very ancient and widespread, dating, so far as Europe is concerned, from
the time when the Church first sought to impose ecclesiastical marriage,
so that it is practically a continuation of the ancient European custom of
private marriage.

Trial-marriages pass by imperceptible gradations into the group
of courtship customs which, while allowing the young couple to
spend the night together, in a position of more or less intimacy,
exclude, as a rule, actual sexual intercourse. Night-courtship
flourishes in stable and well-knit European communities not
liable to disorganization by contact with strangers. It seems to
be specially common in Teutonic and Celtic lands, and is known by
various names, as _Probenaechte, fensterln, Kiltgang,
hand-fasting, bundling, sitting-up, courting on the bed, etc_. It
is well known in Wales; it is found in various English counties
as in Cheshire; it existed in eighteenth century Ireland
(according to Richard Twiss's _Travels_); in New England it was
known as _tarrying_; in Holland it is called _questing_. In
Norway, where it is called _night-running_, on account of the
long distance between the homesteads, I am told that it is
generally practiced, though the clergy preach against it; the
young girl puts on several extra skirts and goes to bed, and the
young man enters by door or window and goes to bed with her; they
talk all night, and are not bound to marry unless it should
happen that the girl becomes pregnant.

Rhys and Brynmor-Jones (_Welsh People_, pp. 582-4) have an
interesting passage on this night-courtship with numerous
references. As regards Germany see, e.g., Rudeck, _Geschichte der
oeffentlichen Sittlichkeit_, pp. 146-154. With reference to
trial-marriage generally many facts and references are given by
M.A. Potter (_Sohrab and Rustem_, pp. 129-137).

The custom of free marriage unions, usually rendered legal before
or after the birth of children, seems to be fairly common in
many, or perhaps all, rural parts of England. The union is made
legal, if found satisfactory, even when there is no prospect of
children. In some counties it is said to be almost a universal
practice for the women to have sexual relationships before legal
marriage; sometimes she marries the first man whom she tries;
sometimes she tries several before finding the man who s