file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #fciei-;h4htm or #fciei-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#fciei_/pg#fciei-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#fc iei_/fciei-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/cu#caibd jbcecgeeb ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,,the ,,harim ,,and ,,the ,,purdah ,illustration3 ,,dancing ,,girl ,,of ,,jeypore4 ,frontispiece4 ,,the ,,harim ,,and ,,the ,,purdah ,studies of ,oriental ,women by ,,elizabeth ,,cooper ,author of 8,my ,lady of the ,chinese ,courtyard10 8,the ,soul ,traders10 etc4 ,illustrated ,new ,york ,the ,century ,company 7,all rights reserved7 7,printed in ,great ,britain7 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #i ,,chapter ,i4 ,,egyptian ,,women ,,of ,,the ,,past #ai ,,ii4 ,,the ,,modern ,,egyptian ,,woman #ci ,,iii4 ,,marriage1 ,,divorce1 ,,polygamy #ef ,,iv4 ,,the ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,desert #fi ,v4 ,,indian ,,social ,,life #he ,,vi4 ,,indian ,,home ,,life #ajj ,,vii4 ,,marriage--,,the ,,goal ,,of ,,woman #aac ,,viii4 ,,indian ,,motherhood #acj ,,ix4 ,,woman',s ,,sorrow #adc ,x4 ,,hyderabad ,,and ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,woman #aed ,,xi4 ,,mohammedanism ,,within ,,the ,,zenana #agj ,,xii4 ,,burmah #agi ,,xiii4 ,,burmese ,,religion ,,and ,,superstition #bjj ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,lady ,,of ,,china #baa ,,xv4 ,,the ,,red ,,chair ,,of ,,marriage #bdj ,,xvi4 ,,when ,,chinese ,,women ,,die #bed ,,xvii4 ,,changing ,,china #bfj ,,xviii4 ,,japanese ,,women ,,at ,,home #bga ,,conclusion #cjg ,,illustrations ,,dancing ,,girl ,,of ,,jeypore ,frontispiece ,facing page 8,,two ,,women ,,shall ,,be ,,grinding ,,at ,,the ,,mill0 #i ,,egyptian ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,lower ,,class #ai ,,rameses ,,and ,,his ,,wife #bj ,a ,,water-,,carrier #cf ,,the ,,tailor #dd ,a ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,masses #fd ,,children ,,on ,,the ,,nile #ff ,,bedouin ,,women ,,in ,,front ,,of ,,tent #fi ,a ,,holy ,,man1 ,,benares #if ,,cradle ,,in ,,village1 ,,baroda #acb ,,indian ,,women ,,spinning #adh ,a ,,carriage ,,for ,,women #aed ,,mohammedan ,,women1 ,,hyderabad #agj ,,husking ,,rice ,,in ,a ,,burmese ,,village #agi ,,burmese ,,girl #ahj ,,dancing ,,at ,a ,,village ,,festival1 ,,burmah #ahc ,a ,,buddhist ,,school ,,mandalay 7,,showing ,,begging-,,bowl7 #aid ,,burmese ,,boy ,,with ,,tattooed ,,legs #aif ,,en ,,route ,,to ,a ,,festival1 ,,burmah #aih ,a ,,burmese ,,woman ,,and ,,her ,,cigar #bjf ,,burmese ,,working ,,woman #bjh ,,golden ,,pagoda1 ,,mandalay #baj ,,chinese ,,women ,,warming ,,hands ,,and ,,feet ,,with ,,braziers #bad ,,chinese ,,women ,,and ,,chair-,,bearers #bah ,,bound ,,feet ,,of ,,chinese ,,woman #bba ,,an ,,old-,,fashioned ,,chinese ,,girls' ,,school #bbd ,,wheelbarrow ,,and ,,coolie--,,used ,,in ,,place ,,of ,,wagons ,,in ,,towns ,,and ,,country ,,villages ,,near ,,shanghai #bcf ,,rain-,,coats ,,of ,,chinese ,,workmen #bdf ,,rice-,,boats ,,on ,,canal1 ,,china #bfj ,,japanese ,,children ,,playing #bgf ,,an ,,outdoor ,,kitchen ,,in ,,japan #bij ,illustration3 8,,two ,,women ,,shall ,,be ,,grinding ,,at ,,the ,,mill40 ,to face p4 #i4 ,,introduction 8,what thou biddest ,unargued ,i obey4 ,so ,god ordains2 ,god is thy law1 thou mine3 to know no more ,is woman's happiest knowledge1 and her praise40 ,this is the creed of the woman of the ,east to-day4 ,it is the same as it has been for centuries2 it will continue the same for centuries to come4 ,indeed1 it is a question whether the ,oriental woman1 with all her intellectual and social advance which is already beginning1 will be able ever to free herself from those traditional and inherent influences which have been wrought into the very warp and woof of ,eastern humanity4 ,the ,eastern woman is primarily a traditionalist4 ,she is more closely bound by hereditary tendency than the woman of the ,west4 ,one of her outstanding characteristics has lain for years in her dependency and passive reliance upon her husband for economic support and protection4 ,her very seclusion means to her1 not that which the word would connote to the ,westerner1 slavery or imprisonment2 to her it is rather the mantle of protective care and interest thrown over her by her lord and master4 ,it has helped to make her feminine1 as it has naturally added to her inefficiency as far as any work is concerned that bears a similitude of masculine activity4 ,with the exception of the ,burmese woman1 and to an appreciable and growing extent the women of ,japan1 the ,oriental woman has been influenced and moulded by her economic necessities4 ,the ,eastern attitude toward woman1 which in general has been to keep her ignorant and to consider that her charms other than those relating to her physical attractions are minute1 has brought about a feminine type peculiar to itself4 ,the result is a woman who outside of the home has no power of gaining a livelihood1 and who as a natural consequence has turned her whole thought1 emotion1 and imagination upon her domestic affairs4 ,furthermore1 we find in such countries of the ,orient as ,burmah and ,japan1 where women are solving the problem of self-support1 that they have also been able1 not only to have greater freedom1 but also1 to a certain extent1 they have demanded the right to choose their own mates and regulate the laws concerning their home life4 ,for instance1 in each of these countries the wife has the right of divorcing her husband--a right denied the woman of other ,oriental lands4 ,the property rights of women in these lands1 where women are just beginning to be wage-earners1 are also clearly set forth in their civil codes1 giving justice to the women4 ,the realm of the ,eastern woman is primarily the realm of the home4 ,she has the true spirit of the bee2 she considers the collective good of the household before her own4 ,her great vocation is to be a wife and mother4 ,she attends personally to her household duties1 and domestic service is to her not a disgrace4 ,her children are to her a veritable life-work4 ,she looks after them personally1 superintends their every act1 and watches closely their development4 ,even the high lady of the ,east does not consider it demeaning to cook with her own hands that which she knows will appeal to the taste of her family4 ,cooking1 indeed1 is regarded as a fine art in the ,east1 and recipes are handed down like heirlooms from mother to daughter along with the family jewels4 ,the ,eastern woman is honoured by the honour of her household4 ,it is her business to make it possible for her husband and her sons to advance1 and she shines in the reflected light of their achievements4 ,she has not been taught1 neither has she any suspicion of the ,western ambition to make name and fame for herself4 ,there is a certain delight and satisfaction in living behind the veil which one can hardly appreciate from the ,western point of view4 ,that this ,eastern feminine regards her success as domestic rather than social is abundantly proved to any one who lives intimately in touch with the women of these countries4 ,the one great cry which goes up from the heart of every ,oriental woman1 regardless of place or station1 in any home between ,algiers and ,tokio1 is1 8,give me sons60 ,it is this desire for men-children1 and the belief on the part of the woman that this is the primal and ultimate destiny of womanhood1 that has made marriage the universal custom for all women throughout the ,east4 ,rarely indeed do you find an unmarried woman4 ,in ,india marriage is assured by betrothal in early childhood2 and even in those countries where education and ,western influence are raising the age limit of marriages one finds no diminution in the general feeling that woman's world is the home1 with her children about her4 ,this devotion to the purely domestic realm has left the woman a victim to ignorance1 superstition1 and the many evils that follow in their train4 ,one finds the same superstition working in the minds of the women in ,cairo1 in ,calcutta1 and in ,peking4 ,the ,egyptian mother dresses her boy in rags to guard him from the baneful influence of the 8evil eye10 while the woman of ,china pierces her son's ears and places a ring therein1 to deceive the gods and make them think he is a girl4 ,the woman of ,algiers will buy charms and magic symbols to bring her the blessing of motherhood1 while the woman of ,japan visits shrines and holy places1 where her faith and superstition are traded upon by those who understand the weakness of their womenkind4 ,she has so long been accustomed to rely upon her superstitions1 her emotions1 and to use her intuition in the place of a brain1 that the present beginnings in education have been hampered4 ,that1 however1 she will prove herself capable in the realm of mental training is proven by the fact that1 especially in ,egypt and in ,japan1 modern schools for girls are becoming really popular movements in the development of these countries4 ,every advance in the education of men adds to the possibility of intellectual emancipation for women4 ,during long ages ,eastern women have been denied the right to think for themselves and have been compelled to feel their way emotionally1 and their power to feel thus has become abnormally developed at the expense of their power to judge or reason4 ,the woman of the ,orient is a woman swayed by emotions1 by the heart instead of by the intellect4 ,there is a logical line of connection to be traced among the modern women of the ,east4 ,her phases of development have been the inevitable outcome of influences to which she has been taught to submit as a duty4 ,her religious sense--the strong spiritual craving that is deep within the heart of all women--has been utilized as a means of influencing her to yield implicit obedience to her mankind1 whether he be father1 brother1 or husband4 ,she has made him1 in a certain sense1 her god1 and in yielding all to him she has ceased to think in the terms of her own individuality1 accepting the common opinion that the ,eastern woman lives for her home and the amusement and the material comfort of her husband4 ,a mental deficiency bill was passed upon her centuries ago1 and the laws command her husband to keep her under restraint4 ,her menfolks expect her to be deficient1 and have carefully guarded her from opportunities of becoming otherwise4 ,her husband has not associated her with any of his outside life1 and she has found little or nothing in his conversation to stimulate or to broaden her mind4 ,considering her as a being who only understands her children and the petty gossip of the women's quarters1 he has deprived her of the mental possibilities which have reached the men of the ,east4 ,he has not only tried to teach her not to think for herself1 but the ,eastern masculine has endeavoured to make her understand that she cannot think4 ,nor is this tendency entirely abolished by modern education4 ,the young girl fresh from her school in ,cairo or ,calcutta1 where she has caught glimpses of a new world1 and where her brain has been slightly awakened1 marries and goes into the traditional home1 where her faith in herself is gradually diminished by living constantly in the atmosphere of ignorance and superstition which still rules so largely in her woman's world4 ,finally1 she gives up trying1 resigning herself to the standard of the man-made world in which she finds herself1 and her husband becomes her keeper in every sense of the word4 ,the ,eastern woman naturally tends in this way to lose her self-reliance1 which she is not allowed to exercise4 ,she often decides few matters for herself1 even the small details of her daily life being settled by her husband4 ,the effect is insidious1 but none the less relaxing1 since the faculty of responsibility1 like every other faculty1 is strengthened only by exercise1 and passes away with disuse4 ,can the woman of the ,east be awakened to an advanced development without harm to herself8 ,within her is found an enormous amount of suppressed capacity for good and evil4 ,this suppression1 which has been her cue for generations1 possesses great dynamic power4 ,force becomes dangerous when confined2 it should be directed1 and unless properly guided and controlled1 when it does burst forth1 as it is bound to do with these women who are becoming educated and learning their power1 it is likely to riot widely1 with havoc for its effect4 ,the ,eastern woman who has traded upon her emotional nature for her livelihood1 who has used these same emotions to keep her husband in a land where divorce is easy and where polygamy is practised by many1 may be guided by her feelings rather than her intellect1 using her new-found freedom to bring her lasting unhappiness instead of the joy which she now believes is lying just outside her doors4 ,in ,india advance has come too rapidly at times1 and the woman in her desire to slavishly imitate her sisters from the ,west has shocked the conservative traditions of her nation1 and thereby greatly retarded her cause4 ,the ,egyptian woman when in ,england or ,france becomes almost ludicrous in her attempts to be like the ,european woman1 forgetting that she lacks the foundation of the years of freedom and equality with men which bring judgment and confidence to the woman of the ,western world4 ,the woman of the ,orient is awakening and is setting herself the task to consider what is best to be done4 ,how can she remedy the deficiency of the social life of her land8 ,the case is not a hopeless one by any means1 even though her capacities and wonderful possibilities have lain dormant for so long4 ,many of these women now see the things that are wrong2 they see the iniquity of a system in which they are not allowed to choose their own mate2 they see the crying wrongs of their antiquated marriage and divorce laws1 made for another period than the twentieth century--laws which do not fit the present conditions1 however successful they may have been in other times4 ,these women are learning to respect themselves and their position1 learning to appreciate and value the weight of their majorities1 and some are having the courage to speak out4 ,these bolder ones are being punished for their intrepidity2 but it does not check them4 ,the cause for which they are working is gradually becoming more and more possible with the advent of education and ,western influences1 which are causing the present-day educated men of the ,orient to require a certain amount of education in their wives and daughters4 ,as this new order comes to the land of the ,nile and the ,ganges1 the old-time woman who passed her days lounging on the divans1 eating sweets1 drinking coffee1 and gossiping with servants and friends as ignorant as herself1 will pass away4 ,the new woman of the ,east will never be a suffragette2 she will never attend mass meetings nor carry banners marked 8,votes for ,women02 indeed1 it would be as incongruous to think of these sheltered women doing such a thing as to imagine the long row of mummies at the ,museum of ,cairo suddenly starting a procession down the aisles of the museum4 ,these women1 however1 are setting up a high standard for themselves1 eager to accept all the ,western world has to offer them by way of education and growth1 while they feel that they have the capacity to attain the objects of their new ambitions4 ,in all this change1 will the ,oriental woman remain the same as regards the deepest things in her nature8 ,will she keep her innate sense of modesty1 her womanliness1 her love of home and children1 her feminine qualities which seem to us of the ,western world almost a weakness1 but which comprise her appealing charm8 ,we cannot but feel that although the woman of the ,east may change radically in the outward expression of her life1 inwardly she will remain the same4 ,indeed1 it would be a great mistake if the ,eastern woman became satisfied with any mere superficial imitation of her ,western sisters4 ,she would lose her birthright4 ,she would lose the consummate opportunity of being an ,oriental in an ,oriental world1 and bringing out of her treasure things new and old for the benefit of the women of every race4 ,her message to the world of the ,west in the devotion and the keeping of the home1 in the love and pride of children1 in her self-effacement for the good of the family1 is a high message and in no period has it been more insistently needed4 ,it is this contribution which the woman of the ,orient will bring in return for the education and enlightenment from the ,occident4 ,if the ,western woman comes to the ,oriental bringing in her hands the fair gifts of intellectual advancement and broadened life1 her ,eastern sister will not be her debtor if she1 by example1 presents in return the even more precious charms of obedience1 modesty1 and loyalty which fundamentally are the priceless jewels in the crown of the world's womanhood4 ,illustration3 ,,egyptian ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,lower ,,class4 ,to face p4 #ai4 ,the ,harim and the ,purdah ,,chapter ,i ,,egyptian ,,women ,,of ,,the ,,past ,the word ,egypt opens the ,book of ,romance to the traveller in the ,east1 and he longs to come under the spell of its mysterious grandeur1 and gaze upon the monuments which will speak to him of the power and splendour of a people long since gathered to their gods4 ,it is a land in which to dream dreams and see visions4 ,the temples1 broken columns1 and great pylons call with a voice that must be heard even by the prosaic tourist1 and the hands he sees painted upon the walls of ,denderah or ,deirel ,bahari will beckon him when sitting in office1 club1 or home1 far from the dazzling sands or burning sun of ,africa4 ,the charm of the land of the ,pharaohs is very real1 and it is hard to speak of ,egyptian life in a calm and lucid style1 or free oneself from extravagant descriptions4 ,egypt and its fascination are favourite themes for novelists and writers of travel1 and yet in spite of a good deal of general knowledge we remain curiously ignorant of the ,egyptian woman1 from the point of view of her moral and mental development4 ,in common with women of other ,oriental lands1 she has been an object of mystery to the ,western world4 ,we know that in the olden time1 in the days of the ,pharaohs1 she held an important place in the life of her world4 ,we see her pictures on the tombs1 temples were erected in her honour1 and we know that there were queens who in their day governed their country with dignity and rare ability4 ,in former days the purity of the blood of the royal line was assured by the marriage of a brother and sister1 the queen reigning equally with the king4 ,if a queen of royal birth took as her consort a male not descended directly from a royal mother1 even though his father might have been a ,pharaoh1 at the death of his wife he was compelled to abdicate in favour of the son or daughter who could call the queen 8mother40 ,this was shown when ,thotmes ,i was compelled to resign his crown in favour of that great ,queen ,hatshepsu1 his daughter1 who for twenty years governed ,egypt4 ,although her reign was a stormy one because of her half-brothers who claimed the throne1 her name and features erased from all the monuments1 and omitted from the official tablets and chronological records1 yet enough was left to show that her power had been great and that she commanded the attention of the world4 ,it is said that ,hatshepsu had herself everywhere depicted as a man1 wearing the dress and even the beard of the stronger sex1 perhaps hoping in this way to gain a greater allegiance of her people4 ,illustration3 ,,rameses ,,and ,,his ,,wife4 ,to face p4 #bj4 ,one of the most interesting temples along the ,nile is that of the first woman ruler of ,egypt of whom we have accurate knowledge4 ,one rides over the hot sands beneath a burning sun to a series of great terraces and broken white columns against a background of tiger-coloured precipices4 ,this beautiful temple of the ,x,v,i,i,ith ,dynasty1 called by the ,egyptians 8the ,sublime of the ,sublime10 was dedicated to ,amen ,ra and his companion gods1 ,hathor and ,anubis1 but it was really erected to commemorate the glorious reign of a great queen4 ,another woman who influenced ,egypt was the mother of ,amenophis ,,iv1 the great reformer4 ,he disestablished the ,state religion1 some say at the instance of his mother2 confiscated the lands and destroyed the power of the priests of ,amon who were becoming all-powerful2 and established the worship of one ,god4 ,solomon evidently held the ,egyptians in high favour4 ,he had many wives before he married a princess of ,egypt1 but we hear of no palaces being built especially for any of them1 nor of the worship of their gods being introduced into ,jerusalem4 ,yet we are told that a magnificent palace was built for ,pharaoh's daughter and that she was permitted1 although contrary to the laws of ,israel1 to worship the gods of her country4 ,then there was ,hypatia1 an ,alexandrine1 who established a school of philosophy where learned men from all parts of the world came to listen to her words of wisdom2 and in the ,british ,museum there is a manuscript of the ,old and ,new ,testament1 written on parchment immediately after the ,council of ,nice1 by an ,egyptian woman1 which goes to prove that men did not possess all the knowledge nor learning of their time4 ,we all know the story of ,cleopatra and the part she played in the downfall of her country1 and history abounds with tales narrating the bravery1 courage1 and charm of ,egyptian women4 ,women are also associated with the religion of this old land4 ,the worship of ,isis was as general as the worship of her brother ,osiris1 and this goddess is reverenced as the representation of true and loyal wifehood4 ,another woman1 ,athor1 the goddess of love1 who was called the 8,great ,mother0 and served as the protectress of earthly mothers1 was good and beautiful1 lovely and gentle1 the goddess of love and joy4 ,neith was worshipped as the goddess of art and learning4 ,maat was the goddess of truth and justice2 and in ancient times judges1 when trying cases1 held a small figure of the goddess ,maat in their hands1 and touched the persons acquitted with it1 to show that they had won their cause4 ,there was ,taur1 the goddess of evil1 and ,sekhet1 typical of the scorching1 destructive power of the sun1 and many minor goddesses whose emblems1 seen on columns and walls of the ancient ruins1 tell us that in those days woman was thought fit to represent ,divinity4 ,the women of ancient ,egypt were evidently not secluded1 as is shown by the story of ,pharaoh's daughter who was going with her train of maids to bathe when she found ,moses4 ,the story of ,potiphar's wife and ,joseph would never have been told in modern times1 as a man-servant would not have dared to go to the women's quarters4 ,this valley of the ,nile has always been the home of mystery and charm4 ,the inscriptions on its tombs and temples have been deciphered and receive much attention in modern days2 but they are not more interesting than is the woman of ,egypt1 who1 as we have learned1 enjoyed greater liberties and received more honour than is the heritage of her modern daughters4 ,it is difficult to understand her1 as even yet she represents traditions and the habits of dead centuries1 fit to be relegated to the past4 ,she is the ,sphinx of this ,oriental land1 and will not easily give to the world her secrets4 ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,woman4 ,when first one visits ,egypt1 romance seems to peer from beneath the veil of each black-robed figure1 and mystery lurks behind the intricate carving that covers the windows where one is sure some languid beauty sits waiting for the moment when her lord and master will be gone1 that she may wave a white hand to the passionate suitor below4 ,this idea of ,egypt is generally derived from highly coloured and erotic novels which always make this country alluring and often sensual4 ,to one who has been given this highly seasoned food for his imagination to feed upon the modern ,egypt1 with its great glaring hotels1 its motor-cars1 its shops that might be in ,london or ,new ,york1 is a great disappointment4 ,illusions will again be lost if one is permitted to enter the beautiful homes on the fashionable drives of ,cairo1 for they are not ,eastern in any sense1 nor is there anything about them to indicate that their owners are ,orientals4 ,they express no individuality1 and might belong to any person of means whether in the ,east or the ,west4 ,the drawing-rooms are furnished in ,french fashion1 with gilded chairs1 a grand piano1 hangings and curtains made in ,england or ,france4 ,great glass chandeliers holding the glaring electric lights express the cosmopolitanism which the mistress feels she must show the world1 in order that she may not be considered as belonging to the old school of ,egyptian womanhood4 ,one hears the word harim and instantly conjures up an ,arabian ,nights picture of rare hangings1 subdued lights1 beautiful odalisques lounging on soft divans1 slaves1 incense1 and a general air of sensuousness pervading the entire place4 ,i read a book not long ago written by a well-known woman writer who says1 8,i am thankful to say that ,i have never been within a harim except twice1 and the memory of that dreadful place will rest with me for many years40 ,yet she admits that on her first visit to this 8dreadful place0 she had no interpreter and could only draw upon her imagination to give the women she saw their position in the elaborate household4 ,this imagination was evidently a vivid one1 as she believed that many women she saw were 8the poor deluded slaves0 of the master of the house1 while quite likely they were the innumerable relatives and woman-servants that always throng the rich man's home4 ,in reality1 in present-day modern ,cairo1 if one enters the harim of the better class1 or of the official class1 one is greeted by a hostess dressed in the latest ,french creation1 tea is served1 while the politics of the world are discussed easily in either ,french or ,english by the polished1 up-to-date ,egyptian women4 ,the word harim is much misunderstood by the people of the ,western world4 ,the ,arabic word harim simply means the women's quarters4 ,the selam-lik are the apartments in which the men of the household have their business offices1 receive their friends1 and pass their time1 while the harim-lik are the apartments reserved for the female members and children of the family4 ,the literal meaning is exclusiveness1 seclusion1 privacy4 ,in its restricted sense it embodies the two meanings of the women of the household and their exclusive apartments4 ,in the wider acceptance of the term we understand by harim an established social system deriving its sanction from a body of laws promulgated by the ,arabian prophet ,mohammed4 ,when a woman is harim it means that she is secluded1 and we hear the expression in regard to schoolgirls4 8,yes1 my daughters go to school10 a mother will say1 8but they are kept harim40 ,in ,persia and ,turkey the word zenana is used1 and in ,india the common form of expression for the woman who is not seen by any male except those of her immediate family is1 8,she is purdah-nashim1 or simply purdah40 ,the purdah is the screen that shuts her from the outside world1 and the ,oriental1 whatever his race1 whether in ,egypt1 ,turkey1 or ,india1 whether he calls it the harim1 purdah1 or zenana1 speaks of it in his literature and poetry as the 8,sanctuary of ,conjugal ,happiness40 ,one can live years in the ,east and get little idea of the life of the ,moslem woman of the better class4 ,in ,egypt ten million out of the twelve million inhabitants are followers of the prophet ,mohammed1 and to understand at all the ,eastern woman one must learn something of the religion that dominates the entire life of the ,mohammedan4 ,the actions of the ,moslem woman1 whether in ,india1 ,arabia1 ,egypt1 ,persia1 or ,algiers1 are controlled and forced to comply with the laws made by the ,arabian prophet of the seventh century1 and even to-day his word practically governs each act of the domestic life as well as the world outside the home4 ,before ,mohammed's time there were no social1 religious1 nor educational institutions in ,arabia1 as we understand them4 ,unlimited polygamy1 slavery1 drunkenness1 polytheism1 gambling1 child murder1 and plunder existed4 ,he taught that there was but one ,god1 forbade child murder1 limited the number of wives to four1 forbade the use of intoxicating liquors1 gambling1 usury1 and gave women a definite legal status4 ,the reforms inaugurated by this wonderful man effected vast and marked improvement in the position of the women of the ,eastern world4 ,her status had degenerated from that held in ancient times until her position was extremely degraded4 ,she was the chattel of her father1 brother1 or husband1 like his camel or his sheep1 and could be bought and sold as any other chattel4 ,she was an integral part of her husband's estate and was inherited by his heirs4 ,the son inherited his father's wives and often married them4 ,this ,mohammed severely censured1 and laid down most exacting laws in regard to the women lawful for a man to marry4 ,he says3-- ,and marry not them whom your fathers have married2 for this is a shame and hateful1 and an evil way--though what is past may be allowed4 ,forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters1 and your sisters1 and your aunts1 both on your father's and your mother's side1 and your foster-mothers and your foster-sisters1 and the mothers of your wives1 and your stepdaughters who are your wards1 born of your wives1 and the wives of your sons1 and ye may not have two sisters4 ,he is severely criticized that he authorized polygamy1 but when one remembers the wild1 lawless people whom he governed1 it seems that he showed extreme moderation in limiting the number of wives to four4 ,he added that a man might possess the slaves within the household1 and his followers say he was compelled to put in this postscript in order to quiet the unrest that was caused by the new domestic regulation which was so contrary to all ideas then controlling his immediate world4 ,he expressly stated that if a man could not deal justly and love equally all his wives1 he must then marry but one4 ,all true believers quote this as meaning that ,mohammed really intended his people to be monogamous1 as it was fully known that no man could love four women with equal ardour4 ,the husband is also enjoined to partition his time equally amongst his families1 and there is a saying that if a man inclines particularly to one of the women of his household1 in the day of judgment he will incline to one side by being a paralytic4 ,he allowed women to inherit property1 although he gave a girl only half the inheritance of a boy4 ,a wife may inherit one-fourth of her husband's estate if there are no children1 and one-eighth if there are children2 if there is more than one wife1 the eighth is divided equally amongst them4 ,a man may inherit one-half of his wife's property in the event of her being childless1 but only one-quarter if she leaves children1 and neither one can disinherit the other4 ,yet the laws show clearly that a woman was not legally the equal of a man1 as it takes the testimony of two women to equal that of one man1 and the price of a woman's life was only fifty camels instead of the hundred camels demanded for the life of a man4 ,there is a reason for this other than the mere disregard of women4 ,those days were lawless days1 when tribe was fighting tribe and the non-fighting women were naturally not held in such esteem as were the men who were needed to fight in the continuous tribal wars4 ,moslems claim that the ,mohammedan woman is more truly protected by the laws of ,mohammed than are the women of ,western countries4 ,she can dispose of any property that she may receive1 either from her family or her husband1 as she sees fit4 ,she is not responsible for the debts of her husband2 she can sue and be sued2 or she can make contracts or enter into any business undertaking without consulting her husband2 and she may even take him before the courts if he does not live up to an agreement he may have made with her4 ,yet this wily ,eastern prophet did not believe in the absolute equality of women2 as he says3-- ,men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which ,god hath gifted one above the other1 and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them2 and he warns his followers from making too large settlements on them or in giving them too many valuable gifts3 ,and entrust not to the incapable the substance which ,god hath placed with you for their support2 but maintain them therewith1 and clothe them1 and speak to them with kindly speech4 ,a ,moslem woman is supposed to share the responsibilities of life as well as its pleasures4 ,in the case of destitute parents1 sons are required to contribute two-thirds towards their support1 while the daughters must add their third4 ,this is a very wise law1 because ,egypt1 like practically all ,oriental countries1 makes no provision from its public funds for the maintenance of the poor or old4 ,each family must care for its own helpless4 ,many reasons are given for the laws compelling the women of ,mohammedan lands to be veiled and to pass their life within the inner apartments reserved for their especial use4 ,some say that ,mohammed caused women to be veiled because of his jealousy of his young wife ,ayesha2 others claim that the prophet1 becoming enamoured by the beauty of his adopted son's wife1 caused her to be divorced1 afterwards marrying her1 contrary to the laws he himself had made2 he wished to protect men from being subjected to the temptation which had overtaken him and had brought upon him the displeasure of his people4 ,but the seclusion of women was found in ,asia1 in ancient ,rome1 in ,syria1 and even in ,athens1 long before the time of ,mohammed4 ,it was in practice amongst many ,oriental nations from the earliest times1 and quite likely ,mohammed simply adopted the customs of the people with whom he came in contact on his conquering tours4 ,the seclusion of women1 especially among the nomads1 can be traced to the warlike habits of the people4 ,in times of war the enemy would first of all carry away the women1 children1 and cattle of the tribe with whom they were fighting4 ,in order to protect the helpless they were kept in inner rooms4 ,the richer and stronger the family1 the more secluded were the women1 and it became a mark of caste to be kept within the women's quarters1 or protected4 ,thus what first originated as a necessity became afterwards a matter of aristocracy1 and the man who could keep his women strictly harim was looked upon as higher in the social scale than one who was compelled1 from economic reasons or otherwise1 to allow the females of his household to come and go freely in the world4 ,an ,egyptian woman1 from the time when she is seven or eight years old1 never shows her face unveiled to any man except her father1 her brother1 or her husband4 ,no chance is given the followers of the ,arabian prophet to have the little flirtations that are so dear to the heart of many of her ,western sisters4 ,mohammed says3-- ,and speak to the believing women that they refrain their eyes and display not their ornaments1 except those which are external2 and that they throw their veils over their bosoms1 and display not their ornaments except to their husbands1 or their fathers1 or their husbands' fathers1 or their sons1 or their husbands' sons1 or their brothers or their brothers' sons1 or their sisters' sons1 or their women1 or their slaves or their children4 ,and let them not strike their feet together so as to discover their hidden ornaments4 ,the present-day ,mohammedan woman observes this law more strictly than was at first intended1 even to not being seen by the father of her husband4 ,i know an ,egyptian woman who is never seen by her father-in-law except on the first day of the year1 when he calls upon her to wish her the joys of the coming year4 ,she enters the room closely veiled and offers him the season's greetings1 then leaves without further conversation4 ,i was calling upon an ,indian ,mohammedan woman who could not enter the room until her father-in-law had left it1 as it would have been a serious breach of etiquette for him to see her4 ,this seclusion does not rest heavily upon the ,mohammedan woman1 as she considers it the desire of her husband to protect her1 and she would be the first to resent the breaking of her seclusion1 as showing that she had lost value in his eyes4 ,she lives for no one except her family1 is supposed to be of no interest to any one else1 it being a great breach of social decorum for any male member of a family to even inquire about her4 ,a man would never say to another man1 8,is your wife well80 ,he would say1 8,is your household well80 ,and the husband would never speak of his 8wife0 to another man1 but would speak of his 8house10 which would naturally include the female occupants4 ,the harim is the 8,holy of ,holies0 in the ,moslem world4 ,even a police official would hardly dare to penetrate the women's quarters in search of a criminal4 ,when a man has retired to his harim he is free from any disturbing influence from the outside world4 ,if a friend or enemy should call and servants would say that the master was in the harim1 the caller would be compelled to leave or wait until the master was disposed to enter again the selam-lik1 or rooms assigned to the male members of the household4 ,the greatest evil in the harim life lies in the dreadful seclusion and the paralysing monotony4 ,many of the older women are unable to read and write1 and they pass their days in weary idleness and a vacuous routine which is only broken by visits to women friends as mentally impoverished as themselves4 ,not being allowed the friendship of the opposite sex1 they are denied the stimulation of the mind which would no doubt result from the interchange of ideas with men who come in contact with the outside world4 ,naturally the intellectual development is restricted1 and this starving of the mentality of the women must have a result detrimental to the rising generation4 ,seclusion also makes a woman very much more the actual possession of her husband than she would be if allowed to come and go in the world1 to know her rights and the means by which to enforce them4 ,although the laws are very much in her favour1 in regard to property rights especially1 it takes a woman of more than ordinary courage and intelligence to break away from the walls which encircle her and parade her troubles in open court4 ,we are told of the wonderful laws allowing the woman to dispose of her property as she wishes2 but we are not told that she may give this property to her husband1 and when once within the harim1 pressure is often brought compelling the woman to give all that she possesses to her husband1 making her doubly helpless and wholly within his power4 ,they have a proverb that a woman must always answer the call of her husband1 8even if she is at the oven40 ,her happiness depends entirely upon the treatment she receives from him4 ,his visits to the harim are the only breaks in the monotony of her life1 and he brings to her the only touch she may have with the great man-world outside4 ,by a few men the wives are treated as if they were intellectual equals1 but these are few and far between4 ,the average ,oriental treats his womenfolk as if they were upon a lower plane than himself1 8brought up amongst ornaments and contentious without cause40 ,one would judge that1 handicapped as they are1 ,moslem women would take no part in the political or social life of their country1 but facts prove that they can rise to great heights and exhibit rare courage and executive powers in time of need4 ,ayesha1 the favourite wife of ,mohammed1 showed an instance of bravery and courage that might belong to women of any land4 ,when ,ali1 the cousin of the prophet1 rebelled against the successors of ,mohammed1 ,ayesha took the field against him1 commanding the troops in person at the 8,battle of the ,camel10 and in later days they have shown that the restrictions of the harim do not deaden the fires that burn in women's breasts when tyranny or oppression rules their land4 ,in ,persia1 where ,mohammedanism in its strictest sect has sway1 the women have been known to rise in force and demand the rights of their people when all the efforts of the men have failed4 ,in #ahfa1 at the time of the great famine1 foodstuffs rose to an exorbitant price1 because of a few greedy officials who were enriching themselves at the expense of their starving countrymen4 ,it was impossible to bring the matter before the ,shah by the methods generally employed1 but the women rose1 and one day thousands of them surrounded his carriage as he was returning from a hunting trip1 and stating the wrongs of his people1 demanded that he should make an investigation4 ,the ,shah was thoroughly frightened at the sight of this unprecedented exhibition on the part of his usually unseen subjects1 and promised all they asked1 and1 what was more wonderful1 kept his promise4 ,the leaders of the party who were causing the distress were beheaded1 and the price of bread was diminished by half within twelve hours4 ,it is only a few years ago that the women of ,persia confronted the ,president of the ,assembly in his hall1 and tearing aside their veils and producing revolvers1 confessed their decision to kill their husbands and sons and add their own dead bodies to the sacrifice if the deputies should waver in their duties to uphold the liberties of the ,persian people4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,water-,,carrier4 ,to face p4 #cf4 ,these ,moslem women display a fortitude and courage that is almost fanatical in times of persecution4 ,thousands in ,persia have given their lives for their faith in ,baha ,ullah1 the leader of a sect of reformed ,mohammedans4 ,they have been dragged from the harims to the public market-places1 where they have been subjected to unheard of indignities before having the privilege of dying for their faith4 ,they have also been compelled to sit in rows facing the public execution grounds while their husbands and sons were beheaded before their eyes1 but even the torture and death of those they loved did not cause them to waver from what they believed to be right4 ,the story of one woman exemplifies the fanatical courage that will dominate such a shut-in woman1 when in some dim1 tragic hour she has been compelled to give her contribution in the life she loved to her religious cause4 ,in ,tabriz one day a crowd of women were seated facing the executioner's block1 and amongst them a delicate1 dainty woman who had been protected all her life within the harim of one of the prominent men of ,tabriz1 but whose death had left his women helpless to bear the brunt of his enemy's wrath4 ,chance had made this enemy the city ,governor1 and he remembered that the family of the man he hated even in death were followers of ,baha ,ullah4 ,on this morning in ,june the mother was brought to see the death of her fourteen-year-old son1 her only child4 ,when the executioner had done his work1 the head was tossed into her lap1 and she was told 8,take back your son40 ,she stood up1 and holding the loved head in her hands1 held it towards the sky1 as if to give it as an offering to the ,god who seemed to have deserted her in her hour of need1 looked long into the closing eyes1 then threw it to the official's feet1 saying1 8,i do not take back what ,i give my ,god60 and turning quickly1 took her place among the sorrow-maddened women4 ,her cousin1 who told me the story and who was a witness to the scene1 said to me3 8,it is impossible for a ,western woman to understand a ,moslem woman4 ,perhaps because of our exclusion and the lack of means of self-expression1 we have over-developed our inner emotional natures1 which at times of sorrow burst forth like a hidden flame4 ,we not only gave our lives in those dread days of ,tabriz1 but what is worse1 we gave the lives of those we loved--and still lived on40 ,the women of ,egypt have as yet had no reason to rise up en masse and show what they may do in times of national distress4 ,it is unusual for the women of any ,mohammedan land to usurp the prerogatives of men4 ,they are fundamentally intensely feminine1 the home their only domain4 ,sa'adi1 the ,persian poet1 said3-- ,no happiness comes to the house of him whose hen hath crowed like a cock4 ,it will be many years before the ,egyptian woman joins the ranks of the militant suffragettes1 and tries to blow up the ,pyramids or deface the walls of ,egypt's famous temples in the spirit of emulation and zeal for the ,cause4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,modern ,,egyptian ,,woman ,the conservative woman of ,egypt prides herself that she never leaves her home4 ,i know several ladies well advanced in years who say they have never been outside their homes since they were brought there as brides4 ,an ,eastern household is composed of many people1 and this seclusion of the women does not cause such loneliness as would be felt by a ,western woman if thus closely confined always to the home4 ,in the ,east the patriarchal life prevails1 and the financially fortunate member of the family finds himself supporting an immense army of poor relations1 who act in all capacities1 from maids in the kitchen to the servants at the door4 ,they expect little or nothing as wages1 but they do expect that the prosperous member of their clan or family will provide clothing1 food1 and a roof beneath which they may live4 ,in all ,egyptian homes of the better class there are many servants4 ,they are not the competent1 trained servants to which we are accustomed1 and it takes many of them to accomplish what one well-trained servant will do in ,england or ,america4 ,they have no system1 each servant doing his task in his own appointed time and in his own way4 ,within the harim the servants are generally women1 and they are on much more familiar terms with the inmates than are servants in the ,west4 ,they take on a feeling of equality with their mistresses1 taking part in the conversation when guests are present1 entering doors without knocking1 and generally considering themselves as part of the family4 ,mohammed taught that all true believers are free and equal--the servant the equal of his master4 ,this is one of the reasons that the traveller is often surprised by having the donkey-boy offer his hand when saying good-bye4 ,he does not intend it as an impertinence2 he simply wishes to bid his patron 8,god speed0 in the ,western manner4 ,the women of the harims take much time to dress1 and spend long hours in the public baths1 if they do not possess that luxury at home4 ,they take great care of their skin1 using all the arts to keep it soft and unwrinkled4 ,they have not yet learned the charm of beautiful hands1 and the manicurist has not yet penetrated the harim1 but it is only a question of time when she will arrive1 as the ,egyptian woman seizes with avidity every means of improving her personal appearance4 ,many of them tint their straight black locks with henna1 by making a paste which is allowed to dry on the hair for twenty-four hours1 then removed4 ,this1 when used not too freely1 gives a charming glint of reddish gold to the thick hair1 and utterly obliterates any trace of age4 ,the henna-tinted locks are not seen as much as formerly1 as the custom is passing out with the advent of the newer generation1 and is mainly to be seen on the older women or the women of the desert4 ,in former times the nails of the hands were tinted a deep orange1 but this also is being relegated to the 8things that were10 as the young girls are beginning to see that instead of a beautifier1 it makes the hands appear most untidy4 ,i have seen an old lady with her fingers stained a deep brownish yellow to the first joint1 the palms of her hands1 the toes1 and even the bottoms of the feet coloured with the henna paste4 ,the house dress of the ,egyptian woman is a long nglig made in an empire form or what we used to call a 8,mother ,hubbard10 with the fullness of the cloth gathered to a much-trimmed yoke1 and ending in a train that sweeps the floor4 ,the wearer may follow her fancy in the choice of goods with which these dresses are made4 ,the ordinary dress worn every day is of some material easily laundered1 but the gown for gala occasions is often most elaborate1 made of rich silks1 satins1 or brocades with great figures in gold or silver4 ,many of them appear as if made of cloth originally intended for furniture covering4 ,if she has a wide range from which to select the material for her dresses1 she also is not restricted in the choice of colours1 as each woman indulges in whatever shades she most admires1 and a party of women with their red1 blue1 yellow1 and mauve creations look like a party of animated dolls dressed for a fancy bazaar4 ,the hair is braided in one or two braids and allowed to hang down the back1 sometimes tied with strings on which dangle gold coins or balls4 ,a veil is always worn over the head1 hanging down to the waist line4 ,it is very graceful and adds to the dignity of the ,egyptian woman4 ,with the poor this head covering is a large piece of cotton with a gay-coloured border1 and even ladies wear in the morning a cotton veil1 but on dress occasions it is of chiffon or net elaborately bordered with gold or silver1 or in some cases sewn with sequins1 very similar to the shawls offered by the vendors in front of the big hotels4 ,the feet are slipped into toe slippers that can easily be removed when entering the living-rooms or when sitting upon the divans4 ,in the matter of footwear there is a wide range from which to choose4 ,from the wooden bath clog to the tiny heelless covering for the toes1 embroidered in gold or silver or even tiny seed pearls1 the ,egyptian woman's slipper is a thing of beauty and dainty femininity4 ,stockings are considered a superfluity while in the house1 except by those influenced by the customs of foreign lands4 ,if the lady wishes to make a call she dons a black silk or satin skirt with a long train1 and over it ties a piece of black goods shaped like a large apron hanging down the back instead of the front4 ,the lower end is brought up over the head and tied under the chin1 acting as hat and shoulder covering1 completely disguising the form4 ,over the face below the eyes is tied a piece of white chiffon4 ,this is really an addition to the woman's charming appearance1 as the present-day ,egyptian woman is wearing the veil so thin that the shape of the features can be dimly seen1 softened and refined by the delicate chiffon1 until even a plain woman takes on an appearance of beauty that perhaps vanishes when the veil is removed4 ,she is allowed to show her chief attraction1 her great black eyes1 which peer at one curiously over the folds of white4 ,they are not so large as are the ,indian woman's eyes1 but they are very expressive1 shaded by long straight lashes1 which are generally touched up by kohl1 since even with the advent of modernism the ,egyptian woman cannot be persuaded to relegate her kohl-pot to the lumber-room4 ,the woman of the labouring class1 seen on the street1 is dressed in a long gown hanging straight from the shoulders1 over which1 when she leaves her home1 she drapes a large black shawl covering her from head to feet4 ,the veil of this class of woman is of black cloth1 so thick that it is impossible to distinguish the features beneath it1 and often weighted at the bottom with gold or silver coins4 ,covering the nose is the disfiguring piece of wood which holds the veil in place4 ,the picture of this sombre-clad woman1 with her ugly veil and grotesque nosepiece1 is taken by the average tourist as representing the ,egyptian woman1 while1 in fact1 she represents only the lower class1 such as the wife of the labourer1 the small artisan1 or the petty merchant4 ,these women may be seen on the streets walking with the stately grace that is given to the woman who carries a burden on the head1 or five or six of them may be seen sitting on a flat-bottomed cart drawn by a much decorated donkey en route