322 THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. 



women nor dogs " are permitted to penetrate into the 

 inner sanctuary, though men and boys are freely ad 

 mitted. 



Marriages among this class are always marriages of 

 convenience. They are usually arranged by the parents 

 or an old woman go-between, known as the svaha, the 

 contracting parties having little or nothing to say in 

 the choice of their partners. The business of the svaha 

 is to keep herself informed regarding the rising genera- 

 tion about her, and bring about marriages between 

 suitable persons. Her reward is a commission on 

 dowries, or liberal presents. She knows the worldly 

 prospects and the personal worth of every youth in 

 the town, and the amount of dowry that each young 

 lady of her acquaintance is likely to receive. 



Having ascertained, by frequent business-like talks 

 with the parents, that the prospects and personal 

 recommendations of two young people are mutually 

 satisfactory, she arranges a simultaneous attendance at 

 church or theater, where the proposed bride and bride- 

 groom may get a sly peep at each other. If they are 

 satisfied with their choice, preliminaries are at once 

 entered upon, a formal betrothal takes place, and, soon 

 after, the wedding. 



Gypsy fortune-tellers are often resorted to for the 

 purpose of finding out what sort of a husband the 

 daughter will obtain. Russian gypsies like Russian 

 horse dealers, Russian merchants and Russian officials, 

 are a good deal more tricky than the same classes 

 in most other countries. Well aware of the credulity 

 of the merchants' wives and daughters, they some- 

 times enter into partnership with a scheming svaha 



