amounts to much more than all the portion the brings, w ith her
which often, confifts o f nothing but her own cl oaths, and perhaps
3 ccw j^nay, ,it happens, fometimes,; that the parents, inftead
giyipg-.money .with their daughter,, get fomething from the
Wdegjrcenv by. wuyk.of .prieevy* T he bride carries water every
morning, tow s fb tbo hands, o f herguefts, as long as the foafting
lafts ; and each of.them throws a finali piece, of money into the
hafon, ^fter .performing , that ft«i£tion, which is a very rare one
among them, excepting on fuch occaiions, The brides are alfo
permitted to raife other little'CQptfibutions among the Svati, by
hiding their fhoes, caps, knives, or fome other neceffary part o f
their e q u ip s , whieh,.they are. obliged,,to ranfom by a. piece
o f money, according as the company rates it. And, befides all
thefe voluntary, or extorted contributions already mentioned,
each giieihmuft give fome prefenttto th e , new married wife, a t
taking leave the lail day o f the-Sdravize, and then ihe alfo diftri-
butes fame trifles in return, which commonly confifts in Ihirts,.
caps, handkerchiefs, and fuch like..
, T he nuptial rite s ‘are almoft pgcifely the fame through. alE
the vaft country inhabited by the Morlacchi j and thofe in ufo
among the peafants, and common people o f the fea coft o f Dal-*
matia, Iftria, and the iflands,.. differ but little from them, y e t
among thefe particular varieties, there is one o f the iiland Zlarine,
near Sebenics, remarkableenough ■„ for there, the Stari-fvat
(who may naturally be fuppofed drunk at that hour) mulinatone
blow, with his naked broad fword, ftrike the bride’s crown
o f flowers off her head, when (he is ready to go to bed. And
in the ifland o f Pago, in the village o f Novoglia, (probably-the
Gijfa o f ancient Geographers') there, is a cuftom more comical*
and lefs dangerous, but' equally favage and brutal. After thè
marriage
marriage contradl is fettled, and the bridegroom comes to conduit
his bride to church ; her father, or mother, in delivering
her over to him, makes5 an exaggerated enumeration o f her ill
qualities; “ Know, finee thou wilt have her, that llie is good for
“ nothing, ill riatured, obftiriate, & c .” ; On which the bridegroom,
affedting an angry look, turns to the young woman, with an
“ A h ! finee it is fo, I will teach you to behave better •” and
at the fame time regales her with ii blow, or a kick, or fdffle
piece o f iimilar gallantry, which is by no means figurative.
And it ferns in general, that the Morlack women, and perhaps
the greafeft part o f the Dalmatians, the inhabitants o f the cities
excepted, do not diflike 4 beating, either ftom their hufbands,
or lovers.
In the neigbourhood o f Dernifh, the women are obliged,
during the firft year after marriage, to kifs all their national
acquaintances who come to the houfe, but after the firft
year, they are difpenfed from.that compliment, and, indeed,
they become fo intolerably nafty, that they are no longer fit to
pradiife it. Perhaps the mortifying manner in which they are
treated by their huibafidsV'%tid felatiortsi ’ is, riAt the fame time,
both the caufe and eftedl- of this (harmful negledt o f their per-
fons. When a Morladli hufoiilid mentibns>ftnsb‘wife, he always
premifes, by your leave, or -begging-’ yeur pardon.. And when
the huiband has a bedftead, the wife muft fleep on the floor
near it. 1 have often lodged in Morlack-houfes, and obferved,
that the female fex is univerfally treated-with cbntempt; it is
true, that the women are by- no means, amiable in that country ;
they even deform, and fpoil the gifts o f nature.
Thff