Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-05-25
ROYAL WEBBING IN EGYPT
Marriage Festival OF the Vice
II rOy'S Oldest Daughter.
A Thousand Women PFesent-Sot q
MAN Manufacturers OF the
Bride and Attendants
~ The Dancing aud
Ceremonies.

4
Ceremonies.
a s5 esq W tN
s.a5
The following letter is from a
American lady.
CAIRO, Egypt, April 1.-Th
Rhamseen winds from the deseI
have almost suffocated US thes
past few days, and have filled u
with dust all the pores of the ski
until we feel like mummies. 1t i
a pity they should have come jus
now, for this week is a week o
Itetes, on account of the marriage 0
the Yiceroy's eldest daughter. A
truly Oriental rumor that has OK
cited our curiosity is that twenty
eight dressmakers have been i'm.
ported from Constantinople for ths
occasion, aud are now engaged day
and night in sewing diamonds on
the mosquito nettings of the happy
pair. The absence of butter at the
hotel is also accounted for by a
royal edict seizIng the whole supply
for the tetes, and proclaiming a fine
OF ESQ for any shopkeeper who
dares to sell it. As far as the show
goes, We have been very fortunate
in being here. We hate it all, in
remembrance of the poor souls in
Upper Egypt out of whom the
money is wrung; but in itself it has
been better worth seeing than any
Jete any of US have ever seen any
where else. The streets have been
thronged all day long with these
delicious natives, who cannot help
making pictures of themselves
every moment of their lives, and
every evening there has been re-
ally magnificent illumination at
the harem palace, where the
princess lives, and in all it's
neighborhood. The clear at
mosphere, the Rhamseen going
down always at sunset, is just the
thing for a successful illumination
and Oriental despots, when they
do anything Of the sort, do it on
the most princely scale, and so all
hands agree that st. Peters at
Rome, and Napoleon at Paris, have
been forever eclipsed.
The music and dancing were kept
mp sturdily for two or three hours,
when suddenly there was a move
ment at the extreme lower end of
the room, and the music ceased, and
the crowd was pushed back, and
put of some unknown region be-
yond came the most novel feature
Of the evening, the wedding pro-
cession. Great black men came
first, two and two, not merely half
l dozen, as one would expect, but
couple after couple, until some nine
" or one hundred stood IL, aeia
black Walls t~sPr"S ,s "a as one
sees III the Catholic churches, maxi
ing a double line of light and a
double line of darkness the whole
length of the great room. They
we're followed by young girls in the
gayest colors, each also holding a
light candelabrum of wax tapers,
who took their places side BY side
with the black men, and made a
wonderful effect of light and shade
first great black fellow, then q
brilliant little white girl, then an
other black, and so on. After them
came the musicians, the two Arab
bands, who had been playing
through the evening, and third OF
brass wind instruments, played adj
mirably by young girls dressed in
a military costume; after this came
a great number Of the slaves and
special attendants of the Princess
and the fat old dowagers who had
her in charge. When these had all
passed up and taken their places on
each side of the way, q roll of gold
colored broeads was brought in
and carefully unrolled all the length
of the room and then, supported
on each hand by her younger sis
tiers, and surrounded by still more
slaves and attendants, came the
poor young bride, white and trem-
bling, and literally covered from
head to foot with gold and jewels.
Her dress was heavy, white
damask, thickly embroidered with
gold, and her veil, or mantle, was
so loaded down with coins and
trinkets that it had TO be carried out
behind her by some of the slaves to
take the weight of it from her
head. The whole front OF her dress
was a mass of diamond and pearl
| necklaces, and in the midst of them,
| in comical contrast, was a photo
| graphic likeness, set in jewels, Of
her "narsty" old papa. She made
her way very slowly up the long
room to little boudoir at the end
| and after resting ten or fifteen min
utes, came slowly down again II
| Just the same way and disappeared
lin the darkness, followed by tn
whole procession.
| As soon as the crowd would per
mit-for you must remember tina
there were q thousand women l
the room and not one man-w
made our way up to see the httl
boudoir itself, which was no
! thrown open. "There was ricl
ness" for youl-the walls covere
from floor TO ceiling with artiticii
flowers, the divans all OF viii
: damask and gold, and all over IL
carpet thick sprinkling of go
= spangles which sparkled in q
light like so many diamonds. "
! gathered up few of them with o.
. plebian fingers, and then went baC
: into the room to find another &C
t emory going on-the distribute
: among the dancers of presents fro
o the Princess. These were broug
d in large velvet and satin cases, a
" 1 - 10 oo,,,ola hair ali a q