Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1846-12-04
BLOOMINGTON, IOWA, FRIDAY DECEMBER 4, 1916.

" al ~ Po'0u iii IoIS CtiSFcu lOVhS upUH
the forehead, and stained all orange ,awny
color by the use of benna. AT the back
its raven and glossy tin. remains where i,
is plated in long ends, each suspending a
golden coin. Observing the curiosity with
which noticed the several articles of their
dress, the young Jewesses proposed thai,
should proceed to the dressing room, TO
amuse myself with an inspection Of their
wardrobe.
The apartment was surrounded with ia
panncd and curiously inlaid cabinets, filled
with rich lunics, and various 'raimen, Of
needlework,' with 'vestures of gold, wro'l
about with divers colors' The chudders
or envelopes, destined 10 be worn in pub.
lie, were all Of fine white cotton, ingeni-
ous!y embroidered, to allow the wearer
full liberty Of observation through the in
ierslIces Of the deicately wrought flowers
which composed il, With the exception
OF the NJ ala, ,alisman, the necklaces, head
ornaments. bracelets, and bangles, were
chiefly composed Of small coins, suspend
ed by ornamental chains. The largest
adopted for this purpose was the zeckin,
but many were extremely minute, with u
superscrip,ion differing from any l had
before seen.
Three eastern languages appeared equal.
~ familiar to all the members Of this fam.
lily. Some jocose traveller in continent
tai diligence. has recorded his surprise a,
hearing the children Of the villages speak
such admirable French. A HALEY bury
student. gToaning eve. the roots OF The
most difficult, and copious language in the
world, would have been similarly struck
TO find grammatical Arabic lisped from lie
mouths of babes and Persian. sofi, har.
monious Persian. flowing sweelly from .
gi:lish voice, and sounding as if i. should
be 'wri, on salin.' With myself they
cha,ted in tue harsher Hindoslanee, Ian.
guage FL only TO be spoken TO slave. be-
ing full. of authority and command, brief
and uncourteous. am now, however.
speaking somewhat ungralefully Of the
means by which l acquired grea. deal Of
interesting information from my amiabie
companions. on the manners Of their peo-
me a distinct accoun! Of the ceremonies
observed a, her late marriage, which TO
me were quite novel. Ii appears that.
youth desiring 10 form union with one
of the fair daughters Of this tribe, consulis
hi. mother on the occasion. who. decI-
ding on the maiden she prefers among her
acqnainace, refers TO the parents for their
consent. This obtained, she formally IN
vi.cs her female friends TO accompany her
to the nomination of her sons be''olhed.
The intended bride, being duly acquainted
with the time of The expected Visits found
seated on rich cushion closely ve:!ed
her hands and feet dyed with benny. and
surrounded by group of Jewish maidens.
The mother of her sutton, after fitting
conversation, presents her with costly
ring, as the ACT Of belro.hment; the wo-
men then join in singing ,he:praises OF the
bride, and engage in dnirlh and fc.'ivi'y
until the morrow. When the period ar
rives for the celebration Of the marriage,
curtain is drawn across the principal
apartment in the house Of the brides ia'h-
er on one side of which the lady is seated
with her female relations and friends, and.
on the other, the bridegroom, with the
pries, of the synagogue and the male rel
a,iyes of both families. A rabbi then ILLS
cup with wine, and drops into i! metals
of three kinds, copper. silver. and gold. -
The bridegroom, after drinking portion
of il, returns the cup to the priest; II Is
then carried 10 the bride, WHO. after dral
ming the contents, throws the vessel upon
The ground. When the bride. q! the con-
clusion of this ceremony, is about to qui
the apartment, goat is SLAIN a, the lhresh'
hold, and the nup,ial party step over It III
rotation as The bride herself passes,
cake Of unleavened breed is broken ove
her head, and The fragments DIVIDED among
the relatives. Nup,ial festivities are con
,inued for seven days; and on the eighth
feast is given 10 which the priest, re!a
,ives, and friends are generally invi1ed--
A, its conclusion every guest offers iri
fling gift of money or jewels TO The raoo'
who, as lie accepts each. repeats alou'
the name of the donor, which is receive
with general cheer. An ephiihalam'u'I
is then sung. and the marriage is com
plete.
Cross Somebody says
we don't believe it,-iha, he once knew
widow in Onondaga county, N. Y. VIII
Gu, on, her own daughter in the good or;
ces Of her lover, and married him herself
To obtain revenge for This mean, unmo:l
er,v trick. the daughter SET her cap FOR III
youur mans rich father (of whom h
was The only heir.) and actually marie
: him. and had children to the infinite al
noyance of the other parties. Of cours
The children of each family were cousins
Il, cunts uepheWs. and heices