on
for an indefinite period in the house of his future bride,--as Jacob
served Laban to make Rachel his wife,--and not a few drudge for years
with this hope before them.

Sometimes, in order to secure service gratis, the elders of the
young woman will suddenly dismiss the young man after a prolonged
expectation, and take another _Catipad_. as he is called, on the
same terms. The old colonial legislation--"Leyes de Indias"--in vain
prohibited this barbarous ancient custom, and there was a modern
Spanish law (of which few availed themselves) which permitted the
intended bride to be "deposited" away from parental custody, whilst
the parents were called upon to show cause why the union should not
take place. However, it often happens that when Cupid has already
shot his arrow into the virginal breast, and the betrothed foresee
a determined opposition to their mutual hopes, they anticipate the
privileges of matrimony, and compel the bride's parents to countenance
their legitimate aspirations to save the honour of the family. _Honi
soit qui mal y pense_--they simply force the hand of a dictatorial
mother-in-law. The women are notably mercenary, and if, on the part
of the girl and her people, there be a hitch, it is generally on
the question of dollars when both parties are native. Of course,
if the suitor be European, no such question is raised--the ambition
of the family and the vanity of the girl being both satisfied by the
alliance itself.

When the proposed espousals are accepted, the donations _propter
nuptias_ are paid by the father of the bridegroom to defray the
wedding expenses, and often a dowry settlement, called in Tagalog
dialect "_bigaycaya_" is made in favour of the bride. Very rarely
the bride's property is settled on the husband. I never heard of such
a case. The Spanish laws relating to married persons' property were
quaint. If the husband were poor and the wife well-off, so they might
remain, notwithstanding the marriage. He, as a rule, became a simple
administrator of her possessions, and, if honest, often depended on
her liberality to supply his own necessities. If he became bankrupt
in a business in which he employed also her capital or possessions,
she ranked as a creditor of the second class under the "Commercial
Code." If she died, the poor husband, under no circumstances, by legal
right (unless under a deed signed before a notary) derived any benefit
from the fact of his having espoused a rich wif