1 1S2
2 MARRIAGE CU8T0lf&
3 ted» when the oonMt of the paienti cuaiot be obtained, die most
4 oommon eiqiedient is to elope with the girL This is bonsideied ss sa
5 outrage to a &siilj9 eqnal to miiideringoiie of its membeny laid is
6 pursued with the same fanoour, but the possession of the gitl is se»
7 cured, the ftigitiTes take refuge in the lands of some other tribes
8 and are slue of the protection which the A^^uum customs s£^Mrd to
9 . every guest, and still more to every suppliant.
10 Among the Eusofip^, no man sees his wife till the marriage oeio*
11 monies are completed ; and with all the Burdooraunees, there is great
12 reserve between the time when the parties are betrothed and the ma^
13 riage. Some of them live with their future father-in-law, and earn
14 their bride by their services, as Jacob did Rac hel, without ^ver seeing
15 the object of their wishes. But, all the rest of the A%hauns, the
16 Eimauks, the Hazaurehs, the inhabitants of Persian Khorassaun, and
17 even the Taujiks, and many of the Hindoos in those countries, have a
18 far different practice, and permit a secret intercourse between the
19 bride and bridegroom, which is called naumzud bauzce, or the sports of
20 the betrothecL With them, as soon as the parties are affianced, the
21 lover steals by night to the lioiisc of his mistress. The mother, or
22 some other of the feniali- r( lations, favours his design ; but it is sup-
23 posed to be entirely coucealeii {i^om the men, who would affect to
24 consider it as a great affront. He is admitted by the niother>
25 and conducted to his mistress's apartment, where the lovers are
26 left alone till the a})] M oach of morning. The freest intercourse, the
27 most imreserved conversation, and even kisses, and all other innocent
28 freedoms, are allowed ; but, the l;ust liu our is always to be withheld,
29 and tlie strongest cautions and prohibitions are used by Uie mother to
30 both partis separately. Nature, however, is generally too strong ftir
31 hyonctiohs, and the marriage begins with all the diMciuhy and inteiAt
32 tsf aa micit amour.- There have e?en been esses where the bride'has
33 brou^t her husband two or three children when she was ibtmally re*
34 ceived as his wifej but, this is very scandalous, and sddbm hippens.
35 The custom prevails eren among men of rank ; and the King^ himself
36 Digitizeo by Google