Very different, indeed, was another distinguished wedding at which I had the honour of assisting, and which all the European consuls and their families attended, with the elite of the society of Mogador; this was the marriage of M. Bittern, of Gibraltar, with Miss Amram Melek.  The bridegroom was the Portuguese Consul, the bride, the daughter of the greatest Jewish merchant of the south, and consequently the Emperor’s greatest and most honoured debtor.  The celebration of this wedding lasted fourteen days.

On the grand day, a ball and supper were given.  All the Moors of the town came to see the Christians and their ladies dance.  Our musician, or fiddler, kept away from some petty pique, and we were accordingly reduced to the hard necessity of making use of a drum and whistling, both to keep up our spirits and serve up the quadrilles.  We had, however, some good singing to make up for the disappointment.  His Excellency the Governor intended to have honoured us with his presence, but he gave way to the remonstrance of an inflexible marabout, who declared it a deadly sin to attend the marriages of Jews and Christians.

The marriage guests were of three or four several sets and sorts.  There was the European coterie, the choicest and most select, graced by the presence of the bride; then the native aristocrats, and here were the gorgeous sultanas and Fezan spouses; then the lesser stars, and the still more diminished.

Finally, the “blind, the lame, and the halt,” surrounded the doors of the house in which the marriage-feast was held, receiving a portion of the good things of this life.  The whole number of guests was not more than two hundred.  Plenty of European Jewesses shone as bewitching stars at this wedding; but all param to us poor Christians.  Indeed, there is as little as no lovemaking, and match-making amongst the isolated Nazarenes; for, out of a population of some fifty European families, there are only two marriageable Christian ladies.

The bride is frequently fetched by the bridegroom at midnight, when there is a cry made, “behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye forth to meet him!” (Matt xxv—­6).  This ancient custom prevails most among the Moors.  Once, whilst at Nabal, in Tunis, I was roused from my sleep at the dead of the night by wild cries, and the discharging of fire-arms, attended with a blaze of torches.  The bridegroom was conveying his bride to his home.  A crowd of the friends of the newly-married couple, followed the camel which carried the precious burden; all were admitted to the feast in the court-yard, and the doors were shut for the night.

At the wedding of the lower classes of the Jews, after dancing and music, there is always a collection made for the bride, or the musicians.  On these occasions, the master of the ceremonies calls out the names of the donors as they contribute to the support of the festivities.  I was somewhat taken by surprise to hear my name called out, Bashador Inglez (English ambassador) when I attended one of the weddings.  But the fellow, making the announcement, attracted my attention more than his flattering compliment.  He was dressed in Moorish costume with an immense white turban folded round his head.  I could not conceive the reason of a Moor taking such interest in feasts of the Jews.