, 1842-12-10

ttie bridegroom, so that we had ;
view of his person. An instrumen
not unlike our bagpipe was playing
drums were beating, and from time
TO time muskets were fired, in honor
OF the occasion. There was much
mirth expressed by the crowd, espe.
cia'ly when the procession stood still,
which it did every few PAGES. We
thought of the words Of John; "rhe
friend of the bridegroom, which stan
deth and heareth him, rejoiceth greafi
lty becauseiof the bridegroen.is Soicesr
At length the company arrived at the
entrance ofthe street where the bride
had her residence. Immediately we
heard the sound Of many female
voices. and observed, by the ligh, o!
the torches, Il company of veiled
bridesmaids. 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, Hail, hall,
hail." and music OF the voice and in
strument commenced within. Thus
the bridegroom entered in, land the
door was Shut We were left stand
ing in the street without, sin the
outer darkness" In our Lords para
bic. 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 mar
rage supper Of the Lamb begin. In
India and other parts Of the East, it
is the custom for the friends Of the
bride 10 go out to meet the compa-
ny.
ARAB DANCE AND soNG.-About sum
sci we left the rich bank of the Nile,
and entered again upon the painless
desert. We could not observe so
much as one footprint of man or
beast upon the smooth sand. Soon
we came upon the sea-shore, and rode
along the margin, the waves washing
The asses feet, while the moon rose
TO light us on our way. AT one point,
our drivers being weary. proposed
encamping for The night; but lmbraim
advised us 10 advnnce a little father.
Upon this the yong Arabs proceed
ed without a murmur, and. in order
10 cheer the way. began a native
dance and song. One Of them. adj
vancing a little before the rest, began
the song. dancing forward as he re-
peated the words: when all the rest,
following him in regular order, joined
in the chorus, keeping time by a ST.
m~ultaneous cIapping OF their hands.
They sang several of their Arabian
Songs in this way, responding to one
another, and dancing along the firm
sand of the sea-shore in the clear
beautiful moonlight. The response,
the dance, and the clapping of the
hands, brought many parts of the
word Of God TO our minds. We re-
membered the song of Miriam at the
Red sea, when "the women went out
after her with ,imbrels and with dan
ces; and Miriam answered them
that is, Miriam sang responsibility TO
them;-and also the song of the wo-
man Of Israel after David's victory
over the Giant, "they anSpered one
another as they played, and SAID.
Sau! hath slain his thousands, and Da.
vid his ten thousands" The words
Of the Psalmist were likewise brought
TO mind, 30 clap your hands, all We
people: shout unto God with the voice
of triumph; and again, .'Let, the floods
clap their hands; let the hills be joy
ful together i. e. in full choir. The
responsive form Of the l36th Psaml,
and others of a like kind. was fully
Illustrated by this interesting scene.
EASTERN cUsToM.--At the door of
the consur's rouse were many poor,
and manv diseased, hanging about in
expectation Of getting help from those
who visited him. We remembered
Lazarus laid at the rich mans gate
Atdinner we were still more interest
ed in observing a custom OF the
country. In the room where. we
were received, besides the divan on
which we sat, there were seats all
round the walls. Many came in
and took their place on these side
seats, unlimited and yet unchalleng-
ed. They spoke TO those at table on
business or the news Of the day, and
our host spoke freely to them. This
made us understand the scene in ST.
mons house at Bethany, where Jesus
=. r and Mary came IN and