OUR MOSLEM SISTERS

 [Illustration: A MOTHER AND HER DAUGHTER FROM TUNIS]

 Our Moslem Sisters

 _A Cry of Need from Lands of Darkness Interpreted by Those Who Heard It_

 EDITED BY ANNIE VAN SOMMER AND SAMUEL M. ZWEMER

 NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH

 Copyright, 1907, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY

 New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue Toronto: 25 Richmond St. , W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street

INTRODUCTION

This book with its sad, reiterated story of wrong and oppression is anindictment and an appeal. It is an indictment of the system whichproduces results so pitiful. It is an appeal to Christian womanhood toright these wrongs and enlighten this darkness by sacrifice and service. At the recent Mohammedan Educational Conference in Bombay the presidentof the gathering, the Agha Khan, himself a leading Moslem, spoke verytrenchantly of the chief barriers to progress in the Moslem world. Thefirst and greatest of these barriers in his opinion was "the seclusionof women which results in keeping half the community in ignorance anddegradation and this hinders the progress of the whole. " Surely theignorance and degradation of one-half of a community which has a worldpopulation of 233 millions is a question that concerns all who lovehumanity. 

The origin of the veil of Islam was, as is well known, one of themarriage affairs of Mohammed himself, with its appropriate revelationfrom Allah. In the twenty-fourth Surah of the Koran women are forbiddento appear unveiled before any member of the other sex, with theexception of near relatives. And so by one verse the bright, refining, elevating influence of women was forever withdrawn from Moslem society. The evils of the zenana, the seraglio, the harem, or by whatever name itis called, are writ large over all the social life of the Moslem world. Keene says it "lies at the root of all the most important features thatdifferentiate progress from stagnation. "

In Arabia before the advent of Islam it was customary to bury femaleinfants alive. Mohammed improved on the barbaric method and discovered away by which _all_ females could be buried alive and yet liveon--namely, the veil. How they live on, this book tells! Its chaptersare not cunningly devised fables nor stories told for the story's sake. Men and women who have given of their strength and service, their loveand their life to ameliorate the lives of Moslem women and carry thetorch of Truth into these lands of darkness write simply the truth in astraightforward way. All the chapters were written by missionaries inthe various lands represented. And with three exceptions the writerswere women. The chapter on Turkestan is by a converted Moslem; and thetwo chapters on the Yemen and the Central Soudan are by medicalmissionaries. The book has as many authors as there are chapters. Forobvious reasons their names are not published, but their testimony isunimpeachable and unanimous. We read what their eyes have seen, whattheir hands have handled, and what has stirred their hearts. It hasstirred the hearts of educated Moslems too, in Egypt as well as inIndia. A new book on this very subject was recently published at Cairoby Kasim Ameen, a learned Moslem jurist. Although he denies that Islamis the cause, yet speaking of the present relation of the Mohammedanwoman to man the author says:

"Man is the absolute master and woman the slave. She is the object ofhis sensual pleasures, a toy, as it were, with which he plays, wheneverand however he pleases. Knowledge is his, ignorance is hers. Thefirmament and the light are his, darkness and the dungeon are hers. Hisis to command, hers is to blindly obey. His is everything that is, andshe is an insignificant part of that everything. 

"Ask those that are married if they are loved by their wives, and theywill answer in the affirmative. The truth, however, is the reverse. Ihave personally investigated the conditions of a number of families thatare supposed to be living in harmony, peace, and love, and I have notfound one husband who truly loved his wife, or one wife who evinced asincere affection for her husband. This outward appearance of peace andharmony--this thin veneering--only means one of three things, namely, either the husband is made callous and nonchalant by incessant strife, and has finally determined to let things take their course; or the wifeallows herself to be utilized as an ordinary chattel, without uttering aprotest; or both parties are ignorant and do not appreciate the truevalue of life. In this last case, the parties are nearer to a sort ofhappiness than in the former two, although their happiness is negativein quantity and evanescent in nature. " ... The writers of the followingchapters believe that the only remedy for these social evils is theGospel. That is why they write. 

The occasion that led to the preparation and collection of this seriesof papers was the Cairo Conference. One of the most interesting sessionsof that first general Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan world, heldat Cairo April 4-9, 1906, was that on Woman's Work for Women. But thetime was far too short nor had there been preparation for a full andfree presentation and discussion of the condition and needs of ourMoslem sisters. Those that loved them felt this and yet the womenpresent seized the opportunity and unitedly sent forth the followingappeal, endorsed by the whole Conference:

 "_Women's Appeal. _

 "We, the women missionaries, assembled at the Cairo Conference, would send this appeal on behalf of the women of Moslem lands to all the women's missionary boards and committees of Great Britain, America, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand. 

 "While we have heard with deep thankfulness of many signs of God's blessing on the efforts already put forth, yet we have been appalled at the reports which have been sent in to the Conference from all parts of the Moslem world, showing us only too plainly that as yet but a fringe of this great work has been touched. 

 "The same story has come from India, Persia, Arabia, Africa, and other Mohammedan lands, making evident that the condition of women under Islam is everywhere the same--and that there is no hope of effectually remedying the spiritual, moral, and physical ills which they suffer, except to take them the message of the Saviour, and that there is no chance of their hearing, unless we give ourselves to the work. _No one else will do it. _ This lays a heavy responsibility on all Christian women. 

 "The number of Moslem _women_ is so vast--not less than one hundred million--that any adequate effort to meet the need must be on a scale far wider than has ever yet been attempted. 

 "We do not suggest new organizations, but that every church and board of missions at present working in Moslem lands should take up their own women's branch of work with an altogether new ideal before them, determining to reach the whole world of Moslem women in this generation. Each part of the women's work being already carried on needs to be widely extended. Trained and consecrated women doctors; trained and consecrated women teachers; groups of women workers in the villages; an army of those with love in their hearts to seek and save the lost. And, with the willingness to take up this burden, so long neglected, for the salvation of Mohammedan women, even though it may prove a very cross of Calvary to some of us, we shall hear our Master's voice afresh ringing words of encouragement: 'Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that these things which He saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. ' 'Nothing shall be impossible unto you. '"

That this wonderful appeal might reach a wider circle and that itsskeleton form might be clothed with the flesh and blood of real lifeexperiences and so be not a resolution but a revelation, --this book waswritten. _May God give its message wings through His Spirit_

 S. M. ZWEMER. 

 HOLLAND, MICH. , February, 1907. 

 CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE

 I. HAGAR AND HER SISTERS 15

 II. EGYPT, THE LAND OF BONDAGE 24

 III. FROM UNDER THE YOKE OF SOCIAL EVILS 38

 IV. THE WOMEN OF EGYPT ONCE MORE 60

 V. BEHIND THE OPENING DOOR IN TUNIS 72

 VI. "NOT DEAD, ONLY DRY" 89

 VII. LIGHT IN DARKEST MOROCCO 99

 VIII. MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN THE CENTRAL SOUDAN 118

 IX. A STORY FROM EAST AFRICA 131

 X. OUR ARABIAN SISTERS 135

 XI. WOMEN'S LIFE IN THE YEMEN 146

 XII. PEN-AND-INK SKETCHES IN PALESTINE 152

 XIII. ONCE MORE IN PALESTINE 164

 XIV. MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN SYRIA 174

 XV. BEHIND THE LATTICE IN TURKEY 192

 XVI. A VOICE FROM BULGARIA 204

 XVII. DARKNESS AND DAYBREAK IN PERSIA 207

 XVIII. DARKNESS AND DAYBREAK IN PERSIA (PART II) 228

 XIX. THE CONDITION OF MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN BALUCHISTAN 249

 XX. IN SOUTHERN INDIA 253

 XXI. THE MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN OF TURKESTAN 263

 XXII. IN FAR-OFF CATHAY 276

 XXIII. OUR MOSLEM SISTERS IN JAVA 283

 XXIV. THE MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN OF MALAYSIA 287

 XXV. "WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO?" 293

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 _Facing page_

 A MOTHER AND HER DAUGHTER FROM TUNIS TITLE

 DAUGHTERS OF EGYPT 24

 BARGAINS IN ORANGES 60

 BY THE BANKS OF THE NILE 60

 DOROTHY AND FATIMAH 78

 ARAB WOMAN ENTERING SAINT'S TOMB 82

 TYPES IN TUNIS AND ALGIERS 90

 A YOUNG GIRL OF THE ABU SAAD TRIBE 96

 A BEDOUIN GIRL FROM NORTH AFRICA 102

 GOING TO MARKET--TWO BURDEN BEARERS 126

 WOMEN CHURNING BUTTER IN BEDOUIN CAMP (Arabia) 136

 MOSLEM AND CHRISTIAN CEMETERY, ETC. 160

 A VILLAGE SCHOOL IN SYRIA--MOSLEM AND CHRISTIAN, ETC. 170

 A FAMILY GROUP AT JERICHO 176

 MAT-MAKERS (Persia): INDOOR DRESS (Northern Persia) 228

 MOSLEM WOMEN OF THE BETTER CLASS IN STREET DRESS (Syria) 264

 A CRY OF DISTRESS FROM ALGIERS 294

 "All that took them captives hold them fast, they refuse to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of Hosts is His name; He shall thoroughly plead their cause. "--JEREMIAH l. 33, 34. 

