MARRIAGE PROCESSIONS. The proces sion accompanying the bride from the house of her father to that of the bridegroom was gen erally one of great pomp, according to the cir cumstances of the married couple; and for this they often chose the night. Hence, in the parable of the ten virgins tha_t went to meet the bride and bridegroom (Matt. xxv) it is said the virgins were asleep; and at midnight, being awaked at the cry of the bridegroom's coming, the foolish virgins found they had no oil to supply their lamps; and while they went to buy, the bride groom and his attendants passed by.
Mr. Taylor has collected very copious informa tion relative to the marriage processions among the Oriental people, in Fragments, 49, 557, and 674. Many of the circumstances attending these will be found to contribute aid in the elucida tion of two or three passages of Scripture, but their value would not justify us in appropriating to them the space they would occupy. "At a marriage, the procession of which I saw some years ago," says Mr. Ward, (View of Hist. of Hindoos, vol. iii. p. z7t, 172.) "the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, 'Behold! the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' All the persons employed nowlighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands, to fill up their stations in the procession; some of them had lost their lights, and were unprepared, litit it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed in a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut, and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the doorkeepers, but in vain. Never was I so struck with our Lord's beautiful parable as at this mo ment:—and the door was shut." In the beautiful parable of our Lord, there are ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went in a company to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, endued with prudence and discretion; the other five were foolish, thoughtless and in considerate. The thoughtless took their lamps, but were so foolish as to take only a little oil in them to serve the present occasion. But the prudent, mindful of futurity, and knowing that the coming of the bridegroom was uncertain, as well as filling their lamps. prudently took a quan tity of oil in their vessels to supply them, that they might be ready to go forth at a moment's warning. Having waited long for the bride groom, and he not appearing, they all, tired with long watching, and fatigued with tedious expecta tion, were overcome with sleep, and sunk into profound repose. But lo, at midnight they were
suddenly alarmed with a cry "The bridegroom, the bridegroom cometh I Hasten to meet and con gratulate him." Roused with this sudden proc lamation, they all got up and trimmed their lamps. But the oil in those that belonged to the foolish virgins, being consumed, they were in the utmost confusion when they found them gone out ; and having nothing in their vessels to fill them with, they began to see their mistake. In this extremity they entreated their companions to impart to them some of their oil, telling them that their lamps were gone out. To these en treaties the prudent answered, that they_ had only provided a sufficient quantity for their own use, and therefore advised them to go and purchase oil of those who sold it. They departed accord ingly, but while absent on this errand, the bride groom came, and the prudent virgins, being pre pared for his reception, went along with him to the nuptial entertainment, and the door was shut. After some time the others returned, and, knock ing loud, supplicated earnestly for admission. But the bridegroom repulsed them, telling them, Ye pretended to be my friends, and to do me honor on this occasion ; but ye have not acted as friends, for which reason I know you not; I do not ac knowledge you as my friends, and will not admit strangers.
From another parable, in which a great king is represented as making a most magnificent en tertainment at the marriage of his son (Matt. xxii), we learn that all the guests who were honored with an invitation were expected to be dressed in a manner suitable to the splendor of such an occasion, as a token of just re spect to the newly-married couple ; and that after the procession, in the evening, from the bride's house was concluded, the guests, before they were admitted into the hall where the entertain ment was served up, were taken into an apart ment and viewed, that it might be known if any stranger had intruded, or if any of the company were appareled in raiment unsuitable to the genial solemnity they were going to celebrate; and such, if found, were expelled from the house with every mark of ignominy and disgrace. From the knowledge of this custom the following pas sage receives great light and luster. When the king came in to see the guests, he discovered among them a person who had not on a wedding garment. He called him and said, Friend, how came you to intrude into my palace in a dress so unsuitable to this occasion ? The man was struck dumb; he had no apology to offer for this disrespectful neglect. The king then called to his servants, and bade them bind him hand and foot, to drag him out of the room, and thrust him out into the midnight darkness. Harwood.