When a Circassian prince wishes to marry, he pays the father of the princess the value of two thousand rubles, in arms, horses, and cattle; and his father-in-law gives him a number of slaves in return. The prince of Circassia demanded from the neighboring prince of Mingrelia an hundred slaves loaded with tapestry, an hundred cows, an hundred oxen, and an hundred horses, as the price of his sister. The birth of a child, especially a boy, is celebrated with great festivities. A female infant has a wide leathern belt sewed around the waist, which continues till it bursts, and is then replaced by another. The bridegroom cuts this belt with his dagger, and on account of its extreme tightness fatal accidents sometimes occur. The children of princes are not brought up at home, but sent soon after their birth to the house of some nobleman, who is charged with their guardianship. The expenses of their education and marriage are paid by the noblemen, who receive no remuneration from the parents. A Circassian dwelling is divided into two parts, separated from each other by an inclosed court; one allotted to the husband and such guests as he chooses to invite, the other to the wife and family. If a European were to ask a Circassian concerning the health of his wife, he would angrily turn his back without condescending to reply. The lower classes, as usual, have more freedom than the higher; they often go abroad without veils. Girls marry between their twelfth and sixteenth year, and are considered quite old at eighteen. Their mothers teach them to embroider, and make dresses for themselves and their male relations. On the wedding day the father of the bride makes her a present, but he reserves the greater portion of what he intends to give her, until the birth of her first child. On this occasion she visits him, receives the remainder of her portion, and is clothed for the first time in the matron’s dress and veil. If there be rival lovers, they often decide the question by single combat, or engage friends in the quarrel, and the victorious party seizes the prize. If the bridegroom can prove any thing against the former character of his bride, he sends her back to her parents, who generally sell her as a slave. An unfaithful wife has her hair shaved, her ears clipped, and the sleeves of her robe cut off, and in this situation is sent home to her father on horseback, to be sold as a slave.