 "Deliver them that are carried away unto death, and those that are tottering to the slaughter see that thou hold back. If thou sayest, Behold we knew not this, doth not He that weigheth the hearts consider it and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works?"--PROVERBS xxiv. 11, 12. (R. V. )

 "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister judgment to the poor and needy. "--PROVERBS xxxi. 8, 9. (R. V. )

OUR MOSLEM SISTERS

I

HAGAR AND HER SISTERS

"We must concentrate attention upon the mothers, for what the mothersare, the children will be. " These words, spoken recently by a Britishstatesman, are but the thoughts of many who have tried to save thechildren. And in looking at the millions of Moslems in the world to-day, and wondering why they are still as they were a thousand years ago, rather drifting backward than advancing, we turn to their women and findthe cause. Mohammedan law, custom, and the example of their founderplace woman on a level with beasts of burden and no nation rises abovethe level of its women. 

The Lord Jesus is the only prophet come to this world who has raisedwomen to what God meant them to be. It is only He who can save ourMoslem sisters. When Hagar returns to Christ Ishmael shall live. 

The story of Hagar, the mother of the Arabs, tells us of a young girlsacrificed for the scheme and then the jealousy of an older woman whoshould have loved and pitied her. And it seems to some of us that itneeds the widespread love and pity of the women of our day in Christianlands to seek and save the suffering sinful needy women of Islam. 

You cannot know how great the need unless you are told; you will nevergo and find them until you hear their cry. And they will never cry forthemselves, for they are down under the yoke of centuries of oppression, and their hearts have no hope or knowledge of anything better. 

And so to-day, we want to make our voices heard for them. We want totell you, our sisters at home, in words so plain that you can neveragain say: "Behold, we knew it not. "

"In the mouth of two witnesses shall every word be established, " was thelaw of Moses. In this book you have the evidence of more than a score ofwitnesses and they all speak the same things. Each one tells only thatwhich she knows. No incident is given without personal knowledge, andmost of the writers have the experience of ten, fifteen, or twenty yearsin the midst of the people of whom they tell. 

Although we claim no literary merit, we have a thrilling story and pleadfor a hearing. 

Read for yourselves what is going on in the lives of a hundred millionwomen in the world to-day and take this burden on your hearts beforeGod. 

A long tress of dark hair, a white veil, a bit of flower, and a shiningnecklace. They are there above the bier of a young bride carried pastour window to her grave. There was another one yesterday, and there willbe more to-morrow. Hundreds of child-wives and sixty-two per cent. Theytell us of all the babies born here, in Egypt, are taken to an earlygrave. We cannot know these things and not call upon you, our sisters, to come and try to save them. They are passing away in an endlessprocession, without ever having heard of Jesus, without ever knowingthat He died for them, that an eternity of gladness and love may betheirs. 

Although the voices in this book sound from many lands: Egypt, Tunis, Algiers, Morocco, Hausa Land, East Africa, Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Persia, India, one story is told and one cry heardeverywhere. There has been no communication between the writers, butthere is absolute identity of evidence because all the Moslems of theselands are under Mohammedan law. 

The world-wide suffering of Moslem women makes us read with wonder suchwords as were recently spoken by the secretary of the Pan-IslamicSociety: "The Renaissance of Islam means the renaissance of humanity. "Does the speaker think we are all blind, and deaf, and ignorant? Thesepages may enlighten him. We read further Mustapha Pasha Kamel's ownwords and tell him that in these he speaks the truth. They were spokento his own fellow-Moslems. 

Mustapha Pasha Kamel said in the course of his speech to hisco-religionists:

"Conquer with the force of knowledge and history the strong fortressesof prejudice and bigotry, and open wide the gates of your heart for thereception of Truth and Light. For a conquered people there is no curebetter than a passionate devotion to Truth. Be ye, therefore, messengersof Light and Truth, the missionaries of brilliant and triumphant Truth, the army of physicians prescribing the bitter pills of Truth. Tell theeffete and feeble rulers and princes, 'Awake from your deep slumber. Recover soon from your drunkenness caused by the possession of absoluteauthority, the boast of heraldry, and the braveries of pomp andpageantry. Awake ye, before the depth of degradation into which yoursubjects have fallen sound the death-knell of your rule and shake thevery foundations of your throne. Awake before the day overtakes you whenrepentance and regrets will be of no avail. ' Tell the rich who waste somuch of their wealth in the pursuit of ignoble pleasures, and who do notspare a farthing for a noble cause, 'Awake before it is too late. Do notforget in the midnight of your intoxication that a bitter day ofreckoning awaits you. Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen. Your fatesare bound up with those of your people and your glory depends upon theirprosperity. If they rise, you rise. If they fall, you fall with them. Wealth is a poison if it becomes an instrument of evil; a life-givingantidote when devoted to a noble purpose. Regard it therefore as adivine gift and a sacred trust. ' Tell the people who live the life ofanimals and are led like dumb cattle: 'Awake, and realize the truesignificance of life. Fill the earth and adorn it with the result ofyour labors. ' Gentlemen, you alone can make them understand the fullmeaning of life. O physicians! the patient is in a critical state, anddelay spells death. " ... 

If the thinking men of the Mohammedan world really believe what is heresaid to them by their own champion, we ask them will they not seek untoGod for a remedy? And it may be He will turn their thoughts to their ownhomes, and let them see _what is, why it is, and to think what mightbe_. 

The homes of the sons of Ishmael might be happy and united, the abode ofgladness and family love, but they are the opposite of this. FewMohammedans know that such a home is possible. They only know a placefull of jealousy, of quarrelling and evil talk. What wonder that theyhave the proverb: "The threshold of the house weeps for forty days whena girl is born. "

Unwelcome at birth, unloved in her life-time, without hope in her death;and she might be the joy of your heart, the life of your home, and thehope of your old age. Will you not ask yourselves, our brothers, canthese things be? "Have we wandered in the dark for centuries, misled byblind leaders of the blind, and missing the good things offered us bythe God of Ishmael?" It was through Hagar his mother that Ishmael lived. 

"_She sat over against him, and lift up her voice and wept. And Godheard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out ofheaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not, for Godhath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad andhold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And Godopened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filledthe bottles with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with thelad, and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness. _"

To-day we cry to our Father in Heaven to let us be the messengers ofcomfort to Hagar--and we will ask Him to open her eyes that she may seethe Well of the Water of Life, and that she may hold it to the lips ofher sons and daughters in the Moslem world. The following touchingincident and poem by one who has labored long among Moslem women inPersia may well be our opening prayer ere we hear the cry of need fromdistant lands in these chapters:--

"It was the Communion Day in our Church, and the service proceeded asusual. My thoughts were all of my own unworthiness and Christ's love tome, until Mr. E. Asked the question nobody ever notices, 'Has any onebeen omitted in the distribution of the bread?' And it seemed to me Icould see millions on millions of women rising silently in India, Africa, Siam, Persia, in all the countries where they need the Lord, butknow Him not, to testify that they had been omitted in the distributionof the bread and cup! And they can take it from no hands but ours, andwe do not pass it on. Can Jesus make heaven so sweet and calm that wecan forgive ourselves this great neglect of the millions living now, forwhom the body was broken and the blood shed, just as much as for us?"

 The feast was spread, the solemn words were spoken; Humbly my soul drew near to meet her Lord, To plead His sacrificial body broken, His blood for me outpoured. 

 Confessing all my manifold transgression, Weeping, to cast myself before His throne, Praying His Spirit to take full possession, And seal me all His own. 

 On Him I laid each burden I was bearing, The anxious mind, of strength so oft bereft, The future dim, the children of my caring, All on His heart I left. 

 "How could I live, my Lord, " I cried, "without Thee! How for a single day this pathway trace, And feel no loving arm thrown round about me, No all-sustaining grace?

 "Oh show me how to thank Thee, praise Thee, love Thee, For these rich gifts bestowed on sinful me, The rainbow hope that spans the sky above me, The promised rest with Thee. "

 As if indeed He spoke the answer, fitted Into my prayer, the pastor's voice came up: "Let any rise if they have been omitted When passed the bread and cup. "

 Sudden, before my inward, open vision, Millions of faces crowded up to view, Sad eyes that said, "For us is no provision; Give us your Saviour, too!"