to visit relatives or watch the festivities connected with a marriage1 or going to the cemeteries4 ,this last seems to be a favourite excuse for an outing with women of this class1 as it gives them a chance to have a good gossip on the way1 and opportunity of strolling in the open air1 which must be a great boon to the poor in the large cities1 as their homes are small1 dark1 dirty1 and most unsanitary4 ,yet as one lives in the ,orient and sees the conditions under which the great majority of the population live1 one grows to believe that there are no such things as microbes1 else all these people would have been dead long ago4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tailor4 ,to face p4 #dd4 ,even in modern ,cairo one rarely sees a lady except as she passes in a closed carriage or limousine4 ,women do not go to the mosques1 as ,mohammed said that women in places of public worship distracted men from the real business which brought them there4 ,they are also never found in restaurants1 hotels1 nor coffeehouses4 ,in fact1 an ,egyptian woman never goes to a place where she might be looked upon by men other than those of her immediate family4 ,even the most modern product of the present system of education would hardly dare to be seen in any place that was not harim4 ,at the bazaars held for charity and other public functions a day is set apart when the women may visit them without danger of being looked upon by men4 ,an ,egyptian woman told me that these men must be educated and elevated before ,egyptian women will dare to go freely upon the street4 ,even a foreign woman dreads passing the outdoor cafs1 where the men turn noisily in their chairs and stare rudely at the woman who has the courage to pass them4 ,in the case of an ,egyptian lady1 ,i was told that these men do not confine their rudeness to stares1 but that the low remarks made to her confirm the belief that the time is not yet ripe for the ,egyptian woman to try to enter the world1 so long closed to her4 ,these harim women are just beginning to learn the joys of shopping4 ,formerly the husbands or fathers bought the goods for their dresses1 or the shopkeepers sent their assistants1 who laid the gay stuffs and jewels on mats within the courtyards1 where the women could make their choice4 ,but now in some of the larger shops parties of veiled ladies may be seen fingering the soft silks and satins1 looking with curious eyes at the hats1 and selecting the jewels with which they love to adorn themselves4 ,cairo is the happy hunting ground of the ,parisian jeweller1 as ,egyptian women are noted for their love of bracelets1 ear-rings1 necklaces1 and pins4 ,the old-time heavy gold chains and hoops are losing their charm1 and now the lady whose husband has a purse easy to open buys long pendant ear-rings set with many diamonds1 bracelets of pearls and rubies1 rings of turquoise and sapphires1 and necklaces of emeralds4 ,quantity1 not quality1 she desires1 and the colour and purity of a stone are not so much to be desired as the size or number4 ,the women who make no claim to modernism are still seen in the goldsmiths' shops in the native streets1 sitting in front of the tiny cupboard-like holes in the wall1 weighing1 pricing1 trying on the great barbaric hoops of gold for the ears1 or the chains with large hammered pendants1 made in the same form and with the same design as those worn by their mothers and their grandmothers4 ,the merchant does not need to originate new designs to attract the conservative ,egyptian woman who still clings to her native jewelry4 ,it has been the same shape and design from time immemorial4 ,another product of the ,west has penetrated the harims of ,cairo--the ,french dressmakers4 ,many of the rich merchants' wives and the wives of the officials who cannot get their gowns direct from ,paris1 and who are discarding the straight empire pattern for clothes more la mode1 get their dresses fashioned by these clever ,french women1 who come to the women's courtyards loaded down with fashion books1 tape measures1 and a running stream of flattering talk1 leaving with many orders written in their little books4 ,it must be admitted that the ,egyptian woman looks best when dressed in her native costume1 which mercifully disguises the over-abundant flesh with which most women who spend their lives within the harims are blessed4 ,sweets1 a sedentary life1 and many sweetened drinks conspire to make the lady of ,egypt extremely fat1 after the first flush of youth is past4 ,this is not a sorrow to her as it would be to her ,western sister1 and when she has arrived at the age of thirty1 and the pounds that she feels should come with the advancing years have not been added to her figure1 she sends to the chemist for a mixture to convert her into the present ideal of ,egyptian beauty4 ,this ideal in the olden time1 if we may judge of the pictures seen upon the walls of the tombs and temples1 was that of a slight1 willowy figure4 ,but that ideal has changed4 ,the woman now seems to strive to be as wide as she is long1 and because of this fact and also because stays are not looked upon with joy by the ,egyptian woman1 who has always been allowed an uncompressed figure1 the modern dress is not adapted to her style of beauty4 ,women are not prisoners in any sense of the word1 nor are they pining behind their latticed windows as we are sometimes led to believe by writers of fiction4 ,they visit freely amongst each other1 and their visits are not confined to the passing of a few senseless platitudes that generally mark conversation of ,western women making afternoon calls upon each other4 ,they do not 8call10 they go for a visit of several hours or even days4 ,when a lady enters the home of her friend1 she takes off the veil and the cape-like covering of her head1 steps out of the long black skirt1 and stands arrayed like ,solomon in all his glory4 ,they dress as elaborately for their women friends as if to meet admirers of the opposite sex1 and they spend hours drinking the delicious coffee1 sipping sherbets1 eating fruits or confectionery1 and chatting over the gossip of the day4 ,when time for serving the meal arrives1 a large tray is brought into the room and placed upon a low stand1 around which the women group themselves in comfortable attitudes on rugs4 ,from these trays they help themselves to the deliciously cooked mutton or chicken1 the vegetables and desserts with which it is laden4 ,pork is never served1 as it was forbidden by ,mohammed4 ,they eat with their fingers1 using only the right hand1 as the left hand is ceremonially unclean1 and after the meal a servant pours water over their hands from a long-spouted brass ewer1 the water falling into a brass basin4 ,many of the ladies smoke1 but it is not a universal habit4 ,if they indulge in the habit with which we always associate the ,eastern woman1 it is by using a large water pipe with an extraordinarily long1 supple stem1 the smoke passing through perfumed water and becoming cool before reaching the user's lips4 ,the ,eastern woman loves perfumes and prefers them much stronger than we of the ,western world think agreeable4 ,a hostess will pass around the little wooden scent-bottles1 and each guest may add as much as she wishes to her already over-perfumed body4 ,the mixture is not always pleasant to sensitive nostrils4 ,incense and sweet-smelling woods are often burned in little braziers and add to the congeries of odours4 ,many of the old-time ,egyptian women cannot read2 indeed1 it is stated that only three out of a thousand women could read ten years ago2 their conversation is therefore confined to the gossip of the neighbourhood3 who is married1 who is engaged2 the social and financial standing of the families involved2 the presents and the trousseaux4 ,society is divided into cliques1 as in any other part of the world1 and there is a decided 8,who's ,who10 especially in ,cairo and in the larger towns4 ,the woman's life seems to centre around her children1 since it is this evidence of ,allah's blessing that makes her greatest happiness4 ,a great part of their talk is involved in the discussion of their children's ailments1 the remedies1 their children's education and life in general4 ,there are no nurseries in ,egypt1 and both boys and girls live within the harim until they are seven years old1 when the boy1 if he does not go to school1 has a tutor and lives in the selam-lik4 ,when1 as at present1 ,government schools are established in every small town and village in ,egypt1 both boys and girls go to school4 ,the girl is kept strictly harim even in the school1 and the teachers are women1 who guard carefully from men's eyes the girls who are entrusted to them for the day4 ,besides visiting with their friends or relatives1 the ,egyptian women go to weddings1 where they look upon the dancing and hear the singing from their places behind the screens1 or they make pilgrimages to the tombs of saints or holy men1 where they pray for the health of their children2 or1 if they have not been so fortunate as to have children1 they pray for that blessing4 ,they do not pray to the saints1 as even ,mohammed himself cannot answer prayers1 but they believe that the austere lives passed by these holy men will intercede for them with the ,great and ,one ,god4 ,an ,egyptian friend of mine1 telling me of the efficacy of one of the places of pilgrimage in the cure of eye troubles1 said3-- 8,yes1 ,i believe in these charms obtained at the tomb of some of the marabouts1 and ,i have been on several pilgrimages1 although it is not much encouraged in our family4 ,you saw my brother's wife to-day4 ,she has visited the tomb of every saint in the vicinity of ,cairo1 but it is just because she is restless and wants to get out4 ,she cares no more about the saints than you do1 but it gives her an opportunity to get away from my mother4 ,my life1 that you think so restricted1 is wildly exciting to what it was when ,i was a girl at home4 ,mother is most conservative1 and will not even allow a man-servant near the harim4 ,her cook has never seen her1 although he has been in the family since ,i was a baby4 ,here in the country ,i have men-servants who see me unveiled1 but they are the descendants of slaves who were in the family of my husband for generations1 and that is permitted if we are not too orthodox40 ,i noticed while visiting friends in the country with this progressive1 educated ,egyptian woman that if we passed an ordinary fellah1 or workman1 she did not take care to cover her face4 ,if we met an overseer or a man above the farmer class1 she very carefully drew her veil across her face1 leaving only the eyes visible4 ,the women are very superstitious1 and believe in the efficacy of charms and amulets for every known disease4 ,nearly every woman wears around her neck1 lost to sight amidst the innumerable chains with which she covers the upper part of her body1 an amulet or charm of some kind4 ,perhaps it is a silver box containing a few words of the ,koran1 or a small piece of parchment with mystic letters written on it1 guaranteed to guard her household from harm4 ,all ,egyptian women know of charms and lotions and shrines or mystic words to give the wife who has not presented a son unto her lord4 ,one of the first questions asked by ,egyptian women is1 8,how many children have you80 ,if the answer is 8,none60 they cannot keep the looks of pity from their eyes1 nor the sympathetic words of condolence from their lips4 ,they are also most generous in giving talismans to remedy this defect1 and will wax enthusiastic over the beneficial effects of some favourite pilgrimage1 amulet1 or prayer4 ,i have a piece of sheepskin with the ninety-nine names of ,allah written upon it in gold1 intended to insure1 not only the advent of a son1 but also1 if bound upon his arm1 to guard him from all danger throughout his lifetime4 ,at the opera in cosmopolitan ,cairo one may hear rustlings and low laughter from behind the closely screened boxes1 and know that an ,egyptian ,bey or wealthy merchant is there with his family1 allowing them to enjoy the play and watch the people in the house1 themselves unseen4 ,but this joy is given usually only to the women of ,cairo1 as the smaller towns have not as yet become sufficiently modernized that the women may go to the public theatres4 ,in the conservative homes1 if a hostess wishes to entertain her guests with professionals1 she sends for the singing girls or dancing women to come to her home1 and there they perform before the ladies1 who watch them from the divans1 and talk and laugh with their entertainers1 getting far more amusement from them than by simply looking at them on the stage4 ,fortune-tellers are often brought into the women's quarters1 and blind men who chant the words of their sacred book1 the ,koran4 ,this latter is a popular form of entertainment1 and even to ,western ears the sad1 minor music has a charm1 although after a time it becomes monotonous to one who cannot understand the ,arabic in which the ,koran is written4 ,even the conservative ,egyptian mother is now beginning to see that she must educate her daughter as well as her son1 if she wishes her to make a good marriage4 ,the modern ,egyptian youth does not care for an ignorant wife who can only entertain him with household gossip when he comes from office or shop4 ,there is ample opportunity given the ,egyptian girl to obtain an education1 as the ,government has established schools in every city1 town1 and village4 ,one sees also a great number of private schools for girls1 supervised by every imaginable type of mistress4 ,the ,italian1 ,spanish1 ,french1 and ,english woman is taking advantage of this craving on the part of young ,egypt for education4 ,many of these schoolmistresses are unfitted for their work1 but as yet her pupils are not able to judge of the quality of information they are so eagerly absorbing4 ,the mission schools1 next to those provided by the ,government1 are perhaps the best equipped with trained teachers from ,england and ,america4 ,these latter schools are filled with bright-faced young girls1 who are taking the newer ideas to their secluded mothers1 who shake their heads dolefully over the new spirit of independence so swiftly creeping into the lives of their children1 and which they fear1 but to which they must accede4 ,egypt1 in common with the entire world1 is experiencing vital changes1 and her younger women1 although walled in by custom1 tradition1 and habit1 are eager to get into step with their advancing sons and husbands4 ,it is only the older woman who is the implacable foe of progress1 as she fears a change may mean the destruction of her little world4 ,yet she is fast losing the power as well as the wish to resist it1 and the number of schools for girls shows that a real awakening to ,egypt's greatest need is being felt and met4 ,at first the mother feared her daughter would be led astray from the true ,faith1 but the ,english ,government bore this well in mind when establishing the educational system4 ,the ,koran and the practical observances of its tenets are taught by faithful followers of the prophet in the schools1 and this has induced mothers to look with complacent eyes upon the new learning4 ,infinitely better daughters and prospective mothers come each year from the ,government and mission schools1 if for no other reason than that they are intelligently trained in domestic economy and in the laws of hygiene4 ,the frightful waste of infant life which heretofore has been caused by the ignorance of mothers will stop4 ,the present training of the young girl strikes directly at this huge infant mortality and in the coming mother1 educated and equipped for her duties1 lies the hope of ,egypt4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,marriage1 ,,divorce1 ,,polygamy ,,social ,,life ,,of ,,egyptian ,,women ,the ,koran enjoins marriage on all and calls bachelors the worst of mankind4 ,consequently there are few spinsters or bachelors in any ,moslem land1 and a woman who is divorced or widowed must have another husband found for her as soon as possible4 ,although ,mohammed believed that all men should be married1 there were four classes of women against whom he warned his fellows3-- ,a ,yearner--that is1 a woman who has children by a former husband and wishes to get everything possible for them from her present husband4 ,a ,deplorer4--,one who is constantly deploring the loss of her first husband and stating his virtues to the disparagement of the present incumbent4 ,a ,backbiter4--,one who is kind to her husband's face and behind his back accuses him of cruelty1 miserliness1 and ill-treatment4 ,a ,toadstool4--,a beauty who is lazy and tyrannical and uses all the substance of her husband to buy silks1 jewels1 and perfumes with which to adorn herself4 ,there is no courtship as we know it4 ,the marriage is made by the parents or by a 8go-between10 and the parties most interested do not see each other until the night of the marriage1 although they may have exchanged photographs and have heard eulogistic descriptions of each other4 ,but there are no shy meetings1 no gazing into the eyes of the loved one4 ,a girl would be considered as lacking in modesty and maidenly reserve if it were known that she attempted to see the man to whom she will be compelled to owe all allegiance and who will practically own her1 body and soul1 as soon as she is his wife4 ,during the time before the marriage the bridegroom1 if a man of wealth1 sends his bride-to-be many costly presents1 generally in the shape of jewelry1 silks1 fans1 slippers1 and boxes of sweets4 ,her gifts to him are cigarette cases1 embroidered sleeping suits1 a rich fez1 or some other practical evidence of her affection4 ,in families of any social pretensions whatsoever1 there is drawn a marriage contract which stipulates the amount of dowry and whatever business relationships are entered into by the husband and wife4 ,if the amount of dowry is not expressly stated in the contract1 the woman is entitled to the customary dower of a woman of her class1 which is judged according to that received by the other female members of her family4 ,this contract can also contain a stipulation that the husband may not marry another wife so long as the present wife is living with him1 and it also often states that the wife may divorce her husband for certain expressly stated causes4 ,there are two kinds of dower1 one called 8prompt0 which is all paid at the time of the marriage1 the other where only part is given at that time and the rest retained to be paid in case of divorce or on the death of the husband4 ,in the latter case the dower must be paid before the other debts of the estate are settled4 ,the wife has absolute rights over her dower and can refuse to go to her husband's home until it is paid4 ,the trousseau is provided by the father of the bride1 and the articles she takes to her new home in the shape of furniture1 jewelry1 etc41 are her property and can be taken with her if she should return to her father's home or if she should be left a widow4 ,the bridegroom is supposed to help pay the expenses of the elaborate feasting which lasts from three to seven days1 and which is often a great drain upon the resources of both families4 ,custom has commanded that no parsimony shall be shown at this time of rejoicing1 and each family tries to outdo its neighbour in the form of entertainment offered to its guests4 ,theatrical entertainments are held in the courtyards1 or in the large guest-room4 ,dancing girls dance and jugglers perform1 while food is most plentifully provided1 but there is no drinking of intoxicating liquors in the home of a follower of ,mohammed4 ,in the place of wines1 sherbets1 fruit juices1 and coffee are served4 ,the culmination of the festivities comes when the bride in a gaily decorated carriage is conducted to her new home4 ,in the streets of any large city one often sees these processions1 the band leading the march1 dozens of singers preceding the carriage1 and friends following1 all trying to show their joy in the happy event4 ,according to ,western ideals there is one great bar to the lasting happiness of the ,moslem woman1 and that is the question of divorce4 ,it is said that #ij per cent4 of the marriages in ,egypt end in divorce1 and that two people who live to an old age together without one of them being divorced are rarely found4 ,mohammed has been severely censured because of this great blot upon the progressive laws he made for his people1 but before his time there was no check on divorce2 a man could divorce often and for no reason1 and a woman was helpless4 ,this wise man laid down laws far in advance of his time on this subject1 and 7what was then an unheard of thing7 allowed a woman to divorce her husband for explicitly stated causes4 ,if they divorce for mutual incompatibility--that is1 if they both agree to it--there need be no question of the courts2 but if the wife wishes to be free and the husband will not permit it1 the woman may go before a judge and state her case1 and if her charges are proven she will be granted her petition4 ,often a woman will return her dower or agree to forfeit the part not yet paid1 or in many cases make a money payment to the avaricious husband in return for her liberty4 ,a case not long ago came before the judge where the husband treated his wife brutally in order to force from her a certain sum of money in exchange for her freedom4 ,the woman paid the sum demanded1 then took the case before the judge1 and proved that his cruel treatment would entitle her to a divorce1 and the courts compelled the man to return the money to his ex-wife with an added gift4 ,the different sects have different modes of procedure4 ,one requires the husband to pronounce the words of divorce once in a single sentence and not live with his wife for three months1 when the divorce is accomplished4 ,another form requires that the words be pronounced three times in succession at the interval of a month1 the divorce becoming effective when the last formula is pronounced4 ,another formula allows the husband to say three times in succession1 8,i divorce thee6 ,i divorce thee6 ,i divorce thee60 and the legal separation takes place4 ,a woman may say to her husband1 8,give me a divorce in exchange for my dower10 and if the man will say1 8,i do10 a lawful dissolution of the marriage is effected4 ,whatever the rule1 divorce is very easy for the ,moslem husband1 and the woman lives in constant fear that she will hear the words 8,i am discharged from the marriage between you and me10 and will be compelled to return to her home4 ,this insecurity of the marriage bond causes the woman to hoard what money she may obtain1 and takes away the interest she might otherwise have in the affairs of her husband1 fearing that prosperity may only mean that he will yearn for a younger and more beautiful woman to share with him his riches4 ,it also makes her try in every way to preserve her beauty1 buying cosmetics and talismans that clever merchants assure her will aid in retaining the love of her husband4 ,in the event of divorce the woman is commanded to remain single three months1 but the man may marry immediately4 ,there is no especial disgrace attached to divorce1 yet the woman's value is lowered to a certain extent1 and quite likely she will not be able to make so good a marriage again4 ,no child under two years may be taken away from the mother1 as the ,koran commands her to suckle the infant for that period4 ,unless it is proved that she is totally unworthy to bring up her child1 or unless she marries an unbeliever1 the boy is entitled to live with his mother until he is seven years old1 and the girl until she is nine1 when the father takes the guardianship of them both4 ,often they are allowed to live on indefinitely with the mother1 especially the girl1 if the father marries again and the new wife does not wish the care of the children of her predecessor4 ,this makes the burden of divorce fall heavily upon the innocent children1 as the mother generally marries and her husband may not care for the children of another man2 consequently they are left in the care of the mother's parents or other relatives1 who quite likely consider them a superfluous addition to an already overcrowded household1 although the father is compelled to contribute towards their support4 ,if divorce is prevalent in the ,land of the ,nile1 that other great domestic evil1 polygamy1 is slowly dying out1 mainly for an economic reason4 ,all the wives in a family are supposed to have equal support1 and in these days1 when the women of ,egypt are beginning to know and crave the luxuries of life1 it is hard for a man1 unless of the very wealthy class1 to provide for more than one family4 ,in a rich household each wife would demand1 not only her own suite of rooms1 but quite likely her own house and staff of servants1 and she would see that her husband did not show favouritism in regard to clothes1 jewelry1 or amusements towards the women and children in his harim4 ,often in poorer homes one sees two wives living in peace together1 but the man with more than one wife is becoming rarer each year4 ,it is said that not one man in fifty has more than one wife4 ,the cynics say that it is because divorce is so much easier and cheaper1 but we believe that it is because of the higher ideals that are coming to the ,egyptian along with the education that he is receiving from the ,western world4 ,it is easy for the ,western mind to take exaggerated views of the unhappiness of the life in the harim4 ,i found1 among the better classes1 with whom ,i came into contact more than ,i did with the very poor1 the same average of happiness that prevails in any land4 ,seclusion which seems so dreadful in our eyes has grown to be a matter of caste1 and the older women1 at least1 have no desire to depart from it4 ,the power of the husband is greater than it is in foreign lands1 but he is generally a kindly man who leaves the women's department strictly alone1 to be ordered as his wife desires4 ,it is she who has charge of the children while in infancy1 teaching them or having them taught the ,koran1 taking them with her on visits to friends1 and being with them much more than does the average ,western mother of the same class4 ,a middle-class ,egyptian woman does practically the same things as does the wife of a middle-class ,englishman4 ,she cooks1 washes1 mends the clothing1 keeps the house1 and sews her children's dresses4 ,if she is able to have servants--and one is very poor in ,egypt not to be able to afford at least one servant--the work of the household is superintended directly by the mistress4 ,of course she may not go to the market nor to the shops1 but she inspects the food when brought to the house by the vendor or the cook4 ,the care of the clothing is a great task if there are many sons in the family who dress in the native costume1 which is made of light-coloured silk2 the long black cloak is prone to sweep up the dust of the streets4 ,the children of the poor wear only a short shirt until they are about six years old1 but the children of the rich don ,european dress1 either made in the house or bought in the shops4 ,the ready-made clothing has found its way to the harims and saves the mother much work1 as the sewing-machine is not so well known there as it is in the homes of the ,west4 ,although the ,egyptian woman is not seen in the mosques1 she is very religious1 and more zealous in the faith than is her husband1 who has a chance to broaden his religious views by coming in contact with people of other beliefs4 ,the wife does not observe the prayers as strictly as does her husband1 but she has been taught her ,koran in childhood and follows its precepts to the best of her ability4 ,the woman1 like women all over the world1 is much more rigidly ruled by her superstitious beliefs than is the man4 ,she attributes the extraordinary phenomena of ,nature to the work of good or evil spirits and believes in placating them or controlling them as far as possible4 ,these evil spirits are liable to lurk in all places1 in the ovens1 the wells1 and even in the market basket1 which is covered to protect it from the evil eye of covetous passers-by1 or to guard it from a wandering spirit who may be seeking a place of retreat4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,masses4 ,to face p4 #fd4 ,the women in general are very ignorant in regard to all sanitary laws1 and there is an enormous amount of preventable sickness within the harims4 ,children are allowed to eat what and whenever they wish1 and sweets are indulged in at all times4 ,all babies suffer from eye trouble1 mainly caused by uncleanliness4 ,a baby is not washed for eight days after birth1 then if the father or mother is suffering from any form of skin disease1 it is considered fatal to put water on the child4 ,flies and mosquitoes abound1 carrying contagion to all4 ,doctors are unknown amongst the poorer class1 and the mothers are in the hands of unskilled midwives at the time of child-bearing1 and the mortality is great4 ,when the angel of death enters the household of an ,egyptian1 it may be known by the wailing of the women4 ,the custom of weeping and wailing1 beating of the breasts1 and tearing out of the hair still prevails on the death of the member of a family4 ,the body is buried within twenty-four hours4 ,it is enclosed in a coffin which is covered by a rich shawl or piece of embroidery and carried to the cemetery on the shoulders of men1 preceded by blind men chanting the ,koran and followed by friends and relatives4 ,the same ceremony is observed for the women as for the men4 ,the soul is supposed not to leave the body for three days4 ,the first night an angel whispers in the ear of the deceased1 8,what is your faith80 and the soul must answer1 8,i am a ,moslem40 ,the angel again whispers1 8,in whom do you believe80 and the soul will answer1 8,i believe in the ,one ,god10 and the third question is1 8,and who is your prophet80 and the answer1 8,mohammed is the ,prophet of ,god10 allows the soul to be left in peace4 ,three days1 seven days1 and forty days after death memorials are held at the home of the late deceased1 when friends call and offer their sympathy1 and food and money are distributed in great quantities to the beggars4 ,at times of festivity or mourning the poor come in crowds1 and are never turned away empty-handed4 ,there are practically no almshouses in ,egypt1 nor any organized charity1 but ,mohammedans are commanded to give one-twentieth of their income to the poor4 ,whether they follow this law exactly or not1 they are very generous to those in need1 not giving with much discernment1 but always willing to drop a coin into the outstretched hand or to fill the empty bowl4 ,one cannot judge of the life of the average ,egyptian woman by living only in ,cairo1 where the note of modernism has sounded with such call as to reach even the inner rooms of the harim1 but in the smaller towns of ,egypt one sees the real ,egyptian life1 untouched by the customs of alien lands4 ,illustration3 ,,children ,,on ,,the ,,nile4 ,to face p4 #ff4 ,i visited in a home on the banks of the ,nile and watched with interested eyes the life around me3 saw the mother attend to her household duties in the morning1 giving the servants directions for the day's work1 measuring and weighing out the stores to the cook1 and taking his accounts as he came from the market-place with the day's provisions4 ,an old blind woman came in the morning to give the children their lesson in the ,koran4 ,she would start a surah1 then the children would repeat the remaining verses in a sing-song voice1 the slightest break in the intonation calling forth a rebuke from the leader1 whose nodding head kept time to the chant4 ,at nine o'clock the older children took their books under their arms and started for the village school1 in the same noisy manner as do our children at home4 ,i watched the fellaheen as they lifted the water from the river to irrigate the thirsty fields1 and saw the black-robed women filling their water-jars and placing them upon their heads with a beautiful sweeping gesture1 walk gracefully away to their little mud huts that could scarcely be distinguished from the sands around them4 ,trains of camels passed our wall on their way to the distant city1 and the shepherd boys drove their flocks of sheep and goats in search of pasture4 ,i remembered ,browning's beautiful ,david1 who sang3-- ,and ,i first played the tune all our sheep know1 as one after one ,so docile they come to the pen door till folding is done4 ,they are white and untorn by bushes1 for lo1 they have fed ,where the long grasses stifle the water within the stream's bed4 ,and now one after one seeks its lodging1 as star follows star ,into eve and the blue far above us--so blue and so far4 ,we watched the little boys ride the great unwieldy water buffaloes to the water side1 slipping off their backs to allow them1 groaning with content1 to wallow in the sluggish waters1 and when the hard white stars came out in the sapphire sky1 we looked far over the ,libyan hills1 which had changed from the gold and opal of sunset to the grey blue that heralds the coming of the ,egyptian night4 ,the evening breeze that always comes with the setting of the sun brought the smell of the desert to us1 and the deep swish of the ,nile came as an accompaniment to the cry of the muezzin from the tiny mosque in the distance1 and we saw its response in the fellah kneeling beside his waiting camel1 lifting his hands to the heavens1 as the clear1 bell-like voice came over the evening air3-- ,there is no ,god but ,god1 and ,mohammed is ,his ,prophet4 ,illustration3 ,,bedouin ,,women ,,in ,,front ,,of ,,tent4 ,to face p4 #fi4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,woman ,,of ,,the ,,desert 8,behold the townsman10 cried one of the ,bedouins1 8they have for the desert but a single word1 while we have a legion40 ,the desert1 which in many eyes is a wilderness of desolation1 has for the dweller beneath the tents another aspect4 ,it is the desert which he loves1 where he was born1 under the brown tents of his tribe where he hopes to pass his life1 and in the sands where he wishes to be buried4 ,he loves each one of its many phases1 from the sand burnt to powder by the white fire of the noonday sun1 to the cool breeze of the dying day1 that causes the smoke from the many fires to rise in blue-grey wreaths to the evening sky1 which changes from violet to greyer blue1 and then to the intense dark blue of the precious sapphire4 ,the ,bedouin1 to whatever tribe he may belong1 sitting astride his camel1 padding softly through the desert sands1 sees before him the low black tents of a desert village1 and knows that he may descend and find a welcome4 ,the host will say to him1 8,every stranger is an invited guest1 and the guest while in the tent is the lord thereof40 ,he may sit before the large round bowl of mutton and eat his fill1 and when the stars have come out1 and seem so near that he may put up his hand and pluck them from their field of blue1 he will be conducted to the guest-tent or to the tent of the headman1 and1 wrapping himself more tightly in his long cloak1 he will lie down secure1 knowing that his life is safe so long as he remains a guest of the tribe1 having eaten of their salt and drank their water4 ,these ,arabs of the desert are proud with a pride we do not understand4 ,they are proud of their long lineage1 of the purity of their blood1 of their unbroken traditions4 ,they are an impulsive1 restless people1 who1 with their emotional temperament1 give impetuosity to everything which they touch4 ,they are the real adventurers of the world1 and their nervous1 high-strung1 daring characteristics have become so absorbed into their very being as to have become permanent marks of their race4 ,at the seat of all troubles1 in countries where the ,bedouins are strong1 one finds them ready to do and dare anything that appeals to their imagination4 ,at the rising of a ,mahdi1 it is the ,arab of the desert who is his strongest support1 who will die for him1 who will sweep down like a holocaust upon the people who do not share with him his beliefs in the cause1 for which he throws his life away with a bravado that makes men of a more sluggish blood gasp in astonishment4 ,this cause must appeal to his emotions--those same riotous emotions which never produce1 but always ruin4 ,we are told that the ,bedouin is the author of complete desolation1 and that destruction follows in his pathway2 that his effects are always sinister1 and that this race brings ruin to any land where they have been permitted to have full sway4 ,we know he is not a creature of habit1 and that routine1 a settled existence1 a fixed round of duties1 are things which he does not understand nor practise4 ,he does not reason and is not practical1 yet it is the ,arab that has succeeded in sending the faith of ,el ,islam around the world1 and every movement of revival comes directly from the desert4 ,few people travelling in ,egypt or ,algeria see the real dweller beneath the tents4 ,there are ,bedouins in the cities1 and one soon learns to tell them1 with their keen eyes1 their eager faces1 and majestic stride1 from the more placid1 self-satisfied ,egyptian4 ,but in the city he is not his true self1 as life in the cities has a permanent and degrading effect on the character and physique of the race2 the fire of the desert dies within him4 ,it is in the shifting sands beneath the tents that he is at his best4 ,there he carries out his tribal customs1 and there he practises that wonderful virtue of hospitality that ,mohammed1 himself an ,arab1 laid upon his people4 ,he said1 8,whoever believes in ,god and the ,resurrection must respect his guest2 and the time of his being kind to him is one day and night2 and the period of entertaining him is three days2 and after that if he does it longer1 it benefits him more1 but it is not right for a guest to stay in the house of a host so long as to incommode him40 ,it is said that even a deadly enemy may come to the tent and demand water and salt1 and it will be given him1 and he will be allowed to rest for the night4 ,in the morning he will be sent on his way1 and his life is safe until he has passed the boundary of the tribe's dominions1 then his enemy is entitled to follow him and kill him if he can4 ,all tourists passing through ,egypt look forward to a few days passed in the desert4 ,the guide paints in glowing colours the wonders of the sands1 the colours of the evening sky1 the sounds of the hobbled camels as they wait for the morrow's march1 and the traveller from the ,west decides to see for once the life of which he had read and dreamed so many years4 ,in every soul is a cry for romance1 a desire to leave the prosaic everyday life which he knows too well1 and explore the mysteries of the unknown1 hoping that there by chance he will find food to feed his hungry imagination4 ,a trip to the desert does this for many people4 ,there the broker or the banker1 with the wife he has looked upon for many years1 sit in front of their hired tent1 and watch the camel man1 as with scolding voice he prepares the growling1 surly camels for the night4 ,when all is quiet but the distant barking of the dogs1 they sit in front of the evening fire and watch the stars come out in the sky that seems a great inverted cup of blue above them4 ,the camel drivers1 dragomen1 and guards sprawl in easy attitudes and chant mournful1 weird songs that have come to them from the ,persian mystics of olden time4 ,these people from ,new ,york or ,london do not realize that they are not seeing the real desert nor the people of the desert4 ,the setting is all staged most carefully by the wily dragoman1 who imports his ,bedouins from the neighbouring villages1 who dresses tents until they would cause the man who calls them home to stare in blank amazement at their tawdry hangings4 ,the only thing he cannot import is the wonderful dessert sands1 the sky1 the cooling breezes that always come when the sun has set4 ,these are free for all1 to the ragged camel driver as well as to the man who scatters so freely the ,english gold4 ,we had the pleasure of knowing the chief of a large tribe of ,bedouins1 and from his castle on the edge of the desert were permitted to make many visits to these picturesque people4 ,our first glimpse of the true man of the desert was obtained from the visitors in the guest-house1 where any ,bedouin could stop from one to three days as the guest of the chief1 and every day about sundown strange white-robed men with guns strapped across their back rode up on horses and dismounted at the gate1 craving the hospitality of the chief4 ,there were always from ten to thirty guests within the rest-house1 men looking like the ,senouisses1 who cause so much trouble for the unbelievers of foreign lands4 ,we were told that many of them were going to join their brothers in ,tripoli to fight against the hated unbeliever4 ,they were not permitted by the ,government to go openly1 as ,egypt was supposed to be neutral1 so they took the long caravan journey of thirty days across the desert to aid in what they considered an unjust war against the true faith4 ,within the harim of my hostess were rooms set aside for travelling ,bedouin women1 but they were seldom occupied1 as the women of the tents are not wanderers like their husbands1 unless the whole tribe moves4 ,my hostess was a young1 educated girl1 to whom the confines of a ,bedouin harim must have been very wearying4 ,the laws concerning the women of the tribe were very strict1 one being that a woman must stay within her apartment until the birth of her first child4 ,my friend was not blessed with children1 but had been compelled to conform to the usages of her husband's family1 in part at least1 by remaining within her home for a year4 ,now she went about freely among the villages of the ,bedouins near the castle1 only taking the precaution of being veiled4 ,these ,bedouin women were quite another type from those seen in the cities4 ,they had magnificent physiques1 tall and supple1 and carried themselves with a stately grace4 ,they were dressed in long1 straight1 cotton gowns of blue or black1 and a many-coloured sash was wrapped around the waist4 ,the only foot covering was the anklets of silver that fell down over the instep2 and they wore over their hair1 which was braided in many braids1 and in which was plaited small gold coins that clinked as they moved their heads1 a veil of black with a coloured border1 or of dark red with a yellow border4 ,this veil adds to the dignity and beauty of a woman in a most charming manner4 ,at the time of feasting or of gaiety the plain veil is changed for one sewed with bright-coloured beads or sequins4 ,from the lower lip to the neck1 and lost in the covering of the dress1 are three dark blue lines of tattooing4 ,this is seen now only on the older women1 and is being thrown on the altar of modernity by the daughters of the ,bedouins who have peeped into the world and are trying to be like their more sophisticated ,egyptian neighbours4 ,the hair is straight and black1 and with many has been given a tinge of red by washing it in henna4 ,i saw no grey-haired women2 because those who have been touched by the finger of time1 kindly custom has allowed to dye their locks1 and there were many flaming heads above wrinkled faces4 ,while a guest with the ,bedouins1 they were quite determined to give me the touch of red that to them is so beautiful4 ,they say it keeps the hair cool and prevents it from falling out1 protecting it from the burning sun4 ,i resisted1 although ,i watched the process1 which was most interesting4 ,the henna powder is mixed with water until the consistency of a paste1 and then the head is covered and left for the night1 when in the morning it is washed1 and if not applied too thickly there is just a glint in the dark locks4 ,henna is also applied to the nails of the fingers and toes1 and with many it practically covers the fingers to the first joint1 making the hands look most uncleanly to ,european eyes4 ,the inside of the feet and the palms are not forgotten by the ,bedouin or the ,egyptian woman who has conserved the customs of her mother1 but the henna-dyed hands are rarely seen now by the newer generation1 who have relegated the henna-pot to the lumber-room along with the tattooing-ink4 ,a great mass of jewellery was worn1 not the diamonds and rubies found in the ,french shops of ,cairo1 but the true ornaments of a barbaric people4 ,great hoops of gold were in the ears1 one from the top of the ear1 another hanging from the lobe4 ,the neck1 even to the waistline1 was covered with chains formed of balls of gold or of coins1 and on the arms were bracelets4 ,in writing coldly of the ,bedouin woman1 her tattooing1 her henna-coloured hair1 her kohl-blackened eyes1 and her massive chains of gold and anklets of silver1 it seems as if she were living in an age of barbarism1 yet it is becoming to her rich colouring1 and she is not overdressed4 ,they all belong to the time and place1 and are made for these women1 who need strong settings for their savage beauty4 ,the women of the desert are much more free to come and go than are the women of the cities1 and it is only when they come in close proximity to an ,egyptian village that the ,bedouin expects his wife to be secluded4 ,they do not mix with members of the other sex as do the women of the ,west1 because that is contrary to the instincts of all ,eastern women1 but naturally they cannot be confined so strictly within the tents as can the women who live in houses4 ,in each tent is a division or curtain1 behind which the women retire when men approach1 but they may be seen sitting in front of their doorways1 and passing to and fro in the villages without veiling their faces4 ,they pass their spare time when not occupied in the household duties in weaving gaily coloured blankets1 striped red and yellow and black4 ,these constitute the woman's fortune4 ,my friend took me to one tent in which there were forty of these blankets piled around the edge of the tent1 and she said1 8,five or six of these in the possession of a woman and she is considered rich in this world's goods4 ,this woman is a multi-millionaire40 ,she was an old woman who seemed to be the leader of her village4 ,it was she who met us and conducted us to the guest-tent1 which was at least twenty by thirty feet in circumference1 and which was hung with these beautiful hand-woven blankets4 ,the sands were covered with rugs on which we sat1 and on which the large round tray was placed for the meal which the kindly hospitable women insisted that we should eat with them4 ,there are no tables1 beds1 nor chairs4 ,the ,bedouin says that we can never understand the desert until we get close to her1 rest our feet on her sands1 and our head on her bosom-- ,but man is earth's uncomfortable guest ,until she takes him on her lap to rest4 ,one thinks of a tent in the desert under the pitiless sun as a most uncomfortable place of retreat1 but ,i found it quite the opposite1 as the strong wind1 that seems to be always trying to temper the actions of its enemy1 blew over the desert and entered the open flaps1 and crept under the turned-up edges of the tent1 fanning into flame the fire of sweet-smelling woods that had been kindled in the tiny brass jar4 ,water was hanging in porous bottles and in sheepskins in the draught1 and when mixed with the perfumed syrups was cool and refreshing4 ,coffee with a touch of ambergris in the cup was served1 and melons were given us in great cool slices4 ,these latter are a favourite fruit of the desert people1 ,i presume because of the vast amount of water of which they are composed1 and water is the luxury of all luxuries to those who dwell among the sands4 ,an old ,arabian poet said3 8,there are seven things when collected together in a drinking-room1 it is not reasonable to stay away4 ,a melon1 honey1 roast meat1 a young girl1 wax lights1 a singer1 and wine40 ,twice during our visit was perfume sprinkled over us1 and the brass brazier was often replenished with sandalwood1 a small packet of the latter being given us as we were leaving4 ,the ,arabs1 in fact all ,eastern people1 love perfumes1 and they use them in far greater quantity and of stronger essence than we consider delicate4 ,musk and a heavy perfume distilled from jasmine and roses seems to be a favourite4 ,mohammed himself loved perfumes1 and speaks of them in his promises to the faithful who shall fall in battle3 8,and the wounds of him who shall fall in battle shall on the day of judgment be resplendent with vermilion and odorous as musk40 ,we visited the smaller tents1 and in some it was impossible to stand erect even at the ridge pole4 ,in one was a young baby wrapped in white cloth and twined with yards and yards of camel's-hair rope1 only his tiny head and feet protruding to show that there was a real baby in the bundle4 ,he was bound practically the same as are the babies of our ,north ,american ,indian4 ,i took him in my arms1 and he stared at me with great black eyes1 and then he laughed and cooed1 much to the delight of the young father1 who stood proudly by4 ,the mother was quite a young girl1 not more than fifteen years old1 ,i should judge1 and in her shyness she retired into the security of the tent1 resisting all my friendly overtures to have her picture taken with the baby in her arms4 ,children abounded2 there will be no race extinction of the ,bedouins so long as they remain in their deserts4 ,their little brown bodies snuggled up to us1 and their black eyes twinkled saucily as they shyly held out their hands for the gifts which evidently my friend always brought with her4 ,they were a much better type of children than are those in ,egyptian villages--strong1 pretty bodies1 and without the unhealthy eyes that are seen so much on the young in ,egypt4 ,in every tent was hung a gun1 as robbers are frequent visitors1 and each dweller in the tent must protect his own4 ,he keeps a fierce and noisy dog that sees a stranger far across the sands1 and one is followed far beyond village confines by these canine police4 ,polygamy is practised by the ,bedouin more than it is by his city brothers4 ,i visited in the tent of a woman who was the second wife of her husband1 the other wife living in a tent adjoining4 ,she had two children1 and the first wife one1 and from what ,i heard there was not the most pleasant relationship between them4 ,divorce is also one of the evils1 and these primitive men take advantage of it to an alarming degree4 ,nearly every one ,i met had been divorced some time or other4 ,it was such a common occurrence that it produced no feeling of shame in the woman who had been divorced4 ,the ,bedouins are so proud of their lineage that they wish to keep the tribal blood pure1 and it leads to intermarriage4 ,cousins are frequently married1 and often a whole tribe is related in some manner4 ,i was told that the ,bedouin settled an argument with a scolding or recalcitrant wife by giving her a good chastising with a stick4 ,while in ,cairo ,i met a most charming ,bedouin who had left the sands for the gaieties of the city4 ,he was quite the polished gentleman to be found in any city1 and ,i was surprised when told that he had divorced his ,bedouin wife because she was not as progressive as his cosmopolitanism now required1 and my gossipy friend informed me1 8,they used to quarrel dreadfully and he would beat her most frightfully40 ,i saw the lady in question1 who had returned to the tribe and remarried1 and ,i rather admired the hardihood of the somewhat effeminate man who would dare to try to beat this great stalwart ,bedouin woman1 who looked as if she would take an active part in any chastening that might be passing around her tent4 ,there is no such word as 8privacy0 in the ,bedouin vocabulary2 their private life must be an open book to all the tribe4 ,their one great blessing is the wonderfully clear1 dry air1 which gives them health and vigour and makes them immune to many of the diseases that afflict their ,egyptian neighbour4 ,but if they leave the desert and go to live within the cities1 they fall easy victims to the great white plague1 tuberculosis4 ,the ,bedouins are followers of ,mohammed1 but they put their faith in holy tombs and charms and sacred groves4 ,they are not so strict in regard