The Shasta courier., 1862-08-02
SH ASIA COURIER.
Love and Marriage in Persia.

about eleven or twelve years old-the age at
which Persian ladies are supposed to have
matrimonial yiews-a marriage broker waits
upon him. and endeayors to strike bargain
for her. The broker. generally molah or
priest, will perhaps offer from one to two
hundred tomauns. or say from one to two
hundred pounds English money, as a fair
price for a young lady. The bargain COM
plcted, the girl probably becomes the wife of
some of khan, rich enough to afford himself
such luxury, and to give the broker a hand
some profit on the transaction. 1t is usually
all a matter business. and man posting up
his accounts at the end of the year might note
down that upon such a day he bought la
dy, pretty much as if he had purchased a
fine Turcoman horse or an English rifle on
iy the price of the two latter articles would
he considerably higher tnan that of the first.
1t is seldom that either of the parties have
previously seen each other. so that the lift
ing of the veil on the wedding day may be a
delightful surprise, or gloom Of disappoint-
ment, according to the circumstances.
A Persian bride, when first bought, is a
queer little body, fattened up with rice and
sweatmeats for the occasion, and sadly be-
smeared with cosmetics. Collyrium has
been put in her eyes to make them dark ard
languishing, and they are also elongated by
some means, so that they may have the shape
OF almonds Her hair is dyed of a coal black
by indigo, or of a redish brown by indigo
ard henna mixed with it, according to her
own fancy or that of the broker. Her eye-
brows are plastered, and painted so thickly
that they look like a large piece of court
plaster cut into arches stuck on her face. |
say large piece, because they are joined
artificially by a thick line across the nose
gIer cheeks are painted in exceedingly bright
colors, and two shiny locks of hair, gummed
together, are stuck fast ON each side of them
in the shape of number skies, placed the
wrong way, Her hands and feet, finger
nails, and toe nails, are dyed light mahog.
any color with the henna. She has no more
shape or figure than a boldster Poor little
thing She plays such tricks with herself.
generally. that at twenty she is an old wo.
man, with her skin all shriveled and burnt
by caustics and poisoned pricks of needles.
This odd understood creature waddles
about the apartment of her new lord in the
finest and largest twowsers possible. She
puts on great many pairs of them and is
as proud Of the size of her legs as a British
damsel is of the size of her crinoline She
wears a smart embroidered jacket with short
sleeves, and pretty chemisctte of some light
white silk material, embroidered with gold
threads; but her arms, end legs and neck
are bare. She hangs upon her little person
as L-any jewels. gold coins and trinkets as
she can possibly get at. She is especially
fond of pearls and diamonds, but is not par
ticular as to their beauty or value; da-
mond is diamond to her. whatever flaw it
may have; pearl is pearl, whatever its
shape or color may be. She is very fine but
never elegant. Her mind is entirely uncul-
tivated. She has neither education nor ao
compishments, but she has good deal flow
cry talk about roses and nightingales, with
an under-current of strange roundabouts wit
and drollery. There is an utter want of del
icacy and modesty in her conversation. She
knows Il great many things which she ought
not to know, and child as sho is in years. she
would ontwit the wisest man who ever wore
q grey beard.
One Of the first visits she receives after
her marriage will most probably be from her
father, who will tell her his home is cold and
eheerless since she left is, and that her mo-
ther is getting old. This pathetic appeal is
sure to touch her heart, and she will employ
the first money she can coax out of her hus-
band to buy her father new wife.
Indeed, the proceeding of taking lady
on a short lease, is common even among
Christians residing in Persia. A friend of
mine informed me that he visited Vanneck,
village near Teheran, some years ago, for
the purpose of making a marriage of this
kind. He and companion set down under
tree. smoking kaeons. while the village
damsels under command Of the priest sled by
for inspection. When his choice was fixed.
the lease was drawn ont in due FORM For
ty tomauns ia high rent-about twenty
pounds) was paid for dresses and fine clothes,
and thirty tomauns were agreed upon as the
price of divorce. The average price of an
Armenian lady is from ten to fifteen tomouns
They are horribly coarse and ugly, The
small pox makes shocking ravages among
them, tco.
Boys usually marry between twelve and
fourteen. They frequently marry their cous-
ins, but the race does not degenerate in con-
sequence, as it has been asccrtained to do in
other countries.
Children are not the source of embarYass
ment even to poor people that they are sup
posed sometimes to be in more civilized
countries. There need be no anxiety at all
about them, indeed. They can ALWAYS pick
mp rice enough somewhere, and the family
of a rich man is often far too numerous for
his children to expect to be rich men too
The Shah, however, is under some diff
Guilty occasionally in finding a new wife. A
Shah sent to enc OF the great khan to propose
for his daughter, a very beautiful woman
But her father begged that she might be ex
eused from so inconvenient an honor. for that
when his Majesty had enjoyed her society for
a month. he would probably forget all about
aier, and she must then, according to Gus
tom, rsesain in a state of wdowkood for
the rest Of her life. A shah being an awful
person is Persia. his Majesty is said to have
expressed s1eh resentment at being crossed
an his caprice, that for a long time the khan
did not marry his daughter to any one.
There appears to be no such thing as me-
salliance in Persia. One Of the innumera-
BILE sons Of Fat Ali Shah fell in love with
very old and ugly woman in humble life
The king tried to joke the young man out
OF tkis strange fancy. All sir. replied
the prince. IF yoc could only see her with
my eyes This vague answer of sententi-
Gus Oriental favor was considered to settle
the affair completely. and to reply to all ob
.leetions-which perhaps it did. Even the
present king has illustrated the prevailing
sentiments of his subjects very prettilv.@
Ills queen and favorite wife, Geiran, or she.
Sntelope. was a peasants daughter. who at
traeted his Malesty's attention one day as he
rode through village, and whom be has
al ava Al