alone on an evening ride, to a lecture,
concert, or other place of amusement, and much more should he ask the
privilege of sitting up all night in the parlor with the light turned
down, after the rest of the family had retired. Among respectable people
in France such liberties are not tolerated; and a young man who should
propose such things would be dismissed from the house instantly, and
would be regarded as unfit for association with virtuous people. If
a young man calls upon a young lady for the purpose of making her
acquaintance, he sees both her and her mother, or an aunt or older sister.
He never sees her alone. If he invites her to ride, or to accompany
him to an entertainment of any sort, he must always invite her lady
friend also; she goes along at any rate. There is afforded no chance
for solitary moonlight strolls or rides, nor any other of the similar
opportunities made so common by American courting customs. We are no
advocates of the formal modes of contracting matrimonial alliances
common among many nations, and illustrations of which we find at all
ages of the world. For example, among the ancient Assyrians it was a
custom to sell wives to the highest bidder, at auction, the sums
received for the handsomer one being given to the less favored ones
as a dowry, to secure a husband for every woman. The same custom
prevailed in Babylon in ancient times, and has been practiced in modern
times in Russia. At St. Petersburg, not many years ago, an annual sale
of wives was held on Whit Sunday, after the same plan followed by the
Assyrians.

Among the early Jews it seems to have been the custom for parents to
select wives for their sons. In the case of Isaac, this important matter
was intrusted to an old and experienced servant, who was undoubtedly
considered much more competent to select a wife for the young man than
he was himself. The same custom has been handed down even to the present
time among some oriental nations. In many cases the parties are not
allowed to see each other until after the wedding ceremony is completed.
The Hungarians often betroth their children while they are yet in their
cradles, as did the Mexicans and Brazilians of the last century. In
some countries it has even been customary to betroth girls
conditionally before they were born. The primitive Moravians seem to
have adhered to the ancient Jewish custom in some degree, though making
the selection of a wife a matter of chance. The old p