Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, December 13, 1912, Page 19

. IN NO HURRY TO WED BPAIN CERTAINLY THE LAND OF RECORD COURTSHIPS. ¥t s Nothing for a Couple In Thq Country to Remain Engaged for Ten Years Before Thelr Marriage. Spain might be termed the land of Weliberation, for nothing—especially in the case of courtship and marriage —is done in haste. Indeed, in the country towns of Andalusia, a sudden marriage creates great surprise, for, @8 a Spanish writer says, “there is nothing in which procrastination is! «carried 50 far in Andalusia as in the | mmatter of engagements.” The Andalusian peasant considera well the step he is about to take, and | this consideration is a very pleasant way of killing time, and time is of but ttle value in the south of Spain. It s quite a common thing for a man to ba engaged ten years. There is also a smonetary consideration to be taken gnto account, the marriage fee in Bpain being a high one, $7 or $8. Before coming into the house of his flancee, 2 man has to ask permission of the father to be his daughter's sweetheart. If he gives it a party i glven to celebrate the engagement, at which they drink aguardiente and eat| cakes. Girls are never allowed to| walk out with their sweethearts. Nao Idesing is permitted between them. ‘When a girl is asked why, she says, | “We do not belong to our sweethearts; it we quarreled he could not say that my lips had ever been his.” ' This comes partly from pride and partly from a wish not to be depreciat. ed in the matrimonial market, as lov- ers in Spain often prove fickle. A &lrl I know had been engaged five years when her lover jilted her. Six months later she became engaged again. You see, she had only chattefi with her former lover, so her matri- monial chances were quite as good as before she was engaged at all. . Although they do not kiss each oth- er they put x8 and os in their letters, the latter signifying embraces. When @ girl addresses him as “My appreciat- ed John,” she does not think it at all oorrect to put “My dear John” uniess they have been engaged a long time. In these days engaged couples be- longing to the upper classes see a good deal of each other. They meet at mass in the morning, chat together during the hour of siesta, see each oth- er in the afternoon during the prome- nade, go to the same party in the eve- ming, and after supper see each other and “chat together at the window, and there are nights when they remain once more chatting together, their faces pressed to the bars, until the roey-fingered dawn appears in the east” It is related that a lover getting married after an engagement of eight years soon afterward fell into low apirits from not knowing what to de with his time. In olden days, however, according to Hernando Cortez, Spanish girls were Xept almost as secluded and guarded a8 carefully as the,ladies in the harem of a Turk. Therefore, when a young man fell in love, instead of ringing the door bell and sending in his card he; often made a rope ladder and survey- od the residence of the young lady with a view to ascertaining the best mode of getting upon her balcony or into her window. Village Life in Egypt. | Egyptian village life is quaint and tnteresting, says the Wide World Mag- azine. The houses are crude, one-sto- ried structures of sun-baked mud, with possibly a couple of tiny square holes cut in the wall for ventilation. Each home consists of a single room, abso- Tutely devoid of furniture, one or two drinking jars and cooking utensils be- ing usually the omnly articles to be seen. The roofs of these hovels are thatched with cornstalks, and for some unaccountable reason all the| household rubbish is dumped on the roof! For this purpose a ladder may frequently be seen reclining against the side of the house. From a dis- tance a village is apt to look like an immense rubbish heap. These primi. | tive erections are inhabitated solely by the fellaheen, as Egyptian peas- ants are called. In some of the Arab villages the ar| rangements for sleeping are even more unconventional. Huge cup-like ctures made of mud, are built out the open, away from the houses, and into these the babies are frequent 1y placed during the day, and often the entire family sleep in them at night. fThe idea is to escape the numerous snakes and scorpions which abound during the great heat of the summer. Woman Stage Driver, Miss May Robertson, claimed to be the only woman stage driver in the oountry, makes the trip regularly be- f{ween Rifle and Meeker, Colo, a dis- tance of about 30 miles. She looks after the baggage, attends to the seat~ tng of passengers, and