to prayers as are the people who live within call of the muezzin1 and the religion of the women seems to be more superstition than worship of a ,god4 ,they placate a ,god who may do them harm1 and they have innumerable charms and amulets for the guarding of their children4 ,in the desert whirlwinds they see sweeping across their sands are 8ginns0 and evil monsters2 and at night1 when a star shoots across the dark blue sky1 they believe it is a dart thrown by ,god at an evil genie1 and they whisper1 8,may ,god transfix the enemy of the faith40 ,around the naked children's neck is hung a small box containing some quotation from the ,koran that will guard them from the evil eye1 that curse most dreaded by all mothers of an ,eastern land4 ,for every evil that man is heir to1 the ,koran is the cure4 ,a few words from its precious pages are bound upon the arm of the camel driver1 who feels that with this as guardian he will not be lost upon the trackless sands4 ,when ill1 the wife will call the astrologer1 who writes a few words upon a piece of paper1 and soaking it in water1 gives it to the wailing child1 and the mother is assured that all will soon be well1 because has he not drunk of the very fount of wisdom1 the words that came from ,god8 ,the old custom of a life for a life prevails in the desert1 and feuds are handed down from father to son4 ,if a father or brother is killed1 it is the duty of the son or brother to take the life of the enemy of his house4 ,in the olden time there was blood money which could be paid1 although it was considered a cowardly thing to accept it4 ,a man's life was worth a hundred camels1 a woman's only fifty1 but the man of honour asked the life4 ,the chief of the tribe has the power to decide in all cases between his people1 and the ,english ,government does not materially interfere in the life of the ,bedouin4 ,in regard to the custom of taking a life for a life1 there is a story told of how in the early days the missions made a convert from ,mohammedanism1 the only convert made among these tribes4 ,in a blood feud a man stabbed his enemy1 but not fatally1 and fleeing to the tent of a friend he lingered there many days4 ,this tent was one visited by the missionary of the ,christian faith1 and while lying on his bed of pain the wounded man heard of a faith that said1 8,love your enemies10 and before his death he sent word to his tribe that they must forget his death and not try to avenge it4 ,he even sent word that he forgave his enemy4 ,this was so astonishing that neither could the man who killed him nor his tribe believe the fact1 and secretly the enemy decided to find for himself what had caused the unheard of message to be brought to his tent4 ,he learned of the new religion that said1 8,revenge is ,mine1 saith the ,lord10 and he became the only ,bedouin convert to the ,christian faith4 ,living in this home on the edge of the desert we saw the real life of the tent people4 ,we watched them as1 weary and tired looking1 they returned from their long journeys4 ,we saw the trains of laden camels as they started for the distant cities4 ,we saw the shepherd boys drive in the flocks of sheep or goats1 looking as they did in olden ,bible times4 ,,chapter ,v ,,indian ,,social ,,life ,there is no woman in the world who is so bound down by custom1 so tied to the wheel of conventionality1 as is the ,indian woman1 both ,hindu and ,mohammedan4 ,in the olden times the ancient law-makers realized the danger menacing a people surrounded by an inferior race1 as were the natives of ,india compared to their ,aryan invaders1 and instituted that remarkable social system that peculiarly affects the women of the country1 and is the cause of many of the evils that has made her life one not to be envied--caste4 ,hindu society is divided into hundreds of communities consisting of several clans1 each clan having its own peculiar customs and iron-bound rules4 ,the clans are composed of families1 governed by the family custom1 which in turn must obey the clan custom1 and these must be governed by the rules of the community4 ,if a person violates the custom1 he forfeits all the privileges which he or his family may have in the life of the community4 ,his social life is entirely cut off from other families and from the protection of his people4 ,no one of his community will eat or drink with him1 visit his house1 or marry his children4 ,the priest will not serve him1 the barber will not shave him1 nor the washman wash for him4 ,he will be absolutely alone and friendless in the world1 not able to get employment1 even allowed to starve by the members of his own family1 who dare not help him1 knowing they themselves would be outcasted4 ,he may not have the solace of joining another caste1 either lower or higher1 because he must live and die in the caste in which he was born4 ,originally there were only four great castes in ,india3 the ,brahmans1 or priestly class1 who held all the intellectual or cultural prerogatives2 the ,kashatriyas1 or warrior caste2 the ,vaisayas1 or merchant caste2 and the ,sudras1 or working class4 ,below that still are the outcastes1 who are almost slaves1 and do the lowest menial services4 ,manu1 the great law-maker1 said that the ,brahman issued from the head of ,brahma1 hence his intellectual superiority2 the warrior from his arms1 the husbandman from his thighs1 and the ,sudras from his feet1 thus exactly placing the man's social position in life4 ,the laws of caste as explained by ,mr4 ,dutt1 a ,hindu writer1 are as follows-- ,individuals cannot be married who do not belong to the same caste4 ,a man may not eat with another not of his own caste4 ,his meals must be cooked by persons either of his own caste or by ,brahmans4 ,no man of an inferior caste is to touch his food or the dishes in which they are served1 or even to enter his cook-room4 ,no water or other liquid contaminated by the touch of a person of inferior caste can be made use of--rivers1 tanks1 and other large sheets of water being held incapable of defilement4 ,articles of dry food1 such as rice1 wheat1 etc41 do not become impure by passing through the hands of a person of inferior caste so long as they remain dry1 but cannot be taken if they become wet or greased4 ,certain prohibited articles1 such as cow's flesh1 pork1 fowls1 etc41 are not to be eaten4 ,the ocean and other boundaries of ,india must not be crossed4 ,these rules would not be so oppressive if there were only the four original great castes into which society was first divided1 but now each class is divided into thousands of subdivisions1 whose members may not intermarry1 nor eat together1 nor even touch the food prepared by those of another community4 ,mr4 ,sidney ,low has very well expressed the difficulties caused by this very intricate social ruling in his 8,vision of ,india0-- 8,to get a loose analogy1 we might suppose that everybody who could claim descent from one of the old ,norman families in ,england formed one caste2 that members of the #8learned professions1' who had never soiled themselves with commerce1 were combined in a second2 and that others consisted exclusively of bankers or moneylenders1 or of pork butchers1 costermongers1 bricklayers1 and so on ad infinitum4 8,add that a man born in the costermonger class would remain1 or ought to remain1 a member of that connection to the end of his days1 and that he would bring up his sons to the same business2 that a greengrocer ought not to eat food in company with a poulterer1 that a baker might not give his daughter in marriage to a cheesemonger1 and that neither could have any matrimonial relations with a bootmaker2 and1 further1 that none of these persons could place himself in personal contact with a clergyman or a solicitor--imagine all this1 and you begin to acquire some faint notion of the involved tangle in which the entire ,hindu community has managed to get itself enwound40 ,mr4 ,low quotes from the census report of ,sir ,h4 ,risley further to illustrate what the caste system means in the matrimonial sphere1 that sphere that especially touches the womanhood of ,india-- 8,he imagines the great tribe of the ,smiths throughout ,great ,britain bound together in a community1 and recognizing as their cardinal doctrine that a ,smith must always marry a ,smith1 and could by no possibility marry a ,brown1 a ,jones1 or a ,robinson4 ,this seems fairly simple2 there would be quite enough ,miss ,smiths to go round4 ,but1 then1 note that the ,smith horde would be broken up into smaller clans1 each fiercely endogamous4 ,brewing ,smiths10 ,sir ,h4 ,risley asks us to observe1 8must not mate with baking ,smiths2 shooting ,smiths and hunting ,smiths1 temperance ,smiths and licensed-victualler ,smiths1 ,free ,trade ,smiths and ,tariff ,reform ,smiths1 must seek partners for life in their own particular section of the ,smithian multitude4 ,the ,unionist ,smith would not lead a ,home ,rule damsel to the altar1 nor should ,smith the tailor wed the daughter of a ,smith who sold boots40 ,in its effect upon women the caste system has been most deleterious because of the difficulty of finding husbands within the same caste4 ,it has led to the making away with undesirable daughters1 which was frequently practised by the parents before the ,english ,government stepped in and made female infanticide a crime and severely punished the culprits4 ,yet we are told that the disproportion of female to male children shows that the practice has not been completely stamped out1 and that many fathers foreseeing the financial difficulties to be encountered in marrying their daughters1 have deliberately made away with them at birth4 ,in the smaller villages the crime is difficult of detection1 but when the ratio of girls to boys falls particularly low in a community1 the ,government quarters extra police upon the people1 making all the inhabitants contribute towards the cost of their maintenance1 and the records soon show that girl babies are again being born in the villages4 ,life in a high-caste ,brahman family is much more complicated than that of the low-caste family1 and many burdens are added to the already heavy ones borne by the ,hindu woman1 because of the rituals and customs woven around this caste system4 ,a woman told me that she had a friend who lived in the house of two maiden aunts who were most orthodox ,hindus4 ,this woman was not allowed to touch a thing in the morning before her bath4 ,beside her bed was a long pole with which she must handle her towels and clothing1 and she was not permitted to enter the presence of her aunts until her uncleanliness had been removed by ablutions and prayers4 ,the mother-in-law of my friend has practically no social intercourse with her son's wife because she has broken caste1 eats with ,europeans1 and wears shoes made from leather4 ,her own mother at first felt her daughter's disgrace keenly1 and would not see her for many years4 ,at last love triumphed over custom1 and now the mother will visit the daughter if assured that a place will be made ceremonially clean where she may spread her mat of holy dharba grass1 on which she sits while chatting4 ,she will receive nothing from the hand of her daughter1 neither water nor food1 and when she returns home she takes a complete bath and changes her wearing apparel that has become polluted by contact with her daughter's house4 ,orthodox ,hindus do not like sitting upon a mat of cloth or walking upon a carpet4 ,in many houses a wooden bench or board is kept for visitors4 ,the wife of a ,resident in one of the ,indian cities gave a reception to which came several ladies from the conservative ,hindu families4 ,they carefully avoided walking upon the rugs1 and sat upon the edge of the chairs1 looking most unhappy4 ,the wife of the ,resident asked an advanced ,hindu lady why her afternoon was not a success so far as the ,indian guests were concerned4 ,she was told that the only thought that possessed these little women was a desire to get home4 ,they wished to be polite and stay as long as etiquette demanded1 but they welcomed with avidity the finality of the party when they might return and bathe and purify themselves from the close contact of foreigners and ,mohammedans4 ,the members of the ,brahmo ,samaj1 that progressive offshoot of ,hinduism1 have broken caste and allow their women to go about freely4 ,i was in a town of ,southern ,india with a member of this sect1 and we called upon the head mistress of a large school for girls4 ,she was at home with her newly born baby1 waiting for the forty days of uncleanness to pass before returning to her school4 ,she was a very intelligent woman1 talking freely of the good and the bad of their social system4 ,she said that a school for girls such as that of which she was the head1 where four hundred young girls were being educated in modern thought1 would have the greatest influence upon the women of the next generation1 but that it would take time to eradicate the instincts of generations of ignorance and superstition1 so deeply woven into the very nature of the ,indian woman4 ,at the close of the visit the baby was brought to me1 and rather lacking a subject for conversation ,i made the unfortunate remark to the baby1 8,you will grow up a good ,hindu and stick to your caste40 ,i was not prepared for the storm of protest it raised from my friend who had brought me to the home4 ,she turned on me furiously and said3 8,how can you say such things1 you1 a modern woman8 ,caste is the ruin of ,india4 ,if we want progress we must break caste3 it is our only hope40 ,it is not caste alone that makes the rules that govern the life and actions of the ,indian woman1 but from birth to the burning-ground every detail of life is cast into a mould of ceremony and ritual1 which in the hands of a less spiritual people would have degenerated into mere sham4 ,of the sixteen events in the life of a man1 all are viewed from a religious aspect1 and accompanied by a religious ceremony4 ,the most sacred prayers are said in the morning before partaking of food1 and it is the husband1 the head of the house1 who is supposed to say the prayers for all beneath his roof-tree4 8,no sacrifice is allowed to women apart from their husbands1 no religious rite1 no fasting2 as far as a wife honours her lord1 so far is she exalted in heaven10 says the laws of ,manu1 yet the instinct of religion is strong in the ,hindu woman1 as it is in women all over the world1 and they do perform a worship4 ,at the time of her marriage1 at the marriage of her children1 and at many of the sacred feasts1 the wife must sit with her husband during the time he is engaged in the performance of the acts of worship1 though she takes no active part in the ceremonies4 ,if a man has lost his wife1 he cannot perform the sacrifice of fire4 ,the ,hindu woman has her gods1 which she keeps in the kitchen1 the most sacred room in a ,hindu household4 ,in all the time ,i was in ,india ,i never saw the inside of the kitchen of any of my ,indian friends4 ,i have been told that it is divided into two parts1 the smaller room used for the cooking and as pantry for the storing of food1 and must be kept free from ceremonial defilement4 ,the larger half of the kitchen of a middle-class household serves as dining-room1 and in an alcove or in one corner are the household gods and the utensils to be used in their worship4 ,none of the images used by a woman are consecrated1 but she lights her lamp and bows her head and prays for the safety of her dear ones1 then offers a bit of fruit or betel or a sweetmeat that she has prepared1 and scatters sandal paste and coloured rice or the petals of sweet-smelling flowers over her god4 ,there is generally in each tiny yard or in the kitchen a tulasi plant1 around which the women walk while chanting a prayer4 ,this plant is considered the wife of ,vishnu1 and is revered by all4 ,there are many blessings promised to one who attends and waters one of these plants1 and it will keep care and tribulation from its worshippers and grant pardon to the sinner who cherishes the tulasi plant4 ,yet it is more particularly worshipped by women4 ,at one time1 it is said1 women were commanded to walk around it one hundred and eight times each day1 which certainly was a blessing from a hygienic point of view1 as it gave exercise to these shut-in women1 who are restricted to the four walls of their homes4 ,at night when the lamps are lighted the wife makes obeisance to the flame1 saying-- ,the flame of this lamp is the supreme good4 ,the flame of this lamp is the abode of the ,supreme4 ,by this flame sin is destroyed1 ,oh1 ,thou light of the evening1 we praise thee4 ,at the time of the evening meal the men have an elaborate religious ceremony1 but the women say simply1 8,govinda1 ,govinda10 a name for ,vishnu1 before partaking of their food4 ,the devout mother teaches her children the tales of the gods1 and at worship time when the bell is sounded they are taught to place their hands together in the attitude of prayer and bow their little heads to the gods4 ,it is the father who is expected to teach them the ,vedic texts and the truths to be found in the ,puranas4 ,the daily worship is held in the homes1 but on feast days or for especial acts of devotion1 such as prayers for the blessings of a son1 or the giving of thanks for favours received1 the women go to the temples4 ,these are crowded on holy days or days of anniversary of the gods4 ,no one ever goes to the temple empty-handed1 and one sees the little brass jar of holy water1 the wreath of marigold or sweet-smelling flowers which are supposed to give pleasure to the aesthetic senses of the gods4 ,many women take a coconut to the temple1 which fruit seems to be generally connected with temple worship4 ,the breaking of the coconut is said to represent the slaying of the sacrificial animal1 which is only done now in the temples dedicated to ,kali1 that goddess of terror who delights in the blood of her victims4 ,while in ,benares ,i visited a temple dedicated to ,shiva1 in which were several enormous bulls1 the animal sacred to this god4 ,they were of a bluish grey in colour1 and from long living in the temple had become as clever as the priests in looking for offerings from their worshippers4 ,but while the priests looked for silver or gold1 the bulls had an eagle eye with which to discern from afar the woman who carried a basket of grain4 ,they stood at the back of the temple and eyed each worshipper as she entered4 ,if the pious woman had only a brass water-pot in her hand they did not move2 but if they saw a basket1 they immediately started for her1 and graciously allowed her to pour the grain into their open mouths1 the woman taking care that she did not pollute the bulls by touching their lips with her hand4 ,a wreath of marigolds was then thrown over the neck of the bull1 the holy water was poured on his shoulders1 and he returned to his place4 ,i saw an old lady lovingly stroke the back of one of these pampered beasts1 ending with the tail1 the end of which she used to stroke her face1 and afterwards lovingly kissed this appendage of her idol4 ,the expression on her face was one of deepest reverence1 and for her the great blue bull represented the god for whom her hungry soul was longing4 ,the educated ,hindu would say that she was struggling to find a god as are we all1 but that she was still a child in matters spiritual and required a material representative of her ideal4 ,they say that the real ,hindu1 the man who has studied the ,vedas and understands the spirit of his religion1 needs no images nor ritual4 ,in his prayer he plainly shows that to him ,god is a spirit4 ,he says-- ,oh1 ,lord1 pardon my three sins4 ,i have in contemplation clothed ,thee in form1 who art formless2 ,i have in praise described ,thee1 who art ineffable2 and in visiting shrines ,i have ignored ,thy omnipresence4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,holy ,,man1 ,,benares4 ,to face p4 #if4 ,in many of the temples1 besides the priests to minister to the gods1 are dancing girls1 whose duties are to dance at the shrines1 sing hymns1 and generally delight the gods4 ,they are a recognized religious institution1 and are honoured next to the priests4 ,they are obtained when quite young by purchase or by gift4 ,often in times of famine a girl is sold to the temple1 that her price may save the rest of the family from starvation4 ,one is given that all may live4 ,in other cases a girl is often a thank-offering given to the gods because of recovery from sickness or great tribulation4 ,a rich man1 instead of presenting his own daughter1 would buy the daughter of some poor family and present her4 ,these girls1 who have no word to say in regard to the disposal of their persons1 are public women1 and the gains of their profession go towards the support of the temple4 ,if there should be children born to these professional dancing girls1 they are brought up in their mother's profession1 very much as were the children born to the priestesses of ,aphrodite in the temples of ,alexandria4 ,all ,indian girls must be married1 consequently these temple women are formally married to a dagger1 a tree1 or some inanimate object1 who1 as a husband1 cannot object to the actions of his wife4 ,lately1 in some places it has been made a criminal offence to sell a girl or give a daughter to a temple1 and it is only done surreptitiously4 ,one is told in ,india that it is a thing of the past1 yet in one large temple in the ,south there are said to be over one hundred dancing girls kept for the amusement of the blas gods4 ,these dancing girls share with their sisters1 the nautch girls1 the only real freedom given to ,indian women4 ,the latter are taught to read and write1 to play musical instruments1 and to make themselves attractive and charming to men4 ,they come and go freely1 mingling with both men and women4 ,they are found at all feasts and public ceremonies1 and have a very definite and honourable place in ,indian society4 ,whatever discredit may be attached to her calling1 she is considered a necessary adjunct to the temple and the home4 ,her presence at weddings is considered most fortunate1 and in some castes it is the nautch girl who fastens the tali around the neck of the bride1 a ceremony similar to placing the wedding-ring upon the finger4 ,she holds the centre of the stage at all entertainments given in honour of guests4 ,while we were in a native province ruled by a prince who had the reputation of liking wine1 women1 and song even more than did the average ruling prince in ,india1 we were edified by the dancing of a woman brought from ,bombay at the expense to the prince of nearly one hundred pounds a day4 ,the dancing is extremely modest1 as the dancer is fully clothed1 and it is the graceful1 languorous poses of her slim body1 the waving of her arms heavily laden with bracelets1 and the slow moving1 gliding steps that keep time to the tinkle of the anklets1 that charm her admirers4 ,there is a proverb that says1 8,without the jingling of the nautch girl's anklets1 a dwelling-place does not become pure40 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,indian ,,home ,,life ,although the women are supposed to have no religious standing and are considered unfit to read the ,vedas or touch the consecrated gods1 still their entire life is influenced by religion or superstition1 and the religion and superstition of the ,eastern woman1 of whatever land1 is so inextricably entwined1 that it is hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins4 ,like her sisters of ,china and ,egypt1 she is afraid of the evil eye4 ,she firmly believes that if her jewels1 her dress1 or her children are looked upon with jealous or covetous eyes1 much sorrow will come to her1 and she has many charms and ceremonies with which to counteract the baneful influence of spiteful persons4 ,it is never wise for a visitor to regard a baby too closely or to admire its jewels or clothing openly1 as1 even if the mother is one of the advanced minority1 instinct will assert itself1 and deep within her heart1 bred there by centuries of tradition1 will be a little feeling that something might happen to her dear one4 ,quite likely1 when the unwise caller departs1 the mother will make a lamp of kneaded rice flour and fill it with oil or clarified butter1 which1 when lighted and passed round the baby's head1 will remove the dreaded evil4 ,the ,hindu woman's life is ruled by omens to a far greater extent than is the life of the woman of the ,western world4 ,if she is starting on a visit to a friend1 it is a very bad sign for her to meet a widow1 any one carrying a new pot1 a bundle of firewood1 a pariah1 a lame man1 two men quarrelling1 a leper--in fact1 there are about a dozen things she should avoid1 or else be under the necessity of returning to her home and saying a few prayers before daring to start on her journey again4 ,if she should sneeze once1 it is most unfortunate1 and should be followed by a second in order to avert the evil1 but if the second sneeze is followed by others1 the more the better1 it is a most certain sign that her most ardent wishes will soon be granted4 ,when one yawns it is polite to snap the fingers and say1 8,govinda1 ,govinda10 as many believe that the life may leave the body while yawning1 and to avert this calamity from a baby the mother snaps her fingers and murmurs1 8,krishna1 ,krishna10 in its tiny ears4 ,mohammedan and ,hindu customs are so much alike that it is often hard to say that one is a ,mohammedan custom or that another is purely ,hindu4 ,at the marriages1 and the return of the daughter to her home to give birth to her first child1 at the birth of the children1 and in many of the social customs of the ,mohammedans are seen the influence of the ,hindu religion4 ,it was the ,mohammedans who brought the 8purdah0 system1 or the seclusion of women1 into ,india4 ,before the invasion of these warlike people the women of ,india went about freely1 but now the ,hindus are practically as secluded as are the ,mohammedan women4 ,in the ,north1 where the influence of the followers of the ,arabian prophet made itself most dominant1 the women are much more secluded than in the ,south1 where the ,mohammedans did not come in such large numbers4 ,it is in the villages that true ,india is to be found1 unchanging1 languorous ,india4 ,here is a self-centered commonwealth1 with little dependence for its welfare upon the outer world1 and the people have remained the same as their fathers and their father's fathers1 impervious to new innovations and ideas4 ,to look at one of these villages is very different from ideas one may have formed of them by reading books of travel4 ,the first impression received upon entering one is that of an enlarged barnyard1 as cows and farm implements take entire possession of the narrow streets4 ,the low1 thatched mud houses are without doors1 windows1 or chimneys4 ,the floor is generally plastered with cow dung1 which1 when dry1 leaves a hard shellac-like polish1 considered by the natives most sanitary4 ,it has to be redone every two weeks1 and to ,western eyes is a most unsightly operation1 as it is done with the hands of the housewife4 ,it is said that when the ,salvation ,army sent its first volunteers to ,india1 they required them to live the life of the ,indian1 and that this smearing of the earthen floors with the national substitute for varnish was one of the chief causes why women were not always ready to volunteer for service in the ,east4 ,there is virtually no furniture in the homes4 ,the stove consists of three or four bricks1 around which the fuel1 consisting of dried cakes of mud and cowdung1 are broken1 and which smoulder rather than burn4 ,a few earthenware pots and a large dish in which to serve the food1 some brass utensils1 and a large jar for carrying water1 complete the culinary arrangements4 ,for plates1 banana or plantain leaves are used1 or1 lacking these1 small leaves are sewn together4 ,this saves the drudgery of washing dishes1 as the leaves are thrown away after each meal1 and the fingers are used in place of the knives and forks of the more aesthetic races4 ,chairs and tables are not needed1 as the ,indian squats upon his haunches1 as only an ,oriental can2 and in silence1 regarding only his own food1 to which he helps himself from the central dish1 he eats his meal4 ,when the lord of the household has finished1 he graciously allows his wife to eat from the same leaf4 ,no ,indian woman who conforms to the customs of her race ever eats at the table with the men of her household1 yet this is not confined to the women of ,india4 ,the separation of the men from the women at the dinner-table is practised by all ,orientals4 ,the women of ,china and ,japan eat with the younger children when the master of the house has finished1 and no ,egyptian husband1 unless one of the small class who have become thoroughly ,westernized1 would think of inviting his wife to share with him his evening meal4 ,in the village homes the man shows his superiority also in the fact that the only bed in the house of the peasant or workman is that for the master1 if bed it can be called--simply a rough framework of wood with coir ropes strung across it4 ,the extra wardrobe of the family1 if they are so fortunate as to possess more than the one garment which they wear1 is hung on a pole in a corner of the room1 and need not take much space1 as the clothing of ,india's poor is scant--a loin-cloth1 a sheet for the shoulders1 and a long piece of cotton for the head suffices him4 ,his wife will only possess a tight-fitting little bodice1 and six yards of cloth which she will drape gracefully around her body1 making it serve both as dress and head covering4 ,yet the woman's arms are covered often with bracelets1 anklets tinkle as she walks1 and as she draws her sari across her face when passing the stranger1 the glint of a nose-ring is seen1 or the light flashes from a necklace that rests against her brown skin4 ,this jewellery may be of gold1 silver1 brass1 or even of glass1 but the woman of the village loves these aids to feminine charms as well as does her city sister4 ,in the olden time the peasant had no trust in banks1 and when he accumulated a few extra rupees1 he added a bangle to his wife's arm1 or bought a nose or ear-ring4 ,it served the double purpose of saving money which might be foolishly spent at the autumn fair1 and also was easy to take to the moneylender in times of stress4 ,there are many thousands of pounds of gold that go into ,india each year and disappear4 ,the officials say it is turned into jewellery for these wives and daughters of ,india's great middle class1 who seem never too poor to have a touch of gold or silver upon the persons of their womenfolk4 ,the village wife is relieved of the necessity of providing clothing for the children1 because until they are seven or eight years old an amulet string or a silver anklet completes their wardrobe4 ,there are many of these little brown bodies around every doorway1 looking like dark-skinned cupids4 ,one rarely sees a child in ,india with a bad skin1 which perhaps is due to the oil-baths which they receive in early childhood4 ,mothers bathe their babies in oil1 then wash it off with a vegetable soap1 leaving the skin soft and shining as satin4 ,this is a luxury indulged in by older people also1 and the giving of oils for the bath is a favourite present among friends4 ,in the shade of the porch is often seen a cradle1 a very simple affair made of four pieces of wood with a hammock of cloth held between them4 ,around the top of the cloth is arranged baby's toys so that he may lie and amuse himself1 which is quite necessary where the mother has as many household duties to attend to as the ,indian farmer's wife4 ,in places where the woman is working in the field1 the baby may be seen wrapped in a hammock-like affair and tied to the limb of a tree2 and it is a common practice among labouring women1 ,i am told1 to give the babies a drug to keep them quiet while the mothers work4 ,opium is very generally used in ,india1 especially among the higher classes1 although forbidden by both ,hindu and the ,mohammedan religion4 ,it is supposed to invigorate the aged1 and an ,indian told me that he thoroughly believed that all men after they pass the age of fifty were better for the moderate use of opium4 ,the wife of the village man or peasant is not 8purdah nashim10 or secluded1 as is the wife of the rich man4 ,she takes her share in the agricultural work1 besides carrying water from the village well1 making the cakes of fuel and plastering them against the side of the house to dry1 grinding the meal1 husking the rice1 washing the clothing1 and cooking the meals4 ,yet with all her work the monotony of her life is broken by many feasts and ceremonies in which she takes a part4 ,each district and temple has its own particular fte day1 and there are many family feasts where work is given up at the time of special rejoicing4 ,relatives and friends meet together1 the houses are decorated1 bright saris are brought forth1 and the time is spent in pleasure and merry-making4 ,there are eighteen obligatory feasts in the year for the orthodox ,hindu1 but only a few of the principal ones are celebrated4 ,many of the ceremonies in the home originated in sanitary laws1 which would not have been obeyed unless the people were made to believe that they were of divine origin4 ,at a certain time of the year when smallpox is rife1 and the epidemic has passed1 there is a worship of the 8,mother10 which requires the house to be thoroughly cleaned and purified1 all the old vessels broken1 all old clothing burned or placed in the sun for a certain time1 before the women are permitted to go to the temple to worship their favourite goddess4 ,there is another spring feast1 when the women go down to the water dressed in yellow1 and send small lighted lamps down the stream to the spring goddess4 ,at the feast of the serpents the villagers take offerings to the sand-hills1 and pour milk and honey into the holes where the snakes are supposed to dwell1 asking protection of these gods of wisdom1 who especially guard the eyes of their worshippers4 ,at another feast the women take red water and sprinkle it upon each other1 rejoicing over the slaying of the giant god of evil4 ,the girls take part in a pretty feast in the fall1 when they decorate their little brothers with flowers and garland the houses1 and at night light innumerable little lamps1 making a village look like a miniature fairyland4 ,the village women appear rather sullen1 but when known they are found to be as happy as is the wife of the average working man4 ,if there is no drought drying up the crops1 if no disease comes to the cattle1 if the moneylender is not too avaricious1 if a few pennies can be saved to buy bracelets from the bangle-man at the annual festival1 and if the gods do not disgrace her by sending too many daughters1 she is happy4 ,yet the village woman and her family are always but half a step in advance of the waiting wolf2 famine comes with swiftness1 and quick deaths from plagues to hundreds of thousands of these peasant people1 who constitute nine-tenths of the population of ,india4 ,the life of the women in the small towns and villages is like life in another world compared to that led by the women in the large cities of ,calcutta or ,bombay or ,madras4 ,here the ,indian lady seems to be trying to lose her national characteristics1 and ,indian society is very disappointing to a visitor from the ,west who wishes to see something of the life lived by the lady of ,india4 ,it seems to be merely a copy of the life of the ,english society woman1 and her day is filled with teas1 society concerts1 and receptions4 ,their homes are thoroughly ,english in every department1 their drawing-rooms are filled with ,english bric--brac1 they go to the entertainments in most luxurious motors2 their children1 dressed in ,european clothes1 are brought down to see the guest by an ,english governess1 and ,english is the language of the home4 ,many of the ,indian women are members of clubs1 musical societies1 and are taking active part in the charities for the benefit of their people4 ,the ,indian woman wields a strong influence over her husband1 and has more of a place in the life around her than we imagine1 from the stories we hear of unhappy days spent 8,behind ,zenana ,bars40 ,we are apt to consider the secluded1 shut-in ,eastern woman as a cowed1 frightened creature1 afraid to say her soul is her own1 while among the better class1 at least1 it is quite the contrary4 ,it takes a brave man to go absolutely against the wishes of his womenfolk1 as they have the advantage of numbers in their favour4 ,in every great household there are innumerable women relatives1 satellites1 and servants revolving around the personality of the mistress4 ,these ,eastern women have been schooled in the art of intrigue and understand thoroughly the efficacy of passive resistance4 ,if the wife wishes to accomplish a certain object1 and is able to enlist the women of the household on her side1 the man will be compelled sooner or later to submit to her wishes4 ,the older1 conservative women are very tyrannical1 and try their best to combat the newer ideas brought to the zenanas by their sons and daughters4 ,many of the younger generation are trying to break from the patriarchal custom of all the family living under one roof4 ,they say it is very fine in theory1 and has worked with good results in the villages1 but that it has many bad points1 the chief of which is that it allows no expression of individuality4 ,the personality must be sunk in the family4 ,when all the men will work and become producers and contributors to the family fund1 it makes for harmony in the home1 but when some are drones and live on the toil of others1 it makes the burden too heavy for the few and causes quarrels and dissensions4 ,women are helpless in ,india in the earning of a living for themselves1 and if widowhood comes they must depend for support on some male relative of their own or of the family of their deceased husband4 ,i know a boy of eighteen who is the only support of his wife1 his aunt1 a widow1 his widowed mother1 and his young sister4 ,he was compelled to leave school and take a position in an office in order to take care of all these women1 as he was the responsible head of the family4 ,it is hard for a boy who is ambitious and anxious to obtain an education1 when there are many women in his household1 as they care more for the immediate necessities than for a prospective successful future4 ,they feel that his father and his father's father were able to provide for the wants of the family1 so why should the boys of to-day spend years in studying books when they might be adding to the family exchequer8 ,it is the women who are compelling the younger boys and girls to conform to the old usages and traditions in regard to marriage4 ,many a boy leaves school and would like a chance to find a place for himself in life before burdening himself with a wife4 ,but this he is not allowed to do4 ,his mother believes that all boys should be married early in life1 consequently the boy is saddled with a family at about the age when the ,american boy is taking his first shy look at the girl across the aisle in the schoolroom4 ,these modern young men would also like to have a voice in the selection of their wives1 but that also is denied them4 ,they must conform to the traditions of their caste and the customs of their family4 ,i know a boy who was compelled to marry his niece1 although his education had taught him that these intermarriages were not for the good of his race2 still1 he was helpless1 and could not successfully oppose the combined wishes of the women of his family4 ,side by side with these ,indian women who guard jealously the customs and traditions of other days are the ,westernized society women1 who seem to share with their husbands in the spirit of imitation that has entered into the very soul of the ,indian people who have come into contact with the ,english4 ,the ,indian gentleman feels that he must talk 8sport10 the schoolboy prides himself upon the knowledge of cricket and football and talks the jargon of ,eton and ,rugby4 ,because the meat-eating ,englishmen from cold1 dreary ,england must exercise in order to live1 the ,indian also devotes himself to a strenuous regime that is absolutely alien to his habits and the requirements of his climate4 ,the ,indian lady1 with her exaggerated ,english accent1 and her costume that is neither of the ,east nor of the ,west1 is a paradox4 ,she may well be zealous in borrowing what she needs from the ,english1 but it seems hard for her to assimilate what she takes and make it a part of herself4 ,the affectations which she uses to show her cosmopolitanism are palpably grafted upon her tree of knowledge1 and we who wish to see the real ,india are only consoled in the thought that these unusual conditions which prevail in the large cities are only the graftings1 and that the tree itself is not affected by them4 ,the real woman of ,india is bound to grow in knowledge brought by education and experience1 but deep down in her heart she will be essentially the same for years to come4 ,she will not try to exchange her personality for another's1 even in outward appearance4 ,the dawn of consciousness that has been preceded by long twilight is now awakening in the soul of the ,eastern woman1 and she will see by its light that she has a strength and individuality of her own and that she need not mortgage her birthright to borrow alien charms from the women of other lands4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,marriage--,,the ,,goal ,,of ,,woman ,there are three great events in a ,hindu woman's life3 first1 her marriage2 second1 the birth of her son2 and third1 if she should be so unfortunate1 her widowhood4 ,these three events are of immense importance to all women1 but as a woman of the ,far ,east is supposed to be created for one purpose only1 the rearing of sons to her husband's house1 marriage and birth of children assume a larger place in her life than in the life of the ,western woman1 where these two events are often merely incidents4 ,also when a ,hindu woman marries she expects to stay married1 as she cannot divorce her husband1 and he can only divorce her for infidelity4 ,even death will not open for her the doorway to remarriage1 because if her husband should die before her1 she must remain true to his memory for life4 ,the woman's inclinations are seldom consulted in regard to the choice of a husband1 because1 quite likely1 when she is not much more than a child1 her parents begin to look around for a suitable alliance for her4 ,their choice must fall upon a man of the same caste1 a relative if possible4 ,the prospective bridegroom may be a young boy1 or he may be an old man1 a widower4 ,the girl must be married4 ,there are no reasons in the ,hindu philosophy which allow a girl to pass the marriageable age without a husband being chosen for her4 ,men may become 8sanyassis10 that is1 renounce the world and remain bachelors1 but this is not allowed women under any circumstances1 as they must fulfil their destiny1 which is to be the mothers of men4 ,if a girl passes the marriageable age1 if she should be twelve or thirteen without being settled in life1 her family would feel that they were disgraced1 and she would have slight opportunity for marriage in any respectable family4 ,therefore1 it is incumbent upon her parents to find for her a husband as soon as possible1 which leads to one of the greatest crimes against ,indian womanhood--child marriages4 ,there are many preliminaries to be arranged before the final choice of a bridegroom is decided1 but when he is found at last1 the important question of the dowry arises4 ,in some places the father of the bride gives a dowry with his daughter1 in others the groom's father pays a certain sum to the parents of the little bride1 practically buying her4 ,nearly every caste has a different mode of procedure regarding the exchange of presents and money4 ,the girl's personal jewellery and everything she receives from her future father-in-law1 or that she takes with her to her new home1 are most clearly set down1 article by article1 in a document1 and constitute her own personal property1 which she may claim if she becomes a widow4 ,marriage is a most ruinous operation financially for the parents1 especially for the father of the bride4 ,he must give a feast lasting for five days to all friends and relatives1 presents to all the contracting parties1 and great liberality must be shown the ,brahmans and priests who assist in the ceremony4 ,if his new son-in-law is an educated youth1 he will demand a much larger dowry with his bride1 in these days when ,western education is meaning so much in the life of the ,indian youth4 ,if he is a 8failed ,b4,a410 he may only demand1 we will say1 one thousand rupees from his father-in-law4 ,if he successfully passed his examinations and is a full ,b4,a41 he quite likely would feel that those letters added to his name were worth at least two thousand rupees2 and if he should by chance be a ,doctor of ,laws1 his demands might be limited only by the knowledge of the amount of gold the father of his bride has stored for this emergency4 ,after the preliminary ceremonies have been concluded and the family priest has decided upon the most propitious day for the nuptials1 the family begin to make preparations for the wedding4 ,invitations are taken to friends and relatives who are within visiting distance by the women of the household1 who make upon the forehead of the invited female guest the round red caste mark1 and leave a small bundle of pan leaves and betel-nut for the other members of the family4 ,often a little sandalwood paste is touched to the chin and between the shoulders by the bearer of the invitation4 ,mohammedan ladies send a tiny mica box with a cardamom seed in it and a piece of confectionery1 which is given with the verbal invitation by the messenger1 who must1 if possible1 be some member of the family instead of a servant4 ,in the case of rich people the strong box is opened and the hoarded rupees brought forth with which to buy the gold and silver jewellery for both bride and groom1 the elaborate wedding garments1 and the saris1 which are given as presents to the women guests1 and shawls for the men2 the store-rooms are examined to make sure that there is rice in plenty1 also wheat flour1 butter1 oil of sessaman1 peas1 vegetables1 fruits1 pickles1 curries1 in fact1 all the many foodstuffs necessary in the preparation of the elaborate feasts which are the main events of the wedding4 ,sandalwood powder is bought in great quantities1 antimony for the eyes1 incense1 the red paste which wives use on the forehead1 and innumerable numbers of the beautiful flower wreaths with which the guests are garlanded after the entertainments4 ,plenty of new earthen dishes are selected from the potters' store1 for these vessels may never be used the second time4 ,in the case of the poor man1 now is the time when the visits are made to the moneylender1 because1 rich or poor1 prince or peasant1 there must be no question of stint at this time of rejoicing4 ,a wedding is a very gorgeous affair1 being limited only by the means of the contracting parties1 but it is generally conceded that all ,indians1 of whatever class of society they may be members1 spend far too much upon the nuptials of their children4 ,each one of the five days has its especial religious rite4 ,one ceremony typifies the giving of the girl by the father to the husband and the renunciation of his parental authority4 ,on another day the husband fastens the tali around his young wife's neck1 which is practically the same as placing the marriage-ring upon the finger of the new bride4 ,this tali is a small gold ornament strung on a little cord composed of one hundred and eight very fine threads closely twisted together and dyed yellow with saffron4 ,before tying the tali it is taken to the guests1 both men and women1 who bless it4 ,old ladies whose husbands are alive are specially requested to bless the tali1 in order to insure the couple a long married life4 ,this symbol of wifehood is tied with three knots1 thus trebly ensuring the marriage tie1 and is never to be removed unless the wearer is so unfortunate as to become a widow1 when the cord is cut4 ,the most unkind thing one woman can say to another is1 8,may your tali be cut60 ,after the tying of this emblem the newly married couple walk three times around a lighted fire1 which is the ultimate binding of the marriage contract1 for there is no more solemn engagement than that which is entered into in the presence of fire4 ,rice is thrown over the pair1 and they throw it upon each other1 signalling that they hope to enjoy an abundance of this world's goods and a fruitful union4 ,rice is used at weddings in nearly all ,eastern countries as typifying prosperity and fruitfulness1 and it is perhaps from the ,far ,east that we borrow our custom of throwing rice upon the newly married pair4 ,many ,hindu women wear1 in addition to the tali1 an iron bracelet to indicate their marriage state4 ,among the rich it is gilded and1 consequently1 not easily distinguished from the many bracelets that always cover the ,indian lady's arm4 ,a young ,hindu boy is not supposed to chew betel-nut nor put flowers in his hair until he is married4 ,on the fourth day of the marriage festivities the groom is given his first betel-nut by his brother-in-law1 and his head is wreathed with flowers4 ,in a few castes the bride has her left nostril bored on the fifth day of the marriage and an ornament placed therein4 ,after marriage in some parts of ,india the woman wears a streak of red powder in the parting of her hair1 and in practically all provinces she wears the little round mark of wifehood between the eyes1 which1 as age comes1 is elongated1 until gradually1 by the time that children and grandchildren cluster around her knee1 the little red mark has grown into a straight line1 losing itself in the whitening locks4 ,in ,mysore and in some of the southern provinces a woman does not tuck up her dress in the back until she is married4 ,then an end of the long sari1 which is twisted several times around the body1 is brought from the front to the back and tucked into a belt1 forming a sort of trousers1 and incidentally exposing more brown leg than we women of the ,western world think consistent with modesty4 ,at the final feast the bride and groom eat together from the same leaf to show their complete union4 ,this is the first and last time that the wife will eat in company with her husband1 if he is an orthodox ,hindu and not imbued with the new ,western ideas4 ,always1 in the future1 she will serve him his meal1 and after he has finished she will eat with the other women of the household and the smaller children1 using the same leaf which has done service for her lord and master4 ,when all the religious rites are finished and the festivities have come to an end1 there is a final procession1 when the wife and husband1 gorgeously arrayed in all their jewellery1 are carried round the town to the accompaniment of music1 the explosion of fire crackers1 the shooting of rockets1 and the shouting of friends4 ,then1 if the bride is still a child1 she returns home with her parents1 who keep her secluded until the time arrives for her to return to her husband's home and fulfil the duties of a wife4 ,the day the husband and mother-in-law come to take the wife to their home is made another time of rejoicing4 ,she remains with them for a month when she revisits her old home1 and often for the first few years1 or until she has children1 she lives alternately in her husband's house and in that of her parents4 ,if she finds herself ill-treated by her husband and tormented by her mother-in-law1 the young girl often seeks her father's home for shelter and protection1 and remains with them until the husband or his mother come in person to persuade her to return home4 ,nearly always her family add their persuasions1 if not their force1 to compel the wife to return to her husband's roof1 as it is a great disgrace to all concerned to have a wife leave her husband4 ,after the children come1 the wife rarely leaves her house and devotes her time and energies to the rearing of the little ones that fill all homes1 from the