Divination by cards is not so much known in Wales as in England, and this is more popular in towns than country places. CHAPTER II. WEDDING CUSTOMS. In times past, Wales had peculiar and most interesting, if not excellent, Wedding Customs, and in no part of the country were these old quaint customs more popular, and survived to a more recent date than in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. Therefore this book would be incomplete without giving a full description of them. When a young man and a young woman had agreed together to marry "for better for worse," they were first of all to inform their parents of the important fact. Then in due time, the young man's father, taking a friend with him, proceeded to interview the young woman's father, so as to have a proper understanding on the subject and to arrange different matters, especially concerning dowry, etc. I am writing more especially of a rural wedding among the farmers. The young woman's father would agree to give with his daughter, as her portion, household goods of so much value, a certain sum of money, and so many cows, pigs, etc.; and the young man's father, on his part, would agree to grant his son so much money, horses, sheep, hay, wheat and other things, so that the young couple might have a good start in the married life, "i ddechreu eu byd,"--to begin their world, as we say in Welsh. Sometimes the young man's father on such occasions met with opposition on the part of the young woman's father or mother or other relations, at least we read that it happened so in the case of the heir of Ffynonbedr, near Lampeter, long ago; for it seems that when he tried to secure the daughter of Dyffryn Llynod, in the parish of Llandyssul, as his bride, the reply was in Welsh rhyme as follow:-- "Deunaw gwr a deunaw cledde, Deunaw gwas yn gwisgo lifre, Deunaw march o liw'r scythanod, Cyn codi'r ferch o Ddyffryn Llynod." Anglicised, this meant that she could not be secured without coming for her with eighteen gentlemen bearing eighteen swords; eighteen servants wearing livery; and eighteen horses of the colour of the woodpigeon. But such opposition was not often to be met with. After the parents had arranged these matters satisfactorily, the next preliminary and important step was to send forth a gwahoddwr, or Bidder, from house to house, to bid or invite the guests to the Bidding and the Wedding. In connection with these old interesting customs, there were the Bidding or invitation to the wedding; the Bidder, whose duty it was formally to invite the guests; the Ystafell, or the bride's goods and presents; the purse and girdle; the Pwython; and the Neithior.