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drums go before them; and they are lighted by a number of massals, which..... are nothing else but many pieces of old linen, squeezed hard against one another, in a round figure, and forcibly thrust down into a mould of copper. Those who hold them in one hand, have in the other a bottle of the same metal with the mould of copper, which is full of oil, and they take care to pour out of it, from time to time, upon the linen, which otherwise gives no light. Immediately behind the palanquin of the new married couple walk many women, whose business it is to sing verses, wherein they wish them all kinds of prosperity. Perhaps it is of such as these that the Scripture speaks- All the daughters of music shall be brought low.'. . . . . Among the Armenians, a wealthy bridegroom wears on his head either a coronet, or a garland of gold and silver."CALMET.

MARRIAGE AT SERAMPORE.

"At a marriage, the procession of which I saw some years ago, the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession : some of them had lost their lights, and were unprepared, but it was then too late to seek them; and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed on a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and then went into the house, the door of which was imme

diately shut, and guarded by keepers.

I and others expostulated with the door-keepers, but in vain." WARD'S View of the Hindoos.

NESTORIAN MARRIAGES.

"The marriage contract, or rather the dowry, having been settled, the parties are betrothed, when the damsel becomes the espoused wife of her future husband. There is often an interval of years between the espousal and the marriage. The espousal is notwithstanding regarded as a solemn rite; and although there is not so much as an interchange of conversation between the bride and bridegroom, they are nevertheless considered and spoken of as husband and wife. Among the modern Jews, the bridegroom puts a ring on the finger of his bride, saying, 'By this ring thou art my spouse, according to the custom of Moses and the children of Israel.' Among the Nestorians, the betrothment is celebrated with nearly the same religious solemnity as in a marriage. A feast is prepared at the house of the damsel's father, and with all due formality; a ring is consecrated by a bishop or priest, and presented by the young man to his intended spouse, through some discreet matron who has the confidence of all parties. If the ring is accepted by the damsel, she puts it upon her finger, and from that time becomes his betrothed wife. At the same time the affianced husband pays a sum of money and a quantity of grain, which may be regarded in the light of purchase money.”—See GRANT'S Nestorians, pp. 197, 198.

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Among the Nestorians, no young man thinks of making a marriage contract for himself. In case the father is dead, the eldest brother takes the father's place. Where the intended bride lives at a distance, the matter is sometimes intrusted to some faithful servant or agent, as was done by Abraham in relation to his son Isaac. This event was remarkably illustrated by the history of

a marriage that took place a short time since among the Nestorians in the mountains. Indeed, there was such a remarkable coincidence of names and circumstances, that it seemed like acting over again that most interesting part of sacred history. The Nestorian patriarch Abraham...who was in the place of a father to his younger brother Isaac, being desirous of procuring a wife for his foster-son, sent his most trusty steward to a distant part of the country to obtain one from among his own people. The servant took with him jewels and raiment for the future wife of Isaac, and presents for her near relatives. He was no less prosperous than the servant of his master's namesake, the ancient patriarch Abraham. Only let the reader substitute mules for camels (which are not used in this mountainous country,) and I may refer to the close of the 24th chapter of Genesis for the sequel. The damsel was brought to the house of this modern patriarch, and 'Isaac took her, and she became his wife, and he loved her.'". GRANT'S Nestorians, p. 197.

ARMENIAN MARRIAGES.

"I was once present at the solemnization of matrimony amongst the Armenians. The various festivities attendant on these occasions continue for three days; and during the last night the marriage is celebrated. I was conducted to the house of the bride, where I found a very large assemblage of persons. The company was dispersed through various rooms; reminding me of the directions of our Saviour, in regard to the choice of the lower rooms at feasts. On the ground-floor, I observed that the persons convened were of an inferior order of the community, whilst in the upper rooms were assembled those of higher rank. The large number of young females who were present, naturally reminded me of the wise and foolish virgins in our Saviour's parable. These being friends of the bride, the virgins, her companions,

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had come to meet the bridegroom. It is usual for the bridegroom to come at midnight; so that, literally, at midnight the cry is made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. But on this occasion, the bridegroom tarried; it was two o'clock before he arrived.

"The whole party then proceeded to the Armenian church, where the bishop was waiting to receive them." -HARTLEY'S Researches in Greece, p. 209.

"The Armenian brides are veiled during the marriage ceremony; and hence deceptions have occurred, in regard to the person chosen for wife. I am informed, that on one occasion, a young Armenian, at Smyrna, solicited in marriage a younger daughter, whom he admired. The parents of the girl consented to the request, and every previous arrangement was made. When the time for solemnizing the marriage arrived, the elder daughter, who was not so beautiful, was conducted by the parents to the altar, and the young man was unconsciously married to her. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was the elder daughter. The deceit was not discovered till it could not be rectified; and the manner in which the parents justified themselves was precisely that of Laban: It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born!' It is really the rule amongst the Armenians, that neither a younger son nor daughter be married, till their elder brother or sister have preceded them. It was in conversation with an Armenian of Smyrna, that this fact was related to me. I naturally exclaimed, Why, that is just the deception which was practised upon Jacob.' 'What deception?' he exclaimed. the Old Testament is not yet translated into any language with which the Armenians are familiar, he was ignorant of the story. Upon giving him a narration of Jacob's marriage, he assented to it at once, as a circumstance in no respect improbable." HARTLEY'S Researches in Greece, pp. 207, 208.

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MARRIAGES IN EGYPT.

"We heard the sound of music and mirth, and, running to the window, observed the glare of torches in the street. We were told that it was the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride.' Some of us instantly set out to witness the spectacle of an Eastern marriage. The bridegroom was on his way to the house of the bride. According to custom, he walked in procession through several streets of the town, attended by a numerous body of friends, all in their showy Eastern garb. Persons bearing torches went first, the torches being kept in full blaze by a constant supply of ready wood from a receiver, made of wire, fixed on the end of a long pole. Two of the torch-bearers stood close to the bridegroom, so that we had a view of his person. Some were playing upon an instrument not unlike our bagpipe, others were beating drums, and from time to time muskets were fired in honour of the occasion... At length the company arrived at the entrance of the street where the bride resided. Immediately we heard the sound of many female voices, and observed by the light of the torches, a company of veiled bridemaids, waiting on the balcony to give notice of the coming of the bridegroom. When they caught a sight of the approaching procession, they ran back into the house, making it resound with the cry, ‘Halil, halil, halil!' and music both vocal and instrumental commenced within. Thus the bridegroom entered in, and the door was shut! We were left standing in the street without in the outer darkness.' In our Lord's parable, the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom with lamps in their hands, but here they only waited for his coming. Still we saw the traces of the very scene described by our Lord, and a vivid representation of the way in which Christ shall come to his waiting church, and the marriage supper of the Lamb begin."-Narrative of a Mission of Enquiry to the Jews, pp. 56, 57.

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