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THE COURT. --

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.

IPOLITICAL GOSSIP.

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. ♦

[No title]

" Value of Agricultural Meetings.

Gardening- Operations. ,Gardening…

Conservatory and Greenhouse.

[No title]

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A contemporary tells of the sad case of a man who was shipwrecked, and cast upon an uninhabited island, without a shilling in his pocket. A Singular Marriage Ceremony among the Low Castes of Malabar.—Their marriage cere- mony is very simple, but it is also employed by some of the other inferior tribes, at certain times, although quite contrary to their rites. A large round building is made of leaves, and inside this the bride is en- sconced. All the eligible young men of the village then assemble, and form a ring around this hut. At a short distance sits the girl's father, or nearest male relative, with a tom-tom in his hands, and a few more such musical instruments complete the scene. Pre- sently the music begins, and a chant, which may be translated as follows, is sung by the father:— Take the stick, my sweetest daughter, Now seize the stick, my dearest love. Should you not capture the husband you wished for, Remember 'tis fate decides whom you shall have. The young men, each armed with a bamboo, commence dancing round the hut, into which each of them thrusts his stick. This continues about an hour, when the owner of whichever bamboo she seizes becomes the fortunate husband of the concealed bride. Amongst the Nicomars, the bridegroom on his marriage inva- riably kills and eats a cat, in which he is assisted by the bride. The bridal feast of the tank-diggers con- sists of a fox.

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