bridegroom, which were called Nukl, had no fixed medium; being proportioned to his affection, to his fortune, and often to his oftentation: for it was cuftomary to fend those prefents, a day or two before the nuptials, with great pomp, from his hoafe to the dwelling of the bride. And although the whole might have been carried, perhaps with eafe, by one or two camels, horses, or fervants, they would frequently make a proceffion of ten, twenty, thirty, or more; every one bearing fomething, fet off with ornaments, in a gay thewy manner.

Their marriage ceremonies, in the Eaft, frem indeed to have been, in all times, at tended with much festivity and public parade. All the friends of both families afsembled: and, where the fortune or the varity of the bridegroom, or father of the bride, were confiderable, they were in general very expenfive. The nuptials of perions of high rank, were attonithingly plendid. The marriage of the Khalif Almamoun with the daughter of Haffin S.hal, governor of Babylonian Irak, was attended with almost incredible expence.. Slaves of both fexes, with other rich prefent, were fent by the governor to every grandee. He defrayed the expence of the whole court and of the Khaliff's guards, during that prince's refidence at Fommal. falch, where Haffan Sahal generally lived. The roads from thence to Bagdad, for near a hundred miles, were covered with mats of gold and filver ftuff: and the bride's head-dress was adorned with a thousand pearls; each, (if there is no miftake or exaggeration) of the size of a pigeon's egg or of a large nut: which the Khalif immediately fettled on her, as part of her dower.

Even upon ordinary occafions it was fual to throw amongst the populace, as the proceffion moved along, money, fweetmeats, flowers, and other articles; which the people catched in cloths, made for fuch occafions, ftretched in a particular manner upon frames. With regard to the money, however, there appears often to have been a mixture of economy, or rather of deception; which probably arofe from the neceffity of complying with a esfrom, that might be ill fuited to the fortres of fome, and to the avarice of others: for we End, that it was not uncommon to ese bad money, called k., at a low price, to throw away at nuptial procef

The bride, on the day of marriage, was Cducted with great ceremony by her friends to her husband s houfe; and imBeciately on her arrival, the made him a variety of prefents; efpecially of houfhold

23

furniture, with a spear, and a tent. There feems to be a curious fimilitude, in fome of thofe ceremonies, to cuftoms which prevailed amongst the old Germans, before they left their forells; as well as among the Gothic nations, after they were establifhed in their conquefts. Tacitus obferves, that the German bridegrooms and brides made each other reciprocal prefents; and particularly of arms and cattle. The gifts made to the Eaftern bride appear likewife to have been upon the fame principles with the Morgengabe, or Morning gift, which it was common for the European husband, in the early and middle ages, to prefent to his wife the morning after marriage. And, whilft the dower, in both, feems to have reverted, upon the death of the widow, to the kindred of the husband, the prefents were left entirely at her own difpofal.

A man, without the interpofition of the law, might divorce his wife, provided he paid to her whatever dower had been setiled by the marriage contract: unless he could prove, to the satisfaction of her affembled friends, that her conduct had given fufficient caufe for the feparation: in which cafe, her fortune and settlements were forfeited. The wife had alfo the fame power of divorce, if the difliked her hufband: but then the relinquished her fettlements, and returned all the prefents fhe had received from him before or after marriage. A man might re-marry his di vorced wife, even unto the third time; beyond which it was unlawful. The form of repudiation was very concife: the hufband faying only, "Get thee gone, I care not for thee." Yet fimple as it was, they confidered it as fo binding, that if a couple lived afterwards together, without the ceremony of a re-marriage, it was reckoned infamous, and viewed in the fame light as adultery.

Temporary marriages are common in many parts of the Eaft. The Arabians call them Almutah. The Alcoran speaks rather equivocally with regard to them; which has opened a field for much difference of opinion among the Mohammedan lawyers. About the beginning of the ninth century they were interdicted by the Khalif Almamoun: but they were never entirely difcontinued; and are now very common. They are contracted by a written indenture, witneffed by the Cadhi; and a certain fum is futtled upon the woman, to be paid to her on the expiration of the term; when the engagement may either be renewed or finally diffolved. The offspring of fuch connexions cannot inherit.