mansions of the rich to the huts of the poor peasants4 ,there seem to be more little brown bodies in ,india than in any place ,i have visited1 unless ,i except ,china1 where the staple articles are rice and babies4 ,the new wife has to accommodate herself to the customs of her husband's family1 and much of her future happiness depends upon the women members of the household4 ,if it is a very aristocratic family1 she may have all the luxuries of life1 beautiful gold-embroidered saris1 jewels1 servants1 and slaves1 but very little liberty4 ,there is a saying that you can tell the degree of a family's aristocracy by the height of the windows in the home4 ,the higher the rank1 the smaller and higher are the windows and the more secluded the women4 ,an ordinary lady may walk in the garden and hear the birds sing and see the flowers4 ,a higher grade lady may only look at them from her windows1 and if she is a very great lady indeed1 this even is forbidden her1 as the windows are high up near the ceiling1 merely slits in the wall for the lighting and ventilation of the room4 ,there are many rules of etiquette prescribed for the young girl-wife if she would show that she has been properly trained by her parents4 ,for example1 she must never speak of her husband by name1 nor may she use a word with the same syllable as her husband's first name4 ,a friend of mine has a husband whose name begins with the same syllable as that used in the word sugar4 ,she always speaks of sugar as 8the substance you put in your tea10 and she generally refers to her husband as 8he40 ,nor would the man say 8my wife10 but 8my house10 or some word denoting the home4 ,a man in ,hyderabad met his doctor on the street and said1 8,i wish you would come and see me4 ,my house has a boil on its neck40 ,this same wife would not sit in the presence of her mother-in-law or her husband if others were present4 ,it would show extreme lack of respect2 nor would she speak if her husband were in the room4 ,we called upon the wife of a high official of ,bangalore1 who came into the room with her daughter-in-law and her young daughter1 an extremely pretty girl4 ,the daughter-in-law would not sit down in the presence of her husband's mother1 nor did she speak1 and looked extremely awkward and self-conscious1 as she stood with her sari drawn across her mouth and watched us with her big black eyes4 ,the little daughter played the veena1 the national instrument1 and as she sat upon the rug1 gorgeously arrayed in an elaborate red and gold sari1 with jewellery on arms1 neck1 ankles1 toes1 and with diamonds in each tiny nostril1 she made a picture never to be forgotten4 ,in some of the big households where the sons bring their wives to live beneath the family roof-tree1 the married quarters are not large enough to allow a separate room for each couple1 and the women sleep in one room and the men in another4 ,the mother has the right of assigning the couples who are to inhabit the married quarters for the week4 ,but even the eagle eye of the mother-in-law cannot always watch the young people1 and many a girl-wife steals across the courtyard to find her husband1 who is waiting for her in the shadows4 ,a crowd of young men in a school were asked to give their idea of what was the most beautiful music in the world4 ,one answered1 8,the song of the bul-bul10 another1 8,the plaintive strains of the zither10 a third1 8,the cry of the night bird10 but a young bridegroom said1 8,the music of my wife's anklets as she tries to suppress their sound when she steals to meet me in the moonlight40 ,one is amazed at the amount of jewellery worn by the ,indian women1 yet this vanity is not confined solely to the women1 as in some of the provinces nearly every man has a jewel in his ear1 and many of them wear most expensive finger-rings4 ,the women excel in the artistic use of jewellery that on other people would seem tawdry and barbaric1 but on these dainty little women is most becoming to their rich1 dark beauty4 ,jewellery is not only worn by the lady1 but women of every class are covered with it4 ,the village woman will have perhaps but one cotton sari1 and her home would be merely a mud hovel1 but she will clink as she walks1 and you know she wears silver anklets1 and as she moves her sari to peep at you1 you see the glisten of a bracelet4 ,it may be of brass or it may be of silver1 or1 if she be very poor1 coloured glass bangles will satisfy her cravings for the beautiful1 and her arms will be covered with these ornaments from the wrist to the elbow4 ,at a railway-station near ,baroda ,i saw women whose legs to the knee were covered with huge brass bands that must have been most inconvenient and heavy to carry4 ,in ,poona we stopped to watch a merchant of toe-rings place his wares upon his patron's toes which were held out to him for the purpose4 ,the rings were so tight that soap had to be used to force them over the twinging toes4 ,the operation was most painful to vanity1 judging from the faces of the victims1 but evidently the sight of the shining ring as they trudged down the dusty road repaid them for the suffering they had undergone4 ,in this same market were innumerable booths for the sale of the glass bracelets that are worn by all the women of ,india1 with the exception of widows4 ,i watched an old woman in the bangle bazaar working them over the hands of the women who sat on the ground in front of her1 prepared to spend unlimited time in acquiring these articles of adornment4 ,the purchaser made her choice from the green or gold or red bangles piled carelessly upon the trays in front of her1 then the bangle-seller squeezed and manipulated the hand1 slowly working1 pushing1 coaxing the bangle over the hand1 until finally it was on the arm1 where evidently it would remain4 ,my husband and ,i dined with a ,mohammedan who1 after dinner1 asked me into the zenana to meet his wife4 ,the bareness of my arms shocked her1 and she insisted upon presenting me with three bracelets for each arm1 working them on so skilfully that it did not pain me1 but on arriving at the hotel ,i found ,i could not remove them4 ,i tried to persuade the ,indian servant to break them for me1 but he was horrified and said it would bring me very bad luck1 as only widows had them broken on the arm4 ,i feared ,i would be compelled to wear them all my life as my husband would not break them1 having overheard the remarks about the widow4 ,finally ,i broke them myself1 much to the detriment of my arms1 which carried the scars for many days4 ,there is an immense amount of money going into ,india each year that never gets into circulation1 as the gold coins are strung upon chains or melted to make the bracelets for the women and children4 ,life could be made much more comfortable for the ,indian peasant if he would turn the money invested in jewellery for his womenfolk into comforts for the home4 ,the ,hindu woman has few legal rights4 ,any property which her husband wishes to leave her must be given to her in his lifetime1 as she cannot inherit his estate1 but she may claim maintenance from his heirs1 and if she should survive her son1 she may become his legal heir4 ,the male relatives are supposed to provide maintenance for the women of the family4 ,an outsider looking upon the ,hindu home does not see where real union can possibly exist between a husband and wife4 ,this is especially true at the present time1 when nearly all the better class of ,india's sons are being educated1 and are reading1 listening1 touching hands with the outside world4 ,the women of the middle and lower classes1 except in rare cases1 are practically without education1 few being able to read or write4 ,the signs point to the fact that they will not long remain in this ignorant state1 because the young men are demanding educated wives1 and a desire for education is abroad in the land1 although an old proverb says that to educate a woman is like placing a knife in the hands of a monkey4 ,the ,english ,government is establishing schools for girls in every town and village1 and in ,baroda enforced schooling is demanded for girls as well as for boys4 ,but because of the early marriage of the girl1 she has little opportunity of becoming a real companion to her husband1 as he may continue his studies for years1 while1 when she becomes a wife1 her schooldays are over4 ,i met a gentleman of about fifty years of age in the ,south of ,india who asked me to call upon his wife1 a young girl of seventeen years1 who became his bride at the age of twelve4 ,she was not at all what the average girl of seventeen years would be in ,england or ,america4 ,she was the polite hostess1 with no trace of self-consciousness or gaucherie1 graceful in her every movement4 ,she was exquisitely dressed and covered with jewels4 ,large diamond clusters were in her ears1 diamonds in each nostril1 and around her neck a chain of rubies with a large pendant of pearls4 ,her manners were charming1 and as we were parting she excused herself for a moment then returned to the room with a small tray on which was the red powder for the caste mark1 betel-nut1 fruit1 and a small bouquet of flowers4 ,she came to each of us and bowed1 then with her right hand made the mark of wifehood upon our foreheads1 and handed us the betel-nut and flowers4 ,this gracious and pretty service is one of the many little kindly acts that are always performed by the hostess herself1 as it would not be polite to delegate it to a servant4 ,i was charmed with this dainty little woman1 yet ,i could not help thinking that she might be a pretty toy1 but not a companion to the man with whom ,i had been conversing a few hours previous1 and in whose library ,i had seen ,emerson's 8,essays10 ,farrar's 8,life of ,christ10 8,pilgrim's ,progress10 the works of ,tolstoy1 ,epictetus1 and lying upon the desk1 as if just left by the master1 ,maeterlinck's 8,life and ,death40 ,according to the ethical1 moral1 and religious standards of the ,hindus1 man and woman are equal4 ,the ,vedas teach-- ,before the creation of this phenomenal world1 the first born ,lord of all creatures divided his own self in two halves so that one half should be male and the other half female4 ,just as the halves of fruit possess the same nature1 the same attributes and the same properties in equal proportion1 so man and woman1 being the equal halves of the same substance1 possess equal rights1 equal privileges1 and equal power4 ,this sounds very well in print1 and learned ,hindus quote us the ,vedas to show that in their country women and men are considered equal4 ,they are most indignant at the conception by the ,western people of the treatment accorded the ,indian woman by her husband4 ,they say that books are filled with the stories of the brutality of husbands who marry these girl-wives without love on either side1 yet they point out that it is a well-known fact that there are fewer wife-beaters in ,india than there are in ,england4 ,manu1 the great law-giver1 says1 8,a woman's body must not be struck hard even with a flower1 because it is sacred40 ,in the olden time we are told that women were well versed in the ,vedas1 although it is now claimed that they are forbidden to read them or to be taught their truths4 ,it is known that two of the famous songs of the ,rig ,veda were revealed by women1 and when ,sankaracharya1 the great commentator of the ,vedanta1 was discussing this philosophy with another savant1 a ,hindu lady well versed in the ,hindu scriptures was requested to act as umpire4 ,whatever may have been her position in former times1 at present there is no woman on earth who reveals more true attachment and devotion to her husband than does the ,hindu wife4 ,there is a beautiful saying1 8,man is strength1 woman is beauty2 he is the reason that governs and she is the wisdom that moderates40 ,in the ,mahrabarata we find this definition of a woman-- ,a man's wife is his truest friend2 ,a loving wife is a perpetual spring ,of virtue1 pleasure1 wealth2 a faithful ,wife is his best aid in seeking ,heavenly bliss4 ,a sweetly speaking wife is a companion ,in solitude1 a father in advice1 ,a mother in all seasons of distress1 ,a rest in passing through life's wilderness4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,indian ,,motherhood ,when it is known that the girl-wife is to fulfil her destiny by giving her lord a child1 she becomes a person of importance in her home circle1 and there are endless ceremonies to be observed4 ,feasts are given friends1 and many days are passed in rejoicing4 ,one of the earliest celebrations is given the children of all friends and relatives1 when the glass-bangle man comes with his wares1 which are bought and freely distributed to the guests4 ,about two months before the baby is expected the mother takes the daughter to her home1 where she remains until after the formal purification1 which is forty days after the birth of a girl1 and thirty should she be so fortunate as to give a man-child to the world4 ,at the end of that time her husband or his mother must come and take her home again4 ,it would be an insult to send a lesser person1 unless it were absolutely impossible for either of them to be the messenger4 ,this custom of the young mother giving birth to her first child under her own family roof-tree is followed by ,mohammedans as well as by ,hindus4 ,the midwife in the villages is generally the wife of the barber1 and naturally her knowledge of medicine is very much limited4 ,she is ruled entirely by superstition and old-time custom4 ,her chief knowledge consists in different prayers1 and a woman who is an expert in this field of obstetrics is always in demand1 because there is no time when prayers are a greater necessity than at the birth of a child4 ,both the baby and its mother are peculiarly susceptible to the evil eye1 to the influences of lucky and unlucky days1 and a thousand other superstitions that make this time of a woman's life one of great danger4 ,happily for ,indian women1 the ,marchioness of ,dufferin1 and the wives of other viceroys1 have taken the cause of ,indian womanhood to heart1 and have established hospitals for women and supply nurses for the home4 ,there are nearly two hundred and fifty hospitals and dispensaries throughout ,india1 and women doctors with degrees from the highest institutions in ,europe are giving their life to help the women of ,india4 ,these doctors1 with their assistants1 their native students1 and trained nurses1 during the year #aijc took care of a million and a half of girls and women4 ,yet there is a vast opportunity for the enlarging of the work1 as ,i was told that there are still a hundred million people who have no knowledge of the blessings to be obtained from ,european medicine and surgery1 but who depend entirely upon the native doctors and midwives4 ,many hospitals are maintained by missionaries1 who have always been the forerunners in work to help the helpless1 and it will only be a question of time when the mothers of ,india will not be compelled to be sacrificed to the superstition and ignorance of the women who are the only ones allowed near them in their time of travail4 ,even the most advanced men in ,india to-day would hardly allow a man doctor to attend his wife at the birth of a child4 ,he would rather lose the life of the wife than so violate the customs of his class4 ,when the child is born1 the date of the month1 the hour of the day1 and the star that is in the ascendant are carefully noted in order that the guru1 or family priest1 may cast the horoscope4 ,many of these astrologers are astute humbugs1 and impose upon the credulity of their patrons to an enormous degree4 ,illustration3 ,,cradle ,,in ,,village1 ,,baroda4 ,to face p4 #acb4 ,the house where a child has been born1 as well as those who live in it1 are considered impure for ten days1 unless it is a rented house1 when only the room in which the mother lies is unclean1 and into which no one can enter except the midwife4 ,the room is kept extremely warm1 and incense is burned in it every day1 and leaves are hung in front of the door to ward off evil spirits4 ,on the eleventh day the linen and clothing is sent to the washman1 and the mother1 taking the child in her arms and with the husband sitting beside her1 goes through the ceremony of purification by the family priest1 after which he purifies the entire household and the rooms4 ,still the mother is not supposed to receive her friends1 and must keep apart from the rest of the family until the thirty or forty days are passed1 when she passes through another purification ceremony1 and then goes to the temple to offer sacrifice4 ,even the little baby is considered impure for twenty days1 and must not be touched unless clothed in silk or woollen4 ,the new-comer has a succession of ceremonies to celebrate his arrival into this world of sorrows4 ,on the twelfth day he is named2 on a later day the first bracelets are put upon his arms and tiny anklets upon his ankles4 ,when he is six months old he is given his first food4 ,five kinds of syrup are made1 and the baby is given a taste of each one1 and rice is put into his mouth4 ,the father offers sacrifice to the household gods1 the first loin-cloth is tied on the little man1 the women sing1 music is played1 and feasting is indulged in by all4 ,each event is made the occasion of an elaborate feast1 to which friends and relatives are invited and presents are given to the guests and to the priests4 ,in fact1 the priests seem to be omnipresent at all occasions in a ,hindu family4 ,a woman whom ,i was visiting was complaining of the many ceremonies that had taken place in her family during the past year1 and she said that she was thoroughly tired of the worry and expense connected with them4 ,i said3 8,but who benefits by these elaborate feasts and rituals that give so much trouble and cause such an outlay in presents and money80 ,she said wearily3 8,who benefits8 ,why1 the priests and the ,brahmans4 ,they always reap their harvest1 whether we are born1 marry1 or die4 ,if we are wicked1 we must ask them to intercede for us2 if we are good1 we must ask them to thank the gods for us2 and if we die1 they must help us across the river of fire4 ,we can do nothing of ourselves2 they are our taskmasters with ever-open palm40 ,if the newborn son survives the first two years--and the mortality of babies is frightful1 especially in the cities--he will quite likely have the opportunity of having the tonsure made for the first time1 and this event is only rivalled by the entertainment given when1 whether boy or girl1 the ears are pierced by the goldsmith and it is announced that babyhood is passed4 ,these endless feasts would be ruinous to the poor ,hindu were it not for the fact that it is practically the only time when he entertains his friends4 ,there is no promiscuous dinner-giving as among the ,western people2 friends are invited only in connection with some religious rite or to inaugurate a special event in the family4 ,if a member of one of the higher castes1 the mother who has watched her baby grow from babyhood into boyhood1 looks forward to the most solemn and important event in his life1 the ceremony called 8the introduction to knowledge10 when he is invested with the sacred cord4 ,this ceremony lasts from four to five days and is nearly as expensive as a wedding4 ,the father must provide many pieces of cotton cloth and small gold and silver coins to be given as presents to the guests4 ,he must have unlimited food and a great collection of pottery1 because1 as at a marriage feast1 the dishes are broken after their first use4 ,this cord may be seen on all ,brahmans and on the members of a few of the higher castes1 hanging from the left shoulder to the right hip4 ,it is composed of three strands of cotton1 each strand formed by nine threads4 ,the cotton with which it is made must be gathered from the plant by the hand of a ,brahman1 and corded and spun by persons of the same caste1 in order that it may not be defiled by passing through the hands of persons who are ceremonially unclean4 ,for a young boy the cord has only three strands1 but after he is married it is composed of six strands and may have nine4 ,it is symbolical of the body1 speech1 and mind1 and when the knots are tied1 means that the man who wears the thread has gained control over these three organs that cause all worldly troubles4 ,at the end of the ceremony the guests accompany the boy1 who is elaborately dressed and seated in an open palanquin1 through the streets to the sound of singing1 music1 and merry-making4 ,on his return to his home1 he1 for the first time1 performs the sacrifice of fire1 showing that he is now a member of his caste and a twice-born son of ,india4 ,if the mother belongs to a poor family1 quite likely her boy will work to earn a few annas to add to the family exchequer1 or if they are farmers1 his days will be passed in the fields frightening the greedy crows from the ripening crops or driving away the animals that infest the fields which are near the jungles4 ,in ,baroda1 education is compulsory2 but many a mother gets around the law by paying the fine of two rupees a month1 and selling her small boy's labour for five rupees1 thus gaining a livelihood4 ,england has established free schools in every town and village1 and there is little excuse even for the boy or girl of poor parents not to have an education4 ,even members of the depressed classes1 or1 as they are called1 the pariahs1 have their schools4 ,the question that is agitating the minds of the educators is what form of education should be given these sons of a people who have been practically slaves for many centuries4 ,many contend that they should have only a technical education1 that the sons of the carpenter caste should be made better carpenters1 and that they should not be made barristers4 ,a lady said to me3 8,said1 my sweeper's son1 goes to school1 and after getting an education he naturally feels himself better than his father1 a sweeper1 or his uncle1 who is my groom4 ,he cannot affiliate himself with a higher caste than that into which he was born1 as they will not accept him1 and he has outgrown his own caste4 ,what is he to do8 ,he puts on a foreign hat and leaves his home1 and in the next census1 drops his name of ,said ,faruki and becomes ,john ,james ,jones1 a half-caste1 and the census-taker wonders why there has been such an increase in half-castes4 ,the population of half-castes grows from the lower castes who wish to raise themselves1 but it is kept down in the census returns by the half-castes who wish to better themselves socially1 and call themselves ,portuguese or subjects of some other dark-skinned race of ,europeans40 ,this question of the education of the ,indian youth is a very serious problem with which those who have the welfare of ,india at heart have to contend4 ,many a boy when he returns to his home and his people says3 8,why did they educate me80 ,there are few avenues of livelihood open to the ,indian boy1 as there is no ,army or ,navy or ,church in which to enlist so many of the younger sons as in ,england or ,america4 ,the main prizes are the ,government offices1 and failing these1 the chief desire of all ,indians is to be a lawyer4 ,there are few places in the ,government employ now1 and the country is flooded with impecunious barristers4 ,the ,indian feels that he has a real grievance in the question of the ,civil ,service examinations4 ,for the higher positions in this service it is necessary for the student to go to ,england and obtain his degree at an ,english university4 ,the question of expense is a bar to the great majority4 ,one often hears of parents mortgaging their homes and practically selling themselves to the moneylender for life1 that the boy may have this one great opportunity4 ,if he wins1 they have not struggled in vain1 but if he fails1 life will be very grey and grim1 because quite likely his life and his son's1 and his son's son's life will be given in a vain attempt to get rid of the burden of debt which seems to always hang over the heads of ,india's poor4 ,the question of the education of the daughter is not so much a matter of thought to the middle-class ,mohammedan or ,hindu mother1 because at the time when1 if she were in ,western lands1 she would be taking her books under her arm and starting for her first day at school1 in ,india she is getting married4 ,she may1 if in a village1 attend the school with her brothers until she is eight or nine years old1 but rarely1 except in the highest classes1 does the little girl have a longer opportunity for study4 ,in the cities the rich families are sending their daughters to private schools1 and the ,oriental home is the happy hunting ground for the ,english governess1 who is engaged to teach1 not only the knowledge to be found in books but also the etiquette to be observed in ,english society1 as it seems to be the main object in life of the educated ,indian1 both man and woman1 to be more ,english in manner than are the ,english themselves4 ,in all the better class homes the piano is seen1 and seldom now does the daughter of the house play upon the veena or any instrument of ,indian music4 ,in ,calcutta ,i went to a reception given by a great ,indian lady4 ,with the exception of the costumes worn by the pretty dark-eyed ,bengalis1 and the absence of men1 ,i would have thought ,i was in an ,english house at an afternoon tea4 ,english was spoken by nearly every one1 the music was ,european1 the refreshments were from an ,english caterer1 and there was no distinct note of ,india in all the afternoon's ceremonies4 ,most of the ladies wore high-heeled ,french slippers1 and many of them had their beautifully draped saris twined around bodies held in place by the ,french corset1 which must have been most uncomfortable for these people1 used to untrammelled freedom in regard to their dress4 ,times are changing so fast in ,india that it is hard to say 8,this is a custom0 or 8,that is a custom40 ,education is opening the eyes of the younger generation of ,indian women to the fallacy of many of the old-time rites and superstitions4 ,still1 many of the mothers are conservative and feel keenly their daughter's departure from the beliefs of her day1 yet the pressure is so strong that many of these conservative mothers are sending their daughters to the schools1 both mission and ,government1 where in the former they avail themselves eagerly of the education1 but are not influenced by the religious teaching4 ,one devout ,mohammedan mother said to me3 8,yes1 ,i send my daughter to a mission school1 as it is the best in our town4 ,i feel that they cannot hurt her1 as she has had a good religious training in the home40 ,a great many of the mothers feel that the present system of education for women in ,india is wrong1 and that the text-books are not the ones that should be adopted for the use of ,indian children4 ,the stories have little to do with ,indian life1 and the children do not understand them4 ,for instance1 stories of snowstorms1 ice1 and things that are to be seen in a foreign land1 are far above the understanding of the average ,indian girl4 ,it is also said that the girl is taught of ,joan of ,arc and of ,english heroines1 but nothing is said of the heroines of ,indian history1 nor is anything taught of ,indian history before the ,english occupation4 ,there is nothing given the child to inspire a feeling of patriotism1 nor is she given any moral training except in the mission schools4 ,she is given a certain amount of book knowledge1 which quite likely she cannot assimilate1 and is considered educated4 ,i remember visiting a girls' school where the teacher asked a class of girls to recite ,wordsworth's poetry1 extracts from ,shelley and ,keats2 they could tell the place of birth and give the list of ,english poets and chronology of the ,english kings most glibly1 but what actual good it afforded the ,indian girl to have all these interesting facts in her little head ,i could not see4 ,the ,indian girl learns easily and is often most eloquent4 ,there are no better public speakers than are the ,bengali women1 who seem to share with their men in the alertness of their brain4 ,a prominent educator of ,india said3-- ,i have come in contact with people from all over the world in my capacity as educator1 but ,i believe there are no men of any country who can compare with the ,indian in quickness of thought and in capacity to learn4 ,within the small round head of the ,bengali is a dynamo of resistless energy1 that is for ever working1 either for good or bad1 but which ever way it turns1 we of ,england must recognize its power4 ,the crying need of ,india is the great teacher1 both man and woman2 the teacher who will really take an interest in his pupils and not feel the bar of race4 ,this is the fault of the average man who comes to ,india1 and if he does not have it when he arrives he soon acquires a pride in being one of the ruling race4 ,the ,indian boy and girl are extremely clever1 and feel instantly this racial prejudice of the ,englishman1 and consequently resent his attitude of superiority4 ,tennyson's indictment of ,english schoolmasters could be justly applied to many of the teachers in ,india to-day3-- ,because you do profess to teach1 and teach us nothing1 feeding not the heart4 ,there are wanted teachers who will give the ,indian boy and girl the true value of an education other than its advantages from an economic standpoint4 ,that must be considered also1 and in a land where the crowds are great and famines many1 it assumes even a larger importance in the lives of the boys who must become the wage-earners1 than it does in ,western lands1 where life is not such a fierce struggle for the necessities4 ,but along with the training for the making of a livelihood should be given another training4 ,these boys and girls of ,india who are just starting on the road that their ,occidental brothers and sisters have been treading for many generations should be given the broader view of education1 its worth and meaning4 ,they should be taught by loving teachers the true knowledge of which so beautiful a definition is given by ,bishop ,mant3-- ,what is true knowledge6 ,is it with keen eye ,of ,lucre's sons to thread the mazy way8 ,is it of civil rights1 and royal sway1 ,and wealth political1 the depths to try8 ,is it to delve the earth1 to soar the sky8 ,to marshal nations1 tribes in just array2 ,to mix and analyze1 and mete and weigh ,her elements1 and all her powers descry8 ,these things1 who will may know them1 if to know ,breed not vainglory2 but1 o'er all1 to scan ,god in his works and ,word shown forth below1 ,creation's wonders and ,redemption's plan2 ,whence came we1 what to do1 and whither go3 ,this is true knowledge1 and the whole of man4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,woman',s ,,sorrow ,abbe ,du ,bois says3 8,the happiest death for a woman is that which overtakes her while she is still in a wedded state4 ,such a death is looked upon as a reward of goodness extending back for many generations2 on the other hand1 the greatest misfortune that can befall a wife is to survive her husband40 ,death is a tragedy in all lands1 but with the ,hindus it is made doubly tragical because of superstition and the endless ritual connected with their religion4 ,the idea of mourning is not so much sorrow as it is uncleanness1 defilement4 ,when death seems imminent the family priest is summoned to administer the last sacrament4 ,the dying person is lifted from the couch and laid upon the ground1 which has been made ceremonially pure by smearing it with cowdung and by placing the sacred dharba grass upon it4 ,it is said that if a man dies upon a bed he must carry it through eternity4 ,it is most important that a man should breathe his last upon the earth1 and not within the house1 as there are certain phases of the moon when it would be a serious annoyance for all within the house to have a death beneath the roof4 ,in fact1 it pollutes the whole neighbourhood to have a death in the vicinity1 and the neighbours share in the unclean state of the family until the corpse is carried to the burning-ground4 ,often if a death occurs in a house in an unpropitious phase of the moon1 the dwelling must be vacated until such time as the priest shall permit it to be purified2 sometimes the ban cast upon the place lasts from three to six months4 ,the duration of the state of ceremonial impurity varies according to the age of the deceased4 ,in the case of mere infants the time is about one day4 ,in the case of a boy who has not been invested with the sacred cord1 or a girl not married1 the time is three days2 and after that1 in either case1 the time is ten days4 ,in the case of a married girl1 whether or not she has gone to live with her husband1 her own people must observe the ceremonial for three days4 ,during these periods the near relatives of the dead are unclean and their touch would defile any person or thing4 ,they must not enter their own kitchen nor touch any cooking utensil4 ,the food must be cooked by some one not personally connected with the dead1 but of equal caste4 ,if for some reason the mourning family cannot get any one of their own caste to cook for them1 they must procure kitchen utensils and cook their food in some place other than the usual kitchen1 not using the utensils again4 ,if a person in mourning went into a kitchen or storehouse1 everything would have to be thrown away immediately4 ,the wailing of the women tells the story of a death1 as they abandon themselves completely to their sorrow1 tearing their hair1 striking their foreheads1 and uttering shrill cries to show their desolation4 ,as soon as the breath leaves the body preparations are made at once for its disposal1 as a corpse is never kept longer than twenty-four hours in this hot climate4 ,the eldest son1 if there is one of suitable age1 or the father or eldest brother in order of nearest relationship1 or the husband if the deceased is a woman1 must conduct the funeral ceremonies4 ,the body is washed and shaven and adorned with the marks of his caste1 and placed in a sitting position1 with the head uncovered1 and the son or heir performs a sacrifice before it4 ,then the two thumbs and the great toes are tied together and the body is enveloped in a new white cloth and placed upon a bier1 formed of two long poles with seven cross-pieces4 ,with the heir at the head1 carrying a pot of fire1 the procession starts for the burning-ground4 ,this bier must always be carried by relatives or members of the same caste4 ,when a man is ill and it is necessary to tell him that he will soon depart from this world1 it is broken to him gently by some one saying1 8,you will soon ascend a palanquin carried by bearers of your own caste40 ,on the way to the cemetery the procession is stopped three times and the bier placed on the ground1 the face uncovered1 and a prayer is said4 ,if1 as sometimes occurs1 the person is not really dead and he revives1 it is most unfortunate for all concerned1 the revived man included1 as he is considered as dead and not allowed to return to his home or to his caste4 ,arrival at the burning-ground1 where the funeral pile has been prepared by men whose profession it is to attend to the dead1 and who are always of the pariah class1 the untouchables1 the body is put on the pyre and the sacred thread and loin-cloth are removed with the winding-sheet1 as the body must depart from the world in the state in which it entered it1 completely naked4 ,the head should be placed towards the south and the legs towards the north4 ,if near a sacred river1 like the ,ganges1 the body is laid for a few moments with the feet in the sacred water1 and water is sprinkled over it4 ,the heir performs the sacrifices1 and it is he who sets the pile alight1 while the priests repeat the prayers for the dead4 ,after the pyre is lighted the family retire to a distance and leave the body to the administrations of the men in charge4 ,in some places the heir is supposed to break the skull so that the gases may escape and the body may not explode4 ,i was told of one woman who wished to establish her right to a rich man's property2 consequently at the critical moment she dashed from the arms of her friends and with one blow of a stick broke the head of her late liege lord1 thus clearly showing her heirship1 as only the legal heir is entitled to perform this last kind office for the dear departed4 ,i heard one rather peculiar story while in ,india in regard to the cremation of the dead4 ,i sat at dinner beside an ,english official who had been many years in the ,government service of ,india4 ,in the course of the conversation ,i asked him what he thought about cremation4 ,he said1 with a smile3 8,well1 ,i am perhaps a little prejudiced in regard to the cremation of the dead4 ,i had rather a peculiar experience40 ,i settled back in my chair1 hoping ,i was to hear one of the many stories of ,indian life which these old officials have to tell us if they find we are interested in the lives of the people amongst whom they work4 ,he said3 8,i had an acquaintance once1 a ,scotchman1 who died here in ,india1 and asked in his will that ,i and another friend would cremate him1 and not allow an ,indian hand to touch him1 but that we should personally attend to all the details4 ,we were young then in things ,indian1 and made our first mistake in buying the wood for the pyre4 ,unfortunately for our friend1 the wily wood-merchant sold us green wood1 and for the first day he only smoked4 ,by the second day the wood had dried out1 and all would have been well if we had known that the skull of a person burned should be broken in order to allow the gases to escape4 ,we did not know this--our friend blew up4 ,we spent the remainder of the second day in gathering his remains and replacing them upon the fire4 ,the third day the work was fully accomplished2 his ashes were collected and now repose in a beautiful urn in his family chapel near ,edinburgh40 ,ceremonies are held and sacrifices are made for ten days by the members of a family in which there has been a death4 ,if the deceased was a married man1 it is on the tenth day that the widow is degraded into her state of widowhood4 ,this rite is called 8the cutting of the cord10 because then the tali1 the symbol of wifehood1 is cut1 and the woman has no more place in ,hindu society4 ,the relatives and friends come to the house and deck the poor woman in all her festive clothing2 jewels are put upon her1 flowers1 and sandal paste4 ,her friends mourn with her for a time1 then her bright clothing is removed1 her beautiful black hair is cut1 and she must remain for ever close-shaven and clothed in a garment of white4 ,she may attend no feast1 is permitted to eat only one meal a day1 and that should be prepared by her own hands1 may not partake of meat1 and if she is so unfortunate as to be poor in this world's goods she becomes the drudge and servant of her husband's family4 ,she is considered unclean1 a thing of ill-omen1 so unlucky that if a man were starting on some business venture and on leaving his doorway should by chance meet a widow he would return to his house and say a few prayers to counteract his bad luck4 ,illustration3 ,,indian ,,women ,,spinning4 ,to face p4 #adh4 ,when the widow is a child1 not yet arrived at the age of living with her husband1 the only ceremony at the death is the cutting of the tali cord4 ,the other ceremonies and degradations are reserved for the time when she arrives at the full age of wifehood1 when the whole ceremony is enacted as though the wife had been a real wife1 and the little girl-widow is compelled to join that great army of women in ,india1 nearly twenty million strong1 of whom a million are child-widows4 ,i met a great many widows in ,india1 and even among the ,brahmo ,samaj1 which sect is now trying to break the tyrannical yoke of custom1 ,i never heard of one who dared to brave public opinion and remarry4 ,i knew one charming widow--,i think the most beautiful woman ,i saw in ,india--who had practically broken all class restrictions except this last4 ,it was said that she had been in love with a man for many years1 and he had repeatedly tried to persuade her to undergo the censure of her people by marrying him1 but she dared not do it4 ,she was only thirty years old1 but she must remain until the end of her life a widow1 almost an outcast4 ,in the cities and among the modernized people of ,india this state does not hold such sorrow for women as in the villages and country districts1 where the people have not come into contact with ,western civilization4 ,in these purely ,hindu towns1 where all social life is controlled by custom and the influences of superstition and religion1 when the woman can no longer wear the red mark of wifehood upon her forehead1 her case is pitiable4 ,the ,indian ,government has made laws legalizing the remarriage of widows1 but even when it has the ,government sanction1 custom and tradition are too strong1 and practically no woman will take advantage of it4 ,it would mean not only lifelong disgrace for her1 but also would reflect so severely upon her relatives and the members of her caste that they would be involved in endless disgrace4 ,there are many homes scattered throughout ,india for these helpless women4 ,pundita ,ramabai has a place near ,poona where she has nearly eight hundred widows in her charge1 and they are a sad sight as they go in squads of from two to three hundred to their work at the printing press or at the looms attached to the mission4 ,some widows had been with her for years1 and quite likely will remain for life1 as no one will marry a widow1 and they do not seem to be acquiring a practical education with which they could earn their living in the world4 ,the ,gaekwar of ,baroda is solving the widow question by educating them as teachers at the ,government expense1 only asking that in return for his care they devote a certain number of years as school-teachers in his ,state4 ,pundita ,ramabai's home for widows is a very remarkable institution1 and well repays one for a visit4 ,it is a faith mission--that is1 its members do not receive a salary1 but depend upon donations for their support4 ,what remains after the expenses of the establishment have been met is divided among the workers according to their needs4 ,they are a very devoted band1 with an orthodox1 old-fashioned brand of religion that holds the wrath of ,god and the terrors of hell over these emotional women1 whose only outlet for their emotions is their prayers1 and at noon they are permitted to pray aloud and express their desires and their states of feeling4 ,one day we heard a great buzzing1 sounding from the distance like an immense swarm of bees1 and found it was the #a1cej widows1 rescued street women1 and children having their noonday prayer4 ,some of them worked themselves into a veritable ecstasy of religious emotion1 swaying their bodies1 the tears running down their faces as they prayed for the forgiveness of their sins1 real or imaginary4 ,the business manager was more interested in the practical than the religious aspects of the mission1 and looked at the whole question with the eye of the man who has to provide for all these people who give nothing to the common good4 ,when asked the outcome of it all1 he said he could not see what good was being accomplished except in the actual saving of the lives4 ,they could not marry1 they could not support themselves1 they were helpless1 and would be a burden on others' shoulders so long as they lived4 ,he said3 8,now look6 ,there go four hundred women who should be married to-morrow2 but who will marry them8 ,no ,hindu would dare break his caste by marrying one of them4 ,it would completely ostracize him from his community4 ,and again1 we would not want to marry a ,christian girl to a ,hindu or a ,mohammedan40 ,i asked3 8,are there no ,christian boys to marry them80 ,he replied3 8,there are not enough to go around1 and even a ,christian does not marry a widow40 8,do you ever have any offers80 ,i asked4 ,he laughed4 8,yes1 once in a while some man takes courage and comes here to find a wife1 but he generally goes away without one4 ,we seem here rather to go on the principle of getting rid of the speckled apples first1 and if there is a girl with a hare lip1 or only one eye1 she is the one trotted out for inspection4 ,naturally1 the boy beats a hasty retreat1 saying he believes he does not want to get married to-day40 ,the lot of the widowed woman in ,india is not so pitiable if she has been so fortunate as to have borne sons4 ,in ,india1 as in all ,eastern countries1 filial piety1 the respect for parents1 is bred into the very fibre of the man's soul4 ,when the mother becomes a widow and dons the gown of white1 her son cares for her and cherishes her all her days4 ,she is still the ruler of his household1 and it would be a most unfilial son1 on whom his world would soon cry shame1 if he did not ask the advice of his mother on matters of importance1 nor heed her warnings in times of stress4 ,her whole life is given for others1 as this world is supposed to have no joys for her except the joy of service4 ,for her 8this world is but a dream3 ,god alone is real02 and her days are passed in caring for the many lives around her and in prayers and religious rites that will help her to more swiftly pass the time ere she may join her lost one4 ,the woman of ,india who has lost her mate turns instinctively to the gods for solace1 because she has been taught from childhood that 8the religion of the wife lies in serving her husband3 the religion of the widow lies in serving ,god40 ,,chapter ,x ,,hyderabad ,,and ,,the ,,mohammedan ,,woman ,the city of ,hyderabad seems to have been dropped to the earth from an ,oriental dream4 ,it is the most ,eastern city in this most ,eastern land1 and you are filled with a sense that it is not at all real1 but especially staged and set for your amusement1 and when you leave1 it will all disappear4 ,the gaily painted shops will be pulled down and put in the property-room1 the goldsmiths who make the bracelets1 nose-rings1 and necklaces for the pretty1 dark-eyed women within the zenanas is only waiting for his cue to leave the stage4 ,the men on the corners with their great wreaths of white flowers1 with their marigolds and garlands to be hung about the necks of friends1 or to curtain the doorways at some feast or wedding1 are there only for show1 to add colour to the picture4 ,these women passing by with saris of purple or crimson1 with gleaming bracelets and tinkling anklets1 with kohl-blackened eyes that stare at you wonderingly from above the closely drawn sari1 or1 what is more peculiar to visitors from the ,west1 the women draped in long white cloaks like winding-sheets1 which cover them completely from the view of the passer-by1 seem part of the chorus2 and the sheen of knives and guns and huge silver chains hanging over the shoulder of the man from the ,north1 the elephant swaying slowly down the street1 looking with keen1 twinkling eyes at the people who make way for him1 are all a part of the pantomime1 or a mirage caused by the brilliant sunshine of this ,southland4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,carriage ,,for ,,women4 ,to face p4 #aed4 ,we are told that ,hyderabad is the oldest and greatest native ,state in the ,indian ,empire1 and we have heard from childhood of the magnificence of the ,nizam of ,hyderabad1 the man who seemed to outrival ,solomon with his palaces1 his jewels1 and his wives4 ,his hospitality was given with ,oriental lavishness4 ,those who were fortunate enough to be his guests at the great ,durbar at ,delhi1 when ,king ,george was proclaimed ,emperor of ,india1 will never forget the gorgeousness and prodigality of his entertainment4 ,for sixteen months he had an army of workmen clearing the ground1 making the lawns and flower-gardens1 and erecting the tents that were to accommodate his guests and the four thousand people he took with him from ,hyderabad4 ,his women were lodged in an old palace at a distance from the tents of the guests and were unseen1 viewing the spectacle from afar4 ,even those of the immediate circle surrounding the ,nizam at ,hyderabad knew nothing of his private life within the zenana1 and only conjectures were made in regard to the number of women within its walls4 ,gossip says that when the late ,nizam died there was a cartload of broken glass bracelets 7the bangles that are worn by wives1 but that are broken on their wrists when they become widows7 taken away from the palace4 ,this fortunate man was credited with a great many more wives than he actually possessed4 ,hyderabad is a feudal country1 with many of the customs that prevailed in ,france under the old feudal rgime4 ,the ,nizam is the overlord4 ,his feudal princes when possessing a pretty daughter are always anxious to give her as wife to the ,nizam4 ,he perhaps may accept her and send her to his women's quarters1 never seeing her again4 ,but her people are satisfied1 as they have the honour of having a daughter in the ,imperial zenana1 consequently a friend at ,court1 as she will naturally remember her family when ,imperial offices or gifts are being distributed4 ,she receives a stated income1 said to range from sixty dollars to four hundred dollars a month1 according to her status1 number of children1 etc4 ,the ,nizam was planning to give his first ball while ,i was in ,hyderabad1 and every one was on the qui vive regarding those who should be asked and those who should not4 ,it is remarkable how everything seems to revolve around the ruler of one of these principalities4 ,his ,highness is an absolute autocrat concerning the life and actions of his people1 and the foreigners seem to have caught the infection1 because in every ,state we visited the name of the ruler was on all tongues4 8,his ,highness thinks so and so10 or 8,his ,highness does not think so and so10 was the ultimate1 final word for everything4 ,his greatness and his ,oriental splendour seem to overpower the people and make them subservient4 ,yet it is not from any personal contact1 as few of even the ,nizam's ministers have seen him1 and his people never have that honour1 unless at some great ,durbar1 where1 arrayed in royal magnificence1 he permits them to view him upon his throne1 or when1 as he is being swiftly whirled along in his motor1 four shrill blasts from the whistles of the police notify the populace that their ruler is passing4 ,a native ruler seems to attract a genuine admiration and respect from his subjects4 ,he appeals to their instincts with his display4 ,they love to hear the glories of his magnificence1 to see his elephants1 his guards1 and his foreign motors4 ,he can understand his people and his people understand him2 and even if the taxes are oppressive and he grinds the faces of the people into the dust to get money to squander upon his favourites and to build great palaces1 the peasant will bear it all and not complain1 as he feels it is ordained1 and his ,rajah is the child of the gods and entitled to his very life4 ,there is no fear in the ,state of ,hyderabad that the present race of rulers will become extinct4 ,when a child is born to the ,nizam there is a public holiday in the ,state1 the schools are closed1 cannon are fired1 and every one is supposed to rejoice with the happy father4 ,while we were there the people enjoyed four public holidays within eight days arising from this fact1 and nine more were expected the following week4 ,while we were in this ,state there arose a case that was causing a great deal of comment4 ,the son of a woman was killed and the murderer was condemned to death4 ,in this ,mohammedan country the law 8a life for a life0 prevails1 and the death penalty cannot be revoked unless the heir of the dead man demands it4 ,in some ,hindu communities1 where the saving of life is a meritorious performance1 the village or city will often raise a certain sum and offer it to the heir in exchange for the life of the condemned prisoner4 ,men1 ,i was told1 will sometimes take the money1 but women1 especially if it was their son or husband who was killed1 will practically always demand the life4 ,in this instance the woman1 who was a devout ,mohammedan1 took the money and sent it to help her fellow-,mohammedans in their war with the infidel ,italians4 ,her religious zeal overcame the instinct for revenge1 so deeply planted within the