,,our ,,moslem ,,sisters ,illustration3 ,a ,,mother ,,and ,,her ,,daughter ,,from ,,tunis ,our ,moslem ,sisters ,a ,cry of ,need from ,lands of ,darkness ,interpreted by ,those ,who ,heard ,it ,,edited ,,by ,,annie ,,van ,,sommer ,,and ,,samuel ,m4 ,,zwemer ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,toronto ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,,london ,,and ,,edinburgh ,copyright1 #aijg1 by ,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company ,new ,york3 #aeh ,fifth ,avenue ,chicago3 #hj ,wabash ,avenue ,toronto3 #be ,richmond ,st41 ,w4 ,london3 #ba ,paternoster ,square ,edinburgh3 #ajj ,princes ,street ,,introduction ,this book with its sad1 reiterated story of wrong and oppression is an indictment and an appeal4 ,it is an indictment of the system which produces results so pitiful4 ,it is an appeal to ,christian womanhood to right these wrongs and enlighten this darkness by sacrifice and service4 ,at the recent ,mohammedan ,educational ,conference in ,bombay the president of the gathering1 the ,agha ,khan1 himself a leading ,moslem1 spoke very trenchantly of the chief barriers to progress in the ,moslem world4 ,the first and greatest of these barriers in his opinion was the seclusion of women which results in keeping half the community in ignorance and degradation and this hinders the progress of the whole4 ,surely the ignorance and degradation of one-half of a community which has a world population of #bcc millions is a question that concerns all who love humanity4 ,the origin of the veil of ,islam was1 as is well known1 one of the marriage affairs of ,mohammed himself1 with its appropriate revelation from ,allah4 ,in the twenty-fourth ,surah of the ,koran women are forbidden to appear unveiled before any member of the other sex1 with the exception of near relatives4 ,and so by one verse the bright1 refining1 elevating influence of women was forever withdrawn from ,moslem society4 ,the evils of the zenana1 the seraglio1 the harem1 or by whatever name it is called1 are writ large over all the social life of the ,moslem world4 ,keene says it lies at the root of all the most important features that differentiate progress from stagnation4 ,in ,arabia before the advent of ,islam it was customary to bury female infants alive4 ,mohammed improved on the barbaric method and discovered a way by which all females could be buried alive and yet live on--namely1 the veil4 ,how they live on1 this book tells6 ,its chapters are not cunningly devised fables nor stories told for the story's sake4 ,men and women who have given of their strength and service1 their love and their life to ameliorate the lives of ,moslem women and carry the torch of ,truth into these lands of darkness write simply the truth in a straightforward way4 ,all the chapters were written by missionaries in the various lands represented4 ,and with three exceptions the writers were women4 ,the chapter on ,turkestan is by a converted ,moslem2 and the two chapters on the ,yemen and the ,central ,soudan are by medical missionaries4 ,the book has as many authors as there are chapters4 ,for obvious reasons their names are not published1 but their testimony is unimpeachable and unanimous4 ,we read what their eyes have seen1 what their hands have handled1 and what has stirred their hearts4 ,it has stirred the hearts of educated ,moslems too1 in ,egypt as well as in ,india4 ,a new book on this very subject was recently published at ,cairo by ,kasim ,ameen1 a learned ,moslem jurist4 ,although he denies that ,islam is the cause1 yet speaking of the present relation of the ,mohammedan woman to man the author says3 ,man is the absolute master and woman the slave4 ,she is the object of his sensual pleasures1 a toy1 as it were1 with which he plays1 whenever and however he pleases4 ,knowledge is his1 ignorance is hers4 ,the firmament and the light are his1 darkness and the dungeon are hers4 ,his is to command1 hers is to blindly obey4 ,his is everything that is1 and she is an insignificant part of that everything4 ,ask those that are married if they are loved by their wives1 and they will answer in the affirmative4 ,the truth1 however1 is the reverse4 ,i have personally investigated the conditions of a number of families that are supposed to be living in harmony1 peace1 and love1 and ,i have not found one husband who truly loved his wife1 or one wife who evinced a sincere affection for her husband4 ,this outward appearance of peace and harmony--this thin veneering--only means one of three things1 namely1 either the husband is made callous and nonchalant by incessant strife1 and has finally determined to let things take their course2 or the wife allows herself to be utilized as an ordinary chattel1 without uttering a protest2 or both parties are ignorant and do not appreciate the true value of life4 ,in this last case1 the parties are nearer to a sort of happiness than in the former two1 although their happiness is negative in quantity and evanescent in nature4 444 ,the writers of the following chapters believe that the only remedy for these social evils is the ,gospel4 ,that is why they write4 ,the occasion that led to the preparation and collection of this series of papers was the ,cairo ,conference4 ,one of the most interesting sessions of that first general ,conference on behalf of the ,mohammedan world1 held at ,cairo ,april #d-i1 #aijf1 was that on ,woman's ,work for ,women4 ,but the time was far too short nor had there been preparation for a full and free presentation and discussion of the condition and needs of our ,moslem sisters4 ,those that loved them felt this and yet the women present seized the opportunity and unitedly sent forth the following appeal1 endorsed by the whole ,conference3 ,women's ,appeal4 ,we1 the women missionaries1 assembled at the ,cairo ,conference1 would send this appeal on behalf of the women of ,moslem lands to all the women's missionary boards and committees of ,great ,britain1 ,america1 ,canada1 ,france1 ,germany1 ,switzerland1 ,denmark1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 ,holland1 ,australia1 and ,new ,zealand4 ,while we have heard with deep thankfulness of many signs of ,god's blessing on the efforts already put forth1 yet we have been appalled at the reports which have been sent in to the ,conference from all parts of the ,moslem world1 showing us only too plainly that as yet but a fringe of this great work has been touched4 ,the same story has come from ,india1 ,persia1 ,arabia1 ,africa1 and other ,mohammedan lands1 making evident that the condition of women under ,islam is everywhere the same--and that there is no hope of effectually remedying the spiritual1 moral1 and physical ills which they suffer1 except to take them the message of the ,saviour1 and that there is no chance of their hearing1 unless we give ourselves to the work4 ,no one else will do it4 ,this lays a heavy responsibility on all ,christian women4 ,the number of ,moslem women is so vast--not less than one hundred million--that any adequate effort to meet the need must be on a scale far wider than has ever yet been attempted4 ,we do not suggest new organizations1 but that every church and board of missions at present working in ,moslem lands should take up their own women's branch of work with an altogether new ideal before them1 determining to reach the whole world of ,moslem women in this generation4 ,each part of the women's work being already carried on needs to be widely extended4 ,trained and consecrated women doctors2 trained and consecrated women teachers2 groups of women workers in the villages2 an army of those with love in their hearts to seek and save the lost4 ,and1 with the willingness to take up this burden1 so long neglected1 for the salvation of ,mohammedan women1 even though it may prove a very cross of ,calvary to some of us1 we shall hear our ,master's voice afresh ringing words of encouragement3 ',have faith in ,god4 ,for verily ,i say unto you1 that whosoever shall say unto this mountain1 ,be thou removed1 and be thou cast into the sea1 and shall not doubt in his heart1 but shall believe that these things which ,he saith shall come to pass1 he shall have whatsoever he saith4' ',nothing shall be impossible unto you4' ,that this wonderful appeal might reach a wider circle and that its skeleton form might be clothed with the flesh and blood of real life experiences and so be not a resolution but a revelation1--this book was written4 ,may ,god give its message wings through ,his ,spirit ,s4 ,m4 ,,zwemer4 ,,holland1 ,,mich41 ,february1 #aijg4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,hagar ,,and ,,her ,,sisters #ae ,,ii4 ,,egypt1 ,,the ,,land ,,of ,,bondage #bd ,,iii4 ,,from ,,under ,,the ,,yoke ,,of ,,social ,,evils #ch ,,iv4 ,,the ,,women ,,of ,,egypt ,,once ,,more #fj ,v4 ,,behind ,,the ,,opening ,,door ,,in ,,tunis #gb ,,vi4 ,,not ,,dead1 ,,only ,,dry #hi ,,vii4 ,,light ,,in ,,darkest ,,morocco #ii ,,viii4 ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,the ,,central ,,soudan #aah ,,ix4 ,a ,,story ,,from ,,east ,,africa #aca ,x4 ,,our ,,arabian ,,sisters #ace ,,xi4 ,,women',s ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,yemen #adf ,,xii4 ,,pen-,,and-,,ink ,,sketches ,,in ,,palestine #aeb ,,xiii4 ,,once ,,more ,,in ,,palestine #afd ,,xiv4 ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,syria #agd ,,xv4 ,,behind ,,the ,,lattice ,,in ,,turkey #aib ,,xvi4 ,a ,,voice ,,from ,,bulgaria #bjd ,,xvii4 ,,darkness ,,and ,,daybreak ,,in ,,persia #bjg ,,xviii4 ,,darkness ,,and ,,daybreak ,,in ,,persia 7,,part ,,ii7 #bbh ,,xix4 ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,baluchistan #bdi ,,xx4 ,,in ,,southern ,,india #bec ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,of ,,turkestan #bfc ,,xxii4 ,,in ,,far-,,off ,,cathay #bgf ,,xxiii4 ,,our ,,moslem ,,sisters ,,in ,,java #bhc ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,of ,,malaysia #bhg ,,xxv4 ,,what ,,wilt ,,thou ,,have ,,me ,,to ,,do8 #bic ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,facing page ,a ,,mother ,,and ,,her ,,daughter ,,from ,,tunis ,,title ,,daughters ,,of ,,egypt #bd ,,bargains ,,in ,,oranges #fj ,,by ,,the ,,banks ,,of ,,the ,,nile #fj ,,dorothy ,,and ,,fatimah #gh ,,arab ,,woman ,,entering ,,saint',s ,,tomb #hb ,,types ,,in ,,tunis ,,and ,,algiers #ij ,a ,,young ,,girl ,,of ,,the ,,abu ,,saad ,,tribe #if ,a ,,bedouin ,,girl ,,from ,,north ,,africa #ajb ,,going ,,to ,,market--,,two ,,burden ,,bearers #abf ,,women ,,churning ,,butter ,,in ,,bedouin ,,camp 7,arabia7 #acf ,,moslem ,,and ,,christian ,,cemetery1 ,,etc4 #afj ,a ,,village ,,school ,,in ,,syria--,,moslem ,,and ,,christian1 ,,etc4 #agj ,a ,,family ,,group ,,at ,,jericho #agf ,,mat-,,makers 7,persia73 ,,indoor ,,dress 7,northern ,persia7 #bbh ,,moslem ,,women ,,of ,,the ,,better ,,class ,,in ,,street ,,dress 7,syria7 #bfd ,a ,,cry ,,of ,,distress ,,from ,,algiers #bid ,all that took them captives hold them fast1 they refuse to let them go4 ,their ,redeemer is strong1 the ,lord of ,hosts is ,his name2 ,he shall thoroughly plead their cause4--,,jeremiah l4 #cc1 #cd4 ,deliver them that are carried away unto death1 and those that are tottering to the slaughter see that thou hold back4 ,if thou sayest1 ,behold we knew not this1 doth not ,he that weigheth the hearts consider it and ,he that keepeth thy soul1 doth not ,he know it8 and shall not ,he render to every man according to his works8--,,proverbs xxiv4 #aa1 #ab4 7,r4 ,v47 ,open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are left desolate4 ,open thy mouth1 judge righteously1 and minister judgment to the poor and needy4--,,proverbs xxxi4 #h1 #i4 7,r4 ,v47 ,,our ,,moslem ,,sisters ,i ,,hagar ,,and ,,her ,,sisters ,we must concentrate attention upon the mothers1 for what the mothers are1 the children will be4 ,these words1 spoken recently by a ,british statesman1 are but the thoughts of many who have tried to save the children4 ,and in looking at the millions of ,moslems in the world to-day1 and wondering why they are still as they were a thousand years ago1 rather drifting backward than advancing1 we turn to their women and find the cause4 ,mohammedan law1 custom1 and the example of their founder place woman on a level with beasts of burden and no nation rises above the level of its women4 ,the ,lord ,jesus is the only prophet come to this world who has raised women to what ,god meant them to be4 ,it is only ,he who can save our ,moslem sisters4 ,when ,hagar returns to ,christ ,ishmael shall live4 ,the story of ,hagar1 the mother of the ,arabs1 tells us of a young girl sacrificed for the scheme and then the jealousy of an older woman who should have loved and pitied her4 ,and it seems to some of us that it needs the widespread love and pity of the women of our day in ,christian lands to seek and save the suffering sinful needy women of ,islam4 ,you cannot know how great the need unless you are told2 you will never go and find them until you hear their cry4 ,and they will never cry for themselves1 for they are down under the yoke of centuries of oppression1 and their hearts have no hope or knowledge of anything better4 ,and so to-day1 we want to make our voices heard for them4 ,we want to tell you1 our sisters at home1 in words so plain that you can never again say3 ,behold1 we knew it not4 ,in the mouth of two witnesses shall every word be established1 was the law of ,moses4 ,in this book you have the evidence of more than a score of witnesses and they all speak the same things4 ,each one tells only that which she knows4 ,no incident is given without personal knowledge1 and most of the writers have the experience of ten1 fifteen1 or twenty years in the midst of the people of whom they tell4 ,although we claim no literary merit1 we have a thrilling story and plead for a hearing4 ,read for yourselves what is going on in the lives of a hundred million women in the world to-day and take this burden on your hearts before ,god4 ,a long tress of dark hair1 a white veil1 a bit of flower1 and a shining necklace4 ,they are there above the bier of a young bride carried past our window to her grave4 ,there was another one yesterday1 and there will be more to-morrow4 ,hundreds of child-wives and sixty-two per cent4 they tell us of all the babies born here1 in ,egypt1 are taken to an early grave4 ,we cannot know these things and not call upon you1 our sisters1 to come and try to save them4 ,they are passing away in an endless procession1 without ever having heard of ,jesus1 without ever knowing that ,he died for them1 that an eternity of gladness and love may be theirs4 ,although the voices in this book sound from many lands3 ,egypt1 ,tunis1 ,algiers1 ,morocco1 ,hausa ,land1 ,east ,africa1 ,arabia1 ,palestine1 ,syria1 ,turkey1 ,bulgaria1 ,persia1 ,india1 one story is told and one cry heard everywhere4 ,there has been no communication between the writers1 but there is absolute identity of evidence because all the ,moslems of these lands are under ,mohammedan law4 ,the world-wide suffering of ,moslem women makes us read with wonder such words as were recently spoken by the secretary of the ,pan-,islamic ,society3 ,the ,renaissance of ,islam means the renaissance of humanity4 ,does the speaker think we are all blind1 and deaf1 and ignorant8 ,these pages may enlighten him4 ,we read further ,mustapha ,pasha ,kamel's own words and tell him that in these he speaks the truth4 ,they were spoken to his own fellow-,moslems4 ,mustapha ,pasha ,kamel said in the course of his speech to his co-religionists3 ,conquer with the force of knowledge and history the strong fortresses of prejudice and bigotry1 and open wide the gates of your heart for the reception of ,truth and ,light4 ,for a conquered people there is no cure better than a passionate devotion to ,truth4 ,be ye1 therefore1 messengers of ,light and ,truth1 the missionaries of brilliant and triumphant ,truth1 the army of physicians prescribing the bitter pills of ,truth4 ,tell the effete and feeble rulers and princes1 ',awake from your deep slumber4 ,recover soon from your drunkenness caused by the possession of absolute authority1 the boast of heraldry1 and the braveries of pomp and pageantry4 ,awake ye1 before the depth of degradation into which your subjects have fallen sound the death-knell of your rule and shake the very foundations of your throne4 ,awake before the day overtakes you when repentance and regrets will be of no avail4' ,tell the rich who waste so much of their wealth in the pursuit of ignoble pleasures1 and who do not spare a farthing for a noble cause1 ',awake before it is too late4 ,do not forget in the midnight of your intoxication that a bitter day of reckoning awaits you4 ,awake1 arise1 or be for ever fallen4 ,your fates are bound up with those of your people and your glory depends upon their prosperity4 ,if they rise1 you rise4 ,if they fall1 you fall with them4 ,wealth is a poison if it becomes an instrument of evil2 a life-giving antidote when devoted to a noble purpose4 ,regard it therefore as a divine gift and a sacred trust4' ,tell the people who live the life of animals and are led like dumb cattle3 ',awake1 and realize the true significance of life4 ,fill the earth and adorn it with the result of your labors4' ,gentlemen1 you alone can make them understand the full meaning of life4 ,o physicians6 the patient is in a critical state1 and delay spells death4 444 ,if the thinking men of the ,mohammedan world really believe what is here said to them by their own champion1 we ask them will they not seek unto ,god for a remedy8 ,and it may be ,he will turn their thoughts to their own homes1 and let them see what is1 why it is1 and to think what might be4 ,the homes of the sons of ,ishmael might be happy and united1 the abode of gladness and family love1 but they are the opposite of this4 ,few ,mohammedans know that such a home is possible4 ,they only know a place full of jealousy1 of quarrelling and evil talk4 ,what wonder that they have the proverb3 ,the threshold of the house weeps for forty days when a girl is born4 ,unwelcome at birth1 unloved in her life-time1 without hope in her death2 and she might be the joy of your heart1 the life of your home1 and the hope of your old age4 ,will you not ask yourselves1 our brothers1 can these things be8 ,have we wandered in the dark for centuries1 misled by blind leaders of the blind1 and missing the good things offered us by the ,god of ,ishmael8 ,it was through ,hagar his mother that ,ishmael lived4 ,she sat over against him1 and lift up her voice and wept4 ,and ,god heard the voice of the lad1 and the angel of ,god called to ,hagar out of heaven1 and said unto her1 ,what aileth thee1 ,hagar8 fear not1 for ,god hath heard the voice of the lad where he is4 ,arise1 lift up the lad and hold him in thine hand2 for ,i will make him a great nation4 ,and ,god opened her eyes1 and she saw a well of water2 and she went and filled the bottles with water1 and gave the lad drink4 ,and ,god was with the lad1 and he grew1 and dwelt in the wilderness4 ,to-day we cry to our ,father in ,heaven to let us be the messengers of comfort to ,hagar--and we will ask ,him to open her eyes that she may see the ,well of the ,water of ,life1 and that she may hold it to the lips of her sons and daughters in the ,moslem world4 ,the following touching incident and poem by one who has labored long among ,moslem women in ,persia may well be our opening prayer ere we hear the cry of need from distant lands in these chapters3-- ,it was the ,communion ,day in our ,church1 and the service proceeded as usual4 ,my thoughts were all of my own unworthiness and ,christ's love to me1 until ,mr4 ,e4 asked the question nobody ever notices1 ',has any one been omitted in the distribution of the bread8' ,and it seemed to me ,i could see millions on millions of women rising silently in ,india1 ,africa1 ,siam1 ,persia1 in all the countries where they need the ,lord1 but know ,him not1 to testify that they had been omitted in the distribution of the bread and cup6 ,and they can take it from no hands but ours1 and we do not pass it on4 ,can ,jesus make heaven so sweet and calm that we can forgive ourselves this great neglect of the millions living now1 for whom the body was broken and the blood shed1 just as much as for us8 ,the feast was spread1 the solemn words were spoken2 ,humbly my soul drew near to meet her ,lord1 ,to plead ,his sacrificial body broken1 ,his blood for me outpoured4 ,confessing all my manifold transgression1 ,weeping1 to cast myself before ,his throne1 ,praying ,his ,spirit to take full possession1 ,and seal me all ,his own4 ,on ,him ,i laid each burden ,i was bearing1 ,the anxious mind1 of strength so oft bereft1 ,the future dim1 the children of my caring1 ,all on ,his heart ,i left4 ,how could ,i live1 my ,lord1 ,i cried1 without ,thee6 ,how for a single day this pathway trace1 ,and feel no loving arm thrown round about me1 ,no all-sustaining grace8 ,oh show me how to thank ,thee1 praise ,thee1 love ,thee1 ,for these rich gifts bestowed on sinful me1 ,the rainbow hope that spans the sky above me1 ,the promised rest with ,thee4 ,as if indeed ,he spoke the answer1 fitted ,into my prayer1 the pastor's voice came up3 ,let any rise if they have been omitted ,when passed the bread and cup4 ,sudden1 before my inward1 open vision1 ,millions of faces crowded up to view1 ,sad eyes that said1 ,for us is no provision2 ,give us your ,saviour1 too6 ,sorrowful women's faces1 hungry1 yearning1 ,wild with despair1 or dark with sin and dread1 ,worn with long weeping for the unreturning1 ,hopeless1 uncomforted4 ,give us1 they cry2 your cup of consolation ,never to our outstretching hands is passed1 ,we long for the ,desire of every nation1 ,and oh1 we die so fast6 ,does ,he not love us1 too1 this gracious ,master8 ',tis from your hand alone we can receive ,the bounty of ,his grace2 oh1 send it faster1 ,that we may take and live6 ,master1 ,i said1 as from a dream awaking1 ,is this the service ,thou dost show to me8 ,dost ,thou to me entrust ,thy bread for breaking ,to those who cry for ,thee8 ,dear ,heart of ,love1 canst ,thou forgive the blindness ,that let ,thy child sit selfish and at ease ,by the full table of ,thy loving kindness1 ,and take no thought for these8 ,as ,thou hast loved me1 let me love2 returning ,to these dark souls the grace ,thou givest me2 ,and oh1 to me impart ,thy deathless yearning ,to draw the lost to ,thee6 ,nor let me cease to spread ,thy glad salvation1 ,till ,thou shalt call me to partake above1 ,where the redeemed of every tribe and nation ,sit at ,thy feast of love6 --,,annie ,,van ,,sommer1 ,alexandria1 ,egypt4 ,illustration3 ,,daughters ,,of ,,egypt ,,ii ,,egypt1 ,,the ,,land ,,of ,,bondage ,egypt was the home of the earliest civilization in the world1 which archology traces back beyond #cjjj years ,b4 ,c4 ,the home of a race skilled both in the fine and mechanical arts2 loving nature1 honoring women1 and deeply impressed with the seriousness of life on both sides the grave4 ,the valley of the ,nile1 which is the true ,egypt1 is unlike any other part of the world4 ,it has neither ,alpine grandeur1 nor pastoral softness1 nor variety of plain and upland1 meadow and forest4 ,its low hills have neither heather nor pine upon them4 ,egypt is the land of light1 of glowing sunshine1 of moonlight and starlight so brilliant that night is but a softer day4 ,from the time that ,israel's ancestors went down thither it has drawn men of every clime with a peculiar fascination4 ,on the opposite page we have before us a glimpse of the majestic ,nile1 stretching through one thousand miles of desert till it flows into the ,mediterranean ,sea4 ,wherever the river cometh1 there is life4 ,everywhere along its banks the desert has become fertile1 and there are countless towns and villages4 ,the productive capacity of the land had always depended upon the annual overflow of the ,nile1 but every summer during the season of high ,nile billions and billions of cubic feet of water would roll away a rich and wanton waste into the sea1 simply because there were not enough channels to carry it out into the thirsty sands of the desert4 ,energetic men conceived the idea of bringing these waste waters into control1 to carry them out through the surrounding countries1 bringing life and prosperity where there was dearth and desolation4 ,for this purpose several great dams were built2 one at ,cairo1 one at ,assiut and one at ,assouan1 making it possible to store up much of the water which had formerly gone to waste1 and canals were dug to carry the life-giving water out to the desert where thousands of acres of land have been reclaimed4 ,the large cities of ,egypt are densely populated4 ,a town of twenty-five thousand people is considered a mere village4 ,it might be wondered what the people do for a livelihood1 but they all seem to do something4 ,there are all sorts of tradesmen and artificers4 ,it is next to impossible to enumerate them1 there's the3-- ,richman1 poorman1 beggarman1 thief2 ,doctor1 lawyer1 merchant1 chief2 ,butcher1 baker1 ,candle-stick maker1 ,soldier1 sailor1 ,tinker1 tailor1 etc41 etc4 ,there are few signs of extreme want1 but disease and deformity meet one everywhere1 and blindness is perhaps the most pitiful4 ,egypt is largely an agricultural country1 and naturally the largest percentage of her inhabitants are tillers of the soil4 ,a little more than half belong to the peasant class and are known as fellaheen4 ,they are industrious after their own fashion1 conservative to the point of bigotry1 yet good-humored and peaceable4 ,the peasant class are the hope of ,egypt4 ,they look back to a past full of crushing tyranny1 political and religious1 but under the improved political condition of the country the ,egyptian peasant is beginning to widen his horizon and to aim for education and civilization4 ,poor they certainly are1 but what of that when they have enough to eat such as it is and can spend their whole lives in sunshine and fresh air8 ,warm enough with the lightest clothing1 well sheltered by the rudest cabin1 no hard winters to provide against1 and no coal to buy4 ,such is the physical condition of ,egypt and the ,egyptian4 ,what of the moral and spiritual8 ,nine-tenths of the people are ,mohammedans1 thus ,mohammedan ideas rule the thought and manner of life4 ,because ,mohammedans worship one ,god1 many people say1 ,let them alone1 their religion is good enough for them1 it is even better suited to them than ,christianity4 ,it is true that ,mohammedanism was a revolt against the idolatry and corruption of the early ,christian churches1 but is that revolt1 even though an honest effort to find a purer form of worship1 any excuse for not holding out to them the true way of salvation8 ,is not that revolt rather a trumpet call to ,christianity1 wakening her up to her great responsibility toward the unbelief of ,islam1 whose apostasy was caused by the unfaithfulness of the old ,christian churches of the ,east8 ,no one who has drunk deeply at the fountain of evangelical truth can defend ,islam4 ,it has been commonly supposed that the ,god of the ,koran is the ,god of the ,new ,testament4 ,those who have made the subject a matter of careful study and investigation find that they are totally different4 ,the ,god of ,christianity is a ,god of love1 the ,god of ,islam is an ,oriental despot4 ,the element of love is left out of both the religion and morality of ,islam4 ,marriage is not founded upon love but upon sensuality4 ,a mother was rebuked for arranging a marriage for her fourteen-year-old son4 ,her excuse was1 ,i do it to keep him from learning the bad habit of visiting prostitutes4 ,the sensual nature has been trained in the ,egyptian to an indescribable degree of disgusting perfection4 ,as some one has said1 ,mohammedans have added a refinement of sensuousness to pagan sensuality4 ,as a result of this training men and women have sunk to depths of degradation unconsciously manifested in their customs1 in their speech1 and in their life4 ,for twelve centuries the blight of ,islam has fallen over the fortunes of ,egypt4 ,politics1 commerce1 learning1 all have felt its withering blast1 but that which has most keenly felt the blast and blight of ,islam is society4 ,there is no word in the ,arabic language for home1 the nearest approach to it being beit1 which means house or a place in which to spend the night4 ,to quote from an interesting writer on this thought--,the word is lacking because the idea is lacking4 ,home1 sweet ,home with all its wealth of meaning is a conception foreign to the average ,oriental4 ,an educated young ,moslem with advanced ideas in many respects was asked if the members of his family took their meals together4 ,he said they did not1 each one when he became hungry told the servant to bring food4 ,would it not be better to eat together8 ,yes1 it would be much cheaper1 he replied1 showing that the first ray of the beauty of the home circle had not penetrated his active mind4 ,how can it be otherwise when woman1 the heart and life of the family circle1 was in his mind because of inherited ideas relegated to the position of prisoner and slave rather than to that of companion and helpmeet8 ,it was ,islam that forever withdrew from ,oriental society the bright1 refining1 elevating influence of woman by burying her alive behind the veil and lattice of the ,harem4 ,arabic poetry and literature is generally very uncomplimentary to woman1 characterizing her as a donkey1 or even a snake4 ,the majority of the men hoot at the gallantry and courtesy which ,anglo-,saxon etiquette demands of men towards women4 ,says an ,egyptian1 ,our women must be beaten in order to be made to walk straight4 ,and beaten they are for trifling offence by father1 husband1 brother1 or son as occasion demands4 ,this custom is so common that the women themselves expect a whipping occasionally4 ,it has been said that the theology of ,islam does not give woman a place in heaven1 but that statement is incorrect4 ,however1 her place and station in heaven seem to depend entirely upon the will of her husband4 ,many husbands are like the old ,moslem sheikh who said1 ,i don't want my wives in heaven4 ,i prefer the ,harem of beautiful1 pure1 clean angels which ,god has provided for every good ,moslem4 ,the privilege of prayer is practically denied a young woman with children because of the strict regulations of washing before prayer4 ,unless these ablutions are done carefully according to rule1 prayer is void4 ,a few old women do pray4 ,the nominal ,christians dwelling in the midst of ,islam1 though they hate ,islam with all their hearts1 have yet imbibed much of their spirit in regard to the treatment of women4 ,a ,coptic priest was heard to say1 ,it is better for the women not to go to church1 for they can't keep quiet4 ,they will eat and chatter during the service4 ,poor things6 ,what else could they do1 shut off from the main audience room as they always are behind a high lattice screen1 where they can neither see nor hear what is going on6 ,much can be said about the down-trodden condition of ,egyptian women4 ,as a babe she is unwelcome2 as a child untaught2 as a wife unloved2 as a mother1 unhonored2 in old age1 uncared for2 and when her miserable1 dark1 and dreary life is ended1 she is unmourned by those she has served4 ,heaven is a forlorn hope1 not because she is denied any of its privileges1 but because of the incapability of providing her with enjoyments similar to those promised to the other sex4 ,it has often been asserted that the institutions of ,islam elevated and improved the state of women1 but history and true incidents from life go to show that her position was rendered by ,islam more dependent and degraded than before4 ,she is degraded and made servilely dependent by seclusion4 ,the veil and lattice of the ,harem are both ,islamic institutions established by the ,prophet of ,islam and founded upon incidents which occurred in his own family2 and they are certainly a faithful commentary upon the sensuality and lewdness of the times1 with an unconscious recognition of the fact that the religion of ,islam was not of sufficient moral force to improve the times4 ,history has verified this testimony and we only need to look around in these countries to see for ourselves that ,mohammedanism1 as its founder anticipated1 has not improved the morality of those who have embraced its principles1 but has rather excused and given license to all sorts of lewdness4 ,it is difficult for people reared in ,christian lands to have any conception of the laxity of morals in ,mohammedan lands and it is a thing to be wondered at and excused only on the grounds of ignorance of existing conditions that ,english parents will allow their young daughters to become resident teachers or governesses in rich ,mohammedan houses4 ,the whole system of ,islam1 in so far as it concerns family life and the treatment of women1 is vile and revolting4 ,the veil and lattice of the ,harem1 even though established to guard her modesty and purity1 have degraded and debased her by making her a prisoner4 ,as a child1 she has before her only a few short years in which she has an opportunity to go to school and the effort to improve those few years is very often fruitless1 because just as she shows any signs of budding womanhood 7as early as at the age of ten years and not later than thirteen years7 she must lay aside her books and be hidden1 as they say in ,arabic2 then it is considered improper and immodest for a girl to be seen in the streets4 ,her education stops just at the point when her mind is beginning to open up1 and she is learning to love her books4 ,thrown back into the seclusion of the ,harem she soon forgets all she has learned4 ,should she be energetic enough to try to keep up her lessons and try to get reading matter1 she is met with the taunt1 ,are you a scribe or a lawyer1 that you should read and write every day8 ,the girls who have an opportunity of going to school at all are in the minority1 but for those who do1 as in ,christian lands1 there is a peculiar fascination and joy connected with the first day of school after a month or two of vacation4 ,girls1 new pupils and old1 come trooping into the schoolroom enthusiastic1 eager1 and bright1 rejoicing with all the ardor of childhood that they are allowed to come back to their beloved school and that they are not yet old enough to be hidden4 ,but there is a strain of sadness in all this joy1 for in their interchange of confidences and family bits of news it comes out that a certain ,fatima and a certain ,zeinab1 their big sisters1 are sitting at home very sad and even shedding bitter and rebellious tears because1 poor things6 they have been hidden and their schooldays are over4 ,a day or two after our school began1 the teachers and girls were all startled by a rustle of long garments sailing in at the door4 ,on closer observation they soon saw that their visitor was none other than little ,habeeba of last year1 who during the summer had blossomed out into a woman by donning all the trappings of a ,harem lady1 and she was truly hidden1 for not a speck of her face showed except one bright eye4 ,she could not stay away from her beloved school1 she said1 so had begged special permission to come and spend an hour with her friends4 ,the seclusion of the ,harem is more or less rigid according to the caprice of some exacting husband or mother-in-law4 ,as far as the younger married women's experience goes it is mother-in-law rule literally1 for seldom is a man permitted to take his wife to a home of his own4 ,the sons and even the grandsons must bring their brides home to the father's house and all be subject to the mother4 ,a household of fifty is no uncommon thing4 ,much of the freedom of the younger women depends upon what the old mother-in-law or grandmother-in-law thinks proper4 ,often she rules with a hand of iron1 probably to make up for her own hard life in her younger days1 intermixed with an honest desire to preserve and promote the honor and dignity of her house4 ,for the honor1 dignity1 and aristocracy of a family are often estimated according to the rigor of the seclusion of its women-folk4 ,thousands of ,egyptian women never step over their own thresholds and many of them never make complaint1 only saying1 ,oh1 you know our men love us very much2 that is the reason they imprison us4 ,they do it to protect us4 ,among the strictest people a young woman is not permitted to be seen by even her father-in-law4 ,nor is it allowable for her to be seen by any male servants except eunuchs4 ,under such conditions it might be wondered how a woman could keep her domestic machinery in running order1 but as one woman said1 who had never seen the face of her cook although he had been employed in her house for thirteen years1 when asked the question1 ,how do you tell him what you want for dinner8 ,oh1 he knows my wants1 but when ,i wish to give a particular order1 ,i tell the maid servant1 she tells the little boy servant1 and he conveys the message to the cook6 ,it seems like the irony of fate that these women who are kept in such strict seclusion should be so extravagantly fond of society4 ,they welcome in the most hospitable manner any visitors of their own sex4 ,it is pitiful to see how they love to have glimpses of the outside world4 ,a missionary lady tells of a woman whom she often visited1 who had never been outside of her house since her marriage1 forty years before1 and who begged her to tell her something about the flowers1 saying1 ,ah1 you are happy women1 free to go here and there and enjoy life6 ,many people who know only the outside of ,egyptian life1 when they hear that the women have jewelry and beautiful dresses and servants to look after every want1 say they are happy and contented in their seclusion1 but those who visit them in their homes and talk with them in their own language know how they writhe under it1 how they weary of the idleness and monotony forced upon them4 ,one little woman1 forced to spend her life behind closed shutters1 would feign illness so as to get an opportunity to call in her friend1 the lady missionary doctor1 and1 when rebuked1 would laughingly say1 ,what am ,i to do6 ,i must see somebody to pass away the time and ,i like to have you come to see me1 but you won't come unless ,i send you word ,i am ill4 ,it seems part of the nature of the ,egyptian to distrust his womenfolk and to believe them capable of any misdemeanor4 ,therefore they must be carefully watched and kept in check4 ,this distrust reacts upon the nature and character of the women1 often making them truly unworthy of trust1 but many of them are very sensitive on the subject and feel keenly this unfair position into which they are thrown4 ,what has been said about the strict seclusion of ,egyptian women refers chiefly to the middle and upper classes1 for the poorest women1 those of the peasant class1 have the greatest freedom4 ,they go about unveiled and manifest a character of marked independence and self-reliance1 but they are ignorant beyond description1 such a thing as books and schoolroom being unknown quantities to them1 and their lot is a life of drudgery4 ,many of the village women labor in the fields from early morning to late at night1 especially during the cotton season1 seven or eight months of the year4 ,during the cotton-ginning season many women and girls work from #d o'clock ,a4,m4 to #i o'clock ,p4,m4 in the cotton-ginning mills4 ,those in the vicinities of larger towns are vendors of fruit1 vegetables1 milk1 cheese1 and butter4 ,on market days great troops of village women can be seen on the country roads1 their wares in big baskets on their heads1 their babies perched astride their shoulders1 wending their way to town4 ,those who live in the larger towns are often employed as hodcarriers for masons4 ,their powers of endurance are marvellous4 ,it is a common occurrence for a woman to go out to pick cotton as usual in the morning and to come back in the evening1 carrying her basket on her head and in it her new-born babe1 and it has been known for a woman to start to town with her marketing on her head1 be detained an hour or two by the roadside till she gives birth to her child1 then with it continue her journey4 ,besides being a drudge the peasant woman is nearly always a slave to her husband4 ,of course she does not eat with him2 if she goes out with him she walks behind him while he rides the donkey1 which it is her duty to keep moving at a good pace by prodding with a sharp stick4 ,if there is anything to carry she does it4 ,he does manage to carry his own cigarette and walking stick6 ,often1 too1 she has to exercise her wits to tell her lord amusing stories for his entertainment as they journey by the way4 ,one day some tourists met just such a couple on a country road4 ,the poor woman was trudging along with a big child sitting astride her shoulder while its father rode the donkey4 ,the suggestion was made that the child might ride if its mother couldn't4 ,to the credit of the smiling-faced peasant the suggestion was followed4 ,,iii ,,from ,,under ,,the ,,yoke ,,of ,,social ,,evils ,unhappy marriages are a natural result of the seclusion of women in ,egypt4 ,it would be highly improper for a man to see his bride until after he had married her4 ,he has not even had the privilege of choosing her4 ,his mother did that for him1 and it goes without saying that the young man is not always suited4 ,the story is told of a young man who at his wedding feast was sitting so glum and silent that his young friends teased him by saying1 ,brother6 brother6 ,why so sad on this joyous occasion8 ,in answer he said1 ,i have just seen my bride for the first time and ,i am woefully disappointed4 ,she is ugly6 tall1 thin1 and weak-eyed4 ,the tall daughter-of-the-gods-girl is not admired in ,egypt4 ,her short1 fat1 dumpy little sister is much more according to ,egyptian ideas of beauty4 ,cheer up6 cheer up6 said his friends1 you are not such a handsome fellow yourself that you should have such a handsome wife6 ,shaking his head sadly1 he said1 ,i feel like heaping ashes on my head4 ,if you don't believe me that she is ugly1 go upstairs and peep in at the ,harem window and see for yourselves4 ,glad of the chance of such a privilege1 they did so and came back saying1 ,brother1 heap more ashes on your head6 ,frequent divorce is a natural result of these unhappy marriages4 ,divorce in any land is a social evil but in ,egypt it is especially so1 because the divorce laws are such that in a peculiar way woman is degraded by them4 ,it is difficult to obtain exact figures regarding the percentage of divorce1 as all cases are not recorded4 ,there are some who say #ej per cent4 of marriages end in divorce1 others say #hj per cent41 and a prominent ,moslem when asked said #ie per cent4 ,an experienced missionary when asked her opinion1 said1 ,divorce is so common that to find a woman who lives all her life with one husband is the exception4 ,in fact it is such an exception that it is a subject for remark1 and a visitor in a house where such happy conditions exist never fails to be told about it4 ,many women have been divorced several times1 and a woman of twenty years of age may be living with her third husband4 ,a native ,bible woman who had worked among ,mohammedans for fourteen years when asked1 ,how many men or women of twenty-five years of age she thought likely to be living with their original partners8 said1 ,do you mean that they should have kept to each other and that neither has been divorced or married anybody else8--,yes4 ,she laughed and said1 ,perhaps one in two thousand4 ,this was probably an exaggeration1 but it shows that divorce is very common1 and that the percentage is even higher than those who love ,egypt and her people like to admit4 ,it almost seems that the history of one's ,mohammedan acquaintances in ,egypt might be given in an endless stream of incidents about divorce and the intrigue and hate and jealousy attendant on this1 the greatest social evil of ,egypt4 ,many a young man has no hesitation about marrying and divorcing1 keeping up the process for a year or so till he at last finds a wife to suit him4 ,if it didn't degrade those he has cast aside1 he might be excused for doing so1 as he has had no chance to choose his wife intelligently4 ,a young man of some spirit was determined to have a wife to please him and who would be congenial to him4 ,seeing no other way to accomplish it1 he married and divorced in rapid succession six times4 ,the seventh was a queenly young woman1 gentle and refined in all her ways1 in whom the heart of her husband might well rejoice1 yet the terror daily hung over her that she might be divorced in time like the other six4 ,it was pathetic to see how she tried to cultivate every little feminine art to please her husband1 how she tried to improve her mind so as to be a companion to him1 but constantly with the fear of divorce lurking in her tender and loving heart4 ,among the lower classes marrying and divorcing in rapid succession is a form of dissipation4 ,when pay-day comes1 instead of going off on a big drink 7which1 to the credit of ,islam1 is forbidden71 they use their money to defray the expenses of a season of debauchery1 marrying and divorcing as many wives as possible while the money lasts4 ,picture the degradation of the poor women who are the victims 7often unwilling victims7 of such orgies4 ,it would be interesting to bring in here everything that ,mohammedan law says about divorce1 but the rules are many and complicated and almost too revolting to put into words4 ,it is enough to say that the husband may divorce his wife without any misbehavior on her part or without assigning any reason4 ,it is all left to the will and caprice of the man1 and he has only to say1 ,woman1 thou art divorced1 or he can even use metaphorical language which must be understood by the ever-on-the-alert wife to mean divorce1 as when he says1 ,thou art free6 ,thou art cut off6 ,veil yourself6 ,arise1 seek for a mate6 etc41 etc4 ,a certain man had been away for a week or so on a business trip4 ,he came home and the first words he said to his wife1 were1 ,i thought you had gone home to your father's house6 ,she understood him to mean1 and rightly too1 ,i divorce thee6 so she packed up her things and went off4 ,if a man pronounce his sentence of divorce only once or twice it is revocable1 but if he pronounces it three times it is irrevocable1 and the divorced wife cannot be taken back by her husband till she has been married to another man1 has lived with him and been divorced2 then her former husband can take her back4 ,this is the most revolting and degrading of all the divorce laws1 and the prophet ,mohammed instituted it thinking that the very repulsiveness of it would act as a restraint1 but strange to say it only seems to give more license4 ,a man will get into controversy with his friends perhaps4 ,to strengthen his statements he uses all sorts of oaths1 the strongest of which is1 ,i divorce my wife by the triple divorce4 ,it takes legal effect4 ,the poor man is in great distress1 for he really loves his wife4 ,what is he to do8 ,he must go through the process of law to get her back4 ,he hires a servant or a strange peasant to marry her4 ,the revolting part is that the poor woman has to live with this hired husband till he is again hired to divorce her1 when she is free to go back to her former husband4 ,this case actually happened1 and many like it with varying circumstances might be related1 although it can gladly be said that the irrevocable divorce is not of such frequent occurrence as the revocable4 ,some incidents will illustrate the various circumstances which cause divorce or are excuses for it4 ,abraham1 the carpenter1 came to his employer one day asking for an advance of wages4 ,why8 was asked4 ,i am going to get married1 he said1 and it costs much money4 ,then he proceeded to relate his domestic troubles1 how he had lived with his one wife sixteen years1 explaining that he deserved much credit for doing so1 seeing that his father during his lifetime had indulged in thirty-nine wives1 but that he had come to the point where he must divorce this wife as she really did talk too much1 so of course he would have to marry another4 ,a happy young mother had one little son whom she loved dearly4 ,he was accidentally burned to death4 ,the poor grief-stricken mother mourned and wept so much and so long that she became nearly blind4 ,because she had no more children1 her husband divorced her4 ,in time she talked of marrying again4 ,the missionary who had visited her often and comforted her in her sorrow1 remonstrated on the grounds of her former experience4 ,she answered by saying1 ,a divorced woman must either marry again or else live a life of sin4 ,a poor little child-wife received such injuries at the birth of her first child because of the ignorance of those who attended her at the time that she became an invalid1 consequently her husband divorced her4 ,she heard of the ,mission ,hospital1 where she might receive kindly treatment4 ,she was admitted and cured by an operation4 ,her husband then restored her to his loving heart and home4 ,in a certain town there was a little family where there seemed to be plenty of conjugal happiness in spite of so much that is often said about the impossibility of such a thing in a ,moslem family4 ,the little wife was beautiful1 bright1 and intelligent1 being fairly well educated2 and was able to make her house into something like a real home4 ,they were blessed with a family of interesting and promising children4 ,the father was wont to boast that he a ,mohammedan could verify the fact that such a thing as a perfect home could exist under ,islamic conditions4 ,but temptation came his way4 ,he divorced his beautiful unoffending wife to marry the temptress1 who though rich and of a high family 7which was her recommendation and considered sufficient excuse for his base action71 was ignorant and ugly1 the only thing which seemed to give him any pangs of regret4 ,there was a man who was fairly well-to-do and was considered by his neighbors as being very