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Courtship

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The matter of courtship is carried on in the old style in Guadl. 

The young man sees a young lady he desires to marry and writes her a letter avowing his regard. Then he proceeds to take his stand every evening in the street opposite her house either just in front or usually on the farther side in shadow of a doorway.

It is customary for [[strikethrough]] fe [[/strikethrough]] ladies to sit in balconies a story above the street on pleasant evenings and the suitor remains silent & shadow like for 2 or 3 hours until the ladies retire & then he leaves his post. This is kept up by the month until at last when the proper amount of endurance is shown some [[strikethrough]] real [[/strikethrough]] relative of the latter interviews the parents of the girl & the marriage is arranged. The young man must furnish the brides trooseau [[trousseau]] but her people make the wedding feast.

If the suitor is not considered suitable, it is made evident to him soon after her writes his letter & he usually abandons his pursuit. [[strikethrough]] At times [[/strikethrough]] Next door to where I stopped in Guadl a young man was seen night after night in the shadow of a doorway usually from about 730 or 800 on to 10 or 10.30 looking up to a balcony 2 stories above the street