Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/93



1. The Intended Bride. Among the Armenians marriage is at an age earlier than in western countries—19 for boys and 15 for girls may be regarded a medium age for marriage. The engagement takes place earlier than that, sometimes when the couple are too young to understand the meaning of "the cradle contract." The parents are the chief operators in this. When a boy reaches his fifteenth or seventeenth year, his parents, especially the mother, the sisters and the aunts, begin to talk among themselves about a proper candidate for their future bride. Dark and large eyes, long and brown hair, rosy cheeks and round face and medium stature are desired for her physical qualities; diligence, modesty, manual skill, respectable parentage and good name for the moral qualities. The education, however, is not regarded essential, especially in the interior. In their research for a proper candidate they very often carry their mission and consultation beyond the borders of the family circle—it may be whispered in the church, in the marriage feasts, at the public baths, and on the streets. They make unexpected calls to the home of the girl under their consideration, the object of which is to examine the condition of the house and the manners of the girl, etc. When they