 Sorrowful women's faces, hungry, yearning, Wild with despair, or dark with sin and dread, Worn with long weeping for the unreturning, Hopeless, uncomforted. 

 "Give us, " they cry; "your cup of consolation Never to our outstretching hands is passed, We long for the Desire of every nation, And oh, we die so fast!

 "Does He not love us, too, this gracious Master? 'Tis from your hand alone we can receive The bounty of His grace; oh, send it faster, That we may take and live!"

 "Master, " I said, as from a dream awaking, "Is this the service Thou dost show to me? Dost Thou to me entrust Thy bread for breaking To those who cry for Thee?

 "Dear Heart of Love, canst Thou forgive the blindness That let Thy child sit selfish and at ease By the full table of Thy loving kindness, And take no thought for these?

 "As Thou hast loved me, let me love; returning To these dark souls the grace Thou givest me; And oh, to me impart Thy deathless yearning To draw the lost to Thee!

 "Nor let me cease to spread Thy glad salvation, Till Thou shalt call me to partake above, Where the redeemed of every tribe and nation Sit at Thy feast of love!"

 --ANNIE VAN SOMMER, Alexandria, Egypt. 

[Illustration: DAUGHTERS OF EGYPT]

II

EGYPT, THE LAND OF BONDAGE

Egypt was the home of the earliest civilization in the world, whicharchæology traces back beyond 3000 years B. C. The home of a raceskilled both in the fine and mechanical arts; loving nature, honoringwomen, and deeply impressed with the seriousness of life on both sidesthe grave. The valley of the Nile, which is the true Egypt, is unlikeany other part of the world. It has neither Alpine grandeur, norpastoral softness, nor variety of plain and upland, meadow and forest. Its low hills have neither heather nor pine upon them. Egypt is the landof light, of glowing sunshine, of moonlight and starlight so brilliantthat night is but a softer day. From the time that Israel's ancestorswent down thither it has drawn men of every clime with a peculiarfascination. 

On the opposite page we have before us a glimpse of the majestic Nile, stretching through one thousand miles of desert till it flows into theMediterranean Sea. "Wherever the river cometh, there is life. "Everywhere along its banks the desert has become fertile, and there arecountless towns and villages. 

The productive capacity of the land had always depended upon the annualoverflow of the Nile, but every summer during the season of high Nilebillions and billions of cubic feet of water would roll away a rich andwanton waste into the sea, simply because there were not enough channelsto carry it out into the thirsty sands of the desert. Energetic menconceived the idea of bringing these waste waters into control, to carrythem out through the surrounding countries, bringing life and prosperitywhere there was dearth and desolation. For this purpose several greatdams were built; one at Cairo, one at Assiut and one at Assouan, makingit possible to store up much of the water which had formerly gone towaste, and canals were dug to carry the life-giving water out to thedesert where thousands of acres of land have been reclaimed. 

The large cities of Egypt are densely populated. A town of twenty-fivethousand people is considered a mere village. It might be wondered whatthe people do for a livelihood, but they all seem to do something. Thereare all sorts of tradesmen and artificers. It is next to impossible toenumerate them, there's the:--

 Richman, poorman, beggarman, thief; Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief; Butcher, baker, Candle-stick maker, Soldier, sailor, Tinker, tailor, etc. , etc. 

There are few signs of extreme want, but disease and deformity meet oneeverywhere, and blindness is perhaps the most pitiful. 

Egypt is largely an agricultural country, and naturally the largestpercentage of her inhabitants are tillers of the soil. A little morethan half belong to the peasant class and are known as "fellaheen. " Theyare industrious after their own fashion, conservative to the point ofbigotry, yet good-humored and peaceable. The peasant class are the hopeof Egypt. They look back to a past full of crushing tyranny, politicaland religious, but under the improved political condition of the countrythe Egyptian peasant is beginning to widen his horizon and to aim foreducation and civilization. Poor they certainly are, but what of thatwhen they have enough to eat such as it is and can spend their wholelives in sunshine and fresh air? Warm enough with the lightest clothing, well sheltered by the rudest cabin, no hard winters to provide against, and no coal to buy. 

Such is the physical condition of Egypt and the Egyptian. What of themoral and spiritual?

Nine-tenths of the people are Mohammedans, thus Mohammedan ideas rulethe thought and manner of life. 

Because Mohammedans worship one God, many people say, "Let them alone, their religion is good enough for them, it is even better suited to themthan Christianity. " It is true that Mohammedanism was a revolt againstthe idolatry and corruption of the early Christian churches, but is thatrevolt, even though an honest effort to find a purer form of worship, any excuse for not holding out to them the true way of salvation? Is notthat revolt rather a trumpet call to Christianity, wakening her up toher great responsibility toward the unbelief of Islam, whose apostasywas caused by the unfaithfulness of the old Christian churches of theEast?

No one who has drunk deeply at the fountain of evangelical truth candefend Islam. It has been commonly supposed that the God of the Koran isthe God of the New Testament. Those who have made the subject a matterof careful study and investigation find that they are totally different. The God of Christianity is a God of love, the God of Islam is anOriental despot. 

The element of love is left out of both the religion and morality ofIslam. Marriage is not founded upon love but upon sensuality. A motherwas rebuked for arranging a marriage for her fourteen-year-old son. Herexcuse was, "I do it to keep him from learning the bad habit of visitingprostitutes. " The sensual nature has been trained in the Egyptian to anindescribable degree of disgusting perfection. As some one has said, "Mohammedans have added a refinement of sensuousness to pagansensuality. " As a result of this training men and women have sunk todepths of degradation unconsciously manifested in their customs, intheir speech, and in their life. 

For twelve centuries the blight of Islam has fallen over the fortunes ofEgypt. Politics, commerce, learning, all have felt its withering blast, but that which has most keenly felt the blast and blight of Islam issociety. There is no word in the Arabic language for home, the nearestapproach to it being "beit, " which means "house" or "a place in which tospend the night. " To quote from an interesting writer on thisthought--"The word is lacking because the idea is lacking. " "Home, sweetHome" with all its wealth of meaning is a conception foreign to theaverage Oriental. An educated young Moslem with advanced ideas in manyrespects was asked if the members of his family took their mealstogether. He said they did not, each one when he became hungry told theservant to bring food. "Would it not be better to eat together?" "Yes, it would be much cheaper, " he replied, showing that the first ray of thebeauty of the home circle had not penetrated his active mind. How can itbe otherwise when woman, the heart and life of the family circle, was inhis mind because of inherited ideas relegated to the position ofprisoner and slave rather than to that of companion and helpmeet? "Itwas Islam that forever withdrew from Oriental society the bright, refining, elevating influence of woman by burying her alive behind theveil and lattice of the Harem. "

Arabic poetry and literature is generally very uncomplimentary to woman, characterizing her as a donkey, or even a snake. The majority of the menhoot at the gallantry and courtesy which Anglo-Saxon etiquette demandsof men towards women. Says an Egyptian, "Our women must be beaten inorder to be made to walk straight. " And beaten they are for triflingoffence by father, husband, brother, or son as occasion demands. Thiscustom is so common that the women themselves expect a whippingoccasionally. 

It has been said that the theology of Islam does not give woman a placein heaven, but that statement is incorrect. However, her place andstation in heaven seem to depend entirely upon the will of her husband. Many husbands are like the old Moslem sheikh who said, "I don't want mywives in heaven. I prefer the Harem of beautiful, pure, clean angelswhich God has provided for every good Moslem. " The privilege of prayeris practically denied a young woman with children because of the strictregulations of washing before prayer. Unless these ablutions are donecarefully according to rule, prayer is void. A few old women do pray. 

The nominal Christians dwelling in the midst of Islam, though they hateIslam with all their hearts, have yet imbibed much of their spirit inregard to the treatment of women. A Coptic priest was heard to say, "Itis better for the women not to go to church, for they can't keep quiet. They will eat and chatter during the service. " Poor things! What elsecould they do, shut off from the main audience room as they always arebehind a high lattice screen, where they can neither see nor hear whatis going on!

Much can be said about the down-trodden condition of Egyptian women. "Asa babe she is unwelcome; as a child untaught; as a wife unloved; as amother, unhonored; in old age, uncared for; and when her miserable, dark, and dreary life is ended, she is unmourned by those she hasserved. " Heaven is a forlorn hope, not because she is denied any of itsprivileges, but because of the incapability of providing her withenjoyments similar to those promised to the other sex. 

It has often been asserted that the institutions of Islam elevated andimproved the state of women, but history and true incidents from life goto show that her position was rendered by Islam more dependent anddegraded than before. 

