The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-02-10
A SYRIAN WEDDING.

''What do those shriekS mean" !
asked of my friend. an American mis-
sionary in Zahloh one evening, as we
were sitting quietly around his table
talking of home.
"Oh, it's Syrian wedding" he an
swered, in such matter OF. fact, uncon-
cerned way, concluded that there was
no immediate risk of life necessarily as
sociated even with such a matrimonial
riot as had just commenced in the town
below us, and that these yells were as
ordinary an accompaniment of mar
riage in Syria as wedding bells are sup
posed to be of similar ceremonies in
more civilized countries.
An hour or so later, as we looked out
of the window, we saw long process
sion of women, dressed in white, and
carrying lights in their hands, winding
up the hill toward the brides house.
My friends, who had fortunately re
ceived an invitation for the evening,
were kind enough to include me, and
taking a shorter path up a ladder and
across a terrace, we arrived before the
women in white had reached the door.
We were greeted with innumerable ga
laams and expressions that mean so
much more in English than Arabic that
they never ought to be put through the
magnifying process of translation, and
shown almost Immediately into the
room where the bride was receiving her
guests. Picture to yourself, fair read
er. how you looked or hope to look on
your wedding day, and then listen to
the unexaggerated colorless description
OF this Syrian bride.
A moderately large room was packed
with women, all uttering cries not un-
like those in which American college
students love to luxuriate at boat races
and baseball matches. Through this
crowd way was made for us to the only
chairs in the apartment. We had time
then to look up. Half way between
the floor and the ceiling. on a high
platform covered with Turkish rugs,
and fianked on each side with silk
cushions, and barricaded in front with
a row of candles stuck in oranges, and
the oranges stuck in tumblers, was
something that at the first glance we
saw must be woman. This figure
was decked out with more than Oriental
gorgeousness. A velvet-not cotton
dress heavily trimmed with beads and
other etceteras ran up toward the neck,
till it disappeared beneath the folds of
a dark, thick, board-like veil. Some
thing like hands were pressed nervously
against this dress, but they were well
concealed by black cotton gloves, and
the gloves in turn were half hidden by
heavy rings-presumably of gold-on
every finger except the little ones.
This figure was crowned with an i'm
mense wreath of artificial flowers.
From three o'clock in the afternoon-it
was then after seven-this matrimonial
,-fx I.,1 Iov. l4v- al HoI
and for all those hours those wild cries
had been beating against the tympanum
of her ears. Yet she liked it. She had
looked forward to it for sixteen years
or more. She was about twenty. and
whatever else may happen, she will al
WAYS look back to that as the proudest
moment of her terrestrial life.
My friends being the honored guests
of the occasion, the bride rose as we
entered, and in the excitement of the
moment, heightened by handsfull of
sugar-plums showered upon our heads.
and by the deluge of rose-water sprin-
kled in our faces, and down our backs,
the leader of our party forgot to give the
signal for the bride to be seated. So
unwillingly we added to her sufferings,
already sufficiently great, the torture
of standing several minutes in wedding
shoes While we were gazing, in what
was supposed to be speechless admi
ration, at the thick veil covering the
brides face. the procession of women
in white, that we had seen winding up
the hill, entered the room, if such
quiet, stately word can be applied to the
showing aad pushing actually necessary
for large party to crowd itself into q
room already full. As they pressed
themselves in, such expressions as ''She
is the fairest of brides" !" '.Her eyes are
like the gazelle." "Her complexion is
like the pearls" were squeezed out of
them in q high key much more noisy
than musical. The bride rose again,
and as some one unfortunately lifted
her veil the reality, stout, healthy
looking woman, utterly guiltless of any
thing like beauty, was brought face to
face with these more than fattering
epithets.
We were then taken, partly TO make