Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-10
CoURTsHIP IN SPAIN.
The Three Stages by Which Young
People Arrive at Matrimony.

From the London Express.
The wooing of an English Princess by the
King of Spain gives topical interest TO
the methods of courtship common among
King Alfonso's subjects-methods which the
Young monarch obviously disregards.
In Great Britain the first obstacle IN the
path of lovers-that of the introduction
is usually the greatest. In Spain, on t!e
other hand this Is the only easy SEP
throughout the entire affair. The Spanish
girl (who never leaves the house except
under the guardianship of married rela-
tive or a trusted family servanD sits on ner
balcony or leans inYitingiy tqrtn rom Ia, an
she whispers to herself, will assuredly come.
In very many cases. more so than IN Eng
land, he never does come. but her enthus-
iasm does not diminish, auhougn ~ nea
hopes become thin. her rouge may become
thicker. Should a passing young man eaten
sight of the expectant beauty ana hnd his
heart pierced with the hayward arrow, all
that is necessary for him to 90 Is to hit MS
hat and plunge into conversation.
should the meeting happen while the
young lady is taking the air with the Gus
tomary duenna, he follows at respectful
distance. In England he would be con-
dernned as a cad, but in Madrid they look
at things from another point Of view.
II the young lady approves OF his appear
ance. she may turn her head and glance IN
his direction. In this case he smiles and
should she smile in return. all is we'll He
need DO no more than follow her home, take
a note of the house, and wait beneath the
balcony until she makes her appearance.
Young men are seldom refused In Spain,
for the reason that young men are scarce.
Whatever may be the young lady's opin-
ion about the matter, 1t is thought that she
ought to consider herself most fortunate
that a young man should even condescend
to seem interested IN her matrimonlally,
and in refusing his offer Of marriage she Is
foutng the benevolence of Providence In
fact in many Spanish communities there
hut WI chofcea bof0ra HERNIA rria
the convent
The Spaniard himself like the men of
other natlonalities. ig a dashing fellow
enough when counting, and by virtue of
tradition he has at all times certain taxi
ing swagger.
When people in England think Of Span
ish courtship they fondly imagine TO them
selves some dark-eyed. ruby-lipped, black
haired beauty leaning dangerously from
her bed room easement and gazing in sleepy
admira ton at the swarthy handsome face
of her lover below. his features so well set
off by ferocious mustacheS and q wide, nap
ping sombrero. Often too, they endow him
with the brilliant vests, rainbow sashes and
marvellous knee breaches of the bull ring.
Between the pauses OF the conversation,
carried on in the beautiful musical under
tones OF the Spanish tongue, he reaches
for his ever-ready guitar
There may be such scenes as these In
Spain but If SO they on the stage. The
appearance of the average Spainiard IS
prosaic In the extreme, principally due to
his lack of means. because Spain is, on the
whole, poor country. The beautiful Span
ish tongue is generally marred In the
mouths of the population by the terrible
local dialects. The guitar is very seldom
in evidence on these occasions, and 1t Is
usually the lady who does most Of the talk
ing while the man smokes innumerable
cigarettes.
In England for considerable portion Of
the year the young couples are compelled
to go indoors and seek the intermittent soli-
t,,d Of ha ia ,i1v wing II syof har
what consolation they can out of lingering
good nights in draughty doorways. But
open air courtships are possible all the year
round In the genial Spanish climate.
In the early days of Spanish courtshlp
the young man is not permitted to enter
the house There are three distinct stages
in Spanish love affair. In the first. the
participants are styled 'pretendientes." In
this stage they may be said to be consid-
ering things generally and estimating each
others good and bad qualities.
each other by means of the balcony for a
few months. they are known as ''novios."
In the third and last stage they become
"comprometidos.
ter the house. although he is not, however,
even yet allowed to be alone In his sweet
hearts company Tho closest approach
that he can make is to sit at one end OF the
end-and the father or mother In between
and to talk conversational nothings about
the outrageous price Of vinegar.
Shortly after this they are married, for a
Spaniard's sense of honor does not permit
him to draw out of the contract, even *
he were thus inclined. for in doing SO he
would almost irretrievably ruin the girls
prospects OF obtaining another husband
As in France. It Is the ambition of every
Spanish father to give his daughter q
dowry. and he invariably does his best TO
send the young couple or with 4 hand
some Donation. After marriage they cease
to be interesting, for Spanish welded life Is
largely assisted by the complete submission
OF the wife to her husband'e will In Spain
an undutifui wife Is disgraced In the sight
Of the whole community. and she Is prac-
tically unknown.