She is degraded and made servilely dependent by seclusion. The veil andlattice of the Harem are both Islamic institutions established by theProphet of Islam and founded upon incidents which occurred in his ownfamily; and they are certainly a faithful commentary upon the sensualityand lewdness of the times, with an unconscious recognition of the factthat the religion of Islam was not of sufficient moral force to improvethe times. History has verified this testimony and we only need to lookaround in these countries to see for ourselves that Mohammedanism, asits founder anticipated, has not improved the morality of those who haveembraced its principles, but has rather excused and given license to allsorts of lewdness. It is difficult for people reared in Christian landsto have any conception of the laxity of morals in Mohammedan lands andit is a thing to be wondered at and excused only on the grounds ofignorance of existing conditions that English parents will allow theiryoung daughters to become resident teachers or governesses in richMohammedan houses. 

The whole system of Islam, in so far as it concerns family life and thetreatment of women, is vile and revolting. The veil and lattice of theHarem, even though established to guard her modesty and purity, havedegraded and debased her by making her a prisoner. 

As a child, she has before her only a few short years in which she hasan opportunity to go to school and the effort to improve those few yearsis very often fruitless, because just as she shows any signs of buddingwomanhood (as early as at the age of ten years and not later thanthirteen years) she must lay aside her books and "be hidden, " as theysay in Arabic; then it is considered improper and immodest for a girl tobe seen in the streets. Her education stops just at the point when hermind is beginning to open up, and she is learning to love her books. Thrown back into the seclusion of the Harem she soon forgets all shehas learned. Should she be energetic enough to try to keep up herlessons and try to get reading matter, she is met with the taunt, "Areyou a scribe or a lawyer, that you should read and write every day?"

The girls who have an opportunity of going to school at all are in theminority, but for those who do, as in Christian lands, there is apeculiar fascination and joy connected with the first day of schoolafter a month or two of vacation. Girls, new pupils and old, cometrooping into the schoolroom enthusiastic, eager, and bright, rejoicingwith all the ardor of childhood that they are allowed to come back totheir beloved school and that they are not yet old enough to be"hidden. " But there is a strain of sadness in all this joy, for in theirinterchange of confidences and family bits of news it comes out that acertain Fatima and a certain Zeinab, their big sisters, are sitting athome very sad and even shedding bitter and rebellious tears because, poor things! they have been "hidden" and their schooldays are over. 

A day or two after our school began, the teachers and girls were allstartled by a rustle of long garments sailing in at the door. On closerobservation they soon saw that their visitor was none other than littleHabeeba of last year, who during the summer had blossomed out into awoman by donning all the trappings of a Harem lady, and she was truly"hidden, " for not a speck of her face showed except one bright eye. Shecould not stay away from her beloved school, she said, so had beggedspecial permission to come and spend an hour with her friends. 

The seclusion of the Harem is more or less rigid according to thecaprice of some exacting husband or mother-in-law. As far as the youngermarried women's experience goes it is mother-in-law rule literally, forseldom is a man permitted to take his wife to a home of his own. Thesons and even the grandsons must bring their brides home to the father'shouse and all be subject to the mother. A household of fifty is nouncommon thing. Much of the freedom of the younger women depends uponwhat the old mother-in-law or grandmother-in-law thinks proper. Oftenshe rules with a hand of iron, probably to make up for her own hard lifein her younger days, intermixed with an honest desire to preserve andpromote the honor and dignity of her house. For the honor, dignity, andaristocracy of a family are often estimated according to the rigor ofthe seclusion of its women-folk. 

Thousands of Egyptian women never step over their own thresholds andmany of them never make complaint, only saying, "Oh, you know our menlove us very much; that is the reason they imprison us. They do it toprotect us. "

Among the strictest people a young woman is not permitted to be seen byeven her father-in-law. Nor is it allowable for her to be seen by anymale servants except eunuchs. Under such conditions it might bewondered how a woman could keep her domestic machinery in running order, but as one woman said, who had never seen the face of her cook althoughhe had been employed in her house for thirteen years, when asked thequestion, "How do you tell him what you want for dinner?" "Oh, he knowsmy wants, but when I wish to give a particular order, I tell the maidservant, she tells the little boy servant, and he conveys the message tothe cook!"

It seems like the irony of fate that these women who are kept in suchstrict seclusion should be so extravagantly fond of society. Theywelcome in the most hospitable manner any visitors of their own sex. Itis pitiful to see how they love to have glimpses of the outside world. Amissionary lady tells of a woman whom she often visited, who had neverbeen outside of her house since her marriage, forty years before, andwho begged her to tell her something about the flowers, saying, "Ah, youare happy women, free to go here and there and enjoy life!"

Many people who know only the outside of Egyptian life, when they hearthat the women have jewelry and beautiful dresses and servants to lookafter every want, say they are happy and contented in their seclusion, but those who visit them in their homes and talk with them in their ownlanguage know how they writhe under it, how they weary of the idlenessand monotony forced upon them. One little woman, forced to spend herlife behind closed shutters, would feign illness so as to get anopportunity to call in her friend, the lady missionary doctor, and, whenrebuked, would laughingly say, "What am I to do! I must see somebody topass away the time and I like to have you come to see me, but you won'tcome unless I send you word I am ill. "

It seems part of the nature of the Egyptian to distrust his womenfolkand to believe them capable of any misdemeanor. Therefore they must becarefully watched and kept in check. This distrust reacts upon thenature and character of the women, often making them truly unworthy oftrust, but many of them are very sensitive on the subject and feelkeenly this unfair position into which they are thrown. 

What has been said about the strict seclusion of Egyptian women referschiefly to the middle and upper classes, for the poorest women, those ofthe peasant class, have the greatest freedom. They go about unveiled andmanifest a character of marked independence and self-reliance, but theyare ignorant beyond description, such a thing as books and schoolroombeing unknown quantities to them, and their lot is a life of drudgery. 

Many of the village women labor in the fields from early morning to lateat night, especially during the cotton season, seven or eight months ofthe year. 

During the cotton-ginning season many women and girls work from 4o'clock A. M. To 9 o'clock P. M. In the cotton-ginning mills. Those in thevicinities of larger towns are vendors of fruit, vegetables, milk, cheese, and butter. On market days great troops of village women can beseen on the country roads, their wares in big baskets on their heads, their babies perched astride their shoulders, wending their way to town. Those who live in the larger towns are often employed as hodcarriers formasons. 

Their powers of endurance are marvellous. It is a common occurrence fora woman to go out to pick cotton as usual in the morning and to comeback in the evening, carrying her basket on her head and in it hernew-born babe, and it has been known for a woman to start to town withher marketing on her head, be detained an hour or two by the roadsidetill she gives birth to her child, then with it continue her journey. 

Besides being a drudge the peasant woman is nearly always a slave to herhusband. Of course she does not eat with him; if she goes out with himshe walks behind him while he rides the donkey, which it is her duty tokeep moving at a good pace by prodding with a sharp stick. If there isanything to carry she does it. He does manage to carry his own cigaretteand walking stick! Often, too, she has to exercise her wits to tell herlord amusing stories for his entertainment as they journey by the way. One day some tourists met just such a couple on a country road. The poorwoman was trudging along with a big child sitting astride her shoulderwhile its father rode the donkey. The suggestion was made that the childmight ride if its mother couldn't. To the credit of the smiling-facedpeasant the suggestion was followed. 

III

FROM UNDER THE YOKE OF SOCIAL EVILS

Unhappy marriages are a natural result of the seclusion of women inEgypt. It would be highly improper for a man to see his bride untilafter he had married her. He has not even had the privilege of choosingher. His mother did that for him, and it goes without saying that theyoung man is not always suited. The story is told of a young man who athis wedding feast was sitting so glum and silent that his young friendsteased him by saying, "Brother! brother! Why so sad on this joyousoccasion?" In answer he said, "I have just seen my bride for the firsttime and I am woefully disappointed. She is ugly! tall, thin, andweak-eyed. " The tall "daughter-of-the-gods-girl" is not admired inEgypt. Her short, fat, dumpy little sister is much more according toEgyptian ideas of beauty. "Cheer up! cheer up!" said his friends, "youare not such a handsome fellow yourself that you should have such ahandsome wife!" Shaking his head sadly, he said, "I feel like heapingashes on my head. If you don't believe me that she is ugly, go upstairsand peep in at the Harem window and see for yourselves. " Glad of thechance of such a privilege, they did so and came back saying, "Brother, heap more ashes on your head!"

Frequent divorce is a natural result of these unhappy marriages. Divorcein any land is a social evil but in Egypt it is especially so, becausethe divorce laws are such that in a peculiar way woman is degraded bythem. 

