New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-01-16

a jewish Wedding tn Notwithstanding
and Bathing the Bride.

and Bathing the bride.
From the subioined sketch of Jewish
wedding in Algeria, extracted from the re-
cent work Of Lady Herbert on algeria in
ISL will be seen what a fearful and won
deriul thing the ceremony as practiccd at the
present day in that country is. Particularly
| harsh is it upon the poor bride, so much SO
that our American maids would doubtless de-
clare, almost 10 a man, that sooner than en-
dure all the stcaming, scrubbing, fumgating,
parboiling, dressing, undressing, hallooing,
psalm-singing, and miscellaneous torture de-
scrDed by the tourist, they would remain
single all their born days. The account runs
thus IN Lady 1Ierbert's language
We paused in our sightseeing to 60 with
Mime de c. and her beautiful daughter to
see Jewish wedding, for which she had
kindly obtained us an invitation. We were
received in an allowed room. where break
fast OF swectmcats, cakes, and sweet wines
was set out, the bride and her parents being
| seated on a divan on one end, dressed in rich
Jewish costume. After a short time we were
told to prcccdc the young lady to the Moorish
vapor bath, which is the next part of the
ceremony. Such a marvellous scene as there
met our eyes. | despair of reproducing on
paper. About fifty young Jewish girls, from
twelve to twenty years OF age, whose only
clothing was a scarf of gold or silver gauZe
round their loins, with their beautiful dark
hair all down their backs, and their lovely
white necks and arms covered with necklaces
and bracelets, were seen dimly standing in
the water through a cloud of steam and i'll
cense, waiting for the bride, and when she
appeared received her with loud shrill cries
} OF Ii! Ii! Lii" in continually ascending
scale.
Among these girls were hideous negresscs
equally scantily clothed, and one or two of
tha,, ,xifh fbnir h1acG vvnOl1y hoiy lrol
bright orange color; these were the bathing
women. They seized us by the arm and
wanted TO force liz to undress too, which we
stOutly resisted, and took refuge on the
raised marble slab which surrounded the bath,
and where the pretty little bride with her
mother and aunts, was standing waiting to
be unrobed too. They took of their heavy
velvet clothes, and she appeared in a bcauti-
ful gold-figurcd gauZe chemise and some
lovely short red and gold drawers they then
led her, with the same cries, into an inner
room, which was sitting with wet vapor and
steam, and there the poor child, who was
ionly thirteen, remained for three mortal
hours, the women pouring water on her
head from picturcsque-s shaped gold jars, and
every Kind of cosmetic and sweet scent being
rubbed upon her.
Being unable to stand the intense heat
and overpowering smell any longer, we es-
yNAl't IVA Al lHHc lilIO the open DuI
ietwned alter about an hour to find another
bride going through the same ceremonies.
some oil The bridesmaids were very beauti-
ia'; one especially, though Il Jcwess, had
regularly golden hair and blue ewes, And
The whole scene was like a ballet in the
opera, or rather a set of naads or water
nymphs in picture; not like anything i'm
real life. Their glorious hair floating over
Their shoulders, with their beautifully mod
l,tt ,ly.I T.,l
lasssssts themselves round the bride, would
my. qnyen sculptor or painter with wild
19nss But could not get over the in
io.At y OF the whole thing; it was a scene
e mqln0de with vengeance.
vAsHU O'Clock the following morning we
up snd went TO the brides house for the
mciufson OF The ceremony. a great crowd
Nno musicians were grouped in the
seNercMrt. Above the bride wat sitting i'm
stole, in the deep recess of a handsome Mo-
N uqrDom, vailed in white cauze. while n
rc ND kold figured scarf hung i'm graceful
foXb.belind her head. On either side If her
werefwo venerable looking old men with
lonc'white boards, and in front of her an
other, Sh6Iding n candelabrum with three
camdlcs. They were rabbis, and chanted
psalms alternately with songs Of praise about
The dove with the beautiful eye" &C.; in
iaci, sort of canticle. All this time the
III tuc tusiui1hS'S pe'o" "Sic
maxim: noise" while over the carved
gallery above, looking down upon them,
leaned variety of Jewish women, all beau
tiuiiy dressed in brown velvet and satin,
m " siomashers and CIRCLES richly brocaded
~ s4li, ana S.ld embroidered lappets hang
ing from the black silk head dress, which is
the invariabie costume of their race.
Inns wen, on Tor hours. till the poor little
bride looked quite worn out From time to
n me sr Sh.S h OF soup wsr put into her
she was conducted into Court below. where
the same ceremcnies wSre gone through, ex-
Ioept that species Of bufFoon danced before
her, and was rewarded BY ten ,en-frsnc bits
PIT into his mouth, which be kept IN check
While drawing out queer kind OF cong,
"'llch We SUPPOSED was witty, - the aud
'he5. "ere in fits Of laughter. Everything
fSS Done, both up stairs and down, TO make
hide laugh, even to chuckling and pulling
under the chin. But she remained im-