Everlasting Pearl | Page 5

had been urging a speedy engagement.
He took the girl's Pah tsï,[1] and went with these to a family of the
name of Hsü, who lived in a village four miles distant. The Cyclical
Characters were closely examined, and put in front of the ancestral
tablet, incense being lighted before them morning and evening. There
they remained for a month, and as nothing happened to disturb the
peace of the family during the interval--no child was hurt, no pig died,
no rice basin was broken--they were thought to augur only good luck,
and to promise well for the alliance of the two families. So Mr. Hsü
made out the "Cyclical Characters" of one of his sons, a young man
twenty-five years old. He then called in an astrologer, and asked him to
compare the two papers and give his verdict as to the advisability of the
two young people being joined in marriage. With an important air, this
gentleman examined the two papers put before him, and announced that
everything was in favour of such an alliance. Several of their characters
were alike, the two young people were both born under the "Tiger," and
other things agreed as well. Whereupon the two families expressed
their satisfaction, and declared themselves ready to arrange for an
engagement.
But now the middleman had a busy time of it, for there were many
things to settle before the engagement could take place. First of all, he
went to Mr. and Mrs. Tu, and asked how much money they would want
for their daughter. "As she is our only daughter, we want her to have a
good outfit," replied the parents, "so Mr. Hsü must give at least $40 and
some good clothes." The list was then made out--$40, ten articles of
clothing, a ring, two bracelets, a pair of earrings, and three silver hair
ornaments. The indefatigable middleman took the list to the Hsü family,
who looked at it critically. After some time of haggling over the
different articles, they finally agreed to furnish all, and preparations
were begun in full earnest.
The day appointed for the engagement arrived, and there was great
excitement in the two homes which were filled with visitors and
well-wishers. The feast on both sides had to be provided by the young

man's family. About dinner-time, on the day appointed, a party, headed
by the middleman, was seen advancing toward Kucheng, carrying a
sort of wooden box or basket, with several trays, one piled on top of the
other. One tray carried all sorts of sweetmeats and the half of the
money, twenty dollars, wrapped in red paper. Another tray was filled
with pork and fish; again, another with different kinds of expensive
vegetables. Another carrier brought the engagement cake, and five
articles of clothing, and all the silver ornaments. Everywhere, scattered
among all the things, were cypress leaves, a symbol of longevity and
good luck.
On reaching the Tu home, the men with their precious burdens were
received with fire-crackers, and eagerly all the things were examined,
some of them meeting with approval, others with disapproval. After
dinner the party started off again for the Hsü home, taking the return
presents. These consisted of the following articles--a hat, a pair of
shoes and stockings, a sash, a number of embroidered purses, with a
few dollars in them, also some vegetable seeds, peanuts, sunflower
seeds, etc. Most of these things were graciously received by the young
man and his family, and the parents on both sides were satisfied.
The Engagement Agreement, as binding as a marriage certificate, had
been signed by the two families, and Everlasting Pearl's parents had
returned it to Mr. and Mrs. Hsü. The girl of thirteen had her future
settled for her before she had any idea of what such a future might
mean. Her little girl-friends teased her, but there was an added respect
in their treatment of her. She dimly realised that somehow she had risen
in their estimation and that of others. The change was rather a pleasant
one, the new clothes were a welcome addition to her scanty wardrobe,
and she was too young to worry about the future.
[Illustration: Writing the engagement document. As binding as a
marriage certificate.]

[1] The Eight Cyclical Characters appertaining to the hour of a person's
birth.

CHAPTER V
MARRIAGE--
PART I
Again we pass over a few years. Everlasting Pearl had now reached the
age of seventeen, and her future husband was twenty-nine years old;
therefore the day of the wedding was drawing near. The intervening
years between engagement and marriage had been busy ones. Little by
little the trousseau had been prepared, and was all ready. A lucky day,
the third of the eleventh moon, had been chosen for the approaching
wedding; and already,