It is difficult to obtain exact figures regarding the percentage ofdivorce, as all cases are not recorded. There are some who say 50 percent. Of marriages end in divorce, others say 80 per cent. , and aprominent Moslem when asked said 95 per cent. An experienced missionarywhen asked her opinion, said, "Divorce is so common that to find a womanwho lives all her life with one husband is the exception. "

In fact it is such an exception that it is a subject for remark, and avisitor in a house where such happy conditions exist never fails to betold about it. 

Many women have been divorced several times, and a woman of twenty yearsof age may be living with her third husband. 

A native Bible woman who had worked among Mohammedans for fourteen yearswhen asked, "How many men or women of twenty-five years of age shethought likely to be living with their original partners?" said, "Do youmean that they should have kept to each other and that neither has beendivorced or married anybody else?"--"Yes. " She laughed and said, "Perhaps one in two thousand. "

This was probably an exaggeration, but it shows that divorce is verycommon, and that the percentage is even higher than those who love Egyptand her people like to admit. It almost seems that the history of one'sMohammedan acquaintances in Egypt might be given in an endless stream ofincidents about divorce and the intrigue and hate and jealousy attendanton this, the greatest social evil of Egypt. 

Many a young man has no hesitation about marrying and divorcing, keepingup the process for a year or so till he at last finds a wife to suithim. If it didn't degrade those he has cast aside, he might be excusedfor doing so, as he has had no chance to choose his wife intelligently. 

A young man of some spirit was determined to have a wife to please himand who would be congenial to him. Seeing no other way to accomplish it, he married and divorced in rapid succession six times. The seventh was aqueenly young woman, gentle and refined in all her ways, in whom theheart of her husband might well rejoice, yet the terror daily hung overher that she might be divorced in time like the other six. It waspathetic to see how she tried to cultivate every little feminine art toplease her husband, how she tried to improve her mind so as to be acompanion to him, but constantly with the fear of divorce lurking in hertender and loving heart. 

Among the lower classes marrying and divorcing in rapid succession is aform of dissipation. When pay-day comes, instead of going off on a bigdrink (which, to the credit of Islam, is forbidden), they use theirmoney to defray the expenses of a season of debauchery, marrying anddivorcing as many wives as possible while the money lasts. Picture thedegradation of the poor women who are the victims (often unwillingvictims) of such orgies. 

It would be interesting to bring in here everything that Mohammedan lawsays about divorce, but the rules are many and complicated and almosttoo revolting to put into words. It is enough to say that the husbandmay divorce his wife without any misbehavior on her part or withoutassigning any reason. It is all left to the will and caprice of the man, and he has only to say, "Woman, thou art divorced, " or he can even usemetaphorical language which must be understood by the ever-on-the-alertwife to mean divorce, as when he says, "Thou art free!" "Thou art cutoff!" "Veil yourself!" "Arise, seek for a mate!" etc. , etc. A certainman had been away for a week or so on a business trip. He came home andthe first words he said to his wife, were, "I thought you had gone hometo your father's house!" She understood him to mean, and rightly too, "Idivorce thee!" so she packed up her things and went off. 

If a man pronounce his sentence of divorce only once or twice it isrevocable, but if he pronounces it three times it is irrevocable, andthe divorced wife cannot be taken back by her husband till she has beenmarried to another man, has lived with him and been divorced; then herformer husband can take her back. This is the most revolting anddegrading of all the divorce laws, and the prophet Mohammed institutedit thinking that the very repulsiveness of it would act as a restraint, but strange to say it only seems to give more license. 

A man will get into controversy with his friends perhaps. To strengthenhis statements he uses all sorts of oaths, the strongest of which is, "Idivorce my wife by the triple divorce. " It takes legal effect. The poorman is in great distress, for he really loves his wife. What is he todo? He must go through the process of law to get her back. He hires aservant or a strange peasant to marry her. The revolting part is thatthe poor woman has to live with this hired husband till he is againhired to divorce her, when she is free to go back to her former husband. This case actually happened, and many like it with varying circumstancesmight be related, although it can gladly be said that the irrevocabledivorce is not of such frequent occurrence as the revocable. 

Some incidents will illustrate the various circumstances which causedivorce or are excuses for it. 

Abraham, the carpenter, came to his employer one day asking for anadvance of wages. "Why?" was asked. "I am going to get married, " hesaid, "and it costs much money. " Then he proceeded to relate hisdomestic troubles, how he had lived with his one wife sixteen years, explaining that he deserved much credit for doing so, seeing that hisfather during his lifetime had indulged in thirty-nine wives, but thathe had come to the point where he must divorce this wife as she reallydid talk too much, so of course he would have to marry another. 

A happy young mother had one little son whom she loved dearly. He wasaccidentally burned to death. The poor grief-stricken mother mourned andwept so much and so long that she became nearly blind. Because she hadno more children, her husband divorced her. In time she talked ofmarrying again. The missionary who had visited her often and comfortedher in her sorrow, remonstrated on the grounds of her former experience. She answered by saying, "A divorced woman must either marry again orelse live a life of sin. "

A poor little child-wife received such injuries at the birth of herfirst child because of the ignorance of those who attended her at thetime that she became an invalid, consequently her husband divorced her. She heard of the Mission Hospital, where she might receive kindlytreatment. She was admitted and cured by an operation. Her husband thenrestored her to his loving heart and home. 

In a certain town there was a little family where there seemed to beplenty of conjugal happiness in spite of so much that is often saidabout the impossibility of such a thing in a Moslem family. The littlewife was beautiful, bright, and intelligent, being fairly welleducated; and was able to make her house into something like a realhome. They were blessed with a family of interesting and promisingchildren. The father was wont to boast that he a Mohammedan could verifythe fact that such a thing as a perfect home could exist under Islamicconditions. But temptation came his way. He divorced his beautifulunoffending wife to marry the temptress, who though rich and of a highfamily (which was her recommendation and considered sufficient excusefor his base action), was ignorant and ugly, the only thing which seemedto give him any pangs of regret. 

There was a man who was fairly well-to-do and was considered by hisneighbors as being very respectable. The first wife was a very nicewoman but had no son, so her husband divorced her and married a second. Still there was no son, so he married a third. It was believed he didnot really divorce the second wife, but pretended to do so to please thethird, who would not consent to being one of two wives. After a while ason was born to the third, and so his first wife was brought back to thehouse as nurse to the child. She was the most ladylike of the threewives, but she had to carry the baby and walk behind the mother like aservant. When the baby died the parents quarrelled. Number three leftthe house and went into the country. The husband at once brought backnumber two, whereupon number three returned in a rage and number twowas turned out of the house. On the next quarrel with number three theman married a fourth time--a girl younger than his daughter by his firstwife. About this time he met the Bible woman in the street and asked herwhy she did not visit his house as usual. She replied, "I do not comebecause I never know which lady to ask for. "

The house of Ali might be supposed to be rather a religious one, for themother of the family has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and one ofthe sons is a howling dervish. Here we were introduced to a young bride, wife of a brother of the dervish. Calling again a few months later wefound another bride, the one we had seen on our former visit having beendivorced. The third time we went the first wife was there again and thesecond had been divorced. The woman had been married to another man anddivorced by him during the short time of separation from the firsthusband, and when the latter wished to have her back her parents couldnot agree about allowing the marriage and quarrelled so much that theydivorced each other! The time occupied by these proceedings was betweena year and eighteen months. Here were six persons concerned, and fourmarriages and four divorces had taken place. A baby had arrived on thescene, but its parentage was a mystery in the mix-up. 

It is quite usual for a woman to be divorced before the birth of herfirst child, and we could not but feel sympathy with the poor youngmother who under such circumstances called her baby "Vengeance. "

Love, the best and most holy of human joys, has been almost strangled todeath in Egypt by the institution of divorce, and the family can seldombe considered a community of common interest. As one woman was heard tosay, "We go on the principle of trying to pluck or fleece our husbandsall we can while we have the chance, since we never know how soon we maybe divorced. "

It has been said that the character of a nation cannot rise above thecharacter of its women. What can be expected of a nation when hate andjealousy are the ruling passions of its women, of its mothers whonurture and train up its young!

The question has been asked what is the condition of the children ofdivorced parents. According to the law the mother is given an allowanceby her former husband on which to bring up their children to a certainage; then they are his. If they are girls they often are allowed tobecome servants to the mother's successor, although there are fatherswho do have enough natural affection to give the daughters of a formerwife the proper place in the house. The allowance given a divorced womanwhen she has children is most often a mere pittance and too often shenever gets one at all. She marries again and the children live withgrandparents or other near relations or even alternate between thehouses of the remarried father and mother, thus becoming mere littlestreet waifs who have no definite abiding place. They certainly dosuffer from neglect, but seldom are they victims of deliberate cruelty, although such cases are not unheard of. 

