20S BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, [Jan., 



quite a regiment. The servants of the woman were making 

 this noise. I immediately sent down to the man below to find 

 out what it was. He gave me the name of this family. He 

 said that week there was to be a wedding, which was going 

 to occur when they were to welcome a new daughter into the 

 family, and they were telling the whole town by means of this 

 sound of their great joy. When I looked out there must have 

 been twenty or thirty of them. The next morning came a large 

 square envelope, very picturesque in appearance, inviting us to 

 come on Wednesday. This was Monday. Our invitation v/as 

 for Wednesday, but the wedding was to last through Wednes- 

 day, Thursday and Friday. A wedding in Tripoli sometimes 

 takes a week. The next night after, the matter is announced, 

 the bridegroom goes through the street and makes the same 

 outcry, which, I take it, is a sort of farewell to his bachelor 

 friends. He brings out a lot of gifts, and gives a bachelor 

 dinner to his young friends. In the meantime while he is thus 

 engaged his fair bride is being conveyed by her mother and 

 given into the charge of his mother. Then the next day he 

 goes to the mosque and gives his announcement that he is to be 

 married to this young lady. She has never seen him. No 

 young girl is allowed to see any man except her own father, 

 and possibly, of course, the members of her family. The next 

 day she sits in state. She has never yet been seen by her 

 bridegroom. That morning she begins to sit in state. She 

 sits for three hours while his friends come in and look at her 

 closely. We were invited to see that part of the wedding on 

 this first day, on Wednesday. At that time she goes out of 

 her room on the balcony, and is conveyed downstairs by four 

 female slaves carrying her, and then four little girls follow 

 her. She must be carried all the way down. When she gets 

 into the courtyard, where the ceremony is to take place, she 

 is placed in her seat. jMeantime her face is covered with a 

 costly veil or cloth, but when she gets down that is pushed 

 up a little. The day that we were invited we found the bride 

 sitting on a slight platform, and around her were eight or 

 ten girl friends. Native musicians were playing the most 

 barbarous music you can imagine, and singing a bridal song. 

 When we went in we were introduced to her relatives, and it 

 was very interesting to see the ceremony. While I was there 

 being introduced to her people, the sun came around to such 



