FORMS OF' MARRIAGE.
The ceremonies attendant on wooing and wedding are indicative of the position of woman in a community and of the influence she exerts over national life.
Marriage has been maintained by some writers that in primitive society women were, Rs a rule, stolen, and that what the Scotch and English borderers called " bride-lifting " was the customary method of securing a wife. The clan being small and marriages within its limits being prohibited, or the available females having been already monopolized by the system of polygamy, prompted by the zest of nov elty the youth would sally forth to snatch a bride from the enemy's camp. The old Roman story of the rape of the Sabines seems to point to such a usage, and to this day it is common among the natives of Aus tralia. When one of these wishes a mate he looks about the camp of some hostile tribe until he sees a girl whom he fancies. At night, when she is sleeping by the fire, he creeps near and winds the point of his long spear in her hair. By gently drawing it toward him she is wakened to discover herself his prisoner. She knows that at the least outcry the spear-point will be driven into her neck and the daring brave will escape in the darkness. Therefore she follows without a murmur. Such is the account given by some travellers, but others say that no such bloody intention is present—that this midnight assault is merely symbolic, and to gratify the coquettishness of the dark-skinned belles, who are not will ing to yield except to this pretence of violence ; just as the Tartar must win his bride by overtaking her when in full gallop on her palfrey, or as in more refined society the ladies wish to be long wooed before they are won.
Of course, here and there in the world there are instances of kidnap ping girls or stealing women, but it is rare indeed that this was the accepted fonn of securing a mate. The symbolic ceremonies which have been adduced to prove that at one time it was the universal custom are not survivals of an ancient method, but are to be understood as salves to the modesty and coquettishness of maidens—qualities which are marked ly prominent in the females of many of the lower species. So far are the Australians from being an example in point that Mr. Huth, who care fully investigated the subject, says in his work on marriage that in Aus tralia the old men secure most of the girls and the young men have to put up with the discarded wives of their elders.
Marriage' by Purchase.—What is called marriage by purchase is the most frequent of all, though in most instances this is not a correct name for it. The examples are rare where an out-and-out sale is effected. The
Circassian girls were deliberately sold by their families to the Persians and Turks, and in various patriarchal tribes, where the father was vested with absolute rights over his children, he disposed of his daughters to the high est bidder with as little compunction as he would one of his domestic ani mals. This is often said to be the habit of most American tribes ; but Dr. Matthews and other observers who have had opportunities to examine their social life closely state that the articles of value paid to the parents of the girl are not considered as a price for her, but as a pledge that she will be properly treated and as a proof that the aspirant's affection for her is ardent. They often also require evidence that he is a skilled hunter or a valiant warrior, thus securing the safety and sustenance of their daughter to the extent of their power. Through a misunderstanding of the purpose of these customs they have been represented as of a more debased cha racter than they really are.
Other Forms of some tribes, as among the Shawnees, Osages, and Creeks in America, the girl made her own selection of a hus band without consulting her family. She bargained for the gifts she was to receive, and rejected such suitors as did not please her. Frequently it was a matter of negotiation between the elders, very much as it is to-day among the noble families of Europe, and with a like disregard of the feel ings of the parties concerned. Mr. Sanborn states that in ancient times among the Iroquois the old women selected wives for the young men, and married them with painful uniformity to women several years their seniors. Among the Aztecs there was a special class of matchmakers who negotiated unions between the scions of noble families, and some of their cut-and-dried orations which have been preserved to us by Sahagun would not sound amiss in our best society to-day.
The highest form of marriage, and the one which alone should obtain in enlightened communities, is that which is based on personal acquaint ance and intelligent affection. Such a marriage becomes, in the words of an eloquent writer, " the loftiest earthly illustration of crowned and completed love," and is most certain to increase the happiness of the individuals and to develop the noblest qualities of the race.