The distressing screams of a child once attracted the attention of afamily; on investigation it was discovered that the Mohammedan neighbor, who had just brought home a new wife encumbered with her littlefour-year-old daughter, had been cruelly ill-treating the little mite byshutting her in a dark cellar for hours at a time. 

The moral effect of divorce on the children is very bad. They often seemto have an inborn passion of hatred and jealousy. The head mistress of aschool for girls said she had often noticed how little gentle affectionand love seemed to exist between Mohammedan sisters. These passions arealso trained into them, for they constantly hear their parents spokenagainst and see the jealousy that exists between their mothers and thewives who have supplanted them. 

The children of divorced parents, being neglected and not having anysettled home, generally grow up in ignorance, because they do not staylong enough in one place to go to school regularly. A school wasestablished in a Mohammedan quarter of a large city with a view toreaching the people in that district, but they were of a class whosesocial system was in such a constant state of upheaval by divorcing andmarrying new wives that it was quite impossible to keep the children inschool long enough at a time to make any impression upon them. Whenasked why a certain Zeinab had not put in her appearance, "Oh, she hasgone to see her mother who lives across the canal. "--"Where isTantaweyah to-day?"--"Gone to stay with her father awhile in anothervillage. "--"What can be the matter with Kaleela?" the teacher asks. Sheknew Kaleela loved school and would not stay away without an excuse, andshe knew that her father wanted her to stay in school, but she had asuspicion that the new wife at home had been the means of putting a stopto Kaleela's schooldays. Her suspicion was true, for the new wife's newbaby required a nurse. 

The institution of polygamy like that of divorce is a naturalconsequence of the strict seclusion of woman, for it would be unfair toa man to be put under the necessity of taking a wife he had never seenwithout allowing him some license should he be disappointed in her. Infact, polygamy was the original institution, a relic of the ancient andmore barbarous times, Jewish as well as Heathen. By making polygamy areligious institution, the Prophet preserved a relic of barbarism. 

Yet even among Mohammedans polygamy is a dying institution. Itsdeath-blow has been struck because educated Moslems are beginning to beashamed of it and doctors of Mohammedan law are beginning to interpretthe law to mean that Mohammed allowed a man to have four wives on thecondition that he could treat all alike; and since human nature makesthat condition next to an impossibility therefore Mohammed meant for aman to have only one wife! Many educated Mohammedans in Egypt are takingthis position. Among the middle classes the difficulty of supportingmore than one wife at a time is decreasing polygamy. But by no means ispolygamy an unheard-of thing, even if it is going out of fashion. Fashion is always slow in reaching the country places, and it seems tobe in the country villages that polygamy seems to be more generallypractised. Two brothers, representative country-men, wealthy andconservative, were known to have very extensive harems, each one havingtwenty-four wives and concubines. 

Many fruitless attempts have been made to defend polygamy and to defendthe prophet of Islam for preserving it, but, as a careful student ofsocial and moral ethics has said, "To an ideal love, polygamy isabhorrent and impossible, " and when ideal love is impossible to thewife's heart she is degraded because the passions of hate and jealousywill quickly and surely take its place. 

The Arabic word which is applied to a rival wife is "durrah, " the rootmeaning of which is "to injure, " "to harm. " This appellation certainlyshows that the fellow-wives are not expected to be on terms of amitywith each other. 

The most common excuse for taking a second wife "over the head" of thefirst wife, as expressed in Arabic, is that she has failed to presenther husband with a son. To die without a son would be a great disgrace, so he takes his second wife. A well-educated, pleasant-spoken Moslemsheikh, who was teaching some new missionaries the Arabic language, wasjust on the point of marrying. Being much interested in the young man, one of the missionaries took occasion to impress upon him some of hismoral duties toward his new wife. Among them that he should never takeanother during her lifetime. "Yes, honorable lady, I promise to do asyou say if God is willing and she presents me with a son, otherwiseagainst my will I must take a second. "

A missionary lady and a Bible woman were making some house-to-housevisits in a little country village. As they were going through thestreet two smiling-faced women standing together in the door of theirhut pressed them to enter and pay them a visit, too. In the course ofthe conversation it turned out that they were fellow-wives. "Have youany children?" was asked of the older. "No, neither has she, " was thequick response indicating her rival with a nod of her head. Their commondisappointment in not having any children seemed to draw them togetherand they seemed more like sisters than rival wives, but if one had achild and the other not there would have been some quarrelling andtrouble. 

As can be quite easily understood it is rarely possible for fellow-wivesto live together in the same house. In one village there were twohouses quite near each other. One was known as the "house of Hassan";the other as the "little house of Hassan. " The former is the familyhouse, and the other is hired by one of the sons for his second wife, the first wife being in the larger dwelling. The quarrels are soincessant that it is difficult for any one to be friendly with bothparties, and the second wife is ruining her health with inordinatesmoking "to kill thought. " She seems very lonely and dull, but says thearrangement is good, for when her husband is vexed with her he goes tothe other house, and when vexed in the other house he comes to her, andshe added, "If we lived together and he were vexed with both at once, hewould have to sleep in a hotel!"

A Bible woman was wont to visit two young women who lived in a largeapartment house, on different floors one just above the other. At firstthey were believed to be the wives of brothers, but they were so much atvariance with each other that neither would enter the apartment of theother, so had to be taught and read to separately, much to theinconvenience of the teacher, who could not understand why twosisters-in-law, as she thought, could not meet together to read. Shesoon discovered that they were both wives of one man and that jealousywas the cause of the disagreement. 

Child-marriages have always been considered one of the curses of theEast. In Egypt thirteen is about the average age at which the girls aremarried, but one is constantly meeting with cases of marriage at a muchearlier age. A woman of twenty-five, prematurely old, seemed to takegreat delight in telling of her marriage when she was only seven yearsold, about as far back as she could remember. Another often tells thestory how she escaped being married when she was only eight years old. The guests were all assembled, the elaborate supper had been enjoyed byall, the dancing women had been more than usually entertaining; the timefor the bridal procession came around, but where was the bride? Herfather searched all through the house for her. At last he found herlying asleep in the ashes in the kitchen. His father heart was touchedand he said to those who followed him, "See that baby there asleep! Isit right to marry her?" At the risk of bringing great disgrace uponhimself, he then and there stopped the marriage and the next day startedher off to school. This custom of child-marriage is one of the veryfruitful causes of the ignorance of the women. 

Ignorance and superstition always go hand in hand and they jointly areboth a cause and an effect of the degradation of women in Egypt. Superstition might almost be called the religion of feminine Egypt. Thepeople have many curious beliefs about the influence of the "evil eye"and as many curious charms to protect them from this influence. Manymothers will not wash their children for fear they may be madeattractive and thus fall under the influence of the evil eye. One womannever compliments another woman's child for the same reason. Two womenwere companions in travel on the train; by way of introducing theconversation, one said to the other, "What is that ugly thing black astar in your arms?" The other smiling held out her little baby. "Ugh! howugly!" said the first woman. "Is it a boy or a girl?"--"A girl, " saidthe mother, but it was quite understood that it was a boy. Boys onaccount of the very high premium put upon them in Egypt are consideredto be very much subject to the influence of the "evil eye, " so often heis dressed as a girl and called by a girl's name till he reaches the agewhen he rebels. 

The social evils of Egypt are endless, but there is a hope of betterthings for the future. One of the characteristics of the "New Egypt" isa reaching out after higher ideals. The ideal of the marriage relationis rising, the educated young Egyptian is beginning to claim his rightto choose his own bride, thus making the marriage relation more stablebecause the grounds of compatibility are surer. With this change ofideas on the marriage question and because an educated man would ratherchoose an educated wife, there is a growing demand for female education. 

The evangelical community has the reputation of being the best educatedclass of people in Egypt. The last census of all Egypt showed that onlyforty-eight in one thousand could read. A special census of the nativeevangelical community showed that three hundred and sixty-five in onethousand could read. The census also brought out the fact that in theevangelical community female education has taken a great step inadvance, showing that while in all Egypt only six women in one thousandcould read, in the evangelical community two hundred in one thousandcould read. 