breast of all followers of the ,arabian prophet4 ,at tea at the home of a ,mohammedan ,i met several ladies1 who willingly discussed with me the difference between the social customs of our ,western land and those governing the life of the woman of the ,east4 ,i was told that there is no society life as we know it1 no calling1 nor promiscuous making of new acquaintances4 ,the social life centres around the three great events of ,indian life--births1 weddings1 and deaths4 ,if a wedding occurs in a family1 the mother will send invitations to all the ladies of the same social standing as herself1 and1 dressed in their most gorgeous saris and jewels1 they come to the house1 where elaborate refreshments are served with much gossiping and merry-making4 ,the guests stay hours or days1 according to their relationship to the family4 ,also at times of death they go and offer their condolences to the bereaved family1 and although colours are much more subdued at the time of sorrow than at the time of rejoicing1 it is often another place in which to show off new finery4 ,these secluded women feel like the little girl who stopped to see a friend on her way to a funeral4 ,she was dressed in a bright pink sari1 and when remonstrated with on wearing such a gay dress on such a mournful occasion1 said1 8,why1 how can ,i be sure that ,i will get another chance to show it40 ,i said to my hostess in the course of the conversation3 8,if ,i were a ,mohammedan or a ,hindu lady and came here to live1 would the ladies whose husbands perhaps had business associations with my husband come to call upon me80 ,she said3 8,no1 not at all4 ,you would never meet the ladies unless at the time of some festivity you were invited40 ,i asked the reason for this1 and they answered1 8,custom0--the word that rules the whole ,eastern world4 ,this lack of exchange of courtesies between new people is traced in some cases to the attitude of the husbands1 who seem afraid to allow their wives to make new acquaintances4 ,they must decide whom the wife shall visit4 ,they must know that the house visited is strictly secluded1 that the hostess has no advanced ideas1 and that the husband is a man of standing before they allow their women to make new friends4 ,they say that it is the desire of protection1 not deprivation of liberty1 that causes them to take such care of their dear ones4 ,an ,englishwoman ten years ago tried to meet the ,indian ladies1 and sent sixty invitations for a tea4 ,only three of the invited guests put in an appearance4 ,she persisted1 convinced the husbands that no male eyes would gaze upon their secluded treasures1 and now the original sixty have come with nearly every high-class lady in ,hyderabad1 so that on her reception days the house is crowded4 ,there is a club where the ,mohammedan and ,hindu ladies meet once a month and play badminton1 and eat much cake and gossip4 ,still1 they are not as yet taking any active interest in social work1 nor in what is going on in the world outside4 ,mme4 ,sarojinni ,naidu1 the ,indian poetess whose charming poems have been so well received in ,england1 and who is herself a social favourite in that country1 has been trying to interest the ladies of ,hyderabad in social work among women4 ,she has been specially interested in reviving the old industry of silk-weaving1 and the weavers through her efforts have been encouraged to do their best work4 ,she has sold thousands of rupees worth of the beautiful silks to her friends within the zenanas1 but it is rather discouraging work1 as it has caused her to be looked upon with suspicion by many of the officials1 who fear that she may be using her influence with the people for some ,socialistic movement4 ,while in ,hyderabad ,i saw a great deal of this wonderfully attractive woman1 who looks like a young girl1 but who is the mother of children nearly as big as herself4 ,she herself is not 8purdah10 and she has violated the customs of her caste by marrying a man of another caste4 ,she goes to public entertainments and lives the life of an ,englishwoman4 ,i went with her to see the 8sports10 that form of entertainment which always follow the ,english wherever they go4 ,they were held at the race track1 and in the grand stand were the entire foreign community1 with a mixture of ,indian gentlemen4 ,we watched the riders in the field below1 and ,i must confess the ,indian gentlemen easily carried the honours4 ,they are wonderful horsemen1 and are most picturesque4 ,i think there is no handsomer man in the world than the high-class ,indian gentleman4 ,with his clear brown skin1 his large black eyes1 his stately carriage1 and magnificent physique1 accentuated by the pugaree or turban on his head1 he is a picture that1 once seen1 cannot easily be forgotten4 ,the average ,englishman looks either too fat or too thin1 does not hold himself well1 has generally1 if a resident in the ,east1 a most unhealthy complexion1 and in comparison with his ,indian neighbour makes a very poor showing4 ,mme4 ,naidu was the only ,indian woman in the grand stand1 and after tea was served1 she asked me if ,i would like to visit the ,indian women4 ,we went upstairs to an enclosed room1 which was filled with ,indian ladies1 who could see all that was going on in the grounds below1 but were protected from view by the carved woodwork enclosing the room4 ,they came to a side entrance in their carriages or motors2 a screen of canvas was made from their carriage to the entrance so that they could pass immediately from their carriage to a covered stairway1 themselves unseen4 ,there were about twenty ladies1 dressed in most brilliant colours and decked with an immense amount of jewellery4 ,one woman had seven piercings in her ears1 in four of which were set small buttons of turquoises1 and in the others great hoops of gold in which were hanging pearls about the size of a pea4 ,in her right nostril was a diamond and in her left a ruby4 ,her arms were covered with bracelets1 and there were five necklaces of diamonds around her neck4 ,her trousers1 the ugly trousers of the ,mohammedan lady1 were of bright pink brocade1 the tunic was of white1 and over it all was a long veil of light blue gauze4 ,one would imagine a glaring clash of colours1 but all this riot of colour blends and makes the right setting for the dark beauty of these ,indian women4 ,they are extremely pretty1 with the colouring of an ,italian or ,spaniard from the ,south2 their big black eyes are shaded by long silky lashes1 their noses are most delicate1 and they have exquisitely shaped mouths4 ,i do not think that ,i saw an ugly woman all the time ,i was visiting the 8purdah0 women of ,india4 ,some of them with age become a little too stout1 but their dress disguises the figure if too well blessed with flesh1 and softens harsh outlines if too thin4 ,the women in this secluded enclosure seemed to be enjoying themselves much more than the conventional ,englishwomen below them4 ,there was a table with a varied assortment of non-alcoholic drinks1 and many kinds of cakes and sweets4 ,each lady had her silver pan-box1 and made pan for her friends1 all chatting and laughing with the utmost freedom and good-fellowship4 ,they do not seem to feel it a deprivation at all to be compelled to pass their lives with women4 ,i am sure they would feel very ill at ease if they thought that they could be seen by any man except their husband1 brother1 or immediate relative4 ,i had an example of what instinct will do in the fear of being seen by some one outside of the family circle4 ,mme4 ,naidu and ,i called upon a ,mohammedan lady who was strictly 8purdah40 ,we were taken into a drawing-room furnished in ,european fashion1 where the father-in-law of our hostess was chatting with another gentleman4 ,the stranger left immediately1 but the father-in-law remained to talk with me while ,mme4 ,naidu went in search of the mistress of the house4 ,she returned soon1 and said to the man1 8,you must leave10 and after his departure the lady entered4 ,when she sat down she noticed that one of the blinds of the window was open1 and she drew her sari across her face and spoke to ,mme4 ,naidu1 who went to the window and closed the blind4 ,even that did not satisfy her1 and a servant was called1 who saw that all the windows were securely closed and that no one could possibly look into the room from the outside4 ,it seemed a useless precaution to me1 as the windows opened on to a garden1 and no one could pass unless some member of the household4 ,she laughed apologetically and said3 8,i know what you think1 but ,i cannot sit here with any degree of comfort if ,i think some one1 a servant or one of my husband's guests1 might pass by4 ,it is instinct2 my mother and my mother's mother were #8purdah' women1 and it is in the blood40 ,she asked us to come to her rooms and look at some new clothing4 ,her rooms were big and rather bare1 as are most rooms in this hot country1 but the furniture was all ,european4 ,bed1 dressing-table1 and chairs all looked as if made in ,england or ,france4 ,she had a servant bring her pan-box4 ,this giving of pan is the first thing offered to a guest on arrival and the last thing on going away4 ,her pan-box was of silver1 about nine inches wide by twelve long4 ,it had a shallow tray in the top1 in which was kept in tiny compartments the betel-nut and spices4 ,in the bottom of the box1 covered with a damp cloth1 were the leaves4 ,the hostess takes a leaf1 covers it with a thin layer of lime1 and with a pair of scissors breaks a betel-nut into small pieces1 puts it with half a dozen different spices into the leaf1 folds it up1 sticking a clove through the leaf as a fastener1 and hands it to the guest4 ,the guest removes the clove and places the leaf in the mouth1 where it makes a huge bunch on the side of the face until it is slowly masticated4 ,it gives forth a juice which colours the inside of the mouth and the teeth a dark red1 but not permanently1 as it rinses quite easily4 ,the pan has a spicy taste1 and leaves the mouth feeling deliciously clean1 ,i presume owing to the lime in it4 ,many of the great houses have a servant or slave whose only duty is to make pan for the inmates of the zenana4 ,one such servant said she made five hundred a day and her wrist became quite lame from time to time caused by cutting the betel-nut4 ,our hostess had a box of clothing put in front of her on the floor1 and she showed us a beautiful collection of saris of woven gold cloth made in ,benares1 long tunics of embroidered chiffon-like gauze1 and trousers of heavy gold and silver goods1 almost like tapestry4 ,i asked them to tell me the duties of a high-class lady of ,hyderabad4 ,mme4 ,naidu laughed and said-- 8,about eight o'clock in the morning my lady yawns1 and a slave-girl will say1 #8,will not the ,begum rise8' and the ,begum will slowly get out of bed and allow her slave to brush her teeth with powdered charcoal and wash her face and hands4 ,then she would sit down upon a mat and have her hair dressed1 while other slaves came in with articles of dress or of the toilet4 ,soon the other women of the household would join her1 and they would chew betel-nut and talk and gossip until about ten o'clock1 when a large tray would be brought in with breakfast1 consisting of rice and curry and sweets4 ,after breakfast1 more friends or relatives come in1 and the sewing women and higher servants1 and they all talk and laugh together4 ,in the afternoon the silk merchants may send their wares or the jewellers their bracelets and rings and precious stones1 which are brought into the zenana by women4 ,these shopwomen are great gossips1 and tell all the news from other zenanas--who is engaged and who married and what presents were given1 etc4 ,the women shop and haggle1 and perhaps buy and perhaps do not1 and by the time the merchants leave it is time to eat again4 ,in the evening the husband or the sons visit the women's quarters and brings the ,begum the news of the world of men outside1 and then it is time to sleep again40 ,a great many women--nearly all ,indian women1 in fact--attend personally to their households4 ,for instance1 ,i went with one of my friends1 who belonged to a very rich and powerful family1 to call upon her mother1 and found her and her daughter-in-law sitting in the courtyard preparing the vegetables for dinner4 ,all ladies know how to cook1 and think it no disgrace to prepare the dinner with their own hands4 ,if a guest is to be especially honoured1 the mother or wife will prepare the meal for him4 ,in a ,hindu community1 where the food must be cooked by a person of their own or a higher caste1 where no one of a lower caste is even allowed to look into the kitchen1 it might cause great annoyance if the women of the household did not know how to cook1 as even in ,india the mistress has the servant question with which to contend from time to time4 ,in these old families in ,hyderabad there are a great many people under the one roof4 ,the patriarchal family life prevails--that is1 the sons bring their wives to their father's home1 and a large house shelters many families4 ,the mother is the head of the women's quarters and her word is law4 ,innumerable servants and poor relations are ever present1 and to our ,western eyes disorder and chaos seem to reign4 ,there are some old families in this city that keep up the state of princes or petty kings4 ,there is one great lady who is surrounded by a bodyguard of amazons1 women dressed as soldiers1 who salute and present arms with military precision when her courtyard is entered by a visitor4 ,we went from the house of our young hostess1 loaded down with pan and fruit1 to the home of a colonel in the ,nizam's bodyguard4 ,his wife is 8purdah10 but his daughter is allowed to be seen in public4 ,in the drawing-room was a man tuning the piano1 and ,mme4 ,naidu said to the daughter1 8,your mother cannot come here4 ,there is a man40 ,the daughter replied3 8,oh1 it is all right1 he is blind40 ,the mother had travelled extensively in ,europe1 ,egypt1 and ,turkey4 ,while abroad she went about freely as any ,european1 only becoming the secluded ,indian wife while in her own country4 ,her daughter was to be married and she showed me the clothes for the trousseau4 ,there were about fifty complete outfits1 made of gorgeous ,benares cloth1 heavy with gold4 ,this clothing lasts a lifetime1 and is handed down from daughter to daughter1 as styles do not radically change4 ,the mother told me that the custom of giving so much clothing is dying out1 and money is given instead1 allowing the daughter to buy from time to time1 according to her fancy4 ,while we were talking the husband came in4 ,he was dressed in ,english riding clothes1 and was a very up-to-date man-of-the-world4 ,the moment he entered1 the mother and daughter1 who up to this time had been chatting affably and freely1 became silent4 ,they virtually did not speak a word while he was in the room1 but became at once true ,indian women1 silent before that superior being--the man4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,mohammedanism ,,within ,,the ,,zenana ,we are often told that ,mohammedan women are not religious1 that they leave all devotional exercises for their lords and masters1 who are accountable to ,allah for their salvation1 and to whom they must look for permission to enter the abode of the blessed4 ,it is a fact that the women followers of the ,arabian prophet are not seen in the mosques1 because no ,mohammedan woman appears in a public place where she may come in contact with the other sex4 ,mohammed discouraged the worship of women in public by saying1 8,the presence of women in the mosques inspires men with feelings other than those purely devotional40 ,illustration3 ,,mohammedan ,,women1 ,,hyderabad4 ,to face p4 #agj4 ,although restricted to the home in which to say her prayers1 the ,mohammedan woman is very religious1 and often more narrow and bigoted than her husband1 who has the opportunity of broadening his religious views by contact with those of other faiths4 ,the ,mohammedan religion1 like those of ,western lands1 has its divisions and subdivisions1 differing from each other on the subject of ritualism and the different interpretations of the ,koran4 ,the two most important branches of ,el ,islam are the ,shiahs and the ,sunnis4 ,at the death of the prophet1 ,abu ,bekr was elected to take his place--wrongfully1 as many believe4 ,they feel that the mantle of prophethood should have fallen upon the shoulders of his son-in-law1 ,ali1 who was one of his first disciples and his cousin4 ,the coterie who adhered to the election of the caliph instead of the hereditary descent are called the ,sunnis4 ,all of the ,egyptians1 the ,turks1 and many ,indians are followers of this party4 ,those who think that ,ali was deprived of his just rights are called the ,shiahs2 the ,persians1 many ,arabs1 and a few ,indians compose the main body of this division4 ,ali was finally made caliph1 but was murdered1 the caliphate passing out of his family instead of descending to his grandsons1 ,hossain and ,hassan1 who rebelled against the ruling caliph and were killed in battle4 ,they are considered the great martyrs of the ,mohammedan faith1 and their deaths are mourned annually by the ,shiahs4 ,we were in ,hyderabad1 the great ,mohammedan ,state of ,india1 at the time of mourning1 and ,i was fortunate enough to be asked to a 8mourning party10 given by the women of one of the old ,mohammedan families4 ,it was most exceptional1 as outsiders are never asked to these homes during this time of religious emotion4 ,even their ,sunni friends and their acquaintances in the ,hindu faith1 know that intruders are not looked upon kindly during the days set apart for sorrow4 ,we arrived at the home1 which was surrounded by a great wall1 in which was a massive wooden door studded with iron nails4 ,in the olden time these homes were used as fortresses1 and were made strong enough to repel an invasion by the enemy4 ,within an embrasure by the side of the gate was a man on guard1 with a gun beside him4 ,it is true that the gun was of an obsolete pattern1 that would quite likely do the user more damage than any one else1 if the guard had been called upon to act1 but it looked picturesque4 ,the guard immediately turned his back when he saw that the carriage contained ladies1 and our servant went ahead to see that all men-servants were out of sight before my ,mohammedan friends would enter the courtyard4 ,we drove into what seemed an immense stable-yard4 ,bullocks were standing by the side of great lumbering carts1 horses were in their stalls1 and stable accessories were scattered about in great disorder4 ,a curtain was raised by a woman-servant1 disclosing a short stone stairway1 ascending which we found ourselves in the women's quarters4 ,it was a courtyard1 with rooms opening upon it from the four sides4 ,these rooms were more like large alcoves1 being separated from the court only by arches4 ,at one end was a large room1 where about sixty ladies were sitting on the floor in front of a strip of white cloth1 that served as table and tablecloth combined4 ,they were seated on the three sides of the room1 leaving the open space in the middle for the servants to pass while serving the food4 ,we left our shoes at the entrance and were taken to a servant1 who poured water over our hands from a brass ewer1 allowing it to fall into a basin in which was some finely chopped straw to conceal the water4 ,our hostess seated us opposite her1 and an old servant dipped from a central bowl of rice a generous helping for me1 and then various curries1 unknown to me1 were passed4 ,i watched my friend1 and took from the dishes she favoured1 mixing it with the rice upon my plate1 making rather a sticky mess1 that was conveyed to my mouth with difficulty4 ,eating with the fingers is not so easy as it may appear to a casual observer1 but evidently practice makes perfect1 because all seemed most adept1 using only the thumb and three fingers of the right hand4 ,no food must be touched with the left hand1 as it is1 religiously1 unclean4 ,after my feet had so thoroughly gone to sleep that they ceased from paining me1 ,i took the opportunity of looking around and trying to become acquainted with my neighbours4 ,the ladies wore no jewellery1 and their dresses were supposed to be of a subdued hue1 yet every colour of the rainbow was represented except red1 which is the colour of joy and associated with festive occasions4 ,the ,mohammedan dress is not so graceful as is the ,indian sari4 ,the women wear a pair of tight trousers1 made of satin1 silk1 or brocade1 coming to the tops of their embroidered slippers4 ,over the chest is a small sleeveless jacket1 then a tunic of white or embroidered gauze1 and over all a chiffon-like drapery which is drawn over the head4 ,all of these outer draperies were of so diaphanous a material that they did not disguise the outlines of the figure4 ,down the centre of the strips of cloth which served as table were great dishes of rice and sweets1 many curries1 fruits1 and an elaborate assortment of cakes4 ,servants were everywhere1 and it was hard for a stranger to distinguish between some of the servants and their mistresses1 as many of the former were very well dressed and covered with jewellery4 ,they wore bracelets1 anklets1 nose-rings1 ear-rings1 and necklaces1 mainly of silver or glass2 but one often saw the glint of gold upon the neck of a serving-woman1 and found she was the personal slave of some member of the family4 ,slavery exists still in ,hyderabad1 although in a modified form4 ,no person of good family would think of selling a slave1 and the slaves themselves feel the honour of belonging to one of the old families4 ,in a quarrel with a servant a slave will draw herself up proudly and say1 8,you are only a servant--,i belong to the family40 ,both servants and slaves are treated with a familiarity unknown in the ,west4 ,they take part in the conversation1 enter the rooms without knocking--in fact1 ,i don't believe there is such a thing as a locked door in all ,india--and talk to the mistress on terms of equality4 ,while at dinner a small boy1 very prettily dressed1 came to the hostess and snuggled his head against her1 while he stared at the peculiar-looking foreign woman opposite4 ,i asked if he was her son4 ,she turned his face up to study it more carefully1 then said1 8,no2 he is the son of one of my sister's slaves40 ,resisting all the importunities of my hostess to have my plate refilled with the curry and rice1 we rose and went again to the servants in charge of the ewer and basin1 and our hands were washed4 ,we then adjourned to a courtyard1 where many of the guests had preceded us4 ,there appears to be no etiquette in regard to leaving the table2 when a guest has eaten her dinner she rises and leaves1 not asking to be excused1 nor feeling that it is necessary to wait for her hostess4 ,the ladies were sitting on the floor of the alcoves in groups of six or seven1 and pan boxes were much in evidence4 ,our hostess went into the open courtyard and mounted a low1 square table1 over which was thrown a rug4 ,we sat down opposite her and she proceeded to make pan for us1 and we remained there for perhaps half an hour1 waiting for the servants to finish their dinner4 ,there were at least fifty servants and slaves1 all running around aimlessly1 doing whatever they found to do at the time1 with what seemed no system nor order governing their work4 ,the mistress had rather a shrill voice1 and her orders could be heard very distinctly as she called to some one in another part of the court4 ,i asked my friend if ,indian ladies generally had such loud voices and commanding tones1 and she laughed and said3 8,well1 if they have not to begin with they soon acquire them1 as they must be heard above the confusion always reigning in one of these great houses1 where there are innumerable servants1 slaves1 and poor relations4 ,it takes a strong-minded woman1 and one with no mean executive ability1 to keep peace and harmony in an ,eastern zenana40 ,after every one had gossiped to her heart's content1 we went to a large room at the end of the courtyard1 which was fitted up as a chapel4 ,in front of an altar were three pieces of wood wreathed with flowers to represent the tombs of ,ali1 ,hossain1 and ,hassan4 ,facing the tombs were ten girls1 and the guests grouped themselves around them on the floor4 ,when we were all seated they began to chant4 ,one would sing a line1 then the rest would join their voices and sing four or five lines2 then a short pause1 and the leader would again start the chant4 ,the listeners were absolutely quiet1 and the music rose and fell in weird1 minor strains that sounded tragic even to ears that could not understand the words4 ,the whole story of the slaying of the martyrs was told1 and this recital of their passion play moved the hearers deeply4 ,from one part of the room ,i heard a sob1 then from another1 and soon there was not a dry eye in the place4 ,at a certain strain in the music all rose1 preceded by the women carrying the miniature tombs1 and marched slowly into an outer courtyard1 where incense was waved over the flower-wreathed pieces of wood1 after which a return was made to the room and the chanting commenced again4 ,we did not sit down1 and the most dramatic part of the performance began4 ,all stood and beat their breasts in time with the music1 and1 as chorus to the verses1 would cry1 8,hossain1 ,hassan6 ,hossain1 ,hassan60 ,the servants beat their breasts so severely that it seemed they would seriously hurt themselves1 and it is considered a great mark of piety to severely chastise themselves at this time1 but the ladies were more conservative and kept time with light taps4 ,this continued1 with slight intermissions1 for half an hour1 some sobbing1 others crying quietly4 ,at the end each one dropped to her knees with her face towards ,mecca1 and from outside the wall the voice of a man from the mosque chanted a benediction4 ,it was most exquisitely sung1 and added the final touch to a weirdly beautiful scene--the moon shining down into the courtyard1 the flickering lights before the tiny flower-wreathed tombs1 the dark-faced women in their pretty gowns1 with the tears glistening on their eyelashes1 kneeling1 while the unseen voice cried softly1 8,salaam6 ,peace be with you6 ,there is no ,god but ,god40 ,illustration3 ,,husking ,,rice ,,in ,a ,,burmese ,,village4 ,to face p4 #agi4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,burmah ,passing from ,india to ,burmah is in many ways like going from darkness to sunlight1 from tears to gaiety4 ,india is a land of tragedy2 ,burmah is a land of comedy4 ,in ,india you see faces sad1 worried1 harassed1 and life seems a bitter struggle for the great masses in their endeavour to keep the hungry wolf from the door4 ,but in ,burmah you are greeted with smiles1 no one is serious1 and no one except the ,chinese seem to be really working4 ,the women in the little booths within the bazaars1 smoking their long cheroots1 gossiping with their neighbours1 and flirting with the youth passing by1 give one the impression that it is not business in which they are interested1 but that they are there for their amusement and to pass a few hours with their friends4 ,the dress also shows the difference in the temperaments of the people4 ,in ,india the women's saris are made of dark reds1 dark blues1 and heavy purples4 ,in ,burmah the colours are light and gay2 you rarely see a darkly clad person4 ,the long piece of silk wound tightly around the woman's body is always of light blue1 or pink1 or yellow1 or else a gay check composed of all three colours4 ,the loose cotton or linen jacket is spotlessly white1 and around the neck is thrown carelessly a piece of silk or a handkerchief of contrasting colour to the skirt4 ,the hair1 of ebony blackness1 is well oiled and twisted high upon the head and twined with flowers4 ,their toes are tucked into small heelless slippers1 which take a certain amount of dexterity to keep in place2 but all young girls learn early in life to give that flirtatious outward jerk of the heels which keep the slipper from falling1 and also prevents the folds of the skirt from opening in front4 ,the city belle when she starts forth upon the street has well powdered her nose and often touched her lips with carmine1 and goes forth boldly to claim the admiration of all1 not like the ,indian woman1 who is compelled to hide her charms behind the sari4 ,the man of ,burmah also dresses in gaily coloured silks4 ,he wears a long silk cloth around his body1 tucks it in with a twist in front1 and the remaining portion he allows to hang in folds or throws jauntily over his shoulder4 ,he wears a short white cotton jacket1 over which another one of darker cloth is worn for street wear4 ,the old and wealthy when they are paying visits of ceremony or going to worship at the pagoda wear long white coats1 closed only at the neck and reaching to the knee4 ,men of all classes wear flowered silk handkerchiefs around their heads as turbans1 but when age comes these are exchanged for simple ones of white muslin4 ,illustration3 ,,burmese ,,girl4 ,to face p4 #ahj4 ,the women of ,burmah have unlimited freedom as compared with the women of other ,eastern countries4 ,unlike the women of ,india1 ,china1 or ,egypt1 they may choose their own husbands and have a courtship such as we of the ,western world so thoroughly understand4 ,from the time of the first great event in a young girl's life1 the boring of her ears1 which announces to her world that she is no longer a child but a woman1 until her betrothal1 the ,burmese girl looks forward to the finding of a husband as the one aim of her life4 ,until her ears are bored she is a child and may run and play with her brothers upon the village street1 but finally the day arrives when her friends and relatives bring with them the ear-borer and the soothsayer1 and the frightened girl must pay the price of gaining maidenhood4 ,her cries are drowned by the music and the talk and laughter that seem so heartless2 but the pain is soon over1 and she herself will make the hole larger by every means in her power1 because until the hole is large enough to receive the great round tube1 nearly half an inch in diameter1 she does not feel that she is indeed a woman4 ,it is her initiation into womanhood1 it corresponds to the entrance into the monastery or the tattooing of his legs of her brother1 the sign that he is no longer a boy1 but may sit with men and chew betel-nut and discuss affairs of the world with wondrous wisdom4 ,after the ear-boring ceremony each man our maiden sees may be a possible husband1 and she copies the coquettish sway of the hips that is so effective in her older sister as she walks down the street with mother1 aunt1 or married friend1 who carefully guards her from all improprieties now that she has arrived at marriageable age4 ,when all these arts have had the desired effect and her roving eye has alighted upon the man of her choice1 the ,burmese girl may have her days of courtship4 ,she can meet her sweetheart at pws1 those festive parties that seem to occur every night in ,burmah1 at which she may have a stall for selling tobacco1 or long cheroots1 or flowers4 ,this keeping of a stall is not lowering to a woman's social status1 and numbers of well-to-do women set them up at all places where crowds are liable to congregate4 ,there may be a reason for this besides the economic one1 as it is said a stall or shop or booth within the bazaar is the quickest way of attracting a desirable husband4 ,in the smaller towns there is scarcely a house where the women have not arranged a small shop for sale of betel-nut1 coco-nuts1 little looking-glasses1 toilet articles1 or cotton goods from ,manchester4 ,the profits of this little trade are given as pin-money to the wife or daughters4 ,the ,english say that the ,burmese woman is a better businessman than her husband1 and that in driving a sharp bargain her successes are far in advance of those of her less aggressive husband4 ,illustration3 ,,dancing ,,at ,a ,,village ,,festival1 ,,burmah4 ,to face p4 #ahc4 ,pagoda feasts offer exceptional opportunities for lovelorn swains1 and many young couples have found their future happiness when gazing into ,buddha's eyes4 ,evening-time is courting-time in all the world1 especially in this country1 which is too hot during the day to permit of any useless expenditure of energy1 even by an ardent lover4 ,they also say that the men of ,burmah are influenced by the proverb that says3 8,in the morning women are cross and peevish1 in the middle of the day they are testy and quarrelsome1 but at night they are sweet and amiable40 ,if the lover does not expect to meet his sweetheart at a festival or a theatrical entertainment1 he waits around until he thinks the old people have retired for the night1 and then with a friend or two as chaperons he calls upon his adored one1 and finds her with powdered face and pretty dress awaiting him in the moonlit veranda4 ,there is little privacy in this courtship1 because divisions between the rooms are often only made of matting1 and mothers in ,burmah are proverbial for the quickness of hearing when it concerns the courtship of their daughters4 ,there is no lovemaking as we know it--kissing1 and holding of hands1 and embracing--which would be most shocking to the modest instincts of the ,burmese maiden4 ,yet love has signs1 and finally father's and mother's consent is asked1 the dowry fixed1 and the astrologer consulted1 who will tell them if a boy born on ,monday and a girl on ,wednesday may wed4 ,no matter how ardently the match is desired by the interested parties1 some unions1 judged according to their birthdays1 would be most unlucky4 ,for example3-- ,friday's daughter ,didn't oughter ,marry with a ,monday's son2 ,should she do it ,both will rue it1 ,life's last lap will soon be run4 ,each day of the week is guarded by an animal1 and it naturally follows that if a man was born on a day that was ruled by a serpent and a woman on a day ruled by a mongoose1 the serpent's deadly enemy1 they would surely not live happily together4 ,but if the parent's consent is given1 the combination of birthdays are lucky1 the dowry is satisfactory to all concerned1 then the propitious day must be found from the horoscope for the actual wedding to take place4 ,during ,june1 ,july1 ,august1 and ,september1 the ,buddhist ,lent1 all marriages are barred to the strict followers of ,buddha1 and it would be a very unregenerate son or daughter who would shock his old father and mother by daring to ask to marry during this time4 ,marriage is a very precarious proceeding1 because if it takes place in certain months the couple will be rich1 in other months they will always love each other1 while there are unfortunate months that bring sickness and death to those tempting ,hymen at this time4 ,nevertheless1 notwithstanding all the obstacles that seem to be placed in the way of marriage1 there are few spinsters in ,burmah1 and virtually every man over twenty years of age has a wife4 ,the marriage ceremony is a strictly civil affair1 no religious rite entering into the performance4 ,the friends meet at the house of the bride's parents1 where a great feast has been prepared at the expense of the bridegroom's father1 and the eating and drinking and publicity of the affair make the marriage as binding as are any marriages in ,burmah4 ,contrary to all ,eastern usages1 the young couple take up their abode with the bride's parents instead of going to the home of the groom's people1 which is the custom in ,india1 ,china1 and ,japan4 ,if the home roof is too small to shelter the new family1 they may build a new home for themselves4 ,this is not an expensive affair1 as the houses are extremely simple4 ,they are practically all of one story1 because of the ,burman's aversion to any one walking over his head4 ,the house is built on posts1 thus raising the floor seven or eight feet from the ground1 which is very desirable in rainy weather4 ,it consists of two or three rooms and an open balcony1 where the family may sit of an evening or where the daughter of the house may receive her lover1 and not interrupt the slumbers of father and mother1 who have spread their sleeping-mats upon the floor of the main living-room4 ,in the rainy season the cooking is done in one of the rooms1 but in the long1 dry months the yard at the back of the house serves as kitchen4 ,in the smaller towns the roofs are thatched with palm-leaves or with grass1 but in the cities the ugly iron roofs are now seen1 with here and there a more pretentious roof of tiling4 ,moving is not a laborious process1 as there is little necessary furniture in a ,burmese home4 ,a few rush mats1 which serve for beds1 some rugs and blankets for use when nights are cold1 which during the day are rolled up and placed in an unused corner of the room1 a cooking-range1 which is simply a square box filled with earth on which the wood is lighted1 some earthen pots for making curries and the cooking of the rice1 a water-jar1 ladles made of the half of a coconut placed on a handle1 the huge round lacquer tray1 which serves as table1 and the bowls for the curries and deserts4 ,with nearly every house there is a small yard1 in which are found flowers if the wife is inclined to love the beautiful2 but if she is more practically inclined chickens hold sway within the small domain1 until the evil day arrives for them when they pass into the curry-pot4 ,the strict ,buddhist does not utilize the eggs1 believing that they hold the germ of life which it would be sinful to destroy4 ,these ,burmese roosters can take the place of clocks1 as it is said that they crow regularly four times a day--at sunrise1 noon1 sundown1 and at midnight4 ,the story goes that in the olden time there was a great fire made of books that contained unlawful teaching4 ,among these books were those of a famous astrologer1 and after the fire the cocks came and ate the ashes1 thus taking into their very being the knowledge of the stars and the actions of the sun4 ,if the wife lives in the city1 she does not have the weary task of husking the rice1 as it is bought ready for cooking1 nor does she need waste much thought in planning the menu for the day4 ,the two meals are practically the same--the plain boiled rice upon the table-tray1 around which sit the household1 squatting upon their heels4 ,no knives or forks are needed1 as each takes upon his plate from the central dish the rice1 pours over it curry1 arranges on the top the vegetables and condiments that he loves1 and eats it with the forks with which ,nature has provided him--his fingers4 ,the food is very good if too much dried fish1 which is a delicacy loved by ,burmans1 or garlic has not been incorporated in the curries4 ,only water is drunk at mealtime4 ,if the husband has acquired the habit of tippling1 which has come to ,burmah with other foreign customs1 he must go to the shop where it is sold to indulge in what1 to every good householder1 is still a thing of which to be ashamed4 ,after meals every one smokes--father1 mother1 and children4 ,it is said that baby learns while at his mother's breast to take the long cigar from between her lips and puff it between alternate draughts at ,nature's font2 but ,burmese deny this most indignantly1 and say that smoking is forbidden the children until they have learned to walk4 ,i can quite believe this1 because it would take a strong baby to manage the enormous cheroot smoked by all ,burmans1 although they are so mild that they would not affect the nerves even of a child4 ,the cigar seen in the homes is from six to eight inches in length and about an inch in diameter4 ,it is made of the pith of a plant mixed with chopped tobacco-leaves1 wrapped in the leaf of the teak-tree1 the ends tucked in and tied by a piece of red silk1 where stiff pieces of pith keep the loose tobacco from the mouth4 ,it splutters and scatters its fine fire in all directions1 and cannot be smoked by an amateur without danger to himself and all about him4 ,these are often made within the home by the wife and daughters1 yet they may be seen in tiny booths at all festivities1 where pretty girls sell them to admiring swains who are too lazy to roll them for themselves4 ,chewing betel-nut is also indulged in by both man and wife1 and the stain it leaves upon the lips and tongue is not an addition to the beauty of the mouth2 yet it can be easily cleansed1 as witness the pretty teeth and rosy lips of the women one meets in the street4 ,there is no furniture to dust1 few dishes to wash1 and little clothing to be sewn1 and small care expended upon the children4 ,their daily bath consists in throwing a few buckets of water over their naked bodies1 which they learn early to do for themselves1 and often around a village well the tiny babies1 dressed in only an amulet string1 may be seen with coconut ladle throwing the cooling water over their bodies and shrieking with delight4 ,the children of the poor go naked until about eight or nine years old1 and those of the better class dress practically as do their fathers and mothers while in the street1 although1 even in houses of the rich1 clothing is considered a useless luxury for the young4 ,the simple life leaves much time for the wife1 which she employs in gossiping with friends1 in attending pagoda festivals and pws until that happy event arrives1 the birth of the first child4 ,from the moment it is known that the wife is to become a mother she is the recipient of much care and attention and presents from her family and from her friends1 and when she can say1 8,i am the mother of a son10 then1 like all ,oriental women1 she has attained the great crown of womanhood4 ,but because of the lack of medical skill in ,burmah she has to face a most dreadful ordeal4 ,as soon as her child is born the mother is rubbed all over with saffron1 a fire lighted near her1 and all the blankets that can be begged or borrowed are heaped upon her4 ,she is given a drink prepared by the midwife for the purpose of making her perspire4 ,this is given her many times a day1 and together with the large bricks that are heated and wrapped in damp cloths and placed in her bed conspire to have the desired effect1 and the poor mother passes seven days in a ,turkish bath4 ,then on the seventh day1 as a finish to this trying ordeal which she has undergone1 she is forced to go through a most elaborate steaming process1 and if this does not smother her completely1 she is pronounced well4 ,the midwife receives her mats1 her allotment of rice and her shilling1 and the woman returns to her household duties4 ,in the larger towns now the ,burmese woman may call in the ,european-trained doctor1 and there are hospitals which answer the great need that the women have for proper care at this critical time of their lives4 ,yet ,i am told that the mortality at child-bearing is not so great as that in ,india and other ,eastern countries4 ,the main effect upon the woman is to age her greatly2 at the birth of her first child she changes from the pretty girl-wife to the middle-aged woman4 ,about two weeks after the birth of the child a great feast is given to celebrate the naming of the new arrival1 and on this day also the young man's head is washed for the first time4 ,all the friends of the family and the neighbours are invited1 and they come1 bringing presents with them to help pay for the feast4 ,the mother sits down with her child in her arms1 then some elder or relation of the parents suggests the name1 and everybody accepts it at once1 whereupon all adjourn to the feast1 where they eat1 chew betel1 and smoke cheroots until nightfall4 ,if the people have sufficient means1 there is a pw1 which lasts until morning4 ,it is a rule amongst families that a child's name must begin with one of the letters belonging to the day on which it was born1 and they all believe that the stars which were in evidence at the hour of birth decide a man's character4 ,a man born on ,monday will be jealous1 on ,tuesday honest1 on ,wednesday bad-tempered1 on ,thursday quiet1 on ,friday garrulous1 on ,saturday quarrelsome1 and on ,sunday stingy4 ,each day also has a particular animal which represents it4 ,monday is represented by a tiger1 ,tuesday1 a lion1 etc41 and in temples one sees yellow and wax candles made in the form of these animals1 representing his birthday1 placed before the god by the man who wishes special benefits from lord ,buddha4 ,swinging by a couple of ropes from the roof is a rude home-made basket1 which is used for baby's cradle4 ,even this useful article of furniture in which the ,burmese baby passes his sleeping hours is subject to the actions of belligerent spirits1 and must be hung in such a manner as not to tempt the nats to use it for a resting-place4 ,burmese mothers1 like mothers all over the world1 croon lullabies to their babies as they swing them back and forth while waiting for the sand-man to come4 ,i give a verse of one of the popular lullabies known generally to all babies in ,burmah-- ,nasty1 naughty1 noisy baby1 ,if the cat won't1 nats will maybe ,come and pinch and punch and rend you-- ,if they do ,i won't defend you4 ,oh1 now please1 ,do not tease1 ,do be good1 ,as babies should1 ,just one tiny little while2 ,try to sleep1 or try to smile4 ,when the son is eight or nine years of age he goes as a matter of course to the monastery school1 which is open to all alike1 the poor and rich1 and which is practically the only thing that the priests1 which flood this country1 afford the people in return for the food which is placed in their begging-bowls each day4 ,every ,buddhist boy is taught to read and write1 and he learns many of the formulas connected with the tenets of his religion and the stories relating to the existence and teachings of ,buddha4 ,until the ,english came1 all little boys went to the monastery schools1 but now there are ,government schools and ,burmese laymen schools and many private schools1 to which the more advanced ,burmans are sending their sons2 yet the schoolrooms in the monasteries are not vacant4 ,the young ,burmese are not so forced by the economic conditions to acquire the foreign education as is the ,indian boy1 where life is much more difficult and the ,government certificate simply a means to an end--,government employment4 ,until lately it was not thought necessary to educate the girls4 ,to be pretty1 to know how to take care of her household1 to smile sweetly1 and be of a gay disposition were sufficient for a woman2 and as book knowledge would not help her in those accomplishments1 book knowledge was1 therefore1 dispensed with4 ,but now the larger towns provide educational facilities for girls1 and in ,rangoon and ,mandalay there are many private schools for the daughters of the better class4 ,until a ,buddhist has entered the monastery1 joining the noble order of the yellow robe1 if for no longer than a day1 he is nothing more than a mere animal4 ,he has a name given him for worldly purposes1 so has a dog1 a horse1 or a cow2 but until he has shown himself ready to leave the world by retiring into the quiet and peace of the monasteries1 he cannot expect to reap the good that he has sown in the past life1 nor would it be possible for him to look forward to a happy future4 ,at the beginning of the ,buddhist ,lent1 all ,buddhist boys from the age of twelve to fifteen don the yellow robe and carry the begging-bowl before the priest on his daily rounds4 ,on this most important day in his life his parents give a feast1 where the young novice1 dressed in finest clothes1 loaded with all the family jewels1 goes slowly through the village1 preceded by a band of music and his friends and relatives dressed in their gayest clothing4 ,he calls at the houses of his friends and pays respects to the officials of his village4 ,returning to his home1 he finds1 seated upon a raised das1 several priests from the monastery to which he is soon to retire4 ,they hold before their faces the large lotus-leafed-shaped fans1 so as not to see the row of pretty women1 dressed in their pinks and blues and yellows1 flowers in their hair1 jewels and chains on necks1 and bracelets on arms1 and pearl powder softening smiling faces4 ,the solemnity of the ceremony commences when the boy throws off his fine clothing1 and1 binding a piece of white cloth around his loins1 sits down before the barber and permits that glory of his boyhood1 his long black hair1 to be cut off close to his head4 ,after he has been carefully shaved1 water is poured over his body1 and1 dressed again in his bright clothing1 he prostrates himself three times before the monks1 begging in ,pali1 which quite likely he does not understand1 that he may be admitted to the holy assembly4 ,then the yellow garments are given him1 the begging-bowl is hung around his neck1 and he is formally a member of the monastery4 ,with the departure of the priests and the novice feasting begins1 which1 according to many ,burmese festivities1 lasts until dawn4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,buddhist ,,school1 ,,mandalay 7,,showing ,,begging-,,bowl74 ,to face p4 #aid4 ,in many cases1 if the boy is working and his services are needed1 he remains in the monastery only long enough to enable him to go once around the village begging from door to door in the train of the priests4 ,some stay seven days1 some a fortnight1 and others1 if they are able1 remain throughout the four months of ,lent4 ,of course many of them enter the monastery for life1 and there is no country in the world where there are so many priests as in ,burmah4 ,the monasteries offer a refuge for men in trouble1 for those who desire to leave the cares of the world and lead a life of meditation and repose4 ,and it is said that this departure from the world is made by many a man in this country1 where women are noted for the strength of their characters and the length of their tongues4 ,the ,burmese boy does not consider he has attained manhood until he has been tattooed4 ,when ,i was first in ,burmah1 being rather nearsighted1 ,i thought all ,burmese men of the lower class wore short1 dark1 skin-tight drawers1 but when ,i became more courageous and examined them more closely ,i found what ,i considered underclothing was the man's own skin4 ,this had been tattooed from the waistline down to the kneecap with a series of pictures so closely set together that they could not be distinguished one from the other1 and melted into a background of blue and black1 with here and there a softened red to accentuate the fading colours of the darker dye4 ,this is a sign of manhood1 which1 the ,burmese say1 will probably not die out1 because a ,burman would be as ashamed to have a spotless white skin without a mark of the tattooer's needle as would the ,american boy to find no manly hairs upon his chin at the age when other boys begin to shave4 ,and woe to the hapless youth if a wind-blown paso should show the girl he was courting a white and spotless leg2 she would tell him that his place was in the women's quarters and offer him a woman's dress6 ,each figure in this mosaic has a meaning1 and there are charms for protection of the body1 for the gaining of a loved one1 thus assuring the wearer great riches1 and1 mixed with these1 are figures of all kinds--lizards1 birds1 and pictures of the ,buddha4 ,sometimes women who wish to ensnare the object of their affection endure the pain of having a love charm tattooed upon the tongue or upon the lips4 ,often a few round spots tattooed with the prescribed formula repeated over it and placed between the eyes will be enough to bring back a wandering lover to her side4 ,if this is not effectual or if the maiden sees herself drifting towards a lonely middle age with no lover in her view1 she cuts off the locks of hair hanging over her ears1 announcing to all the world that she is looking for a lover4 ,they say in ,rangoon that if a woman is tattooed it means that she desires an ,englishman for her husband4 ,illustration3 ,,burmese ,,boy ,,with ,,tattooed ,,legs4 ,to face p4 #aif4 ,in olden days ,burmah shared with ,japan in the number of its women given in marriage la mode to men of alien races4 ,nearly every ,english official and merchant had his house presided over by a little native maiden4 ,these arrangements were very happy and tragedies did not occur until the ,englishman1 longing for home sights and sounds1 and the