pay addresses to

At this time of day one no longer expected to have the disposal of one's daughter's hand, or to be asked for permission to pay addresses to her, if the man who paid them was justified in doing so by his social and financial position, and probably even less so if he wasn't.

You may have asked yourself why I should have pleaded with you, as I have done, for permission for my son to pay addresses to your daughter.

In England the young man asks the consent of the parents to pay addresses to their daughter.