the matron setting forth his wishes. She was asked to introduce him to So-and-so. The girls of whom he was to have the choice were of a complexion that matched his own. Unless some arrangement of the kind was made, trouble and discontent ensued. The darkest man invariably aspired to the hand of the fairest girl. Had he been permitted he would have tried to win a pure European. The girls were just as particular in their choice, and quite aware of their own value.
When it was known in the school that a suitor was in the field a thrill of excitement stirred the whole institution. The boys were full of brotherly anxiety that their adopted sisters should be well and suitably mated. The young man usually drove up in a hired carriage. As he was received by the matron he ran the gauntlet of many pairs of eyes. Presently Daisy Brown, Leonora Smith, and Maud Jones, all dressed in their best, were presented in turn by the matron. After the inspection the suitor intimated that his fancy had fallen on Leonora Smith. He begged to be allowed to have another interview, which was granted. After talking to her a little time and telling her about himself and his prospects, he put the question. Did she think that after she had seen him again she could bring herself to look upon him with favour? If she smiled, hung her head, and whispered with lowered eyes that she would like to have a little time to consider his offer, he departed a happy man. If, on the other hand, she frowned and turned aside in silence, he understood that he must either make a second choice or leave the place disappointed of his bride. A refusal, however, was rare. It usually ended in a wedding that turned out happily for both. The courting after the first interview was done under the chaperonage of the matron, and the trousseau was made in the school.
No suitor was allowed to appear at the orphanage
