says nothing. When the
buzzing noise of the excited women-folk behind the curtain has subsided,
the priest returns to his charge, while the expectant bridegroom
undergoes the worst quarter of an hour of his life.

The third time of asking is generally the last, and twice the girl has
already not answered. It is a terrible moment. Evidently she is not over
anxious to bring about the alliance, or is the reluctance a mere feminine
expedient to make it understood from the beginning that she is only
conferring a great favour on the bridegroom by condescending to marry
him? The latter hypothesis is correct, for when the priest thunders for
the third time his former question, a faint voice--after a tantalizing
delay--is heard to say "Yes."

The bridegroom, now that this cruel ordeal is over, begins to breathe
again.

The priest is not yet through his work, and further asks the girl whether
she said "Yes" out of her will, or was forced to say it. Then he appeals
to the women near her to testify that this was so, and that the voice he
heard behind the curtain was actually the girl's voice. These various
important points being duly ascertained, in appropriate Arabic words the
priest exclaims:

"I have married this young lady to this man and this man to this young
lady."

The men present on one side of the curtain nod and (in Arabic) say they
accept the arrangement. The women are overheard to say words to the same
effect from the other side of the partition. Congratulations are
exchanged, and more sherbet, tea and sweets consumed.

The religious ceremony is over, but not the trials of the bridegroom, now
legal husband.

When sufficient time has elapsed for him to recover from his previous
mental anguish, he is conveyed by his mother or women relatives into the
harem. All the women are veiled and line the walls of the drawing-room,
where a solitary chair or cushion on the floor is placed at the end of
the room. He is requested to sit upon it, which he meekly does. A small
tray is now brought in with tiny little gold coins (silver if the people
are poor) mixed with sweets. The bridegroom bends his head; and sweets
and coins are poured upon his back and shoulders. Being round--the coins,
not the shoulders--they run about and are scattered all over the room.
All the ladies present gracefully stoop and seize one pellet of gold,
which is kept for good luck; then servants are called in to collect the
remainder which goes to thei