A fingular matrimonial cuftom, we may

here

here remark, fomewhat refembling the above, prevailed of old in many parts of Europe. Men of rank, who had loft their wives, but had children, to avoid burthening their eftates, might marry low-born women; who, bringing no fortune, were intitled to no dower. These contracts, (according to Baron von Lowhen) are ftill prevalent in Germany; where they are ftiled Left-handed marriages: it being a part of the ceremony for the bridegroom to give his left hand to the bride. The children of such marriages are not capable of inheriting; and bear neither the name nor arms of the father.

We find in feripture, that when a man died, leaving no iffue by his wife, it was fometimes incumbent upon his next unmarried brother to efpoufe the widow. A caftom fimilar to this, is not only found among the Arabians, but another ftill more ftrange. For where a father left one or more widows, the fons often married them, provided they were not their own mothers. This ufage was fuppreffed by Mohammed: -and it appears, even before his time, to have been marked with a degree of deteftation: the word Makt, which denotes this fpecies of marriage, fignifying alfo batred and enmity. Marrying a brother's widow, if childless, is ftill cuftomary in fome parts of Tartary; particularly in Circaffia. And Abulgazi Khan mentions feveral princes who had married their ftep-mothers. He feems indeed to confider it as a thing of course: and particularly tells us, that Octai Khan married one of the widows of his father Jengiz Khan. But what has moft furprized me, is to find fo odd a custom prevailing even in Scotland, fo late as the eleventh century it being mentioned by lord Hailes in his annals; who fuppofes, that it might have originated from avarice, in order to relieve the heir from the payment of a jointure.

An inftitution, we are informed, was introduced or revived among the Moguls and Tartars by Jengiz Khan, which appears to have been founded on the principles of found political wifdom: two families, though all their children were dead, being permitted to form a matrimonial alliance, by marrying the deceafed fon of one to the deceafed daughter of the other. Thefe nuptials had often moft falutary confequences; hoftile tribes having been unit. ed by this imaginary tie, when all other means of pacification had failed. And they feem even to have viewed it with more fuperftitious veneration than if the parties had been alive: confidering any breach of treaty, after this ideal contract,

Drawing upon themselves the vengeance

of the departed fpirits. The antient Perfians, from a notion that married people were peculiarly happy in a future ftate, used often to hire persons, to be espoused to fuch of their relations as had died in celibacy.

It may not be quite foreign to the prefent fubject, to make a few remarks upon fome peculiarities in the dress of Eaftern women; as even from thence fome fresh lights may be thrown upon the female character. In all countries where drefs has arrived at any degree of refinement, whatever is confidered as a beauty will generally be imitated by art, where nature has denied her bounty. To this ge neral propenfity we may trace the origin of face painting, patches, the boltering of the petticoats, falfe hair, and the feathered ornaments of the head: all which we difcover very early in the Eaft. From the description of Jezebel, and from various other paffages in the Old Teftament, we find, that face painting was then fashionable among women of rank; and from thefe words of Jeremiah, (ch. iv. 30.) "Though thou rendeft thy face with painting, in vain fhalt thou make thy felf fair;" we plainly discover, that the Jewith women had then carried it to the vicious excefs, of even rending and disfiguring their faces, by repeated and intemperate ufe.

The words in Arabic and Perfian, which exprefs painting in all its stages, are very numerous. They paint their cheeks and aifo their nails with red; the rest of the face, the neck, and the arms, with white; and their eyes, in a particular manner, with black, to give them a fine luftre. Eye-painting, we find, was common in Ezekiel's time, (ch. xxiii 40.) "Thou didft wash thyfelf, paintedit thine eyes, and deckedft thyself with ornaments.' The particular colours which the women of Palestine affected, are not mentioned: but, among the Perfians and Arabians, we find not only red, black, and white, but even faffron and other yellow washes for the face. Their hair they comb with great care; and they highly perfume it with odoriferous unguents or pomatums. Tire. women are much employed: and there are even females, whofe only bufinefs is to clean, thin, and fharpen the teeth.

