The delicacy of a Lapland lady, which is not in the least hurt by being
drunk as often as she can procure liquor, would be wounded in the most
sensible manner, should she deign at first to listen to the declaration
of a lover; he is therefore obliged to employ a match-maker to speak for
him; and this match-maker must never go empty handed; and of all other
presents, that which must infallibly secures him a favorable reception
is brandy. Having, by the eloquence of this, gained leave to bring the
lover along with him, and being, together with the lover's father or
other nearest-male relation, arrived at the house where the lady
resides, the father and match-maker are invited to walk in, but the
lover must wait patiently at the door till further solicited. The
parties, in the mean time, open their suit to the other ladies of the
family, not forgetting to employ in their favor their irresistible
advocate brandy, a liberal distribution of which is reckoned the
strongest proof of the lover's affection. When they have all been warmed
by the lover's bounty, he is brought into the house, pays his
compliments to the family, and is desired to partake of their cheer,
though at this interview seldom indulged with a sight of his mistress;
but if he is, he salutes her, and offers her presents of reindeer skins,
tongues, &c.; all which, while surrounded with her friends, she pretends
to refuse; but at the same time giving her lover a signal to go out, she
soon steals after him, and is no more that modest creature she affected
to appear in company. The lover now solicits for the completion of his
wishes; if she is silent, it is construed into consent; but if she
throws his presents on the ground with disdain the match is broken off
forever.
It is generally observed, that women enter into matrimony with more
willingness, and less anxious care and solicitude, than men, for which
many reasons naturally suggest themselves to the intelligent reader. The
women of Greenland are however, in many cases, an exception to this
general rule. A Greenlander, having fixed his affection, acquaints his
parents with it; they acquaint the parents of the girl; upon which two
female negociators are sent to her, who, lest they should shock her
delicacy, do not enter directly on the subject of their embassy, but
launch out in praises of the lover they mean to recommend, of his house,
of his furniture, and whatever else belongs to him, but dwell most
particularly on his dexterity in catching seals. She, pretending to be
affronted, runs away, tearing the ringlets of her hair as she retires;
after which the two females, having obtained a tacit consent from her
parents, search for her, and on discovering her lurking place, drag her
by force to the house of her lover, and there leave her. For some days
she sits with dishevelled hair, silent and dejected, refusing every kind
of sustenance, and at last, if kind entreaties cannot prevail upon her,
is compelled by force, and even by blows, to complete the marriage with
her husband. It sometimes happens, that when the female match-makers
arrive to propose a lover to a Greenland young woman, she either faints,
or escapes to the uninhabited mountains, where she remains till she is
discovered and carried back by her relations, or is forced to return by
hunger and cold; in both which cases, she previously cuts off her hair;
a most infallible indication, that she is determined never to marry.