If he notices any sign of pleasure at mention of the suitor's name he becomes convinced that the women on both sides are agreed. In this respect our progenitor showed his never failing justice by leaving his children to determine their own fate. My sister Zuena was but twelve when a distant cousin presented himself. The Sultan, although annoyed because of her youthfulness, would not refuse the young man point blank without consulting her. Zuena had just lost her mother, so, having no one to advise her, for the sheer fun of the thing she accepted her cousin, and the Sultan assented.
Cases arise in which betrothal, and even espousal, takes place at a very young age.
Two brothers of Zanzibar had engaged to unite their progeny, and when the boy, on one side, was seventeen or eighteen, and the girl, on the other, about seven or eight, talk already began on the subject of carrying the match into effect. As for the girl's mother, she was inconsolable over the loss threatening her. Between them, the female parents contrived to obtain a postponement of two years. What eventually came of the affair, I am unable to say, for I left the island. A betrothal is formally announced to friends and acquaintances by servants, who go from house to house, dressed in their best, distributing invitations to the wedding, and being presented with gratuities by those called upon.