In their ' , '' love, but unhappy in their estrange- , i ment from the wife's father. Sir John, t t f-xtraordlnarly Mattered, "begged to bo ' . i.llowcd to adopt tho Queen's protege, i since, as he had now no daughter, ho could hope for no worthier heir. The 'I Queen graciously consented, and after l'ie christening, Introduced the child's ' ( ' parents to Sir John Lord and Lady 'Hi Compton! Sir John had, in fact, adopt- 1 I f ) cd his own grandson, who ultimately J Inherited his prodigious fortune. V, J ' I fancy that Lord Compton found 1 I "tho obstinacy and self-will" hcredi-trary, hcredi-trary, and that his lady held her own 1 ': ngainst him as she had against her ; J lather. Here is an extract from a char- , jjj acterlstlc letter of hers, written after , , , I she had come into her father's fortune: ' j "My Sweet Life I would, besides the 1 . u llowence for my apparel, have 000 t f-'j added yenrly fquarterly to be paid) for i 1 j tho performance of charitable worlis, ' and thoso things I would not, neither lj: will be accountable for. Also I will j n'y have three horses for my own saddle, j and none shall dare to lend or borrow ' 1!, nono lend but I, none borrow but you. 1 1 , , . Alao I would havo two gentlemen, leHt 1 , one should ba sick, or have come otlter 1 v j '.tt. Also, believe me it is an indecent i .J. thing for a gentlewoman to stand 'f Mr mumping alone, when God blessed their " f y iord and lady with a great estate. Also i Mi vhen I ride a-huntlng or hawking, or ' I ' travel from one houee to another. I will ! i , , (' "a.ve them attending; so, for either of if ' ; I vMi said women I must and will havo ( , ' ! a horse." I j Then followed a long list of all the N ?; z carrlagcK and horses, men servants and mold servants sho must and will have, winding up with a claim for the following follow-ing drcRKes and Jewels which must be provided for her in addition to thoso she would purchase with her pin monoy for herself: "And, for myself (besides my yearly allowance) I would havo twenty gowns of apparel; six of them very excellent good ones, clsht of them for tho country, and six other of them vory excellont ood ones. Also, 1 would havo C000 to buy mo Jewels and 4000 to buy me a pearl chain." Japanese "Wives Want to Be Old. In contrast with this emancipation aftor marriage of an English wife of Elizabeth's day may bo fiet tho affoco-ment affoco-ment of a Japanese wlfo of today. Here, at least, is Miss Dorothy Menpos's picture pic-ture of tho "honored Interior" of a Japanese home: "With her childhood the happiest years of a Japanese girl havo ended. Starting life as a butterfly, butter-fly, guy and br'lliant, alio becomes sadder sad-der and sadder with every passing 3'car. The colors fade and become dull, until, by tho time alio is a full grown woman, they have sobered down to almost al-most Quaker hues, except hero and there sonic odglng of color shows ltoelf. Chicago Tribune. "Directly she is a wifo her ono ambition ambi-tion is to become old: it Is almost a craso with her. She shows it in every possible way in the way she ties her obi, tho fashion In which sho dresses her hair; everything that suggests the advanco of tho sere and yellow leaf she eagerly adopts. When her husband gives a party he calls In a geisha; sho herself, poor dear! Hits upstairs on a mat, and is not allowed to bo seen. Sho is called the "honored interior,' and is far too precious and refined to figure In public life." Tho emblem of conjugal affection In Korea is a goose I tun tmre I cannot tell why which is carried by the best man before tho bridegroom; while tho happiness of a Korean marriage is so-cured so-cured again I cannot guess why by tho Trapplst dumbness prescribed to tho wifo. Silenco FirBt Duty of Korean Wifo. "Silence is regarded aB the wifo's first duty. During tho whole of the wedding wed-ding day the brido must be ns mute as a statue. If she says a word, or even makes a Bign, she becomes an object of ridicule, and her silenco must remain unbroken, even In her own room, though her husband may attempt to break it by taunts, Jeers, or coaxing, for tho female servants are all on tho qui vivo for such a breach of eUquotto as speech hanging about tho door and chinks to catch up even a Rlngle utterance, utter-ance, which would causo her to lose caste forever in her circle. It may bo a week or several months before the husband knows the sound of his wife's voice, and even after that length of time she only opens her mouth for the necessary speech." This protracted silenco reminds me of an amusing case that camo somo tlmo since to my Icnowledge of a prolonged Bulk botweon a childless wife and husband. hus-band. For nearly six long weeks they had not interchanged a word, and all indlspcnsablo Intercommunication was carried on indirectly through tho servants. ser-vants. It was in fact a contest of obstinacy ob-stinacy as to which would bo forced to speak first to the other. Tho wife won by an elaborate and Ingenious stratagem. strata-gem. One Sunday evening the husband, unable to stand the frozen silenco of his hearth any longer, went to church, and on his return was enraged to llnd the whole house turned inside out nnd upside down. In every room every shelf and drawer, bookcase and press was emptied of Its contents, which lay strewn in wild profusion on every floor. "What tho is the meaning of this tomfullory?" shouted the husband to the wife, who was in the act of emptying empty-ing the last articlo out of the last chest of drawers. Turning to face him, sho cried triumphantly: "I was looking for your tongue, which I have lost these six weeks, and now have found!" |