Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 43.djvu/349

 his choice, he summons a mutual friend to act as nakodo. In this case the engagement is usually of very short duration; frequently not more than a few days or weeks. The nakodo arranges



everything—the dower, the wedding itself, and the subsequent entertainment. The engaged couple may see each other, but never alone. Their previous acquaintance may have been a long one, and the young people themselves may have come to a mutual understanding: but to all intents and purposes the groom elect, prior to the betrothal, has merely been a friend of the family in general. The Occidental custom, or rather usage, which