The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-09-14

be proud Of her copper colored charms, her
rounded arms, the smallneSs OF her hands
and feet. Her hair, arranged in manifold
little braids, the couture a la mode, must
necessitate sleeping with the head supported
on wooden, crutch-shaped structure, in-
stead of a comfortable pillow. Her bodice
is crimson drapery of blue silk wound
around the hips and falling to the ground,
her neck and arms covered with bracelets
and chains of hne workmanship, her bare
feet tread on the skins of leopards and lions
in the "tukuL"
As regards education the bride assuredly
speaks the Anlharic, the modern language
of AbySsina and the court, and possibly is
versed in GeeZ, the oldest dialect OF Arabia,
in which all Abyssiuian books are written.
Her tongue may even trip nimbly in French
and italian, instructed by travellers. Is she
superstitious, after the manner of her peo-
pie, and, as
A LINEAL DESCENDANT OF SOLOMON,
Does she dread the potent spell OF the evil
eye, wearing some amulet case of gold, sill
yer or velvet, containing mystical roll, with
the names OF God, the prophets, the saints
and even certain numerals ordagrams, pos
sessing secret VIRTUES? The chances are
she NAV have nurned, at times, a pinch of
powder on chatting dish, when in danger of
Dewitchment, compounded of coriander seed,
fennel flowers, salt, dyed with indigo, frank
incense or woTmwood, in company with the
women OF the royal household.
As regarded the nice question Of royal
dowry, the bride might nestle among her
leopard skins, like a young cat, born to the
purple. This bagatelle chance of birth has
significance in Ethiopia as well as in other
countries. The bride of lower grade must
bring TO her future lord cattle muskets and
cloth. Still lower ranks of maidens carry
burdens of not less than SiXty-fiye pieces of
salt from the mines of SOkot0 to the cara
vans to earn their modest dowry. These
blocks of salt have long served as currency
in many districts. money only disputed by
the Maria Theresa tbaler.
The bazaar of Massowah furnished the
stuffs Of velvet, silk and cotton for the
trousseau. brought by the Arab merchants.
and the Banyans of Madras and Bombay to
exchange for ivory, wax, coffee, tortoise
she'll, ostrich feathers, tamarinds, incense,
myrrh and furs, while the skillful goldsmiths
of the interior towns must have wrought
magnificent collars and ankletS for such an
occasion.
According to the Coptic rites, as practiced
in Egypt, the wedding ceremonies of the
Princess of Shea should have lasted for
eight days, Saturday night being preferred
for the marriage service and the entertain
ments of the respective families of the bride
and bridegroom commencing on the preyi-
Gus Tuesday. with all the symbo!ical ObServ-
ances of attendance at the bath, the present
alton of silk and linen and the two hand
kercbiefs embroidered with gold, the Staying
of a lamb on the threshold of the new home
and the administering Of the sacraments. UNI
til the final service in the church, which lasts
anti dawn. On Monday night the brides
father gives a dinner at the house of the
groom, and the latter goes about to invite the
guests to great feast on the following even
ing as a concluding festiyity.
We, the unbidden guests of the royal BAN
auet, shudder. involuntarily, at the report,
and The probability of our brides finding de-
leetable the raw and quivering meat,
u sod Al,oa lx, r.f
dish with the king or peasant, at a celebra-
ton, the liver and intestines of sheep.
seasoned with its own gall; the diabOlcal
sauce senalice, compounded of mustard In
dian peppers, c0riander seed and ginger.
Rather should she partake of the Mencet-
Abesce, dried meat boiled, and served with
herbs, or the Duro-Daba. the fowl cooked
with bread and butter, the Fetfet, beef and
fowl aromatic with drugs. Should emotion
deprive her of appetite she might toy with
Cinkko, the barley paste. with melted but
ter as a sweet, and sip discreetly the Hy-
drome quatfed IN large bumpers by the
other guests.
THE PILE OF TEFF BREAD,
In flat cakes, with the finest wheat on the
top. could scarcely fail to afford occasion for
the courteous attention of rolling up fiery
morsels of meat in the paste, and thrasting
the ball into a neighbours mouth
Did the pretty custom wing its way from
the Copts of the Nile to distant Ankober, on
this occasion of the cooks imprls0ning in
sugar two pigeons, with bells attached TO
their pinions, TO be broken at table, when
the prisoners released from the crust must
ring a welcome augury to the future of their
recovered freedom?
AS for beginning housekeeping the aver
age Ethiopian menage boasts of q concal
roof of straw, furniture of SKINS an empty
gonrd for butter and hand-mll to prepare
| the bread. In the case of the Princess of
| Shea, rank, power and riches must create
| notifications OF luxury.
Let us anticipate that the son OF the Ne
| gus John, as bridegroom, may prove Ras-
| selas, Prince of Abyssinia, while the bride,
| with that crown of the Queen of Sheba on
| her head, must be as be as proud as Lucifer
| and disposed to estimate the outside world
| as the Greeks regarded all the barbarians
| the Hebrews the Gentiles and the Chinese
| other countries for untold ages.
| No court chronicle accurately describes
| the bridal toilet. We leave her beyond the
| golden gates of sunset, clad, like nature in
| Abyssinia, in a splendid robe of wild roses.
| Jasmine, or honeysuckle, wandering in
| meadows watered by sparkling streams,
| beneath the shade of syeamores, gigantic
| acacias, ana kolquol trees, in groves haunted
| by The antelope and the gazelle, in a land
| where the tradition fingers of how Sheba,
| the great Queen, journeyed TO Jerusalem.
! became one OF Solomon's wives, gave birth