CURIOUS CUSTOMS AND FACTS EXPLAINED.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 109, 26 August 1876, Page 2

CURIOUS CUSTOMS AND FACTS EXPLAINED.

[Compiled for The Evening Mail] The Black Brunswickers. —The Duh of Brunswick died in 1815, at the verj outset of the Battle of Waterloo. His followers swore to avenge his death, so they dressed in black uniform, and were consequently known as the Black Bruit wickers. His sister was the unfortunate Caroline of Brunswick, the murdered Queen of George TV. The Battle of Dettingen.—The las' battle in which an English King took pari personally was the Battle of Dettingen, fought between the Anglo-Hanoveriai and the French army under Marshal Noailles, in which the latter were dfr feated in 1743. George 11. of was present at the battle at the heful i the British infantry, but I,olxl Stair hsj the supreme command of the allied troops. Ancient Dwarfs. —Many suppose tin' General Thumb and his nautical frien4 Commodore Nutt, have had but few rivalsThis is a mistake, for Philetas of Cos, w* flourished ■three centuries before the birtß of Christ, was not only of exceedi''Sjt)' dimuntive stature, but is said to have bee'J "compelled to carry weights in his pocW to prevent his being blown away. Wi although small in stature, his mind vr*-' Meaning of El Dorado. —lt is gen* rally supposed that El Dorado is the of Gold. The literal meaning is "Tl* Gilded Man," and its origin is as follows: —When the Spaniards had conquer* Mexico and Peru, they began to look f<*j new sources of wealth, and having heart of a golden city ruled by a priest or king smeared in oil and rolled in gold d" sl (which report was founded upon a merelj annual custom of the Indians) thej organised various expeditions into the interior of South America, which were accompanied with disasters and crimeSi about 1500. Sir Walter Raleigh's exp* ditions in search of gold between the year* 1596 and 1617, led to his downfall. •

Sat VVu.rwß tSvLKin-iT* Dkn*.*.-The uu6 ,rtunat.- •'»"* "f « l " ..jcinuM Elizabeth was rather it dandy cMtimiK. He wore a white satiu- "' ,l ve*t close-sleeved to. the wrist, '"'l ~vit Mm I»"ly a doublet, tiuety r,viTi'ii. ilull t-'inbrotdered with pyuria ,1 in the feather «>f his hat a large ruby "'', , lir | ,h-'>|> at the bottom of a '.' )!„.,! ~(■' it button. His breeches, with j'L stocking ».rut ribbon garters, fringed ,1,1,,. (ttnl, fill white: butt' shoes, which. ",, ''.vtiiril with precious stones as to have the value of ,£o,*><)<>: and he had l \nit. of iinuoiif of solid silver, with sword 'ill In; 11: hlazinif with diamonds, rubies, 1,1,1 purls. King James's* favorite, the i) t ,ki.(if Huekmgham, however, w;n more ,;,.,„ his match in the splendour of his ',|;,.,., for liw could afford to have his dia',',i,ils tacked so loosely on,, that when fie ,:,„ s ,, to shake a few otf on the ground, tie J : ,li',iiit;(l ail the fame lie desired from the wlm were generally '<'■-' '(<n)n'.< i'/„ (■',„/,■. Till'. I'l'NtSllVtKN't' Ol>' t>Rf>KKVNl';xs t,V ,i K ()i.i>e> Tt.ui<;.—Although the peon|i;il.y pnatty for a breach of temperance , Vimi'thing less at present than in the „„| old Victorian days, when juried )rt .y shillings,, and take him away" used ], in: the "stereotyped sentence, neither to that of teneenturies ago. \, ns huitine. Kino; of the Soot.*, who ruled ', flu) year H?t>, punished his bibulous übjtiufcs with the loss of life. fllK Dl'N-.HoW F'tvl'lVtli <)(' ft,\.n>N.— Jolmrt fit'/:-Walter bestowed the Manor jDumuow, in VJti, on conditions ""that (liutovur married couple wilt go to the ifim-y, and, kneeling on two sharp-pointed ioiiuit, swear that they have not quarpllml »>'v repented of their marriage liihiu a year and a day after its flolii'iititm, shall have a Hitch of dwiii." The earliest-recorded claim for In, bivoou w:is in Ml~>, »<■>• that for two miiili'Mtl years a couple could not be found lim umil'd conscientiously make appticai;,n. from that time until IN"), when blunt claim was put in only live oouples ffs«nti!tl themselves, and went through b ordeal, being about one in every ijlity-live years. The last claimants precis to tHoo were John Shafcestuvnks and ijwifu,. in [Jot. They made a large sum t soiling shoos of the Mitch to witnesses of iccuroiuouy, who mustered to the nttru(r (if s,()i)lK In ty")o, ttiteties were miilml to Mr. and Mrs. Barlow, and the ■iiuvulior Uhatelaine and hb lady. The ird of the manor opposed the revival of in tmstom,, but Harrison Ainsworth, who as written a novel on the subject, deuyoil the expense, and superintended the Iwonial.