gives attem- ‘tlon to considerable transportation ®business along the route. She is & slender young woman, not yet twenty- one, and is credited with being one of the best drivers in the west. I ook up the work because it promised’ a good living,” she said, 8ad Oversight. “Your highness,” cried the grand vizier, “the enemy is at our gates.” “And I neglected to have them fit- ted with Bulgar proof locks,” mosned fhe sultan. Down the Scale. A certain bride is very much in love with her husband and very willing to admit it She likes to sound his praises to her mother and to her girl friends. She has a number of origi- nal eéxpressions. When her husband is good she says he is “chocolate cake, three layers deep.” When he is very good he “chocolate cake, four layers deep,” and so on up the scale. Oc- casionally, however, things take a turn. The bride's mother dropped in the other day. The bride was a trifle peevish, but her mother pretended not | to notice this. “And how is John today?” was her {nquiry. “Chocolate, four layers deep?” “No.” “Three layers deep!™ “No.” “Two layers deep?’ “No.” This with a pout. “Then what is he?” “Dog biscuit!”—National Monthly. Virtue In the “But.” “Justice is blind;” but more than she takes official notice of. “Put something by for a rainy day;” but don’t let that lead you to forget the pleasant weather of the moment. “The world owes you a living;” but it's just as well to go out and collect the debt “Old friends are best;” but every she sees| to make into an old one. “Make friends;” but dont expect friends to make you. “Man proposes;” but, often enough, the baby disposes. “The way of the transgressor is hard;” but his wife’s i8 harder. “Opportunity knocks once at every door;™ but if you're knocking at the same instant you're not likely to hear the lady.—Lippincott’s. World’s Rubber Production. About one-half the world’s supply of rubber comes from the Brazilian sections of Ceara, Manaos and Para. Their product sets the price for the | raw material in the consuming mar- kets. The trees grow wild. No sys- tematic preparation of the ground | tire care of the rubber gatherers hus been given to obtaining only the juice from the rubber tree and getting it to | market, Destiny of America. A nation is not a conglomeration of voters, to be represented by hungry politiclans empowered to partition the spoils of office, but a people ani mated by a common impulse and seeking to work out a common des- tiny. The destiny of America i8 mu tual service; labor is the corner stone of our nationality, the labor of each ! for all—Ralph Waldo Emerson. onoe fn a while & new one turns up fit jhas ever been necessary, and the en- { Legal Opinion. “A cat sits on my back fence every night and he yowls and yowls and yowls. Now, I don’t want to have any trouble with Neighbor Jones, but this thing has gone far enough, and I want you to tell me what to do.” The young lawyer looked as solemn 8s an old sick owl and said not a word. | “I have a right to shoot the cat, | haven’t 17" . “I would hardly say that,” replied 1young Coke Blackstone. ‘“The cat does not belong to you, as I under- stand it.” “No, but the fence does.” “I think it safe to say you have a perfect right to tear down the fence.” | Plaint of Old Age. i Washington Irving didn’t enjoy old | age more than the other fellow. He sighed one day: “What a pity 1t iz that when we have grown old we can’t turn around and grow young again, and die of cutting our teeth!” Too Good to Lose. Jack—“Now that your engagement is broken, are you going to make Blanche send back your letters?” Harry—“You bet I am. I worked hard thinking out those letters; they’re worth using again.” “Then,” concluded the light of law, | ' This space reserved by the Bemidji Townsite & Improvement Co, For price of lots, terms etc., INQUIRE OF T. C. BAILEY, Bemidji or write, Bemidji Townsite & Improvement Co, 520 Capital Bank Buliding 8T. PAUL MINNESOTA READ THE PIONEER WANT ADS BI. ABERCROMBIE 218 BELTRAMI AVE. i ABERCROM | AFew Christmas Suggestions GIFT BOOKS OF EXCELLENCE Where is the person who does not appreciate a good gift book? Where. indeed hard to find one who would not be delighted with a selection from our complete ['stocks. Among the hundreds of different ones are." American Bells Illustrated by Harrison Fisher. A Friend Or Two I Wish You Joy So MNany Ways Just Being Happy From [1e to You Four designs. 318 Beltrami Ave. PANEL SEASON CALENDARS Water color similes, mounted on grey, green, brown and buff, Nebulae stock, gold underlay, silk ribbon tied. Large size, boxed, $1. 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