respectable4 ,the first wife was a very nice woman but had no son1 so her husband divorced her and married a second4 ,still there was no son1 so he married a third4 ,it was believed he did not really divorce the second wife1 but pretended to do so to please the third1 who would not consent to being one of two wives4 ,after a while a son was born to the third1 and so his first wife was brought back to the house as nurse to the child4 ,she was the most ladylike of the three wives1 but she had to carry the baby and walk behind the mother like a servant4 ,when the baby died the parents quarrelled4 ,number three left the house and went into the country4 ,the husband at once brought back number two1 whereupon number three returned in a rage and number two was turned out of the house4 ,on the next quarrel with number three the man married a fourth time--a girl younger than his daughter by his first wife4 ,about this time he met the ,bible woman in the street and asked her why she did not visit his house as usual4 ,she replied1 ,i do not come because ,i never know which lady to ask for4 ,the house of ,ali might be supposed to be rather a religious one1 for the mother of the family has performed the pilgrimage to ,mecca and one of the sons is a howling dervish4 ,here we were introduced to a young bride1 wife of a brother of the dervish4 ,calling again a few months later we found another bride1 the one we had seen on our former visit having been divorced4 ,the third time we went the first wife was there again and the second had been divorced4 ,the woman had been married to another man and divorced by him during the short time of separation from the first husband1 and when the latter wished to have her back her parents could not agree about allowing the marriage and quarrelled so much that they divorced each other6 ,the time occupied by these proceedings was between a year and eighteen months4 ,here were six persons concerned1 and four marriages and four divorces had taken place4 ,a baby had arrived on the scene1 but its parentage was a mystery in the mix-up4 ,it is quite usual for a woman to be divorced before the birth of her first child1 and we could not but feel sympathy with the poor young mother who under such circumstances called her baby ,vengeance4 ,love1 the best and most holy of human joys1 has been almost strangled to death in ,egypt by the institution of divorce1 and the family can seldom be considered a community of common interest4 ,as one woman was heard to say1 ,we go on the principle of trying to pluck or fleece our husbands all we can while we have the chance1 since we never know how soon we may be divorced4 ,it has been said that the character of a nation cannot rise above the character of its women4 ,what can be expected of a nation when hate and jealousy are the ruling passions of its women1 of its mothers who nurture and train up its young6 ,the question has been asked what is the condition of the children of divorced parents4 ,according to the law the mother is given an allowance by her former husband on which to bring up their children to a certain age2 then they are his4 ,if they are girls they often are allowed to become servants to the mother's successor1 although there are fathers who do have enough natural affection to give the daughters of a former wife the proper place in the house4 ,the allowance given a divorced woman when she has children is most often a mere pittance and too often she never gets one at all4 ,she marries again and the children live with grandparents or other near relations or even alternate between the houses of the remarried father and mother1 thus becoming mere little street waifs who have no definite abiding place4 ,they certainly do suffer from neglect1 but seldom are they victims of deliberate cruelty1 although such cases are not unheard of4 ,the distressing screams of a child once attracted the attention of a family2 on investigation it was discovered that the ,mohammedan neighbor1 who had just brought home a new wife encumbered with her little four-year-old daughter1 had been cruelly ill-treating the little mite by shutting her in a dark cellar for hours at a time4 ,the moral effect of divorce on the children is very bad4 ,they often seem to have an inborn passion of hatred and jealousy4 ,the head mistress of a school for girls said she had often noticed how little gentle affection and love seemed to exist between ,mohammedan sisters4 ,these passions are also trained into them1 for they constantly hear their parents spoken against and see the jealousy that exists between their mothers and the wives who have supplanted them4 ,the children of divorced parents1 being neglected and not having any settled home1 generally grow up in ignorance1 because they do not stay long enough in one place to go to school regularly4 ,a school was established in a ,mohammedan quarter of a large city with a view to reaching the people in that district1 but they were of a class whose social system was in such a constant state of upheaval by divorcing and marrying new wives that it was quite impossible to keep the children in school long enough at a time to make any impression upon them4 ,when asked why a certain ,zeinab had not put in her appearance1 ,oh1 she has gone to see her mother who lives across the canal4--,where is ,tantaweyah to-day8--,gone to stay with her father awhile in another village4--,what can be the matter with ,kaleela8 the teacher asks4 ,she knew ,kaleela loved school and would not stay away without an excuse1 and she knew that her father wanted her to stay in school1 but she had a suspicion that the new wife at home had been the means of putting a stop to ,kaleela's schooldays4 ,her suspicion was true1 for the new wife's new baby required a nurse4 ,the institution of polygamy like that of divorce is a natural consequence of the strict seclusion of woman1 for it would be unfair to a man to be put under the necessity of taking a wife he had never seen without allowing him some license should he be disappointed in her4 ,in fact1 polygamy was the original institution1 a relic of the ancient and more barbarous times1 ,jewish as well as ,heathen4 ,by making polygamy a religious institution1 the ,prophet preserved a relic of barbarism4 ,yet even among ,mohammedans polygamy is a dying institution4 ,its death-blow has been struck because educated ,moslems are beginning to be ashamed of it and doctors of ,mohammedan law are beginning to interpret the law to mean that ,mohammed allowed a man to have four wives on the condition that he could treat all alike2 and since human nature makes that condition next to an impossibility therefore ,mohammed meant for a man to have only one wife6 ,many educated ,mohammedans in ,egypt are taking this position4 ,among the middle classes the difficulty of supporting more than one wife at a time is decreasing polygamy4 ,but by no means is polygamy an unheard-of thing1 even if it is going out of fashion4 ,fashion is always slow in reaching the country places1 and it seems to be in the country villages that polygamy seems to be more generally practised4 ,two brothers1 representative country-men1 wealthy and conservative1 were known to have very extensive harems1 each one having twenty-four wives and concubines4 ,many fruitless attempts have been made to defend polygamy and to defend the prophet of ,islam for preserving it1 but1 as a careful student of social and moral ethics has said1 ,to an ideal love1 polygamy is abhorrent and impossible1 and when ideal love is impossible to the wife's heart she is degraded because the passions of hate and jealousy will quickly and surely take its place4 ,the ,arabic word which is applied to a rival wife is durrah1 the root meaning of which is to injure1 to harm4 ,this appellation certainly shows that the fellow-wives are not expected to be on terms of amity with each other4 ,the most common excuse for taking a second wife over the head of the first wife1 as expressed in ,arabic1 is that she has failed to present her husband with a son4 ,to die without a son would be a great disgrace1 so he takes his second wife4 ,a well-educated1 pleasant-spoken ,moslem sheikh1 who was teaching some new missionaries the ,arabic language1 was just on the point of marrying4 ,being much interested in the young man1 one of the missionaries took occasion to impress upon him some of his moral duties toward his new wife4 ,among them that he should never take another during her lifetime4 ,yes1 honorable lady1 ,i promise to do as you say if ,god is willing and she presents me with a son1 otherwise against my will ,i must take a second4 ,a missionary lady and a ,bible woman were making some house-to-house visits in a little country village4 ,as they were going through the street two smiling-faced women standing together in the door of their hut pressed them to enter and pay them a visit1 too4 ,in the course of the conversation it turned out that they were fellow-wives4 ,have you any children8 was asked of the older4 ,no1 neither has she1 was the quick response indicating her rival with a nod of her head4 ,their common disappointment in not having any children seemed to draw them together and they seemed more like sisters than rival wives1 but if one had a child and the other not there would have been some quarrelling and trouble4 ,as can be quite easily understood it is rarely possible for fellow-wives to live together in the same house4 ,in one village there were two houses quite near each other4 ,one was known as the house of ,hassan2 the other as the little house of ,hassan4 ,the former is the family house1 and the other is hired by one of the sons for his second wife1 the first wife being in the larger dwelling4 ,the quarrels are so incessant that it is difficult for any one to be friendly with both parties1 and the second wife is ruining her health with inordinate smoking to kill thought4 ,she seems very lonely and dull1 but says the arrangement is good1 for when her husband is vexed with her he goes to the other house1 and when vexed in the other house he comes to her1 and she added1 ,if we lived together and he were vexed with both at once1 he would have to sleep in a hotel6 ,a ,bible woman was wont to visit two young women who lived in a large apartment house1 on different floors one just above the other4 ,at first they were believed to be the wives of brothers1 but they were so much at variance with each other that neither would enter the apartment of the other1 so had to be taught and read to separately1 much to the inconvenience of the teacher1 who could not understand why two sisters-in-law1 as she thought1 could not meet together to read4 ,she soon discovered that they were both wives of one man and that jealousy was the cause of the disagreement4 ,child-marriages have always been considered one of the curses of the ,east4 ,in ,egypt thirteen is about the average age at which the girls are married1 but one is constantly meeting with cases of marriage at a much earlier age4 ,a woman of twenty-five1 prematurely old1 seemed to take great delight in telling of her marriage when she was only seven years old1 about as far back as she could remember4 ,another often tells the story how she escaped being married when she was only eight years old4 ,the guests were all assembled1 the elaborate supper had been enjoyed by all1 the dancing women had been more than usually entertaining2 the time for the bridal procession came around1 but where was the bride8 ,her father searched all through the house for her4 ,at last he found her lying asleep in the ashes in the kitchen4 ,his father heart was touched and he said to those who followed him1 ,see that baby there asleep6 ,is it right to marry her8 ,at the risk of bringing great disgrace upon himself1 he then and there stopped the marriage and the next day started her off to school4 ,this custom of child-marriage is one of the very fruitful causes of the ignorance of the women4 ,ignorance and superstition always go hand in hand and they jointly are both a cause and an effect of the degradation of women in ,egypt4 ,superstition might almost be called the religion of feminine ,egypt4 ,the people have many curious beliefs about the influence of the evil eye and as many curious charms to protect them from this influence4 ,many mothers will not wash their children for fear they may be made attractive and thus fall under the influence of the evil eye4 ,one woman never compliments another woman's child for the same reason4 ,two women were companions in travel on the train2 by way of introducing the conversation1 one said to the other1 ,what is that ugly thing black as tar in your arms8 ,the other smiling held out her little baby4 ,ugh6 how ugly6 said the first woman4 ,is it a boy or a girl8--,a girl1 said the mother1 but it was quite understood that it was a boy4 ,boys on account of the very high premium put upon them in ,egypt are considered to be very much subject to the influence of the evil eye1 so often he is dressed as a girl and called by a girl's name till he reaches the age when he rebels4 ,the social evils of ,egypt are endless1 but there is a hope of better things for the future4 ,one of the characteristics of the ,new ,egypt is a reaching out after higher ideals4 ,the ideal of the marriage relation is rising1 the educated young ,egyptian is beginning to claim his right to choose his own bride1 thus making the marriage relation more stable because the grounds of compatibility are surer4 ,with this change of ideas on the marriage question and because an educated man would rather choose an educated wife1 there is a growing demand for female education4 ,the evangelical community has the reputation of being the best educated class of people in ,egypt4 ,the last census of all ,egypt showed that only forty-eight in one thousand could read4 ,a special census of the native evangelical community showed that three hundred and sixty-five in one thousand could read4 ,the census also brought out the fact that in the evangelical community female education has taken a great step in advance1 showing that while in all ,egypt only six women in one thousand could read1 in the evangelical community two hundred in one thousand could read4 ,it would be interesting to take a peep into some of the homes of these representative ,christian women and see for ourselves how a ,christian education has developed those wives and mothers into true home-makers4 ,first let us get acquainted with the dear old grandmother who has just been on a visit to her son and his family who live in our city4 ,she and her son have come to make us a farewell visit before she leaves for her native town4 ,her feeble voice1 her slow step1 her dimmed sight1 the appealing marks of old age interest us in her4 ,the goodbye kiss and an affectionate pat from her withered old hand draw our hearts to her1 the tender filial light in the eyes of her son tells us that this gentle little old lady has been a power for good4 ,after they leave we learn in conversation with those who know the story of her life that she is one of the faithful mothers who has endured much persecution1 separation from friends1 leaving a home of wealth and influence for one of poverty all for the sake of ,christ4 ,the best commentary on her life is the beautiful ,christian home of this son1 where his sweet ladylike little wife presides over their family of clean1 well-ordered children with all the gentle dignity of a real queen4 ,we are perfectly at home with them1 for we see nothing but what accords with our ideal of a real home4 ,without any previous information it would be easy to know that this home is a ,bethel where ,christ delights to dwell4 ,let us go to a distant town far up the river and visit an old couple who have spent many years in ,god's service4 ,their lives are a perfect illustration of what ,christ can do for a life4 ,reared under all the tenets and principles of ,islam and not being converted to ,christianity till they were mature in years1 it might be doubted whether a complete change could be wrought in their lives4 ,it did not come all at once1 ,god works out some of ,his greatest changes in lives slowly and quietly1 a growing up unto ,him in all things4 ,the story of the growth of these two followers of ,christ is long and interesting4 ,it is enough to know that they have attained to that point where they can truly be called a holy temple in the ,lord4 ,their home is a model of ,christian happiness where cleanliness and godliness dwell together4 ,their lives are lives of service for their ,master4 ,the daughter of this home1 a woman of rare beauty1 carefully brought up and well educated1 is one who although yet young in years has had a marked influence for good in ,egypt1 first as a teacher in a large girls' school1 then as the honored and much loved wife of the pastor of a flourishing evangelical church4 ,to visit her in her home1 to see her in the midst of her little sons and daughters1 to join with the family in the evening meal which has been prepared by her own hands1 to hear her talk of her work among the women in her husband's large congregation makes one reverently breathe a prayer of thanksgiving to ,god that ,he has let us have a glimpse of the possibilities of ,egyptian womanhood4 ,all up and down the valley of the ,nile can be found women from this representative two hundred in different stations of life2 and each one filling in a womanly way her position4 ,generally she is a wife and mother1 but a true home-maker whether she be the wife of a noble or a peasant4 ,sometimes she is a servant1 faithful1 honest1 and helpful2 often she is a teacher throwing out great circles of influence1 which are widening out till thousands of ,egyptian women will be reached4 ,sometimes she is a humble soul who gives herself over entirely to the service of her ,master4 ,such a one was ,safsaf1 converted at the clinic4 ,her husband had cast her off because she was nearly blind4 ,her great desire was to learn to read4 ,she was presented with a primer and ,new ,testament when she returned to her village after being in the hospital three months4 ,who would teach her to read8 ,she begged a lesson at every opportunity from those in her village who had a little learning4 ,no one imagined that she was such an earnest ,christian till she soon mastered the reading and after going through the ,new ,testament three times1 she began to teach the very ones who had taught her1 rebuking them for their sins4 ,they cursed her1 saying1 ,did we teach you so that you would accuse us6 ,her old father learned the truth through her teaching4 ,he then arranged their little hut so that she might hold meetings for women4 ,her influence among the women and children was wonderful and everybody began to recognize it4 ,through her efforts a boys' school was started and a capable teacher was secured4 ,the greatest desire of her heart was to have the ministrations of an evangelist in her village4 ,she mustered up courage to go to the meeting of ,presbytery and present the request4 ,this was a daring and unheard-of thing for an ,egyptian woman to do4 ,but the members of ,presbytery were much affected by her pleading and granted her request4 ,the next thing was to get a church2 she gave her own little bit of ground1 her all1 then begged money to build the church on it4 ,in addition to these wider interests1 she faithfully and lovingly fulfilled home duties4 ,her sister1 an ignorant1 selfish1 and very superstitious woman1 was her great trial4 ,this sister became ill1 so she took her to the hospital4 ,the doctors told her there was no hope4 ,she begged them to allow her to remain4 ,safsaf spent days and nights praying for her sister's recovery4 ,she began to mend1 and the prayers of her devoted sister at her bedside that she might be restored so as to have an opportunity to learn of ,god and become a converted soul1 led her to accept ,christ as her ,saviour4 ,the life of this humble1 quiet-spoken1 earnest-hearted1 patient1 loving woman1 who lives close to ,christ1 is exercising an influence in her native village which even men wonder at1 but only ,god knows how far-reaching it is4 ,the possibilities of the ,egyptian women are great either for good or for evil4 ,it is said that ,ismail ,pasha1 the grandfather of the present ,khedive1 who in his day ruled ,egypt with a tyrant's hand1 was himself ruled by a woman4 ,his mother1 a woman of strong character1 was the power behind the throne4 ,much has been said about the downtrodden condition of ,egyptian women1 and none too much4 ,islam puts its heel on the neck of woman4 ,it debases and despises her4 ,but there is another side to the picture4 ,woman was born an invincible spirit1 which even the yoke of ,islam has not been able to crush4 ,and in ,egypt scarcely less than in lands where she is more honored1 she exercises a sway that can neither be denied or despised4 ,the lords of creation--and that the men of ,egypt feel themselves decidedly to be--yield to their women far more than a casual observer or even they themselves imagine4 ,an illustration of this is seen in connection with the mourning customs4 ,the government1 and in the case of the ,copts1 the ,church also1 has interfered to break up the violent mourning of the women at the time of deaths4 ,yet very little have they yielded4 ,this is only one of a thousand instances in which1 despite all restrictions1 they do as they please4 ,but their influence reaches to far deeper things4 ,they cling to superstitions and a false faith with far more tenacity than do the men4 ,they bring up their children in the same way4 ,it is they who make the marriages for their sons2 and they rule their daughters-in-law4 ,they keep many a man from acting up to his religious convictions1 and drag many a one back to the denial of his faith4 ,they submit in many things2 they are weaker1 but it is true that work for women lies at the very foundation of mission work4 ,an ,egyptian once said in answer to a statement that the primary object of ,mission schools for girls was to lead them to ,christ1 ,if you get the girls for ,christ1 you get ,egypt for ,christ4 ,,iv ,,the ,,women ,,of ,,egypt ,,once ,,more ,hasten the redemption of woman 444 by restoring her to her mission of inspiration1 prayer1 and pity4 --,,mazzini4 ,what are the women like8 ,are they pretty8 ,how do they bring up their children8 ,how do they keep their homes8 ,do you like them8 ,are they lovable8 ,such are a few of the many questions which are put to the traveller and resident in ,egypt1 by those interested1 for various reasons1 in the land and its people4 ,how differently these questions can be answered4 ,the ordinary tourist sees the black-robed figures 7with features invisible except for two eyes peering over a black crape veil7 walking in the streets of the cities1 or driving sitting huddled together on karros1,a and he remarks on the discomfort of the costume and the cleverness with which they succeed in balancing themselves on the jolting springless carts4 ,or again he sees ladies of the upper class driving in their carriages and motor broughams1 wearing indeed the inevitable habarah and veil1,b but the former cut so as to well expose the upper part of the person which is clothed in rich satins and adorned with sparkling jewels1 and the latter made in such fine white chiffon and hung so loosely over the lower part of the face only1 that the features are distinctly visible2 and he marks with a smile the effort made by woman to emancipate herself from customs which deny her the prerogative of attracting admiration to herself4 ,a ,long narrow carts1 the sides of which are only very slightly raised4 ,b ,the former is the black covering worn by all classes4 ,the poorer women make it of two lengths of material two metres long1 joined together on the selvedge4 ,the ends of one breadth are sewn up and form the skirt1 while the upper breadth is left to pass over the head and fold over the upper part of the person like a shawl4 ,the richer1 from the middle class upwards1 sew the lower breadth into a band forming a skirt1 and the upper breadth is cut smaller to form only a cape fastened on to the waist band at the back1 coming up over the head1 falling by rights over the whole upper part of the body1 but frequently cut so as to scarcely reach the elbow4 ,the latter is worn by the poorer classes2 and by many of the older women of the better class it is made of black crape and is tied over the face from just below the eyes and extends to below the waist2 by the upper classes and more wealthy it was made in fine white muslin but sufficient to disguise the features4 ,now it is frequently made in chiffon4 ,illustration3 ,,bargains ,,in ,,oranges ,illustration3 ,,by ,,the ,,banks ,,of ,,the ,,nile ,again1 perchance1 he sees the fellahah carrying her water jar with ease and grace along some rough uneven track2 or1 may be1 in company with others bearing with agility and strength loads of mud and brick to the builders1 measuring her steps and actions to the music of some native chant2 and he is impressed with the idea of her bright existence and her powers of perfect enjoyment4 ,again he sees her1 whether in city or village alike1 following the bier which is carrying all that is left of one who may or may not have been dear to her1 and he hears the shrill death wail1 and he notes either the bitterness of hopeless sorrow1 or the hollowness of a make-belief grief2 and he is struck with the demonstrativeness of the women and the peculiarity of the scene1 and will try to get a snap-shot of it on his kodak1 and then he passes on to things of other interest4 ,thus the tourist gets to know something of the women1 it is true1 but all that lies behind these outside scenes is closed to him1 and rarely known4 ,to the ,british resident the ,egyptian woman is usually less interesting than to the tourist4 ,the novelty of her peculiarities and picturesqueness has worn off1 and between her and her more fortunate sisters of the ,west there is a great gulf fixed4 ,very rarely is an attempt made to bridge this gulf2 language and customs apparently form an impassable barrier1 and though many ,english ladies live in ,egypt for years1 they never enter an ,egyptian house1 or speak to an ,egyptian woman4 ,it is therefore left to the ,christian missionary to know--and to know with an ever widening knowledge--what are the disabilities and what the capabilities as well as possibilities of these daughters of ,hagar4 ,a woman's life may truly be said to have its commencement in betrothal4 ,before then she is a child1 and the days of her childhood are usually spent without any form of restraint whatever4 ,most of her time1 even if she be the daughter of quite well-to-do people1 is often spent playing in the streets1 where she learns much that is evil and little that is good4 ,the one great reason which many parents give who wish to put their children to school is1 to keep her out of the street1 where she plays in the dirt and learns bad language4 ,but whether she goes to school or not the life of a little girl except in school hours is a perfectly free1 untrained life in which she learns no morality1 not even obedience to her parents4 ,if she does obey them it is from abject fear of punishment1 when disobedience would inevitably mean a severe beating4 ,between the ages of ten to fifteen1 usually about twelve and often earlier1 the little girl is betrothed and then confinement to the house begins4 ,in one hour her life is changed1 no more playing about in the street and acting upon the impulse of her own sweet will1 no more for her the child's delight of spending her millime or two at the costermonger's cart and then sitting in the gutter to eat her purchase with face and hands begrimed with dirt2 no more for her the joy of paddling in the mud by the street pump1 and climbing and clambering about wherever she can with difficulty get4 ,no1 she is betrothed now1 and her childhood and girlhood are over4 ,instead of freedom and liberty1 come confinement and restraint4 ,she is not now allowed out of doors except on rare occasions and then in company with older women1 and her movements are hampered by her being enveloped in habarah and veil4 ,still she has for a time some little comfort in being the important person of the community4 ,she is the bride-elect and there is some excitement in seeing the new galibeeyahs,c and articles of furniture which are to become her own special property4 ,but then1 after a few short months1 sometimes weeks1 the fatal wedding day arrives1 when the child-bride is taken away from her mother and becomes the absolute possession of a man she has often never seen1 and knows nothing about4 ,her woman's life is begun in earnest1 and in very stern reality she learns what it is to be in subjection1 she learns by bitter experience that she has no power now to do what she likes1 and that she is subservient to another4 ,c ,the ordinary dress1 cut rather like a dressing gown and made in cotton or silk4 ,if the latter1 it is usually elaborately trimmed with flounces and lace4 ,her husband may be kind to her1 and in many cases is2 but in any case she is his slave and utterly dependent on the caprice of his nature4 ,if she herself is fortunate enough to have a man who treats her humanely there are dozens of others living in her quarter who come to see her1 who are objects of cruelty and malevolence2 and so her mind is fed with histories of intrigue and divorce1 of injustice and retaliation1 and of unwritten scandal and sin2 until she too1 alas6 becomes contaminated1 and often brings down upon herself the just wrath and harshness of one who might have been good to her4 ,history repeats itself3 in nine cases out of ten1 she can add her tale of woe to the rest4 ,she bears her children and nurses them1 thankful if they chance to be boys2 she has no heart nor ability to teach or train them2 or joy in keeping them clean and pretty2--she loses two1 three1 or more in infancy2 those who are strong survive and until they are two or three years old1 take her place in the streets1 where the open-air life and exercise become their physical salvation4 ,when she is over twenty1 she in her turn becomes an elder woman and is to be seen1 usually with a young baby in her arms1 walking in the streets as she goes the round of seeing her friends1 wailing with the mourners at the house of death1 weekly visiting the graves of her own or her husband's relatives1 and joining in the wedding festivities of those who are going to follow in her train4 ,what wonder that the ,moslem man often cries despairingly3 ,our women are all brutish1 and has not an atom of respect for her in his heart4 ,in the few cases where a ,moslem man speaks well of his wife1 and calls her a good woman1 he almost invariably attributes her being so to his own foresight1 and diligent insistence in keeping her wholly under his control1 limiting those who come to the house1 and not letting her go out of the house even after she has become an elder woman4 ,between thirty-five and forty she is an old woman with grandchildren1 and her life quietly goes down to the grave with all the light and joy long since gone out of it1 and with a dark and hopeless future before it4 ,a few illustrations from the writer's personal knowledge will not perhaps be out of place here4 ,fatimah had been a day pupil in a mission school for four years4 ,she could read and write well1 and sew1 and do fancy work4 ,her father was dead1 her brother1 for some business expedient1 arranged a marriage for her1 when she was thirteen1 with an old man who had already sons and daughters much older than herself4 ,he was a head man in his village and lived some distance from ,fatimah's home4 ,do you think it will be a good thing for ,fatimah8 said ,i to the mother4 ,what are we to do8 was the reply2 they say he is kind2 and far better to marry her to him than to a young man who will only ill-treat and beat her2 we are very poor and cannot afford to get a really respectable young man4 ,the marriage took place1 within two months ,fatimah had returned home but was induced to go back again1 this was repeated twice and on returning home the third time1 she made up her mind to get her husband to permanently divorce her4 ,her mother of course abetted her1 and a woman 7as payment for a piece of fancy work she had asked ,fatimah to do for her7 promised to bring about the divorce by some plan of intrigue which she would arrange4 ,fatimah's life is blighted2 the best that one can hope for is re-marriage to a poor but respectable man1 and to go through her life with him2 but the probabilities are she will be married and divorced time after time1 and each time sink lower in the social scale4 ,she is not yet fifteen years old4 ,aneesah was a little girl of nine1 frail and delicate-looking1 and an only child and much petted1 but often she seemed possessed by the devil so naughty was her conduct4 ,at such times her mother would take her and tie her up1 then beat her unmercifully1 until the neighbors1 hearing the child's screams1 would come to the rescue and force the mother to desist4 ,the mother has herself shown me the marks of her own teeth in the flesh of her child's arms1 where she has bitten her in order to drive the devil out of her4 ,what is likely to be the future of that child8 ,one shudders to think of it4 ,many a time in visiting among the very poor ,i have sat with the women in an open court1 which is like a small yard in the middle of several houses1 in which several families own one1 two1 or three rooms4 ,in the court there may be a dozen or more women1 unwashed1 uncombed1 untidy to a degree2 some bread-making1 some washing1 others seated nursing their babies3--babies who are as sick and unhealthy as they can possibly be1 their bodies ingrained with dirt1 their heads encrusted with sores and filth1 their eyes inflamed and uncleansed1 their garments smelling1 and one and all looking thoroughly ill and wretched4 ,it is the rarest thing to see a healthy-looking baby4 ,as ,i have sat amongst them and talked with them1 ,i have tried to reason with them and point out the advantages of cleanliness and industry2 all admit that ,i am right and that our habits are better than theirs1 yet none have the heart or the energy or the character to break away from their customs and their innate laziness and to rise up and be women4 ,yet one can hardly wonder at their condition1 what chances have they had8 ,married at ten or eleven1 untrained and untaught1 many of them not knowing how to hold a needle1 or make the simplest garment2 still in their teens with two or three children to burden them1 whom they long to see big enough to turn out into the streets and play as they did before them4 ,their only interest in life1 each other's family brawls and scandals2 their health undermined by close confinement and want of exercise1 is it a wonder that they sink into a state of callousness and indifference about everything8 ,i have seen a bright-spirited1 energetic1 laughing1 romping girl of eleven1 turned in one year into a miserable1 lazy1 dull1 inert woman with her beauty and health gone1 and looking nearer thirty than thirteen4 ,one often does not wonder at such a condition of things1 rather does one wonder when the reverse prevails1 and one is able to realize their possibilities in spite of all their drawbacks4 ,i know of women1 though they are but very few1 equally poor and unfavored as those ,i have described1 who can be found sitting in their own little rooms1 their younger children with them1 holding themselves aloof from the usual gossip1 their rooms swept1 themselves clean and tidy1 their babies1 though not ideal1 comparing favorably with the others2 their one apparent trouble1 the elder children whom they do not know how to train and whom they cannot keep out of the streets2 unless indeed there chance to be a mission school in the near neighborhood4 ,the same state of things pervades all classes of society1 though in the middle and upper classes the ,moslems are usually very cleanly both in their persons and in their homes1 but the majority of the women are in the same low degraded moral state4 ,life in the harems is spent in smoking and idle gossip1 and things far worse2 the wife and mother there1 no less than among the poorer classes1 has no idea of responsibility4 ,she is frequently unable either to sew1 read1 or write1 and leaves her children to the care of dependents4 ,her life is merely an animal life2 she is but a necessary article for use in her husband's household4 ,a wealthy merchant who has had several wives keeps one in a beautiful house with every comfort1 another wife of the same man is left to live where she can with the pittance of something like three pence per day4 ,this is what the ,moslem faith allows4 ,it has been well said a nation cannot rise above the level of its women1 and this is painfully illustrated in ,egypt and in all other lands where the faith of ,islam holds sway4 ,much is being done to improve the social conditions of the people of ,egypt1 but the real sore remains untouched so long as the teaching of the ,koran with regard to the position of women remains in vogue4 ,there are many ,mohammedan gentlemen who would fain see a better state of things1 and who1 like the late ,mr4 ,justice ,budrudin ,tyabji1 of ,madras1 devote their efforts to the amelioration of the backward position of their brethren in the faith1 and desire especially the mitigation and ultimate removal of paralyzing social customs1 such as the seclusion of women4 ,but their efforts are unavailing so long as they remain adherents of the ,moslem faith1 for in obedience to the ,koran they can adopt no other course than the present one4 ,let them substitute for the ,koran the teaching of the ,christian faith1 the faith which alone gives woman her rightful position1 and they will find that she can be a mighty influence for good in the social life of the nation4 ,let her take the place ordained for her by the ,great ,creator as the helpmeet to man1 let her fulfil her mission in the world1 laid down in the teaching of the ,new ,testament1 to love and influence1 to cheer and strengthen1 to pour out her life in the devotion of love and self-sacrifice1 whether as daughter and sister1 or wife and mother2 then will the women of ,egypt be clothed with strength and honor and then will the daughters of ,hagar put on the robe of chastity and the adornment of a meek and quiet spirit4 ,chastity-- ,she that hath that is clothed in complete steel4 ,her price will be far above rubies1 the heart of her husband will safely trust in her1 her children shall arise up1 and call her blessed4 ,v ,,behind ,,the ,,opening ,,door ,,in ,,tunis ,the lot of a ,tunisian woman is probably a brighter one than that of many of her ,moslem sisters who have not the privilege of living under the enlightened rule of a ,european government4 ,it is not possible for her1 under existing circumstances1 to have the perfect liberty of ,european women1 but should justice not be granted by an ,arab tribunal1 she has always the right of appeal to the ,french authorities1 who take care to see that the laws are rightly administered4 ,the ,english-speaking race1 accustomed to greater freedom for its women than any other on the face of the earth perhaps1 would find it hard to be shut up in an ,arab house1 taking no long country walks1 joining in no outdoor games1 knowing nothing of the pleasures of shopping expeditions1 having no literary pursuits1 and meeting no men outside the circle of their relatives2 and indeed it is a sadly narrow life4 ,but we must remember that our ,moslem sisters have never known anything better1 and the majority are perfectly contented with things as they are4 ,to thoroughly appreciate and make a right use of liberty1 one must be trained1 there must be education to meet its responsibilities1 and without this its effects would be disastrous4 ,to an ,arab lady who never goes out otherwise than closely veiled1 it would be a far greater trial to walk through the streets with face exposed1 than to the ,european to cover herself4 ,much has been said about the hardships of the woman's being locked in during her husband's absence from the house4 ,this is not infrequent and does appear somewhat prison-like2 but it is often done solely as a protection4 ,i knew one woman who preferred to be thus locked in1 but arranged with her husband that on the days of my visits the key should not be turned on her4 ,and the doors of ,arab houses are always so constructed that1 even when locked1 they can be opened from inside on an emergency though they cannot be reclosed without the key4 ,when ,i came to this country some twelve years ago1 the thing that most struck me in visiting ,arab houses was the cheerfulness and even gaiety of the women4 ,i had a preconceived picture in my mind of poor creatures sitting within prison walls1 pining to get out1 and in utter misery4 ,nothing of the kind6 ,what did ,i find8 ,laughter1 chatter1 the distraction of periodic visits to saints' tombs1 or that centre of social intercourse--the bath4 ,old women1 the scandal-mongers of the neighborhood1 go round to retail their news4 7,and it will be allowed that even in ,england there are many who take a deeper interest in the doings of their neighbors than in more elevated topics of conversation47 ,here ,jewesses1 spreading out their pretty1 silken goods to tempt purchasers1 or neighbors who had dropped in by way of the roof for a gossip1 not over a dish of tea1 but a cup of black coffee4 ,there ,arab women1 much like children1 quickly shaking off little troubles and meeting greater trials with the resignation of fatalism1 which finds comfort in the magic word1 ,maktoob 7,it is decreed71 in a manner incomprehensible to the ,western mind4 ,is it surprising that ,i almost accused my fellow-missionaries of misrepresenting the home life of the people8 ,but ,i only saw the surface and had not yet probed the deep sore of ,mohammedanism nor realized the heavy burdens which its system entails4 ,let me tell you of three of the heaviest of these burdens3 ,polygamy1 ,divorce1 and the ,ignorance which results from complete lack of education and walks hand-in-hand with its twin-sister1 ,superstition4 ,polygamy shall be placed first1 although it is not the greatest bane of ,tunisian home life4 ,by ,mohammedan law a man is allowed four wives1 but in ,tunisia1 though it is by no means rare for a man to have two1 he seldom takes more than that number at one time4 ,occasionally they live in separate houses1 sometimes in different towns1 and may be quite unknown to each other4 ,a ,moslem will frequently take a second wife in the hope of having children1 or it may be a son1 the first wife being childless4 ,in other houses one finds under the same roof two wives of one husband1 each having a large number of children4 ,each wife will have two or three maid-servants who sit with their mistresses and mingle freely in the conversation1 and1 if the family be wealthy1 the elder daughters have their own special attendants4 ,thus a household may contain a large number of women who live together more or less harmoniously1 and whose numerous quarrels do not conduce to the tranquillity of the master of the house4 ,but what does he care as long as he is master and reigns supreme8 ,there is probably not much affection between him and the wife whom he never saw before the wedding-day1 but he loves his children1 being specially fond of the little ones and showing all a father's pride in his sons4 ,his hours of recreation are spent at the caf or the more aristocratic rendezvous--the barber's shop--and the charms of sweet home life he has never imagined4 ,year by year1 however1 ,western education is slowly but surely telling on the ,oriental mind4 ,the young men1 trained in ,french schools and imbibing modern ideas1 show a strong tendency to follow the manners and customs of their teachers1 and it is at least considered more comme-il-faut to take only one wife and in some measure copy the ,european mnage4 ,divorce is1 however1 the great curse which blights domestic happiness1 and words fail me to describe the misery it brings4 ,the ,moslem population of the city of ,tunis is sixty thousand4 ,setting aside men and children there remain1 roughly speaking1 about twenty-five thousand women1 and comparing my own experience with that of other lady missionaries we are agreed in affirming that the majority of these women in the middle and lower classes have been divorced at least once in their lives1 many of them two or three times1 while some few have had a number of husbands4 ,in the upper class and wealthy families divorce is not nearly so common1 and for obvious reasons4 ,i have never known a man to have thirty or forty wives in succession as one hears of in some ,mohammedan lands4 ,a man once told my brother-in-law that he had been married eighteen times1 and ,i heard of another who had taken 7the ,arab expression7 twelve wives1 one after another2 but this last was related with bated breath as being an unusual and opprobrious act4 ,when a woman is divorced she returns to her father's house and remains dependent on him until he finds her another husband1 her monetary value being now greatly reduced4 ,the quarrel which led to the separation is sometimes adjusted and she returns to her husband1 but never if he has pronounced the words1 ,tulka be thalthe 7,divorce by three1 or threefold74 ,this1 even though uttered in a moment of anger1 may never be recalled1 and if he really care for his wife and wish to take her back again1 she must be married to another man and divorced by him before she can return to her first husband4 ,but the laws relating to marriage1 divorce1 and the guardianship of the children1 would require a volume to themselves and cannot be entered upon here4 ,one is led to ask1 what is the cause of this dark cloud of evil which casts its terrible shadow over so many homes8 ,no doubt it chiefly arises from the low standard of ,moslem morality and is intensified by the whole basis of the marriage relationship4 ,among the upper classes a girl does not often marry till about seventeen years old1 but a poorer man is glad to get his daughters off his hands at a much earlier age1 especially if he can obtain a good dowry in payment4 ,the girl goes through a form of acceptance1 relying on the representations of her relatives1 which are often far from truthful4 ,she never sees her husband until the wedding day and then1 no matter how old1 ugly1 or repulsive the man may be1 it is too late to refuse2 no wonder that mutual disappointment often ensues1 deepening into strong dislike1 which produces constant friction1 culminating in a violent quarrel2 as in the case of a young girl whom ,i knew1 married to an old man1 and divorced a few years later through a quarrel over a pound of meat4 ,illustration3 ,,dorothy ,,and ,,fatimah ,the history of the two little girls in the accompanying photograph1 shows clearly the contrast between the life of an ,english and that of an ,arab child4 ,it was taken about eight years ago at the birthday party of my little niece1 who had been allowed1 as a treat1 to invite a number of ,arab girls to tea1 and was photographed with one who was about the same age as herself4 ,the one1 ,dorothy1 is now thirteen years old and still a happy1 light-hearted schoolgirl1 carefully sheltered from all knowledge of evil4 ,the other1 ,fatima1 to-day1 sits in her father's house1 divorced1 desolate1 and soured in temper by her hard fate4 ,and1 indeed1 her story makes one's heart ache4 ,some few months ago she was married to a young man1 who1 though not yet twenty1 had already divorced his first wife4 ,still1 ,fatima's parents considered that no drawback1 since he was in prosperous circumstances and willing to pay six hundred francs for the charming little bride4 ,the marriage festivities lasted a week1 friends showered blessings upon the bride and the bridegroom1 who were mutually pleased with each other1 and all seemed to augur well for the future4 ,but1 as in the old fairy story1 no one had reckoned on the machinations of the bad fairy who soon presented herself in the form of the girl's grandmother4 ,the old lady strongly objected to the match on the ground that a slur was cast on the family by ,fatima's being married before her elder sister1 ,hanani1 who was not so good-looking and had consequently been passed over by the professional matchmakers4 ,she vowed to separate the young couple by working the works of ,satan over them1 which in plain ,english means1 exercising sorcery4 ,but ,i will tell the story as ,i heard it from the mother4 ,five weeks after the wedding the old woman contrived to steal secretly into the bride's room and sprinkle over it a powder possessing the power of casting an evil spell over those she wished to injure1 and1 to make her work more efficacious1 she further wrapped a knife with evil charms and hid it amongst the bridegroom's clothes4 ,shortly after she met the young man1 and clutching him by the arm1 her sharp eyes gleaming from between the folds of her veil1 she hissed3 ,know1 ,o man1 that ,i have bewitched thee and ere long thou shalt be separated from thy bride6 ,on entering the house that evening1 he complained that he felt as though in a furnace4 ,it was a cold night and the family were shivering1 but he kept casting off one garment after another1 exclaiming that the awful heat was unendurable and that he was surely bewitched4 ,this went on evening after evening for a whole week until he declared that he could stand it no longer1 and could only rid himself of his sufferings by a divorce4 ,before the kadi he explained that he had nothing against the girl nor their family1 who had always treated him with great kindness1 but he was under the influence of sorcery and must be divorced4 ,and this statement was accepted as perfectly reasonable4 ,what astonished me the most was1 that the bride's parents exonerated him from all blame4 ,as the mother said1 ,i loved him as my own son1 but he could not help it4 ,the old woman had worked the works of ,satan over him1 and how could he escape8 ,this incident shows not only the slender nature