It has long been a common observation among mankind, that love is the
most fruitful source of invention; and that in this case the imagination
of a woman is still more fruitful of invention and expedient than that
of a man; agreeably to this, we are told, that the women of the island
of Amboyna, being closely watched on all occasions, and destitute of the
art of writing, by which, in other places, the sentiments are conveyed
to any distance, have methods of making known their inclinations to
their lovers, and of fixing assignations with them, by means of
nosegays, and plates of fruit so disposed, as to convey their sentiments
in the most explicit manner: by these means their courtship is generally
carried on, and by altering the disposition of symbols made use of, they
contrive to signify their refusal, with the same explicitness as their
approbation. In some of the neighboring islands, when a young man has
fixed his affection, like the Italians, he goes from time to time to her
door, and plays upon some musical instrument; if she gives consent, she
comes out to him, and they settle the affair of matrimony between them;
if, after a certain number of these kind of visits, she does not appear,
it is a denial; and the disappointed lover is obliged to desist.
We shall see afterward when we come to treat of the matrimonial compact,
that, in some places, the ceremony of marriage consists in tying the
garments of the young couple together, as an emblem of that union which
ought to bind their affections and interests. This ceremony has afforded
a hint for lovers to explain their passion to their mistresses, in the
most intelligible manner, without the help of speech, or the possibility
of offending the nicest delicacy. A lover in these parts, who is too
modest to declare himself, seizes the first opportunity he can find, of
sitting down by his mistress, and tying his garment to hers, in the
manner that is practised in the ceremony of marriage: if she permits him
to finish the knot, without any interruption, and does not soon after
cut or loose it, she thereby gives her consent; if she looses it, he may
tie it again on some other occasion, when she may prove more propitious;
but if she cuts it, his hopes are blasted forever.