COURTSHIP IN MAN 47 



love invitation. They consume this together at an 

 appointed place at nightful, and this constitutes the 

 betrothal. Again, among the Gilas of New Mexico, 

 when a young man desires a girl for his wife, he will 

 serenade her outside her home for hours daily, play- 

 ing on his flute. Should she not appear, it is a sign 

 that she rejects him; but if, on the other hand, she 

 comes out to meet him, it is an acceptance. 



It is a wide jump from New Mexico to modern 

 Europe, yet in Spain, where love takes such pas- 

 sionate forms, the same custom of serenading pre- 

 vails. A Spanish girl thinks her lover has not given 

 her sufficient proof of his love if he does not serenade 

 her; and she always knows how many musicians he 

 ought to pay for doing this, when he cannot sing or 

 play himself. Some of the girls in Spain also resemble 

 those of less civilized races in their admiration of 

 physical prowess, as evinced at bull-fights. Torea- 

 dors are in great demand among the girls, though 

 their star is somewhat waning at present. Should a 

 girl wish to reject a lover, she does not do so in plain 

 language, but she gives him a pumpkin. He under- 

 stands the meaning of this action and withdraws his 

 suit. The German girl of Thuringia gives her suitor 

 a sausage to eat when she wishes to give him a hint 

 that his advances are not welcome to her. 



In Japan, where most matches are arranged by a 

 go-between and the parents, love will also have 

 something to say sometimes. A man wishing to woo 

 a girl will throw a flower into her litter as she passes, 

 which she wears if she is willing to accept him. 

 Similar customs abound everywhere. There is no need 

 to give examples nearer home, as most readers have or 