dignity of an ,english wife1 went back home and returned to his station with the woman of his choice4 ,then there was sorrow1 and even the ,english gold could not repay the little ,burmese woman for the loss of the love of the kindly1 careless man who had been her master for the many years4 ,often attempts were made to regain that master's love1 and many a time the attempts succeeded1 because in the formality and dignity of his ,english home and the coldness of his ,english wife1 the man remembered the happy days and nights spent under the ,burmese roof and the pretty little ,burmese girl who shyly slipped her hand in his and called him master1 lord of all her days and nights4 ,there is a story told of an ,english official in ,upper ,burmah who1 when time for leave of absence came1 closed up his ,burmese home1 giving to its little hostess money sufficient to make her rich for life4 ,on his return to ,burmah he brought with him the girl from ,devonshire to whom he had been betrothed for many years4 ,at dinner their first night soft steps were heard upon the verandas1 and curtains moved as if in the swaying of an evening breeze1 but nothing could be seen4 ,the next morning when starting for his office the frightened horse shied madly at a little mound of silk lying by the side of the gateway4 ,it was the little ,burmese wife1 with a dagger through her heart4 ,pinned upon her pretty dress was a letter for her lord1 in which she said3 8,i have looked upon thy newly wedded wife and found her good4 ,if ,i had seen within her eyes--and love would quick have told me--that she were not the worthy one1 that she were not fitted to be thy mate through all these years to come1 ,i would have plunged my knife deep in her heart1 but now ,i know it is better for me to go1 as life without thee has no joy40 ,one can understand the charm that these happy1 smiling1 care-free little women have for the men who come from homes where levity and laissez-faire are things to be condemned4 ,the ,burmese wife makes no demands upon her lord and master2 she is obedient1 attendant to his every want1 and never scolding and discontented4 ,as far as material wants are concerned1 the native woman of any ,eastern country makes an ideal wife for the average ,european1 yet they can never be real companions one with the other4 ,there is more than the bar of language between them2 there is the bar of instincts1 customs1 and traditions4 ,the entire life of each has been passed in different environments4 ,practically always the woman has little or no education1 and knows nothing of the world outside the town where she was born4 ,there is never any question of equality between the foreign husband and the native wife2 he is always her lord1 she is always his slave4 ,to the light-hearted ,burmese woman1 to whom the marriage tie even with a man of her own race is not a binding cord1 these 8marriages for a day0 are not always things of tragedy1 but the curse falls heavily upon the child if there should be one4 ,in all ,eastern countries--,egypt1 ,india1 ,burmah1 ,china1 and ,japan--the half-caste is a being set apart4 ,ostracized by the members of his father's race1 unrecognized by his mother's people1 he is a social pariah1 and one almost feels that1 if society could enforce it1 he would be compelled to call out1 8,unclean1 unclean60 as did the lepers in the olden time4 ,illustration3 ,,en ,,route ,,to ,a ,,festival1 ,,burmah4 ,to face p4 #aih4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,burmese ,,religion ,,and ,,superstition ,judging from appearances1 the ,burmese woman is deeply religious4 ,we see her offering her flowers before the many shrines scattered throughout the country1 and hear the deep-toned bell hanging before the lord of light as she strikes it three times to call the attention of the spirits of the air to her piety4 ,on days of festival the pagoda is thronged with gaily dressed women1 and at the greatest of all pagoda feasts1 that of the ,shwe ,dagon in ,rangoon1 women pilgrims from every part of ,burmah come to lay their tribute before the greatest shrine in ,buddha-land4 ,they come by train and boat and bullock-cart1 and to many it is the most important event of the whole year4 ,girls look forward to the chance it offers to show their charms to the male world1 old ladies count on the meeting of friends and the discussion of the events of the past year1 while to all it offers a chance to lay up merit for themselves and advance a step on the long road that leads to ,neban4 ,near the temple are marionette shows1 and theatrical companies make these festivals their place of greatest profit1 while the merchants offer their wares for sale1 and the sellers of incense1 candles1 flowers1 and offerings for the different shrines reap their harvest4 ,yet over the whole joyous occasion1 which would strike the casual observer as simply a holiday for these happy people1 is thrown the veil of a deep religious motive4 ,in the fascination of the secular gaieties around them1 these spiritual women do not forget the real object of their pilgrimage1 and the prayers and protestations before the altars1 and the constant booming of the deep-toned bells1 show that praise of the ,lord of lords is not forgotten amidst the excitement and pleasures of the world outside4 ,the ,burmese woman may go to the pagoda on the duty days of each month1 of which there are four1 or she may stay at home4 ,the only force upon her is that of public opinion1 yet she generally goes1 as it is the meeting-place of all her world1 and the care-free ,burmese1 both men and women1 are always looking for a chance of amusement and a meeting with friends4 ,whether or not she attends these duty days once a week is solely dependent upon her piety1 or her love of companionship2 but deeply ingrained within her soul is a daily duty that no ,burman1 unless of the very advanced class1 neglects--the propitiation of the nats1 those spirits inhabiting the air1 the ground1 the water1 and all things1 both animate and inanimate4 ,even the stones upon the roadside may be the home of spirits who may prove destructive or hostile at any time4 ,to guard against the evils that might come with neglect of such powerful enemies to his happiness1 the ,burmese erects a shrine at the extremity of his village1 sometimes no larger than a bird house built in the pipul-tree4 ,there he may offer food1 and light his tiny lamps1 and pour his offerings of water1 and burn his incense4 ,he leaves the nats of the household to the especial care of his wife1 who covers all the posts within the rooms with white cloth1 so that they may be comfortable while sitting in their favourite places4 ,to counteract the effect of the evil spirits who may wish to take up their dwelling within the home1 the careful housewife keeps near at hand a jar of water that has been blessed1 and daily sprinkles floor and roof for the protection of her family4 ,it is believed that people who have been executed for their crimes or who have met a violent death become nats and haunt the place where they so suddenly departed from this world1 and this belief led to many cruel practices in former times4 ,the burial of men and women alive under the gates of a city originated in this desire to protect its inhabitants1 as these spirits wander around the place of their death1 and bring disaster upon strangers who may come with evil intent4 ,it is said that under the palace gates fifty men and women were buried alive to protect those within the ,imperial residence4 ,this belief in spirits leads to many evils1 and the woman's life is one of constant fear for herself and for her loved ones4 ,she naturally consults in time of trouble with those who have a knowledge of spirit lore1 or who have power to control them and make of no avail their wrong intentions4 ,consequently ,burmah abounds in astrologers1 necromancers1 wizards1 and witch-doctors1 who impose upon the fears of the women to a marvellous extent4 ,these charlatans vie with the doctors in their ignorance4 ,a man of medicine in this land ruled by superstition needs no diploma1 and he administers a mixture of herbs and nasty tasting condiments in such strong doses that they are bound to cure or kill4 ,quantity1 not quality1 is what the sick ,burmese requires2 and if after a medicine is administered five times she is not better1 another kind is tried1 and if the desired effect is not produced1 another doctor is called1 who perhaps makes a distinctly different diagnosis of the case1 and the dosing is commenced all over again with another set of medicines4 ,it is well known by all that the body is composed of four elements--earth1 water1 fire1 and air--and derangement of these four properties may cause the illness4 ,before medicine is administered1 the horoscope must be consulted in order to learn the proportions of the elements within the body1 when perhaps it is found that the sickness is caused by an evil act committed in a former life1 or the seasons may be the cause of her misfortune4 ,it is always a most complicated affair1 and perhaps the doctor finds that the sufferer must refuse all food whose initial letter begins with the same letter as that of the day of her birth4 ,there are ninety-six diseases that afflict mankind1 and it often takes many doctors and much medicine to decide with which one of the ninety-six ailments the woman is contending4 ,if she should die1 it is believed that the soul1 in the shape of a black butterfly1 issues from the mouth1 and dies at the same time as that of the body which it inhabited4 ,although the ,buddhists do not believe in the actuality of the soul as we know it1 this black butterfly is the real spirit of the woman1 and is with her constantly except at times of sleep1 when it may leave the earthly body and go roaming over the world4 ,it can never visit places strange to its owner1 as it might lose its way and not come back again1 when both would die--the body because its spirit was gone1 the butterfly because it had lost its earthly home4 ,one reason why a ,burman will not rouse one suddenly from a deep slumber is because he is afraid that the butterfly might be on a visit and unable to return to its home upon the man's awakening1 which1 of course1 would be most fatal4 ,this roaming spirit takes many chances1 as there are goblins and evil genii who desire nothing better than to eat black butterflies1 and often they become so frightened that they return home in a great panic1 which throws the owner of the soul into a fever4 ,it sometimes happens that the spirit is kept prisoner1 and then the witch doctors are brought in and many incantations are gone through to induce the evil gnomes to release their hold upon the poor butterfly before it is too late4 ,two souls who deeply love each other often wish to leave the world together1 or a mother dies and wishes her loved one1 perhaps her only child1 to join her in the other land1 and her spirit calls for her baby's butterfly1 who will follow that of the mother unless frustrated by the machinations of some wise woman who understands the way of spirits4 ,this woman comes to the house1 and placing a mirror on the floor by the dead mother or wife who is calling for her child or husband1 entreats the dead not to demand the soul of the living4 ,as she pleads with her she allows a piece of down to slip slowly on to the face of the mirror and catches it in a handkerchief1 which is then gently placed on the breast of the living1 and the spirit comes back to its resting-place4 ,superstition dominates the life of the ,burmese woman as much as it does her ,indian sister4 ,she believes in love potions and philtres to bring a longed-for lover to her side4 ,she consults with wise men1 who tell her whether the waning love of husband is caused by the nat or guardian of the house2 or if she is not yet wedded1 she finds that the horoscopes of herself and lover are not propitious and that he is not intended for her mate4 ,she also uses this man of science to revenge herself upon a hated rival1 and will cause an image to be made of clay1 over which are chanted devilish rituals which will cause death or madness to fall upon the unsuspecting person4 ,not only do the spirits of all worlds influence her1 but each act of the things around her has its meaning4 ,if a hen should lay an egg upon a cloth1 the lucky owner will receive a present2 and if she is going on a journey and a snake should cross her path1 her misfortune would be certain4 ,if a dog should carry a bone into the house1 she blesses him1 as great riches and honour will come to all beneath her roof4 ,but she is hampered in her actions by the number of lucky and unlucky days that control her destiny4 ,there are days unfortunate for all the world1 and others that apply only to her1 when she must act with exceeding care1 and understand the lore of the stars which were in the ascendant at her birth4 ,thursday is generally a good day for all1 but if a woman was so foolhardy as to commence a work on ,tuesday it might be fatal and she would lose her life4 ,friday is the day of days on which to commence a new enterprise1 as success is bound to follow4 ,the hair should be washed once a month1 if possible1 but never on ,monday1 ,friday1 or ,saturday4 ,a good mother on sending her son into the monastery would see that the rite of cutting the hair did not fall upon ,monday1 ,friday1 or his birthday1 and it limits the choice of days1 as this latter event1 the birthday1 occurs once a week4 ,there are also a few months especially unlucky for a woman born under certain stars1 and no undertaking should be commenced in those months4 ,in fact1 the ,burmese woman is ruled by signs and omens from her birth to her death1 and when the necromancers1 the wizards1 the doctors1 and the witches are unable longer to keep the spirit1 the little black butterfly1 within the body1 and she is gathered to her fathers1 rules and traditions govern her laying away to her last resting-place4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,burmese ,,woman ,,and ,,her ,,cigar4 ,to face p4 #bjf4 ,in former days the dead were all cremated1 but now burying has come into general use4 ,when death comes to a family it means elaborate preparations and feasting from the time that the breath has left the body and the coin is put into the mouth to pay the ferryman for the last journey over the lonely river1 until the seven days of mourning are over4 ,yet it is hard to speak of these days as days of mourning1 for music1 dancing before the bier1 and the feasting in the home would cause the onlooker at a ,burmese funeral to believe that he was witnessing a wedding-festival instead of a scene of sorrow4 ,the ,burmese1 like most ,eastern nations1 spend far too much upon their funeral observances2 and often a man goes into debt for life to pay for the extravagances which custom and tradition make necessary to uphold his standing in the community when the ,angel of ,death visits his household4 ,a new custom1 or an old custom made more elaborate1 has increased the cost of living for the hospitable ,burman4 ,when invitations are given for any festivity1 the invitation is accompanied by a present1 often a silk handkerchief or a turban1 but with the rich this present is growing more expensive1 until it is becoming a burden that is causing many of the conservative to complain4 ,i was told while in ,mandalay that when a certain gentleman sent out invitations for his daughter's wedding1 he accompanied each invitation with a gold sovereign1 and as he bade more than two hundred guests to the feast1 his entertainment cost him a goodly sum before the actual expense of the festival took place4 ,this useless expenditure falls heavily upon the small official who is trying to live upon his salary1 as salaries are not large in ,burmah4 ,a gentleman with a sense of humour was calling upon us1 and in the course of conversation we touched upon the servant question4 ,he asked us what a ,chinese butler received for his services in ,america4 ,i told him ten pounds a month4 ,he gasped1 and then he laughed and a twinkle came to his black eyes as he said3 8,i am an official of the city of ,mandalay1 and ,i receive just that amount4 ,i think ,i will go to ,america40 ,illustration3 ,,burmese ,,working ,,woman4 ,to face p4 #bjh4 ,the ,burmese woman in her home is allowed much more liberty than any other ,oriental woman4 ,she is her husband's equal1 although she is taught to look upon man as a superior being2 still1 that is only theoretical4 ,in actual life she is one with him in business1 his amusements1 and in his religious life4 ,he consults her upon matters of importance1 and she has proved worthy of trust and confidence1 because she has a good mind and has been allowed to use her judgment in matters of business as well as in her own particular realm--the home4 ,she has domestic troubles with which to contend1 but public opinion is helping her1 especially in the case of polygamy4 ,this destroyer of woman's happiness is sometimes practised1 but sentiment is against it1 and it is a very brave man who cares to run counter to the general opinion of his village or city in regard to the number of women he shelters beneath his roof-tree4 ,but if the ,burman may not marry more than one woman at a time1 he may divorce as many wives as he wishes4 ,as the woman also shares in this prerogative1 the law is not so one-sided as it is in ,mohammedan countries4 ,manu1 the ancient law-maker1 allowed women to divorce their husbands if they were too poor to support them2 if they were lazy and would not work2 or if they were incapacitated by reason of old age1 or became cripples after marriage4 ,the husband may send his wife away if she bears him no male children2 if she is not loving2 or if she is disobedient4 ,divorce is purely a personal affair1 and the marriage tie may be dissolved at any time the parties concerned think fit1 without calling in priest or lawyer4 ,there are very definite provisions in the laws in regard to the property of the separating couple4 ,in the event of divorce each party takes with them the property brought by them to the new home1 and what they accumulated since marriage is either divided by mutual agreement or by a decision of the village elders who sanction the separation4 ,i am told that divorce is not so common as one would believe1 considering the ease with which it may be obtained4 ,the ,burman is a very easy-going man1 the ,burmese wife a clever woman who makes it her business to understand her lord and master1 and consequently she generally rules him4 8,burmah is the land of henpecked husbands10 one ,burman told me1 8all the world knows our shame0--and then he laughed4 ,education is coming more slowly to the ,burmese woman than it is to the ,indian or the ,egyptian4 ,she has not seen its need1 consequently has not demanded it4 ,but it will come in time1 and the intellectual broadening will free her from the cloud of superstition that now surrounds her and controls her actions to a great extent4 ,illustration3 ,,golden ,,pagoda1 ,,mandalay4 ,to face p4 #baj4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,lady ,,of ,,china ,it is not easy for the woman of the ,occident to understand the life of the woman of the ,orient4 ,the woman of the ,west1 in her freedom1 her complex social life1 her husband's love1 looks pityingly upon the ,eastern woman in what appears to be a seemingly restricted sphere--the home4 ,it is known that she is practically a prisoner1 not by force but by custom and convention2 that the wall of the compound are the walls of the world to her4 ,it is not realized1 however1 that there she is supreme1 and from within those compound-walls1 she sways to a great extent the thought and life of ,china4 ,the ,chinese lady does not lead a life of leisure or indolence4 ,the picture of the ,eastern woman sitting upon divans and eating sweetmeats does not apply to the women of this country4 ,if she is the wife of an official or of a man of wealth1 she has a large household over which she must preside4 ,if the husband has a mother living the mother is the head of the house1 and her will is absolute4 ,this was shown rather forcibly a few years ago in ,peking4 ,the son of a ,chinese official while abroad married a ,european woman4 ,she returned to ,peking with her husband1 and within a few months fled to a foreign embassy and asked protection1 as she believed her life in danger4 ,the mother-in-law had said3 8,while ,i was in ,europe with you ,i was powerless1 but here ,i am absolute4 ,i could even kill you and no one would question the act4 ,it is my right to do with you as ,i wish40 ,the minister could do nothing1 as by her marriage the girl had become a ,chinese subject and was under the laws of ,china1 which gave the mother of her husband absolute control over her life and person4 ,often there are an incredible number of people living under one roof-tree1 as all the sons bring their wives to their father's home instead of establishing separate households4 ,sheng1 the director of railways1 told me that there were #bej people who took rice each day within his compound4 ,the walls of his garden enclosed a small village4 ,there was a large building containing his office and residence4 ,radiating from this there were rows of smaller houses1 where his brothers and married sons lived with their numerous families4 ,a ,chinese house1 even of the very rich1 is a shabby affair1 judged from ,western standards4 ,it is always surrounded by a wall1 generally painted white4 ,within the entrance gate is a large wooden screen1 placed to insure privacy1 and also to guard the doorways from evil spirits1 which are known to travel only in straight lines and to abhor corners4 ,if the family is large the home consists of a series of houses built around courtyards4 ,across the first court are the master's rooms and offices2 then come the houses of the different families1 as each wife has a suite of rooms for herself and her children4 ,some of the wives of the more wealthy ,chinese occupy an entire building4 ,the kitchen and the servants' quarters are at the end of the last courtyard4 ,the floors of all the rooms are of rough boards1 with great cracks between them1 sometimes covered with a rug but more often bare4 ,the walls are composed of the same wide boards1 with here and there an embroidered hanging or a scroll bearing the words of some honoured sage4 ,the furniture of the reception-room consists of small tables alternating with straight-backed chairs1 arranged with mathematical precision around the three sides of the room4 ,opposite the doorway is the seat of honour1 or an opium-couch4 ,often the furniture is elaborately carved or inlaid with mother-of-pearl1 but it looks formal and precise4 ,the chairs1 with their red embroidered cushions1 are very uncomfortable for the ,westerner1 because of their straight1 low backs and high1 narrow seats1 that make one long for a footstool4 ,there are no buffets nor sideboards in the dining-rooms1 and stools are used in place of chairs4 ,the tables are square1 seating eight1 and neither tablecloths nor napkins are considered necessary adjuncts to dining4 ,the bedrooms are small1 and filled wellnigh to overflowing by an enormous carved bed1 with red embroidered curtains hanging from the heavy canopy and long silken tassels draping the four posts4 ,the ,chinese do not indulge in mattresses nor springs1 sheets1 nor pillow-cases4 ,the pillows are small bolsters1 and the bedclothing consists of a series of wadded 8comfortables0 made of silk or cotton4 ,their dislike of springs is very intense4 ,a hospital for the ,chinese was opened in one of the interior towns1 and the doctors1 wishing to do the very best they could to make their patients comfortable1 bought1 at great expense1 foreign beds with springs4 ,they found1 to their disgust1 that the patients1 as soon as the nurse turned her back1 insisted on placing the bedclothing upon the floor and lying there1 instead of in the nice comfortable beds that had been provided for them4 ,they claimed that the springs made them 8seasick40 ,when ,chinese ladies are calling upon a foreign woman1 one of the chief ways to amuse them is to take them over the house and permit them to see the furnishings of the homes of the people from over the sea4 ,they are always intensely interested in the beds and look at the springs from all sides1 sitting on them and pressing them down with their hands1 finally shaking their heads1 as much as to say1 8,it is past all belief what these strange people will have in their houses40 ,illustration3 ,,chinese ,,women ,,warming ,,hands ,,and ,,feet ,,with ,,braziers4 ,to face p4 #bad4 ,the chief article of furniture in the kitchen is the stove1 a huge affair made of brick4 ,this stove has generally three holes1 in which are set the iron cooking-pots1 shaped like large washbowls and made of very thin metal1 in order that the ingredients may cook with the smallest amount of heat necessary1 as the question of fuel is a serious one in ,china4 ,in the country around ,shanghai1 rice-straw and faggots are the main fuel1 while on every hillside in the country one sees women and children cutting the dried grass and gathering every available thing that may be burned4 ,because of the lack of body in the fuel it keeps one person busy feeding the fire while another attends to the cooking4 ,the food served at a feast1 and which the average foreigner sees1 is quite different from that eaten every day4 ,at a feast there are often twenty or thirty courses4 ,swallow's-nest soup1 shark-fins1 pigeon eggs cooked with nuts1 ducks prepared in many ways1 fowl1 fish1 and innumerable sweets4 ,rice is served as the last course1 while at the ordinary dinner it is the principal dish4 ,it is to the ,chinese what bread is to the ,european or potatoes to the ,irish4 ,the food is cooked in vegetable oil1 made from beans or cabbages1 or1 for the richer class1 from peanuts4 ,the chief meat is pork1 which is cut into little bits and cooked with a vegetable4 ,beef is not used by the average ,chinese4 ,the cow is a beast of burden1 and none of her products are eaten4 ,i have seen a great official1 on being told that the ice-cream he was eating was made of milk1 deposit upon his plate the contents of his mouth with more haste than grace4 ,one receives the impression from pictures that the ,chinese politely picks up a few grains of rice with his chopsticks and carries them slowly to his mouth4 ,this is a picture of ,occidental imagination rather than ,oriental reality4 ,he takes with his chopsticks some vegetables from the dishes in the centre of the table1 to which all have access1 and1 after depositing the chosen morsel on the top of his rice1 he lifts the bowl to his face and uses his chopsticks to shovel as much of the rice into the opening as its capacity will permit4 ,the ,chinese are supposed to be a slow and phlegmatic race1 but if one were to judge by the rapidity with which a bowl of rice will disappear1 one would easily give them a place among the most rapid and progressive races of the world4 ,food used by the ,chinese is very cheap4 ,the ,viceroy at ,nanking1 a man of unlimited wealth and power1 told me that the food for himself did not cost more than twenty cents a day4 ,the servants in the ,american ,consulate had their food bought by the second cook1 paying him five shillings each per month1 which sum included food1 cooking1 and service4 ,on board a foreign houseboat the captain is paid four shillings per day for the hire of six men1 and they are fed by him out of this sum4 ,it is made possible by the cheapness of the vegetables4 ,i have seen him buy three bushels of a curly-leaved vegetable resembling spinach for twopence4 ,the lady of ,china takes no part in her husband's business or social life4 ,much of the business in ,china among the official and rich class is transacted socially1 and the dinners are generally given at a tea-house or restaurant1 or on the pleasure-boats kept for that purpose4 ,even the very finest of these entertainment-places are very shabby affairs1 from a ,western standpoint4 ,they are also extremely dirty4 ,the floors are made of unmatched boards that have never seen the scrubbing-brush1 and the guests throw their fish-bones1 cigarette-ends1 etc41 under the table4 ,the ,chinese understand the art of dining1 and we who simply go to eat cannot appreciate the social side of this form of entertainment as does the ,eastern man4 ,he eats a few courses1 sheds a jacket1 loosens a belt1 talks to a singing girl1 smokes1 then eats a few more courses1 gambles a while1 and really enjoys himself for four or five hours4 ,when he enters the room for the feast he is given a slip of paper1 on which he writes the name of his favourite singing girl and her place of residence4 ,when all the guests arrive the slips are taken by a servant to the different places1 and at intervals during the dinner the girls arrive4 ,these girls are owned by men or women who bought them when they were very young1 and have trained them for singing girls or professional amusers4 ,they sway in on their tiny bound feet1 beautifully dressed1 painted and powdered1 and take their place behind the man who sent for them4 ,they sit on a narrow stool1 chat with the man1 have a few puffs from a water pipe1 eat melon-seeds 7they never eat or drink anything from the table72 then their maid brings them their musical instrument1 and they sing1 in a high falsetto voice1 a song or two4 ,if the song and the singer are admired1 the guests show their approval by loud 8,hah1 hah's40 ,after her song the girl arises1 says good-bye to her patron1 and leaves for her next engagement4 ,the girl's owner receives from four to sixteen shillings1 according to the fame of the girl2 she receives nothing1 unless a present is given her by some admirer4 ,many of them have beautiful bracelets and hair ornaments of pearls and jade1 and many own gold water pipes that are very costly4 ,they all carry little makeup boxes1 and powder their noses whenever the desire seizes them4 ,to ,western eyes they are not pretty1 with their red and white faces4 ,they paint their forehead1 nose1 and around their mouth white1 the cheeks and under-lip bright red1 and to obtain the proper willow-leaf pattern for the eyebrows their own are shaved and others more slanting are painted in their place4 ,it is hard to see any charm in these little women4 ,they sing through their noses1 talk very little1 and that the most inane gossip1 powder themselves1 then bow and go away4 ,they seem to have neither ideas1 expression1 nor figure4 ,illustration3 ,,chinese ,,women ,,and ,,chair-,,bearers4 ,to face p4 #bah4 ,with each one of these entertainers is a maid1 who supports her as she sways along on her little feet1 and who sees that she does not try to run away from her master4 ,if the girl is popular and in much demand she has a sedan chair and two bearers2 if a very young girl1 she is carried on the shoulders of a strong1 husky coolie4 ,many of them lead pitiful lives1 and a singing girl's only hope of escape is to become the secondary wife or concubine of a rich man2 then1 if she should be so fortunate as to bear a son for her husband she would hold an honourable position1 and nothing could be said against her because of her former life4 ,a ,chinese gentleman is out to dinner practically every night1 or else he is entertaining friends4 ,he sleeps until noon1 goes to his particular club for amusement and to meet his friends in the afternoon1 and returns to his home in the wee sma' hours of the night4 ,the wife or wives stay at home and take care of the house and children4 ,no ,chinese lady ever dines at a restaurant2 in fact1 no ,chinese lady ever eats at the same table with her husband2 he would 8lose face0 if he ate with a woman4 ,although a lady is never seen dining in public1 she frequently gives dinner parties to her friends and relatives4 ,the courtyards are then filled with the chattering chair-bearers1 who1 squatting on their haunches as only an ,eastern servant can1 drink innumerable cups of tea served by the servants of the hostess4 ,the guests are met at the entrance to the women's quarters by the lady of the house1 and a great many bows are made1 varying in depth according to the rank of the guest4 ,each guest has a maid1 who from time to time brings her mistress a vanity box1 from which is extracted powder and rouge2 and she1 like her frailer sister1 the sing-song girl1 applies a little more white to her already whitened nose1 or rouges her cheeks1 or touches a little red paint to the lower lip4 ,paint and powder are not confined to the women of the amusement class1 as the ,chinese lady 7that is1 the younger ones2 older women do not make up at all7 paints her face more than is beautiful to foreign eyes4 ,even the hands are not forgotten1 and within the palms the rouge brush is used4 ,the hands of a ,chinese lady are beautiful--long1 slender1 and delicate1 looking as helpless as a flower4 ,in the olden time long fingernails were worn as a mark of ladyhood1 and were often covered with jade or gold1 telling plainly that the wearer belonged to the leisured class and did not need to toil4 ,in fact1 the whole expression of a ,chinese lady is helplessness4 ,from her exquisitely coiffured head1 with its mass of pearl and jade1 to her tiny feet1 on which she sways instead of walks1 she impresses one as a dainty piece of jewellery1 too fragile for real life4 ,the small feet accentuated this1 but now they are passing1 and the new woman of ,china is not binding her daughter's feet4 ,illustration3 ,,bound ,,feet ,,of ,,chinese ,,woman4 ,to face p4 #bba4 ,the curse of footbinding does not fall so heavily upon women who may sit and embroider1 or if needs must travel can be borne upon the shoulders of their chair-bearers2 but it is upon the poor girl1 whose parents hope to have one in the family who may better their fortunes by a rich marriage1 and1 hoping thus1 they bind their feet4 ,if this marriage fails and she is forced to work within her household1 or1 even worse1 if poverty compels her to work in the fields1 or add her mite gained by most heavy labour to help fill the many eager mouths at home1 then she should have our pity4 ,we have seen the small-footed woman pulling heavy boats along the tow-paths1 or leaning on their hoes to rest their tired feet while working in the fields of cotton4 ,to her each day is a day of pain1 and this new law forbidding the binding of the feet of children will come as a blessing from the gods4 ,but it will not pass at once1 as so many now loudly proclaim2 it will take at least three generations3 the children of the present children will quite likely all have natural feet4 ,the people in the country1 far from the noise of change and progress1 will not feel immediately that they can wander so far afield from the old ideas of what is beautiful in their womenkind4 ,the most noticeable thing about a ,chinese woman1 poor as well as rich1 is her hair3 it is jet-black1 and made shiny and smooth with a paste until not a strand is out of place4 ,at certain times of the year small wreaths are made from tiny yellow flowers and placed around the knot at the back4 ,the hair is never untidy1 and the artistic disorder of the hair of the foreign woman is secretly much disliked by the ,chinese4 ,the late ,empress-,dowager once gave the wife of a foreign ,minister a set of combs as a present4 ,the ,minister's wife was delighted1 as the gift was enclosed in an elaborate silver box1 and she did not see the subtle suggestion in the present1 over which the ,chinese of the province chuckled for many a day4 ,a party of ,chinese ladies presents a very gay appearance4 ,they wear silk or satin1 nearly always brocaded and often heavily embroidered4 ,in the winter1 as the houses are not heated1 many furs are worn1 but almost entirely1 except in the case of sable1 as linings for the silken coats4 ,one garment is put on over the other until the right degree of warmth is obtained4 ,instead of speaking of degrees of cold1 the ,chinese say it is three-coat weather or five-coat weather4 ,the children are clothed in wadded garments1 so thick that the overdressed babies look like little round balls and can scarcely move4 ,in the summer the ladies wear delicate gauzes over their undergarments of grass-linen4 ,nearly every province in ,china has its own customs and peculiarities in dress as well as in everything else1 but they all agree on the rich reds and blues1 the purples and mauves for the making of their jackets1 while their wide1 skirt-like trousers are often of a much deeper colour than the jacket and trimmed with a wide band of black4 ,the mixture of tints sounds most incongruous to foreign ears1 but ,chinese women have the faculty of weaving the most clashing hues into a work of harmonious art4 ,except in the case of an old lady1 black is seldom worn1 and as white is the colour of mourning1 it is seen only on occasions of sorrow4 ,a ,chinese lady can never understand why ,european babies are dressed in white4 ,children are the symbols of happiness1 and it seems to them most inappropriate to garb them in sorrow's colours4 ,all the gayest and brightest colours of ,china's dye-pots are made to produce the clothing for ,china's children4 ,the dress of the ,chinese woman1 rich or poor1 is very modest1 fastening close around the neck1 with sleeves coming to the hands and the loose jacket formed so as to disguise the lines of the body4 ,european women are severely censured in ,china because of their dcolett gowns and tight dresses1 which seem to the ,chinese the height of vulgarity4 ,when one of the ,imperial princes was en route to ,england1 he attended his first foreign dinner in ,shanghai4 ,about twenty-five of the guests were ,english and ,american ladies1 dressed in their most elaborate gowns1 which means extreme dcolett4 ,the attachs of the prince had tried to prepare his highness for the sight he was to witness2 but they had evidently underestimated its startling qualities1 because when the prince arrived and gave one amazed look at his hostess and the line of waiting ladies he was nonplussed4 ,he looked pitifully for his interpreter1 and1 not receiving aid from him1 put down his head1 shut his eyes1 and bravely stumbled around the room1 groping blindly for each lady's hand1 as he had been informed that he should shake hands with them4 ,this was another serious breach of ,chinese etiquette1 as no ,chinese man must ever touch a woman4 ,the ,chinese views in regard to modesty connected with the dress of women has caused the missionaries in the interior to expurgate from the magazines that may by chance fall into the hands of ,chinese visitors all pictures of lightly clad ladies who are used to advertise soaps and powders and the underwear of our ,american markets4 ,the ,chinese are very fond of their children4 ,they say1 8,in the children our parents return to us2 in the children we live again40 ,when ladies visit each other they always ask for the children1 who are brought in by the nurses4 ,with their jackets of red1 their trousers of bright green or purple1 their baby-caps with its rows of tiny brass ,buddhas that shine and glitter like gold1 and the mark of red paint on the forehead or on the tip of the tiny nose1 they look like brilliant little elfs4 ,the girls are dressed quite as richly as the boys1 and it is to the interest of the nurse to make the children as attractive as possible1 because the pleased visitor generally gives her a small present of money wrapped in red paper4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,old-,,fashioned ,,chinese ,,girls' ,,school4 ,to face p4 #bbd4 ,visiting a high-class ,chinese lady1 one is impressed with the number of children and servants that seem to be swarming over the place4 ,when one of a family has distinction or wealth1 all the poor relatives come to dwell with him4 ,li ,hung-chang built a home in ,shanghai in which to live when he should retire from private life4 ,when asked why he built so far from his home province1 which was contrary to ,chinese custom1 he said he built as far as possible from his native town1 hoping that his poor relations could not obtain the money with which to come to ,shanghai4 ,the servants in a ,chinese family are not expensive1 so far as wages are concerned1 but they cost a great deal in perquisites4 ,they rarely receive more than eight shillings a month1 but they are given their food1 and they help themselves lavishly to anything they may desire4 ,they dress themselves from the old clothing of the family1 freely take the hairpins and the toilet articles of the mistress1 clothe their children from the common wardrobe1 and1 in fact1 are a part of the family4 ,there is a peculiar democratic custom which servants may claim1 but which is seldom used--the right of reviling the family when discharged4 ,the youngest son of ,li ,hung-chang lived next door to me1 and an old serving-woman was discharged for a reason that evidently did not appeal to her sense of justice4 ,she sat beneath the gateway and for three hours called down curses upon the ,li family at the top of her voice4 ,this happened on one of the principal residence streets of ,shanghai1 and the police passed and repassed1 but no one tried to stop her4 ,the house steward made two or three feeble attempts to persuade her to leave1 but she would turn her facile tongue upon him1 and he would gather his skirts in his hands and start on a most undignified run for the house1 evidently believing discretion to be the better part of valour4 ,at the end of three hours1 when she was completely exhausted1 she was led away4 ,the ,chinese lady and her servants gossip together as friends1 rooms are entered without warning1 conversations interrupted1 and suggestions offered which1 to the foreigner1 seem to be of the grossest impertinence4 ,this intimacy is due partly to the restricted life the lady leads1 and partly to the fact that many of the servants are distant relatives4 ,practically the only news from the outside world that comes to the woman behind the walls is brought by her sons or by the servants4 ,she makes few visits1 and these usually at the home of some relative1 entering her closely covered chair within her courtyard and carried swiftly to the courtyard of the house where she is to visit4 ,there is no such thing as 8calling0 between the wives of men who are mutually interested in affairs or who are business associates4 ,the wife of a ,treaty ,commissioner called upon the wives of the ,chinese officials who were associated with her husband in conducting the treaty4 ,they were very polite and returned her call1 but are still wondering why she called4 ,the wife of a consul wished to give a luncheon to the wife of the ,mayor of ,shanghai4 ,she asked the interpreter who was assisting her in the arrangements if other ,chinese ladies of the same rank might be asked4 ,the interpreter said1 8,no2 a ,chinese lady would rather not meet women other than relatives40 ,the ,chinese wife lives entirely for her family and with her family4 ,she rarely goes to a public place of amusement1 although in some of the ports1 like ,shanghai and ,canton1 entire families are seen at the ,chinese theatres4 ,theatrical companies come to the houses of the rich and official class for the amusement of guests1 and story-tellers and musicians1 nearly always blind1 go from door to door asking to be taken into the women's courtyards to help while away the dreary hours4 ,astrologers and fortune-tellers pass along the resident streets1 striking their little gong to attract the notice of the women behind the walls4 ,they are extremely clever1 and cast horoscopes in a manner similar to that of the ,egyptians of olden times4 ,they are very popular among the ,chinese women1 as are fortune-tellers with women of all races4 ,we are prone to sympathize with the ,chinese woman because of the plurality of wives1 but one sees little evidence of the need of our sympathy4 ,the ,chinese have a saying3 8,the head wife should cherish the inferior wives as the great tree cherishes the creepers that gather round it40 ,i do not know whether this sage advice is always followed1 but ,i have seen the several wives of many officials1 all friendly as sisters and all working for the common good of the home4 ,i called upon the wife of an official and was met at the door by two ladies4 ,one of them was a very old ,chinese lady1 with the smallest bound feet that ,i have ever seen2 they could not have been more than #b inches in length4 ,she was partially supported on one side by a servant1 and on the other by a beautifully dressed ,manchu woman4 ,after ,i was seated in the place of honour at the left of the elderly lady1 and tea was brought1 ,i asked the usual question1 8,what is your honourable age80 ,she replied1 8,sixty-two02 then1 as always follows1 ,i said1 8,how many children have you80 ,she replied1 8,five40 ,i asked their ages1 and1 to my astonishment1 heard her say that the eldest was seventeen years and the youngest two months4 ,when ,i could find words to continue the conversation1 ,i turned to the ,manchu lady and asked her practically the same questions4 ,she replied that she was thirty-five years old1 was the mother of five children1 the eldest being seventeen years and the youngest two months4 ,then ,i realized that the first wife had no children1 but1 according to ,chinese custom1 claimed as her own all children born to the secondary wives4 ,the custom was further exemplified by the wife of a magistrate who was calling upon me1 accompanied by the second wife4 ,after the usual questions in regard to age and health1 ,i asked this lady how many children she possessed4 ,she looked at me in a puzzled manner for a moment1 then turned to the other wife and1 keeping track of the names by turning down a finger at each count1 said3 8,let me see--how many children have ,i8 ,tsai-an has three1 ,wo-kee has five--that is eight2 ,ma-lu has two--ten2 ,sin ,yun has four--fourteen2 ,sih-peh two--sixteen2 and you have three02 then1 turning to me1 she said1 8,i have nineteen children40 ,i have a ,chinese friend who lived in ,canton until he became involved in some political trouble that caused him to leave for ,shanghai1 where he would be under the protection of the foreign settlements4 ,he left behind him his mother1 four wives1 and sixteen children4 ,he became lonely in his exile1 and asked his mother to send him a couple of his wives4 ,she wrote him that they were busy attending to the education of their children1 and that they did not speak the dialect in ,shanghai and would feel like strangers2 consequently it would be better for him to marry a couple of women native to the province1 who would be more contented4 ,he took her advice4 ,there is an ,american woman doctor in ,shanghai who goes to the homes of the rich ,chinese in the practice of her profession4 ,i asked her one day if she knew the wife of ,mr4 ,lu1 a prominent merchant who had a most beautiful home on the smart drive in ,shanghai4 ,she replied that she knew a part of her--numbers one1 four1 seven1 and eleven4 ,a rich man is only restricted in the number of wives he may possess by his ability to support them4 ,gossip says--,i do not know how true it is--that ,yuan ,shi-kai has the unlucky number of thirteen wives beneath the roof-tree of the ,president's palace in ,peking4 ,one would naturally suppose that endless complications of a disagreeable nature1 leading to quarrels and bitterness1 would arise1 yet there does not seem to be more unhappiness in the average ,chinese home than in those of any other country4 ,the first wife1 she who has been chosen by the parents1 is the head of the household1 and her word is law1 the other wives practically occupying the position of servants4 ,that is the theory1 but in actual practice she who is fortunate enough to be the mother of sons1 or perhaps the last girl-wife1 is generally the favourite1 and wields great influence over the master of the household4 ,i said to a woman calling upon me one day that ,i should not feel so badly after the first wife was chosen to replace me1 but that the choice of my immediate successor would make me very unhappy4 ,she looked astonished1 and said3 8,that depends entirely upon the woman4 ,if she is agreeable and pleasant1 it is a pleasure to have her in the family4 ,often a first wife chooses a second40 ,we of the ,western world look upon a great many wives as a luxury only to be enjoyed by the very rich4 ,i have a friend who is very intimate in a ,chinese family in which there are five wives4 ,since hearing her talk ,i have changed my mind in regard to the luxury of the plurality of wives4 ,in this household the first wife lives with the husband's family at their country place2 the other four live with him4 ,the husband supplies a cook for the common use of the family1 and this cook provides rice1 the staple article of food for the household4 ,each wife is given a servant and one pound a month with which to buy her luxuries1 and once a year she is given a complete suit of silk or satin clothing1 and if a favourite1 ,i presume she receives jewels1 etc41 from her husband4 ,a man told me that in the interior of ,china 7,shanghai1 ,peking1 and some of the larger cities are much more expensive7 he could support easily his four wives and fourteen children on an income of #bjj a year4 ,there are many foolish women who marry attachs of the ,chinese embassies in ,england and ,america1 or1 more foolish still1 who marry a ,chinese merchant4 ,they are1 in fact1 marrying the romance of the ,east represented to them in the person of the suave little almond-eyed man1 and they pay bitterly for their mistake if they ever return to their husband's country4 ,they are recognized by neither ,chinese nor foreigners1 have no social standing in any community1 and lead an existence that calls for pity4 ,there lived in ,shanghai a man who had once been a secretary of the ,legation in ,london4 ,he had a great career ahead of him until he married an ,englishwoman1 when he was ordered home1 degraded1 and lived for years as the petty official in the office of the mayor of the city1 at a wage scarcely liveable even for a ,chinese4 ,his wife1 recognized by neither ,english nor ,chinese1 became addicted to opium and drink1 and died after a few years of unhappiness4 ,a woman doctor told me that she found the body lying in an outhouse1 on a bundle of straw1 waiting for burial1 where finally it found a resting-place in a ,chinese cemetery4 ,a few years ago a woman came to the ,english ,consul in ,nanking and asked for protection4 ,she had married a ,chinese merchant in ,london1 and on his return to his own country he met with business reverses that reduced him practically to the position of a coolie4 ,she had been forced to go into the paddy-fields transplanting rice4 ,it is bad enough to see a ,chinese woman standing in the mud and water to her knees1 doing this back-breaking work1 but it would be heartrending to see a woman of our race toiling alongside of the ignorant ,chinese peasant1 under the rays of the tropical sun1 which beats down so pitilessly upon the exposed rice-fields4 ,the ,consul was extremely sorry for the woman1 but could not interfere in the domestic life of a ,chinese subject4 ,when she found nothing could be done for her1 she took the little round ball of sleep with which so many ,chinese wives pass across the bridge of death--opium4 ,if these women who think that it would be such a wonderful experience to live in the glorious ,east1 of which they have read most glittering tales1 would realize that when the man returns to his homeland his parents have the right of choosing a wife for him1 who is his real wife1 and the poor foreign woman is reduced to the position of a concubine1 ,i think many of them would not take a step so fatal to happiness4 ,dr4 ,barchet1 of the ,baptist ,mission near ,ningpo1 saw an ,american woman living in a small village who was one of four wives1 all occupying the same peasant's cottage4 ,when asked why she did not return to her homeland1 she said that she was ashamed to have her people learn of her great mistake1 as she married against their wishes4 ,the bad air and coarse food were having their effect upon this delicately raised girl1 and she was a victim to the great white plague that claims so many lives in ,china4 ,suicide is very common among the women of ,china4 ,when the mother-in-law becomes too oppressive1 or life becomes intolerable from other causes1 the wife often takes the