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    A man may put asvay his wife twice , and take her back again without any ceremony or trotible ; but the third time a most singular custom must be adopted . She must first be married to another man , and divorced from him . It is usual in such cases to employ an agent to make the marriage , under condition of his giving up the woman afterwards . A very poor , ugly ,

    and , if possible , blind man , is usually chosen ; but it will unfortunately happen occasionally that he is so pleased with his wife as to refuse to fulfil his bargain by parting with her . The women are kept very close , and guarded with all possible care ; but it appears this vigilance is to very little purpose . The manners of both sexes are very licentious . The women themselves think they are slighted and little cared for , if

    they are not jealously watched by their husbands , and regard any freedom granted to them as an insult ! Some analogy might be found for this taste of theirs even among our own ladies . They have no education , seldom being taught even the routine of prayers , which is the universal accomplishment of the men ; but they are good cooks , and very fond of dress &nd ornament . They contrive , it would appear , to be very

    merry among themselves , passing much of their time in noisy amusements ; and they do not like to be troubled with much of their husband ' s company , for before him they must be respectful and sedate . The description of the mode of matchmaking among them is very amusing . As a man cannot see a woman before marriage , he employs a female relation , or perhaps an old woman , hired for the purpose , to go round visiting

    different Hharee ' ms , till she sees some one she supposes to his taste . She then returns and reports to her employer ; upon which , if he likes the description of her ' points / he sends the old harridan back with a present , and she opens the attack with some such speeches as the following , about the truth of which she is by no means particular : —

    . " My daughter , the youth who wishes to marry you is young , graceful , elegant , beardless , has plenty of money , dresses handsomely , is fond of delicacies , but cannot enjoy his * luxuries alone ; he wants you as his companion ; he will give you every thing that money can procure ; he is a stayer at home , and will spend his whole time with you , caressing and fondling you . "—Vol . I . p . 197 .

    A woman , as this account shows , has the right of a descriptive choice in a husband , but a child may be given in marriage \> y her parents without her consent . There is an extraordinary account of some magical performances witnessed by the author , for the insertion of which he tpakes something like an apology : — . " Neither I nor others , " he 8 ays , " have been able to discover any

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    88 Manners and Customs

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 1, 1837, page 88, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1828/page/41/