of the marriage ties but also the immense power which superstition exercises over the mind4 ,it seems to be part of a ,moslem woman's very nature1 and largely influences all her life from the cradle to the grave4 ,beware1 when visiting an ,arab woman1 of too greatly admiring her tiny baby1 however engaging it may be6 ,such admiration would surely attract the evil eye1 and then woe to the little one6 ,the safest course of an ignorant ,roumi 7,christian7 is merely to glance at her little child and say1 ,mabrouk 7,may it be blest74 ,is there illness in the house1 a message is first sent to the degaz 7soothsayer71 who writes a magic paper1 encloses it in a leather case1 and sends it to the sick one with directions to fasten it on the head1 arm1 etc41 according to the part affected4 ,another favorite remedy is to pour a little water into a basin on which passages from the ,koran are written1 and then either drink or bathe with it as the disease may appear to require4 ,these powerful remedies failing to restore health1 the invalid is next taken to the tomb of some celebrated saint4 ,there1 offerings are made and prayers recited4 ,a favorite resort in ,tunis is the ,zawia of ,sidi ,abdallah1 situated just outside the city wall4 ,here a black cock is sacrificed and a little of its blood sprinkled on the neck1 elbow1 and knee of the sufferer on whose behalf it is offered4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,arab ,,woman ,,entering ,a ,,saint',s ,,tomb 7,,tunis7 ,before our house stands a ,zawia 7saint's tomb71 built in honor of a female saint1 and at this tomb one day stood an ,arab woman1 knocking gently at the door and crying in piteous tones1 ,o lady6 ,heal me1 for ,i am very ill6 ,i have giddiness in my head6 ,i am very weak6 ,do heal me6 ,the poor creature calling in her ignorance on a dead saint not only moves the heart to pity but also creates in the mind a wonder as to who these saints may be1 and what has led to their being thus honored4 ,let me give you a sketch of a noted dervish1 or saint1 who has just passed away4 ,i first saw ,sidi ,ali ,ben ,jaber some years ago seated in front of a caf in the ,halfouine--the quarter where the late ,bey had built him a house4 ,by his side were native musicians making a discordant noise while at intervals the holy man was bellowing like a mad bull4 ,securing a corner of a doorstep1 ,i managed to peep over the surrounding crowd and my curiosity was rewarded by the sight of a decrepit1 filthy old man1 his bald pate encircled by scant grizzled hair and unadorned by the usual fez cap4 ,his sole covering was a dirty cotton shirt1 open at the neck and descending no lower than the knees4 ,but what a shirt6 ,as a mark of saintliness1 it had not left his body for years1 but had gradually increased in thickness1 for when sufficiently caked with accumulations of filth and snuff1 a clean piece of calico had been sewn over it4 ,this had been covered by successive layers as required1 until it is just possible that the initiated might have been able to determine the age of the wearer by the concentric rings of his garment6 ,sidi ,ali was not always1 however1 thus seated in state4 ,he would1 from time to time1 parade the ,halfouine1 stopping occasionally to demand a gift1 which was seldom refused4 ,stories are told of swift judgments overtaking bold ,moslems who slighted the wish of the holy man1 and equally thrilling accounts of deliverance from peril to the ,faithful who granted his desire4 ,sidi ,ali ,ben ,jaber once met another ,arab1 ,sidi ,ben ,faraji1 dragged him into a neighboring shop and insisted on his buying a large and expensive block of marble with which to embellish the saint's house1 for that happened to be the holy man's craze for the time4 ,on his way home ,sidi ,ben ,faraji had to pass under a bridge1 which fell1 severely crushing his left arm1 and now was apparent the virtue of his gift to the holy man2 for had he refused to buy the marble as requested1 the bridge would assuredly have fallen1 not on his arm only1 but on his whole body1 and he would have become a shapeless mass4 ,our ,halfouine saint was sometimes in a violent state of mind4 ,then1 as he approached1 the butchers would quickly hide their meat1 the confectioners' display of cakes became suddenly scanty1 while other shops appeared equally bare4 ,the saint might enter a shop1 turn the contents into the street1 and work general havoc2 the owner not daring to say him nay1 but cherishing the hope of recompense in ,heaven to atone for present loss4 ,in cases of illness1 ,sidi ,ali would be taken to the house of the sick one1 and his presence was said invariably to bring blessing and relief4 ,he is also said to have foretold the introduction of electric trams1 but this appears to have been only thought of when they had already made their appearance in the city4 ,for months the poor old man had been growing feebler1 and in the month of ,january last he passed away4 ,his death caused general mourning and lamentation1 many women weeping bitterly4 ,the corpse was escorted to the mosque and thence to the cemetery by various sects displaying colored silk banners1 emblazoned with ,koran verses4 ,crowds pressed round the bier fighting for a chance of seizing it for a moment and thus securing merit in heaven1 and it was only a strong force of police which prevented the whole being upset4 ,fumes of incense filled the air1 dervishes swayed in their wild chants till one and the other fell exhausted1 and when the tomb was finally reached the bier was broken into fragments and distributed amongst eager claimants from amongst the thirty thousand ,moslems assembled4 ,such1 dear readers1 is a ,moslem saint1 and their name is legion4 ,it is by the intercession of such as these that the superstitious hope to obtain earthly and heavenly benefits1 and it is at the shrines of such as these that the poor ,moslem women come1 in the dark days of trouble1 to pour out their hearts and seek for help and blessing4 ,some time ago one of my schoolgirls asked me to go and see her sister1 who had been brought from a neighboring village seriously ill4 ,on reaching the house ,i found a young woman of about eighteen stretched on a mattress on the floor1 and sitting by her side1 her husband1 who was at least fifty years of age4 ,the poor creature was in great suffering and evidently too ill for any simple remedy1 so ,i called in the help of a ,french lady doctor1 who kindly came and prescribed for her4 ,on going to the house next day1 great was my surprise to find that the medicine ordered had not been given1 and the surprise gave place to indignation when ,i discovered that the family firmly believed that the whole trouble was caused by an evil spirit which had taken possession of the young wife1 and that the black sheep1 tied up in the courtyard1 had been placed there in the hope that the demon would prefer to inhabit the body of the animal and might thus be induced to leave its present abode4 ,poor young thing6 ,she died not long after1 but her friends to this day believe that they did all in their power to help her1 and her death could not have been averted since it was surely decreed4 ,the veil that shrouds the ,moslem home life in ,tunis has been raised and my readers have had a peep at its sadder side1 but it is only a peep6 ,the farther one penetrates the more intolerable its noisome atmosphere becomes4 ,deceit and lying are so prevalent that a mother questions the simplest statements of her own son1 and ,i have seen a mistress insist on a servant swearing on the ,koran before she would accept his word4 ,demoralizing conversation is freely indulged in before the children1 till their minds become depraved to such an extent that in our school we could not allow the girls to tell each other stories or even ask riddles because of their indecent character2 and bad language1 even from the little ones1 was a thing with which we constantly had to contend4 ,and now we1 to whom ,god has given so much light and so many privileges1 are brought face to face with the problem1 ,what can be done to help our ,mohammedan sisters to lift the burdens which mar the happiness of so many lives8 ,in the first place it seems to me a necessity that the man's eyes should be opened to see the true condition of affairs from a ,western1 or better still a ,christian1 standpoint1 and should realize the larger amount of domestic happiness he1 himself1 is losing4 ,and this may be done by education and the free intercourse with ,christian families1 which will give him an insight into the joys of their home circles4 ,as was before hinted1 ,european education is already cultivating the intelligence of the upper classes and slowly extending its leavening influence among the masses4 ,there is an increasing desire1 not only that the boys should receive a good ,french education1 but that the girls should share its benefits too4 ,tennyson's words in the mouth of ,king ,arthur have a new significance3-- ,the old order changeth1 giving place to new1 ,and ,god fulfils ,himself in many ways4 ,but this change cannot be accomplished in a day1 nor without a struggle between the old and new systems4 ,this may be illustrated by an amusing scene ,i once witnessed4 ,i was one day sitting in the house of a wealthy ,arab whose mind had been enlarged by travelling in many lands4 ,his eldest daughter was one of the very few ,arab girls ,i have met who could read and write ,arabic beautifully4 ,i was accustomed to give her ,french lessons1 and she was at that moment in the opposite room across the courtyard1 taking a lesson from a ,jewish music master on a new piano lately sent by her fianc4 ,suddenly two servant girls rushed into the room exclaiming3 ,sidi ,mohammed is coming6 ,here is ,sidi ,mohammed6 ,the grandfather1 the head of the family1 was at the door1 and great would be his wrath should he see his granddaughter learning music1 and above all from a man4 ,fortunately the old gentleman1 being somewhat infirm1 could not quickly descend from his carriage although assisted by his two men-servants1 so that by the time he made his appearance the music master was simply hidden away in a tiny inner room and the whole family assembled in the courtyard2 ready with profuse salutations1 welcomes1 and kissing of hands1 to conduct him to one of the principal apartments1 not that in which the ,jew was imprisoned4 ,i have often wondered how long the visit lasted1 and whether the musician was as fortunate as myself in being soon able to beat a retreat4 ,yes6 the people are ripe for education--but is there not a serious danger in giving them education and education only8 ,is it not to be feared that with minds enlightened to see the errors of ,mohammedanism1 they will cast off its bonds only to become entangled in the meshes of atheism and become a nation of libre-penseurs1 so that having escaped the rocks of ,scylla they find themselves engulfed in the whirlpool of ,charybdis8 ,my second illustration represents a poor ,arab woman entering a saint's tomb1 over the portal of which is written3 ,he 7,god7 opens the doors4 ,open to us 7,o ,lord7 the best door6 ,and with my ,christian readers ,i would plead that they would do all in their power both by prayer and by effort1 that while the doors of education and progress are being thrown wide to these ,moslems1 the best door--the door of the ,gospel--may be opened also1 so that they too may know the glorious liberty wherewith ,christ hath made us free4 ,,vi ,,not ,,dead1 ,,only ,,dry ,it is useless to plant anything3 the earth is dead4 ,no1 it is not dead1 it is only dry4 ,but ,i tell you1 it is dead4 ,in summer the earth is always dead3 see here4 ,and the ,arab who spoke stooped and picked up a rock-like clod1 that he had hewn with his pickaxe from the trench at his feet4 ,it looked dead enough certainly2 the ,algerian soil in ,august is much the same in texture as a well-trodden highway4 ,but it is only waiting4 ,it is the very same earth that it is in winter1 ,i replied2 all it wants is water1 and water you must give it4 ,with an ,oriental's laconic patience1 though all unconvinced1 the man went on with the digging of his trench1 and the planting therein of acacia clippings to make a new thorn hedge where it had been broken down4 ,and with a new hope in ,god my own words came back to me as ,i turned away4 ,it is not dead3 it is only dry4 ,for of all the soils in the world our ,moslem soil in ,algiers seems the most barren1 while friend and foe repeat the same words3 ,it is useless to plant anything3 the earth is dead4 ,but in the face of both--in the face of the hosts of darkness who take up the words and fling them at us with a stinging taunt--we affirm in faith3 ,no1 it is not dead4 ,it is only dry4 99 99 99 99 99 ,dry3 that we know sorrowfully well2 it cannot be otherwise4 ,it is dry soil because ,islam has come nearer doing despite to the ,spirit of grace than any other religion2 it is1 as has been truly said1 the one anti-,christian faith1 the one of openly avowed enmity to the ,cross of ,christ1 the one that deliberately tramples under foot the ,son of ,god4 ,it is dry also because in the religion itself there is something searing1 blighting1 as with a subtle breath of hell4 ,this is true of the lands where it has laid hold1 and true of the hearts1--it is dry4 ,dry soil1 ,,not dead soil4 ,if you were out here in ,algiers and could see and know the people1 you would say so too4 ,the next best thing is to bring you some of their faces to look at that you may judge whether the possibilities have gone out of them yet or not3 women faces and girl faces1 for it is of these that ,i write4 ,will you spend five minutes of your hours to-day in looking--just looking--at them1 till they have sunk down into your heart8 ,,are they the faces of a dead people8 ,do you see no material for ,christ if they had a chance of the ,water of ,life8 ,these are real living women1 living to-day1 unmet by ,him4 ,illustration3 ,,types ,,in ,,tunis ,,and ,,algiers ,to begin with1 the first glance will show their intelligence4 ,get an average ignorant ,englishwoman of the peasant class to repeat a ,bible story that she has never heard before4 ,she will dully remember one or two salient facts4 ,go up to a mountain village here and get a group of women and talk to them1 and choose one of them to repeat to the others what you have said4 ,you will feel after a sentence or two that your ,arabic was only ,english put into ,arabic words2 hers is sparkling with racy idiom4 ,more than that1 she is making the story live before her hearers3 a touch of local color here--a quaint addition there4 ,it is all aglow4 ,and this a woman who has sat year after year in her one garment of red woollen drapery1 cooking meals and nursing children1 with nothing to stimulate any thoughts beyond the day's need4 ,and their powers of feeling3 do their faces look as if these have been crushed out by a life of servitude8 ,not a bit of it4 ,no ,european who has not lived among them can have any idea of their intensity3 love1 hate1 grief1 reign by turns4 ,anger and grief can take such possession of them as to bring real illness of a strange and undiagnosable kind4 ,we have known such cases to last for months2 not unfrequently they end fatally2 and more than one whom we have met has gone stone-blind with crying for a dead husband who probably made things none too easy while he lived4 ,and then their will power3 the faces tell of that too4 ,the women have far more backbone than their menkind1 who have been indulged from babyhood2 their school of suffering has not been in vain4 ,in the beautiful balance of ,god's justice1 all that man has taken from them in outward rights has been more than made up in the qualities of endurance and sacrifice that stand1 fire-tried1 in their character4 ,and down beyond these outward capacities1 how about their spirit-nature8 ,it may be hard to believe at home1 but it is a fact that just as the parched ground of ,august is the very same as the fertile earth of spring1 so these souls are the very same as other souls4 ,god is the ,god of the spirits of all flesh4 ,he hath made of one blood all the inhabitants of the earth4 ,for ,,impressionableness on the ,divine side1 they are as quick as in enlightened lands3 ,i think1 quicker4 ,it is only that as soon as the impression is made then cometh the devil with an awful force that is only now beginning to be known in ,christian countries1 and there is not enough of the ,holy ,spirit's power to put him to flight4 ,there will be when the showers come6 ,as yet the soil is dry3 the womenkind are a host of locked-up possibilities for good and sadly free possibilities for evil4 ,the dark side lies in untrueness born of constant fear of the consequence of every trifling act1 moral impurity that steeps even the children--wild jealousy that will make them pine away and die if a rival baby comes4 ,their minds are rife with superstition and fertile in intrigue4 ,and while all this has full play1 unchecked and unheeded1 the latent capacities for serving ,god and man are wasting themselves in uselessness1 pressed down by the weight of things4 ,there is something very pathetic in watching the failing brain-power of the girls4 ,until fourteen or fifteen years they are bright1 quick at learning2 but then it is like a flower closing1 so far as mental effort goes1 and soon there is the complaint3 ,i cannot get hold of it1 it goes from me4 ,once grown up1 it is painful to see the labor with which they learn even the alphabet4 ,imagination1 perception1 poetry remain1 and resourcefulness for good and evil1 but apart from ,god's grace1 solid brain power dies4 ,probably in the unexplored question of heredity lies the clue2 for at that age for generations the sorrows and cares of married life have come and stopped mind development till the brain has lost its power of expansion as womanhood comes on4 ,life is often over1 in more senses than one1 before they are twenty4 ,the story comes before me of three warm-hearted maidens who a few years ago belonged to our girls' class3 the eldest came but seldom1 for she was toiling over shirtmaking for the support of her mother and sister4 ,this sister and a friend made up the trio4 ,their mothers were adherents--we had hoped at one time ,,more than adherents1 but compromise was already winning the day3 the daughters had open hearts towards the ,lord1 all of them in a child-like way4 ,where are they now8 ,they came to marriageable age1 and ,moslem etiquette required that they should marry4 ,we begged the mothers to wait a while and see if some ,christian lads were not forthcoming3 but no1 fashion binds as much in a ,moslem town as in the ,west ,end of ,london4 ,the eldest girl was carried out fainting from her home to be the wife of a countryman4 ,he was good to her3 his mother became madly jealous4 ,within two years the bride fell into a strange kind of decline2 when death came there were symptoms showing that it was from slow poison4 ,the second to marry was the little friend4 ,at her wedding feast those who had forced the marriage on1 drugged her with one of their terrible brain-poisons4 ,the spell worked till she could not bear the sight of us1 and hated and denounced ,christ4 ,it wore itself out after a few months and light and love crept back4 ,we went away for the summer4 ,before we returned she had been put to death by her husband4 ,through the delirium of the last day and night her one intelligible cry was ,jesus2 so the broken-hearted mother told us4 ,she was an only child4 ,the third is still alive1 a mere girl4 ,she has been divorced twice already from drunken1 dissolute husbands4 ,long intervals of silent melancholy come upon her1 intense and dumb1 like threatening brain-trouble4 ,she was playful as a kitten five years ago4 ,poor little souls--crushed every one of them at sixteen or seventeen under the heel of ,islam4 ,do you wonder that we do not consider it an elevating creed8 ,and yet they have gone under without tasting the bitterest dregs of a native woman's cup2 for 7save a baby of the eldest girl's who lived only a few weeks7 there were no children in the question4 ,and the woman's deepest anguish begins where they are concerned4 ,for divorce is always hanging over her head4 ,the birth of a daughter when a son had been hoped for1 an illness that has become a bit tedious1 a bit of caprice or counter-attraction on the husband's part--any of these things may mean that he will tear the paper that binds them together1 and for eight francs the kadi will set him free4 ,this means that the children will be forced from the mother and knocked about by the next wife that comes on the scene2 and the mother-heart will suffer a constant martyrdom from her husband if only divorce can be averted4 ,the ,algerian women may claim the boys till seven and the girls till ten or twelve2 the countrywomen have no claim after the little life becomes independent of them for existence4 ,look at the awful and fierce sadness of this face3 more like a wild creature than a woman4,d ,she has probably been tossed from home to home until she is left stranded1 or wrecked on rocks of unspeakable sin and shame3 for that is how it ends1 again and again4 ,d ,see illustration opposite page #bid4 ,turn from her3 we cannot have her to be the last4 ,look once more at a girl1 untroubled as yet4 ,if you want to see what the women could be if but the social yoke of ,islam were loosed from their shoulders1 study the little maidens upon whom it has not yet come4 ,take one of them if you can get hold of her--even a stupid one1 as this one may be with all her soft grace--let her expand for a few weeks in an atmosphere of love and purity4 ,watch the awakening3 it is as lovely a thing as you could wish to see1 outside the kingdom of ,god4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,young ,,girl ,,of ,,the ,,abu ,,saad ,,tribe ,and if this budding and blossoming can come with the poor watering of human love1 what could it be with the heavenly showers1 in their miracle-power of drawing out all that there is in the earth that they visit4 ,oh the capacities that are there6 ,the soil is only dry4 ,and in the very fact of its utter dryness lies our claim upon ,god4 ,i will make the shower to come down in his season2 there shall be showers of blessing1 is ,his promise4 ,the season for the showers in these southern lands1 is the time of utmost drought4 ,it is not in ,july when the gold lingers in the grass1 but in ,september when the tangle of the spring has sunk to ashen gray1 ready to crumble at a touch--it is then that we know the rains are nearing4 ,god's season comes when all has gone down to despair4 ,so we look round on our ,moslem field1 and triumph in the dryness that is so like death1 for it shows that we need not have long to wait4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but a great fight is fought overhead in the natural world out here before the rains are set free3 the poor dry lands seem to wrestle against the one thing that they need4 ,before the clouds burst there will come days--weeks1 perhaps1 off and on--of fierce sirocco1 hurling them back as they try to gather4 ,sometimes they seem on the point of breaking1 and a few drops may get through the heavy air1 then back go the clouds1 leaving the brassy glare undimmed4 ,on the fight goes1 and gets only harder and harder1 till suddenly the victory is won4 ,the south wind drops1 or shifts to the west1 and the clouds1 laden now with their treasure1 mass themselves in the east2 then the wind wheels to the east and gets behind them1 and in an hour or less1 unresisted1 they are overhead2 unresisted1 the windows of heaven are opened1 and the rain comes down in floods with a joyful splash1 drenching the earth to its depths1 and calling to life every hidden potentiality4 ,a fight like that lies before us in the lands of ,islam4 ,it has begun even now2 for we have seen again and again the clouds gather and swept back1 leaving a few drops at best1 and these often quickly dried4 ,they are not yet full of rain1 so they do not empty themselves upon the earth4 ,and it is not from this side that they can be stored3 it is not the thirsty earth that can fill them4 ,they travel from afar1 where ocean1 river1 and lake can breathe their vapors upward1 swept unseen by the wind that bloweth where it listeth1 to the parched places4 ,we need you1 in the far-off1 ,spirit-watered lands to store the showers4 ,you may be but a roadside pool1 but your prayer-breath may go up to be gathered in ,god's clouds and break in ,his plentiful rain4 ,when the clouds are full ,he will still the sirocco blast of evil that fights it back1 and it will come down with the sudden swift ease that marks the setting in of the rains here1 year by year4 ,do we believe that each heaven-sent prayer brings the cloud-burst nearer8 ,that one last cry of faith1 somewhere1 will set it free8 ,do we act as if we believed it8 ,shall we give ourselves to hasten it8 ,and when it comes1 we shall see the latent possibilities awake1 and the latent powers assert themselves1 and the people of ,moslem countries1 men and women1 show what they can be and do for ,him and in ,his kingdom4 ,for1 thank ,god1 they are not dead lands1 they are only dry4 ,,vii ,,light ,,in ,,darkest ,,morocco ,the factors in a ,moorish woman's life are largely those of her ,moslem sisters everywhere2 excepting as exaggerated by the absence of all ,english or ,french influence4 ,in ,morocco we have the rugged path ,mohammed allotted their sex painfully adhered to1 and any ,european influence of other lands conspicuous by its absence4 ,the lack of education1 inability to read1 undeveloped powers of thought handed through the generations of thirteen centuries1 are at least not lessened by time or weakened by heredity4 ,the families in which daughters are allowed to read are few and far between3 just an occasional one among high-class government officials1 or a favorite daughter here and there who is destined to support herself and relatives by teaching the few privileged to learn among the rising generation4 ,the little girl is seldom welcomed at birth4 ,it is a calamity she was not a boy4 ,a few years of half-freedom for the town-child and hasty neglect for the village maiden4 ,many a better-class woman enters her home as a bride1 in the carriage which so carefully conceals her1 and sees but four whitewashed walls for the remainder of her days1 nor leaves their monotony until carried out in her coffin4 ,what uplifting or educating influences does the bare windowless abode 7opening only to the central court of the home7 exercise8 ,we hear betimes of the wish to remove the veil and allow more liberty to woman4 ,in ,morocco she is hardly ready for the change1 but needs educating and preparing1 ere1 with propriety and true modesty1 she can take her rightful place4 ,divorce is fearfully common and easy4 ,plurality of wives is an awful curse4 ,the chief features of home-life are quarrels1 intrigues1 attempted poisonings1 and rankling bitternesses4 ,slavery is more common than in other countries so near the borders of civilization1 and the possession of these human chattels denotes the measure of worldly prosperity4 ,occasionally they find a kindly master1 but1 more often1 are inhumanly treated and regarded as so much property4 ,we are frequently urged to treat the slave for illness and so increase her market value1 while the wife1 or wives1 may suffer unnoticed and unassisted4 ,the ,moorish woman has little part in religious life4 ,she has no merits or opportunity of attaining such1 unless she be a well-known lineal descendant of their prophet4 ,very few learn the prescribed form of ,moslem prayers and fewer still use them4 ,once and again we find one going through the positions of prayer and accompanying set phrases4 ,these women are usually the most difficult to deal with and least ready for the hearing of the ,gospel4 ,one of them1 during a medical visit1 drew her prayer mat to a distance lest ,i defile it and closed her ears with her fingers to shut out my words4 ,undoubtedly the very best1 and often only1 way of reaching them is through the dispensary4 ,their lives centre largely round the three annual feasts1 in preparation for and enjoyment of them4 ,every birth1 circumcision1 wedding1 death1 and even serious illness1 is an opportunity1 for those allowed sufficient freedom1 to receive and pay visits1 feast1 enjoy the accompanying minstrels1 appear in their most gorgeous dress and criticise that of others4 ,meanwhile they engage in empty and profitless conversation1 which too often passes into the injurious both for body and soul1 of young and old1 hostess and guests4 ,much attention is paid to fashion1 and ,moorish etiquette is not to be lightly treated or easily fulfilled4 ,some of the women figure in the weird orgies of religious sects of a private and public character4 ,their wild1 dishevelled1 and torn hair is prominent in the ,satanic dance of the ,aisowia ,derwishes1 and they vie with the men in its frenzied freaks1 falling finally exhausted to the ground1 unable to rise4 ,but this class fortunately is not numerous4 ,i was visiting in one of these houses last year in ,fez4 ,the occupants were strangers and had come pleading me to relieve one in very acute pain4 ,the atmosphere of the room hung heavily over me1 ,i knew not why4 ,taking my colloquial ,gospel1 ,i spoke of ,christ and asked to read4 ,a blank refusal was the answer4 ,then the storm broke and during my second visit ,i had to rise and leave1 asserting my union with ,christ and the impossibility of having me or my drugs without the message of my ,master and ,saviour4 ,they have since been1 when the violent pain returned1 pleading for relief1 but not again inviting to their house4 ,such uncanny sense of the immediate presence of the evil one1 ,i have never experienced1 as when under their roof1 nor would wish to again4 ,it was an intense relief to breathe freely in the open air afterwards4 ,yet two of our recent converts1 and one of them among the most promising1 have belonged to these followers of ,satan6 ,their wild hair is now neatly braided and they are clothed and in their right minds1 sitting with their converted sisters to learn more of ,jesus and lifting up voices in prayer to ,him4 ,female slaves1 from the far ,soudan1 are betimes among our bitterest and loudest opponents during ,gospel teaching4 ,they have more courage than their mistresses and are more outspoken4 ,yet1 even among them1 we have seen notable changes4 ,one1 exceptionally well-taught and able to quote the ,koran1 met me first with loud contradiction in her ,fez home4 ,frequent attendance at our medical mission wrought a marvellous change4 ,open opposition first ceased4 ,then an awakening1 and at least intellectual1 acceptance of the vital truths of ,christianity and readiness to explain them to newcomers4 ,when she had to follow her master to the south1 we were conscious of losing a friend and helper4 ,she took with her a ,gospel and was followed by our prayers4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,bedouin ,,girl ,,from ,,north ,,africa ,classes for sewing1 reading1 and singing are important factors as means of reaching the women and girls4 ,the first of my four years at the ,tulloch ,memorial ,hospital1 ,tangier1 brought me in contact with a most interesting woman4 ,many years she had been under ,mrs4 ,mensink's teaching and otherwise had known the missionaries4 ,a gradual awakening was manifest1 until1 during that year1 when ill with pneumonia1 ,i found her apparently trusting ,jesus4 ,one difficulty haunted her1 she was ignorant1 could not even read1 and her teachers told her ,jesus was not the ,son of ,god2--must they not know best8 ,a few days before her death she joyously told me of a dream she had had and assured me her last doubt had gone4 ,in it ,jesus appeared to her and proclaimed ,himself the ,son of ,god4 ,no after-cloud damped her joy4 ,the death-bed was that of a consistent ,christian4 ,her relatives would not own it and buried her as a ,moslem in their own cemetery1 with her face towards ,mecca4 ,this year1 in one of our inland cities1 not a few members of sewing classes have simply trusted ,christ for salvation and now meet for prayer and instruction with their leaders4 ,a native women's prayer meeting has been formed1 where each of these new converts takes part and learns to pray4 ,several also have been led to ,jesus through the medical mission and the visitation of their homes4 ,an instance of earnest simplicity in prayer occurred in our own home4 ,we had spoken to a convert about prayer4 ,she said1 ,i am too old to learn and too ignorant6 ,the following day when asked1 she replied3 ,oh1 yes1 ,i prayed this morning4 ,and what did you say8 ,well1 ,i did not know at first1 but then repeated the only prayer ,i knew1 the first chapter of the ,koran1 and at the end added1 'in the name and for the sake of the ,lord ,jesus1' and ,i thought ,he would understand it and fill in for me all ,i had been mistaken in or unable to tell ,him4 ,he truly did so1 for since that time the dear old woman has learned to pray4 ,grasping my hand after one native prayer meeting1 she said1 ,oh1 to think of it6 three of us praying together in the name of ,jesus2 three of us believing in ,him4 ,these were1 her married daughter1 an only son1 and herself4 ,one of these converts of last spring had typhus fever a few months later and passed into the ,presence of ,him whom she had learned to love4 ,another is nearing her end and wonders why ,he tarries so long in coming to take her to be with ,himself4 ,one day's journey from ,tangier on mule-back1 lives the first woman ,i ever heard pray2 consistently she seeks to tell others the little she knows4 ,a lady missionary1 since departed1 lived with her a fortnight in the early days of the ,north ,african ,mission4 ,she dates her conversion from that time and1 without any resident missionary since1 dependent only upon the teaching of a few days or weeks during an itinerating visit1 she still knows and can explain to others that the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth from all sin4 ,nearly all of this year's numerous converts are the result of much seed-sowing and the patient labors of long years past1 now gathered by prayer into the fold4 ,not a few of the sowers have passed to their reward without seeing the harvest which should be4 ,we have found medical work a powerful handmaid to awaken interest in the ,gospel story4 ,to our great grief1 however1 the continued political unrest1 due largely to the presence of the ,pretender and rising of the tribes from time to time1 during the past four years1 has almost closed up this highly useful evangelistic and ,christ-like work4 ,the ,northern rebellion would have ceased long ago had the present ,sultan honest and energetic soldiers and leaders4 ,few1 however1 are impervious to foreign gold2 and no one trusts another1 unless he pay well for the interest in his affairs4 ,the ,sultan is a pleasant and enlightened person1 but unable to cope with the surrounding lawlessness single-handed4 ,many a tale of bribery and wrong reaches us4 ,the wild tribes know no other fear than that of seeing turbulent skulls and rebellious heads hanging upon the city gates4 ,we went down to ,fez four years ago1 a few weeks after the violent and sad death of our dear friend and brother1 ,mr4 ,cooper4 ,his only crime in the eyes of the violent tribesman1 his murderer1 was that of being a foreigner4 ,two weeks after our arrival in the city1 ,consuls ordered foreigners to the coast4 ,we had to obey4 ,six weeks were spent in ,tangier and then again we returned to our scene of labor1 the large out-patient dispensary which treated over eleven thousand cases last year and so reached between two hundred and one hundred and fifty with the ,gospel on ,women's mornings1 every day4 ,two years ago orders again came to pack up and prepare for emergencies4 ,the storm blew over and since then the main roads have been practically safe for ordinary traffic and merchandise4 ,even the foreigner can securely take his place in any caravan without fear of ill4 ,raisuli's capture of ,european and ,american citizens for hostages alarmed many1 but he had sought the ,government's recognition of his lawful ,kaidship1 and when refused1 wrongly determined to claim the same by force4 ,the strong hand with which he now controls those wild tribes under his jurisdiction1 proves his ability to govern4 ,his justice1 if semi-barbarous1 is certainly ahead of that of most of his fellow ,kaids4 ,he reversed the decision of a ,moorish tribunal which had wrung from a poor widow her lawful property1 restoring that which had been unlawfully taken4 ,a few such men in the highest circles would soon bring order out of chaos and strength to the throne4 ,the ,english missionary has had the great advantage of being favorably received by the people on account of his or her nationality4 ,it stood1 to them1 for integrity1 strength1 and honor4 ,whatever changes may have taken place during the last four years to lessen this trust in her1 ,england has still much favor with the majority4 ,hers were the pioneer-missionaries1 for where no man would have been trusted or allowed to reside1 her lady workers penetrated4 ,before any resident ,consul1 ,miss ,herdman and her companions went to ,fez and commenced medical work4 ,she won her way into the hearts of the people and is still lovingly remembered4 ,it was her work which ,mr4 ,cooper had taken up for a few short years1 when so suddenly snatched from it by a lawless fanatic's hand4 ,the seed sown thus long and faithfully has lain dormant4 ,just a few1 one here and there1 gathered into the fold2 native converts prepared for colportage work2 the building of a foundation on the ,rock ,christ ,jesus4 ,but to those who followed her has been granted to see the increase1 and begin to reckon1 even1 on the hundredfold4 ,the coast towns have ever been more accessible to the foreigners2 yet alas1 where the foreigner is ,,least known the native is most receptive1 courteous1 and hospitable4 ,the average colonist1 or even tourist1 seldom recommends the ,kingdom of ,god1 and the native points to the drink traffic1 so opposed to his religious views1 and asks how that is included in the ,christian country's commerce and consumption6 ,thus1 the farther removed from such ,christian influence the greater the freedom for ,gospel work4 ,tangier was first opened2 ,hope ,house being a partial gift to the ,north ,african ,mission4 ,at first both men and women were treated here1 but the great desirability of conforming to ,moorish rules of life led to the opening of a ,women's ,hospital in the town4 ,here ,i did one year's out-patient work during the absence of the efficient and indefatigable lady doctor--,miss ,breeze--in ,england4 ,these were largely the ploughing1 seed-sowing days4 ,since then several have professed conversion4 ,one1 on returning to her village home1 was bitterly persecuted and finally1 to escape death1 had to flee by night to her former teachers and with them find refuge4 ,some four or five of the elder girls in the ,moorish orphanage came out boldly on the ,lord's side4 ,the teaching of girls has been a prominent feature of the work in that city4 ,larache1 two days down the coast by mule1 was permanently opened many years later1 some medical and class work being done1 with house to house visitation4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,taylor1 our ,scotch friends1 are independent workers here4 ,el ,kaar1 six hours inland from ,larache and two days from ,tangier by mule1 is worked from the former by the ,north ,africa ,mission1 and five ,american lady workers of the ,gospel ,union ,mission do good house to house service in that little town4 ,its inhabitants are unusually genial and receptive2 these are days of seed-sowing1 for the harvest is not yet4 ,women's and girls' classes are also held1 and prayers are asked for a few already deeply interested4 ,some very happy days have ,i spent working among ,moorish friends there4 ,house to house visitation is essentially for the women4 ,they are always at home1 and to them we definitely go since they can so seldom come to us4 ,classes have already been a prominent feature of the work in ,fez1 and gather larger numbers than is usual in the other towns4 ,this city of some one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants has been the residence of the ,sultan and his court for the past four years4 ,it is consequently very full and affords splendid opportunities1 having been so freely opened up by the large medical mission established there4 ,early in the year1 a mother and her daughter said to me1 ,we have been loved into ,,heaven1 we have seen the love of ,jesus in care and healing during our sickness1 we take ,him now as ,savior for our souls4 ,these are living consistently for ,him now4 ,two years ago a prominent theological professor asked me in the street for medicine4 ,i directed him to the medical mission4 ,to the surprise of all he came often1 listened quietly from the first1 and1 ere long1 became a decided ,christian4 ,his wife1 a noble woman 7sherifa71 is now reading the ,gospel with him1 saying1 ,yes1 ,i believe that which is written1 but1 oh6 ,i do want to remain a sherifa6 ,not yet can she count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of ,christ ,jesus1 her ,lord4 ,in an inland town in ,morocco1 where a number of women had professed faith in ,christ1 the question of baptism arose2 two were wishing for it4 ,how could they brave its publicity8 ,one woman had been baptized privately in ,tangier1 few1 even of the missionaries1 knew beforehand it was to take place--so bitterly were her relatives opposed to the ,gospel4 ,the rite had not been publicly received by any ,moorish woman heretofore4 ,after some eighteen months of constant teaching in preparation1 these two sisters were ready to brave all danger and opposition1 and despite all efforts to foil their purpose1 passed through the waters of baptism unveiled before the assembled native church and foreign missionaries1 and that as bravely and modestly as any ,englishwoman would have done4 ,this was a terrible blow to the devil4 ,he had fought courageously to avert the calamity to his kingdom1 but ,god heard continued and earnest prayer that a first public stand be thus taken for ,him4 ,the blow has fallen upon the powers of darkness and this great triumph in women's work been gained for ,him4 ,they now break the bread and drink the wine with their converted husbands and friends until ,he come4 ,one of them received such a spiritual impetus after the step as to make us fearful lest her boldness endanger life4 ,she brought a formerly bigoted relative and said1 ,teach her1 pray with her1 she is near the ,kingdom6 ,and so it proved1 for that day she entered in4 ,when reading the colloquial ,gospel of ,luke in one of the highest ,government houses1 the remark was made to me1 ,why1 this is the book and this the story we heard from ,miss ,mc,arthur in ,morocco city6 ,some of our native colporteurs work with our ,scotch brethren and thus is ,christian unity cemented4 ,dr4 ,kerr and his fellow-workers have a strong medical mission in ,rakat and a similar one was carried on by the ,north ,african ,mission in ,casablanca1 until the recent death of ,dr4 ,grieve4 ,tetuan has long maintained its vigorous out-patient dispensary1 successful visiting in the homes1 and numerous classes4 ,mention should certainly be made of the great impetus given to labors among ,moorish women by the publication of a ,moroccan colloquial version of ,luke4 ,with so few female readers1 and the majority of men even1 insufficiently educated to understand the magnificent classical translation into ,arabic1 one within the grasp of every man1 woman1 and child was urgently needed4 ,our ,american brethren have hitherto published only the ,gospel of ,luke1 which has been so well received1 but they hope soon to have in print other portions1 which are eagerly looked for4 ,you say1 ,we have heard only of encouraging cases1 bright prospects1 and ingathering2 we thought it was not so in ,moslem lands and especially among their women4 ,perhaps it has not been1 and even now1 only the beginning of early harvest is in the reaping4 ,thank ,god1 a grand wheat-garnering has yet to follow1 and those who have labored longest and seen least fruit will yet divide the spoil4 ,undoubtedly there are rejecters of the ,cross of ,christ1 and ,his bitterest enemies are surely under the ,crescent's sway4 ,at the same time there is tremendous encouragement for hearts and laborers who can afford to wait and have learned to pray4 ,only twice in our vast crowded city 7though making from six to eight hundred visits in the homes yearly7 have ,i been refused liberty to speak for ,jesus and ,,never been denied admittance4 ,there are six sisters in ,fez doing this work from house to house1 but ,,hundreds of homes await us which we are utterly unable to enter4 ,,one life is so short where the need is so great1 and open doors are on every hand4 ,most of our fellow missionaries in other stations would plead in the same words4 ,doors1 doors1 but how can we enter them8 ,at present the people inland are hardly prepared for the qualified lady doctor4 ,in the bulk of instances where her skill is most urgently needed1 she would be refused4 ,miss ,breeze1 in ,tangier1 has patiently labored and trained the women to trust her and submit to the necessary operations4 ,away from the coast a similar patience and training are necessary to prepare the female sex for her valuable assistance4 ,at present the trained nurse has the fullest scope1 and the limits of her powers represent the willingness of the people for medical work4 ,sad1 indeed1 are those instances wherein a little assistance would undoubtedly save life1 but is refused point-blank on the plea if the patient subsequently died the missionary would be accused of murder4 ,at present1 no explanation1 no persuasion1 can change the fiat4 ,moorish law1 like that of the ,medes and ,persians1 altereth not4 ,they are1 however1 very susceptible to the influence of drugs1 and the simplest remedies often work cures which by them are regarded as miracles1 and faith in the ,tabeeba is proportionately increased4 ,colloquial hymns are much valued and a standard hymn-book would be a great boon4 ,i have taken a small ,american organ with me and sung and explained the ,gospel in bigoted and wealthy homes1 where reading it would not have been possible4 ,in two instances1 ,i took a magic-lantern with me1 from the slides of which plain teaching was an easy task4 ,once it was a wedding festival and friends had gathered to the feast4 ,our hostess had lived some years in ,england with her merchant husband1 but a knowledge of ,english life1 or even ability to speak its language1 by no means predisposes to the reception of the ,truth4 ,it certainly was not so in the present instance4 ,a few months ago she said to a fellow missionary1 ,i know the right is with you4 ,i well know what ,i ought to do---leave ,mohammed and accept ,jesus--but this would mean leaving my husband and children--turned out of home and robbed of all6 ,i cannot do it4 ,one sad instance stands for many3 a rejected ,gospel6 ,i once attended a wealthy and influential sherifa dying of tuberculosis4 ,no ,english consumptive clings to life more tenaciously than she did4 ,everything was at my disposal and courtesy lavished until she found there was no hope for her life4 ,then she bitterly turned from any word of a ,life to come and flung herself hopelessly upon her charm-writers and native crudities until past speaking4 ,her husband took a ,gospel1 and ,i heard1 sat up into the night and studied its contents4 ,we followed the volume with prayer4 ,to-day news reaches me from the field that he has died of typhoid fever4 ,oh6 to know he accepted its truths6 ,sometimes those cases where ,i have given longest and most frequent medical attention1 have finally been least responsive to the story of the ,cross4 ,in other instances a single visit awakens interest and the soul goes on into full light and liberty4 ,several homes ,i have closely visited and watched1 hoping to find an entrance for ,christ2 but not until some serious illness or other calamity comes are its occupants sufficiently friendly to hear of ,god's love in ,christ4 ,the lady worker and constant visitor in her long white native garment 7silham71 with veiled face is much safer1 humanly speaking1 and usually more acceptable than the foreign worker in ,european dress4 ,i have even been asked to climb over the roofs into a house within some sacred precincts1 where infidel foot may not be known to tread1 and one patient was always reached through the stable door1 as the main entrance was too near a so-called saint's place4 ,again ,i was asked to see and treat a poor sufferer1 very ill1 in the open street1 to avoid standing on their holy ground and defiling the spot4 ,probably all ,i have written is equally true of any ,moslem land4 ,the religion of ,islam knows no progress and has within itself only the elements of decay4 ,means for the propagation of the ,gospel will scarcely vary4 ,the harem always depends upon the consecrated and tactful sister to reach its inmates from without4 ,these thousands of homes can only be entered by the multiplication of the individual worker a hundredfold4 ,now is ,morocco's day4 ,a few days later and her opportunity will have passed by forever4 ,once broken up1 or ,europeanized in any way1 and civilized nations will1 perhaps1 fear the propaganda of the ,cross and the distribution of the ,bible lest fanatics be aroused1 holy war proclaimed and bloodshed ensue4 ,at least thus they said when ,khartoum was opened to the merchant1 and similarly have thought other nations in their respective colonies4 ,they have not yet learned that the converted ,moslem is the only one who can be trusted1 and the men will largely be influenced by what their mothers and wives are in the home4 ,they know not as we do1 that1 in time of war1 unrest1 and danger1 valuables and money are brought to the missionary