It would be interesting to take a peep into some of the homes of theserepresentative Christian women and see for ourselves how a Christianeducation has developed those wives and mothers into true home-makers. First let us get acquainted with the dear old grandmother who has justbeen on a visit to her son and his family who live in our city. She andher son have come to make us a farewell visit before she leaves for hernative town. Her feeble voice, her slow step, her dimmed sight, theappealing marks of old age interest us in her. The goodbye kiss and anaffectionate pat from her withered old hand draw our hearts to her, thetender filial light in the eyes of her son tells us that this gentlelittle old lady has been a power for good. After they leave we learn inconversation with those who know the story of her life that she is oneof the faithful mothers who has endured much persecution, separationfrom friends, leaving a home of wealth and influence for one of povertyall for the sake of Christ. The best commentary on her life is thebeautiful Christian home of this son, where his sweet ladylike littlewife presides over their family of clean, well-ordered children with allthe gentle dignity of a real queen. We are perfectly at home with them, for we see nothing but what accords with our ideal of a real home. Without any previous information it would be easy to know that this homeis a Bethel where Christ delights to dwell. 

Let us go to a distant town far up the river and visit an old couple whohave spent many years in God's service. Their lives are a perfectillustration of what Christ can do for a life. Reared under all thetenets and principles of Islam and not being converted to Christianitytill they were mature in years, it might be doubted whether a completechange could be wrought in their lives. It did not come all at once, Godworks out some of His greatest changes in lives slowly and quietly, a"growing up unto Him in all things. " The story of the growth of thesetwo followers of Christ is long and interesting. It is enough to knowthat they have attained to that point where they can truly be called a"holy temple in the Lord. " Their home is a model of Christian happinesswhere "cleanliness and godliness" dwell together. Their lives are livesof service for their Master. The daughter of this home, a woman of rarebeauty, carefully brought up and well educated, is one who although yetyoung in years has had a marked influence for good in Egypt, first as ateacher in a large girls' school, then as the honored and much lovedwife of the pastor of a flourishing evangelical church. To visit her inher home, to see her in the midst of her little sons and daughters, tojoin with the family in the evening meal which has been prepared by herown hands, to hear her talk of her work among the women in her husband'slarge congregation makes one reverently breathe a prayer of thanksgivingto God that He has let us have a glimpse of the possibilities ofEgyptian womanhood. 

All up and down the valley of the Nile can be found women from thisrepresentative two hundred in different stations of life; and each onefilling in a womanly way her position. Generally she is a wife andmother, but a true home-maker whether she be the wife of a noble or apeasant. Sometimes she is a servant, faithful, honest, and helpful;often she is a teacher throwing out great circles of influence, whichare widening out till thousands of Egyptian women will be reached. Sometimes she is a humble soul who gives herself over entirely to theservice of her Master. 

Such a one was Safsaf, converted at the clinic. Her husband had cast heroff because she was nearly blind. Her great desire was to learn to read. She was presented with a primer and New Testament when she returned toher village after being in the hospital three months. Who would teachher to read? She begged a lesson at every opportunity from those in hervillage who had a little learning. No one imagined that she was such anearnest Christian till she soon mastered the reading and after goingthrough the New Testament three times, she began to teach the very oneswho had taught her, rebuking them for their sins. They cursed her, saying, "Did we teach you so that you would accuse us!" Her old fatherlearned the truth through her teaching. He then arranged their littlehut so that she might hold meetings for women. Her influence among thewomen and children was wonderful and everybody began to recognize it. Through her efforts a boys' school was started and a capable teacher wassecured. The greatest desire of her heart was to have the ministrationsof an evangelist in her village. She mustered up courage to go to themeeting of Presbytery and present the request. This was a daring andunheard-of thing for an Egyptian woman to do. But the members ofPresbytery were much affected by her pleading and granted her request. The next thing was to get a church; she gave her own little bit ofground, her all, then begged money to build the church on it. Inaddition to these wider interests, she faithfully and lovingly fulfilledhome duties. Her sister, an ignorant, selfish, and very superstitiouswoman, was her great trial. This sister became ill, so she took her tothe hospital. The doctors told her there was no hope. She begged them toallow her to remain. Safsaf spent days and nights praying for hersister's recovery. She began to mend, and the prayers of her devotedsister at her bedside that she might be restored so as to have anopportunity to learn of God and become a converted soul, led her toaccept Christ as her Saviour. 

The life of this humble, quiet-spoken, earnest-hearted, patient, lovingwoman, who lives close to Christ, is exercising an influence in hernative village which even men wonder at, but only God knows howfar-reaching it is. 

The possibilities of the Egyptian women are great either for good or forevil. 

It is said that Ismail Pasha, the grandfather of the present Khedive, who in his day ruled Egypt with a tyrant's hand, was himself ruled by awoman. His mother, a woman of strong character, was the power behind thethrone. Much has been said about the downtrodden condition of Egyptianwomen, and none too much. Islam puts its heel on the neck of woman. Itdebases and despises her. But there is another side to the picture. Woman was born an invincible spirit, which even the yoke of Islam hasnot been able to crush. And in Egypt scarcely less than in lands whereshe is more honored, she exercises a sway that can neither be denied ordespised. The lords of creation--and that the men of Egypt feelthemselves decidedly to be--yield to their women far more than a casualobserver or even they themselves imagine. 

An illustration of this is seen in connection with the mourning customs. The government, and in the case of the Copts, the Church also, hasinterfered to break up the violent mourning of the women at the time ofdeaths. Yet very little have they yielded. 

This is only one of a thousand instances in which, despite allrestrictions, they do as they please. But their influence reaches to fardeeper things. They cling to superstitions and a false faith with farmore tenacity than do the men. They bring up their children in the sameway. It is they who make the marriages for their sons; and they ruletheir daughters-in-law. They keep many a man from acting up to hisreligious convictions, and drag many a one back to the denial of hisfaith. They submit in many things; they are weaker, but it is true thatwork for women lies at the very foundation of mission work. An Egyptianonce said in answer to a statement that the primary object of Missionschools for girls was to lead them to Christ, "If you get the girls forChrist, you get Egypt for Christ. "

IV

THE WOMEN OF EGYPT ONCE MORE

"Hasten the redemption of woman ... By restoring her to her mission ofinspiration, prayer, and pity. "

 --MAZZINI. 

What are the women like? Are they pretty? How do they bring up theirchildren? How do they keep their homes? Do you like them? Are theylovable?

Such are a few of the many questions which are put to the traveller andresident in Egypt, by those interested, for various reasons, in the landand its people. 

How differently these questions can be answered. The ordinary touristsees the black-robed figures (with features invisible except for twoeyes peering over a black crape veil) walking in the streets of thecities, or driving sitting huddled together on karros, [A] and he remarkson the discomfort of the costume and the cleverness with which theysucceed in balancing themselves on the jolting springless carts. Oragain he sees ladies of the upper class driving in their carriages andmotor broughams, wearing indeed the inevitable "habarah" and veil, [B]but the former cut so as to well expose the upper part of the personwhich is clothed in rich satins and adorned with sparkling jewels, andthe latter made in such fine white chiffon and hung so loosely over thelower part of the face only, that the features are distinctly visible;and he marks with a smile the effort made by woman to emancipate herselffrom customs which deny her the prerogative of attracting admiration toherself. 

 [A] Long narrow carts, the sides of which are only very slightly raised. 

 [B] The former is the black covering worn by all classes. The poorer women make it of two lengths of material two metres long, joined together on the selvedge. The ends of one breadth are sewn up and form the skirt, while the upper breadth is left to pass over the head and fold over the upper part of the person like a shawl. The richer, from the middle class upwards, sew the lower breadth into a band forming a skirt, and the upper breadth is cut smaller to form only a cape fastened on to the waist band at the back, coming up over the head, falling by rights over the whole upper part of the body, but frequently cut so as to scarcely reach the elbow. The latter is worn by the poorer classes; and by many of the older women of the better class it is made of black crape and is tied over the face from just below the eyes and extends to below the waist; by the upper classes and more wealthy it was made in fine white muslin but sufficient to disguise the features. Now it is frequently made in chiffon. 

[Illustration: BARGAINS IN ORANGES]

[Illustration: BY THE BANKS OF THE NILE]

Again, perchance, he sees the "fellahah" carrying her water jar withease and grace along some rough uneven track; or, may be, in companywith others bearing with agility and strength loads of mud and brick tothe builders, measuring her steps and actions to the music of somenative chant; and he is impressed with the idea of her bright existenceand her powers of perfect enjoyment. 

Again he sees her, whether in city or village alike, following the bierwhich is carrying all that is left of one who may or may not have beendear to her, and he hears the shrill death wail, and he notes either thebitterness of hopeless sorrow, or the hollowness of a make-belief grief;and he is struck with the demonstrativeness of the women and thepeculiarity of the scene, and will try to get a snap-shot of it on hiskodak, and then he passes on to things of other interest. Thus thetourist gets to know something of the women, it is true, but all thatlies behind these outside scenes is closed to him, and rarely known. 