Among other fashions, which may poffibly have been borrowed from Afia, are ornamental patches. Black moles on the face have been long confidered as a fingular beauty in the Eaft. We have only to look into the Arabian and Perfian poets for innumerable inftances of the enthufiafm with which they admired this fancied elegance. That the ladies would of confe

quence

quence, ufe every art to imitate a beauty fo highly prized, is extremely natural: and hence, perhaps, arose the fafbion of fubftituting imprinted marks, or patches of black filk, to counterfeit nature, Upon the fame principles we may account for the number of words in the Arabic and Pertian languages which fignify bolftering or quilting of the petticoats, to give an appearance of that fine fwell below the waist, which those people esteem as one of the greatest elegancies of the female shape. False hair is frequently alluded to; and feathers appear to have been more generally worn, than they were even lately by the ladies of England. I have now in my poffeffion a valuable eaftern manufcript, the property of Genetal Carnac, governor of Bombay; which he purchased when commander in chief of the East India Company's forces in Bengal, for 1000 rupees (1251.) It contains extracts from the fineft authors, efpecially Perfians; fome of which are ornamented in the Eaftern manner, with drawings of the heroes and heroines of their poems. Some of the faces have confiderable merit: and the dress of the Princeffes, when unveiled, has, in many refpects, a refemblance of fome of the fashions of Europe. They are often drawn without any headdrefs: the hair dark; and the ringlets waving down over their neck and thoulders. They have frequently round their heads a kind of diadem, fet with precious flones; from which arife one or more tufts of feathers: the quills of which are fet in fockets of gold and gems. Sometimes they have a fhort fubbed appearance; and fometimes they are long, and flow gracefully backwards. They wear fometimes nofe. jewels, which those who have not been accustomed to them can never think a beauty. They have also ear-rings, not only in the lob, but in the upper part of the ear. Their necklaces confift of many rows of jewels, the lowest of which hang down over the bofom. Their drefs, in general, when the upper garment is laid aide, is fitted exactly to the fhape; and feems nearly to resemble what, I believe, called a Jefuit; buttoning down the breast, covering the neck pretty high, and the arms down to the wrifts. There is fometimes a large fquare jewel on the fore part of the arm, a little below the fhoulder. Their girdles are very broad, generally made of fine leather; and covered entirely over with embroidery and gems. Their robes are long and flowing behind: and their ancles are often encircled with aring of gold, ornamented with jewels. Upon their head they wear fometimes a low crowned cap, terminating in a point, Hib. Mag. Jan. 1781.

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round which they wreathe several folds of fine linen or filk; to the top of which, when they go abroad, they faten, with a gold bodkin, a veil which covers the face and a great part of the body. There are few of the female faces which have not one or two black moles or artificial marks; which the Perfians name Khal, and the Arabians Ulteb.-Women of inferior rank, who cannot purchase jewels, make their necklaces, bracelets, and other ornaments, of tmall hells, or beads of different coloured glafs."

It may be obferved, before we finish this article of drefs, that face and eye-painting are also in use among the men; who pay the fame attention to their beards, which the women pay to their hair. They perfume them highly, and often finge them; fometimes of a fine red, fometimes with faffron, and with various other dyes. Red was the favourite colour of Mohammed, Abubeker, or Omar: and their example was greatly followed.

The Female Volunteer: A pathetic Hiftory. (Continued from our Appendix, p. 727.)

N the mean time, the jealous Al

Ibert had cunning enough to fee through my defign; as the friendship I had for the baron was univerfally known throughout the country, he began to fufpect, that under the pretence of vifiting Matilda as a relation, I continually entertained her with the love of his rival; accordingly, he renews his expoftulations and complaints to her father. The nother-in-law alfo, for her part, looked on me with an evil eye, as foon as the perceived, that I was more affiduous than ever in my visits to her daughter-in-law; but whatever endeavours they ufed with Guy, to induce him to forbid me his houfe, they could never obtain their ends. The name of relation carries with it a tie which one is not always difpofed to violate; Guy respected me as a kintman, and not being perfuaded that I really vifited his daugh ter with thofe views whereof they accufed me, perfifted in receiving me as kindly as was poffible for a man of his humour and character.

"It is true, indeed, that one day, being overcome by their importunities and perfecutions, he begged me to remember, that Albert was destined to be his daugh ter's husband; adding, that he detired me, therefore, not to talk to her of Baron Straalem, left the merit of that nobleman, who was one of the handfoment and most accomplished about the court, fhould render her more clear-fighted than was convenient to difcover Albert's imperfections, which he frankly owned were but too ap D

parent