maturity, and she was forbidden to see the sun or receive visits even from the men of her own family. The sun probably has a religious significance. Its fertilizing powers were well known to early peoples, and they probably connected it in some way with birth and procreation.

High Degree of Morality Among Primitives.-As has already been indicated, early peoples had a sense of morality despite their barbarism. We find an astonishing morality even among the savage races still existing.

The Kaffir woman, for instance, is extremely chaste and modest.

Among the inhabitants of Lob-nor, a people whose social scheme is wretched in the extreme, immorality is severely punished.

In New Guinea chastity is strictly maintained and immorality is punished.

Mr. Winwood Reade tells us that among the Equatorial Africans, the girl who disgraces her family by wantonness is banished from her clan. He adds that in cases of seduction the man is flogged-sometimes killed. Nevertheless, it must be mentioned that some African tribes have no morality whatever and live even to-day in a state of promiscuity.

Among various Northern Indians girls were from early age prohibited by custom from joining in the most innocent amusements with boys. Even the girl of seven or eight was guarded rigidly and forbidden to play with children of the opposite sex.

Tribes of the East Coast in Madagascar have a high morality. The sexes are separated in early life and the girls are carefully guarded.

The Corean girl is taught that it is disgraceful to permit herself to be seen or spoken to by a man outside of her family circle. Perhaps this accounts for her great modesty. After the age of eight she is forbidden to enter the men's quarters of her own home. She is scrupulously kept from any sort of intercourse with the male sex until

marriage. No modern débutante receives more protection than the young Corean miss.

The Original "Coming-Out" Party.-The "coming-out" party of modern life seems to be a vestige or relic of the time when girls "came out" of the huts where they had been imprisoned—and were offered in marriage to the highest bidder, the best hunter, or the man betrothed in infancy, according to the custom of the people.

Coming out of the hut symbolized to early peoples the putting away of the old life of childhood and sexlessness -the taking up of the new life of young womanhood and its responsibilities. Like all changes in life, it was dramatized. We can see these early "débuts"-the girls half glad and half sad, thrilled with their new freedom, proud of their momentary importance, afraid of their new duties, for all the world as excited as the débutante of to-day! And we can see the men dancing around them, painted and decorated for the occasion, shouting and feasting and dancing in weird pantomime-making a ceremony of the business of selecting a bride.

In modern American society the proper age for the début is eighteen. There are usually a dance and a dinner —and, if the truth be known, a set of young men and a set of young women studying one another with an eye for matrimonial possibilities!

Of course, the débutante of to-day is far removed from the débutante of yesterday who was imprisoned in a hut and who, more frequently than not, had her husband selected for her. Each new generation does things which the generation before would have considered "impossible"; and each fading generation laments the boldness and self-assertiveness of the new. But human nature is essentially the same as it was ages ago, and life goes on in the same old groove, scarcely changing its course despite the automobile and the freedom it has brought, despite the rolled stockings and the cigarette case of the girl who

breaks down traditions, despite the new generations that are constantly treading upon the toes of the old.

The débutante of to-day is taken to Europe, as a rule, to get a glimpse of foreign social life. She is instructed at home, if she is not fortunate enough to be given the European trip; but by no means may she "come out" until she knows precisely what to do and say, precisely what is expected of her as a member of society.

In primitive life, we find that it was the custom to prepare youth for their mutual relations in later life. The Swahili girls at puberty were, and still are to some extent, instructed in matters relating to sex and motherhood. The Apache girls on arriving at the marrigeable age were instructed by the chief in the duties and responsibilities of married life. Among various African tribes, and among certain Australian peoples, the girls were entrusted with such feminine lore as the woman possessed, and were instructed in matters of importance concerning marriage and motherhood. The boys were instructed in all the secrets of tribal history and religion, and the cherished tribal myths and legends were related to them.

The girls alone did not suffer in primitive life. They were imprisoned and they were obliged to accept in matrimony men they had never seen before, but the boys had to undergo cruel and barbarous initiation customs. Tests of endurance were imposed upon them. Among certain peoples they were beaten; among others they were obliged to fast for long periods. Among many savage peoples it was the custom for a finger to be cut off, or a tooth or two knocked out. It was a curious belief among savages that to remove or sacrifice one part of the body was to purify the whole.

These ceremonies of initiation form an important part of savage life. In Australia there is a universal law which forbids a youth to marry until after the ceremonies of initiation have been concluded. At these ceremonies the boy is sometimes given instruction in his future duties.

No boy is considered a man until he has gone through the initiation ceremonies prescribed by his particular tribe.

Incidentally, it is very possible that our custom of initiation among young people seeking admission to clubs or fraternities had its origin in the customs of initiation among primitive peoples-customs which changed the status of boy to man.

A "Début" Dance among the Indians.-If you have ever witnessed a true Indian dance you know that you can never forget the thrill of it, the almost uncanny eloquence of it. It is almost like a language. The weird steps and pantomimic gestures of the dancers seem to speak.

Secretary of the Interior Work recently received a re port from the superintendent of the Reno Indian reservation in Nevada, telling of the unique "début" dance which is still a prominent part of the social life of the Washoe Indians. We quote the following from a New York newspaper:

The dance or ceremony is called "the girl's dance," and the girl who is the central figure eats nothing for a period of four days. On the fourth night the dance is held, beginning at eight o'clock in the evening and continuing until sunrise the following morning. It consists of the Indians joining hands in a circle and moving by short dance-steps sideways around the ring, humming a sort of chant without words or meaning. The girl, accompanied by some older woman, evidently a chaperon, carries a long staff to support her because of her weakness through loss of food during her fast, weaves in and out of the dance, and joins in the steps.

As the dance proceeds late into the night, the family of the girl give money and other possessions to the dancers to keep them moving and to induce others to join in the dance, the greatest number of dancers signifying the popularity of the family. Shortly after midnight a big feast is given by the girl's relatives, all present participating.

The ceremony closes at sunrise, when the girl is taken inside of her tepee and attired in bunches of sagebrush, in which money is concealed. She appears later before the assembled dancers outside and throws the money to them amid a wild scramble. A can of

water is then dashed over her head, concluding the ceremony, after which she is ready to receive a proposal of marriage.

Many Indians, like those of the Reno reservation, have preserved their age-old customs and ceremonials. We see in all of them an inclination to celebrate with dance and pantomime the important periods of life. And there are few celebrations as elaborate and impressive as those that, in various tribes, mark the change from girlhood to young womanhood-the period during which the young woman "comes out" and is ready for marriage.

The Chaperon in Antiquity.—In an early social scheme where girls were kept secluded and sexual tabus were made and enforced, one can see the importance of the "chaperon." She was the guardian of the tribal chastity; she was the protector of the unmarried girls; she saw that the tribal tabus were obeyed.

We to-day consider sinful what primitive man considered dangerous and contrary to the natural laws. That eliminates, to a certain extent, the need for a "chaperon." But a few examples will show how absolutely essential she was in early life.

Among many African, Australian, and early Asiatic peoples, the girl who was betrothed in infancy to some important person was kept secluded in a small cage until she was ready for marriage. The man of importance would see that she was carefully guarded and kept from all intercourse with the other sex. He would select a woman whom he trusted, and place the girl in her care. This woman was the original chaperon.

After betrothal in Nias, Borneo, and the Watubella Islands no communication between the pair is permitted until the day of the wedding. To enforce this custom the girl is carefully guarded by a woman retained for the purpose. This woman, like the chaperon of more recent times, accompanies the betrothed girl wherever she goes. Similarly, in Buru, Ceram, and Luang Sermata a youth,