and often sent to the house of her husband to-be before she is twelve years old. It often happens that she is sent away to be trained by her mother-in-law from the time she is two or three years old. This is true of the very poor, who are willing to accept almost any sort of a chance to marry off the girls as early as possible. So when some one that has a son who will need a wife by and by finds that he can secure a little girl for a small consideration (in many cases it is a cash transaction) he, simply as a matter of business, closes the trade, and the little girl is carried to his house and brought up with his own children. The engagement is made at the time of the trade, and the marriage will take place at such time as the parents may decide, which will usually be when the bride is between twelve and fifteen years of age. However, it is often the case that the marriage takes place before the girl is twelve.
In the well-to-do families the engagements are made somewhat on the same plan, though the matter of cash is not so likely to have a part in the transaction. Sometimes they are made on the plan of reciprocity, an exchange of sons and daughters often taking place between families of equal social standing. Then again there are those who give a daughter to a family of influence with the hope that in due time they shall in some way reap reward by being so closely connected with a family of influence. Then comes the more businesslike man who has a daughter or daughters, as the case may be, and he, with an eye to business, looks out for a cash bidder. So the man who
