In England these are called “prudent marriages,” but when they occur in France the English speak of them with strong disapprobation as “business transactions.” This is an example of the great art of “putting things.” [Sidenote: Prudent Marriages.] [Sidenote: A real Case.] A prudent marriage is not necessarily a business transaction either in France or England. Let us consider a real case. A young gentleman (French or English) dislikes the idea of permanent celibacy, yet his income, though rather more than sufficient for a bachelor, is inadequate for the expenses of marriage. He marries a woman with some fortune. This cannot be described as “a business transaction” unless he gains by it, and in most cases he gains nothing, he only protects himself against social _déchéance_ or financial ruin. He acts without a view to profit, purely in self-defence. He wishes to marry without injuring himself; he does not wish to turn marriage into a profitable transaction. Nine-tenths of French marriages are made exactly in this way. [Sidenote: French Marriage Customs.] [Sidenote: The _Comme il faut_.] [Sidenote: Mutual Ignorance of French _Fiancés_.] [Sidenote: Dowerless French Girls.] [Sidenote: The Truth about French Marriages.] [Sidenote: Moderate Expectations.] [Sidenote: Ordinary French Dowries.] [Sidenote: Small Dowries.] French customs in contracting marriage differ from the English customs chiefly in this, that the French know so little of each other before they are betrothed (often nothing whatever), the marriage having been arranged by other people. Here is a real instance. A young gentleman of my acquaintance was engaged to one of two sisters before he had seen either, and when he met them together in a drawing-room he asked his mother which was to be his wife. This is a supremely perfect example of a genteel arrangement in France, where the less people know of each other before marriage the more are they _comme il faut_. I remember being much amused by the indignation of a very beautiful young French lady about a rumour that she had been wedded for love. She reiterated her assurance that it was a baseless fabrication, that her husband had only seen her once before their betrothal, and then quite formally in the presence of other people, and that their marriage had been entirely one of “_convenance_.” In short, she repelled the idea of love as if it had been a disgraceful and unmerited imputation.[81] English writers who wish to depreciate French people can scarcely exaggerate the mutual ignorance in which genteel French marriages are usually made. There are, however, occasional exceptions, and I myself have known a few French people who condemned the system strongly. As to the lower classes, especially the peasantry, courtship goes on almost after the English fashion. There are “_mariages d’inclination_” in all classes, though they become less and less frequent as you ascend the social scale.