law into her own hands and takes opium or jumps into the well4 ,she then not only receives surcease from her sorrows1 but1 according to ,chinese superstition1 her spirit will linger around the home1 haunting and tormenting the person who was the cause of her taking the fatal step4 ,there is very little intercourse between foreign and ,chinese women4 ,the latter do not seem to care about making the acquaintance of the women from over the seas4 ,it is only of late years that the wives of foreign officials in ,shanghai have had any intercourse with the families of the local officials4 ,such intercourse consists simply in an interchange of calls1 and a luncheon given once a year by the wife of the senior ,consul1 and returned by the wife of the ,chinese taotai or mayor4 ,there can never be any degree of friendship between the ,chinese woman and the ,european4 ,their lives are radically different2 the ,chinese woman's ideals are not the same as those of her foreign sister4 ,their only common subject of conversation is in regard to their children2 and even there a bar is soon put across the conversation1 as the ,chinese mother has different hopes and ambitions for the future of her children than those of the woman from ,england or ,america4 ,she knows nothing of the outside world1 and her only subjects of conversation relate to household gossip1 clothes1 and the actions of her friends4 ,in ,shanghai a society is formed that is trying to bring the women of all nationalities into touch with one another1 but it is not a very great success so far as the ,chinese lady is concerned4 ,she feels awkward and ill at ease in the presence of these women1 who talk so easily on matters of which she knows nothing1 and she much prefers the quiet of her courtyards1 amidst the life she understands4 ,when a ,chinese lady is persuaded to go into the world she is always most dignified1 even under embarrassing circumstances4 ,i once gave a luncheon for the wife of a ,governor of a province1 to which the wives of the consuls and a few other ladies were invited1 about twenty in all4 ,when the guest of honour arrived all the other guests rose to meet her4 ,as she entered the doorway her tiny bound feet stepped upon a rug1 which slipped from beneath her1 and instead of swaying gently across the room she sat down and slid to the feet of her astonished hostess4 ,she was helped to rise by the frightened guests1 and turned and shook hands with them gravely1 without a flicker of the eyelids to indicate that sliding was not the usual mode of entering a drawing-room4 ,the ,chinese lady is trained not to show emotion of any kind4 ,her face1 to be beautiful1 must be absolutely placid1 care-free1 8like unto the full moon in its glory40 ,they consider the foreign woman extremely ugly1 with their long1 care-lined faces4 ,they say that if it were not for the clothing they could not distinguish men from women4 ,their faces1 with their prominent noses and deep-set eyes1 appear to them coarse and unrefined4 ,i have seen children when suddenly confronted with a foreign woman scream in terror4 ,the ,chinese do not impress the casual visitor as a nervous people4 ,it is said that they can bear without murmuring the most severe punishments1 and a torture that would reduce a foreign man to frenzy will elicit only a groan from a member of this phlegmatic race4 ,the women seem to share with their menfolk in this lack of 8nerves40 ,i once made a visit to the wife of the city magistrate1 whose home was in the official 8yamen40 ,she showed me over her house1 and on entering her bedroom ,i went to the only window in the room to see what kind of a view was to be obtained4 ,what was my horror to find that the window looked directly upon the punishment courtyard1 where a man was then being held down upon his face and a bamboo vigorously applied by the lictor4 ,the moans of the victim could be faintly heard1 and what it would be in the summer-time1 when the windows were open1 could very well be imagined4 ,i turned to my hostess and said1 8,how frightful6 ,how can you stand it80 ,she shrugged her shoulders and said1 8,oh1 one becomes used to it40 ,the ,chinese woman is very devout1 and observes all the feast days and days of fasting4 ,it is really the woman who keeps up the religion of ,confucius and ,buddha4 ,an official who had just returned from sacrificing to the dragon who was supposed to have swallowed the sun at the time of an eclipse1 was asked if he believed in this dragon4 ,he laughed and said1 8,of course not40 8,then10 the curious questioner continued1 8why do you do it80 ,he said1 8,why do men in ,america go to church8 ,mainly because their wives wish them to go4 ,it is the same here4 ,it is the women who are the spiritual force of ,china4 ,it is they who are devout1 and it is they who keep open the temples and preserve the belief in the gods40 ,illustration3 ,,wheelbarrow ,,and ,,coolie--,,used ,,in ,,place ,,of ,,wagons ,,in ,,towns ,,and ,,country ,,villages ,,near ,,shanghai4 ,to face p4 #bcf4 ,the ,chinese woman's religion is difficult of definition1 but whatever she is1 a follower of the teachings of ,confucius or of the ,great ,buddha1 she turns to her gods both in time of trouble and in time of thanksgiving4 ,it is a real factor in her life4 ,buddhism has a great festival in the spring1 about the time of our ,easter4 ,then the roads are covered with processions of women going or coming from the temples4 ,all ranks are seen--the lady borne swiftly along in her sedan chair with the spirit money hanging from the poles2 the middle-class woman riding on the passenger wheelbarrows with four or five of her friends1 with her incense and candles in her lap2 and the poor woman trudging along the stone-covered road1 carrying her offerings in a basket of rice-straw which she has woven at home4 ,when they arrive at the temple they are all of one great sisterhood4 ,the spirit money of rich and poor alike is placed in the great incense-burner in the outer courtyard1 where it goes up in flames to the gods4 ,then the temple is entered1 the candles are lighted1 and the incense is placed before the particular deity whose kind offices they implore2 the head is touched to the floor1 prayers are uttered1 and the woman returns to the courtyards1 where she may pass the time with her friends1 feeding the carp in the ponds or admiring the great trees which are found within the courts of many of the big temples4 ,if a special boon is to be asked1 or if there is doubt and trouble1 she takes a hollow bamboo vase1 about the size of a quart measure1 in which are a couple of dozen sticks of slit bamboo4 ,she kneels three times1 touching her head to the floor each time1 then shakes the bamboo with a rotary motion until one of the sticks detaches itself from the others and falls to the floor4 ,this she takes to a priest1 who reads the number upon it and gives her a slip of yellow paper covered with ,chinese characters1 and from it she will find the answer to her prayers4 ,it takes considerable imagination to obtain solace from one of these pieces of paper1 as they are made to fit all cases1 and carry about as much meaning as does the 8fortune0 on the card handed one by the figure in the slot-machine for which we pay a penny4 ,the gods are not only worshipped at the temples1 but religious adoration plays an important part in the home life4 ,over the kitchen stove1 in a niche1 reposes the household god4 ,from that high place he watches all that goes on within the household4 ,he knows the sins of commission and the sins of omission4 ,once a year he is taken down and with great ceremony burned and sent up to the ,great ,god to report upon the actions of the household for the year1 and a new god is installed in his place4 ,in the meantime he is propitiated in various ways4 ,the first thing in the morning a small bowl of rice and another of water is placed before him1 and incense and candles are burned daily at his feet to gain his favour4 ,priests are frequent visitors at the homes1 and religious ceremonies attend all the great family events1 like the first shaving of the baby's head1 or that most important day when the mother attains her fiftieth year4 ,this is a day of general rejoicing1 when her children unite and buy the happy mother the greatest and most precious present she can receive--her grave-clothes4 ,they are presented amidst much feasting1 and chanting of prayers1 and burning of candles and incense1 and the mother is congratulated by all her friends for the blessing of such filial children4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,red ,,chair ,,of ,,marriage ,the home must have its basis in marriage1 and to that important episode in woman's life the greatest attention is given4 ,in ,china1 as in ,india1 the betrothal ceremony is as binding as the marriage1 although ,i am told that the 8new woman0 of ,china is rebelling at the child betrothals and the lack of freedom granted her in the choice of a mate4 ,it is said that in ,shanghai a couple who have been betrothed in childhood by their parents1 on arriving at marriageable age1 may go before a magistrate and repudiate the agreement1 and in many instances their cases have been upheld even against the protests of father and mother4 ,this shows the most extreme progressiveness of present-day ,china1 as hitherto a child1 especially a girl1 was simply a chattel to be disposed of according to the dictates of the nearest male relative4 ,still1 with the exception of the foreign settlement of ,shanghai1 the old customs of betrothal and marriage prevail1 and the principals in the marriage have very little to say in regard to the disposal of their future4 ,often children are betrothed before their birth by parents1 who1 being good friends and desiring to unite the families1 agree that if a boy is born in one family and a girl in the other1 they shall marry4 ,other matches are made by a professional 8go-between10 who is employed by the parents of either the boy or girl to find a suitable alliance for their child4 ,this 8go-between0 is so thoroughly recognized that the ,chinese have a saying1 8,without a go-between no happy marriage can be effected40 ,after the search culminates in the discovery of the bride and groom of equal social standing and endowed with the proper amount of this world's goods1 the names of the girl and boy are written upon a paper and taken to the necromancer1 who decides whether the marriage will be fortunate4 ,every child is born under the protection of some animal2 if the protecting animal of the daughter is a sheep and that of her fianc a lion1 naturally they should not marry4 ,but if the guardian animal of the bride-to-be should be a bird1 they will live in peace with one another4 ,the girl must be thirteen or fifteen or seventeen years of age1 as an even number would be most unlucky4 ,seventeen years is about the average marriageable age of a ,chinese girl at present1 although formerly they married when hardly more than children4 ,the marriage customs are essentially the same all over ,china4 ,the husband gives a certain sum of money to the bride's parents1 which varies with the position of the families4 ,among the poor the girl is practically sold1 although the money is supposedly used for the purchase of the wedding outfit4 ,the bride's standing in the family of the husband often depends largely upon the trousseau and the furnishings she takes with her to her new home4 ,the outfit a girl of the middle class should take with her1 in order that she might command the proper respect of her new relatives1 should include three red trunks1 one table1 two chairs1 one wardrobe1 three tubs1 two buckets1 one washstand1 one dressing-case1 a set of scissors1 a footstove1 a teapot1 wine-pot1 two candlesticks1 a basin1 sugar-bowl1 tea-caddy1 one set of cups1 a complete set of bowls and dishes1 two wadded quilts1 two embroidered pillows1 embroidered curtain for the bed1 and a complete outfit of clothing4 ,this donation of the bride's parents to the formation of a new home is carried before the bride in the wedding procession4 ,often musicians herald the coming of a bride1 who1 from her closely covered red chair1 watches with beating heart the procession taking her to her new mother-in-law1 who can make of her future home a prison or a palace of love4 ,when she finally arrives at the house1 that is decorated with red hangings and long scrolls of red silk and flowers1 both real and artificial1 she sees her husband for the first time as she steps over the threshold4 ,after the one quick look1 they go before the ancestral tablet1 and1 kneeling1 touch their heads three times to the floor4 ,thus she shows that she is now one of the family1 worshipping her husband's ancestors instead of those of her own family2 and after prostrating themselves before her husband's parents and drinking from the same cup as a symbol of their unity1 they retire to a room1 where they sit upon two red chairs and the merry-making begins4 ,their friends come in1 and1 facing them1 try to make the bride laugh1 showing that she will be a most frivolous woman4 ,there is much music1 feasting1 and playing of tricks on this joyous occasion1 and for this little woman1 dressed in red satin embroidered in gold1 with a big crown upon her head and bead-fringe hanging over her face1 the three days of the wedding festivities are most wearying4 ,but she realizes that she must enjoy them if she can1 because after they have passed she settles down into the daughter-in-law1 which too often proves to be almost the place of a slave1 or at the most a household drudge4 ,one can imagine the discord and strife there is within a household where there are several sons who are married1 each bringing his wife to his parents' home4 ,i knew a family of grandparents1 parents1 and children numbering thirty-eight1 all living in one modest house4 ,we can understand the ,chinese savant making the character for discord a roof with two women under it4 ,often in a rich girl's dowry are slave-girls1 and although it is really against the law to own slaves1 it is1 in fact1 one of the great evils of ,china4 ,these helpless people are owned by even the poor4 ,the mother of my maid possessed two slave-girls whom she had bought when very young4 ,she treated them well1 and when they grew to marriageable age expected to find husbands for them1 giving them an outfit of clothing and a small dowry4 ,in times of famine girls are sold for very small amounts of money or exchanged for the more precious rice4 ,this seems most cruel2 but in order that the rest of the family may live1 one must be sacrificed4 ,when everything of value is sold1 when the winter clothing is in the pawnshop1 when there is no rice to give to crying children1 then there is but one thing left for the despairing mother1 she must sell her daughter4 ,chinese mothers are the same as mothers from all over the world1 and she only parts with her little girl as a last resort1 to the merchants who follow the disasters and fatten on the misery of the ,chinese peasant4 ,when it has become known that a famine has made desperate the poor of a province1 the merchants from the tea-houses and the brothels of the great cities go to the little towns and villages in the track of the famine1 and buy the girls from the fathers and mothers1 who can see nothing but death ahead for all unless they sacrifice one4 ,the clever1 pretty girls are trained for the tea-houses1 inmates of brothels1 or concubines of rich men4 ,the ugly1 stupid ones are domestics1 and often are most cruelly treated4 ,the owners prefer buying the girl very young1 from five to seven years of age1 when she can be more easily trained4 ,if she is a pretty girl1 her feet must be bound1 and if this is a cruel operation under the tender hands of a mother1 how much more dreadful it may become when attended to by some one whose only thought is to profit by the girl's beauty6 ,the slaves in a rich family fare very well4 ,each child is given one or two personal servants1 and when the children grow up and marry they follow them to the new home4 ,often a pretty1 attractive slave-girl becomes the secondary wife of her master1 and if she should be so fortunate as to bear him sons1 she ranks with her mistress in the honour given her within the household4 ,there is a home in ,shanghai for the rescue of little girls whose mistresses are more than ordinarily cruel4 ,there is also a branch of the ,florence ,crittenden work for the rescue of girls sold to tea-houses4 ,it is very hard for the people who are engaged in this good work to obtain the girls unless they are so badly treated that it comes to the notice of the magistrate1 who may send the girl to the home for a given period4 ,i saw a pitiful case at a hospital at ,soochow4 ,we were sitting in the clinic when a very pretty woman came in and threw herself on her knees before the doctor and began to cry4 ,she said between her sobs3 8,oh1 foreign doctor1 help me to get away1 help me1 help me60 ,she was a respectable girl from ,ningpo who had been sold by her husband to a place in ,soochow for four years4 ,she loathed the life1 and when for the first time she had eluded the old woman who always goes out with these unfortunates to see that they do not get away1 she had appealed to the only hope she knew4 ,yet that appeal was useless1 as nothing could be done for her4 ,she was nothing but a chattel of her husband1 according to ,chinese law1 and he had a perfect right to sell her if he wished4 ,i saw another pretty girl of sixteen who had been sold for eighty dollars to the same place4 ,she came to the hospital to have her back treated1 as she had been severely beaten with a brick because she would not make herself sufficiently pleasing to a guest4 ,but the average ,chinese girl goes to her husband's home quite likely within a short distance of her girlhood village1 and passes a most uneventful life1 one day being exactly like another unless broken by the ceremonies attending the births1 weddings1 and deaths of her husband's people4 ,every village is surrounded by trees and is exactly like its neighbour1 with its one-story1 thatched-roof houses1 or1 perhaps1 if the owner is especially prosperous1 the pointed roofs may be formed of blue-grey tiling4 ,part of the front yard is beaten and made smooth to be used for threshing the rice1 the front room of the house is used for the storing of the farming implements1 and the other rooms are given to the different members of the family according to their needs4 ,there is no light and little ventilation in these rude village homes4 ,windows are expensive and cold1 as the houses are not heated in the winter4 ,the mothers may be seen sitting in their doorways1 holding in their hands brass hand-warmers1 in which are a few burning coals of charcoal1 and under their feet are the braziers which provide the only heat for these poor people during the cold months of the year4 ,illustration3 ,,rain-,,coats ,,of ,,chinese ,,workmen4 ,to face p4 #bdf4 ,the life lived by these village people is life reduced to its simplest form4 ,the main food is rice and a little cabbage4 ,meat is an unknown quantity unless on special feast days4 ,beef is not used1 as the cow is a beast of burden1 and the ,chinese have the same feeling in regard to its flesh that we have for the flesh of horses4 ,ducks1 chicken1 eggs1 fish1 crabs1 snails1 and clams are the poor man's luxuries4 ,no hole is too muddy nor water too filthy for a fish-net to be drawn across it1 or for the little crowd of boys who catch the crabs to help fill the family pot4 ,the question of clothes is a simple one and easily solved4 ,the father wears a pair of blue cotton trousers in the summer1 while the mother wears the same style garment with the addition of an apron effect which covers the bust4 ,an amulet and a string are sufficient clothing for the children during the warm days1 but when winter comes the wadded clothing must be brought forth1 often from the pawnshop1 where it goes in the spring to obtain money to buy the seed for planting4 ,the great prayer which rises from the heart of all ,chinese women1 rich and poor1 peasant and princess1 is to ,kwan-yin for the inestimable blessing of sons4 8,sons1 give me sons60 is heard in every temple4 ,a woman is not honoured until she has sons to worship at the tablets of her husband's ancestors4 ,one of the chief reasons for divorce in ,china is the lack of sons1 and if the first wife has no male children1 and the secondary wife has borne sons to her lord1 the lot of the first wife is very bitter4 ,in one of the foreign hospitals in ,shanghai for ,chinese women1 the wife of an official in ,tientsin gave birth1 much to her sorrow1 to a girl4 ,she was inconsolable1 and would not allow the dreadful news to be sent to her home1 and the doctors feared that she would take her life4 ,but through a servant the unhappy woman saw a way to regain the love and respect of her family4 ,at the same time that the daughter was born to her a beggar-woman in the charity department gave birth to a boy4 ,she bought the boy and telegraphed her husband1 8,thou art the father of twins40 ,one of the upper servants in a consulate1 growing rich on the foreign spoils1 took to himself a second wife1 giving as his excuse that he had four daughters and no sons4 ,at the birth of a son to the new wife the first wife tried to starve herself to death1 and failing that1 took opium and gained her wish4 ,she could not survive the ignominy of being only the mother of girls4 ,sons mean so much to a ,chinese mother that she feels that the gods must be jealous of her happiness1 consequently she puts an ear-ring in one ear of her boy to deceive the god and make him think the loved one is a girl4 ,she also calls him her 8ugly one10 her 8stupid one10 or simply gives him a number so the gods will not see how much he is loved and covet her treasure4 ,there is an economic reason behind all this love for the man-child4 ,a poor ,chinese1 a workman1 cannot save enough money to provide for even his simple wants in his old age4 ,try as he may1 he can only earn enough to live upon from day to day1 but if he has sons he knows that when old age comes1 and he can no longer work1 that care will be given him and he will not want4 ,there is no crime so great as the lack of filial piety1 and the ,state punishes severely the son who does not provide for his aged parents4 ,indeed1 of the five punishments of the criminal code directed against three thousand offences1 disobedience or neglect of parents is the most severe4 ,an illustration of this occurred not long ago in the interior of ,china4 ,a man arose in the night at the sound of a burglar1 and in the struggle in the dark the robber was killed4 ,on bringing a light it was found that the robber was the father of the man whose house he entered4 ,he was known to be a ne'er-do-well1 but the unparalleled act of killing one's own father aroused intense excitement in the whole province4 ,the case was deemed of such importance that it could not be tried by the local magistrate1 but it was transferred to the courts in ,peking1 which condemned the man to death1 not because he killed the robber1 but because his father had evidently been compelled to rob for a living4 ,another similar case came to the notice of the foreigners in ,shanghai4 ,a man accidentally hit his father with a hoe1 causing his death4 ,the whole village took the man to the city1 but while on the road they met the magistrate1 who asked them not to bring the dreadful case before him officially1 but for the clan or village to mete out the punishment and then report to him4 ,they buried the son alive4 ,missionaries from a town in the interior asked the ,american ,consul to intervene in the case of a boy nine years old1 who1 while in play1 allowed a stool accidentally to slip from his hand1 hitting his mother on the head and killing her4 ,he was condemned to death1 but because of his youth was to be kept in prison until he was sixteen1 when he would pay the penalty4 ,the ,consul did all in his power to save the boy1 but1 outside of friendly arguments1 nothing could be done1 as he was a ,chinese subject and came under the jurisdiction of ,chinese courts of law4 ,because of this necessity for the provision for the old age of parents1 there are no homes for the aged nor houses for the poor in ,china1 unless one excepts those established through foreign influence4 ,each family must take care of its own helpless1 and if a person is so unfortunate as to have no family1 the begging-bowl by the roadside is the only recourse when the years are many and the once strong arms are weak4 ,the filial piety and respect for parents that are so strongly entrenched in the ,chinese character causes the son to obey his father until the day of his death4 ,i know a man fifty years of age who was offered the post of secretary of the ,embassy in ,london1 but who declined this very advantageous position because his mother did not want him to go to a foreign land4 ,he gave up willingly the chance of a lifetime rather than cause sorrow to his mother in her old age4 ,a mission in a certain town was very desirous of buying a certain piece of ground on which to erect a church1 and the plan was balked by the local official4 ,the missionary conducting the negotiations could find no suitable reason for the official's action in the matter1 and finally asked the help of his consul4 ,the taotai was firm in his refusal1 and offered the mission land in another part of the city for their church4 ,when pressed for a reason for his refusal he finally said3 8,my mother passes that place each time she goes to her favourite temple1 and she objects to a building holding a foreign god being erected there4 ,she thinks it would pollute the good spirits of the air4 ,i know it is what you call superstition1 but she is my mother and ,i must obey her wishes40 ,family life has been from time immemorial the foundation-stone of the ,chinese ,empire1 and filial piety is the foundation-stone of the family life4 ,the ,chinese is taught that the interest of the family is always of greater importance than the interest of the individual4 ,this respect and veneration is not only for the living1 but also for the dead4 ,the death days of two generations of parents are kept sacred with solemn rites1 and every home has its family shrine1 to which all the members must pay due reverence4 ,this respect and worship is paid by the woman to the ancestors of her husband's family1 as it is her destiny on reaching womanhood to go to a new home and live in submission to her new parents1 and burn incense before the shrines of her husband's people4 ,when she marries she practically leaves her home for ever4 ,if she is returned to it--that is1 if she is divorced--8shame shall cover her to her latest hour40 ,divorce is very rare in ,china1 but there are seven reasons given for divorcing a wife4 ,the first is disobedience to father- or mother-in-law1 barrenness1 lewdness1 leprosy1 overmuch talking1 and stealing4 ,the woman is taught that her lifelong duty is obedience4 ,her husband must be looked upon as 8heaven itself10 and she must pay all outward respect to his parents4 ,her first duty each morning is to bring a cup of tea to the bedside of her husband's mother1 and to bow her head before her as a sign of submission and respect4 ,she is taught that the only qualities that benefit a woman are gentle obedience1 chastity1 quietness1 and mercy1 and that the five worst infirmities that may afflict a female are indocility1 discontent1 slander1 jealousy1 and silliness4 ,confucius says3 8,these five vices are found in seven or eight out of every ten women1 and it is from these that arise the inferiority of the sex40 ,generations of this teaching has made the ,chinese woman into a modest1 quiet1 lovable woman1 to be protected and cared for1 appealing to all that is chivalrous in her menfolk1 her very weakness her greatest strength4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,when ,,chinese ,,women ,,die ,in a country where the worship of ancestors plays such an important part in the religion1 death has a greater meaning than it has for those of ,western lands4 ,the ,chinese spend far too much upon the ceremonies connected with death1 rich and poor alike vying with each other in the elaborate arrangements for the disposal of their dead4 ,i met not long ago the funeral procession accompanying the body of a captain of labour to his last resting-place4 ,he was many times a millionaire1 who began life as a boatman4 ,the sons boasted that they spent twenty thousand dollars on his funeral4 ,there were eight native bands in the procession1 led by the ,european band of ,shanghai1 twenty men carrying banners and umbrellas1 about fifty men carrying scrolls1 on which were written the name and rank of the deceased2 there were over two hundred ,buddhist priests1 dressed in their sackcloth robes1 and the wailing mourners and friends in their mourning clothes of white1 followed in sedan-chairs and carriages4 ,the enormous coffin was covered with red embroidered satin and carried by thirty chanting coolies4 ,within the home the walls were covered with white1 and there were long scrolls from friends telling of their sympathy and of the greatness of the deceased family4 ,at twenty tables1 seating eight each1 feasting was carried on day and night for a week4 ,in the summer-time there are hundreds of deaths1 and the funerals of the poor pass our house daily4 ,they are very different from the elaborate processions of the rich men4 ,the coffins1 instead of being made of the finest teak or heaviest ebony1 are nothing but plain1 rough boxes1 and the mourners either are on wheelbarrows or they walk to the place of the dead1 the weeping wife being supported on each side by a friend1 who practically carries her as she stumbles along in her grief4 ,paper money is always scattered in front of the corpse in order to pay his way into the new world2 and often one sees either a live rooster or an imitation one standing on the coffin to bring back to his home one of the man's three souls4 ,the body is often kept months within the houses before a suitable day is found by the necromancer on which to bury him1 but because of the manner of preparing for burial it is not insanitary to keep a corpse in the house for a few months4 ,the coffins are made of hardwood of four or five inches in thickness4 ,first a certain number of bags of lime are placed in the bottom1 varying according to the weight of the person2 over that is laid a wadded blanket1 if of a rich family it is of silk and often embroidered1 if the person be poor it is only cotton2 the body is laid in the coffin1 dressed in as handsome a suit of wadded clothing as is consistent with the means of the family2 the ancestral tablet is laid upon the breast1 paper money at the feet2 he is covered with the blanket and the coffin hermetically sealed4 ,the coffin is the most precious possession of the ,chinese1 and is often purchased years before death in order that they may be sure of a dignified last resting-place4 ,we often hear stories told at women's clubs of mothers who throw babies within the 8baby tower0 to die4 ,these baby towers are small1 round houses1 situated on the outskirts of a city or a village for the purpose of permitting the poor to dispose of their dead children without the expense of a coffin or a funeral4 ,the interior of the house is partially filled with quicklime1 and a small door opening on to a slanting chute permits the poor mother to give her baby its final resting-place4 ,i have never heard of a case of a live baby being sent to these baby towers1 as ,i found that a mother's heart is the same all over the world4 ,my cook came to me one morning with his eyes red from weeping4 ,i asked him the cause of his sorrow1 and he told me that his three-months-old baby had died the evening before4 ,he had no money with which to pay for its burial1 so in the night1 when the mother had at last fallen into a sleep1 he softly arose and1 wrapping the tiny body in a blanket1 had laid it upon the table with twenty cents beside it in order that the garbage-man who came in the early morning might take it to the baby tower outside the city4 ,i said to him3 8,but1 cook1 why did you not bury it properly8 ,does not your wife feel very badly80 ,he shook his head sorrowfully1 and said3 8,yes1 she too muchee cry1 but what can we do8 ,we must buy rice for live babies40 ,that is the great secret of the stoicism of the ,chinese race4 ,they must buy rice for the living1 and what often seems to us as heartlessness and cruelty is simply the effect of the great economic pressure in a land where millions are on the verge of starvation1 and where the lack of a day's work means the lack of a day's food4 ,in times of great epidemics rich ,chinese and the guilds or clubs of different forms of industry1 such as the ,bankers' ,guild1 the ,tea ,guild1 or the ,goldsmiths' ,guild1 provide coffins for the burial of the poor1 and in times of famine these same guilds are most generous to their less fortunate brothers4 ,near ,soochow is a tomb of a man who gave his entire fortune to relieving the wants of the people of his province during a time of famine4 ,he is buried in the most picturesque spot in the hills1 the road to which is bordered by a great many enormous boulders that rise straight up from the ground4 ,the ,chinese say that these stones stood up to show their respect for the great man when his body was carried to its last resting-place and that they are waiting his commands to lie down again4 ,the dead are buried on the family estate2 if there is not room for all1 a spot is leased from a neighbour4 ,the interment is not beneath the surface except in a few provinces2 the coffin is set on the ground and the dirt is heaped over it4 ,sometimes the fields are so thickly covered with mounds that there is little room left for cultivation4 ,especially is this so in the country around ,shanghai1 which looks to the casual passer-by like one vast graveyard4 ,funeral expenses for parents are the most sacred of obligations1 and it is not uncommon for the sons to part with everything they have in the world in order to render proper respect to the memory of their parents4 ,a son is supposed to mourn three years for his father1 during which time all occupation is to cease4 ,in the case of a son holding an important official position1 he often has to resign his post during the period of mourning1 or else be called unfilial4 ,strict mourning for the mother only lasts three months1 otherwise the same honour is paid her memory as given to the head of the household4 ,when a woman is left a widow1 she often vows that she will not remarry1 and she spends her life in pious acts that cause her village or her clan at her death to erect a memorial to her honour4 ,this is generally in the form of an arch1 built of stone and erected near her village4 ,in the country districts one can see many of these concrete evidences of the respect which the ,chinese have for loyal womanhood4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,changing ,,china ,china is changing so rapidly1 and is becoming so thoroughly ,westernized1 especially in the ports where the ,chinese come in contact with the foreigner1 that she can scarcely be recognized by her old-time friends4 ,we all admit that the change is for the better so far as the nation is concerned1 but whether it makes for the individual good is another and more serious question4 ,china is flooded with foreign adventurers who want her untouched wealth1 and who have cast their greedy eyes upon her mines of coal and iron and gold4 ,these foreigners from all classes and grades of society have brought dishonesty and corruption in business dealings to the merchant of ,china1 whose word in the old time was as good as his bond4 ,in those days when a ,chinaman said1 8,can putee book10 it was known that the contract was settled and that he would live up to his spoken word1 whether it meant loss or profit to him4 ,but when dealing with the foreigner the ,chinese found that there were no old-time customs to bind the merchant from over the seas1 except those of bond and written agreement4 ,if he had any traditions of honour1 he evidently left them in the homeland1 as nothing less than a court of law would hold him to his contract if it seemed expedient for him to break it4 ,illustration3 ,,rice-,,boats ,,on ,,canal1 ,,china4 ,to face p4 #bfj4 ,for years the word 8,china0 meant to the adventurer of other lands a place for exploitation1 where money was to be obtained easily by the man with fluent tongue and winning ways4 ,even foreign officials did not scruple to use their influence to enter trade4 ,in one of the great inland cities there was no water nearer than a river several miles away4 ,a foreign official1 boring an artesian well upon his place and finding pure1 clear water1 conceived the idea of boring wells throughout the city and bringing water to the doors of the half-million of people who resided in its narrow streets4 ,he interested the officials and raised a sum of money1 and to doubly assure the ,chinese that their money was safe he signed the contracts1 not only with his name but affixed to them the great seal of his ,government4 ,after a few months' trip to his homelands1 and a few aimless borings in the earth in search of the water that never came1 he relinquished the project1 but not the money1 and the officials could do nothing but gaze sadly into the great holes that had taken their silver4 ,they learned that wisdom comes with experience and now put into practice the proverb3 8,when a man has been burned once with hot soup1 he for ever afterwards blows upon cold rice40 ,another case in which the ,chinese officials were duped by clever-tongued foreigners was in ,ningpo4 ,three ,americans visited that city and talked long and loud of the dark streets1 the continual fires caused by the flickering lamps of oil that were being constantly overturned by the many children4 ,they showed the officials the benefits of electricity1 that a light upon each corner would make it impossible for robbers and evildoers to carry on their work1 which must be done in darkness4 ,they promised to turn night into day1 to give poor as well as rich the incandescent lamp at no greater cost than the bean-oil wick4 ,they were most plausible1 and raised thirty thousand dollars as contract money4 ,they left1 ostensibly to buy machinery2 the years have passed2 they never have returned4 ,ningpo still has streets of darkness1 men still walk abroad with lighted lanterns1 the lamp is seen within the cottage1 and will continue to be quite likely until the hills shall fade1 if electricity depends upon the officials who once dreamed dreams of a city lit by a light from ,western lands4 ,this is one of the most serious handicaps of the missionary in trying to ,christianize ,china4 ,the dissolute white man is in every port1 manifesting a lust1 greed1 and brutality which the ,chinese1 who are accustomed to associate the citizenship of a person with his religion1 attribute to ,christianity4 ,it is no wonder that it is hard for the missionary to make converts among the people who have business dealings with men from ,christian nations4 ,but there are other questions besides those of business integrity vitally affecting the ,chinese youth to-day4 ,along with the slight knowledge which they have obtained of the manners and customs of the ,western world1 they have absorbed many of its vices4 ,with their rose-wine and their samshu the ,chinese boy has learned to drink champagne and brandy4 ,i know the father of five sons who told me that he would give all that he possessed in the world if he had not brought those sons to ,shanghai4 ,change is now the order of the day in ,china1 educationally as well as politically4 ,we do not hear the children shouting their tasks at the top of their little voices1 nor do they learn by heart the thirteen classics4 ,the simple schoolroom1 with hard benches and earthen floor1 with a faint light striking through the unglazed windows1 is no more4 ,the old-time examinations at ,peking have gone1 the degrees which have been the nation's pride have been abolished1 the subjects of study in the schools have been completely changed4 ,the privileges which were once given the scholars1 the social and political offices which were once open to the winners of the highest prizes1 have been thrown upon the altar of modernity4 ,the faults of the old system of education lay in the stress it placed upon the memorizing of the many books whose contents were not always understood by the young mind1 and in the lack of original ideas that might be expressed by a student1 who must give the usual interpretation of the classics4 ,now the introduction of free thought and private opinion has produced an upheaval in the minds of ,china's young men1 and they say what they think1 even trying to show that ,confucius was at heart a staunch ,republican1 and that ,mencius only thinly veiled his sentiments of modern philosophy4 ,it is generally conceded that the newer education leads to the greater individualism which is now the battle-cry of ,china4 ,the ,chinese1 both men and women1 are reaching out eager hands to obtain for themselves the knowledge that is being brought from other lands4 ,yet this thirst for education is not a newly acquired virtue1 for in no country is real learning held in higher esteem than in ,china4 ,it is the greatest characteristic of the nation that in every grade of society education is considered above all else4 ,as a race they have devoted themselves to the cultivation of literature for a longer period by some thousands of years than any existing nation4 ,to literature1 and to it alone1 they look for the rule to guide them in their conduct4 ,to them all writing is sacred1 and the very symbols and materials used in the making of the written character have become objects of veneration4 ,even the smallest village is provided with a scrap-box1 into which every bit of paper containing printed or written words is carefully placed1 to await a suitable occasion when it may be burned4 ,the mission schools have been the pioneers in the education of the young people of ,china1 and if the teaching of ,christianity has not as yet made many converts1 the effect has been great in the spread of higher ideals of education1 and much of the credit of the progress of the modern life of ,china to-day must be given to the mission schools1 which have opened new pathways in the field of learning and caused the youth of ,china to demand a higher system of education throughout the land4 ,it is said that practically all the officials in the new ,china are men who have been educated abroad or who have been in one of the many mission schools scattered throughout the country4 ,they are the ones who have taken what they have learned of foreign lands and adapted it to the needs of their country2 but there are others who have been abroad only long enough to acquire the veneer of ,western education1 and they are the young men who become the discontented ones of ,china4 ,when ,chinese boys go to a foreign land they have many difficulties to overcome4 ,they must receive their information and instruction in a language not their mother tongue4 ,they have small chance to finish their education by practical work in bank or shop or factory4 ,they get a mass of book knowledge and little opportunity to practise the theories that they learn1 and they are not clever enough to understand that their textbook knowledge is nearly all foreign to their country and to the temperament of their race4 ,when they return to their home they often find that they have grown out of touch with their people's ways and customs4 ,they come back looking for employment1 for a chance to use their new-found knowledge2 but they feel that they should begin at the top of the ladder instead of working up slowly rung by rung1 as their fathers did before them4 ,they feel that they are entitled to be masters1 not realizing that even with this wonderful foreign education acquired1 experience is necessary to make them leaders of great enterprises or of men4 ,it is these boys who are the teashop orators and preach the ,socialistic dogma for which ,china will not be prepared for many years to come4 ,the ,chinese boys and girls are going too far and too fast in their thirst for the broader knowledge and teaching of the ,western world4 ,it is like the clothes that the ,chinese girl is wearing1 trying to imitate her sisters of the ,occident4 ,she has discarded the soft1 clinging silks1 the gay embroideries1 the jade and flowers in her black locks1 for the straight1 dark skirt1 the ugly coats1 and the untidy manner of dressing the hair seen with the ,european women of the coast towns4 ,these do not become her1 any more than the scientific degrees become the woman who has been for centuries a woman of the home4 ,we do not condemn education for the ,chinese woman any more than we entirely condemn the change in the style of clothing2 but they should both be adapted to the individual4 ,this new education seems to be too general1 the personality of the boy or girl being entirely left out4 ,the youth are being made into a set of jelly-moulds1 all looking alike1 all trying to be formed upon the models brought them from ,england or ,america4 ,three things should be taken into account--who the boy or girl is1 where he is1 and where he is going4 ,the mistake should not be made in ,china that has been made in ,india--that is1 the turning out of a race of barristers and clerks from her schools4 ,china needs technical schools for her boys and common sense applied to the education of her girls4 ,i have been in a school for the education of the daughters of the better class of ,chinese1 where the main accomplishment for which the girl was applauded was her facility in rendering a piece upon the piano4 ,i should have said 8executing0 a piece upon the piano1 because that is exactly what is done when a ,chinese girl attempts to interpret foreign music4 ,it is alien to her in every way1 and generations of study will not make the ,chinese maiden a musician in the foreign sense1 nor will they really care for the foreign music4 ,these girls who have wasted so many hours in the practise of the piano will go to homes where they cannot have a piano1 or if they did have one they would be the only persons in the family who would appreciate its music4 ,it would be a conglomeration of bad sounds to father1 mother1 husband4 ,many feel that the young girls would be better employed in learning a musical instrument understood and appreciated by her people and one that would give pleasure to her husband at night1 and perhaps be a factor in keeping him from the tea-house1 and the singing girls who have a monopoly of the musical talent of ,china4 ,another thing that causes sorrow to the conservative fathers and mothers is the fact that as soon as their children receive a smattering of the ,western civilization they immediately begin to scoff at their own modes of acquiring knowledge and the text-books which have trained their people's minds for so many years4 ,they become proud of the fact that they know nothing of the classics1 and they quote ,shelley1 ,byron1 ,burns1 and ,browning instead of their own beautiful poets4 ,but1 what is more serious for the youth of this ,eastern land1 this worldly knowledge seems to have freed his intelligence without teaching him self-control1 and it has taken him away from the gods of his fathers without replacing them with others4 ,he1 like his cousin of ,japan1 is inclined to become agnostic and say1 8,there are no gods40 ,whether the religion from the ,west is the religion best suited for the ,oriental we cannot say1 but whatever he receives from us must be adapted to fit the needs and conditions of his race and country4 ,china must raise up leaders from her own people1 both men and women1 as her regeneration will come from within1 not without4 ,more and more the ,west must see that the ,east and the ,west may meet1 but they can never mingle4 ,foreigners can never enter the inner door of ,chinese thought or feeling4 ,the door is never wholly opened1 the curtain never quite drawn aside between the two races4 ,they are unlike in almost every characteristic4 ,the ,westerner is much more a materialist than is the cultured man of ,china4 ,to him the taste of the tea is not so important as the aroma1 and the acquiring of wealth and honours is not so much to be desired as is the ability to live the leisured life1 the life of thought and meditation1 when he may sit apart from the noise and cares of the present day4 ,the rush and worry of the ,western world seem to have penetrated even to the women's courtyard1 and there is no doubt that the new ,china will be ,westernized in every department of her being4 ,but we who love ,china hope that she will not change too rapidly1 that she will take what is necessary for her happiness from the knowledge and the mode of life of the ,occident1 but that she will touch it with her own individuality1 making it a real part of her and not simply becoming an imitation of the alien people by whom she is surrounded4 ,there is a charm about old ,china1 and there is more than a charm about the old-time secluded ,chinese women1 who have been protected and guarded from life's worries and battles1 until they represent all that is most beautiful and feminine and demand the chivalry of the men of the world4 ,let the ,west come to ,china with all its modern inventions and its politics and educational policies1 but let us always be able to find within its quiet courtyards the quiet1 sweet-faced woman of ,china4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,japanese ,,women ,,at ,,home ,i have been eight times to ,japan1 living in the big ,european hotels in ,yokohama1 ,tokio1 ,kobe1 and ,nagasaki1 stopping for days at a time in the native inns in the interior1 or visiting at the homes of friends4 ,i decided that my ninth trip to the little island would be different2 consequently we planned a few months' stay in some out-of-the-way place where we could keep house and live la ,japonaise4 ,we had heard of the beauties of ,hakodate1 the most northern port of any size in ,japan1 and obtaining a letter to the ,american ,consul1 we wrote him asking if it were possible for him to find us a furnished ,japanese house for the summer months4 ,we were delighted to hear a few days later that he had found a place for us1 the summer home of a rich merchant1 situated on the mountain-side1 overlooking the sea1 and surrounded by giant cryptomerias and pines4 ,needless to say1 we were soon on our way to this paradise4 ,there were only four berths in the sleeping-car on the ,northern ,express1 and we engaged two1 but were not given the opportunity of using them4 ,at one of the stations a prince with his retinue came on the train and pre-empted the entire car4 ,he used only one of the berths1 as no one could sleep over him1 nor evidently near him1 and on all the long journey he selfishly occupied the room by himself1 while we1 in company with the half-dozen men composing his suite1 had to fit ourselves into a tiny compartment that should have only accommodated four4 ,the men removed their elaborate outer robes1 curled themselves into comfortable positions1 and smoked and chatted or slept until a station of any importance was neared1 when they donned their gowns1 threw around their necks a long1 stiff piece of silk on which was embroidered the ,imperial chrysanthemum1 and prepared to receive the delegation of townspeople who were always at the station to present an address to his ,imperial ,highness1 or to send in an elaborate meal1 served on beautifully lacquered trays4 ,i had a good look at the prince on his entrance1 and found him exactly like the representations of the daimios of olden times that we see on the fans and tea-boxes4 ,he had the long1 slim1 pale face of the aristocrat1 absolutely different from the round-faced ,japanese who comprise the greatest proportion of the island's population4 ,he looked as if he might almost belong to another race4 ,i was told by one of his men that he represented to many thousands of the people a god1 as in his branch of the family a certain godhead had descended from father to son4 ,when the train stopped for any length of time at a station1 the people came in crowds and knelt1 touching their heads to the ground1 and one old lady kept bowing