for keeping1 and the place of safety to the native mind is the mission house4 ,to meet1 in any degree1 existing needs1 or use present opportunities for freely distributing and reading the ,gospel1 teaching its precepts and hastening ,christ's ,kingdom in ,sun-set land1 we must strongly re-enforce every station4 ,increase the number of missionaries working under each mission4 ,send forth women who have learned how to pray in the home lands to seek these poor sheep and gather them into the one fold and unto the one ,shepherd4 ,the commencement of this year's unprecedented blessing among women dates back primarily and supremely to the increased spirit of prayer4 ,at first even all the foreign workers were hardly alive to this1 but persistent prayer won them one by one4 ,then followed the united requests for individual souls1 and these too were granted4 ,the ,holy ,spirit brought us in contact with those hearts within which ,he was already working1 or preparing to work1 and as a result the ,father was glorified in the ,son--souls were saved1 and not alone among the angels1 but even upon earth and amid the ,church militant4 ,these babes in ,christ need daily tending and teaching as little children4 ,the work in the hands of those workers already in the field can scarcely allow any addition1 and yet we ,,prayed for these2 and now who shall feed them8 ,not only so1 some are still halting between two opinions1 reading the ,word and needing the loving hand to lead them gently over the line2 but this individual care is a big task where women's medical mornings each already bring one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty patients4 ,surely we shall unite in the prayer to the ,lord of the ,harvest1 that ,he send forth laborers into ,his harvest and to some--as we pray--,he will answer1 ,go ye6 ,,viii ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,the ,,central ,,soudan ,the form of ,islam seen in the large centres of population in the ,hausa ,states is that of a virile1 aggressive force1 in no sense effete or corrupted by the surrounding paganism4 ,it has had no rival systems such as ,hinduism or ,buddhism to compete with1 and until now has not come into conflict with ,christianity4 ,the distinctive characteristics of the ,african have1 however1 tended to increase in it sensualism and a laxity of morals1 and this has stamped1 to a large extent1 the attitude toward women and the character of women as developed under its system4 ,social and moral evils1 which may have a thin cloak thrown over them in the ,east as well as in those lands of ,islam in the ,north of ,africa1 are open1 and boldly uncovered1 in the ,hausa ,states4 ,most of what is written in this chapter refers to the ,hausa women1 who form by far the greatest number in this country2 but it is necessary to write a few lines first about the ,fulani women1 who are aliens and of a different social1 political1 and racial type4 ,it is now generally acknowledged that these people--,fulanis--originally came from ,asia1 or at least are ,semitic4 ,they are the rulers of all this great empire1 and have for a hundred years exercised a tyrannical rule over the ,hausas and the pagan peoples whom they had succeeded in enslaving before ,british rule in turn overcame them4 ,the ,fulani women are many of them olive-colored2 some are beautiful and all have the small features1 thin lips1 straight nose1 and long straight hair associated with the ,asiatic4 ,the ,fulani rulers1 following the ,eastern fashion1 have large harems and keep their women very secluded4 ,the late ,emir of ,zaria was terribly severe to all his people1 and cruel to a degree with any of his wives who transgressed in any way or were suspected of unfaithfulness4 ,in one instance in which a female slave had assisted one of his wives to escape1 both being detected1 the wife was immediately decapitated and the slave given the head in an open calabash and ordered by the ,emir to fan the flies off it until next night6 ,i have been admitted into the home of one such family1 the home of one of the highest born of all the ,fulani chiefs1 saw two of the wives and bowed to them1 but the two little girls of seven and eight years came to call on me4 ,on the whole ,i was struck with the cheerful appearance of the wife and the sweetness of the two little girls1 but the husband was a particularly nice man1 ,i should think a kind husband1 and ,i know a kind father4 ,i knew one other ,fulani lady long after the death of her husband1 she being about sixty-five years of age1 and a very nice woman in many ways4 ,she told me that her husband1 although of good family1 had married only her and that they had been happily married for over thirty years when he died1 and she had remained a widow4 ,i fear1 however1 these are exceptional cases and that the ordinary life of the women of the ruling ,fulani class is a hard one4 ,i was once sitting in my compound when a well-covered and veiled woman came to see me1 with the excuse that she wanted medicine4 ,after some conversation ,i found it was trouble that had brought her4 ,she had been for some years loved by her husband but had had no children2 so her husband had married another wife and disliked her now1 and she wanted medicine from me to make him love her again6 ,she begged me never to mention that she had come to me1 saying that her husband would certainly beat her nearly to death if he knew that she had come out1 and much more so if he knew she had come to me4 ,the ease with which all ,hausa women1 but specially those of the middle and lower classes1 can obtain divorce for almost any reason2 also the frequency with which they can obtain redress for cruelty from their husbands in the native courts1 gives them power and a position in the community not to be despised4 ,a man1 for instance1 in order to get a girl of sixteen years in marriage will pay her parents a sum of perhaps ten or twelve pounds4 ,if at any future time she desires to leave him and marry another man1 she can do so by swearing before the native courts that they have quarrelled and that she no longer wishes to live with him4 ,but if that is all she merely gets a paper of divorce and either herself or her next husband has to refund to the aggrieved former husband the sum originally paid for her4 ,if1 however1 she can prove violence or injury from her husband she has not to pay him anything1 but may even in some cases get damages4 ,a girl is usually given the option of refusing the man whom her parents have arranged for her to marry4 ,this is not often done1 but ,i have known of some cases in which the girl has availed herself of the privilege1 and stated that she prefers some one else1 in which case the engagement is broken and the new marriage arranged at once with the man of her choice4 ,in the villages1 and among the lower classes in the cities1 girls are not usually married until they are about sixteen4 ,frequently1 however1 among the higher and wealthier classes the engagement is made by the parents when she is much younger1 perhaps eleven or twelve1 and she is after that confined with some strictness to the house or else carefully watched4 ,there is a very vicious and terribly degrading habit amongst the ,hausas1 which is known as ,tsaranchi4 ,one cannot give in a word an ,english equivalent and one does not desire to describe its meaning4 ,it has the effect of demoralizing most of the young girls and making it almost certain that very few girls of even eleven or twelve have retained any feelings of decency and virtue4 ,in this the girls are deliberately the tempters1 and many boys and young men are led into sin who would not have sought it4 ,here one must not blame the women or the girls1 for the original sin is with the men1 who1 through the terribly degrading system of polygamy and slave concubinage1 have introduced since centuries that which destroys the purity of the home1 and makes it impossible for the children to grow up clean-minded4 ,it is a sad fact that the evil effect of this seems to have acted more on the women and children than on the men4 ,one feels sorely for the boys brought up in this land without a glimpse of purity in true home life2 with never a notion of a woman being the most holy and chaste and beautiful of all ,god's creation1 and never seeing even the beauty of girlhood purity4 ,one is glad to see that among many of the men there is a growing feeling that they have lost much in this way2 and often in talking to men on the subject of women and their naturally depraved condition1 ,i have shown them how1 where women are given the place ,god meant them to have in the home and in the social and religious life of a people1 their character is always the most regenerating thing in the life of a nation1 and that it is useless for them to wish their women to be different when they do everything to prevent the possibility4 ,with the boys in my own compound and under my own care ,i am bound to forbid all intercourse with girls because of their evil minds and influence4 ,of course such a thing is fearfully unnatural and cuts off from a boy's life all those influences which we in ,christian lands consider so much tend to strengthen and deepen and soften his character4 ,it is easy to see from the above the reason why amongst those who are careful to preserve a semblance of chastity1 the girls are carefully secluded from a tender age and not allowed outside their compounds except under exceptional circumstances1 until the time that they are about to be taken to the house of the man to whom they have been betrothed4 ,this preservation of virtue by force1 points to the fact that there is no public opinion2 no love of purity for its own sake2 no real and vital principle in ,islam which tends to preserve and build up purity4 ,a mere lad1 the viciousness of whose first wife had led him quickly to take a second1 said to me when protested with for doing it1 ,our women are not like yours1 and you can never tell what it all means to us4 ,even if we wanted to be good they would hinder us4 ,the existence of a large class of pagan slave girls1 who have been caught and brought from their own homes and carried into the ,hausa country to become members of the harem of some of the ,hausas1 also complicates and intensifies the evil2 for this mixture only tends to lower the standards and make the facilities for sin tenfold easier4 ,it is not true in the ,central ,soudan1 as is so often stated1 that polygamy tends to diminish the greater evils of common adultery and prostitution4 ,these are very frequent1 and it is perfectly true what man after man has sadly told me1 that no one trusts even his own brother in the case of married relationships4 ,i am bound to acknowledge1 however1 in honesty1 that these evils are intensified in the cantonments with their large number of native soldiers of loose character1 and some even of one's own immoral countrymen4 ,i have seen very little systematic cruelty towards women or children1 except of course in the slave-raiding and slave markets which are now happily abolished4 ,women are able to take care of themselves and certainly do1 so far as ,i have seen4 ,the knowledge that a wife may leave at will1 that less labor can be got out of a cruelly-treated slave wife1 and that little girls can leave home and find a place elsewhere1 all have tended to make women's lives freer1 and to some extent less hard in the ,central ,soudan than in ,north ,africa4 ,on the other hand1 one is struck with the apparent lack of love1 and forced to the conclusion that a woman is not in any sense1 to a man of the ,hausa race1 more than a necessary convenience2 a woman to look after his house1 have children1 and prepare his meals4 ,in old age she is often abandoned or driven away1 or becomes a mere drudge4 ,this is often the case also with a man1 if not wealthy2 when old his wives will leave him1 and many a case ,i have seen of such desolation4 ,of real love which triumphs over circumstances of poverty and sickness there is but little2 women will leave their husbands when through misfortune they have lost their wealth1 and go and marry another1 returning later when fortune has again favored the original husband and frowned on the later one4 ,i met one beautiful exception to this4 ,one of the most beautiful girls ,i have seen in the ,hausa states1 with a really good face and one which anywhere would have been pronounced pretty1 brought her blind husband to me4 ,when married he had been really good to her1 and after one year had lost his sight4 ,for four years she had stuck to him and tended him and really loved him1 taking him from one native doctor to another1 and at last to me4 ,it was touching to see her gentleness to him and the evident trust of each in the other4 ,i have never seen such another in the ,hausa country4 ,yet what possibilities of the future6 ,very few girls attain the most elementary standard of education4 ,but some few do and every facility is provided for those who can and will go farther1 and ,i have known girls1 mostly those whose fathers were mallams1 who learned to read and write the ,koran well1 and who were considered quite proficient2 and at least one case ,i know of a woman who1 because of her wisdom and education1 was entrusted with the rule of two or three cities in her father's ,emirate4 ,the chief occupations of women are the grinding of corn and the preparation of food for the family1 the care of their babies1 who are slung on their backs1 the carrying of water from the well or brook1 and1 to some extent in the villages1 agriculture1 though with the exception of the poor slaves it is rare to see women overworked in the fields4 ,they are great traders also1 and if not young or too attractive looking1 they are allowed to take their flour1 their sweetmeats1 etc41 to the markets and trade4 ,then again when the season for all agricultural work is at an end1 and their husbands and brothers start for the west and the coast places1 for the long wearisome journey which takes them to the places where they sell their rubber1 nitre1 and other goods1 and bring back salt1 woollen and cotton goods1 the women go with them1 and it is a most pretty and interesting sight to see the long row of these young women1 in single file1 neatly and modestly dressed1 with white overalls and a load of calabashes and cooking utensils neatly packed and carried on their heads4 ,they often sing as they march1 and coming in at the end of the day's journey1 light the fires and prepare the meal for themselves and their male relatives1 while the latter go and gather the sticks and grass to make a temporary shelter for the night4 ,illustration3 ,,going ,,to ,,market4 ,,two ,,burden ,,bearers ,they are tidy1 industrious1 and lively1 and1 to any one who did not understand their language1 these women would give the impression of a charming picture and of many things good and true4 ,but to one who could hear the conversation1 as ,i often have1 the secret of the utter depravity of all the people is soon learned1 and one sees how it is that none grow up with any idea of purity4 ,the minds of even young children are vitiated from the earliest age4 ,i have found many very religious women4 ,it must1 however1 not be forgotten that the religion of ,islam is totally divorced from the practice of all morals4 ,women in some numbers attend the weekly midday service in the mosques1 sitting apart and worshipping4 ,one very handsome woman whom ,i knew had as a little child been enslaved1 and later married to the ,emir of ,zaria1 and had been the mother or stepmother of many of the ,zaria princes4 ,she was a very religious woman1 was allowed a fair amount of liberty1 and was much respected4 ,she not infrequently attended the services and was much interested4 ,but it is certain that1 with the exception of the use of a certain number of pious expressions1 religion has little hold over the ,hausa women1 and they can in no sense be considered to share in the devotions of the men1 or to be companions with the men in those things which are the deepest part of human nature4 ,hence with ,christians there is the learning of a new relationship altogether1 when the man begins to feel that his wife must be his companion and helpmeet in things pertaining to all his life and soul and spirit4 ,amongst the very lowest classes1 with whom there are less objections to coming into contact with men1 and especially white men1 and who in their suffering have allowed us to minister to them1 ,i have been able to get a glimpse into the terrible sufferings of the poor women of all the other classes4 ,in their hours of agony and suffering they can get no alleviation1 no nursing or skill to shorten the hours of weary pain1 and in large numbers they die terrible deaths for the lack of that surgical help we could so easily render them4 ,i was able once to visit a woman who seemed to be dying4 ,she was in a terrible condition2 the complete delivery of her child could not be effected1 and for two days she had been in a shocking state4 ,in their despair her people asked me to come1 and within three hours1 by surgical knowledge1 we were able to put her right1 and finally get her to sleep and complete her cure4 ,but we were told that many1 many died in the condition in which we found her1 and that there was never any thought of calling for help4 ,many a man who seemed fairly intelligent1 and to whom ,i have talked almost with indignation of such things1 has answered me3 ,we do not know what to do2 our women cannot help these cases1 for they have no skill1 and we would any of us rather let them die than call a man in to help4 ,and so they do die4 ,they will not yet trust us1 although they fully realize that we are different from their own religious leaders4 ,whole realms of thought have yet to be broken through1 whole tracts of life principles and perverted ideas have to be destroyed1 before it will be possible for the many poor sufferers in this land to get what the love of ,christ has brought within their grasp1 but which they are afraid as yet to take4 ,i have tried to show that there is a bright as well as a sombre side to this picture2 that where there is restraint there is often some kindness2 that with ignorance there is often a desire and a yearning after better things1 and a dull feeling that what is1 is not best4 ,nothing but a radical change in the very fundamental ideas of woman1 even by woman herself1 can bring about the regeneration of this land4 ,only the restoration of woman to the place gained for her by ,christ1 and snatched from her again by the prophet of ,islam1 can bring true holiness and life into the homes of ,hausa1 and bring a new hope and reality into the lives of the men4 ,the knowledge and worship of ,christ are beginning to do this1 and in one or two homes in ,north ,nigeria already men1 who previously thought woman inferior human beings or superior cattle1 and who would have looked upon it as madness to suggest that a woman should be considered the helpmeet of the man in all that pertains to this life ,godward and manward1 are restoring to their wives and mothers and sisters that dignity4 ,how happy will be the result when this spirit has spread and all the land has begun to feel the influence of good and holy women in the home1 the market1 the school1 and the church4 ,,ix ,a ,,story ,,from ,,east ,,africa ,mombasa1 though a ,mohammedan town1 is perhaps scarcely a typical one1 as of late years it has become decidedly cosmopolitan1 still in what is called the ,old ,town ,mohammedanism with all its attendant ignorance and bigotry prevails4 ,there are women in this part of the mission-field with whom we have talked and prayed in past years1 who seem further off from the ,truth and ,light than they were even in those early years of work amongst them4 ,these are the words of a young girl who1 we know1 was convinced of the truth of the ,gospel3 ,oh1 ,bibi1 if ,i confess ,christ openly ,i shall be turned out of my home1 ,i shall have neither food nor clothing1 and with a shudder perhaps they will kill me4 ,we knew this was only too true4 ,she was a beautiful girl with sweet1 gentle manners1 living in those days with her sister in a dark1 ill-ventilated room which opened on to a small courtyard where all the rubbish of the house seemed to be thrown1 and where goats1 hens1 and miserable-looking cats seemed thoroughly at home amongst the refuse4 ,yet1 in spite of these surroundings and in spite of her knowledge of all manner of evil 7alas6 how early these children learn things which we would think impossible to teach a little child71 in spite of all this she was pure and good4 ,now she seems to have no desire at all to hear or read the ,gospel4 ,when we do see her1 her manner is always flippant and worldly4 ,we don't want to give her up1 we keep on praying for her1 but there have been so many hardening influences since those early days1 and she never took the definite step of openly confessing ,christ4 ,she was soon married to a man much older than herself who already had a wife2 probably more than one4 ,we suppose he was a higher bidder6 ,she had one little baby that soon pined away and died4 ,how can women1 brought up as she was1 have healthy children8 ,amongst all the ,mohammedan women ,i have visited here ,i have never known one to have more than two children4 ,the majority have no living child4 ,i believe the husband was kind to her1 but he did not live long1 and very soon she was married again4 ,if she bears no children he will probably tire of her and leave her4 ,i have been told by one of the women that if a wife does not cook his food properly he may get a divorce4 ,one old woman ,i saw to-day told me that her daughter is now married to her third husband2 the other two left her for some trivial reason4 ,when ,i asked1 ,what will become of her when she is old and perhaps cast off again8 ,ah1 ,bibi6 she said1 what has become of me8 ,i am weak and ill and old1 and yet ,i have to cook and work for others4 ,this is just what does happen unless they have a house and property of their own4 ,they become household drudges to those relations who take them in1 and there is rejoicing at their death4 ,the rule here is for each man to have four wives1 if he can afford it4 ,the number of concubines is1 ,i believe1 unlimited4 ,here the wives live each in a separate house4 ,the reason given is3 ,if we lived together we should be jealous and quarrel and make our husband miserable4 ,i have known cases where the husband has only the one wife and there seems to be a certain amount of affection4 ,one little wife said to me the other day1 ,i love my husband now1 but if he ever takes another wife ,i shall hate him and leave him4 ,could one blame her8 ,in most cases just as a girl has learned to read she has been forbidden by her husband1 and ,i have been told1 ,my husband says there is no profit in women learning to read and he has forbidden it4 ,how one has felt for and grieved with some of these women6 ,one day in going as usual to give a reading lesson to a mother and daughter 7these two really loved each other71 ,i found them both very sad and miserable4 ,it seemed that the father of the girl determined to marry her to an elderly man whom1 of course1 she had never seen4 ,the mother said her daughter was too young to be married1 and she knew something of the character of the man4 ,she begged me to try and do something1 but we were quite helpless in the matter2 a large sum of money was paid for the daughter4 ,some time afterwards when ,i visited the house the mother said to me1 ,yes1 ,bibi1 she is married to him and ,i have had to sit in the room listening to the cries of my child as he ill-treated her in the next room1 but ,i could do nothing4 ,how one longs for the skill to bring home to our favored ,english girls and wives and mothers1 the awful wrongs and the needs of these their ,moslem sisters6 ,but what human weakness cannot do1 ,god by ,his ,holy ,spirit can4 ,may ,he lead some of you to give yourselves to the glorious work of bringing light and life to these your sisters who are ,sitting in darkness and the shadow of death4 ,love is what they want4 ,our love that will bring knowledge of ,christ's great love to them4 ,will you not pray for them8 ,x ,,our ,,arabian ,,sisters ,women are worthless creatures and soil men's reputations4 ,the heart of a woman is given to folly4 --,,arabic ,,proverbs4 ,this is an outline sketch of the pitiful intellectual1 social1 and moral condition of the nearly four million women and girls in ,mohammedan ,arabia4 ,to begin with1 the percentage of illiteracy1 although not so great as in some other ,moslem lands1 is at least eighty per cent1 of the whole number4 ,in ,eastern ,arabia a number of girls attend schools1 but the instruction and discipline are very indifferent2 attention to the lesson is not demanded1 so that a ,moslem school is a paradise for a lazy girl6 ,a girl is removed from school very early to prepare for her life-work and that is marriage4 ,in a majority of cases she soon forgets what little knowledge she may have attained4 ,a few women are good readers1 but these are the most bigoted and fanatical of all women1 and it is difficult to make any impression upon them as they are firmly convinced that the ,koran contains all they need for salvation now and hereafter4 ,general ignorance is the cause of general unhappiness and such dense ignorance often makes them suspicious and unreasonable4 ,nothing is done by the men to educate their women4 ,on the contrary1 their object seems to be to keep them from thinking for themselves4 ,they treat them like brutes and they behave as such4 ,the men keep their feet on the necks of their women and then expect them to rise6 ,the same men who themselves indulge in the grossest form of immorality become very angry and cruel if there is a breath of scandal against their women4 ,in ,bahrein1 a young pearl-diver heard a rumor that his sister was not a pure woman2 he returned immediately from the divings and stabbed her in a most diabolical way without even inquiring as to the truth of the matter4 ,she died in great agony from her injuries1 and the brother was acquitted by a ,moslem judge1 who is himself capable of breaking all the commandments4 ,polygamy is practised by all who can afford this so-called luxury1 particularly by those in high positions4 ,the wives of these men are not happy1 but submit since they believe it is the will of ,god and of ,his prophet4 ,the women are not at all content with their condition1 and each one wishes herself to be the favored one and will take steps to insure this if possible4 ,those who have learned a little of the social condition of women in ,christian lands very readily appreciate the difference4 ,illustration3 ,,women ,,churning ,,butter ,,in ,,bedouin ,,camp 7,arabia7 ,it is a common thing for us to be asked to prescribe poison for a rival wife who has been added to the household and for the time being is the favorite4 ,through jealousy some of these supplanted wives plunge into a life of sin4 ,i do not know anything more pathetic than to have to listen to a poor soul pleading for a love-philter or potion to bring back the so-called love of a perfidious husband4 ,women1 whether rich or poor1 naturally prefer to be the only wife4 ,divorce is fearfully common2 ,i think perhaps it is the case in nine out of every ten marriages4 ,many women have been divorced several times4 ,they marry again1 but this early and frequent divorce causes much immorality4 ,some divorced women return to the house of their parents1 while the homeless ones are most miserable and find escape from misery only in death4 ,all these horrible social conditions complicate matters and it is difficult to find out who is who in these mixed houses4 ,it is far more pathetic to go through some ,moslem homes than to visit a home for foundlings4 ,when a woman is divorced1 the father may keep the children if he wishes1 and no matter how much a heart-broken mother may plead for them1 she is not allowed to have them4 ,if the man does not wish to keep them he sends the children with the mother1 and if she marries again the new husband does not expect to contribute to the support of the children of the former marriage4 ,there can be no pure home-life1 as the children are wise above their years in the knowledge of sin4 ,nothing is kept from them and they are perfectly conversant with the personal history of their parents1 past and present4 ,a man may have a new wife every few months if he so desires1 and in some parts of ,arabia this is a common state of affairs among the rich chiefs4 ,the result of all this looseness of morals is indescribable4 ,unnatural vice abounds1 and so do contagious diseases which are the inheritance of poor little children4 ,there is a very large per cent4 of infant mortality partly on this account1 and partly on account of gross ignorance in the treatment of the diseases of childhood4 ,instead of a home full of love and peace1 there is dissension and distrust4 ,the heart of the husband does not trust his wife and she seeks to do him evil1 not good4 ,for example1 a woman is thought very clever if she can cheat her husband out of his money or capital1 and lay it up for herself in case she is divorced4 ,there is nothing to bind them in sweet communion and interchange of confidences4 ,as a rule1 when a man and a woman marry they do not look for mutual consideration and respect and courtesy2 marriage is rather looked upon as a good or a bad bargain4 ,that marriage has anything to do with the affections does not often occur to them4 ,if only a man's passions can be satisfied and his material needs provided1 that is all he expects from marriage4 ,but ,i do not deny that there are grand though not frequent exceptions to this evil system4 ,i have seen a man cling to his wife and love her and grieve sadly when she died4 ,and some ,arab fathers dearly love their daughters and mourn at the loss of one1 and the little girls show sincere affection for their fathers4 ,and yet all these bright spots only make the general blackness of home-life seem more dense and dismal4 ,missionary schools and education in general have done much in breaking up this system4 ,many ,moslems of the higher class are trying to justify the grosser side of their book-religion by spiritualizing the ,koran teaching4 ,but secular education will never make a firm foundation for the elevation of a nation or an individual4 ,those who have been led to see the weakness of a religion that degrades women1 have gained their knowledge through the ,gospel4 ,the fact that attention is paid to suffering women by medical missions is already changing the prevalent idea that woman is inferior and worthless4 ,and although it may seem sometimes an impossible task to ever raise these women to think higher thoughts and to rise from the degradation of centuries1 yet we know from experience that those who come in contact with ,christian women soon learn to avoid all unclean conversation in their presence4 ,visiting them in their huts and homes is also a means of breaking down prejudice4 ,the daily clinic in the three mission hospitals of ,east ,arabia1 where thousands of sick women receive as much attention as do the men1 is winning the hearts and opening the eyes of many to see what disinterested love is4 ,they can scarcely understand what constrains ,christian women to go into such unlovely surroundings and touch bodies loathsome from disease in the dispensaries4 ,when the men have wisdom to perceive that the education of their women and girls means the elevation of their nation1 and when they give the women an opportunity to become more than mere animals1 then will the nation become progressive and alive to its great possibilities4 ,reformation cannot come from within but must come from without1 from the living power of the ,christ4 ,are you not responsible to ,god for a part in the evangelization of ,arabia in this generation8 ,let none whom ,he hath ransomed fail to greet ,him1 ,through thy neglect unfit to see ,his face4 ,the following earnest words1 from one who being dead yet speaketh1 are a plea for more workers to come out to ,arabia4 ,marion ,wells ,thoms1 ,m4 ,d41 labored for five years in ,arabia and wrote in one of her last letters as follows3 ,the ,mohammedan religion has done much to degrade womanhood4 ,to be sure1 female infanticide formerly practised by the heathen ,arabs was abolished by ,islam1 but that death was not so terrible as the living death of thousands of the ,arab women who have lived since the reign of the 'merciful' prophet1 nor was its effect upon society in general so demoralizing4 ,in the 'time of ignorance1' that is time before ,mohammed1 women often occupied positions of honor4 ,there were celebrated poetesses and we read of ,arab queens ruling their tribes4 ,such a state of things does not exist to-day1 but the woman's influence1 though never recognized by the men1 is nevertheless indirectly a potent factor1 but never of a broadening or uplifting character4 ,to have been long regarded as naturally evil has had a degrading influence4 ,mohammedan classical writers have done their best to revile womanhood4 ',may ,allah never bless womankind' is a quotation from one of them4 ,moslem literature1 it is true1 exhibits isolated glimpses of a worthier estimation of womanhood1 but the later view1 which comes more and more into prevalence1 is the only one which finds its expression in the sacred tradition1 which represents hell as full of women1 and refuses to acknowledge in its women1 apart from rare exceptions1 either reason or religion1 in poems which refer all the evil in the world to the woman as its root1 in proverbs which represent a careful education of girls as mere waste4 ,when the learned ones ascribe such characteristics to women1 is it any wonder that they have come to regard themselves as mere beasts of burden8 ,the ,arab boy spends ten or twelve years of his life largely in the women's quarters1 listening to their idle conversation about household affairs and their worse than idle talk about their jealousies and intrigues4 ,when the boy becomes a man1 although he has absolute dominion over his wife as far as the right to punish or divorce her is concerned1 he often yields to her decision in regard to some line of action4 ,in treating a woman ,i have sometimes appealed to the husband to prevail upon his wife to consent to more severe treatment than she was willing to receive4 ,after conversing with his wife his answer has been1 ',she will not consent1' and that has been final4 ,lady ,ann ,blunt1 who has travelled among the ,bedouins1 says1 ',in more than one sheikh's tent it is the women's half of it in which the politics of the tribe are settled4' ,in regard to their religion they believe what they have been told or have heard read from the ,koran and other religious books4 ,they do not travel as much as the men1 and do not have the opportunity of listening to those who do1 hence their ideas are not changed by what they see and hear4 ,all the traditions of ,mohammed and other heroes are frequently rehearsed and implicitly believed4 ,although the ,arab race is considered a strong one1 we find among the women every ill to which their flesh is heir1 unrelieved and oftentimes even aggravated by their foolish native treatment4 ,a mother's heart cannot help but ache as she hears the ,arab mother tell of the loss of two1 three1 four1 or more of her children1 the sacrifice perhaps to her own ignorance4 ,the physical need of the ,arab women is great and we pray that it may soon appeal to some whose medical training fits them to administer to this need in all parts of ,arabia4 ,in the towns in which there are missionaries there are comparatively few houses in which they are not welcomed4 ,in our own station there are more open houses than we have ever had time to visit4 ,wherever women travellers1 of whom there have been two of some note1 have gone1 they have been met with kindness2 hence it will be seen that the open door is not lacking4 ,ignorance1 superstition1 and sensuality are the characteristics which impress themselves most strongly at first upon one who visits the ,arab harem1 but there are those1 too1 among the women who are really attractive4 ,it is a dark picture1 and we do not urge the need of more workers because the fields are white to harvest4 ,we ask that more offer themselves and be sent soon1 rather1 that1 after they have learned the difficult language1 they may be able to begin to prepare the ground for seed-sowing4 ,it is a work that can only be done by women1 for while the ,bedouin women have greater freedom to go about and converse with the men than the town women have1 and while some of the poorer classes in the towns will allow themselves to be treated by a man doctor1 and sit and listen to an address made in the dispensary1 the better class are only accessible in their houses4 ,their whole range of ideas is so limited and so far below ours that it will require line upon line and precept upon precept to teach these women that there is a higher and better life for them4 ,in fact there must be the creation of the desire for better things as far as most of them are concerned1 but love and tact accompanied by the power of the ,holy ,spirit can win their way to these hearts and accomplish the same results that have been accomplished among other ,oriental women4 ,i have been striving to show that there is a crying need for work among the ,arab women and that there are ample opportunities for service4 ,i appeal to the women of the church whose sympathies have so long gone out to heathen women everywhere1 not to have less sympathy for them1 but to include ,mohammedan ,arabia and her womanhood more and more in their love1 their gifts1 and their prayers4 ,in the days of ,mohammed1 after the battle of ,khaibar1 in which so many of her people had been mercilessly slaughtered1 ,zeinab1 the ,jewess1 who prepared a meal for ,mohammed and his men1 put poison in the mutton and all but caused the prophet's death4 ,it is said by some that he never fully recovered from the effects of the poison1 and that it was an indirect cause of his death4 ,it seems to us who have lived and labored in the land of the false prophet that his religion will only receive its death-blow when ,christian women rise to their duty and privilege1 and by love and sacrifice1 not in vengeance but in mercy1 send the true religion to these our neglected1 degraded sisters1--sisters in ,him who hath made of one blood all nations4 ,,xi ,,women',s ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,yemen ,the term ,yemen1 meaning the land on the right hand1 is the name applied to that whole tract of land in ,arabia south of ,mecca and west of the ,hadramaut1 which has always been looked upon as a dependency or province4 ,in early historical times the ,yemen was occupied by ,homerites and other aborigines1 but later on by the ,himyarites1 who drove many of the original inhabitants to seek a new home in ,africa1 where1 having intermarried with the ,gallas1 ,kaffirs1 and ,dankalis1 they formed a new race which is generally known nowadays as the ,somali4 ,the physical conformation of the ,yemen is not unlike that of the portion of ,africa immediately opposite1 where there is as great diversity in climate and soil as there is in the manners and customs of the peoples4 ,from ,aden1 the ,eastern ,gibraltar1 right northward there stretches a range of mountains chiefly formed of igneous rocks that have been bent1 torn1 and twisted like the iron girders of a huge building that has been destroyed by fire and almost covered by the ruin4 ,bare peak after peak rises from the mass of dbris yet everywhere pierced1 scarred1 and seamed by the monsoon floods seeking their way to the ocean bed2 they seldom reach it1 however1 as a stream and never as a river1 because of the barren1 scorched1 sandy zone which belts the ,red ,sea and sucks into its huge maw everything that the hills send down4 ,like his country the ,yemen ,arab is girded about with an arid zone of reserve which few ,europeans have ever crossed1 but when they have managed to do so1 according to the individual they have met1 they have found it may be a man with a heart as hard as a nether millstone4 ,marrying one day and divorcing almost the next1 only to marry another as soon as he can scrape together sufficient funds to purchase a wife1 this type of man looks upon woman as an inferior animal formed for man's gratification1 and to be flung aside like a sucked orange when the juice is gone4 ,or on the other hand1 they may find men whom real love has saved and made to give forth warm affection and true domestic joy1 just as the terraced ridges on their mountain slopes retain the ,god-given moisture and send forth a luxuriant crop of strengthening cereals1 delicious coffee1 and luscious grapes4 ,i have known young men of twenty-four who have been married and divorced half a dozen times1 and also ,arabs whose days are in the sere and yellow leaf who never had but one wife4 ,there was a native chief who used to come occasionally to our dispensary whose children were numbered by three figures1 and ,khan ,bahadur ,numcherjee ,rustomjee1 ,c4 ,i4 ,e41 who was for many years a magistrate in ,aden1 told me he knew a woman who had been legally married more than fifty times and had actually forgotten the names of the fathers of two of her children6 ,one day an ,arab brought a fine-looking woman to our dispensary1 and as he was very kind to her and seemed to love her very much ,i ventured to tell him that she was suffering from diabetes mellitus1 and that in order to preserve her life he would require to be careful with her diet4 ,he thanked me most profoundly1 promised to do all that he could for her1 took her home and divorced her the same day1 casting her off in the village and leaving her without a copper4 ,next morning she came weeping to the dispensary and ,i tried to get compensation1 but the man pleaded poverty1 and because ,i was the cause of her plight ,i felt in duty bound to support her until she died some months later4 ,another man of more than fifty years carried the wife of his youth to our dispensary on his back4 ,she was suffering from ,bright's disease and ascites1 yet he toiled on and till now has shown no sign of wavering in his allegiance4 ,warm-hearted1 courteous1 and kind1 ,i look upon him as one of nature's noblemen whom even ,mohammedanism cannot spoil4 ,another man whose wife had an ovarian tumor brought her down from ,hodeidah for me to operate on1 and faithfully attended to all her wants while she was ill1 and at last when the wound caused by operation was healed1 took her home joyfully as a bridegroom takes home the bride of his choice4 ,a third man1 who had either two or three wives at the time1 called me to see one who had been in labor for six days4 ,when the ,arab midwives confessed that they could do nothing more for her and when he saw her sinking1 love triumphed over prejudice1 and he came hurriedly for me4 ,i performed a ,csarean section1 and so earned the gratitude of both husband and wife1 who1 though years have gone1 still take a warm interest in all that concerns the mission4 ,i wish1 however1 that ,i could say that cases like these were common experiences with me1 but unfortunately the reverse is the case4 ,men seem always ashamed to speak of their wives and when wanting medicine for them or me to visit them always speak of them as1 my family--the mother of my children--my uncle's daughters1 or like circumlocution4 ,once ,i boxed a boy's ears for speaking of his own mother as his father's cow6 ,brought up in ignorance1 unable to read1 write1 sew1 or do fancy work--in all my experience out here ,i have never known of a real ,arab girl being sent to school nor a real ,arab woman who knew the alphabet4 ,sold at a marriageable age1 in many cases to the highest bidder1 then kept closely secluded in the house1 is it any wonder that her health is undermined and when brought to child-bed there is no strength left8 ,called one day to see a ,somali woman ,i missed the whip usually seen in a ,somali's house1 and jokingly asked how her husband managed to keep her in order without a whip4 ,she1 taking her husband and me by the hand1 said1 ,you are my father and this is my husband4 ,love unites us1 and where love is there is no need for whips4 ,i was so pleased with her speech that ,i offered her husband1 who was out of work1 a subordinate place in our dispensary4 ,yet less than a month later ,i heard that he had divorced his wife and turned her out of doors4 ,the following case will1 ,i think1 illustrate the usual attitude of the ,arabs in the ,yemen towards womankind3 ,a man whose wife had been in labor two days came asking for medicine to make her well4 ,my reply was that it was necessary to see the woman before ,i could give such a drug as he wished4 ,well1 said he1 she will die before ,i allow you or any other man to see her1 and two days after ,i heard of her death4 ,i have often remonstrated with the men for keeping their wives so closely confined and for not delighting in their company1 and making them companions and friends4 ,but almost invariably ,i have been answered thus1 ,the ,prophet 7upon whom be blessing and peace7 said1 ',do not trouble them with what they cannot bear1 for they are prisoners in your hands whom you took in trust from ,god4' ,and therefore as prisoners they are to be kept and treated as being of inferior intellect4 ,i have known cases where a man gave his daughter in marriage on condition that the bridegroom would never marry another wife2 but the man broke his word and married a second wife1 whereupon he was summoned before the kadi1 who ruled that1 ,when a man marries a woman on condition that he would not marry another at the same time with her1 the contract is valid and the condition void because it makes unlawful what is lawful1 and ,god knoweth all4 ,the consequence of such laws is that the women become prone to criminal intrigues1 and ,i have known dozens of cases where mothers have helped their daughters and even acted as procuresses for them to avenge some slight upon them or injury done to them4 ,there is no fear of ,god before their eyes4 ,heaven to them is little better than a place of prostitution4 ,why1 then1 should they desire it8 ,here they know the bitterness of being one of two or three wives1 why then should they wish to be one of seventy8 ,,xii ,,pen-,,and-,,ink ,,sketches ,,in ,,palestine ,sir ,william ,muir1 who lived for forty years in ,india1 says3 ,the sword of ,islam and the ,koran are the most obstinate foes to civilization1 liberty1 and truth the world has yet known4 ,after a residence of nearly twenty years in ,palestine and much intercourse among all classes1 both in city and village life1 the writer of this chapter can confirm the statement4 ,islam is the same everywhere and changes not4 ,the chief cause of its blighting influence is its degradation and contempt of women1 which is the result of ignorance of the ,word of ,god4 ,therefore1 the wide-spread preaching of the ,gospel to-day is the need of ,islam1 and the responsibility for it rests chiefly upon the ,christians of ,england and ,america4 ,one looks in vain among ,moslems for peaceful homes1 honored wives1 affectionate husbands1 happy sons and daughters1 loving and trusting one another4 ,a ,moslem home is built upon the foundation of the man's right 7religious right7 to have at least four wives at a time2 to divorce them at pleasure and to bring others as frequently as he has the inclination or the money to buy4 ,a son is always welcomed at birth with shrill shouts and boisterous clapping of hands or beating of drums2 but a baby girl is received in silence and disappointment4 ,the boy is indulged in every way from the day of his arrival4 ,he is under no restraint or control1 and usually at two years of age is a little tyrant1 freely cursing his mother and sisters4 ,the mother smiles at his cleverness1 she herself having taught him1 and her own teaching leads afterwards to much misery in the lives of other women4 ,great numbers of boys die in infancy1 or under three years of age1 because of the ignorance of their mothers in caring for them4 ,they are either overfed or neglected4 ,in some families1 where there have been a number of both boys and girls1 all the boys have died4 ,the women have been blamed for this and sometimes divorced1 or else retained to serve the new wives who have been brought instead4 ,how often ,i think of the dear little ,moslem girls6 ,the most teachable and responsive to loving kindness of all4 ,oh1 that they might have happy homes1 happy mothers1 wise and loving fathers6 ,one dear ,moslem child1 only four years old1 after having been in a ,christian mission school for a year1 was taken ill and died4 ,all the members of a large family were present as she lay dying 7crowding into the room of the sick is an ,oriental custom7 and heard her exclaim3 ,my mother6 ,jesus loves little girls just like me6 ,a ,moslem can divorce his wife at his pleasure or send her away from his house without a divorce4 ,if he does only the latter1 she cannot marry any one else4 ,this is often done purposely to torment her4 ,but the women are not the only sufferers through these wretched domestic arrangements4 ,many of them are utterly heartless and show no pity for their own children4 ,they will leave them to marry again1 the new husband refusing to take the children1 and numbers die in consequence4 ,many a troublesome old man is also put out of the way by poison administered by the wives of his sons4 ,not long ago a prison1 in an ,oriental city1 was visited by some ,christian missionaries who had obtained permission to see the women who had been sentenced for life4 ,they are found to be there for having murdered their da-r-ir1 that is1 their husbands' other wives1 or the children of their hated rivals2 and1 having no money1 they had not been able to buy their way out of prison1 as can be done and is customary in ,moslem countries4 ,as the camera would not do full justice to ,moslem interiors1 either in house-life or in the administration of public affairs1 both also being difficult to obtain1 a few pen and ink sketches are sent by the writer of this article1 taken in person on the spot4 ,here is a picture of ,abu ,ali's household4 ,abu ,ali has two wives1 ,aisha and ,amina4 ,confusion and every evil thing are found in his family life4 ,each wife has five children1 large and small1 and the ten of the two families all hate each other4 ,they fight and bite1 scratch out each other's eyes1 and pull out each other's hair4 ,the husband has good houses and gardens but the women and children all live in dark1 damp rooms on the ground floor4 ,the writer knows them and often goes to see them1 especially to comfort the older wife1 whose life is very wretched4 ,she is almost starved at times4 ,she weeps many bitter tears and curses the religion into which she was born4 ,the ,prophet ,mohammed's religion makes many a man a heartless tyrant4 ,he is greatly to be pitied because a victim by inheritance to this vast system of evil4 ,wild animals show more affection for their offspring and certainly take 7for a while at least7 more responsibility for their young than many ,moslems do in ,palestine4 ,werdie is another case4 ,this name in ,arabic means a rose4 ,there are many sweet young roses in the ,east but1 hidden away among thorns and brambles1 their fragrance is often lost4 ,this ,werdie1 a fair young blue-eyed girl whose six own brothers had all died1 lived with her mother and father and his other wives in a very large ,oriental house 7not a home74 ,she lived in the midst of continual strife1 cursings1 evil eyes1 and fights4 ,this household is a distinguished family in their town6 ,sometimes the quarrels lasted for many days without cessation and ,werdie always took part in them as her mother's champion4 ,the quarrels were between her father's wives1--her mother's rivals1--and she often boasted that she could hold out longer than all the others combined against her4 ,on one occasion her awful language and loud railings continued for three days1 and then she lost her voice--utterly--and could not speak for weeks6 ,she had an ungoverned temper1 and when goaded by the cruel injustice done her mother she delighted to give vent to it2 but she also had a conscience and a good mind and was led into the ,light4 ,on being told of the power in ,jesus ,christ to overcome1 she said one day1 ,i will try ,him4 ,i want peace in my heart1 ,i will do anything to get it2 ,i believe in ,him and ,i will trust ,him1 and she did4 ,she was afterwards given in marriage by her father1 against her wish1 to a man she did not know4 ,he treats her cruelly as does also her mother-in-law4 ,but now she has another spirit1 a meek and lowly one1 and is truly a follower of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,in the midst of strife she is a silent sufferer and a marvel to all the members of her family4 ,she prays much and has literally a broken and a contrite spirit4 ,she is the ,lord's4 ,there are other roses among the ,moslems whom ,jesus ,christ came to redeem4 ,let us pray for them and go and find them6 ,he will point the way4 ,saleh ,al ,wahhb is a ,moslem in good position with ample means4 ,he first married a sweet-looking young girl1 ,belise by name1 but she had no children1 so he divorced her and married three other women4 ,not having his desire for children granted1 he divorced all three of these women and took back his first wife1 who was quite willing to go to him6 ,haji ,hamid1 who made the pilgrimage to ,mecca1 was the chief of a ,matwaly village and highly honored1 belonging to the ,shiah sect of ,moslems4 ,he has had many wives1 some of whom he had divorced because they displeased him1 and others had died4 ,when he became an old man1 he brought a young and1 as he was assured by others1 a very beautiful and virtuous bride4 ,he had never seen her4 ,he paid a large sum of money for her1 most of which she wore afterwards as ornaments--gold coins--on her head and neck4 ,soon after her arrival in the sheikh's house he became seriously ill4 ,she found this unpleasant1 as she was a bride and wanted to enjoy herself4 ,so she ran away1 taking all the gold with her1 and left him to die6 ,there is no honor or truth among ,moslems4 ,the ,prophet's religion does not and cannot implant pity or compassion in the human heart4 ,haji ,hamid had inherited from his birth false teaching1 the evil influences and results of lying1 corruption in ,government affairs1 tyranny1 bribery1 bigotry1 and contempt for women4 ,he only reaped as he had sown4 ,however1 he heard the ,gospel on his dying bed and seemed grateful for kindnesses shown to him by ,christian strangers4 ,abd ,er ,rahim1 ,slave of the ,merciful1 was a rich ,moslem who once had several wives4 ,some he had divorced1 some he had sent back to their fathers' homes1 and some had died1 and he was tired of the one who remained because she was getting old4 ,by chance he had seen a very handsome young peasant girl1 and he wanted her1 but he was afraid of his wife1 for he felt sure that she would be troublesome if he brought this young girl to his house4 ,so he planned a shimel-howa for his wife 7a pleasant time1 literally1 a smelling of the air1 a promenade71 to which she readily agreed4 ,she put on her jewelry and silk outer garments1 and started4 ,her husband was to follow her1 but1 according to ,moslem custom1 at a distance1 as a man is not seen in public with his wife4 ,she never returned1 but was found dead two days afterwards1 drowned in a well1 wearing all her jewelry4 ,her husband found her4 ,the facts were never investigated4 ,a few days afterwards the new wife was brought into the house and lived there until the death of ,abd ,er ,rahim4 ,he has now gone to his reward6 ,he never knew anything about the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,no one ever told him4 ,his last wife1 however1 did have the opportunity of knowing1 but she laughed and made fun of ,his name4 ,when she died1 about three years ago1 twenty large jars of water were poured over her to wash away her sins4 ,she was arrayed in several silk gowns and buried1 with verses from the ,koran written on paper placed in her dead hands1 to keep evil spirits away from her soul4 ,such is their ignorant superstition4 ,benda was a poor ,moslem woman who lived in a goat's-hair tent on one of the plains mentioned in the ,bible1 a ,bedouin ,arab's cast-off wife4 ,she had lost her only child1 her son1 a young man4 ,when first found1 she herself was a mere skeleton4 ,very deaf and clothed in rags1 she sat on the ground1 weeping bitterly over the two long black braids of hair of her dead son1 a pitiful object4 ,it was very difficult to make her hear1 but she was taught1 often amidst the roars of laughter of some nominal ,christians who said to her teacher3 ,why do you cast pearls before swine8 ,however1 ,benda was one of ,his jewels4 ,she had a hungry heart1 she understood the truth1 believed1 and was saved and comforted4 ,before she went up higher she became a witness to some of her own people4 ,there are other ,moslem ,bendas yet to be found1 others to be brought into the fold4 ,who will come to help to find them and to bring them in8 ,the lost sheep of the house of ,ishmael4 ,some one has asked3 ,what happens to the cast-off wives and divorced women among the ,moslems8 ,sometimes they are married several times and divorced by several men4 ,if they have no children1 after their strength fails them so that they cannot work1 they beg and lead a miserable existence1 and die4 ,a woman who has lived at ease and in high position1 after being divorced1 will sometimes reach the very lowest degrees of poverty1 hunger1 and misery1 and then die4 ,for such1 there are no funeral expenses2 nothing is required but a shallow grave4 ,moslem men are usually willing to dig that in their own burying ground1 and the body is carried to its last resting place on the public ma'ash1 or bier4 ,benda was buried in this way1 but she had an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,moslem ,,cemetery ,illustration3 ,a ,,christian ,,cemetery ,sheikh ,haj ,hamid's story is that of a rescued ,moslem4 ,let me tell it to you4 ,there is to-day in the far ,east a town built out of the ruins of a city of great antiquity1 in the land where giants once lived1 and ,king ,og reigned 7,genesis xiv4 #e2 ,deuteronomy iii4 #aa1 #ac74 ,some of the ,lord's messengers went out there1 recently1 to gather into the fold any of ,his scattered and wandering sheep they might find4 ,probably the ,gospel had not been preached there for one thousand five hundred years4 ,the ,lord had promised to go before ,his messengers1 and had assured them that there were sheep in that place who would hear ,his voice and follow ,him1 and1 trusting this sure guidance1 they started4 ,in journeyings1 often1 in perils of water1 in perils of robbers1 in perils in the wilderness1 in perils among false brethren1 they searched for the sheep and lambs--and found them4 ,one of the number was a dignified1 gray-haired ,moslem sheikh who1 on hearing the call1 with groans and tears asked1 ,what must ,i do to be saved1 for my sins reach up to ,heaven8 ,what am ,i to do with them8 ,for forty long years ,i have gone daily to the mosque1 but never before1 until this day1 have ,i heard of salvation in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and he wept aloud and cried out3 ,won't you pray for me8 ,he eagerly received instruction and believed4 ,his last and oft repeated words to his new-found ,christian friends1 as they rode away1 were3 ,won't you continue to pray for me8 ,the ,lord ,jesus ,christ is speaking to ,his own among ,moslems to-day1 but many have never heard of ,him4 ,there are more than two hundred million ,moslems in the world4 ,how can they hear without a preacher8 ,hindyea's story will also interest you4 ,a ,moslem woman lay dying in a coast town of old ,syro-,phoenicia4 ,she was the wife of an aged ,ktib--the scribe of the town and the teacher of the ,koran4 ,the woman knew that her end was near1 but how could she die8 ,where was she going8 ,her husband had no word of comfort for her1 he did not know4 ,she was greatly troubled and deep waters rolled over her soul4 ,who could tell her8 ,was there no one to stretch out a helping hand8 ,suddenly she thought of a foreign lady1 a missionary1 who was at the time in her own town1 and whose words had once strangely stirred her heart4 ,perhaps she would come to her8 ,she did come and on her entering the room1 ,hindyea1 endued with new strength and wonderful energy1 sat up in her bed and called out in a loud voice1 her great eyes shining like stars3 ,welcome6 ,welcome6 a thousand times welcome6 ,i need you now1 can you teach me how to die8 ,will you come and put your hands on my head and bring down ,god's blessing upon me8 ,surely you can help me4 ,hindyea was told just in time the ,way1 the ,truth1 and the ,life1 and went home to ,god4 ,christ came for others just like her in the great ,moslem world4 ,who will go to teach them how to die and how to live8 ,there is a general belief among ,christians that ,moslems worship the ,one ,true ,god--the ,almighty ,god2 but this is a mistake1 they do not worship ,him at all6 ,they worship the ,god who has ,mohammed for his prophet and who is he8 ,certainly not the ,god and ,father of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the call that goes up from thousands of minarets all over the ,moslem world six times a day--,there is no ,god but ,god1 and ,mohammed is his prophet1--is in direct conflict with the ,word of ,truth1 that we have access to our ,god through ,his ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1 for they deny the ,son1--and this is the record1 that ,god hath given to us eternal life1 and this life is in ,his ,son4 ,he that hath the ,son hath life1 and he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not life 7#a ,john v4 #aa1 #ab74 ,who is the liar1 but he that denieth that ,jesus is the ,christ4 ,this is the ,anti-,christ1 that denieth the ,father and the ,son4 ,whosoever denieth the ,son the same hath not the ,father3 he that confesseth the ,son hath the ,father also 7#a ,john ii4 #bb1 #bc74 ,in direct contradiction to this teaching of the ,new ,testament is ,chapter ,,cxii of the ,koran1 which1 in ,sale's translation1 is as follows3 ,my ,god is one ,god1 the eternal ,god1 ,he begetteth not1 neither is ,he begotten1 and there is not any one like unto ,him4 ,also in ,chapter ,,xix3 ,it is not meet for ,god that he should have any ,son1 ,god forbid6 ,chapter ,,cxii is held in particular veneration by the ,mohammedan world and declared by the tradition of their prophet to be equal in value to a third part of the whole ,koran4 ,wherever ,islam prevails1 or exists1 ,christ is denied to be the ,son of ,god4 ,all ,moslems deny also the death on the ,cross and the resurrection of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,there is a clarion call to-day for prayer1 prayer for the ,moslem ,world4 ,when the ,christians of evangelical lands begin to pray1 the walls of the strongholds of the enemy will fall1 and the chains that have bound millions of souls for one thousand three hundred years will be broken4 ,islam's only hope is to know ,god1 the ,only ,true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom ,he has sent4 ,,xiii ,,once ,,more ,,in ,,palestine ,the condition of all ,moslem women must necessarily be more or less sad 7for under the very best conditions it can never be secure71 yet ,i think that the lot of ,moslem women in ,palestine compares favorably with that of their sisters in ,india4 ,there is less absolute cruelty4 ,there are fewer atrocious customs4 ,the lot of widows is easier1 and girls are not altogether despised4 ,polygamy is lawful1 yet this custom is certainly decreasing with education and civilization4 ,the ,turks have very seldom more than one wife4 ,my experience of the officials who come from ,turkey to hold office in ,palestine1 both civil and military1 tells me that it is now the fashion among enlightened ,moslems to follow ,european ways in the matter of marriage1 and ,i observe that1 when men are educated and have travelled1 they seldom care for a plurality of wives4 ,however1 among the ,arabic-speaking inhabitants of ,palestine men with more than one wife1 both rich and poor1 may still be found4 ,among the uneducated rich men 7and by the term uneducated1 ,i mean those who have not completed their studies in ,egypt or ,europe7 you will often find one having two wives4 ,also among the landowners1 or sheikhs of villages1 who travel from place to place to overlook their property1 you will be told that they have a wife in each village living with a suitable retinue of servants4 ,the ,arabic word for the second wife means the one that troubles me4 ,this word is used in #a ,samuel i4 in the story of ,hannah1 and is translated adversary4 ,i know of an educated gentleman1 living in a large city1 who added a young bride to his family1 but his first wife was treated with every consideration4 ,the rich can afford to put their wives in different suites of apartments with different servants1 and by this means quarrelling is prevented2 but the case is very different among the poor4 ,not long ago a sad case came under my own notice4 ,a prosperous pharmacist was married to a very nice woman1 and they were a happy couple with sons and daughters growing up around them4 ,by degrees1 the wife perceived a change in her husband's temper4 ,if anything went wrong1 he immediately threatened her1 not with divorce1 but to introduce a second wife into their happy home4 ,this threat he finally carried out1 and the wife had the chagrin of welcoming the bride1 and she was obliged to behave pleasantly over the business4 ,these two women appear to live in harmony1 there is no alternative1 for over the first wife ,damocles' sword hangs but by a hair4 ,but you can imagine the bitterness in her heart1 her anger against the husband1 and her hatred of the bride4 ,you can imagine also the loss of respect for their father which the sons will feel4 ,among the poorer classes it is the usual thing to find a man with two wives4 ,one of these is old4 ,she acts as housekeeper1 and is consulted and considered by the husband4 ,the other is usually quite a young woman1 who must obey the older wife and treat her as a mother-in-law4 ,these two are generally fairly happy1 and1 as a rule1 live in peace4 ,i have seen a man with three wives1 all under the same roof4 ,he acts impartially to all--but the quarrelling among themselves and among their children in his absence is very sad4 ,the effect of polygamy upon the home is most disastrous4 ,what effect it may have on the domestic happiness of the man ,i cannot say1 but one can make a guess and that not a very favorable one6 ,divorce is easy1 inexpensive1 and very prevalent2 and it is no uncommon thing to hear that a man has had ten or eleven wives and that a woman has had eight or nine husbands4 ,for an angry man to say the words1 ,i divorce you1 and to repeat them three times1 swearing an oath by the ,prophet1 is enough to oblige the object of his wrath to leave his house2 carrying with her a bed1 a pillow1 a coverlet1 and a saucepan1 together with the clothes which she had from her own family at her marriage4 ,she returns to her father's house1 or to the nearest relation she has1 should he be dead1 until another marriage is arranged for her4 ,among the richer classes divorce seldom occurs2 and1 if the wife has children and devotes herself to the comfort of her husband1 she may feel her position tolerably secure4 ,should she fall ill1 however1 it is rare that a husband permits her to remain in his house1 for he has not promised to cherish her in sickness and in health4 ,he will send her to her own family till he sees how the illness will turn2 and1 more than probably1 she will be told in less than a month that she is divorced1 and that her husband has married another4 ,how often in our ,palestine hospitals do we try to comfort and soothe the poor sick women in their feverish anxiety to get well1 for fear of this dreaded ,damocles' sword falling on their unhappy heads6 ,among the poorer classes divorce is extremely prevalent4 ,if a woman has no child1 she is immediately divorced1 and is returned to her own family1 who arrange for a second marriage1 generally in about ten days from the time she is divorced4 ,should she again have no child1 her lot will indeed be a sad one4 ,she must then be content to be the wife of some blind or crippled man1 who1 perhaps1 will also exact a sum of money from her relations for his charity in marrying her4 ,if a woman be divorced after she has had children1 she must leave them with the husband1 to be probably harshly treated by her successor or successors4 ,if the father dies1 the children are supported by his brothers or relations1 while the widow marries again4 ,it is seldom that a widow is permitted to take a child1 or children1 to her new home4 ,there is no difficulty in providing for orphan girls2 they are much sought after in marriage1 for the law excuses a young man from foreign military service if he can prove that his wife is an orphan4 ,this means that he would not be able to leave her alone during his absence4 ,such orphans are generally taken into the houses of their future husbands as little tiny girls of four or five years old1 where they are trained by the mother-in-law1 and grow up as daughters4 ,by this means the husband is exempt from paying any sum of money for his bride4 ,we must not forget that the marriages of ,moslems are wholly without affection1 and that the only way in which the husband can enforce obedience from his ignorant and listless wife is by the law of divorce4 ,she will obey him and work for him simply from the fear of being turned away4 ,when a woman has been divorced four or five times1 she finds a difficulty in getting a husband2 for the report spreads that it takes two to make a quarrel1 that her tongue is too sharp and her temper too short4 ,i have been asked what becomes eventually of the woman who has been frequently divorced4 ,finally she remains with the old or very poor man who has married her in her old age4 ,or1 possibly1 if she is a widow with a grown-up son1 he will support her until death relieves him of what he feels to be only a burden4 ,the insecurity of a ,moslem wife's position quite precludes any improvement in herself1 her household arrangements1 or in her children's training4 ,she does not care to sew1 or to take an interest in her husband's work4 ,she does not economize1 or try to improve his position1 for fear that1 if he should find himself with a little spare money1 he would immediately enlarge his borders by taking another wife6 ,therefore1 a ,moslem woman's house is always poor-looking and untidy4 ,she keeps her husband's clothes the same1 that he may not be able to associate with wealthy men and envy their pleasures4 ,here we see the wide gulf between ,christianity and ,islam4 ,the wife1 whom ,god gave to be the help1 and whose price is far above rubies1 has been debased by the prophet ,mohammed1 into the chattel to be used1 and when worn out1 thrown away6 ,the ,christian woman's home in ,palestine is generally clean and tidy4 ,her interests are identical with those of her husband4 ,she is glad to work to help the man1 that the position of both may be improved4 ,i do not think the rich man ill-treats his wife4 ,i have found him invariably kind and indulgent4 ,in ,palestine the women have plenty of liberty4 ,it is a mistake to say that they are shut up4 ,to begin with1 they live in large houses with gardens and courtyards enclosed4 ,they go out visiting one another1 to the public baths1 and to the cemetery regularly once a week1 where they meet and commune with the spirits of departed friends4 ,the girls go to school regularly4 ,the richer ,moslems have resident governesses for their daughters1 and they are eager for education4 ,there is no doubt that the customs are changing4 ,education is raising the woman1 and the man will naturally appreciate the change and will welcome companionship and culture4 ,to educate both men and women is the best way of checking the evil system of polygamy1 and its daughter1 divorce4 ,polygamy was promulgated by the ,prophet as a bribe to the carnal man4 ,without that carnal weapon ,i doubt if ,islam had numbered a thousand followers6 ,it ministers to self-gratification in this world1 and promises manifold more of the same license in the world to come4 ,it is small wonder that when we speak of a clean heart and a right spirit without which we cannot enter the spiritual kingdom1 our words are unintelligible4 ,but that is our theme4 ,holiness1 without which no man can see the ,lord6 ,these poor women are so ignorant4 ,they know that sin has entered into the world1 but they know not ,him who has destroyed the power of sin4 ,they have never heard the words1 ,fear not1 ,i have redeemed thee4 444 ,illustration3 ,a ,,village ,,school ,,in ,,syria ,illustration3 ,,moslem ,,and ,,christian ,,girls ,,reading ,,together ,the following are the words of another writer3 ,never believe people who tell you ,moslem women are happy and well-off4 ,i have lived among them for nearly eighteen years and know something of their sad lives4 ,a ,moslem girl is unwelcome at her birth and oppressed throughout her life4 ,when a child is born in a family the first question asked is1 ,is it a boy or girl8 ,if the answer is1 ,a boy1 congratulations follow from friends and neighbors4 ,but if the answer is1 ,a girl1 all commiserate the mother in words such as1 ,god have mercy on thee4 ,as the little one grows up she has to learn her place as inferior to her brothers1 and that she must always give in to them and see the best of everything given to them4 ,i am glad to say that ,christian missions have made it possible for her to go to school if she lives in a town4 ,but at the age of ten she is probably taken away from her mother1 the only real friend she is likely to have in the world1 and sold by her male relations into another family where she becomes what is virtually a servant to her mother-in-law4 ,we know that mothers-in-law even in ,england have not always a good name1 but what may they be to a young girl completely under their power8 ,many are the sad stories ,i have heard of constant quarrelling1 followed on the part of the little bride by attempts to run away to her old home1 and the advent of her relations on the scene of strife1 to patch up a reconciliation and induce the girl to submit to her fate4 ,perhaps you say1 ,why does her husband not protect his wife from unkindness1 does he not care for her8 ,there you strike upon the root of a ,moslem woman's unhappiness4 ,the boy husband has no choice in his bride1 has probably never set eyes on her until the marriage day4 ,he seems to care little about her beyond making use of her4 ,she is to be his attendant to serve him and provide him with sons4 ,as to the first1 ,i have watched one of these girls in a merchant's house in ,jerusalem standing in attendance on her young husband's toilet1 handing him whatever he wanted1 and folding up his thrown-off clothes4 ,but ,i looked in vain for the least sign of kindly recognition of her attentions from him in look or word or deed4 ,the ,moslem thinks it beneath his dignity to speak to his wife except to give orders1 and does not answer her questions4 ,it is not customary for them to sit down to meals together1 and as for going for a walk together it would be scandalous6 ,one must not even ask a man after his wife in public and she may not go out to visit friends without his permission1 and then veiled so thickly as to be unrecognizable4 ,the higher her social rank the greater the seclusion for a ,moslem woman4 ,then1 as to her motherhood4 ,the young wife's thoughts are continually directed to the importance of pleasing her husband and avoiding the corporal punishment which accompanies his anger4 ,if she does not bear him a son she is in danger of divorce or of the arrival of a co-wife brought to the house4 ,it is strange that the latter trial seems to be faced preferably to the former1 which is a great disgrace4 ,a ,moslem wife has no title until she has a son1 and then she is called the mother of so-and-so1 instead of being called by the name of her husband4 ,but she soon regrets the day he was born1 for he defies her authority and repulses her embraces4 ,i have seen a boy of four years old go into the street to bring a big stone to throw at his mother with curses6 ,the mothers soon age4 ,their chief pleasures are smoking and gossip4 ,their religion is very scanty4 ,some know the ,moslem form of worship with its prostrations and genuflexions4 ,most of them know the names of the chief prophets1 including that of ,jesus ,christ1 and believe that ,mohammed's intercession will rescue them from hell4 ,i once asked a rich ,moslem lady what was woman's portion in paradise1 but she did not know4 ,does this little description stir your pity8 ,are we to leave these1 our sisters1 alone to their fate8 ,to suffer not only in this life but also in the life to come8 ,if you saw their daily life1 and knew the peace of ,god yourself1 ,i think you would want to do something to cheer them1 by telling them ,christ loves them too1 and that there is a great future before them in ,him and ,his ,gospel4 ,,xiv ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,syria ,syria is one of the countries bound down by the heavy chain which ,mohammedanism binds on the ,east4 ,the weight of this chain presses most heavily on that which is weakest and least capable of resistance1 and that means the hearts of the women who are born into this bondage4 ,there are probably from #a1bjj1jjj to #a1ejj1jjj ,mohammedans in ,syria1 and this estimate also includes the sects of the ,nusairiyeh 7the mountain people in ,north ,syria71 the ,metawileh1 and the ,druzes1 who1 though differing in many ways from the true ,mohammedans1 are yet classed with them politically4 ,when the word ,christian is used in this chapter it should be understood as distinguishing a person or a sect which is neither ,jew1 ,druse1 or ,mohammedan1 and does not necessarily imply1 as with us1 a true spiritual disciple of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,our purpose is to show the condition of the ,mohammedan and ,druze women in ,syria to-day as far as it has been possible to ascertain the facts which have been gleaned from those most qualified to give them4 ,from a casual survey one may very likely come to the conclusion that conditions in ,syria are better and the lives of the women brighter than their co-religionists in other ,mohammedan lands4 ,there are happy homes 7or so they seem at first sight7 where there is immaculate cleanliness1 where the mother looks well after the ways of her household and her children1 is ready to receive her husband and kiss his hand when he returns from his work1 where there is but one wife1 and a contented and indulgent husband and father4 ,when you come to look more closely you will find in almost every case that more or less light has come into these homes from ,christian teaching or example4 ,there are many instances on record of ,mohammedan men testifying that the girls trained in ,christian schools make the best wives4 ,more than once have they come to thank and bless the ,protestant teachers who have taught to their pupils such lessons of neatness1 gentleness1 obedience1 and self-control4 ,there are many ,mohammedan men who are worthy to have refined1 educated wives1 and can appreciate the blessing of the homes such are capable of making4 ,on the other hand1 however1 there is a very large proportion who need to be educated themselves in order to know how to treat such women and who have the deserved reputation of being brutal1 sensual1 unspeakably vile in language and behavior4 ,many of these belong to the better class in the large inland cities4 ,the women who are at the mercy of the caprices and passions of such men are very greatly to be pitied4 ,in the towns along the coast1 where there is more enlightenment2 the women have more freedom and seem outwardly happier than those who are more strictly secluded in the towns where ,mohammedanism is the predominant influence4 ,freedom1 however1 is used as a comparative term1 for the following was told to me to show what privileges are accorded under that name to the upper-class women in one of the smaller coast cities4 ,they are allowed to go often1 every day if they like1 and sit by the graves in the ,mohammedan cemetery4 ,when you consider the fact that they are shrouded in their long covers or cloaks1 with faces veiled1 and that the cemetery is not a cheerful place1 to say the least1 and that it is the only place where they are allowed to go1 this so-called freedom does not seem to be so very wonderful1 after all4 ,however1 it is far better than being shut indoors all the time4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,family ,,group ,,at ,,jericho ,any one living among these people becomes gradually accustomed to the accepted state of things1 especially when one has learned that outside interference only makes matters worse1 and it is only now and then when some especially sad or heart-rending thing comes to your knowledge that you realize how truly dreadful the whole system is4 ,the other day ,i was talking about this with a friend whose knowledge of ,mohammedan women had been confined to a few families who on the outside would compare very favorably with ,christian families she knew1 as regards comfort1 cleanliness1 and contentment4 ,i agreed with her that there were many of the nominal ,christian families where there certainly was great unhappiness4 ,but one must not1 in comparing the two1 lose sight of the bitterest1 darkest side4 ,no ,christian woman has to contend with the fact that if her husband wearies of her1 or some carelessness displeases him1 he is perfectly at liberty to cast her off as he would toss aside an old shoe4 ,in fact he would use the same expression in speaking of his shoe1 of a dog1 some loathsome object1 the birth of a daughter or of his wife1--an expression of apology for referring to such contaminating subjects4 ,nor does a ,christian woman fear that as the years pass and her beauty fades1 or her husband prospers1 that one day he will cause preparations to be made and bring a new wife home4 ,the ,mohammedans have a proverb that a man's heart is as hard as a blow from the elbow1 and that his love lasts not more than two months4 ,a ,mohammedan friend was telling me of a woman she knew and was fond of4 ,she was a good wife and mother1 she said1 and she was very happy with her two children1 a boy and a girl2 her husband seemed to love her1 for she is not old1 and it was a great surprise to her when he told her one day that he was going to marry another wife1 for she had forgotten that it might be4 ,he said he would take a separate room for the new wife4 ,she said nothing--what could she say8 ,but he deceived her1 for he only took the room for the new wife for one week1 and then he brought her to live with the first wife4 ,and now she weeps all the time1 and oh6 how unhappy they all are6 ,i tell her not to weep1 for her husband will weary of her and divorce her4 ,a shadow crossed the face of my friend as she spoke1 and ,i could see she was thinking of her own case1 and fearing the fear of all ,mohammedan women4 ,why did that man take another wife when he was happy and had children8 ,i asked1 for ,i knew that where there are no children a man feels justified in divorcing his wife1 or taking a second1 third1 or fourth4 ,he wanted more children4 ,two were not enough4 ,can there be any real happiness for a ,mohammedan woman8 ,she gets little comfort from her religion1 although if she is a perfectly obedient wife1 attends faithfully to her religious duties1 and does not weep if her child dies1 she has a hope that she may be one of seventy houris who will have the privilege of attending upon her lord and master in his sensual paradise4 ,the idea of these two horrors1 divorce and other wives to share her home1 is constantly before her4 ,a ,protestant woman recently told me that she had let some of her rooms to a ,mohammedan family from ,hums4 ,the man was intelligent and the wife was an attractive young woman with a little girl4 ,the man told her in the presence of his wife that when he went back to ,hums he thought he should take another wife4 ,why do you do that when you are so happy as you are8 ,think of your wife--how unhappy it would make her to have you bring in another6 ,the man laughed and told her that she made a great mistake in thinking that ,mohammedan women were like ,christian women1 that they did not mind having another woman in the house1 they were accustomed to it and brought up to expect it4 ,but ,i hope that what ,i said will make him think and perhaps he will decide not to take another wife1 for ,i showed him plainly the evil of it4 ,the women may be brought up to expect it1--they may have been the members of a polygamous family themselves1--but the human heart is the same the world over1 and the sanctity of the home with one wife is never invaded without poignant suffering4 ,a wealthy ,mohammedan will establish each of his wives in a separate house1 those not able to afford this luxury have their harem in one house4 ,it does not require a very vivid imagination to be able to picture the inevitable result3 jealousies1 heartburnings1 contentions1 wranglings1 and worse4 ,a ,bible woman told me of dreadful scenes where the women fight like cats and dogs1 and the husband takes the part of the wife he loves the best and beats the others4 ,one feels that the man often bears his own punishment for this state of things by being obliged to live amid such scenes4 ,in a city of ,northern ,syria where the ,mohammedans are the most powerful class and their haughtiness and contempt of women so great that they will elbow a foreign woman into the gutter1 not necessarily because she is a ,christian1 but because she is a woman1 a ,syrian woman whispered during a walk3 ,look at that man over there1 ,i'll tell you about him later4 ,and afterwards she explained that the man was a neighbor and he had just taken his fourth wife1 and she was only ten years old4 ,he was an elderly man with gray hair4 ,one well-known and wealthy ,mohammedan had splendid establishments in four different places and he is said to have had thirty sons4 ,another brought home an ,english wife1 with whom he had lived ten years in ,england1 and established her in an apartment just above the one in which one of several wives was living4 ,could ,english girls realize the misery in store for them in marrying ,mohammedan husbands1 they would be thankful for any warning4 ,even if the husband himself is kind1 there are many painful things to undergo from his women relatives4 ,and worse than all is the denying of ,christ before men in the acceptance of ,islam4 ,one of these ,english women living in ,syria as the wife of a ,mohammedan1 had her daughter married to an own cousin at the age of thirteen1 another was obliged to give her ten-year-old daughter in marriage4 ,i asked this last woman how she could do such a thing4 ,it is her father's will and ,i could do nothing4 ,but she ran away the next day1 so the man divorced her4 ,this same daughter has been married and divorced twice since then1 and is now living at home1 and is at the head of a ,mohammedan school for girls4 ,two other sisters have been divorced1 and are at home1 one with her child4 ,in ,beirut1 among the better classes girls are not married as young as they used to be1 though occasionally you hear of instances1 as in the case of a woman who had eight daughters and married two of them1 twins1 at the age of eight4 ,she gained nothing by this cruel act as they were soon divorced and sent home4 ,one reason for child-marriages among ,mohammedans in ,syria is the conscription which demands for the army every young man of eighteen4 ,the one who cannot afford to escape conscription by paid substitutes or money may be exempt if he has a wife dependent upon him4 ,when he is sixteen or seventeen his family send off to some distant town for a young girl who is a destitute orphan1 and this child is married to the youth1--she may be ten years old1 or nine1 or even eight1 and cases are known where a girl of seven has been married to a boy of sixteen4 ,one can hardly wonder that many of these girls are divorced1 for they are simply untrained1 naughty children1 unable to grasp what the duties of a wife are1 or that it is necessary to please their husbands or conciliate their mothers-in-law4 ,mohammedan women say that the happiness of a child-wife and her status in the family depend almost entirely upon her mother-in-law4 ,it is a sad fact that these little brides--children in years--are very often old in knowledge of evil4 ,most ,mohammedan children are brought up in an atmosphere of such talk that their natures seem steeped in vulgarity from their cradles and no mystery of life or death is hidden from them4 ,it makes one's heart sick to think of these children1 so sinned against and so cruelly treated for being the products of this system4 ,sad stories are told of those who are put out to service1 especially when they go to ,turkish families4 ,it is not very common1 fortunately1 for there is always the fear that the men in the family1 regarding them as lawful prey1 will ill-treat them4 ,girls disgraced in this way have a terrible fate4 ,a friend came to us one day1 weeping because of a dreadful thing which had just come to her knowledge1 too late1 alas6 for any help to be given4 ,the daughter of a neighbor1 a poor man1 had been sent out to service1 and the worst befell her4 ,she was sent home in disgrace1--her father was obliged to receive her1 but he would not recognize her or have anything to do with her till one day he ordered her to go out into the garden and dig in a spot he indicated4 ,each day he came to see what she had accomplished1 till at last there was a hole deep enough for her to stand in1 her full height4 ,her father then called his brothers1 they brought lime1 poured it over her1 and then buried the child alive in the hole she herself had dug4 ,she was only twelve years old6 ,the neighbors found it out and informed the government4 ,the parents and all concerned were imprisoned1 and the father is still in prison1 though the mother has been released4 ,the feeling is strong that such a disgrace can only be wiped out by death1 and this is especially the case when there has been misconduct between a ,mohammedan man and a ,christian woman4 ,in a ,syrian city a ,christian girl of aristocratic family was betrothed and was soon to be married when suddenly the engagement was broken4 ,it could no longer be hidden that she had been guilty of wrong relations with some man1 and the man proved to have been a ,mohammedan4 ,this disgrace was intolerable to the families involved1 and before long a man connected with the family came to the girl with a glass of liquid1 and said3 ,here1 drink this6 ,she took it1 drank1 and died4 ,comments on it showed that the sentiment of the community is in sympathy with such a course4 ,what else could be done8 they say4 ,probably a ,mohammedan would not see the inconsistency of condemning to death the child-victim of a man's lust1 as in the first instance given1 while practically the same thing is legalized in allowing the marriage of children with the probability of a divorce in the near future4 ,how can they hope for the growth of purity among their women1 or wonder when immorality and unchastity are discovered6 ,frequent reference has been made to divorce4 ,it is the weapon always at hand when a man is dissatisfied4 ,his law allows him to divorce his wife twice and take her back1 but if he divorce her the third time1 he may not take her back until she has been married to another man and divorced by him4 ,the ceremony is a simple one2 repeating a formula three times in the presence of a witness not a member of the household1 and telling the wife to go to her father4 ,a divorced wife must go back to her father's house1 or to her brother if her father is not living1 or to her nearest relative4 ,if she is friendless then she has the right to go before the ,mejlis or ,court1 and state her case4 ,she is asked if she wishes to marry again1 and if so1 the ,court must find a husband for her4 ,if not1 then the husband is made to support her4 ,if she returns to live with her friends1 the husband has to give her one penny halfpenny a day4 ,if there are children under seven they go with the mother4 ,if they are older1 they are allowed to choose between mother and father4 ,they are supported by the father4 ,the ,mohammedans have a saying that when a woman marries she is never sure that she will not be returned1 scorned and insulted1 to her father's house the next day2 nor1 when she prepares a meal for her husband1 is she sure that she will be his wife long enough to eat of it herself4 ,in conversation with a ,mohammedan woman one day we were commenting on the fact that a certain wealthy bridegroom had given directions to the professional who was to adorn his bride for her marriage1 not to disfigure her face with the thick shining paste which is usually considered 7though very mistakenly7 to enhance her charms4 ,he was reported to have said that he wished to see her face as ,god had made it4 ,i remarked that ,i thought it was very sensible and that ,i did not see what was ever gained by disfiguring a face by plastering it with paint and powders4 ,the woman said3 ,but you do not understand6 ,we do it so that we may be beautiful in our husband's eyes1 for if we are pale or wrinkled they cease to love us and go to other women or else they divorce us4 ,it is very far from being for better1 for worse1--in sickness1 in health4 ,it is impossible to gather statistics as to the proportionate number of divorces4 ,all the women say1 ,it is very common4 ,the condition of a divorced woman returned to her father's house is not an enviable one4 ,in some cases they are kept on like servants1 living in some out-house or stable1 or in some inferior room if the house is a grand one4 ,it has been suggested by a writer1 that the sight of the misery of these positionless women has a strong influence upon the young men of the family1 making them determine that they will never have more than one wife4 ,let us hope that this is true4 ,from what is told me ,i have learned that it is not usually the young men who have more than one wife1 but the older ones4 ,i must not omit to say that in the smaller ,mohammedan settlements where there is much intermarrying in families1 there is almost no divorce1 for even if a man wishes it1 he must be very courageous to brave the united wrath of the whole circle of female relatives or of his enraged uncle or cousin1 who resents bitterly having his daughter sent back to her home4 ,among the poorer people1 too1 those who have come most closely under my observation1 divorce is rare and no man has more than one wife4 ,but they are steeped in superstition and many are so bigoted they will not receive the visits of the ,bible woman nor allow their children to attend schools4 ,frequently1 in paying visits1 we will find a blind ,mohammedan sheikh instructing the women in the ,koran1 and some of them have very glib objections to offer to the ,new ,testament stories and truths we read to them4 ,they will often ask to be read to1 but the ,old ,testament is the favorite book4 ,among the ,druzes1 divorce is even more common than it is among the true ,mohammedans1 and the state of morals is very low4 ,the ,druzes are an interesting1 even fascinating people4 ,they live on the ,lebanons and inland on the ,druze mountains of the ,hauran1 and are a warlike independent race1 of fine physique1 and most polished1 courteous manners4 ,some of their women are very beautiful and their peculiar costumes are most becoming and picturesque4 ,they are always veiled1 but one eye is uncovered1 and it is second nature with them to draw their veils hastily across their faces if a man appears in sight4 ,as was said before1 they are classed with the ,mohammedans although they have their own prophet1 ,hakim1 and they take pride in having their own secret religion1 which is little more than a brotherhood for political purposes4 ,it is extremely difficult to make any real impression on them4 ,at a recent wedding in ,druze high life in a ,lebanon village almost every woman present had been divorced1 and one woman was exactly like the ,samaritan woman who came to the well to draw water3 she had had five husbands1 and the one she had now was not her husband4 ,the hostess herself1 the bridegroom's mother1 a woman of fine presence1 had been divorced1 but was brought back to preside over this important function1 as there was no one else to do it1 but her former husband was not present1 as ,druze law forbids a man ever looking again on the face of his divorced wife4 ,their women are cast off in a most heartless way1 but they cannot be taken back again4 ,the ceremony of marriage consists in fastening up over a door a sword wreathed with flowers and with candles tied on it1 and then passing under it4 ,the form of divorce is very simple4 ,it is illustrated in the life of a ,druze prince who married a girl of high family1 beautiful and of a strong character and fine mind4 ,they were devoted to each other1 but she had no children4 ,she had suspicions of what was in store for her1 which were realized one day when she had been on a visit to her native village with her husband4 ,they were riding together towards home1 when they came to a fork in the road4 ,the prince turned and said3 ,here is the parting of the way4 ,she understood1 and turned1 weeping1 back to her father's house4 ,the prince afterwards sent and bought a beautiful ,circassian slave1 and married her1 but she had no children1 and so she in turn was divorced4 ,the prince had1 contrary to custom1 been in the habit of paying visits to the house of his first wife who had been married to another man1 and now he obliged her second husband to divorce her4 ,he turned ,mohammedan in order to be able to take his wife back again4 ,among the ,druzes1 the ladies of good family are secluded even more rigorously than in ,mohammedan families4 ,even in the villages they rarely leave their homes1 going out only at night to pay visits to women of equal station4 ,some of them have never been outside of their own doors since they were little girls4 ,one girl1 the daughter of an ,emir1 was sent away to spend a year in a ,protestant boarding-school4 ,there she was allowed to go for walks with the girls1 attended the church services1 and had a glimpse into a life very different from the dull seclusion which would naturally be her lot among her own people4 ,but she failed to take home the lessons taught her that ,christ was her ,saviour and ,friend1 and would be her help and comfort in whatever was hard to bear4 ,she returned to her home and soon learned that1 although she had been allowed these unusual privileges1 she need expect no more liberty than her mother had been allowed before her4 ,she found the shut-in life so intolerable that she secretly ate the heads of matches and poisoned herself so that she sickened and died1 having confessed her act and telling the reason4 ,there are others among these girls who have been taught in evangelical schools1 who have learned to love ,christ1 whose faith is strong and whose trust sustains them and keeps them patient and cheerful amid very great trials and even cruel treatment from their husbands1 ,strengthened in their endurance by the vision of the ,invisible ,god4 ,to go back to ,mohammedan women4 ,it is surprising how exceedingly ignorant many of them are1 even the women of the higher classes from whom you might expect better things4 ,a visitor inquired of her ,mohammedan hostess if she would tell her the name of the current ,mohammedan month4 ,i do not concern myself with such things1 you must ask the ,effendi4 ,their minds seem to be blank except in regard to their relations to their families1 to sleeping1 eating1 and diseases1 to their clothes1 and their servants1 and the current gossip of the neighborhood4 ,formerly it was not believed that girls were capable of learning anything1 and years ago an ,effendi in ,tripoli1 when urged to have his daughter taught to read1 exclaimed1 ,teach a girl to read6 ,i should as soon try to teach a cat6 ,but those days are passing and the ,mohammedans are beginning to bestir themselves in the matter of educating their girls4 ,they are opening schools for girls in all the cities1 though judging from the attainments of some of the teachers1 the girls are not taught very much4 ,when these schools were first opened in ,beirut1 the only available teachers were girls who had been in attendance on the ,protestant schools1 and some of them had only been there a few months4 ,in ,sidon there is a large ,mohammedan school for girls1 where are gathered from five to six hundred girls4 ,the ,koran is the text-book1 reading and writing are taught and needle-work has a large place in the curriculum4 ,years ago an old ,effendi was attending the examination in ,miss ,taylor's school for ,mohammedan and ,druze girls4 ,my two granddaughters are here1 he said to a missionary sitting beside him4 ,i was instrumental in starting a school of our own for girls1 and ,i took my granddaughters away from here and put them in the new school4 ,one day ,i went to visit the school4 ,when ,i was still at a distance ,i heard the teacher screaming at the girls and cursing them1 saying1 ',may ,god curse the beard of your grandfathers1 you dogs6' ,now1 ,i was the grandfather of two of those children and ,i knew they heard enough of such language at home without being taught it at school1 so ,i brought them back to this good place4 ,the aim of the ,mohammedans in their schools is twofold3 being both to benefit and train the girls1 making them more companionable1 and also to fortify them against ,christian teaching4 ,the aim of our work and our teaching is more than that1 for we desire1 not only to enlarge the mental horizon but to cultivate the heart1 to open up for them the wellspring of true joy and store their memories with hymns of praise and the inspiring and comforting words of ,christ4 ,but more than all to lead them to accept for themselves their only ,saviour1 the ,son of ,god1 who died for them1 who only is the true ,prophet of the ,highest1 whose mission is to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death4 ,we claim for these dear women and girls the liberty which their own sacred ,koran inculcates3 ,let there be no compulsion in religion4 7,from the ,sura called ,the ,cow1 v4 #beg47 ,and will the favored ,christian women of ,england1 ,america1 and ,germany1 and all free ,christian lands not join those already on the field either in prayer or personal service1 that they may have a part in bringing many of these ,mohammedan women1 sweet and lovable1 and capable of rising to high levels as many of them are1 out of their darkness into ,his ,marvellous ,light8 ,,xv ,,behind ,,the ,,lattice ,,in ,,turkey ,if the condition of women under ,islam is degraded and wellnigh hopeless in other parts of the world1 what must be the condition of such women in ,turkey1 the seat of ,moslem power1 the centre of the ,caliphate1 with the green flag of the ,prophet kept at ,seraglio ,point1 in ,constantinople8 ,the picture of woman's degradation throughout the ,empire is black enough1 yet gleams of light play over the blackness1 and these gleams grow steadily stronger and more frequent4 ,turkey not only borders upon ,europe1 and thus is nearer to ,western civilization and its progress1 but its extended coast-line affords many ports of entry1 to which comes no inconsiderable part of the travel and trade of the world4 ,kaiser ,william's railroads are opening up the western portion of the empire1 and cause a curious jumble of modern advance with so-called fixed ,oriental ways4 ,with their parasols held low over their heads1 even though the day be cloudy1 or the sun be set1 the veiled and costumed ,turkish women may be seen in crowds on ,friday1 their ,sabbath1 and holidays1 sitting upon grassy slopes1 with their children playing about them4 ,they go in groups or followed by a servant1 if from richer families1 as they are not trusted to go alone4 ,in the interior1 even1 non-,moslem women are veiled almost as closely as the ,mohammedans1 when upon the street4 ,such is the power of prejudice that it is not thought proper for any woman to be seen in public4 ,they live behind their lattices1 and woe to any ,christian house whose windows command a view into a ,moslem neighbor's premises1 no matter how distant4 ,such juxtaposition is the reason for the unsightly walls and lofty screens which disfigure many an otherwise beautiful view1 in any part of ,turkey4 ,no strange man may look upon any ,moslem woman4 ,the slow but sure disintegration of these customs1 prejudices1 and superstitions1 is going on1 thank ,god6 ,darkness is fleeing before the light4 ,if the churches of ,christ will but take the watchword1 ,the ,moslem world for ,christ1 in this century6 and put all needed resources of men and means1 consecrated energy and prayer1 into the campaign1 even the ,false ,prophet shall be vanquished before ,him who is ,king of kings and ,lord of lords6 ,i have travelled on the railroad in ,turkey with ,moslem women1 in the special compartment1 where in the freedom of the day's travel1 they have thrown back their veils and silken wraps1 showing their pretty ,french costumes and the diamonds upon their fingers1 as they offered their ,frank fellow-traveller cake1 or possibly chocolates1 and have more than once felt the embarrassment of a missionary purse too slender to allow of such luxuries1 with which to return the compliment4 ,once a ,moslem woman took from her travelling hand-basket paper and pencil1 and proceeded to write1 as ,i was doing6 ,page after page she wrote1 though in just the reverse manner from our writing1 and we soon established a feeling of comradeship4 ,i have been also a deeply sympathetic witness of moving scenes in which the proverbial love of the ,turkish father for his children could not be concealed4 ,as the train awaited the signal for departure from a station1 one day1 the evident distress of a pretty girl opposite me1 broke into crying4 ,she had climbed into the corner by the window1 and the guard had not yet closed the door4 ,involuntarily my eyes followed the child's grieved gaze1 until they rested upon a tall1 gray-bearded ,turkish officer standing by the station1 who was evidently striving to control his emotion answering to the grief of the child4 ,finally he yielded to the heart-broken crying of the little one1 and came to the car door to speak soothingly to her4 ,the young mother sat stoically through it all1 seemingly content with her rich dress and jewels1 and her comfortable appointments for travelling4 ,not so with the father and his child1 who were so grieved over their coming separation4 ,when finally the door had been slammed by the guard1 and locked1 and our journey begun1 some time elapsed before the still grieving child could be won to take any interest in the good things with which her mother then sought to beguile her4 ,surely such a human father1 so tender toward his little child1 could be taught the love of our ,heavenly ,father for each child of ,his1 which has provided a ,saviour for every repenting soul returning to ,him6 ,thus the lion would be changed into the lamb1 and the ,turkish officer1 often unspeakably cruel to his enemies1 would become a man and a brother even to his foes4 ,moslem women1 although by the rules of their religion almost entirely secluded from the outer world1 and from all men save those of their own families1 are1 nevertheless1 being powerfully affected by the growing light of civilization1 which has not only revealed their darkness1 but has penetrated it to some degree1 while the burning glow and love of ,christianity1 through zenana workers and schools1 has far more than begun the work of transformation4 ,how can mothers consent that their daughters shall be sold1 while yet children1 to any man1 no matter how old1 who will pay the price her father demands for her1 when she has learned even a little of the loving honor given to his wife and daughter by the ,christian husband and father8 ,how can she consent to see her given in a marriage to which her approval has not even been asked1 or possibly where it has been refused8 ,yet1 pity it is that without the consent of mother or girl1 she may be conveyed1 a bride1 to the house of her lord1 who has perhaps not deigned to be present1--and she of course not1--at the arrangement by their legal representatives1 for signing the contract1 and fixing the amount of dowry which she brings1 or the sum which he shall give her in case he at any time shall decree her divorce4 ,this is all that constitutes the marriage ceremony in ,turkey4 ,i once saw the arrival of a ,turkish bride at her bridegroom's house4 ,there was no welcome4 ,she alighted with a woman friend from the closed carriage4 ,some one must have waited within the garden1 for the heavy street-gate opened at their approach1 received the women1 closed upon them1 and the bride was shut into her husband's house1 from all the world4 ,if she displeases him in any way1 even if her cooking does not suit him1 a word from her husband suffices to divorce a wife1 according to ,moslem law4 ,he may have as many wives as he wishes1 and another is easily found4 ,mohammedan husbands are allowed to punish their wives with blows1 to enforce obedience4 ,a whole town pervaded by these ,turkish ideas was filled with amazement at a burly non-,moslem friend of mine1 whose wife had become a ,christian4 ,although jeered at and ridiculed by his companions as one who could not make his wife obey him1 he never lifted his hand against her1 for he loved her too well4 ,he did1 however1 cause her great unhappiness for years1 until the ,spirit of ,god broke his hard heart1 and made him also a ,christian4 ,no ,turk expects a woman to speak to him in a public place1 or if she does he will not raise his eyes from the ground4 ,a friend of mine was in deepest distress in a lonely place in ,turkey1 wringing her hands and crying ,alas6 ,alas6 as she saw a man approaching her2 but ,agha ,effendim gave her no heed until she walked straight up to him1 so sore was her need1 and told him her trouble4 ,then his heart was touched1 and ,mohammedan ,albanian as he was1 he rendered her the aid which she asked4 ,forty ,mohammedan women1 living too distant from ,mecca to allow a pilgrimage thither1 made the ascent1 one summer1 of one of the loftiest mountain peaks in ,european ,turkey4 ,they did this as a religious duty4 ,it was a feat which required all the vigor and strength of an ,american mountain-climber1 who ascended the same peak some days later4 ,she could not abandon the task1 however1 which they had accomplished1 whose feet knew only the heelless slipper or the wooden clog1 when about their household duties1 or stepped noiselessly in their gaily embroidered homemade stockings1 when indoors4 ,the ,turkish woman can climb4 ,she can reach lofty heights4 ,slowly and painfully she will leave her dense ignorance1 her habits of superstition1 her jealousies1 and her intrigues behind her and will emerge1 led by the loving hand of her ,christian sister1 sometimes of her husband or child1 into the glorious liberty of the children of ,god4 ,we admit that ofttimes the obstacles seem insuperable1 when we meet the barrier of the unawakened life4 ,what opportunity is there before the little mother but fourteen years old herself8 ,how shall she escape the name which her own family perhaps give her--a cow8 ,cattle is a common term for women4 ,her men-folks will very likely hinder her education1 in many instances1 but she must be led out of her old life1 along this way4 ,the mothers of coming generations1 with unlimited influence over their husband's inclination and conduct even when set toward progress--the ,turkish woman must be reached6 ,christianity is the one means to allay her superstitions1 her jealousies1 her fears1 and to give her a true outlook upon life and its meaning4 ,the women of ,christendom must help her who cannot help herself4 ,the pitifulness of the condition of ,turkish women1 and the difficulty of reaching them1 form the challenge of ,islam to the ,christian world4 ,shall we take up the gauntlet thrown down by the ,crescent and the ,star1 and lifting high the banner of the ,cross1 go forward in ,christ's name1 because ,god wills their salvation as truly as ours1 and sends us to them in ,his name8 ,the influence of civilization is necessarily felt far less in the interior of ,turkey than in the maritime sections2 yet here also1 thanks to the multiplication of schools and teachers and loving ,christian women trained in those schools1 conditions are beginning to be changed4 ,in one city of western ,turkey1 we are told1 the ,turks themselves asked for a kindergarten teacher from our ,american mission school1 to open a kindergarten for them1 and it was done4 ,girls' schools have sprung up among the ,moslems in various parts of the country1 from the same influences which affected ,greeks and ,armenians1 though more slowly4 ,quite recently there has been an awakening among the ,turks to the fact that if they would keep pace with the march of civilization they must provide for the education of their girls4 ,so now1 in some of the large cities1 schools for ,turkish girls have been established1 and1 although the attendance is still small and the work elementary1 yet it shows the trend of opinion1 and gives great hope of soon bettering the condition of women in the empire4 ,another observer writes concerning more progressive portions of ,turkey3 ,the power of education is proving a sure disintegrator to the seclusion of ,moslem social life4 ,turkish women have already taken enviable places among the writers of their nation4 ,others are musicians1 physicians1 nurses1 and a constantly increasing number are availing themselves of the educational facilities afforded by the ,german1 ,french1 and other foreign institutions which have been established at ,constantinople1 ,smyrna1 and elsewhere in the ,ottoman ,empire4 ,in the beautiful ,american ,college for ,girls1 on the heights of ,scutari1 ,constantinople1 ,turkish girls1 as well as those of all nationalities of the ,orient and ,franks1 eagerly take advantage of the course1 and a few have graduated with honor4 ,a far larger number1 however1 are removed to the seclusion of their homes as they approach maidenhood4 ,on the day when the first six girls from ,moslem families were received1 more than one of them learned the entire ,english alphabet4 ,what a need for prayer that the ,spirit of ,god shall reach those receptive young hearts from the very first day1 in this and every other ,christian educational institution to which ,moslem girls turn their steps6 ,the most tactful and consecrated work of their missionary or native teachers must be done every day1 for such ,turkish girls1 whether in more elementary schools or in colleges1 inasmuch as the proverb of the country3 ,either marry your daughter at sixteen or bury her6 is still very much in force beyond those limited districts where the influence of ,western ideas has availed to modify somewhat the old thought4 ,what they gain during the short time when they may remain in school1 must be the food of their lives1 in multitudes of instances4 ,we know the paucity of literature of all kinds in ,turkey1 where government press regulations prohibit any general output of publications2 this1 combined with the very general poverty of the people1 makes many a home bookless1 and the great majority of lives barren4 ,sometimes in missionary tours we have seen far up on the hillside a group of poor peasants descending4 ,the sudden turning of the women of that party1 drawing their filthy veils closer across their faces on hot ,july or ,august days1 reveals to the passers-by that these are ,moslems4 ,they have discovered that there are men in the approaching party of travellers4 ,they may have mistaken the ladies wearing hats as gentlemen also4 ,a command has evidently been given by their lord and master1 at which the women have sunk to the ground1 with their backs to the road1 while still far from it1 lest one of those infidel eyes should peer through their veils1 and look upon their faces4 ,yet women's curiosity compels those hidden eyes to seek at least a surreptitious peep at the foreign travellers1 and they watch us furtively4 ,under such circumstances there can be no hope of any personal touch1 save if occasion might arise which would allow a call at the hovel which constitutes their home4 ,on one of my last journeys in ,turkey ,i chanced to meet a ,turkish soldier on a lonely mountain road4 ,as ,i passed him1 walking in advance of my horse and driver1 filled with no small trepidation at such proximity in that lonely place1 he gave me no salutation1 and ,i confess to a feeling of relief when ,i had passed him unchallenged4 ,but how that feeling changed to remorse when my driver overtook me1 and said that the soldier had stopped him to inquire if the teacher who had just gone by were a doctor1 for a little child of his lay at home grievously ill4 ,what an opportunity had been missed6 ,if he only had spoken1 the pitiful need in that home would have been opened up to the missionary teacher1 who1 although not a doctor1 would have done what she could to relieve the little sufferer1 and to comfort the sorrowing parents4 ,there would have been a chance to bring to that poor1 ignorant mother in her miserable home1 a token of love and tenderness out of the great world of which she knew nothing4 ,one of the most discouraging aspects of life in ,turkey at the present time1 is found in the fact that as men travel about in their business or professional life2 come into contact in various ways with those of different views and more advanced thought than themselves2 become influenced by them2 and mildly enthusiastic to put the new ideas into practice2 they are met on the very threshold of their homes by their uncomprehending and immovable wives1 who with horror refuse to allow the souls of their families to be imperilled by tolerating any such heresies4 ,this difficulty1 instead of being cause for discouragement1 constitutes a powerful challenge to the heart of ,christianity1 to help such an awakening man1 and to find the dormant soul of this woman4 ,no opposition can long stand before the appeal of the ,gospel1 when tactfully1 lovingly1 prayerfully brought to bear upon such souls4 ,fatima ,khanum 7my ,sovereign ,fatima71 a ,bible woman1 seventy years old1 finds the joy of the ,lord to be still her strength1 as she goes from house to house1 telling in her musical ,turkish tongue the story of ,god's love for every man1 and urges all to receive it4 ,very closely they get together on a wintry day1 as visitor and visited gather about the brazier of coals1 and talk over the wonderful words of life4 ,may ,god greatly multiply the number of such faithful witnesses for ,him1 throughout the ,turkish ,empire6 ,evet1 ,effendim6 7yes1 my lord67 frequently says a missionary friend who1 having learned the ,turkish as her missionary language when a young teacher1 still cherishes her love for it1 and sometimes uses it to her best-beloved4 ,shall we not say1 ,yes1 ,lord6 to ,him who died on ,calvary for all1 and who is not willing that any should perish1 and with ,him seek those other sheep1 and bring them to the fold of the ,good ,shepherd8 ,there can be no failure here1 although the church of ,christ has but slowly and late come to the realization that the ,mohammedan world too1 with its millions of women and children1 must be ,his4 ,hath not ,god said3 ,look unto ,me1 and be ye saved1 all the ends of the earth3 for ,i am ,god1 and there is none else4444 ,unto ,me every knee shall bow8 ,,xvi ,a ,,voice ,,from ,,bulgaria ,i received some days ago your letter asking for something upon the condition of ,mohammedan women in ,bulgaria4 ,my observation has been limited1 and ,i have not had opportunity to learn from others what they had seen1 except from our dear old ,fatima ,hanum1 for so many years a ,bible woman among ,mohammedan women4 ,bulgaria cannot be called ,turkey4 ,indeed it is much freer from ,turkish influence than ,egypt is4 ,there is a free intercourse also between ,turkish1 ,bulgarian1 and ,armenian women1 which must influence the home life and the views of the ,mohammedan families4 ,most of them would be ashamed to take more than one woman1 and the ,turkish women are continually comparing their situation and life with that of their ,christian neighbors4 ,they are sad not to be able to read and write1 and they try to give their daughters a better education4 ,but as they see that their 7orthodox7 ,bulgarian neighbors care more for instruction than for religion and real education1 they1 of course1 cannot understand till now1 that religion is the root of culture4 ,polygamy is by no means prevalent among the ,mohammedans of ,bulgaria1 indeed it is very rare that a man has more than one wife1 but these few exceptions are productive of great misery4 ,divorce for very trivial reasons is not uncommon1 but there has recently occurred under my eye a case of happy reconciliation and restoration through the influence of ,christian friends4 ,the ,mohammedan woman of ,bulgaria shares to a degree the freedom of her ,bulgarian sisters1 is a power in the home1 and1 especially if the mother of grown sons1 is much respected and considered4 ,but ignorance is her curse4 ,here and there one finds a grown woman able to read1 but the mass are content to let their girls go to school for a few years and then gradually forget all they have learned4 ,but still ,i have known some keenly interested in the reading of ,scripture4 ,i recall one visit in a roomful of women at the festival of ,bairam1 when a young girl attracted by the ,injil ,sherif--the ,new ,testament--in the hands of the ,bible woman1 opened it and read aloud the whole of the eighteenth chapter of ,luke to that roomful of deeply interested listeners4 ,as she finished1 clasping the book to her heart1 she exclaimed3 ,oh1 give me this wonderful book1 ,i must read it all4 ,when we left she followed me to the door1 reminding us earnestly of our promise to send her a book soon4 ,we know that the book was much read4 ,another girl of seventeen1 whom ,fatima ,hanum had taught not only to read but to love the ,book1 found great comfort in the prayers and ,christian sympathy of this same dear friend during a long illness4 ,on her death-bed she said to her mother3 ,we have lived in darkness1 but there is light and ,i have seen it6 ,we believe the light is beginning to glimmer in more than one ,mohammedan home in ,bulgaria4 ,in this city1 as in many others1 ,mohammedan women are accustomed to spend ,friday1 whenever the weather will permit1 under the trees in some pleasant spot1 and ,fatima ,hanum with her ,bible is a familiar figure among them--indeed they often send word to her3 ,we are going out for the day4 ,come with us and bring the ,book4 ,in a recent tour ,i was a welcome guest in several ,turkish homes1 and warm approval was expressed by the women of their ,protestant neighbors--only one failing was regretted--they eat pork1 but even they acknowledged that it wasn't so bad as telling lies1 and saying unkind things about each other2 and they begged me to come again and read to them from our ,great ,teacher's ,book4 ,,xvii ,,darkness ,,and ,,daybreak ,,in ,,persia ,one can never forget the first sight of a ,moslem woman--that veiled figure1 moving silently through the streets1 so enshrouded that face and form are completely concealed4 ,men and women pass each other with no greeting or token of recognition1 and if a wife accompanies her husband1 she never walks beside him1 but at a respectful distance behind1 and neither gives a sign that they belong together4 ,a woman's first instinct is to efface herself4 ,even the poor1 washing clothes in the street at the water-course1 pull their tattered rags over their faces4 ,the ,persian expression for women1 those who sit behind the curtain1 shows that their place is silence and seclusion4 ,when the closed carriage of a princess passes1 her servants1 galloping before1 order all men to turn their faces to the wall1 though all they could possibly see would be carefully veiled figures4 ,the beggar sitting on the ground at the street corner is equally invisible under her cotton chader1 as with lamentable voice she calls for mercy on the baby in her arms4 ,during the month of mourning1 we often pass a brilliantly lighted mosque1 where men sit sipping tea or smoking1 listening to the tale of the death of their martyrs1 but crouching on the stony street outside in the darkness1 a crowd of women are straining their ears to catch what they can4 ,such are the passing glimpses one gets of the ,persian woman in public4 ,her real life is lived in the harem4 ,we realize its meaning1 the forbidden1 when after passing through the imposing street gate1 and the outer court where are the men's apartments1 we are conducted to a curtained door1 guarded by a sentinel1 who summons an old eunuch to lead us through a dark1 narrow passage into the inner court1 or andaroon4 ,here no man may enter but the very nearest relatives of the inmates1 and they under severe restrictions4 ,as women1 we have free access1 and this privilege is shared by the ,christian physician1 who is welcomed and trusted4 ,one such gives us this picture4 ,the andaroon is usually very far from being an abode of luxury1 even in wealthy families1 unless the number of wives is limited to one or two4 ,the favorite wife has many advantages over her rivals1 but she is usually encouraged to set an example of severe simplicity1 in respect to her house and its furnishings1 to the other wives2 each of whom would make life a burden to her lord1 were marked discrimination shown in such things4 ,he1 therefore1 contents himself with reserving the best of everything for the beroon1 or outer apartments1 where he receives his own guests4 ,here are fountains1 spacious courts1 shady walks1 and profusion of flowers without1 while within are large1 high-ceiled and stuccoed rooms1 elaborate windows1 delicately wrought frescoes1 the finest rugs and divans1 showy chandeliers and candelabra1 stately pier glasses brought on camels' backs from distant ,trebizond or ,bushire1 inlaid tables from ,shiraz1 and portires from ,reshd4 ,the andaroon presents a marked contrast4 ,the rooms are usually small and low without ventilation1 the courts confined1 sunless1 and bare2 the garden ill-kept1 and the general air of a backyard pervading the entire establishment4 ,this order is reversed by many ecclesiastics1 who in deference to the popular idea1 that to be very holy1 one must be very dirty1 reserve all their luxuries for the andaroon1 and make a show of beggarly plainness in the part of the house to which their pupils and the public have access4 ,the ,persian wife seldom ventures into the beroon1 and when she does1 it is as an outsider only1 who is tolerated as long as no other visitor is present4 ,all its belongings are in charge of men-servants1 and the dainty touches of the feminine hand are nowhere seen in their arrangement1 and her presence is lacking there1 to greet its guests1 or grace its entertainments4 ,when the ,khanum suffers from any of the ailments1 for which in ,america or ,europe outdoor exercise1 travel1 a visit to the seaside1 to the mountains1 or to the baths is required1 the physician feels his helplessness4 ,he sees that the patient cannot recover her nervous tone in her present environment4 ,but there is no seaside except at impossible distances and in impossible climates4 ,a visit to the mountains would mean being shut up in a little dirty village1 whose houses are mud hovels1 the chief industry of whose women is the milking of goats and sheep1 and working up beds of manure with bare feet1 and moulding it by hand into cakes for fuel4 ,or1 if the husband have both the means and the inclination1 for her sake to make an encampment upon the mountains large enough to afford security from robbers and wandering tribes1 she would be confined largely to the precincts inclosed by the canvas wall surrounding the harem4 ,she rides only in a kajava1 or basket1 or in a closed takhterawan1 or horse litter1 or1 as she sits perched high up1 astride a man's saddle1 looking in her balloon garments1 and doubtless feeling1 more insecure than ,humpty ,dumpty on the wall4 ,in her outdoor costume1 the ,khanum never walks4 ,at best she can only waddle1 therefore she is almost as effectually shut out from this important form of exercise as the women of ,china4 ,in both countries the peasant class are blessed with more freedom than those of higher rank1 and the village women1 dispensing with the baggy trousers and in some districts also with the chader1 or mantle1 swing by on the road with an elastic stride that would do credit to a veteran of many campaigns4 ,travelling in ,persia is1 for women particularly1 a matter of so great discomfort1 that even the shortest journey could seldom be recommended as a health measure4 ,there are some famous mineral springs in ,northern ,persia1 but they are usually in regions difficult of access1 and often dangerous on account of nomads and robbers1 and they generally have only such facilities for bathing as nature has afforded4 ,if they really do heal diseases their virtues must be marvellous1 for the sick who visit them usually stay but a day or two1 though they make a business of bathing while they have the opportunity4 ,to prescribe travel1 therefore1 would be about the equivalent of prescribing a journey to the moon1 and to recommend outdoor exercise for an inmate of the andaroon would be like prescribing a daily exercise in flying1 the one being about as practicable as the other4 ,should the physician find it necessary on the other hand to isolate his patient for the treatment of hysteria1 which is exceedingly common1 or for mental troubles1 which are also very common1 he is equally at sea4 ,no nurse1 not even a ,sairey ,gamp could be found4 ,when it is known that one has a severe illness or visitation from ,god1 they come1 as in the days of ,job1 every one from his own place--to mourn with him4 ,in cases where absolute isolation has been ordered1 as an essential condition of the patient's recovery1 the physician may expect on his next visit to find the room filled with chattering women1 who have gathered to speculate on the possibilities of a recovery or each to recommend the decoction which cured some one else1 whose case was just like this4 ,there is but little watching done at night in the most severe cases1 and a physician is seldom called up at night to see a patient4 ,on my first introduction to the andaroon1 ,i had little acquaintance with either ,persian customs or costumes4 ,i had been asked to see the wife of a high dignitary1 and on my arrival was at once ushered into her presence4 ,i found my fair patient awaiting me1 standing beside a fountain1 in the midst of a garden quite ,oriental in its features4 ,she was closely veiled1 but her feet and legs were bare1 and her skirts were so economically abbreviated as at first to raise the question in my mind1 whether ,i had not by mistake of the servant been announced before the lady had completed her toilet4 ,she1 however1 held out her hand1 which apparently she did not intend me to shake1 and ,i presently made out that ,i was expected to feel her pulse as the preliminary to my inquiries concerning her symptoms2 or rather in lieu of them1 the competent ,persian physician needing no other clue to the diagnosis4 ,then the pulse of the other wrist had to be examined1 and ,i inspected the tongue1 of which ,i obtained a glimpse between the skilfully disposed folds of the veil4 ,this woman had been suffering from a malarial disease1 which had manifested some grave symptoms1 and ,i tried to impress upon the family the importance of her taking prompt measures to avert another paroxysm4 ,feeling somewhat anxious as to the result1 ,i sent the next morning to inquire about her condition and the effect of the remedy prescribed1 but learned to my disgust that the medicine had not yet been given1 the ,mullah who must make istekhara 7cast the lot7 to ascertain whether the remedy was a suitable one for the case1 not having yet arrived4 ,seclusion1 lack of exercise1 the monotony that leaves the mind to prey upon itself1 ignorance1 early marriage1 unhappiness1 abuse1 and contagious diseases bring upon the ,persian woman a great amount of physical suffering directly traceable to the system of ,mohammedanism4 ,one special demand of her religion1 the month of fasting1 is a case in point4 ,at the age of seven1 the girls must assume this burden1 not taken up by boys till they are thirteen4 ,for a mere child to be deprived of food and drink1 sometimes for seventeen hours at a stretch1 day after day1 and then allowed to gorge herself at night1 cannot but be a physical injury4 ,in illness1 no pen can depict the contrast between a refined ,christian sickroom and the crowded noisy apartment1 poisoned with tobacco smoke1 where lies the poor ,persian woman in the dirty garments of every-day wear1 covered by bedding in worse condition4 ,mentally1 the ,persian women are as bright as those of any race4 ,the same physician says1 ,the ,persian woman is often neither a doll nor a drudge4 ,i have known some who were recipients of apparently true love1 respect1 and solicitude on the part of their husbands1 as their sisters in ,christian lands2 some who were very entertaining in conversation1 even in their husbands' presence2 some who were their husbands' trusted counsellors2 some who were noted for learning2 some who were successfully managing large estates2 some who have stood by me in my professional work1 in emergencies demanding great strength of character and freedom from race and sectarian prejudice4 ,but these are the exceptions2 scarcely one in a thousand has any education1 even in its most restricted sense of being able to read and write her own language intelligently4 ,it is marvellous to see how all the advantages are lavished on the boy1 who will have ,arabic1 ,persian1 and ,french tutors1 while his sister is taught nothing4 ,in consequence1 the ignorance and stupidity of woman have become proverbial4 ,it is a common saying1 ,her hair is long1 but her wit is short4 ,in a ,persian newspaper1 there lately appeared some articles in which1 after apologizing for mentioning the subject of women1 the writer spoke strongly of their present illiterate state4 ,he taxed the mothers with the great mortality among children1 and made the amazing statement1 that in ,australia every woman who loses a child is punished by law with the loss of a finger6 ,he did not venture to prescribe this drastic remedy for ,persia1 but says the husbands and fathers who allow their women to remain in ignorance should be held up to public scorn and contempt1 and that nothing but education and religion will make a change4 ,wonderful to relate1 this article elicited the following reply from a lady1 which we print as it was written3 ,,letter ,,from ,a ,,moslem ,,woman ,to the honored and exalted editor of the ,guide3-- ,i myself have no education1 but my two children1 a boy and a girl1 have a little4 ,every day they use your paper for their reading lesson1 and ,i listen with the greatest attention4 ,truly1 as far as a patriot's duty goes1 you are discharging it4 ,your paper is having a remarkable effect on the minds of both men and women4 ,i rejoice1 and am delighted with your love for race and country1 and praise especially the articles recommending the education of women4 ,some days ago1 the children were reading1 and ,i was listening because ,i take such an interest in the writings in the ,guide that ,i am constrained to defer the most necessary labors1 till the reading is finished4 ,you have spoken well about the poor unfortunate women2 but first the men must be educated2 because the girl receives instruction from her father and the wife from her husband4 ,you reproach these ill-starred women1 because they are addicted to superstitious practices4 ,your humble servant makes a petition that they are not so much to blame4 ,in this very city ,i know men of the first rank1 who have even travelled in ,europe 7,i will not mention their names7 who are superstitious to an incredible degree4 ,before putting on a new suit of clothes1 they consult the astrologer and look in the calendar for an auspicious hour1 and if shoes or other articles come from the bazaar at an unlucky moment1 they return them till the stars shall be more propitious2 when they contemplate a visit to royalty1 or to ,government officials1 they take the chaplet of beads and cast lots to ascertain a fortunate time4 ,is it then strange that women believe in written prayers1 fortune telling1 and the istekhara8 ,you write that in a foreign country you have seen men who had fled there to escape their wives4 ,you are telling the truth1 because1 indeed1 the women are a thousand times more incapable than the men4 ,and why should they not be1 who always sit behind a curtain wrapped in a veil8 ,the husband can flee from his wife to a foreign land1 but what of her who is left behind3 her arms are1 as it were1 broken1 her condition remediless1 hopeless8 ,for her1 there is but one place whither she may flee--the grave6 ,look1 and you will see in every cemetery one-fourth of all are men's graves2 the rest are of women who have escaped their husbands by death4 ,again you speak of their ignorance of domestic economy1 the rearing of children1 the avoidance of contagious diseases1 etc4 ,when a poor woman is taken to her husband's home1 it is true she knows nothing of these things1 and does not make home comfortable1 but by the time she is the mother of two or three children1 she begins to learn2 she economizes in food and clothing2 she looks after her children2 she adds to her husband's prosperity4 ,she takes a pride in the home1 in which she hopes to enjoy many happy days2 but poor creature6 she sees one day a woman entering her door1 who says1 ',your husband has married me1' ,she recalls all her struggles for family and home1 and her heart is filled with bitterness4 ,quarrels ensue1 and her husband1 taking a stick1 beats her till she is like well-kneaded dough4 ,afterwards they both go before the judge1 who without making any investigation of the case1 gives sentence in favor of the man4 ',you have not in any wise transgressed the law2 the female tribe are all radically bad2 if this one says anything more1 punish her4' ,unfortunate creature6 ,if she is modest and self-respecting1 this trouble falling upon her occasions various illnesses1 and she knows not what becomes of house and children4 ,the neighbor women1 seeing all this1 are completely discouraged from improving their homes1 or rearing their children properly1 as they say1 ',the more our husbands' circumstances improve1 the less they will care for us4' ,why then reproach the women8 ,it is proper to advise the men1 who have learned two things thoroughly from the law of the ,prophet3 one ,i have mentioned1 and the other is this4 ,in the evening when the ,aga comes1 he first washes himself to be ceremonially clean and says his prayers to fulfill the law of the prophet4 ,then he goes to his private room1 or to the men's apartments4 ,half an hour does not pass1 till he sends to demand the ajil 7food used with intoxicating drinks1 meat1 fruits1 etc474 ,the wife makes all ready1 and sends to him4 ,then the unhappy soul hears from that quarter the sound of piano1 organ1 or tambourine1 and some women just from their feelings at such times1 become a prey to divers maladies and untold misery4 ,at one or two o'clock in the morning1 the ,aga brings his honorable presence into the andaroon4 ,the wife asks1 ',what is this business in which you have been engaged8 ,how long must ,i put up with these evil doings8' ,immediately a quarrel ensues2 the husband1 partially or quite intoxicated1 and not in his right mind1 answers1 ',what business of yours is it what ,i do8 ,if ,i wish to bring the musicians and dancing women1 ,i shall do as ,i like4' ,many women1 on account of these evil practices of their husbands1 give themselves up also to wicked ways1 and others take to their beds with grief4 ,should such a one take her case to a judge1 he is worse than her husband1 and should she complain to the religious heads1 many of them in secret indulge in the same vices4 ,why then judge so severely those who are all suffering under these troubles8 ,again you say that women should be educated1 but fail to indicate in which quarter of our city is situated the school which they are to attend4 ,we1 in our ignorance of its location1 beg you to point out where we may find it4 ,in my own neighborhood there are twenty capable girls who are ready2 some wishing to study dressmaking1 some sick-nursing1 midwifery1 etc4 ,unfortunately1 our nobles and ecclesiastics are so busy1 advancing the price of wheat1 speculating on the next harvest1 snatching their neighbors' caps from their heads1 that they have not yet found time to establish a school or university4 ,i hope1 through a blessing on the labors of your pen1 this will all be remedied1 and this stupid people awaken from its sleep4 ,this brief petition ,i have made1 and my daughter has written it out4 ,as ,i have no learning1 ,i beg you to excuse its mistakes and defects4 444 ,this letter is remarkable as showing that an awakening is beginning in this country and that some women are feeling its influence2 that among them there are stirrings of a new ambition1 and a great dissatisfaction with their present condition4 ,moslem ladies1 invited to witness the closing exhibition of a school for missionary children1 exclaimed1 ,when will our daughters have such opportunities8 ,a young girl was filled with the extraordinary ambition to become a doctor1 like the lady physician whom she admired2 she came for lessons in ,english1 physiology1 chemistry1 and materia medica1 showing talent and remarkable studiousness2 but during a disturbance against foreign schools1 her father forbade her coming1 so the cloud again shrouded this particular bright star4 ,what is the legal and social position of woman8 ,a girl comes into the world unwelcome2 while the birth of a boy is announced and celebrated with great rejoicings1 that of his sister is regarded as a misfortune4 ,said a mother1 ,why should ,i not weep over my baby girl1 who must endure the same sorrows ,i have known8 ,she is of little value2 a father of passionate temper1 annoyed by the crying of the sickly infant daughter1 flung her out of the window1 effectually and forever stilling the pitiful wail4 ,he was no more punished than if it had been the kitten who had suffered from his rage4 ,if she grows up1 the grace1 beauty1 and sweet audacity of childhood often gain for a little girl a place in her father's affections2 but not to be long enjoyed2 an early betrothal and marriage are the universal custom4 ,engagements take place as early as three years old1 and the bride is sometimes then taken to grow up with her future husband4 ,should one inquire as to the condition of unmarried women in this country1 we are reminded of the famous chapter on ,snakes in ,ireland4 ,there are no snakes in ,ireland4 ,i am credibly informed1 that in many places it is impossible to find an unmarried girl of thirteen1 and in the course of extensive travels1 covering a period of more than twenty years1 ,i have myself met but four spinsters or confirmed old maids4 ,it is needless to add that these were persons who possessed great native strength of character and firmness of purpose1 and all seemed highly respected in their own family and social circle4 ,one1 the daughter of a ,mujtahid1 or highest religious teacher1 was thoroughly versed in all the special studies of her father1 who had educated her4 ,she understood ,persian1 ,arabic1 and ,turkish1 being able to read and write them well1 and was often consulted on difficult points in the ,koran1 by the ,mullahs1 who admitted that she understood it better than they4 ,another1 living in a large family of several brothers1 enjoyed the esteem and affection of all1 and was most sincerely mourned when she died4 ,these are1 however1 great exceptions1 and considered as directly opposed to the command of the ,prophet4 ,it is regarded as a cardinal sin not to marry1 and our single ladies are often assured the only prospect before them is of the eternal pains of hellfire1 as the penalty for the obstinate disobedience in this particular4 ,even the lepers1 segregated in their wretched villages1 feel the pressure of opinion and are obliged to marry in accordance with religion4 ,theoretically1 no girl is married against her will2 but practically1 the pressure from her family and society is too strong for her to resist1 and the same is much the case with the young men4 ,the choice of a partner for life being one in which often the boy has no voice1 it follows that the girl has none whatever4 ,a father engaging his daughter was asked1 ,what does the girl think of it herself8 ,she8 ,it is none of her affair2 it is my business whom she marries4 ,like ,browning's ,pompilia3 ,who1 all the while1 bore from first to last ,as brisk a part in the bargain1 as yon lamb ,brought forth from basket1 and set out for sale ,bears1 while they chaffer o'er it2 each in turn ,patting the curly1 calm1 unconscious head1 ,with the shambles ready round the corner there4 ,thus the girl enters a new home1 often to be the slave of her mother-in-law4 ,as a rule1 the married couple have had no previous acquaintance with each other4 ,such a state of society is hard on both sexes4 ,a man is bound to a wife who will in all probability deceive and disobey him1 who compasses by fraud what she cannot obtain by fair means1 and who has no affection for him4 ,she is ignorant2 she is no companion for him mentally2 it is not strange that he dreads to place in her keeping his honor1 his property1 and the welfare of his house4 ,i have heard a young man say1 ,we are like putting out a hand into the dark1 to receive we know not what4 ,of one thing only we are sure2 it will be bad4 ,it is impossible that much unhappiness should not result1 as shown by the number of divorces1 reckoned by one of themselves as at least forty per cent4 of the marriages4 ,the wonder is that happy marriages do occur4 ,some there undoubtedly are1 but in defiance of the system1 and not in consequence of it4 ,when one such comes to our notice1 it appears like a green and refreshing oasis in a monotonous desert4 ,one lady told us1 ,i have been married fifteen years1 and my husband and ,i have never had a difference4 ,another said1 ,he is so kind to me2 he has never yet scolded me for anything ,i did4 ,she added1 ,but ,i am extremely careful to avoid what ,i know he does not like and in all matters ,i try my best to please him4 ,it must be said1 however1 that one of these men is secretly a believer in ,christ1 and the other a follower of the ,bab1 in whose system the equality and rights of woman play a prominent part4 ,did space permit we should gladly tell the romantic history of ,qurrat-el-,ayn1 the ,joan of ,arc of the ,babi movement2 but in this connection1 we may be pardoned for giving the following sonnet1 evoked by her remarkable life and tragic death3 ,quarrat-el-,ayn6 not famous far beyond ,her native shore4 ,not many bards have sung ,her praises1 who1 her enemies among1 ,wielding her beauty as a magic wand1 ,strove for the cause of him who had proclaimed ,for poor down-trodden womanhood the right ,of freedom4 ,lifting high her beacon light ,of truth1 she went unveiled and unashamed1 ,a woman1 in the land where women live ,and weep and die secluded and unknown1 ,she broke the bonds of custom1 and to give ,the ,bab her aid1 she dared the world alone1 ,only to fail3 death closed the unequal strife1 ,and ,persia blindly wrecked a noble life4 444 ,the popular estimate of woman is that she is naturally inferior1 not to be trusted1 to be kept continually under surveillance as a necessary evil1 with something disgraceful in the fact of her existence1 a person to be controlled and kept down from birth to death4 ,why do you take your wife out to walk with you8 said one brother to another more enlightened4 ,i see you promenading outside of the village with her2 she will get out of her proper place1 and neither obey or respect you1 if you pamper her in that way4 ,the younger man replied with indignation1 ,is she not a human being1 and shall ,i not treat her as such8 ,the elder answered1 ,she must know that her proper position is under your foot4 ,a poet says1 ,a thousand houses are destroyed by women4 ,another ,moslem authority writes1 ,jealousy and acrimony1 as well as weakness of character and judgment1 are implanted in the nature of women1 and incite them to misconduct and vice4 ,mohammed says1 ,chide those whose refractoriness you have cause to fear1 and beat them4 ,the limit suggested is1 ,not one of you must whip his wife like whipping a slave4 ,a book containing sage advice warns man against three things3 ,first1 excess of affection for a wife1 for this gives her prominence and leads to a state of perversion1 when the power is overpowered and the commander commanded4 ,second1 consulting or acquainting a wife with secrets or amount of property4 ,mohammed also warns1 ,not to entrust to the incapable the substance which ,god hath placed with you1 and1 ,beware1 make not large settlements on women4 ,third1 ,let him allow her no musical instruments1 no visiting out of doors1 or listening to stories4 ,as to a woman's duty1 ,mohammed declared that if the worship of one created being could be permitted to another1 he would have enjoined the worship of husbands4 ,it seems strange to calculate a woman's value arithmetically1 but in ,moslem law the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man1 a daughter gets half a son's inheritance1 and a wife only an eighth of her husband's property1 if there are children2 otherwise a fourth4 ,a husband does not speak of his wife as such1 but uses some circumlocution as ,my house1 my child1 or the mother of such a boy4 ,a villager asked the doctor to come and treat his mother4 ,how old is she8 ,thirty4 ,and how old are you8 ,forty4 ,how can she be your mother8 ,a bystander1 filled with contempt for such obtuseness1 whispered1 ,it is his wife1 but he doesn't like to say so4 ,in like manner1 the children are not taught to say father and mother1 but the master1 the older brother1 the mistress1 the lady sister1 the older sister4 ,a comic paper published by ,mohammedans in ,russia1 and in their own language1 has recently had some amusing pictures bearing on the position of women4 ,in the first1 two women and several men are coming before the ,mullahs for marriage or divorce2 large heads of sugar carried into the presence hint at bribery as a factor in the case4 ,the women1 who stand mute and submissive1 with their mouths tied up1 as is literally the case with many of them1 have evidently nothing to say in the matter4 ,the second scene shows a man and three boys sitting around a large bowl of rice1 which is rapidly disappearing before their vigorous onset4 ,the cat is crunching a bone1 but the wife and mother sits at one side while even the baby in her arms is given a portion2 but she waits till all are satisfied1 and she may come in for the leavings4 ,again1 the lord and master of the house1 stretched upon a divan1 smokes his pipe1 a crying child beside him on the floor4 ,his wife enters1 staggering under a heavy stone water jar on her shoulder1 another in her hand1 and a child tied on her back4 ,he exclaims1 ,oh1 woman1 may ,god curse you6 this child gives me the headache6 come1 take it also on your back4 ,a full two-page colored cartoon depicts the carriage of a most exalted personage1 with the veiled wife in it rolling through the street1 while all men and boys are turning their backs1 and some even shutting their eyes in obedience to officers armed with long whips4 ,a dog also has duteously and humbly turned his back to the forbidden sight1 and is crouched down with the most virtuous air you could imagine4 ,when such satires as this can appear1 and the edition of the paper runs up into the thousands1 people are beginning to think4 ,,xviii ,,darkness ,,and ,,daybreak ,,in ,,persia ,,part ,,ii ,there is indeed another side to the question1 and all honor to the ,moslem men whose eyes are open to see the wrongs of women1 whose hearts pity1 and who venture into the thorny and dangerous path of reform6 ,many more1 no doubt1 feel all these things1 but what can they do8 ,they are so bound in the net of custom and prejudice1 that it is next to impossible to remedy1 in any degree1 the existing evils2 while by attempting it1 they run the risk of making things worse1 and so shrug their shoulders1 and feel there is nothing to do but to submit4 ,one husband1 sincerely attached to his wife1 said to me1 ,how glad ,i should be to see her free as you are6 ,it is no pleasure to me to have her shrouded in a black wrap1 and shut up behind a curtain2 it is the dream of my life to take her to ,europe1 and have her travel with me1 as a companion and a friend4 ,but in this country ,i dare not deviate in the least from our customs2 she is so pretty1 if other men saw her ,i should be killed for her sake4 ,this man was studying ,english1 and the teacher being a man1 the lady sat behind a screen1 listening to the lessons1 and learning faster than the gentleman4 ,though he had three other wives1 this one 7though being childless7 had complete possession of his heart4 ,they gave a supper to our lady physician and myself1 he doing us the honor to wait on the table1 a thing which1 had not my own eyes seen it1 ,i could not have believed possible in ,persia4 ,it was sufficiently surprising to have him sit at the same table and eat with us1 but how much more so1 that with each course he should rise1 change our plate1 and serve the food which the cook brought to the door of the room4 ,he had never appeared so honorable in our eyes1 as when1 thus laying aside the pride of rank and station1 he was among us as one that served4 ,illustration3 ,,mat-,,makers 7,,persia7 ,illustration3 ,,indoor ,,dress 7,,northern ,,persia7 ,when one first comes to a ,moslem country1 a sentiment of profound pity for the women predominates2 but as it is evident that half the population cannot be kept in an unnatural and degraded condition1 without entailing disastrous consequences on the other half1 one begins to feel equal sympathy for the men1 who suffer under the disadvantage of having no true family life1 and indeed of being unable to form a conception of what it is4 ,the great trouble is the lack of confidence in married life2 as it is a very rare thing to find a wife who can trust her husband not to divorce her1 if it appear convenient and desirable1 or not to add to his wives if he be able4 ,divorce1 which a woman may obtain under certain rare conditions1 is a man's right without restriction4 ,a woman's only protection is1 her dowry must be paid her1 and her husband must pronounce the sentence of divorce three times4 ,thus a little check is put on an angry impulse4 ,age1 poor health1 loss of beauty or eyesight1 lack of children1 especially of sons1 or the merest whim1 may be the excuse for it4 ,the most pathetic appeals are made to the lady doctor1 by women in dread of divorce4 ,a wealthy nobleman1 married to a young and beautiful lady of equal rank1 the mother of both sons and daughters1 and as reported1 with a fair amount of wedded happiness1 was dazzled by a proposed alliance with a princess of such rank as to brook no rival4 ,the indispensable condition was a divorce1 and absolute separation from the wife he had4 ,she knew nothing of her fate till one day1 when visiting at her brother's1 word was brought her she need not return home4 ,that night the wedding was celebrated with firing of cannon and great festivities1 but the children were crying for their mother1 and for her and them there was no redress4 ,she immediately went on pilgrimage to a holy shrine1 to pray that her husband and his new wife might be cursed of ,god4 ,the man met with some very signal and public reverses1 and transported with joy1 she flew to another sacred place1 to call down more misfortunes on his head4 ,many of the divorced women remarry2 others become beggars or maid-servants4 ,as for the children1 if the family be wealthy1 they remain with the father2 if poor1 in case both parents find other partners1 they are often cast adrift to shift for themselves4 ,on a journey1 the wife of the muleteer was seen to be laying aside part of the tea1 sugar1 etc41 purchased by the man for their joint use1 and was asked the cause4 ,she replied1 ,it is necessary to make some provision for myself against the day when he shall divorce me2 ,i have had six husbands and he has had seven wives2 what can ,i expect8 ,the couple had been newly married1 and this was their wedding trip4 ,a sad-faced drudge in our lodging place told us1 ,i am the twenty-fifth wife1 some are divorced1 some dead2 to-morrow it may be my turn to go4 ,polygamy is prevalent among the rich who can afford it1 and is regarded by many as highly meritorious4 ,some of the poor also practise it1 but most of them have but one wife at a time1 and are comparatively faithful to her4 ,the percentage of men who live in polygamy is difficult to arrive at1 but a good judge has estimated it at thirty per cent4 ,the best men seem to be ashamed and to deprecate it4 ,some say it is forbidden in the ,koran1 by the verse which allows only as many wives as a man can treat with equity2 as they say this is an impossibility1 if a man has more than one consort1 to treat them alike4 ,when asked about the example of the ,prophet1 and the holy men1 especially the ,imams1 they say1 as for ,mohammed1 he was allowed peculiar privileges1 not granted to other men4 ,some who consider the ,imams sinless1 explain their conduct in the same way4 ,those who do not accept this solution say the ,imams did wrong in having a plurality of wives4 ,when asked about the ,shah1 they reply he does wrong in practising polygamy1 but it is permitted to him because he has the power in his hands4 ,no ,moslem woman is supposed to have any right to require or expect that her husband will be true to her in the marriage relation1 though fidelity to him is rigorously exacted of her1 and her breach of it is punishable with death4 ,there may be instances where the women of a polygamous household agree2 the casual stranger1 who visits a harem without any knowledge of the language1 or personal acquaintance with the inmates1 will often be assured that they love each other fondly1 and are more than sisters in friendship2 but the trusted family friend1 or the lady doctor1 can tell a very different tale4 ,our doctor told me once1 she thought the two women of a certain house1 were an exception to the general rule1 and that they really were friends2 but soon after1 the older one being sick1 she saw a good deal of her in private1 and was obliged sadly to confess she had been mistaken4 ,i have myself known of one case1 in which the rival wives were of the same mind4 ,one of our neighbors had two partners of his joys and sorrows1 who sometimes joined forces1 and gave him a good beating1 so he would be seen flying in hot haste from his happy home4 ,one man said to one of us1 ,i don't need to die in order to go to hell2 ,i have it in my own house2 ,i live there4 ,another1 when told by the indignant doctor1 ,your mode of life is beastly1 replied1 ,i know it2 compared with me the beasts are decent4 ,if the wives are in the same house1 it is filled with bitterness and jealousy2 if they are in separate houses or even in different towns1 the case is not much better4 ,if the women were not taught by their religious leaders that their sufferings are the will of ,god1 and that it is very meritorious to accept them1 and if they believed any other fate possible1 ,i do not think they would endure it4 ,they say ,christian women have their heaven now1 but afterwards they will inherit endless suffering2 we have hell in this life1 but hereafter shall come eternal bliss4 ,do we love our husbands8 said one in answer to a question1 ,yes1 as much as a sieve holds water4 ,one of our friends1 the third of three wives in one house1 was found by us at her mother's4 ,oh1 yes1 she said1 ,i have come home to stay2 ,i simply could not bear it any longer2 so ,i hired a woman to take my place with my husband and came here4 ,these are regularly married wives1 with dowry rights and the protection of law4 ,what of the poor temporary hired ones1 who come for a longer or shorter period1 and a specified wage8 ,this is the peculiar shame and blot of the ,shiah sect of ,islam1 which not only tolerates the vile institution of muti1 but takes it under the sanction of law and custom1 and even permits the ministers of religion to be the chief promoters of it1 many of them accumulating wealth by this base means4 ,you will sometimes hear it stated that there are no houses of prostitution in ,moslem lands4 ,in ,persia1 at least1 the institution may not exist in precisely the same form as in other countries1 where it is under the ban of the law1 and in defiance of public opinion1 but it is here1 in a form which utterly depraves the mind of the people1 and obliterates for them all moral distinctions1 poisoning family life at the very fountain4 ,it is impossible to go fully into this subject3 the details are too revolting1 but one or two instances may suffice4 ,we know of a girl who was sold for five dollars by her family1 and taken by her brother to a city where a ,khan wished for her during his temporary sojourn2 on his return he discarded her1 and she came back to her family1 her social standing in no wise affected by the transaction1 which was merely a matter of business4 ,an old rou1 who had already had over thirty wives1 sitting like a spider in his web1 from his upper window spied a pretty young girl in the street4 ,her family was poor1 and he tempted them with money and large promises1 and sent silks and satins for the trousseau4 ,it was all but done1 when some missionary ladies remonstrated on her behalf1 and showed how she would soon come back to them ruined and diseased4 ,so she escaped for that time4 ,in the house of my ,turkish teacher1 ,i was introduced to my brother's wife4 ,inquiring about her some months after ,i was told1 ,my brother has no wife2 he has never been married4 ,but who1 then1 was that woman who was presented to me as his wife8 ,that was a muti woman2 he treated her so badly she could not stay her time out1 but asked to be excused and went away without her money4 ,the effect of polygamy and divorce on children is very bad4 ,a son1 particularly1 seeing his mother treated with disrespect1 feels contempt for her1 and will in many cases tyrannize over and beat her4 ,another effect is that curiosity is stimulated1 and a premature and unhallowed knowledge is gained of the most sacred relations of life1 which is contaminating1 and destroys for ever the innocence of childhood4 ,as a matter of course1 there is jealousy between the children of different wives1 and estrangement and hatred destroy family affection4 ,one who has seen the children of ,sarah in the place of honor1 presented proudly to the visitor and indulged in every wish1 and at the same time the children of ,hagar standing humbly in the presence as servants1 or hanging about the door outside1 will not soon forget the contrast4 ,in such a house there is nothing whatever to teach a boy the possibility of leading a clean life2 purity is not expected of him1 and often the most elaborate provision is made to satisfy the lusts of the flesh4 ,the mother of a young boy will hire a female servant for him as part of the regular family4 ,the effect of such an element on the whole household may be imagined4 ,bitter also is the retribution often suffered for such breaches of the law of ,god4 ,barrenness is a most common thing1 and the ,moslem population does not increase but barely replaces itself1 while the ,jews and ,christians1 whose family life is comparatively pure1 survive and win in the race of life4 ,if a ,moslem woman were sure of her place in her husband's affection and her position in the home1 ,i am certain she would prove herself as worthy as any2 for ,i have observed some families among them where the tradition or custom of the clan is against polygamy and divorce1 and the women in those homes are loyal to their husbands' interests1 ready to work hard and deny themselves for the home which they know is guaranteed to them and their children4 ,we are very apt to think that having known nothing better and having nothing else to hope for1 they must be contented and reconciled to their lot4 ,this reminds one of the answer of the old fishwife1 when one remonstrated with her on the habit of skinning eels alive1 ,oh1 they don't mind it2 they are used to it4 ,this is far from being the case1 and it is especially true of those who1 by travel or contact with ,christians1 have had their eyes opened to the fact1 that in other countries their sisters enjoy advantages of education1 and are objects of respect denied to themselves2 that ,christian women are trusted with freedom1 and as a rule prove worthy of it4 ,yet the fact remains3 these women and girls cannot be educated and emancipated1 without bringing to bear on the social fabric influences which would result in its disintegration and destruction1 with nothing better to replace it4 ,galling as are the curtain and the veil1 they cannot be dispensed with1 for fear of worse evils4 ,ignorance and seclusion are better than education and liberty without moral restraint4 ,while polygamy and divorce exist1 and there is no standard of purity equally applicable to both sexes1 more freedom than woman now possesses cannot with safety be granted her4 ,i fail to see any remedy1 but in the doctrine and practice of ,christianity4 ,the fact known to be true of a school in ,syria1 points out the solution of the problem4 ,of the pupils of a ,protestant school1 conducted there1 for many years1 and largely attended by ,moslem girls1 it is stated a case has never been known where a pupil who had passed through their hands had been divorced or obliged to accept a second wife in her home4 ,these women have learned lessons of duty1 of personal responsibility to ,god1 of self-respect1 self-control1 kindness1 and love1 that cause the hearts of their husbands safely to trust in them4 ,can we say as much for any other system of education or religion8 ,certainly ,mohammedanism1 with its twin evils of polygamy and divorce1 has not only failed to elevate woman1 but has everywhere resulted in her degradation4 ,more pitiful than the more obvious wrongs inflicted by this system1 is the effect produced upon character4 ,being distrusted1 she has become untrustworthy2 being abused1 she has become abusive2 and every evil passion is given free rein4 ,the bad wife is described by a ,moslem writer as a rebel for contumacy and unruliness2 as a foe for contemptuousness and reproach2 and as a thief for treacherous designs upon her husband's purse4 ,she becomes an adept in the use of woman's weapon1 the tongue2 an unruly evil full of deadly poison4 ,an angry woman in a passion of rage1 pouring forth torrents of curses and invectives1 is a fury incarnate4 ,the jealousy of rival wives often leads to dreadful crimes4 ,one woman became blind from vitriol thrown in her face by another wife2 an only son1 most precious and of high rank1 was poisoned in his innocent babyhood by his mother's rival2 a young bride attempted suicide in her despair4 ,these are but instances2 every harem has its unwritten tragedies4 ,not the least feature of the moral ruin into which they have fallen1 is the impurity which seems to permeate every thought2 so that they delight in obscene songs1 vile allusions1 and impure narratives4 ,a missionary lady visiting at the home of a highborn ,moslem woman1 very religious and devout according to their standards1 was so shocked by the character of the conversation with which her hostess was trying to entertain her1 as to be forced to say1 ,if you talk to me like this1 ,i shall be obliged to excuse myself and leave your house4 ,saddest of all1 they often become so depraved that they not only connive at the evils of the system1 but actively promote them4 ,a lady going on a long pilgrimage herself chose and brought two young girls1 to be her husband's concubines in her absence4 ,a mother cultivates in her son the passions she should teach him to subdue4 ,the present mode of life is supposed to be perpetuated in ,paradise1 where every true believer is to have seventy-two wives1 and eighty thousand slaves1 all ,houris specially created for him4 ,the place for ,moslem woman is not definitely specified4 ,the religion that robs them of happiness in this life1 and gives no hope of it in the next1 lays the same obligations upon them as on men1 viz41 the five foundations of practice3 the witnessing to the ,unity of ,god and the apostleship of the ,prophet2 observing the five daily seasons of prayer2 alms-giving2 the fast of ,ramazan2 and the pilgrimage to ,mecca4 ,in ,persia is added the mourning for a month1 for ,hassan and ,hossein1 the martyred grandsons of ,mohammed4 ,as in all religions1 women are most zealous and devoted in the performance of these duties1 but the practice of ,islam has nothing to satisfy their soul hunger4 ,their belief in ,god is cruel fatalism1 and all their rites work no change of heart1 and give no peace of conscience4 ,the ,gospel comes to them with a special appeal1 and bringing its own message4 ,that they should have any message1 or be considered at all1 is news to them2 they are so used to neglect and disrespect4 ,when two of us1 at the invitation of a lady of rank1 attended their ,passion ,play1 we sat with her on the ground1 among a crowd of women1 who were pushed about by ushers with long poles1 while the lords of creation sat comfortably above on chairs1 and in booths4 ,so accustomed are ,moslem women to being hustled about that they wonder at ,christ's ,forbid them not1 which we are apt to apply only to the children1 forgetting that it was spoken for the mothers4 ,it is sometimes most amusing to see a pompous dignitary crowd his way into the dispensary of the lady physician1 and when made with difficulty to understand that only women are treated there1 retire crestfallen4 ,there at least women have not only the first1 but the only entrance4 ,they are not surprised at the ,syrophenician woman being called a dog4 ,they are used to the epithet and employ it themselves4 ,one often hears one berating her own offspring1 as child of a dog4 ,when driven to desperation by want1 the ,persian woman can be as defiant1 shameless1 and persistent1 as she of old before the unjust judge4 ,not unfrequently mobs of women led by a woman1 attack the gates of the governors1 demanding bread4 ,their often miserable and diseased condition of health makes them feel how tender is ,christ's compassion in ,his miracles of healing4 ,they also have often suffered much from quack nostrums1 only to grow worse4 ,in any crowd of village women1 one may see an old hag1 bent and bowed together--not able to lift herself up1 and there is no more pitiful sight than the old women of ,persia4 ,a neighbor1 a hundred years old1 always appeals to our charity on the ground of being an orphan4 ,their life and occupations are so identical with those of ,bible times1 that they feel at once familiar with the scenes described in the ,new ,testament4 ,every morning1 a village woman must mix the leaven in her meal for the daily baking1 must sweep her mud floor1 and often two of them sit at the hand mill grinding wheat or salt4 ,every one who can1 wears a necklace of silver coins1 and counts each one precious4 ,the custom of covering the face lest a man look upon a woman is so inwrought into their earliest training that they are able to draw their veils instantly1 whatever they are doing1 if a man approaches4 ,they marvel1 as did ,christ's disciples1 that ,he talked with a woman1 especially of a foreign race1 and that ,he asked for a drink of water1 for to-day the ,persians think a cup defiled if a ,christian drink from it4 ,in a wedding procession in a village1 the musicians lead with fife and drum1 and the virgins follow in all the finery they can muster4 ,at times of mourning also1 they act just as the ,gospels describe4 ,friends gather to weep and bewail4 ,i have seen a roomful of women swaying and sobbing1 while a mother chanted a plaintive refrain3 ,alas6 alas6 repeating the beloved name of the dead2 often tearing her hair1 and beating her breast4 ,i have often seen blear-eyed women1 who said they had become so by excessive weeping over the death of a child4 ,to such comes ,jesus' message1 ,weep not4 ,religious observances in ,persia are such as give special significance to ,gospel teaching4 ,i had a visitor whose lips were continually mumbling while she fingered her beads4 ,she told me she was making merit1 by repeating the hundred names of ,allah4 ,often when in their homes1 our hostess will excuse herself1 because it is the hour of prayer1 and going to a corner of the same room1 will go through the forms and gestures of ,mohammedan worship4 ,vain repetitions they seem1 when we know the words are ,arabic1 a language she does not understand2 and as in the midst of her prayers she calls out directions to her servants1 one can see there is no devotion in them4 ,fasting is a terrible burden1 when1 for a month1 from dawn to dark1 not a morsel of food1 or drop of water1 or a whiff of the loved cigarette or pipe can pass their lips4 ,the people acknowledge that it is the cause of quarrelling and reviling1 so irritable do they become under the strain1 yet they dare not break their fast for fear of others4 ,all who can afford it make the long pilgrimage to ,mecca1 or in lieu of that to ,kerbela or ,meshed2 and bear thereafter the holy name of ,haji1 ,kerbelai1 or ,meshedi4 ,to them it is a new thought1 given by ,christ to the woman of ,sychar1 that no special location is the place where men ought to worship4 ,of all ,his words none receive more approval from the ,persian woman than ,his teachings on marriage and divorce4 ,they often say to us1 ,how happy you ,christian women are with no fear of divorce6 ,not only ,christ's teachings but ,his character makes an impression1 and ,his gentleness and purity especially attract them4 ,we are shocked at the coarse questions3 ,can ,god have a ,son8 ,was ,jesus married8 but as they hear the story of ,his marvellous life a look of awe sometimes comes into their faces1 as the vision of the ,white ,christ dawns upon them4 ,a ,moslem lady said to me1 ,i cannot read1 but one woman in our harem can1 and she reads the ,injil 7,new ,testament7 to us2 we can never get enough of it4 ,another1 making a call of condolence upon me1 said1 ,there is only one book that can comfort you2 you have told me about it2 now ,i tell you4 ,those who have grown up in the midst of free institutions1 under the protection of law1 and in the light of publicity1 can really have no idea of the difficulties to be encountered by the ,moslem woman who becomes a ,christian4 ,a man can escape by flight1 but this refuge is denied her4 ,even if she wish to keep her change of faith secret1 it is impossible to do so1 and be true to her new-found ,saviour4 ,the whole warp and woof of her daily life are so bound up with religious observances1 and the least failure to perform them is so jealously noted1 the least endeavor to fulfil the commands of the ,gospel with regard to ,sabbath rest1 reading the ,word1 or secret prayer is at once the object of remark and criticism2 often of active opposition4 ,were it not so her changed life and character mark her out as walking in a different path and measuring her conduct by another standard from those who surround her4 ,she is most happy if1 as sometimes happens1 her husband1 brother1 father1 or son is in sympathy with her1 and has perhaps been the means of her enlightenment2 or if a sister or friend is of like faith1 and they can strengthen each other4 ,but often she stands entirely alone in her family and social circle1 and must bear much petty persecution1 even if she is not turned out of her home1 does not lose her children1 or her life4 ,in such circumstances1 if a convert stand firm1 and even win her enemies to accept ,jesus1 it is a genuine miracle4 ,yet it is seen to occur4 ,words cannot tell the beauty of some of these transformed faces3 the sweetness plucked from bitterness1 the lily among thorns4 ,the present help of a living ,saviour and the wonderful hopes for the future have made life an entirely different thing4 ,one such who had borne a heavy yoke in her youth1 had suffered deeply1 and with rancor and rebellion in her heart against him who had blighted her life1 has learned to forgive and pray for the one who so deeply injured her2 and her daily household life is a triumph of grace4 ,during a cholera epidemic1 when all around were panic-stricken1 she and her sisters1 who have found the like precious refuge1 were perfectly calm1 saying1 ,why should we fear death8 ,it can only take us to ,jesus1 which is far better2 as living or dying we are ,his4 ,one old woman walked three miles and back once a week in order to be instructed in the ,gospel1 and is never satisfied1 always wants to learn more1 and takes great pains to remember texts and prayers4 ,once after the others had gone she caught hold of me1 saying1 ,do you think ,i walk all these miles1 with my blind eyes1 to learn nothing8 ,come and teach me some more4 ,showing some hard barley bread1 she said1 ,no one shall say ,i come for food2 ,i have brought my own bread4 ,another woman1 whose paralytic son had learned to read the ,bible1 said1 ,at first ,i did not care for it1 but little by little ,i got to love it4 ,it worked a transformation in that humble home2 the son in his first despair had attempted to poison himself2 but he learned to praise ,god for the affliction which was the means of acquainting him with his ,saviour4 ,the mother instead of considering the helpless young man a burden1 and complaining of the misfortune1 nursed him for years with such rare patience and tenderness1 that we marvelled to see it4 ,the contrast between her and her neighbors is marked2 her face is gentle and kind1 her voice sweet4 ,she is faithful1 industrious1 and honest2 for a whole summer when a family was absent1 she went alone every week to sweep the house1 and not a thing was ever missed1 though1 in general1 we expect nothing better than pilfering and theft from the women of the country4 ,in one city is gathered a little band of believing women1 who hold a weekly prayer meeting1 and it is most touching to hear their simple requests and pleading for this and that one still outside the fold4 ,when ,i was going to ,b---- they gave me a message for the sisters there4 ,they had long taken a special interest in the work in that place1 and never failed to remember it at the throne of grace4 ,they had heard several women there were secret believers1 but afraid to confess their faith openly1 so they sent word to them that they themselves were once in the same state4 ,they feared to confess ,christ before men1 but ,he had promised to be with them1 and ,he had given them grace to come out boldly1 and ,he had kept ,his promise to give peace and joy in all times of trial and difficulty4 ,they then begged their sisters to do as they had done1 to take the plunge1 trusting in ,his power to help them1 and they would find all their fears taken away and courage given instead4 ,such1 living and dying1 was the experience of ,almass of ,urumia4 ,she had become a ,christian1 and her husband also had suffered great persecution from her own family on this account4 ,her husband being away1 she was living in her father's house1 and her stepmother would not even give her enough to eat1 constantly reviled her1 made her life bitter1 and did her best to prevent her praying4 ,being stricken with consumption1 she went to the hospital1 where she rejoiced in ,christian companionship and instruction1 but at the last1 she was taken to her own home to die4 ,a young ,nestorian doctor1 called in to attend her1 witnessed her triumphant death2 himself but a nominal ,christian1 he exclaimed1 ,would that ,i could die so happy6 ,her whole trust was in ,jesus1 and her only anxiety that her little daughter should be trained in the same faith4 ,almass means diamond1 and in the day when the ,lord makes up ,his jewels she will surely be among them4 ,far away in the isles of ,bahrein1 ,down under the depths of the sea1 ,the ,persian diver gathers his shells ,for the goodly pearls that shall be4 ,and what is the price of a goodly pearl8 ,a merchant man once for one1 ',tis said1 sold all he ever possessed1 ,and counted the deed well done4 ,and what is the price of a human soul8 ,the price it is set so high ,the ,son of ,god gave all that ,he had ,when ,he came on earth to buy4 ,submerged in the sea of sin are the souls1 ,are the souls of ,persian girls2 ,ah6 who will dive to the lowest depths1 ,to gather these hidden pearls8 ,they are gems for the crown of the ,king of kings1 ,more precious far in ,his sight ,than the jewels rare of the ,shah-n-,shah1-- ,all ,his glory and delight4 ,,xix ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,in ,,baluchistan ,in the degraded position of its women is to be seen the worst fruit of the religion of ,islam4 ,i will quote from the ,government ,report of ,british ,baluchistan3 ,throughout the ,province1 but especially among the ,afghans and ,brahuis1 the position of woman is one of extreme degradation2 she is not only a mere household drudge1 but she is the slave of man in all his needs1 and her life is one of continual and abject toil4 ,no sooner is a girl fit for work than her parents send her to tend cattle and she is compelled to take her part in all the ordinary household duties4 ,owing to the system of walwar in vogue among the ,afghans1 a girl1 as soon as she reaches nubile age1 is1 for all practical purposes1 put up for auction sale to the highest bidder4 ,the father discourses on her merits1 as a beauty or as a housekeeper1 in the public meeting places1 and invites offers from those who are in want of a wife4 ,even the more wealthy and more respectable ,afghans are not above this system of thus lauding the human wares which they have for sale4 ,the betrothal of girls who are not yet born is frequent1 and a promise of a girl thus made is considered particularly binding4 ,it is also usual for an award of compensation for blood to be ordered to be paid in this shape of girls1 some of whom are living1 while others are not yet born4 ,similar customs prevail among the ,jhalawan ,brahuis1 but they have not yet extended to all the ,balneh tribes1 though there are signs that the poorer classes are inclined to adopt them4 ,the exchange of girls1 however1 among the ,baluchis and the framing of conditions1 regarding any offspring which may result from the marriage1 indicate that among this race also1 women are regarded in much the same light4 ,these details may appear to be beside the mark in discussing the classification of women as dependents or actual workers1 but ,i relate them with the object of showing that woman in ,baluchistan is regarded as little more than a chattel4 ,for where such a state of parental feeling or rather want of feeling is to be found1 is it surprising to find that woman is considered either as a means for increasing man's comforts1 in the greater ease with which they are procured by her toil1 or an object for the gratification of his animal passions8 ,a wife in ,baluchistan must not only carry water1 prepare food1 and attend to all ordinary household duties1 but she must take the flocks out to graze1 groom her husband's horse1 and assist in the cultivation4 ,so far is this principle carried out among the ,jajars of ,zhob1 that it is considered incumbent on a married woman of this tribe to provide means by her own labor for clothing herself1 her husband1 and her children1 and she receives no assistance1 monetary or otherwise1 for this purpose from her husband1 but in addition to all this1 the husband hopes that she may become the mother of girls who will fetch as high a price as their mother did before them4 ,hence it happens that among ,afghans1 polygamy is only limited by the purchasing power of a man2 and a wife is looked on as a better investment than cattle1 for in a country where drought and scarcity are continually present1 the risk of loss of animals is great1 whilst the offspring of a woman1 if a girl1 will assuredly fetch a high price4 ,so far the census report4 ,slavery1 polygamy1 and concubinage exist throughout the ,kelat state and ,baluchi area4 ,slavery is of a domestic character1 but the slave is often in a degraded and ignorant condition1 and in times of scarcity almost starved by his owner4 ,the female slaves often lead the lives of common prostitutes1 especially among the ,baluch tribes1 where the state of the women generally seems very degraded4 ,regarding polygamy1 the average man is unable to afford more than one wife1 but the higher classes often possess from thirty to sixty women1 many of them from the ,hazare tribes of ,afghanistan1 whose women and children1 during the rebellion in the late ,amir's reign1 were sold over into ,baluchistan and ,afghanistan4 ,in nearly every village of any size one sees the ,hazare women1 and the chief will talk of buying them as a farmer at home will speak of purchasing cattle4 ,worse than all1 one has daily illustrations of the truth that the sins of the fathers are visited on their families1 in the degraded victims of inherited and acquired disease who come to the missionary doctor for relief1 healing being impossible in many of the cases of these poor women4 ,pure selfishness characterizes the men in their relationship with their wives4 ,all must not and cannot be told in illustration of this1 but what happened a short time ago in our out-patient department of the ,zenana ,mission ,hospital is an instance4 ,a young ,brahui mother was brought in order to be relieved from suffering by an operation which would require her to remain in the hospital a fortnight4 ,when this was proposed1 the woman who brought her said at once1 ,if she does that her husband will send her away4 ,the poor girl had to depart untreated1 because the husband feared his bodily comforts might be less if she were not there to minister to them4 ,may those who see this dark picture of the effect of ,islam on womanhood in the ,east1 do all that is in them to bring the glorious light of the ,gospel of ,christ to their suffering sisters4 ,,xx ,,in ,,southern ,,india ,in ,south ,india the ,mohammedans have been more or less influenced by the ,christian and heathen communities by which they are surrounded4 ,many of them1 especially those belonging to the trading communities1 have married women of ,hindoo birth who have become nominal ,mohammedans4 ,amongst the higher classes1 especially amongst the rich and well-to-do1 polygamy is still common1 though there are many men who have only one wife and few who have more than two4 ,as a rule1 in the city of ,madras1 each wife will have a small place of her own4 ,it is a rare thing for several wives to live in the same house4 ,it is1 however1 extremely difficult to find out1 without undue questioning1 who the various inmates are4 ,often a house will be quite full of women and children of all ages1 but as a rule the true explanation will be that the head of the house has many sons1 each of whom has brought his wife to live in his old home1 and all live in strict outward obedience to the mother-in-law4 ,how much depends upon this mother-in-law6 ,when she is a kindly1 peaceable woman1 things go fairly smoothly1 but terrible things happen in homes where the mother-in-law is harsh and severe4 ,in all the homes the purdah is strictly kept1 and alas6 who can tell what dark deeds are occasionally done in these secluded homes4 ,still education is spreading rapidly1 and with it changes must and do come4 ,young educated ,mohammedans are now wanting educated wives4 ,the principal ,mohammedans in ,madras come very much in contact with ,europeans and are considerably influenced by them1 and we do not see the ,moslem as he appears in ,moslem countries under ,moslem rule1 but as he appears after living for generations under the ,british flag4 ,if he disagrees with public opinion 7which no doubt he often does7 he keeps his opinion very much to himself1 and with graceful courtesy agrees to differ4 ,the purdah system is one that brings with it terrible evils1 and yet it is a system to which those who apparently suffer from it most1 cling the most closely4 ,the secluded women themselves look upon it as an honor1 and a proof of the value set upon them4 ,even the very poorest people seclude their wives2 while soldiers on the march hang up blankets1 sheets1 and even rags to form a little enclosure for their wives at each halting place4 ,though individual women will often speak of their many troubles they rarely mention their isolation1 and truly pity those of other nations who are not taken equal care of4 ,with education this aspect of affairs will change1 and girls who have been educated in mission schools view things in a very different light and no doubt long for greater freedom4 ,the best and only method of helping these poor secluded women is to spread amongst them the ,gospel of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,nothing else can really help them1 and the great means of doing so is by education4 ,educating them to read so that they can read of ,him in their seclusion1 and educating them as thoroughly as possible in schools and house-to-house visitation so that they can understand what they read4 ,let me give one illustration of what can be done in this way4 ,some years ago ,i was called in to a small zenana1 where the family were of noble birth but extremely poor2 so proud that they would all rather starve than take money or tell of their troubles4 ,three little girls read with me1 and very bright and intelligent ,i found them4 ,the mother was in bad health and seemed sad1 though her husband was always very kind to her4 ,the girls read regularly and got very fond of their lessons and wished they could live like ,english girls4 ,one day ,i was told that the elder girl was to be married the next week4 ,she was in great distress1 for she knew nothing of the man who had been chosen for her and feared naturally that he might be uneducated and ignorant4 ,i was unable to go to the wedding1 and to my great distress the young bride was taken away to a distant town without my seeing her again4 ,some months passed and then ,i got a letter from a stranger4 ,it was well written and well expressed in ,english and ,i found to my great delight that it was from the husband of my old pupil4 ,he said he felt he must write to thank me for having educated his wife to be a friend and companion for him4 ,he had heard from a friend that some girls of his own class were being educated in ,madras and he had asked for one in marriage4 ,his dread for years had been to be bound to an ignorant woman and now his fears were dispersed2 his wife was a great pleasure to him and her judgment of great use4 ,he added1 ,i can only think that her progress has been due to her study of the ,bible1 and ,i want you to send me a copy that we may study together4 ,he is dead now and the girl widow is in great distress4 ,she says3 ,i have been in the light and am now back in the dark4 ,this shows what can be done by education to raise a people so degraded as many ,mohammedans are4 ,the part of ,south ,india where the ,mohammedans are most independent is the ,nizam's ,dominion1 which is under the control of the ,nizam of ,hyderabad 7subject1 of course1 to ,england74 ,hyderabad is a large walled city1 crowded with rather fierce-looking ,mohammedans1 and it is only of late years that ,english people have been allowed within the walls without an escort4 ,even at the present day no ,english live inside the walls4 ,everything inside is purely ,mohammedan1 and the ,english live at ,secunderabad1 where the ,english troops are stationed1 just a few miles off4 ,in ,hyderabad1 were it not for ,h4 ,h4 the ,nizam1 many of the ,nawabs would be glad to bring their wives out4 ,quite a number of the leading nobles have but one wife and glory in the fact4 ,the ,crown ,prince 7,sahibzada7 has been married lately to a lady of noble family4 ,this was probably the first ,nizam to get married4 ,the ,nizam1 from the fear of intrigue1 fills his harem with low-class women4 ,some of the nobles bring their wives out of purdah as soon as they leave the state on a holiday4 ,polygamy is still common1 especially among the well-to-do4 ,a ready purchase of slaves1 during the great famine of #aijj1 as concubines1 proves that this evil still exists4 ,few men have many wives1 however4 ,the effect on home life of this system is evident4 ,the ,sahibzada 7the next ,nizam7 when a boy was taken from the palace1 his home1 to escape the evils and temptations of a royal zenana4 ,he lived in a large house with only his tutor and guardians till his marriage4 ,a thoughtful munshi who was anxious about his children's morals1 deplored a system that made the mother so ignorant of the outside world and so unable to direct a young son aright4 ,let me give you a few of my experiences with regard to ,mussulman women1 especially during my stay in ,hyderabad4 ,one zenana we used to visit belonged to an old man who professed to be a great reformer1 but whose women were still in strict purdah4 ,he several times told us that he would be delighted if we could persuade his wife and daughters to go out with us1 but of course they would not hear of such a thing4 ,to their minds it is only the very poor and degraded who wander about unveiled or even drive in an open carriage1 and would not all the ladies of their acquaintance be horrified at the bare idea of their leaving their old habits4 ,so that all our arguments and persuasion were useless1 and the husband went on writing his papers on the need of reform in the treatment of their women4 ,with this lady and her daughters we one day went to a fair for women only4 ,we had to submit to having our carriage covered with a very large sheet so that no eye could see through the closed venetians1 and when1 after great difficulty1 the lady had been placed in the carriage we drove to the enclosure where the fair was to be held4 ,right into the enclosure drove the carriage1 and then the ladies1 carefully shrouded in sheets1 were conducted through a narrow gateway into a second enclosure1 and there were thousands of women and children4 ,not a man was to be seen anywhere4 ,it was so strange to see them wandering about freely in their bright-colored garments and to remember the streets of the great city they had come from1 where hardly a woman is ever seen4 ,these women never crossed the threshold of their houses before perhaps1 so it was like fairyland to them4 ,we found one large1 gaily decorated erection belonging to one of the ,nawabs of ,hyderabad1 and the women called us in and plied us with many questions1 and then begged us to go to their house to see them4 ,we went one day to find these new friends4 ,after driving two or three miles we came to a quaint walled village1 passed under the gateway1 and were directed to the great man's house4 ,we were told he had two hundred women in his zenana4 ,in front of the house we saw a young man with a drawn sword1 just about to mount his horse4 ,he seemed much amused when we told him we wanted to go and see the ladies1 but he conducted us in to see the head of the house4 ,he was very polite1 and asked us why we had come1 etc4 ,we told him our commission and showed our ,gospel1 and at last he said1 ,oh1 yes6 ,you can go in4 ,so we were conducted to the other side of the courtyard and came to an enormous iron gate4 ,a little door in the middle of it was opened for us to squeeze through1 and we were in the zenana4 ,outside were plenty of sun and air1 a grand1 spacious courtyard with beds of flowers1 and arched verandahs with large cushions to sit on and lean against4 ,inside was a narrow courtyard which gave you the impression of not being big enough for all the women and children who crowded round4 ,no garden1 no flowers1 no pretty verandahs1 nor cushions4 ,old ladies and young girls1 my heart sank as ,i saw them all shut in together in this prison4 ,they were very pleased for us to sing for them1 but it seemed impossible to talk to them4 ,even if one wanted to listen the others would not let her4 ,we always came away with a sad feeling4 ,the woman who first asked us to go seemed to be in disgrace when we went the second time1 and would not come near us1 and there seemed to be quite a little world to itself of intrigue and quarrel1 joy1 and sorrow1 and sin in there4 ,one old lady would have sung to her the quaint ,hindustani bhajam ,rise1 pilgrim1 get ready1 the time is fast going1 but she did not want to hear about our ,lord ,jesus4 ,one day1 when walking up a street in ,hyderabad city selling ,gospels1 a boy called us into a large house4 ,here we found a little ,nawab being taught by his teacher1 who was very polite4 ,the great houses give you a curious feeling2 all is grand and spacious1 but nothing is comfortable or home-like4 ,great verandahs and balconies all round the central courtyard and garden4 ,after hearing our errand1 the young ,nawab offered to take us to his mother and grandmother4 ,we went with him4 ,in one corner of the courtyard was a funny little hole1 we could not call it a door1 with a dirty piece of sacking hanging in front of it4 ,we went through and found ourselves in the zenana4 ,crowds of women and a dirty1 dull1 dreary-looking place are all that stays in my memory2 but we were not allowed to look long1 for no sooner did the old grandmother find we had the ,gospel of ,jesus1 than she had us hustled out4 ,in vain the boy and younger woman pleaded for us to stay4 ,she would not hear of it1 so we had to go4 ,we left some ,gospels with the boy4 ,the teacher begged for the whole ,bible1 which we sold him a few days later4 ,into many zenanas we went in this way1 but we did not get invited a second time as a rule1 and we generally find that having once been able to tell the ,gospel in a ,mussulman house1 if we do go a second time1 we find the women primed with stock arguments against us4 ,we find we get nearest to them in the medical work4 ,we hear tales and stories in the dead of night then1 when sitting with them1 which we do not get a hint of at other times4 ,i remember a woman once showing me her arm all covered with cuts which she said her husband had done to her because she had been fighting with the other wife4 ,we1 with our ideas of freedom and liberty1 may think these women unhappy1 but they do not seem to be more so than our own women4 ,they are quite used to their own life and look down upon us poor things1 who are so degraded that we allow men to see us freely with no shame6 ,they see no privation in not being allowed to go out1 or to see the world1 and yet it is a suicidal system4 ,for the women have not the least idea of what the men and boys are doing4 ,many a time have ,i seen a mother try to chastize her boy1 but he had only to get to the door and slip out and she could not go after him4 ,since the girls can never go out they do not need much education of any sort1 and the husband knows the wife has no knowledge whatever of the world outside1 so what is the use of talking to her8 ,so amongst ,mussulmans there is stagnation1 and they of nearly all the people in ,india make least progress4 ,ninety-five per cent4 of them are classed as illiterate in the last census6 ,still progress is being made1 we feel quite sure1 and one thing seems to prove