place, and we looked over to see what it was. An attendant was at work on a man who appeared like a foreigner, and was evidently trying to give him the worth of his money. Armed with a small brush, he went over the flesh of his victim very much as a boot-black makes a first-class shine. The stranger looked like a boiled lobster, and the expression of his face was much as though he was about to be sent to prison for life.

"To confirm my belief that he was a foreigner, he made a remark in English, which, of course, the attendant did not understand, but went on scrubbing harder than ever. He seemed too weak to use his hands to stop the performance, but finally gathered strength enough to seize the brush, and motion to the performer that he had had enough. Then he was taken to another part of the room and laid on a marble slab, where he was handled more gently.

"While we were smiling at the misery of the Englishman the perspiration was oozing out of us at every pore, in consequence of the great warmth of the place. Our turn next,' Fred whispered, as our attendants began to manipulate our limbs, to find out whether they were in a proper condition for operating on.

"Fred was right, as our tellaks evidently considered us sufficiently cooked for their purpose. They began by kneading us with their hands. and knuckles, and went over our bodies so vigorously that we thought they would make holes in our flesh, though they didn't do anything of the sort. Then they rubbed us down with brushes, and left us a few minutes; the rubbing and kneading increased the flow of perspiration, and when this had gone on long enough, they made us sit on little wooden frames close to a fountain in one of the side alcoves. Then they soaped our heads and rubbed them vigorously with their hands, and kept pouring on water while the rubbing was progressing; they repeated the operation twice, and then brought some fibres of palm-leaves, which they used with soap and water for polishing our limbs, and they finished the performance with the brush, just as they had done with the Englishman.

"The brushing was the severest part of the process, and was followed by great quantities of water thrown over us till we were thoroughly rinsed. The water was warm enough to be quite comfortable, and sometimes a little too warm, but we said nothing, as we wanted to have the bath just as it is given to others. Basin after basin of warm water was poured over us, and finally we were wrapped in dry towels that completely covered us, and thick towels were folded around our heads till we looked like turbaned Turks. Then we were taken to our couches, where we rested, and became cool enough to go out-of-doors again with safety.

PECULIARITIES OF THE ORIENTAL BATH.

137

"Coffee was brought to us as soon as we lay down, and we found it very refreshing. We stayed there at least half an hour before the guide

suggested that it would be safe

to dress and go back to the hotel. We felt a little weak and weary, but had the satisfaction of knowing that we were as clean as water, soap, heat, and scrubbing could make A barber tried to do up our hair, but did not succeed very well, as the Oriental headdressing is not exactly like our own. But he was desirous of making himself useful, and so we let him try his skill.

us.

"The bath of to-day is much like that of thousands of years ago, as can be seen by the pictures on the walls of the tombs. The bath is the favorite resort of the women, and many of them spend the whole day there, or at least a large part of it. The baths for women are much more numerous than those for men; many

of them are set apart on different days of the week for different religious sects, and sometimes families or parties of friends hire the bath for themselves, so that they shall not be disturbed by others.

"Doctor Bronson says a good deal of nonsense has been written by travellers concerning the baths of the East. He says better and more comfortable bathing establishments may be found in Paris, London, or New York than in Constantinople or Cairo, and the number is increasing

every year.

"The Oriental bath is recommended for a good many things besides cleanliness, although the latter is the great consideration. It will cure colds and slight touches of rheumatism, is excellent for many maladies of the skin, improves the digestion, and has often restored invalids whom medicine had failed to benefit. Doctor Bronson has a friend in New

York who suffers occasionally from gout, and whenever he feels it coming upon him he goes straight to a Turkish bath, and, as he says, 'boils it out.' One should be very careful, after taking a bath, not to go too soon into the open air, for fear of catching cold."

While on their way from the bath to the hotel the youths encountered a procession, and naturally asked the guide what it was.

"That is a wedding," was the reply; "somebody is going to be married, and this is part of the ceremony."

It occurred to Frank on the instant that his sister and Miss Effie might

be interested in the subject of weddings, and here would be an opportunity to write something to please them. Accordingly, he made note of all he saw in the procession, interrogated the guide, and even took a peep within the pages of "The Modern Egyptians," to assure himself that he had made no mistake. As there may be others besides Mary and Effie who want to know the matrimonial customs of Egypt, we will make an extract from Frank's account:

"The procession that we saw was composed of the family and friends of the bride on their way to the bath, where they would remain several hours. There were four musicians in front, and right behind them were six of the married friends of the bride, walking in couples; behind these were several young girls, and all the party had their faces covered with long veils that reached nearly to the ground. The married women wore robes of black material, but the girls were in striped or white shawls, so

AN EGYPTIAN MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

139 that it was easy to know at a glance whether one of them was married or single.

"Of course you want to know how the bride looked. She was close behind the young girls, but I can't describe her appearance, as she walked under a canopy of pink silk, supported on four poles, carried by as many men. It was like a small tent, and opened in front; the other sides were completely closed, so that our only view of the bride was just a glimpse through the opening of the canopy. Even if we had more than a glimpse of her, it would have done no good, as she was wrapped from head to foot in a red cashmere shawl, and whether she was seventeen or seventy years old we could not say. The guide said she had a pasteboard crown on her head, and the shawl was hung over it so as to conceal her face and all the jewellery she wore. Of course she could not see anything, and so a couple of women were walking inside the canopy, and just behind her, to tell her how to keep pace with the rest of the procession.

"There were a couple of musicians behind the canopy, and then came a string of idle persons, just as we see a procession followed at home. We watched them as long as they were in sight, and were told they would spend several hours at the bath, where a feast had been ordered, and possibly an entertainment by dancers and singers hired for the occasion. Then they would go home to the house of the bride's parents, and on the following day the bride would be carried by a similar procession to the house of the bridegroom.

"Now we'll go back to the beginning, and see how marriages are arranged in Egypt.

"The guide says such a thing as an 'old bachelor' in Egypt is never heard of, as every man is expected to get married whether he wants to or not. Matches are made here much easier than in America, as it is not at all necessary for the parties to be acquainted, and consequently they cannot have any objections to marrying each other. There are regular marriage-brokers who arrange everything, and thus save a great deal of trouble and perplexity.

"When a man wishes to marry he tells his mother, or some near female relative; she goes directly to the relatives of any marriageable girls she knows of, or perhaps she engages a khatibeh, or woman who makes a business of negotiating marriages. The two go together to houses where there are young girls to be married, and when they find one that suits the mother's eye they begin talking business at once.

"They ask how much property the girl has, how old she is, and what she can do, and then go away without any positive promise to come again.

If the young man does not like the account they bring the matter is dropped, but if he is pleased with it he makes a present to the broker, and sends her again to confer with the girl and her parents. Her parents have the right to arrange the whole matter without consulting the girl,

unless she is over fifteen years of age; in the latter case she may choose her husband for herself, but her parents have still a good deal to say about it.

"The broker does not confine herself very closely to the truth in dealing with either party. She will describe a girl of ordinary appearance as the greatest beauty in the world, and will represent an equally ordinary man as handsome, graceful, and well educated, with plenty of money which he is ready to throw at the feet of his bride. And all this when she does not know whether he has any money or not, and has never seen or heard of him till the day she was engaged to find a bride. It is the object of the broker to make a commission. Doctor Bronson says she is not unlike some brokers he has known in New York, and other cities of America.

"The girl must have a wekeel, or deputy, to arrange a marriage for her, and to sign the contract. This office is filled by her father, if living, or by some masculine relative or guardian; and when the preliminaries have been arranged by the broker, the bridegroom goes with two or three friends to meet the wekeel and sign the contract.