and holding up her hands1 with the tears streaming down her face at the joy of beholding so great a divinity4 ,he looked at them without seeing them at all1 never showing by any motion or sign that there was anything to be seen except the distant hills4 ,i do not see how it was possible for any human being to look so thoroughly impersonal at a crowd of bowing1 worshipping people1 when he knew he was the object of all the adoration4 ,yet he looked at them as if their faces were windows and their back hair the landscape4 ,train travel is interesting in ,japan1 if one will travel in the ordinary day coach and watch the people4 ,the ,japanese are great travellers1 and the clack-clack of their wooden clogs makes a deafening noise at the stations1 especially on the bridges leading over the tracks4 ,one sees whole families going for an outing or on a visit to a distant relative4 ,they come on the train with bundles and packages--most mysterious things done up in large squares of cloth4 ,they drop their shoes before the seat and curl their feet under them1 and proceed thoroughly to enjoy themselves4 ,the seats run lengthwise of the cars1 and often a little woman gets tired of looking out of the windows or at her fellow-passengers opposite1 and1 turning her back on the car and sitting practically upright1 will lean her face against the side of the window and go to sleep4 ,the manner in which they can sit upon their feet for hours impresses a foreigner4 ,at the larger stations tea in tiny pots1 with a little porcelain cup1 is brought in by the salesmen1 and 8bento10 the lunch of cold rice1 pickles1 and fish of some description1 is sold in neat boxes1 the dainty lunch only costing ten cents1 including a pair of new wooden chopsticks4 ,the ,japanese masses1 like their prototypes everywhere1 enjoy eating in public1 and the car is filled with the divers and sundry odours of fruit1 sweets1 tea1 and food4 ,they are not noisy1 and always most polite1 and because of the dainty clothes of the women and children1 and the variety of their colouring1 a few hours can be spent quite well in studying travelling ,japanese close at hand4 ,at one station a party of pilgrims came on1 dressed in white4 ,they belonged to some club in a far northern village whose members paid a small assessment each week1 and each year lots were chosen to judge who should benefit by the annual pilgrimage to some famous shrine or to ,mount ,fuji4 ,the lucky winners in the lottery joined other pilgrims1 donned the pilgrim's dress1 and under the direction of a guide made the one great visit of their lives1 the wonders of which they would be able to tell their amazed neighbours when they returned4 ,these would listen with interest1 as it might be their good fortune to draw the lucky number the coming year4 ,at the end of our long train ride1 ,amorri1 we went on the small boat bound for ,hakodate1 where we were met by the ,consul1 a jolly1 big1 whole-hearted man1 who took us1 metaphorically speaking1 at once to his bosom and became as a long-lost brother4 ,his wife1 much to our surprise1 was a tiny little ,japanese woman1 no bigger than a good-sized doll1 and as pretty as a picture4 ,they looked so incongruous together that one was inclined to smile4 ,he weighed at least #bej lb41 was over six feet tall2 and ,i should think that when dressed in all her finery1 ,mrs4 ,consul might have weighed #he lb4 ,she was a well-educated1 well-informed little woman1 who needed all her charm and tact to keep her unruly family in order4 ,it was a big one1 the last1 a boy1 being the pride of the father's heart1 and as nearly spoiled as the clever mother would allow him to be by his worshipping father4 ,when ,i knew them better it was a joy to me to see how she managed these children4 ,the father1 who had been at one time captain of a sailing vessel1 always spoke to them as if they were at the top of a mast on a wintry night with a cyclone blowing4 ,tommy1 the irrepressible1 would get up on the window seat1 and his father would hail him in a voice that could be heard by the boats coming from ,kamschatka3 8,tommy1 get out of that window seat2 you'll break your neck40 ,tommy would not move2 again his father's stentorian tone would offend the evening air4 ,the quiet little mother would turn and give a nod of her pretty head to ,tommy1 and ,tommy would immediately climb down from his perch and proceed to behave himself as young boys should4 ,the ,consulate was partly foreign and partly ,japanese1 and the children while at home in the morning dressed in kimona and wooden clogs1 but in the afternoon they were gay in 8home0 dresses and resplendent in hair ribbons1 only showing by the little turn of the eyes that they were members of their mother's race4 ,illustration3 ,,japanese ,,children ,,playing4 ,to face p4 #bgf4 ,soon after our arrival we went to see the place that was to be our home for the next few months4 ,we did not see the house until we came to the great gateway with its pointed roof leading into a path shaded by giant cryptomerias1 completely guarding the house from view of the passer-by4 ,this hillside garden contained about five acres of land1 in which were winding pathways1 giant pine-trees1 terraces of flowers1 and here and there a tori1 a huge bronze stork1 a grim stone lantern1 or a calmly reposing ,buddha to show us we were in the land of ,nippon4 ,we looked out over the northern ocean1 dotted here and there with the sails of fishing-boats1 or saw the smoke of a steamer coming from ,kamschatka1 ,saghlain1 or some of those mysterious northern ports1 the names of which were only places on a map4 ,after listening for awhile to the murmur of the surf1 we visited the interior of the house1 which contained five rooms4 ,the furniture consisted of the matting on the floor1 the sliding 8shojis10 the fire-boxes1 the cooking utensils1 and dishes for the serving of the meals4 ,it was necessary for us to buy our 8futons0--that is1 our bedding2 but otherwise the home was completely furnished la ,japonaise4 ,the servant problem was easily solved1 as the daughter of the gardener wished to be our maid1 the gardener would run our errands1 and his wife would be the general superintendent of the place4 ,i expected to do the cooking1 as the time would be too short in ,hakodate to train a man in matters culinary4 ,we were soon installed1 and then passed pleasant days in dolce far niente1 spending our mornings in trips to the seashore1 watching the fishermen come in with their boatloads of squids4 ,their arrival was the signal for all the women and children of the village to flock to the shore and unload the boats1 then1 after cleaning and pressing these ugly fish1 hang them upon lines to dry1 making the whole ocean front as far as the eye could see a miniature wash-,monday4 ,we were not allowed to climb the mountain-sides except to a certain distance1 as the hills were heavily fortified1 and at sudden turns we were met by great signs which stated plainly in ,english1 ,french1 ,german1 ,japanese1 and ,russian that further explorations were forbidden4 ,we never tried to disobey the laws in ,japan1 as these little people are vigorous in their punishment of offenders1 to whatever race they may belong1 and ,i feel that they have been justified in upholding the manhood of their people4 ,in ,india and in ,china you see the white man treat the native with barbarous cruelty4 ,while travelling once in ,india our servant was making up the bed in the compartment we had engaged on the train4 ,a white man entered1 and without one word of explanation1 grabbed our man and beat and kicked him and nearly threw him out of the car4 ,in reply to our indignant demands as to the cause of his ill-treatment of our servant1 he said that he thought the man had made a mistake in the berth and was taking one for which he had paid4 ,i said afterward to ,ali1 8,why did you not strike him when he treated you so brutally80 ,ali replied3 8,oh1 mem-sahib1 he was a white man4 ,if ,i had touched him ,i would have lain many long days in prison40 ,in ,china also1 on one hot day in ,august ,i saw a rickshaw coolie1 naked to the waist1 with the perspiration running down his face in streams1 running swiftly with a heavy man inside his two-wheeled carriage4 ,in passing by a crowded corner1 he brushed against a white man1 who was having his afternoon stroll4 ,the white man angrily turned1 and1 grabbing the coolie by his hair1 beat him across his bare back with his cane until he stopped from sheer exhaustion4 ,the panting1 perspiring coolie was helpless as he could not drop the shafts1 and so was compelled to take the punishment4 ,his patron in the carriage1 a richly-dressed ,chinese1 dared not interfere because he also was a native and understood there was no court of justice when it was a question of a white man's word against that of the yellow man4 ,they have a saying in ,china1 that when a ,chinese walks along the sidewalk of his own city of ,shanghai1 he is pushed into the middle of the road by the ,american1 who only laughs at him1 by the ,englishman1 who swears at him1 and by the ,german1 who kicks him1 but--he is pushed into the middle of the road4 ,this could not happen in ,japan1 as the ,japanese courts punish severely any one who dares to lay his hand in violence upon a ,japanese1 however lowly may be his station or however strong may be the provocation4 ,while we were in ,yokohama1 an officer of an ,american ship had his hand severely hurt through the carelessness of a ,japanese longshoreman4 ,in his pain and first flush of anger he knocked the ,japanese down1 and for his impatience was compelled to remain six months in jail4 ,his captain and his ,consul tried their best to help him1 but it was in vain1 and he saw his ship sail away without him4 ,i came very near sharing his fate while in ,hakodate4 ,the fisherman came to our doors each morning with his enormous baskets of fish swung over his shoulders4 ,the maid1 her mother1 and myself1 spent many interesting moments in turning over the scaly contents of his baskets in order to make our choice amongst the varied assortment he had for sale4 ,i paid him by the week1 and one morning was called to the kitchen by an indignant maid1 who said the fisherman had greatly overcharged me4 ,the amount was far too small1 it seemed to me1 to cause such keen excitement1 and ,i intended to dismiss the man1 saying ,i would pay him1 but employ him no more4 ,i went over to a bucket of water1 and taking up the long-handled dipper to take a drink1 and not noticing that it was broken1 ,i gave it a little shake toward the fisherman1 and said1 8,oh1 go away1 and don't make so much noise40 ,the cup part of the dipper flew off and hit the indignant fisherman in the eye1 whereupon he immediately shouldered his baskets and started for the magistrate4 ,needless to say1 ,i was frightened1 and ,i immediately donned my bonnet and started for the ,consulate4 ,the ,consul heard my story and sadly shook his head3 8,if you really hit that coolie and he has you arrested1 ,i can do nothing4 ,it will only make matters worse to have me to interfere1 so the best thing for you to do is to go with me and find that fisherman2 offer him half of your estate1 but don't get mixed up with the law in ,japan40 ,for two hours we haunted side-streets1 where at last we found our man1 and1 after a small money payment and a promise to take fish from him for the rest of the season1 and practically binding myself to listen to his insolence as long as ,i was in ,hakodate1 he grudgingly assented to withdraw his charge4 ,these itinerant dealers make housekeeping in ,japan easy4 ,men clad in blue cotton coats with great straw hats on their heads and baskets piled high with vegetables1 come to the door each morning2 one passing along the streets both night and day can hear the cries of the travelling vendors1 selling all that the average householder may require4 ,hakodate is filled with crows--monstrous1 black1 impertinent thieves1 who will come boldly into the kitchen and take the fish from out the frying-pan4 ,mornings ,i would take a pan of corn1 and in the rear of the house upon the hillside1 and hitting upon the pan's side with a spoon1 would soon be surrounded by hundreds of these beady-eyed birds1 that are almost considered sacred in this province4 ,they were so tame that they would fight at my feet for the kernels1 and ,i would be compelled to push them from my lap and then1 much to the maid's disgust1 the greedy birds would follow me into the house4 ,we used to play a game1 the crows and ,i4 ,i would pound on the pan until ,i had summoned fifty or sixty1 then ,i would start the song1 8,onward1 ,christian ,soldiers10 and rapping on the pan for accompaniment1 would march solemnly at the head of my serious1 expectant army1 up hill and down dale1 through the house1 out again1 down the small paths1 until even the maid who considered the crows her enemies1 would be compelled to laugh4 ,soon ,i found that if ,i was to live as the ,japanese1 ,i certainly should dress in the clothes of the country1 as ,european clothes and shoes are not comfortable in ,japanese houses4 ,all my friends were ,japanese1 and ,i found ,i must conform to their customs so far as was possible if ,i would be happy and not an object of curiosity4 ,consequently ,i went with the wife of our ,consul and passed two delightful hours in choosing kimonas1 which1 if ,i had been allowed to exercise my taste1 would have been far too gay for one of my years4 ,i always associated kimonas with pinks and blues and riotous colours1 but ,i found that1 being a married woman1 ,i must confine my choice of colours to greys and browns and soft-toned mauves4 ,i could indulge my love for ornamentation in the obis1 as these may be of stiff brocades in rose and gold1 or purple and gold1 or1 in fact1 any colour one may wish4 ,i found also that the ,japanese dress itself may not be expensive1 but the price of the obis is ruinous to a small pocketbook4 ,it is in these last articles of adornment that the ,japanese lady spends her husband's money4 ,she buys obis and puts them away in her treasure-chest1 only bringing them to the light of day on occasions of festivity4 ,the tying of the obi is by no means a simple process1 and ,i could never learn its intricacies4 ,the end must be of a certain length1 the big bow must be just so correctly arranged or else it shows that one is not la mode4 ,my friends were always lengthening an end or tying a little tighter the roll that gave the obi the correct tilt at the back4 ,i found it necessary to practise privately for several days walking in the clogs before ,i dared try them in public4 ,the ,japanese have three kinds of clogs--high ones raised by two pieces of wood three or four inches from the ground and with a piece of leather as a mud-guard for use in wet weather2 another pair of dress clogs were necessary1 with the plain wooden sole covered with fine matting2 and still another pair of sandals1 which were for use around the garden or in places that did not necessitate rough walking4 ,the two pieces of cord that pass between the great and the first toe1 and by which the clog is held on the foot1 compelled me to wear the ,japanese sock1 which is made of white cotton1 like a mitten1 the great toe being separated from the rest of the foot4 ,these socks are short1 only coming to the ankle1 and are fastened by two or three metal clasps4 ,the shoes are never worn in the house1 always being left at the doorways1 the thick cotton sole of the stocking protecting the foot4 ,it would be as insulting to walk on the clean matting of a ,japanese house as it would be to walk on the snowy damask of your hostess's dining-table4 ,after a few falls and many awkward movements ,i found the ,japanese foot covering most comfortable1 the foot being absolutely free2 but ,i soon learned that my ,american stride did not conform to the close-fitting dress of the kimona1 as with it the feet should not be set apart and one should slightly 8toe in0 in order that the folds of the kimona do not fly open4 ,in one way ,japanese dress is not expensive1 as the ,japanese lady1 whatever her rank or wealth1 does not wear jewellery--no necklaces1 nor bracelets1 nor ear-rings1 nor brooches2 even rings are an innovation brought in with foreigners4 ,her only jewels are the clasp of her obi fastener1 generally a piece of chased gold1 and a couple of ornamental hairpins or a comb for the hair4 ,i did not attempt the hair-dressing1 as that is a most complicated affair1 and must be left to the attentions of a hair-dresser1 who comes to the homes once or twice a week and makes the elaborate coiffures that add so much to the beauty of a ,japanese face4 ,each age has its coiffure1 and a woman never tries to disguise her age in ,japan1 because by her dress and style of hair-dressing she frankly confesses the stage she has reached in life4 ,there is the baby with her shaven head1 then the little queue tied on the crown2 afterward the hair is cut square across the neck1 like the little dolls we see in the ,london shops2 then when she is ten years old the hair is divided and made into a bow knot tied with a piece of ornamental paper4 ,as she arrives at young ladyhood there is the elaborate 8shimada10 which in the case of the young woman is very large1 and1 if ,nature has not been generous1 helped out with tresses bought in the shops4 ,the married woman has a special coiffure which grows smaller with age1 until1 when she is a matron of forty1 the age when the woman of the ,orient considers herself an old woman1 it is quite small4 ,if the woman is so unfortunate as to lose her husband1 she cuts her hair1 and thus shows all the world that she is a widow4 ,the ,japanese mature early1 and old age comes to them sooner than it does to people from the ,west4 ,a ,japanese proverb says that man lives but fifty years1 and rarely does his span exceed seventy years4 ,in former days old age began at fifty1 and a man then considered himself unfit for business and made over his name and property to his son1 passing the rest of his life in ease without the cares of business4 ,old age is not a burden to the ,japanese woman1 but is a paradise to be looked for longingly4 ,then she1 who has perhaps been subservient to the mother of her husband all her married life1 knows that she will be the head of her household1 with her sons and daughters ready to obey her1 and1 because of her age and motherhood1 respected and holding a position in life denied her as a young woman4 ,many of these quiet1 soft-voiced mothers of ,japan were brought to call upon me by ,mrs4 ,consul4 ,they taught me how to serve the tea1 the proper way of bowing1 and even tried to make of me a good follower of the ,law by taking me with them to the temples and visiting shrines and holy places4 ,one kindly woman brought me a tablet for my 8august-spirit-dwelling10 which she placed in a tiny model of a ,shinto temple and put above the inner doorway of the hall1 where ,i was supposed to burn before it each morning candles and incense1 and keep the little cups for rice and water filled4 ,i was well provided with gods1 as another friend gave me a ,buddha for my household shrine1 and all the paraphernalia of service with which to worship him4 ,below us on the hillside was the swagger tea-house of the town1 and the tinkle of the samisens and the singing of the pretty girls came to us faintly until late into the night4 ,this pretty music1 mingled with the sound of the surf upon the shore1 was always the last sound we heard at night after the maid had placed the night-light1 the tobacco-box1 and the brazier for the tea at our head1 and then had knelt and said 8,goodnight40 ,in the morning we were wakened by a softly murmured 8,o ,hayo10 and a tray of tea was respectfully slid across the matting to give us strength to begin the morning's work4 ,while in ,hakodate ,i made the acquaintance of many ,japanese ladies and learned their customs and the manner of their life1 which is controlled by thoughts and ideals entirely different from those entertained by women of the ,western world4 ,i think ,i much prefer the woman of the old school1 with her charming manners1 her elaborate bows1 and her antiquated superstitions and beliefs1 to her daughter1 who1 like her sister of ,china1 ,india1 and ,egypt1 is trying too hard to wear clothes not made for her1 and to adapt customs and usages for which she is not formed temperamentally or physically4 ,the customs of the modern world will come to the woman of ,japan1 but they must be adapted to her conditions and not be taken en masse4 ,one of the most beautiful characteristics of the ,japanese is their reverence for old age and their intense love for children4 ,japan has justly been called the baby's paradise1 and certainly in no country does the home life so thoroughly revolve around the children as it does in ,japan4 ,like all ,eastern women1 the desire for children is the most ardent wish of the ,japanese woman's heart4 ,the childless wife will move heaven and earth in her desire to gain the blessing of motherhood4 ,she will visit watering-places1 offer prayers at temples1 make long1 irksome pilgrimages1 wear amulets1 drink strange decoctions1 and allow herself to be imposed upon and robbed by every charlatan who claims a knowledge that will help her gain the craving of her heart--a child4 ,it will1 therefore1 be imagined with what eagerness the arrival of a little stranger is awaited in the home1 and the happiest day in the girl-wife's life is the day on which they tell her she is the mother of a son4 ,as soon as the event takes place1 a special messenger is dispatched to notify friends and relatives while letters of announcement are sent to those who are not so closely related in friendship to the family4 ,all thus notified must then make a visit to the new baby and either send or bring with them a present4 ,toys or clothing1 always accompanied by eggs or a fish to bring good luck1 come in great profusion1 and when baby is about thirty days old1 return presents must be made to all who remembered him at time of birth4 ,when baby is seven days old he receives his name1 and when he is thirty-one--or if a girl1 when she is thirty-three--days old1 the first important occasion of his life must be observed4 ,he is dressed in his best and gayest garments1 and1 accompanied by members of his family1 is taken to a temple and placed under the protection of one of the ,shinto deities1 who is supposed to become the guardian of the child through life4 ,this is a day for present-giving also1 and one especial gift must come to the child1 a papier mch dog1 which is always placed at the head of the child's bed at night as a charm against evil influences4 ,the infant should not walk until it is a year old2 but if it is so precocious that it commences to toddle before that time1 a small bag of rice is laid upon its back1 and it is made to stumble and fall4 ,to walk before its first birthday is a sign that it will die young or else become a resident of a distant land4 ,there are many superstitions connected with the early life of a baby4 ,if he sucks his fingers before he does his thumb1 he will be a help to his parents in their old age4 ,if he crawls out of his covers at night1 he will rise in the world1 but if he snuggles down in the bed and is inclined to crawl towards the foot1 it augurs that a downward course is his fate in life4 ,if many of the children of a family have died in infancy1 the nervous mother will make for this last gift of the gods a dress composed of thirty-three pieces of cloth collected from thirty-three different families1 or she will shave his head until he is seven years old1 or give him a girl's name instead of a boy's1 thus deceiving the gods who covet her treasure4 ,if baby has prickly heat1 the first egg plant of the season is hung over the door2 while suspending the empty rice-pot1 still hot1 over the baby's head for a few moments will make him immune from that affliction of childhood1 the measles4 ,it passes its days tied to the back of little brother or sister or nurse until it can walk1 then when it is two years old the fifteenth of ,november is a great day for all the babies4 ,they are taken to the temple and the blessing of the gods is invoked1 and the priests purify their bodies by waving over them a sacred wand4 ,this is the occasion for showing new clothes and calling upon all friends1 who make presents to the child4 ,at three or four years children are sent to a kindergarten1 and at six years they enter the ,primary ,schools1 where there is a six-years' compulsory course for both boys and girls4 ,then it only rests with the parents whether the child receives a higher education1 as there are in all towns and villages a ,middle ,school for boys and a ,high ,school for girls4 ,the average girl stops her education with the ,primary ,school1 or at most with the ,high ,school1 but there is a ,university in ,tokio where the girl may complete her education and fit herself for a vocation4 ,but if she has been six years at ,primary ,school and four years at ,high ,school1 she is sixteen years old1 and of a marriageable age1 although the average girl does not marry until she is eighteen or nineteen4 ,there are a great many accomplishments which it is necessary for a ,japanese girl of good family to know4 ,the knowledge of needlework is so general that it really is not considered an accomplishment4 ,but the art of letter-writing must be known by all accomplished young ladies1 and the tea ceremony1 which is the strictest and most complicated of all the ceremonies which surround the cultured ,japanese1 must be thoroughly learned by the daughter of the house4 ,each movement is regulated by custom1 and a mistake in turn of hand or position of the body or the omission of any of the minute details in regard to the bows and salutations in offering1 receiving1 and returning the cups would show a lack of proper training4 ,the young girl is taught the arrangement of flowers1 which is an art by itself in ,japan4 ,in the sitting-room of a ,japanese home there is a single vase of flowers sitting in the tiny alcove1 and they would lose half of their attraction if they were not in some manner symbolical in tone and colour with the picture upon the kakemono which hangs above them4 ,the young girl is often taught to play upon the koto1 a kind of zither1 although the national musical instrument is the samisen1 which is played everywhere--at home1 in story-tellers' halls and theatres1 and at every tea-house party4 ,girls start to learn this instrument at a very early age1 because it is necessary to learn it while the fingers are still pliant4 ,it takes time to learn these instruments1 as there are no scores and the tunes must be committed to memory4 ,women teachers come to the home to teach the girls in all these arts1 and often the samisen teacher has been a famous geisha1 whose support now is teaching the music that once made her welcome at the dinner-parties of gay ,japan4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,outdoor ,,kitchen ,,in ,,japan4 ,to face p4 #bij4 ,after mastering the accomplishments1 her business in life is now to marry1 and few ,japanese maidens think seriously of any other lot in life than that of marrying and becoming the mothers of future ,japanese4 ,japan is more progressive than any other ,oriental country1 if we except ,burmah1 in that it allows the girl to exercise a certain amount of choice in the selection of a husband4 ,there are never cases of love matches1 but if she positively objects to a man who is proposed to her1 she is seldom forced to marry him4 ,it would be thought most immodest if she refused to marry a man until she loved him1 as love is supposed to come with marriage and the advent of the children4 ,only simple toleration is expected before the marriage4 ,the offices of a go-between are asked to assist in the search for a husband or wife1 unless the match is made by friends of the interested parties4 ,when the future husband has been selected1 the go-between1 who must always be a married man1 as his wife takes an important part in the transactions1 brings about a meeting of the young couple as if by accident4 ,they may be strolling in a garden looking at the hanging wistaria1 or meet at a theatre1 where the families are introduced1 and the two most concerned have a chance to take a good look at each other1 and the next day1 when the anxious match-maker comes to the house to learn whether his choice has met with favour1 they will give their consent1 or the match will be broken off1 and the go-between will start again the hunt for an eligible alliance4 ,if everything is satisfactory1 a lucky day is appointed for the formal proposal1 presents are exchanged1 and then all look forward to the wedding4 ,a couple of days before the wedding the bride's trousseau and household goods are sent to her new home1 and its elaborateness is only limited by the father's wealth4 ,yet there are some things considered indispensable in the outfit of a bride1 such as a bureau1 a writing-table1 a work-box1 two of the little trays on which meals are served1 together with the full dining outfit1 and two or more complete sets of bed furnishings4 ,if she is of a rich family1 quite likely the clothing she will bring with her will last her entire life1 as styles do not change so radically as to make gowns go so completely out of fashion that they cannot be worn4 ,a wedding is a most expensive proceeding for the father of the bride1 as each member of the groom's family--father1 mother1 brothers1 sisters1 aunts1 and cousins1 even the servants--must all receive a present to mark the joyous occasion4 ,the wedding itself is in the presence of only a few witnesses1 and consists in a few formal acts1 the most important of which is the drinking 8three times three0 cups of saki together4 ,to make the marriage conform to the laws of ,japan1 the bride's name is removed from her family register and transferred to that of her husband's family4 ,after the ceremony there are entertainments in the new home and at the home of the bride's parents1 and then the couple settle down into the married state for two or three months1 when the ultra-smart give a series of entertainments to the friends who had no formal announcement of the marriage4 ,the young wife does not have the happiness of setting up an establishment of her own1 but she must go to the home of her husband's father4 ,the mother-in-law question is a very serious one in ,japan1 because she is absolutely the head of the household1 and the young wife has to submit in all things to her mother-in-law's will4 ,this is especially serious for the modern ,japanese girl1 who perhaps has been educated in the ,government school1 if she is compelled to go to the home of a conservative old-time woman4 ,naturally1 the mother cannot understand why the ideas with which she herself was brought up should not be good enough for the other1 and finds fault with1 what are in her eyes1 outlandish ways introduced by the new regime4 ,these conservative women are always loud in praise of the old state of things1 and believe that the world is going to ruin1 socially1 morally1 and physically1 because of the innovations brought into their homes by their progressive sons and daughters4 ,in addition to the parents of her husband1 the wife has to win the affection of his brothers1 sisters-in-law1 and sisters1 and her life is often made intolerable by the envies1 jealousies1 and petty faultfindings of the many women beneath the new roof-tree4 ,the patriarchal life prevails in ,japan as in all ,eastern countries1 and the successful man finds he must support a crowd of less successful relatives1 whose claims are not admitted by law1 but whose appeals on the score of kinship cannot be ignored1 as custom allows those related by blood or marriage to look for help to the least unfortunate among them4 ,the new civil code forces the support of parents1 brothers1 sisters1 and other near relatives upon the head of the household1 in addition to that of his wife and children4 ,thus a man is handicapped in life and has to spend the money he might otherwise use in educating his children in the support of uncles1 aunts1 and cousins1 and perhaps a host of his wife's relations4 ,from the social point of view this is undoubtedly an excellent system1 as it relieves the nation of the support of its poor1 but it bears heavily upon the individual1 and many a young man's ambition has been shattered and his road to success blocked by the sordid cares and petty troubles caused by the necessity of maintaining a large household4 ,the great authority on the conduct of women who marry was written by a ,japanese scholar1 based on the teaching of the ,chinese sages4 ,in it the wife is told she must give unconditional obedience to her husband1 who is in every respect her superior and the absolute lord and master of her body and soul2 whatever he does is right and she may not even murmur4 ,she occupies a position in her husband's household practically of an upper servant4 ,she must not frequent public resorts1 nor go sight-seeing with the wealth her husband may obtain1 and until she is forty years old is not to be seen in company1 but to remain at home attending to her household and her children4 ,this sounds very well1 but women are women the world over2 and although ,japanese wives are gentle1 docile1 and obedient1 yet they have a virility and strength of character that compel the respect of their husbands1 and in their own domain their word is law4 ,in the olden time each ,japanese girl was supposed to know the precepts contained in a book called 8,greater ,learning for ,women10 written by a famous scholar several hundred years ago4 ,for nearly two hundred years it was one of the indispensable articles that a bride took with her to her new home1 but the present modern ,japanese maiden knows very little of the 8,greater ,learning40 ,i am afraid1 indeed1 that she is more thoroughly conversant with a parody of these famous precepts1 which has been written by a young man of modern ,japan4 ,this is so radical that it is forbidden in the libraries of the mission schools in the fear that the ,japanese girl will imbibe too early the tendencies fatal to the happiness of the ,eastern woman1 as she takes her first step from her secluded doorway into the path that leads to the higher learning of the ,western world4 ,japanese women are womanly1 kindly1 gentle1 and pretty1 and perhaps they owe this gentleness and courtesy to the precepts taught by their old sages4 ,according to ,shingoro ,takaishi1 in his 8,wisdom and ,women of ,japan10 the famous moralist left the following instructions to help women in their perilous journey through life-- 8,seeing that it is a girl's destiny1 on reaching womanhood1 to go to a new home1 and live in submission to her father-in-law1 it is even more incumbent upon her than it is on a boy to receive with all reverence her parents' instructions4 ,should her parents1 through their tenderness1 allow her to grow up self-willed1 she will infallibly show herself capricious in her husband's house1 and thus alienate his affection2 while1 if her father-in-law be a man of correct principles1 the girl will find the yoke of these principles intolerable4 ,she will hate and decry her father-in-law1 and the end of these domestic dissensions will be her dismissal from her husband's house and the covering of herself with ignominy4 ,her parents1 forgetting the faulty education they gave her1 may1 indeed1 lay all the blame on the father-in-law4 ,but they will be in error2 for the whole disaster should rightly be attributed to the faulty education the girl received from her parents4 8,more precious in a woman is a virtuous heart than a face of beauty4 ,the vicious woman's heart is ever excited2 she glares wildly around her1 she vents her anger on others1 her words are harsh and her accent vulgar4 ,when she speaks it is to set herself above others1 to upbraid others1 to envy others1 to be puffed up with individual pride1 to jeer at others1 to outdo others--all things at variance with the way in which a woman should walk4 ,the only qualities that befit a woman are gentle obedience1 chastity1 mercy1 and quietness4 8,a woman has no particular lord4 ,she must look to her husband as her lord1 and must serve him with all worship and reverence1 not despising or thinking lightly of him4 ,the great lifelong duty of a woman is obedience4 8,a woman shall be divorced for disobedience to her father-in-law or mother-in-law4 ,a woman shall be divorced if she fail to bear children1 the reason for this rule being that women are sought in marriage for the purpose of giving men posterity4 ,a barren woman should1 however1 be retained if her heart be virtuous and her conduct correct and free from jealousy1 in which case a child of the same blood must be adopted2 neither is there any just cause for a man to divorce a barren wife if he have children by a concubine4 ,lewdness is a reason for divorce4 ,jealousy is a reason for divorce4 ,leprosy or any like foul disease is a reason for divorce4 ,a woman shall be divorced who1 by talking overmuch and prattling disrespectfully1 disturbs the harmony of kinsmen and brings trouble on her household4 ,a woman shall be divorced who is addicted to stealing4 8,all the #8,seven ,reasons for ,divorce' were taught by the sage4 ,a woman once married and then divorced has wandered from the #8way1' and is covered with great shame1 even if she should enter into a second union with a man of wealth and position4 8,it is the chief duty of a girl living in the parental house to practise filial piety towards her father and mother4 ,but after marriage her duty is to honour her father-in-law and mother-in-law1 to honour them beyond her father and mother1 to love and reverence them with all ardour1 and to tend them with practise of every filial piety4 ,while thou honourest thine own parents1 think not lightly of thy father-in-law4 ,never should a woman fail1 night and morning1 to pay her respects to her father-in-law and mother-in-law4 ,never should she be remiss in performing any tasks they may require of her4 ,with all reverence must she carry out1 and never rebel against1 her father-in-law's commands4 ,on every point must she inquire of her father-in-law and mother-in-law1 and abandon herself to their direction4 ,even if thy father-in-law and mother-in-law be pleased to hate and vilify thee1 be not angry with them1 and murmur not4 ,if thou carry piety towards them to its utmost limits1 and minister to them in all sincerity1 it cannot be but that they will end by becoming friendly to thee40 ,there is a sword of ,damocles always hanging over the head of the ,japanese woman--that is1 the fear of divorce4 ,among the higher classes the dread of scandal and gossip serves as a restraint upon the too free use of the power of divorce1 but even now one meets many respectable and respected persons who1 some time in their life1 have gone through such an experience4 ,obtaining a divorce is not such a complicated affair as it is in ,america4 ,it is enough that the parties agree to separate and make a declaration1 witnessed by two reputable witnesses1 at a local magistrate's office1 and the divorce takes place by mutual consent4 ,as in the case of marriage the consent of the parents or guardians of a girl under twenty-five years of age and a man who is under thirty must be obtained1 so this consent of parents or guardians is necessary before a divorce may be granted4 ,then the domicile of the wife is retransferred in the books of the registrar from the domicile of the family in which she was married to that of her original family4 ,if one of the parties concerned refuse to give their consent to the divorce an application is made to the courts4 ,there are several grounds upon which judicial divorce is granted--first1 for bigamy2 secondly1 the wife may be divorced for adultery1 but not the husband1 unless the crime has been committed with a married woman1 when the unfaithful wife and her lover are liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding two years1 if the charge is brought by the outraged husband4 ,the man cannot be punished alone2 the woman must share his fate4 ,as in many ,european countries1 marriage is forbidden between the respondent and the co-respondent in a divorce case4 ,another1 and one of the chief causes for divorce in ,japan1 are the complications that naturally arise from the many people living in one house4 ,either party may seek divorce if ill-treated or insulted by the parents or grandparents of the other1 and mothers-in-law1 with their hard tongues and bitter words1 are the frequent causes of separation of husband and wife4 ,one provision of the law which serves to make most mothers endure any evil of their married life rather than sue for divorce is the fact that the children belong to the father1 and the mother returns childless to her father's house4 ,in this country1 where the woman is economically dependent upon her menfolk1 even if she were allowed to take the children1 quite likely they would not be made welcome in a home where there are always too many mouths to feed2 therefore the ,japanese mother puts up with many brutalities and heartaches in order to keep with her the only bright things she has in life1 her children4 ,the ,japanese wife leads a very busy life4 ,in all but the very wealthiest and most aristocratic families the wife and daughters do a large part of the housework4 ,in a house with no furniture1 no carpets1 no pictures1 no stoves or furnaces1 no windows to wash1 no latest styles to be imitated in the making of clothing1 there is not so much work in the care of a house as there is in the ,western world1 where the rooms are filled with a multitude of unnecessary articles that seem only made to give toil to women4 ,but because of the lack of conveniences it takes time to properly care for the rooms in a ,japanese house4 ,every morning there are the beds to be rolled up and placed in the closets1 the mosquito-nets to be taken down1 the rooms to be swept1 dusted1 and aired2 and the veranda floor is polished several times a day as if it were a precious piece of silver4 ,the cooking and washing of the dishes take a great deal of time1 as the former is done over a tiny charcoal stove and the dishes are washed in cold water4 ,there is not a moment of time that the wife is idle1 as there is always the family sewing to be superintended1 the mats and cushions to be recovered1 the wadding to be renewed in the bed coverings and the winter kimonas4 ,many of the ,japanese dresses must be taken to pieces whenever they are washed1 and the wet breadths smoothed upon a board and placed in the sun to dry4 ,the careful housewife makes over the older daughters' dresses for the younger daughters1 and these clothes are washed1 turned1 dyed1 and made over and over again so long as there is a shred of the original material left to work upon4 ,the ,japanese believe that a woman passes through three critical stages in her journey through life4 ,if she passes her nineteenth1 her thirty-third1 and her thirty-seventh years safely1 she has a chance of living to a good old age and seeing her children and her grandchildren grow up around her4 ,her most critical year is her thirty-third1 and not only this year itself1 but the years immediately preceding and following are considered inauspicious4 ,consequently there are three years during which period women will refrain as much as possible from acts which may appear like tempting ,providence4 ,when a woman attains her sixtieth birthday it is an occasion for great festivities1 when she invites all her friends to a dinner to celebrate this wonderful event4 ,if a man or woman should have occasion to celebrate their seventieth birthday1 they distribute among their friends and relatives large red and white cakes with the character signifying 8longevity0 written upon them1 and with each increasing year the old man or woman gain in the respect of their community4 ,when the last illness comes to father and mother it would be considered most unfilial for any of the children not to be present at the parent's death-bed4 ,when all is over the son or the wife wets his lips with water1 and so universal is this custom that the expression 8to wet the dying lips with water0 has come to signify the tending of a patient in his last illness4 ,one of the reasons why the ,japanese believe that the wife should be younger than the husband is that she may be able to fulfil this last office for her loved one4 ,it is known that death is in the room by the placing upside down of a screen before the bed1 and the quilt covering the body is reversed1 the foot covering the dead man's breast4 ,a white cloth is laid over the face1 as its exposure would be an obstacle to the soul's journey on its road to the other world4 ,everything done for the dead is the reverse of that done for the living2 for example1 in the tub for the last bath cold water is poured first1 then hot water added until it is of the right temperature4 ,the head is shaved by touching it with the razor in small patches instead of running it continuously as in life4 ,the burial garment is made by two women relatives1 sewing with the same piece of thread in opposite directions1 and the kimona is folded from right to left instead of from left to right as a man would wear it ordinarily4 ,mittens1 leggings1 and sandals are worn1 the sandals being tied on the foot with the heel in the place of the toe1 to signify that the dead must not return1 drawn back by the love of the world4 ,around the neck is suspended a bag of ,buddhist charms1 and a small coin1 or picture of a coin1 with which to pay the ferryman4 ,if the wife dies1 the husband does not publicly mourn for her1 although her children do2 but if the husband dies the wife should mourn the rest of her life1 and she often cuts off her long hair and places it in the coffin of her husband1 showing that she resolves to be always faithful to his memory4 ,in a child's coffin a doll is placed to keep the child company on its first journey without mother or father4 ,the last rite is to cover the body with incense-powder or dried aniseed1 and then it is ready for the funeral ceremonies4 ,a funeral procession in ,japan is an imposing affair4 ,the corpse1 in its palanquin or in the modern hearse1 is preceded by men carrying large white lanterns on poles1 bundles of flowers stuck in bamboo pedestals1 stands of artificial flowers1 and birds in enormous cages1 which are set free at the temples as an act of merit4 ,the priests1 friends1 and relatives move slowly and sadly to the temple1 in which there is a service1 then the bier is taken to the crematory by the chief mourner and the near relatives4 ,the ashes are removed the next day to their permanent home in the public crematorium or in the temple burying-ground of the family4 ,for fifty days after the death incense and lights are kept burning before the tablet of the deceased at his late home1 and prayers are offered at the grave for the same length of time4 ,a priest comes from the temple every seventh day to offer incense and prayers with the sorrowing family1 who believe that for forty-nine days the spirit of their dead wanders in the dark space that lies between this world and the next4 ,every seventh day it makes a step forward and is helped by the prayers of loved ones left behind4 ,the sorrowing wife is taught that the spirit cannot tear itself away from its old home and hovers over it1 and unless it is absolutely necessary no loving woman would remove from her home until the forty-nine days were past1 for fear of giving sorrow to the spirit of her husband1 if he did not find her in the place where they had passed together their years of happiness4 ,the dead are not quickly forgotten in ,japan4 ,memorial services take place the forty-eighth day1 the hundredth day1 and the first anniversary of the death1 and services are held for even fifty years4 ,lafcadio ,hearn expresses the reverence which these people give their loved ones who have gone before them by saying3-- 8,in this worship we give the dead they are made divine4 ,and the thought of this tender reverence will temper with consolation the melancholy that comes with age to all of us4 ,never in our ,japan are the dead too quickly forgotten2 by simple faith they are still thought to dwell among their beloved and their place within the home remains holy4 ,when we pass to the land of shadows we know that loving lips will nightly murmur our names before the family shrine1 that our faithful ones will beseech us in their pain and bless us in their joy4 ,we will not be left alone upon the hillside1 but loving hands will place before our tablet the fruit and flowers and dainty food that we were wont to like1 and will pour for us the fragrant cup of tea or amber rice-wine4 ,strange changes are coming upon this land1 old customs are vanishing1 old beliefs are weakening1 the thoughts of to-day will not be the thoughts of to-morrow2 but of all this we will know nothing4 ,we dream that for us as for our mothers the little lamps will burn on through the generations2 we see in fancy the yet unborn1 the children of our children's children1 bowing their tiny heads and making the filial obeisance before the tablet that bears our family name40 ,,conclusion ,the ocean that geographically divides the ,east from the ,west is not more wide nor deep than is that invisible ocean between the minds of the woman of the ,orient and the woman of the ,occident4 ,a sympathetic understanding between peoples whose ideals have been so differently constructed1 and who have had such radically opposite training1 is next to impossible4 ,no matter what the ,western woman may do in the hope of touching the emotional life of the woman of the ,east1 she soon finds that further progress is barred1 that a gate before unseen has closed1 shutting her out from the inner life4 ,i knew a very advanced woman in ,southern ,india who had broken caste and who went about freely1 mingling with both ,europeans and ,indians with the same freedom as an ,american woman would4 ,she dressed in a costume partially ,indian and partially ,european1 wore slippers1 and arranged her hair in the ,european fashion4 ,one day ,i went to her house rather earlier than the usual hour for calling4 ,i hardly recognized her1 as she was the ,indian woman of the home1 dressed in a sari1 her hair hanging down her back in braids1 and with heavy anklets over her bare feet4 ,she blushed and said3 8,oh1 ,i do not want you to see me like this10 and she did not understand me when ,i told her that ,i felt that ,i was seeing the real woman for the first time4 ,i thought many times in my long residence in the ,east that ,i had really entered into the life and understood the thoughts1 hopes1 and ambitions of the ,eastern woman1 when at some thoughtless word or action on my part a wall of fog would come between us1 with a thick1 impenetrable1 blanket-like mist1 made up of custom1 tradition1 and the results of environment1 and when it would lift we would find our little boats far from each other on a sea of mutual misunderstanding4 ,despite our incapacity to enter into the soul life of this ancient ,east1 we find ourselves fascinated and bewitched by the charm of these secluded women of the ,orient1 who live a life of instinctive unselfishness1 their days given to the making of happiness for others4 ,we say3 8,must there always remain the width of the world between the ,eastern woman and the woman of the ,west8 ,will the education which is being grasped so eagerly by the woman of the ,orient lessen the distance1 and will it break down the barriers80 ,only time will tell4 ,the children of the present boys and girls in school and college will have had the foundation of the three generations of intellectual training1 and will have learned to take what is best for them from ,western knowledge and use it as a means of breaking the iron bands of ignorance1 superstition1 and loyalty to old-time custom and tradition1 which stands an immovable mountain in the pathway of true friendship between the woman of the ,west and the woman of the ,east4 ,,unwin ,,brothers1 ,,limited1 ,,the ,,gresham ,,press1 ,,woking ,,and ,,london ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,transcriber's note3 #a4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings retained as printed4 #c4 ,the cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain4