COURTSHIP IN MAN 43 



ring for choosing a lover reminds us of the custom 

 of choosing a mate at the fair. 



But less direct methods of obtaining a lover are 

 sometimes resorted to. In some parts of modern 

 Russia the names of eligible young men are written 

 on slips of paper, and then thrown into a bran-tub. 

 The girls fish for the slips with long spiked sticks. The 

 happy man whose name is drawn is expected to kiss 

 the girl and " walk out " with her with a view to 

 marriage. A favourite variation of this method of 

 choosing by lot we find described in literature. One 

 of the best-known instances is that in Shakespeare's 

 " Merchant of Venice," where, by the father's will, 

 Portia may only marry the man who chooses the right 

 one of three caskets. There is also a story of a Chinese 

 princess named Turandot, who set her lovers three 

 riddles to guess; the one who solved them married 

 the princess, while the other poor men were executed. 



Faith in the efficacy of love-charms and love- 

 potions used to hold great sway over people of all 

 countries, and has not completely died out even among 

 white races. One of the explanations of this idea is, 

 that primitive people believe in magic and are con- 

 vinced that good or bad qualities can be communi- 

 cated, just as they believe that diseases can be trans- 

 ferred by magic procedure from one person to the 

 other. All that was thought necessary was to get 

 possession of something belonging to the person who 

 was to be worked upon, and to attach the magical 

 spell to it. As regards love-magic, the person who 

 wanted to gain another's love would use something 

 belonging to himself or herself as a love-charm and 

 send it to the beloved. Naturally, something directly 