this4 ,though the ,mohammedans in ,south ,india are backward and full of things to be deplored1 yet they are innocent of many things which are evidently carried on in other ,mohammedan countries4 ,we1 in ,south ,india1 who have for years worked amongst ,moslems never heard of the customs which seem to prevail in ,egypt4 ,divorce is rarely heard of4 ,possibly it is too expensive1 as the husband must return the dower4 ,a woman being married to half a dozen husbands in succession is unheard of4 ,surely this shows that where education spreads and where ,christianity1 unconsciously perhaps1 permeates the whole1 there is a brighter day dawning for ,islam4 ,what is wanted is more teachers1 more helpers to take up the work of spreading the knowledge of the ,lord in ,moslem lands4 ,,xxi ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,of ,,turkestan ,among the numerous nations and tribes which adhere to the doctrine of ,mohammed1 the condition of women is of course not everywhere the same4 ,in the vicinity of ,europe1 e4 g41 in ,european ,turkey1 the influence of ,european morality and customs has become more and more prevailing in spite of the resistance of ,moslem priests4 ,another difference in the condition of women1 which can be observed everywhere and which we shall occasionally refer to1 arises from their social position2 among the richer classes a woman must submit to rules and customs different from those which are standard among the poorer classes4 ,the fundamental views1 however1 are the same2 the evil is one1 though its outward appearance may differ in some respects4 ,the misfortune of a ,mohammedan woman begins at her birth1 for instead of rejoicing at the arrival of her little daughter1 the mother complains that she is not a son4 ,she knows that a girl will leave her at the age of about fourteen1 in order to live in her husband's house1 and after that she will hardly have any connection with her mother1 whereas a son will stay at his mother's house and support her in case she should be divorced from her husband4 ,moreover the mother is anxious lest her husband dismiss her and take another wife4 ,in consequence the mother feels less affection for her daughter than she would have felt for a son2 she takes little care of her and neglects her4 ,when about six years old the little girl begins to do housework2 she is ordered to carry water1 to sweep the house1 to do kitchen-work1 and so on4 ,for the least mistake she is scolded and beaten1 and even if it happens without any reason1 she is not allowed to complain or to defend herself4 ,by this treatment the mother prepares her for the hard lot which awaits her4 ,sometimes also she will exclaim3 ,if you had had good fortune1 you would have been a boy and not a girl4 ,the father treats her with no less cruelty1 so as to give her the impression that she is indeed an unfortunate creature whom ,god does not love4 ,at meal times girls take the last place and must be content with what others leave for them4 ,when on holidays or on other occasions boys get presents1 the girls go away empty-handed4 ,even for boy's dress more is spent than for that of the girls4 ,illustration3 ,,moslem ,,women ,,of ,,the ,,better ,,class ,,in ,,street ,,dress 7,,syria7 ,the teaching of girls is generally confined to prayers and a few chapters of the ,koran1 which they learn by heart mechanically4 ,very seldom are they taught to read and write4 ,the exceptions are few and are always the only children of the rich or the noble4 ,by these exceptions we know that ,mohammedan girls are in every respect sufficiently gifted for a higher education4 ,many of them have become prominent scholars or artists1 perfectly able to rival men4 ,this has been proved by the prose works and poems of ,zubdat-ul-,nissa 7that is1 ,flower of ,women7--by those of ,leilai--and in modern times by the ,persian woman ,zarin ,tadj1 still better known by her surname ,qurat-ul-,ain 7that is1 ,eyes' ,comfort74 ,this woman descended from a priest's family1 her father as well as her uncle and father-in-law had been great theologians1 and her cousin1 to whom she was married1 was a distinguished scholar4 ,her extraordinary beauty seems to have been surpassed only by her intellect and character4 ,when but a child she took a great interest in the conversations on science which were often carried on in her family1 and surprised everybody by her sharp wit and rich mind4 ,when later on she became acquainted with the doctrines of the ,bab1 a new leader1 who appeared in ,persia about the middle of last century1 she was so deeply impressed by them that she entered into intercourse with him1 and in spite of the resistance of her family1 appeared in public in order to proclaim her master's doctrines4 ,let us try to give ,mohammedan women a share in the higher spiritual life of their western sisters1 and the slave creatures who serve only their husbands' pleasure and ease will become companions in his life-work and educators of his children4 ,this would produce a perfect change in ,moslem family-life4 ,this vision of the future1 however1 is not yet fulfilled4 ,the ,mohammedan girl spends her childhood in a dreary way1 knowing that until her fourteenth or fifteenth year life will not be changed4 ,then her parents will marry her to a man1 in the choice of whom they will be led by financial reasons only4 ,the young man's mother or some other elder relation of his chooses a bride for him1 and examines the girl with regard to her health and bodily charms4 ,sometimes the young people are allowed to exchange a few words with each other in presence of the mother1 but to get acquainted with each other as in ,christian lands is considered superfluous4 ,after marriage she is a slave not only to her husband1 but also to her parents-in-law1 towards whom she must behave most courteously1 and whom she must serve sometimes even before serving her husband4 ,every morning she rises first and cleans the house2 then she must bring her father-in-law water to wash himself1 and afterwards his repast4 ,prudence makes her try to gain the affection of her parents-in-law1 that they may protect her1 in case her husband should dismiss her4 ,moreover1 in the first year after her marriage a young wife is not allowed to answer the questions of her parents and brothers-in-law save by bowing or shaking her head2 only if no one else is present1 she may talk to them4 ,in the fourth year she is permitted to answer by saying no or yes2 after the birth of a child1 however1 she may talk to every one4 ,besides1 it is considered unbecoming that in the presence of her parents-in-law she should sit near her husband or occupy herself with her children4 ,the only change and pleasure in a married woman's life are the visits which she exchanges every now and then with her parents1 relations1 and friends1 as well as the weddings and religious festivities which she is allowed to attend4 ,the greatest misfortune in the life of a ,mohammedan woman1 however1 is the absolute uncertainty of the duration of her marriage1 which robs her of all real happiness4 ,according to ,moslem law1 every ,mohammedan is entitled to take four legitimate wives4 ,although ,moslem law demands that a man who has several wives ought to treat them equally1 and forbids the neglect of one by preferring the other1 matters are generally different in reality4 ,the first wife1 instead of retaining a certain pre-eminence1 as would be just1 gradually becomes the servant of her fellow-wife or wives2 if not1 her husband dismisses her at last4 ,it is impossible to give all the particulars of the misery which needs must result from such marriages1 not only for the wife herself1 but very often also for her children4 ,the idea1 that woman is a subordinate creature1 destined only to serve man1 has been so to say numerically expressed in the ,mohammedan law of inheritance1 all the particulars of which are founded on the principle3 two parts to man1 one part to woman4 ,for instance1 after the death of the wife1 the husband inherits a quarter of her fortune1 in case there are children2 if there are none1 half of it1 whereas1 the wife inherits only a quarter or an eighth4 ,if several wives survive their husband1 they inherit these parts together4 ,accordingly1 daughters inherit only half as much as sons4 ,very seldom a ,mohammedan widow is married again4 ,she generally stays in her late husband's house1 in order to educate her children1 for whom a tutor is chosen4 ,the tutor administers the children's fortune and gives the mother as much money as is necessary for their subsistence4 ,when the children are grown up1 the mother generally stays for the rest of her life at one of her sons'1 not so often at a daughter's4 ,in poor families1 however1 the woman strives hard to gain her living by washing1 spinning1 sewing1 knitting stockings1 and other things of that kind4 ,later on the grown-up children sustain their mother1 so that women who have children spend their old age in comparative comfort4 ,if1 however1 a widow1 perhaps for want1 consents to be married again1 her own condition may be improved1 but her children suffer4 ,some older women must be mentioned who are rather frequent in ,moslem lands1 and who form a class by themselves4 ,generally they have been married several times1 but either have no children1 or have abandoned them to their fate4 ,they pass their old age without a companion and gain their living in as easy a manner as possible1 being not very particular in choosing the means4 ,outwardly they seem to be utterly devoted to their religious duties1 and are always seen to murmur prayers and count their beads1 by which behavior even religious people are often deceived so as to support them4 ,on closer observation1 however1 their real occupation proves to be roaming about in the houses and intruding themselves in a skilful and unobserved way in order to spy out people's whereabouts4 ,they try to make themselves agreeable to the female members of the household by tale-bearing or making commissions of different kinds1 particularly those which the women cannot make themselves or which the landlord of the house must not know about4 ,thus they gain influence over those whom they have served1 and assure themselves of their gratitude4 ,they promote love-intrigues1 make marriages1 and so on2 if desired1 they will also go to some celebrated fortune-teller1 in order to secure a talisman4 ,these talismans or amulets generally consist of a scrap of paper1 on which there are written sayings1 names1 letters1 figures1 or signs with common ink1 or often with a yellow liquid made of saffron1 musk1 or amber2 sometimes even serpent's blood is used for this purpose4 ,if the talisman is to be worn on the body1 the paper is folded in the form of a triangle or a quadrant1 then wrapped in a piece of cotton which has been made water-proof1 and at last covered with a piece of fine cloth4 ,the amulet is fastened upon the head or tied around the upper-arm or worn on the breast1 with a string around the neck4 ,some people sew it upon the inside of their clothes so that it lies on the backbone or on the heart4 ,sometimes the amulet must be fastened with seven-colored silk4 ,sometimes also it is thrown into water1 to be drunk as soon as the writing is dissolved1 or it is burnt and they breathe the smoke4 ,talismans and amulets are said to protect men and animals from the evil eye1 from the bite of wild beasts1 and from wounds in war2 they cause love or hatred1 they produce or prevent sleep and madness4 ,their preparation is considered a special science1 which demands special study and is practised by so-called magicians or fortune-tellers1 but also by dervishes1 and even by priests4 ,the latter generally only write verses from the ,koran1 which women wear around their neck as amulets4 ,perhaps all this superstition is harmless in itself or does a direct harm only to their purses4 ,indirectly1 however1 it has a demoralizing influence upon all classes of people1 especially upon women1 who1 as guardians of customs1 are most attached to these fables4 ,only true civilization and ,christianity will redeem and deliver4 ,in order to deepen the impression of what has been said and to add something from real life1 ,i will tell the story of a ,moslem woman1 just as ,i heard it in ,kashgar1 where ,i have been working for five years for the spreading of the ,gospel4 ,some fifty years ago there lived in ,kashgar a man called ,chodsha ,burhaneddin4 ,he was descended from a family which since the middle of the seventeenth century has given ,kashgar its kings4 ,his fellow citizens esteemed him very much on account of his strict observance of the religious prescriptions of ,islam4 ,he married a woman of noble descent1 and for some time contented himself with his one wife4 ,but according to ,islam it is a merit to take if possible four wives1 in order to increase the number of the adherents of ,islam4 ,for this reason ,chodsha brought home another wife whenever he travelled on business to the ,russian town of ,andishan on that side of the ,tienshan1 until the number of four was full4 ,the consequence was that he not only neglected his first wife1 but even had her do all the housework alone1 thus making her the servant of his three other wives4 ,she had to serve them from early morning till late at night4 ,without grumbling and with great diligence the poor woman took all the work upon herself2 secretly1 however1 she bewailed her hard lot and employed her few free hours for the education of her little daughter4 ,however1 she did not succeed in satisfying her husband4 ,he always found fault1 beat her1 and bade her not show her face before him4 ,his wife submitted patiently and silently2 she desisted even from paying visits to her parents and acquaintances1 which would have given her some comfort1 lest her husband think she had gone to her beloved ones to complain of his treatment4 ,four years passed4 ,meanwhile several political revolutions had taken place in ,kashgar4 ,in ,china the numerous ,chinese ,mohammedans had revolted1 and the revolt had spread over the western countries4 ,in eastern ,turkestan the ,chinese officials as well as the soldiers and the merchants had been killed by the ,mohammedans2 only a few escaped death by accepting ,islam4 ,this state of matters was put an end to by ,jakob ,beg4 ,he had come from ,chanab ,chokand1 north of the ,tienshan1 under the pretext of helping the descendant of the old ,kashgarian dynasty of the ,chodshas to the throne4 ,in due time he put the ,prince aside and founded a kingdom of his own1 which included the whole of eastern ,turkestan4 ,after taking hold of the government he tried to weaken the ,chodshas in every way possible1 some of them were assassinated1 others put in prison in order to be executed4 ,one of the latter was ,chodsha ,burhaneddin4 ,as soon as his wife heard that her husband had been made a prisoner1 she hurried to her father1 who was well esteemed at ,jakob ,beg's court1 and besought him to make the most of his influence in order to save her husband4 ,then she prepared a meal1 took it to her imprisoned husband1 and encouraged him4 ,at his request she roused her father still more so as to betake himself at once to ,jakob ,beg1 and to prevail on him to set the prisoner at liberty that same night4 ,chodsha ,burhaneddin returned to his house and entered the room of his wife whom he had so long neglected1 in order to thank her for his delivery4 ,afterwards she had one more child1 a boy4 ,some years after these events ,chodsha fell ill4 ,knowing that his end was near1 repentance overwhelmed him1 and he asked his first wife to pardon him whatever wrong he had done her4 ,it was only she whom he wished to be near him in his pains4 ,his other wives he did not at all care for now1 and detested them even in such a manner as to drive them away1 whenever they approached him4 ,when at last death had released him from his pains1 his three younger wives were married again1 leaving their children to their fate4 ,his first wife1 however1 remained faithful to him even after death2 she refused all proposals1 honorable as some of them were1 and devoted herself entirely to the education of her son and daughter1 whom she lived to see married4 ,from this example1 to which many others might be added1 it becomes clear to what deep humiliations ,mohammedan women are subject1 and what treasure of faithfulness and sacrifice are nevertheless hidden in some of these oppressed and crushed lives4 ,without knowing the doctrines of ,christian religion1 ,chodsha's wife had practised them4 ,what she dimly anticipated1 has been fulfilled in her son1 whom ,i baptized as the first-fruits in ,kashgar1 and received into the church4 ,did the ,mohammedan women but know to what height ,christianity would raise them6 ,could they but compare the ,mohammedan proverb3 ,do not ask a woman's advice1 and if she gives it1 do the contrary1 with the ,apostle ,paul's words3 ,so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies4 ,he that loveth his wife1 loveth himself 7,ephes4 ,v3#bh71 and ,there is neither male nor female1 for ye are all one in ,christ ,jesus1 they would know the distance which separates ,christian views from those of ,islam4 ,if on summer evenings when the heat of the day is over1 the inhabitant of a ,mohammedan town goes out for a walk to enjoy the evening coolness before the gates1 he will sometimes pass the burial-grounds4 ,weeping and wailing come to his ear4 ,pitifully he will look at the figures of mourning women who are kneeling by the graves4 ,but the sorrow which is revealed there is not always meant for the loss of some beloved one dead2 very often women visit the graves of their relations or1 if they have none1 of saints1 in order to weep out undisturbed and unheard their hopeless1 desolate lives4 ,in their houses they dare not give way to their sorrows for fear of their husbands1 therefore they go to the dead in order to tell them their griefs6 ,may these words bring that sound of wailing to the hearts of ,christian women6 ,may they1 for whom ,christian morality has made life fair and worthy1 who as a beloved husband's true friend and companion take part in his joys and sorrows1 or those who in the fulfilment of self-chosen duties have found happiness and content1 may they often remember the hard fate of their ,moslem sisters in the ,orient1 and help carry the message of salvation to them4 ,,xxii ,,in ,,far-,,off ,,cathay ,the social condition of ,mohammedan women in ,kansu ,province in ,northwest ,china is not so hard as those of their sisters in the more western countries4 ,the ,mohammedans1 having been in ,china now about a thousand years1 have1 save in the matter of idolatry1 practically adopted the ,chinese customs1 even to the binding of the feet of their little girls4 ,among the wealthier ,mohammedans1 as with the wealthier ,chinese1 polygamy is common1 many having two or three wives1 and among the middle class1 when there has been no issue by the first wife1 many take unto themselves a second wife4 ,divorces are of rare occurrence4 ,there are no harems4 ,the better-class women are not seen much on the streets1 but in the country places1 the farmer's wife1 daughters1 and daughters-in-law go out into the fields1 weed and reap the corn1 carry water1 gather in fuel1 and wear no veil4 ,the daughters and daughters-in-law of the better class1 from the age of fifteen to thirty1 often wear a black veil when going on a visit to their friends1 as also do the ,chinese4 ,in the busy farming seasons1 the ,mohammedan men1 with their wives of the poorer class1 hire themselves out to the ,chinese farmers1 and come down in large numbers to weed in the spring and gather in the corn in summer and autumn4 ,they bring their children with them and stay on the farm till the busy time is over4 ,we always get a goodly number of visits from them4 ,speaking of the ,mohammedan male population in our prefecture of ,si-ning1 the vast majority are ignorant of the tenets of the ,koran1 know little of anything1 save that ,masheng-ren is their prophet1 and that there is a ,supreme ,being somewhere of whom they are almost as ignorant as the ,chinese4 ,they seem to realize it a duty to attend worship on two special occasions each year1 but the majority of them never darken the mosque doors at other times4 ,seldom a day passes but we have ,mohammedan visitors1 and the answer we get from nine out of every ten to questions about their doctrine is1 ,we are only blind folks and we do not know anything4 ,their ah-hongs or pastors do not trouble to teach any save the students1 for which they are paid4 ,some even speak of heaven as being ,khuda 7,god74 ,in many ways are they influenced by the ,chinese around them4 ,already ,i have referred to the binding of the feet of their little girls4 ,in sickness it is a common thing to see the patient with a tiny book written in ,arabic bound up in red cloth and sewn on the shoulder or back of the outside garment1 to shield them from the evil spirits4 ,many also observe the lucky and unlucky days in the ,chinese calendar1 by removing from one house to another4 ,one of our patients had even resorted to the ,buddhists or agnostics to recite prayers and use charms to drive away his sickness4 ,at the present rate of spiritual declension1 in another century many will either be ,buddhists or agnostics4 ,the times of prayer are not observed save by the ah-hongs and mullahs and a few of the old men4 ,these few particulars showing the indifference and ignorance among the men1 what can be expected of the women8 ,they are heathen1 except in name4 ,in our prefecture1 we receive a welcome among them whenever we go1 but how long this will continue it is hard to tell4 ,in the southwest of this province1 where formerly much friendliness was shown towards the missionaries1 latterly a spirit of bitterness and opposition has been manifested owing to a few becoming interested in the ,gospel and attending regularly on ,sunday4 ,the ah-hongs have warned their people that if any join the church they will be put to death when the foreign ambassador arrives from ,turkey4 ,who this individual is1 is not very apparent1 and from whence he will get his power to put ,chinese subjects to death is a mystery4 ,doubtless it is only a scheme of the ah-hongs to put the people in fear4 ,so far1 however1 we have open doors here and no opposition1 but owing to lack of workers there is ,,no ,,one ,,to ,,enter ,,in1 ,,no ,,one to take the ,bread of ,life to them1 ,,no ,,one to bear the glad news to them4 ,after the rebellion of #ahie1 when retribution fell heavily on the ,mohammedans1 thousands of them were reduced to the verge of starvation2 women1 who had been accustomed to the comforts of a good home1 were deprived of their warm winter clothing and left only with thin summer tattered garments1 right in the depth of winter with a thermometer registering below zero 7,fahrenheit74 ,by the help of many kind friends in different parts of ,china1 we were enabled to open a soup-kitchen and provide hot food every day for six weeks1 during the bitterest part of the winter1 to an average of three hundred persons each day1 and also to give away several warm garments to those in direst need4 ,every day we taught the people to repeat hymns1 grace before meat1 and told them stories from the ,bible4 ,on the ,chinese ,new ,year's ,day we gave them a special treat of mutton-broth and afterwards showed them1 with the magic lantern1 some scenes in the life of our ,lord4 ,in the winter of #ahif-g we again provided food to an average of one hundred and twenty each day1 nearly all widows and children4 ,when the rebellion was over the ,mohammedans were no longer permitted to reside in the east suburb1 where formerly they numbered ten thousand persons1 save a few of the poor widows who gained a subsistence by begging1 but were sent to reside in a few villages thirty miles from the city4 ,occasionally we have a visit from some of the women and it is cheering to find that they remember much of what was told them in those years of their adversity1 and we may hope that some at least will meet us in the white-robed throng hereafter4 ,at present we have one ,mohammedan woman1 much interested in the ,gospel1 who comes regularly to worship on ,sundays when the farmers are not busy4 ,one difficulty stands in their way and that is1 the ,chinese women hate them and scorn to sit beside them1 and we cannot wonder1 for they have suffered much at their hands1 many having lost their all twice in their lifetime1 and some thrice2 nevertheless1 we are thankful for the more ,christ-like spirit shown towards them by the ,christians1 who are willing to forget the past and give them a welcome1 converse with them freely1 and recognize them as sisters for whom also ,christ hath died4 ,there are two sects of ,mohammedans in our district and there are often serious quarrels between them1 and some of the people fear that if many ,mohammedans became ,christians serious trouble might ensue2 but we feel sure that if the ,christians manifest the spirit of their ,master1 loving their enemies1 blessing their persecutors1 praying for those who ill-treat them1 that finally they would disarm their hatred and be permitted to live in peace2 whereas the two sects lacking that inward spiritual grace1 hating each other1 and backbiting each other1 finally bring about strife4 ,the careful readers of this chapter will observe from what we have written that the life of their ,mohammedan sisters in ,china is not so hard and prison-like as that of their sisters in ,north ,africa1 ,persia1 etc1 where they are secluded for a lifetime in the prison-like harems at the command of their husbands4 ,nevertheless1 their need is just as great1 their souls just as precious1 their ignorance of spiritual things just as deep1 their lives just as much of a blank1 their hope for the future just as dark2 they live and die just like animals1 they are wont to say2 and all the hopelessness1 darkness1 and lovelessness continues not because of their ,,seclusion in harems at the mercy of their husbands but because of their ,,exclusion from their right to the joys and hope of the ,christian life by the lukewarm indifference of the ,church of ,christ to-day1 which fails to realize the great responsibility to carry the ,gospel to every creature4 ,in our vast parish1 stretching one hundred miles from east to west and two hundred and thirty miles from southeast to northwest1 comprising six cities1 sixteen walled towns1 and thousands of villages with a mixed population of ,chinese1 ,mohammedans1 ,mongolians1 ,tibetans1 and aborigines1 my husband and ,i are left to labor alone4 ,this does not spell seclusion but exclusion from the knowledge of the ,way of ,salvation for tens of thousands of souls for whom ,christ died4 ,when ,jesus saw the leper ,he had compassion on him2 when ,he saw the widow of ,nain ,he said ,weep not2 when the mourners wept at the grave of ,lazarus ,he saw them and wept also2 when ,he looked from the ,mount of ,olives on the city of ,jerusalem and thought of her doom1 ,he wept4 ,would that in a vision or in a dream of the night1 you could behold something of the hopelessness of your less favored sisters2 would that you could hear just a few of their plaintive cries and see tears rolling down their cheeks as they unburden their sorrows to the sympathetic ear4 ,then1 methinks1 you would not rest till you had accomplished something to make these many dark hearts brighter and sad hearts lighter4 ,,xxiii ,,our ,,moslem ,,sisters ,,in ,,java 7,translated from the ,dutch7 ,the life of the ,mohammedan woman in general here is not that of a being on a par with man1 but rather comparable with that of a dumb animal1 a creature inferior to and much less worthy than man1 which is kept and utilized as long as it performs some services4 ,fatalism1 as taught and nourished by ,islam1 places the woman in a servile relationship to the man1 so much so that she1 although considered a creature of no particular value1 does not take offence at being accounted a negligible quantity4 ,maltreatment of women takes place occasionally but is by no means general1 because nothing hinders the husband from driving away his wife with whom he may not be satisfied1 without even observing the simplest form of a legal procedure4 ,why should the man1 particularly amongst ,moslems1 the ,lord of ,creation1 weary himself or even become angry1 seeing it is far wiser and more profitable that he exchange the worn-out wife and mother1 who can no longer add to the number of his children1 for a younger and stronger wife8 ,this profitable barter1 too1 need cost him but a trifle4 ,this exchange of wives has even a more demoralizing tendency than the practice of polygamy itself1 which luxury only those can participate in whose salary is at least fifteen florins per month4 ,the results of the sinful practice of polygamy1 especially for the children and consequently for the state1 would be less sad to contemplate1 were it not that the polygamist exchanges his wife as readily for another as he who can afford but one wife at a time4 ,it is scarcely necessary for me to enumerate here the effects of this evil of which the wife is the victim4 ,this much-loved evil is a strong bulwark against the spread of the ethics of ,christianity4 ,a second and a very powerful opponent of mission work is found in the peculiar ,mohammedan village organization1 in which the ,moslem sheikh or spiritual leader plays the most important rle4 ,another peculiarity of ,islam here1 is the fact that the inland population and the millions of inhabitants who live in the lowlands of ,java are peculiarly interrelated and mutually dependent4 ,only in a few of the larger towns in ,java do we find the trades practised4 ,the villager is a farmer1 and since rice is the chief article of food and this must be raised by irrigation channels in a hilly country like ,java1 the villagers are1 as a matter of course1 compelled to live at peace with one another1 becoming interdependent through the production of the staff of life4 ,a ,moslem family that becomes ,christian soon experiences deprivation4 ,the so-called silent power soon makes its influence felt1 ostracising them from every privilege4 ,this becomes the more easy to understand when we remember that the division of the cultivable soil and of the water supply with all other civil rights and privileges1 are entrusted by ,dutch law to the ,mohammedan village government1 in which the ,moslem sheikh or priest enjoys an ex-officio vote4 ,because of this peculiar condition of life in the ,east ,indies1 the writer and other missionaries in ,java have purposely settled in an inland district in the very midst of the ,mohammedan population1 where those families who have embraced ,christianity may gather about the mission centre and gradually form a nucleus 7in course of time a village or town71 where independent legal privileges may be enjoyed and the people ruled over by their own native ,christian chiefs4 ,in this manner these communities can gradually become a salt and a light for their ,mohammedan environment4 ,of very much importance in this connection is the action taken by ,her ,majesty1 our beloved ,queen ,wilhelmina1 who--at the request of our former ,minister of ,colonies1 the ,honorable ,mr4 ,van ,idenburg1 at present ,governor of ,paramaribo1 in ,south ,america--commissioned the ,states-,general of the ,netherlands to describe and protect the legal status of the native ,christians4 ,by reason of this our ,christian converts can now claim at least the right of existence1 and even the native ,christian woman can obtain that justice before the law to which she is entitled4 ,,xxiv ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,women ,,of ,,malaysia ,malaysia comprises the ,malay ,peninsula and ,archipelago4 ,the latter includes the great islands of ,sumatra1 ,java1 ,borneo1 and ,celebes1 and innumerable smaller ones4 ,the one island of ,java contains about three-fourths of the entire population of ,malaysia1 which is probably about forty millions4 ,the vast majority of the population are ,mohammedans1 but the hill-tribes of the ,peninsula and of the larger islands are still heathen1 the ,dyaks of ,borneo and the ,battas of ,sumatra being the most numerous of the non-,mohammedan races4 ,there are also many hundreds of thousands of ,chinese immigrants in ,malaysia1 of whom only one here and there have become ,mohammedan4 ,the principal ,mohammedan races are3 7#a7 the ,malays proper1 who inhabit the ,peninsula1 the east coast of ,sumatra1 and the neighboring islands1 and are scattered to some extent amongst all the seaport towns of the ,archipelago2 7#b7 in ,sumatra1 the ,achinese in the north1 and the ,rejans and ,lampongs in the south2 7#c7 in ,java1 the ,sundanese in the west1 the ,javanese in the centre and east1 and the ,madurese in the extreme east2 and 7#d7 the ,bugis in ,celebes4 ,the greatest success in the conversion of ,mohammedans to ,christianity has been achieved by the ,german 7,barmen7 ,mission in ,sumatra1 and chiefly among the ,battas1 a very numerous heathen race1 who have been gradually won in small numbers to the faith of ,islam1 probably for centuries4 ,about fifty thousand of the ,battas are now ,christians1 and many of these were at one time ,mohammedans4 ,in ,java the ,dutch have made considerable efforts to convert the natives to ,christianity for three hundred years past1 and as the result of this early work there are considerable ,christian communities still existing4 ,it is only within the last century1 however1 that the work of the missionary societies has infused new life into the work of converting the ,mohammedans4 ,the greatest numerical success has been achieved by those who devote their efforts to the founding of ,christian communities in villages of their own1 entirely distinct from the ,mohammedans1 with their own ,christian village headmen4 ,it is found that in the ,mohammedan villages the ,christians suffer so much persecution from the headmen and others1 that in some cases ,christianity has been entirely stamped out1 and the ,christians have disappeared1 no one knows where4 ,the ,christian villages have in most cases been established in unsettled districts1 whole families being moved from other places1 and clearing the jungle to form their own settlements4 ,these people have been won to ,christ by preaching among the ,mohammedans1 and are protected from persecution by thus gathering them into ,christian communities4 ,much work is also done by means of schools and dispensaries4 ,the ,dutch ,government provides both the school buildings and salaries of schoolmasters1 under certain rules1 and it also erects hospitals1 and provides medicines free to every missionary4 ,there are also instances in which ,christian communities have grown up in the midst of ,mohammedan surroundings1 and it is claimed that such ,christians are of a stronger type1 and exercise a more powerful influence among their fellow-countrymen4 ,a ,dutch missionary writes that polygamy and divorce are very prevalent in ,java1 there being many who have changed husbands or wives as many as ten or twenty times4 ,the man has to pay the priest two guilders for a divorce1 but a woman would have to pay twenty-five guilders2 the latter is known as ,buffalo divorce1 i4 e41 brutal4 ,in ,java the second wife is called ,a fire in the house4 ,four wives are allowed1 and any number of concubines4 ,in case of divorce the girls follow the father1 and the boys follow the mother4 ,divorced women are often in straitened circumstances and become concubines or the kept mistresses of ,europeans or even of the ,chinese4 ,the largest ,christian communities in ,malaysia are in ,north ,celebes and on the island of ,amboina4 ,these are the result of the early labors of the chaplains of the ,dutch ,east ,india ,company4 ,among the ,malays proper very little missionary work has been attempted and practically nothing has been accomplished4 ,from #ahae to #ahdc the ,london ,missionary ,society carried on work among the ,malays at ,penang1 ,malacca1 and ,singapore1 but then withdrew all their missionaries to ,china1 with the exception of ,rev4 ,b4 ,p4 ,keasberry1 who continued to work among the ,malays in ,singapore as a self-supporting missionary until his death1 in #ahgb4 ,he baptized a few ,malays1 both men and women1 one or two of whom are still living1 but make no profession of ,christianity4 ,within the last twenty years we know of one ,malay man and two or three women who have been converted to ,christianity and baptized in ,singapore and ,penang1 none of whom has gone back to ,islam4 ,the extent to which polygamy is practised among the ,malays depends very greatly upon the amount which has to be paid as dowry1 and this varies very much in the different parts of the ,peninsula and ,eastern ,sumatra4 ,divorce1 however1 is common everywhere4 ,in our personal intercourse with the ,malays1 we have realized how very much the women resemble those of other nationalities in their aspirations1 but how useless it is for them to try to make any real progress1 because they are so tied by customs4 ,they say1 ,we must be content to live as we do1 for we are powerless to do otherwise4 ,when they go out for walks they must be closely veiled or covered1 and must walk in front of the men1 which seems courteous to us until we are told the reason1 which is that the men can watch them1 and see that they do not cast glances at other men4 ,many of the women learn to read the ,koran1 and a few learn to read and write ,malayan in the government vernacular schools1 but the latter is sometimes objected to on the ground that the girls will write letters to men4 ,it is very difficult to get ,malay girls to attend a ,christian school1 for fear they might become ,christians4 ,the people living in the agricultural districts seem to be happy and contented1 and yet here polygamy is more common than in the towns4 ,the heart of the wife and mother is often burdened because her husband has taken a second or third wife1 when there is little enough money for one family to live upon4 ,as a rule the men do not want their wives to know when they are taking new wives4 ,they usually say they are going away to work for a few days4 ,we have been asked to write letters to such husbands requesting money1 and begging the husband to return4 ,sometimes the answers to these letters contain loving messages to the wife1 asking her not to believe the stories told her1 but still he returns not1 or worse still1 no money comes4 ,the wives with tears streaming down their cheeks say1 ,how can his small wages support three or four wives8 ,in one case a wife received a letter saying that she could marry again1 as the husband had decided to marry another woman4 ,we have been asked by such deserted wives to enclose love potions or medicine in letters to win back the love of the husbands4 ,the love potions consist of the ashes of a piece of paper which has had some words written on it and is afterwards burnt1 the ashes being put in a paper1 enclosed in a letter and sent to a friend1 who is requested to put it in a cup of coffee1 and give it to the wayward husband4 ,one woman whom we knew personally had been deserted by her husband2 she lived in a house by herself1 and would not leave it for more than an hour at a time1 fearing her husband would return and accuse her of unfaithfulness4 ,she earned her living partly by taking in sewing1 and her relatives would help her as they could4 ,a young girl was to be married to a man who had a wife and family in another town4 ,we asked the girl's mother if she knew about this4 ,she replied1 ,yes1 but he has fair wages2 he can support two wives4 ,we enquired of a relative of the bridegroom's first wife if she knew her husband was to be married again4 ,she answered1 ,he will not tell her1 but ,i am sure she will feel it in her heart4 ,in many cases the deserted wives have to support the children1 which they do by sewing or making and selling cakes4 ,,xxv ,,what ,,wilt ,,thou ,,have ,,me ,,to ,,do8 ,those of us who have read the pages of this book right through to the end1 will find such words as are at the head of this chapter rise involuntarily to our lips4 ,what must we do8 ,thank ,god1 ,he has a plan4 ,he sent not ,his ,son into the world to condemn the world1 but that the world through ,him might be saved4 ,it is not the will of your ,father in ,heaven that one of these little ones should perish4 ,then let us all ask ,him to teach us how these countless ,moslem women and girls may be saved4 ,he can bless the old ways of work and ,he can lead into new ways4 ,the following methods have been tried and each one is capable of further development4 ,women's medical work has removed prejudice and opened closed doors4 ,we should have many more women missionary doctors4 ,we should also have many qualified nurses1 especially those skilled in midwifery4 ,they are often only summoned to attend difficult or dangerous cases1 so that it is a necessity to be thoroughly efficient1 and they need to do the work in a missionary spirit4 ,women's hospitals as a base of operations are needed1 so that those who cannot be attended to in their own homes1 with any hope of cure1 may be admitted to the hospital4 ,but there should be associated with every nurse or doctor some workers who are wholly given up to evangelistic work4 ,through lack of these much of the influence of the medical missionary fails to accomplish its wished-for result4 ,the doctors and nurses feel this themselves strongly4 ,the same is felt everywhere amongst educational missionaries4 ,the work of the school needs to be followed up by the visit to the home4 ,there are countless doors open to the young wives who have been taught in school1 and who would delight in a visit from one of the mission ladies4 ,this might be done by older workers and we earnestly urge that women's missionary boards and societies should be willing to receive women for this department older than they can take for school or medical work4 ,the language is learnt through constant intercourse with the women4 ,if older women who could meet their own expenses might be allowed to give themselves solely to this evangelistic work1 we believe that a large increase would be made to our missionary force4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,cry ,,of ,,distress ,,from ,,algiers ,women's settlements are only beginning to be tried in different parts of the field1 but we believe that this method would be found very helpful both in towns and villages1 but especially in the villages4 ,the thought is1 to have a group of about four workers and one or two native helpers living together1 composing a women's household1 into which the ,moslem women may freely come without fear of meeting any men4 ,these settlements should be within easy reach of an ordinary mission station1 so that the work should be part of the whole1 and the husbands should be cared for by others at the same time4 ,school1 medical1 and evangelistic work may all be done from a settlement4 ,it is felt in the educational work that girl's boarding schools are far more fruitful for good than day schools4 ,one sort of school that seems to have had the happiest results has been where a lady missionary has a little group of some twelve girls living with her4 ,they are her companions night and day2 she shares all their conversation1 their play1 their household duties1 their lessons4 ,the pure1 refining influence of her constant companionship has more effect on these young lives than any other that has been tried4 ,will not many ,christian women give themselves to such work as this8 ,much might be done in the way of small orphanages for girls1 or homes where the children of divorced mothers might be received4 ,the possibilities before us of what these girls might become through the home training of several years are almost unlimited4 ,the natural intelligence and sweetness of character shown by many of them show what might be made of them4 ,they have all the light-heartedness and merry ways of western girls1 with the same tenderness towards suffering4 ,and at the same time there is a strength of character and determination of will that not only explains1 perhaps1 many of the divorces which now take place1 but it raises hopes of what these girls may become1 and may accomplish for the regeneration of their people4 ,if they become followers of ,christ1 they are of the stuff of which martyrs are made4 ,one little girl in a mission school in ,egypt stood up in front of all her companions and boldly said that she believed in ,jesus4 ,the news was quickly told at home and she was severely beaten4 ,a day or two afterwards1 she was back in her place at school4 ,her teacher asked had she been beaten very much4 ,yes1 she said1 but never mind1 wasn't ,jesus beaten for me8 ,the centuries of oppression that have passed over the heads of these women have not crushed their spirit4 ,it rises afresh against all the stupidity and ignorance of those who oppress them4 ,and men still find out even among ,moslems3 ,what man on earth hath power or skill ,to stem the torrent of a woman's will8 ,for when she will1 she will1 you may depend on't1 ,and when she won't1 she won't1 and there's an end on't4 ,that efforts to educate and train the girls are really appreciated by the men is evident from one fact known of large training schools in ,syria4 ,we are told that not one girl graduated there has been divorced1 nor have any of their husbands introduced a second wife into their homes4 ,this shows us that what the ,moslem man really needs is a wife who is able to be a companion to him4 ,one who can talk to him1 keep his home neat1 and knows how to take care of his children4 ,and in many a case the lessons of heavenly things which the young wife has learnt at school have been willingly listened to by the husband4 ,the chief aim in our work should be to have constant touch with the girls1 to love them1 to win their love1 and to live ,christ before them1 not resting satisfied with anything short of their salvation4 ,but all this needs to be taken up in dead earnest2 and ,christian women can only do it in the power of the ,holy ,spirit1 yielding their lives wholly to the ,lord for it4 ,if we do rise to it1 and diligently give ourselves to win the women and girls of ,islam for ,christ1 and train them up to live for ,him in their homes1 we shall find the answer to ,abraham's prayer for his son ,ishmael begin to come true3 ,as for ,ishmael ,i have heard thee4 ,behold ,i have blessed him1--and ,god's blessing is life for evermore4 ,and to ,our ,moslem ,sisters may come again the words that were spoken to ,hagar3 ,the ,lord hath heard thy affliction4 ,and she called the name of the ,lord that spake unto her1 ,thou ,god seest me1 for she said1 ,have ,i also here looked after ,him that seeth me4 ,the fountain of water in the wilderness by which the angel found her was called ,beer lahai-roi3 ,the well of ,him that liveth and seeth me4 ,and the very name of ,ishmael means1 ,god shall hear4 ,is it not an invitation and an encouragement to us to take on our hearts these multitudes of their children and claim the promises for them8 ,blessing is life4 ,i am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly4 ,for this end we ask you to enter into a covenant of prayer with us1 that we may not cease to intercede for our broken-hearted sisters1 that they may be comforted1 and for the captives of ,satan1 that they may be set free1 that the prison gates may be opened for them so that the oil of joy may be given them for mourning1 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness4 ,life6 life6 eternal life6 ,jesus alone is the giver4 ,life6 life6 abundant life6 ,glory to ,jesus for ever4 ,when this ,life becomes theirs1 ,our ,moslem ,sisters will be our own sisters in a new sense of the word1 and we shall see the evangelization of the ,mohammedan home and of all ,moslem lands4 ,a ,,prayer4 ,o ,lord ,god1 to whom the sceptre of right belongeth1 lift up ,thyself and travel in the greatness of ,thy strength throughout the ,mohammedan lands of the ,east2 because of the anointing of ,thy ,son ,jesus ,christ as ,thy true ,prophet1 ,priest1 and ,king1 destroy the sword of ,islam1 and break the yoke of the false prophet ,mohammed from off the necks of ,egypt1 ,arabia1 ,turkey1 ,persia1 and other ,moslem lands1 so that there may be opened throughout these lands a great door and effectual for the ,gospel1 that the ,word of the ,lord may have free course and be glorified1 and the veil upon so many hearts may be removed1 through ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord4 ,amen4 7,from the ,c4 ,m4 ,s4 ,cycle of ,prayer47 ,,latest ,,important ,,works ,,on ,,mohammedanism ,the ,mohammedan ,world of ,today ,a ,symposium edited by ,,james ,l4 ,,barton1 ,d4,d41 ,s4 ,m4 ,,zwemer1 ,d4,d4 and ,e4 ,m4 ,,wherry1 ,d4,d4 ,illustrated1 #h vo41 ,cloth1 #a4ej net ,islam and ,christianity ,the ,irresponsible ,conflict ,by ,e4 ,m4 ,,wherry1 ,d4,d4 ,cloth1 #a4be net ,our ,moslem ,sisters ,a ,symposium edited by ,,annie ,,van ,,sommer ,illustrated1 ,cloth1 #a4be net ,arabia1 the ,cradle of ,islam ,by ,s4 ,m4 ,,zwemer1 ,d4,d41 ,f4 ,r4 ,g4 ,s4 ,illustrated1 ,cloth1 #b4jj ,persian ,life and ,customs ,by ,,samuel ,g4 ,,wilson1 ,m4,a4 ,illustrations and ,maps1 ,cloth1 #a4be ,the ,egyptian ,sudan ,by ,,john ,,kelly ,,giffen1 ,d4,d4 ,illustrated1 ,cloth1 #a4jj net ,constantinople and ,its ,problems ,by ,,henry ,o4 ,,dwight1 ,l4,l4,d4 ,illustrated1 ,cloth1 #a4be net ,henry ,martyn ,first ,modern ,missionary to ,mohammedans ,by ,,george ,,smith ,illustrated1 ,cloth1 #a4ej net ,missions and ,modern ,history ,by ,,robert ,e4 ,,speer1 ,m4,a4 #b vols41 #h vo41 ,cloth1 #d4jj net ,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company ,publishers ,transcriber's ,note3 ,varying transliterations of ,arabic words have not been changed1 but obvious mistakes have been corrected4 ,underscores have been used to denote italics1 as in the following example3 italic4 ,the illustration referred to in footnote ,d is the illustration entitled ,a ,,cry ,,of ,,distress ,,from ,,algiers4