arrying
it each in turn. As soon as they reach the church the child is handed
to the father, who presents it for baptism. Not a girl in the place
would renounce her right to take part in the little procession,
for it is a subject of boasting when she marries to be able to say,
'I have accompanied this and that child to its baptism'. Besides,
it is supposed to ensure happiness, and that she in her turn will
have a goodly number of little ones.

"'Well and how about betrothals?' 'Ah! ha! that's another thing. The
girl chooses the lad. You know the old proverb, 'There are only
two things a girl chooses herself--her potatoes and her lover'. You
can well imagine how such things begin. They see each other at the
_kermis_, or in the street, or fields. Then one fine day the lad
feels his heart beating louder than usual. In the evening he puts on
his best coat, and goes up to the house where the girl lives.

"The father and mother give him a welcome, which the girls smile at,
and nudge each other. No one refers to the reason for his visit, though
of course it is well known why he is there. At last, when bedtime
comes, the children retire--even the father and mother go to their
room--and the girl is left alone at the fireside with the young man.

"They speak of this and that, and everything, but not a word of love
is uttered. If the girl lets the fire go down, it is a sign she does
not care for the lad, and won't have him for a husband. If, on the
contrary, she heaps fuel on the fire, he knows that she loves him
and means to accept him for her affianced husband. In the first case,
all the poor lad has to do is to open the door and retire, and never
put his foot in the house again. But, in the other, he knows it is
all right, and from that day forward he is treated as if he belonged
to the family.'

"'And how long does the engagement last?'

"'Oh, about as long as everywhere else--two, three years, more or less,
and that is the happiest time of their lives. The lad takes his girl
about everywhere; they go to the _kermis_, skate, and amuse themselves,
and no one troubles or inquires about them. Even the girl's parents
allow her to go about with her lover without asking any questions.'"

A Dutch proverb says, "Take a Brabant sheep, a Guelderland ox,
a Flemish capon and a Frisian cow". The taking of the Frisian cow
certainly presents few difficulties, for the surface of Friesland
is speckled thickly with that gentle animal--am