To the British resident the Egyptian woman is usually less interestingthan to the tourist. The novelty of her peculiarities andpicturesqueness has worn off, and between her and her more fortunatesisters of the West there is a great gulf fixed. Very rarely is anattempt made to bridge this gulf; language and customs apparently forman impassable barrier, and though many English ladies live in Egypt foryears, they never enter an Egyptian house, or speak to an Egyptianwoman. 

It is therefore left to the Christian missionary to know--and to knowwith an ever widening knowledge--what are the disabilities and what thecapabilities as well as possibilities of these daughters of Hagar. 

A woman's life may truly be said to have its commencement in betrothal. Before then she is a child, and the days of her childhood are usuallyspent without any form of restraint whatever. Most of her time, even ifshe be the daughter of quite well-to-do people, is often spent playingin the streets, where she learns much that is evil and little that isgood. The one great reason which many parents give who wish to put theirchildren to school is, "to keep her out of the street, where she playsin the dirt and learns bad language. " But whether she goes to school ornot the life of a little girl except in school hours is a perfectlyfree, untrained life in which she learns no morality, not even obedienceto her parents. If she does obey them it is from abject fear ofpunishment, when disobedience would inevitably mean a severe beating. Between the ages of ten to fifteen, usually about twelve and oftenearlier, the little girl is betrothed and then confinement to the housebegins. In one hour her life is changed, no more playing about in thestreet and acting upon the impulse of her own sweet will, no more forher the child's delight of spending her millième or two at thecostermonger's cart and then sitting in the gutter to eat her purchasewith face and hands begrimed with dirt; no more for her the joy ofpaddling in the mud by the street pump, and climbing and clamberingabout wherever she can with difficulty get. No, she is betrothed now, and her childhood and girlhood are over. Instead of freedom andliberty, come confinement and restraint. She is not now allowed out ofdoors except on rare occasions and then in company with older women, andher movements are hampered by her being enveloped in "habarah" and"veil. "

Still she has for a time some little comfort in being the importantperson of the community. She is the bride-elect and there is someexcitement in seeing the new "galibeeyahs"[C] and articles of furniturewhich are to become her own special property. But then, after a fewshort months, sometimes weeks, the fatal wedding day arrives, when thechild-bride is taken away from her mother and becomes the absolutepossession of a man she has often never seen, and knows nothing about. Her woman's life is begun in earnest, and in very stern reality shelearns what it is to be in subjection, she learns by bitter experiencethat she has no power now to do what she likes, and that she issubservient to another. 

 [C] The ordinary dress, cut rather like a dressing gown and made in cotton or silk. If the latter, it is usually elaborately trimmed with flounces and lace. 

Her husband may be kind to her, and in many cases is; but in any caseshe is his slave and utterly dependent on the caprice of his nature. Ifshe herself is fortunate enough to have a man who treats her humanelythere are dozens of others living in her quarter who come to see her, who are objects of cruelty and malevolence; and so her mind is fed withhistories of intrigue and divorce, of injustice and retaliation, and ofunwritten scandal and sin; until she too, alas! becomes contaminated, and often brings down upon herself the just wrath and harshness of onewho might have been good to her. History repeats itself: in nine casesout of ten, she can add her tale of woe to the rest. 

She bears her children and nurses them, thankful if they chance to beboys; she has no heart nor ability to teach or train them; or joy inkeeping them clean and pretty;--she loses two, three, or more ininfancy; those who are strong survive and until they are two or threeyears old, take her place in the streets, where the open-air life andexercise become their physical salvation. 

When she is over twenty, she in her turn becomes an elder woman and isto be seen, usually with a young baby in her arms, walking in thestreets as she goes the round of seeing her friends, wailing with themourners at the house of death, weekly visiting the graves of her own orher husband's relatives, and joining in the wedding festivities of thosewho are going to follow in her train. 

What wonder that the Moslem man often cries despairingly: "Our women areall brutish, " and has not an atom of respect for her in his heart. Inthe few cases where a Moslem man speaks well of his wife, and calls her"a good woman, " he almost invariably attributes her being so to his ownforesight, and diligent insistence in keeping her wholly under hiscontrol, limiting those who come to the house, and not letting her goout of the house even after she has become an elder woman. Betweenthirty-five and forty she is an old woman with grandchildren, and herlife quietly goes down to the grave with all the light and joy longsince gone out of it, and with a dark and hopeless future before it. Afew illustrations from the writer's personal knowledge will not perhapsbe out of place here. 

Fatimah had been a day pupil in a mission school for four years. Shecould read and write well, and sew, and do fancy work. Her father wasdead, her brother, for some business expedient, arranged a marriage forher, when she was thirteen, with an old man who had already sons anddaughters much older than herself. 

He was a head man in his village and lived some distance from Fatimah'shome. "Do you think it will be a good thing for Fatimah?" said I to themother. "What are we to do?" was the reply; "they say he is kind; andfar better to marry her to him than to a young man who will onlyill-treat and beat her; we are very poor and cannot afford to get areally respectable young man. "

The marriage took place, within two months Fatimah had returned home butwas induced to go back again, this was repeated twice and on returninghome the third time, she made up her mind to get her husband topermanently divorce her. Her mother of course abetted her, and a woman(as payment for a piece of fancy work she had asked Fatimah to do forher) promised to bring about the divorce by some plan of intrigue whichshe would arrange. 

Fatimah's life is blighted; the best that one can hope for isre-marriage to a poor but respectable man, and to go through her lifewith him; but the probabilities are she will be married and divorcedtime after time, and each time sink lower in the social scale. She isnot yet fifteen years old. 

Aneesah was a little girl of nine, frail and delicate-looking, and anonly child and much petted, but often she seemed possessed by the devilso naughty was her conduct. At such times her mother would take her andtie her up, then beat her unmercifully, until the neighbors, hearing thechild's screams, would come to the rescue and force the mother todesist. The mother has herself shown me the marks of her own teeth inthe flesh of her child's arms, where she has bitten her in order todrive the devil out of her. What is likely to be the future of thatchild? One shudders to think of it. 

Many a time in visiting among the very poor I have sat with the women inan open court, which is like a small yard in the middle of severalhouses, in which several families own one, two, or three rooms. In thecourt there may be a dozen or more women, unwashed, uncombed, untidy toa degree; some bread-making, some washing, others seated nursing theirbabies:--babies who are as sick and unhealthy as they can possibly be, their bodies ingrained with dirt, their heads encrusted with sores andfilth, their eyes inflamed and uncleansed, their garments smelling, andone and all looking thoroughly ill and wretched. It is the rarest thingto see a healthy-looking baby. 

As I have sat amongst them and talked with them, I have tried to reasonwith them and point out the advantages of cleanliness and industry; alladmit that I am right and that our habits are better than theirs, yetnone have the heart or the energy or the character to break away fromtheir customs and their innate laziness and to rise up and be women. 

Yet one can hardly wonder at their condition, what chances have theyhad? Married at ten or eleven, untrained and untaught, many of them notknowing how to hold a needle, or make the simplest garment; still intheir teens with two or three children to burden them, whom they long tosee big enough to turn out into the streets and play as they did beforethem. Their only interest in life, each other's family brawls andscandals; their health undermined by close confinement and want ofexercise, is it a wonder that they sink into a state of callousness andindifference about everything?

I have seen a bright-spirited, energetic, laughing, romping girl ofeleven, turned in one year into a miserable, lazy, dull, inert womanwith her beauty and health gone, and looking nearer thirty thanthirteen. One often does not wonder at such a condition of things, rather does one wonder when the reverse prevails, and one is able torealize their possibilities in spite of all their drawbacks. I know ofwomen, though they are but very few, equally poor and unfavored as thoseI have described, who can be found sitting in their own little rooms, their younger children with them, holding themselves aloof from theusual gossip, their rooms swept, themselves clean and tidy, theirbabies, though not ideal, comparing favorably with the others; their oneapparent trouble, the elder children whom they do not know how to trainand whom they cannot keep out of the streets; unless indeed there chanceto be a mission school in the near neighborhood. 

The same state of things pervades all classes of society, though in themiddle and upper classes the Moslems are usually very cleanly both intheir persons and in their homes, but the majority of the women are inthe same low degraded moral state. Life in the harems is spent insmoking and idle gossip, and things far worse; the wife and motherthere, no less than among the poorer classes, has no idea ofresponsibility. She is frequently unable either to sew, read, or write, and leaves her children to the care of dependents. Her life is merely ananimal life; she is but a necessary article for use in her husband'shousehold. 

A wealthy merchant who has had several wives keeps one in a beautifulhouse with every comfort, another wife of the same man is left to livewhere she can with the pittance of something like three pence per day. This is what the Moslem faith allows. 

It has been well said "a nation cannot rise above the level of itswomen, " and this is painfully illustrated in Egypt and in all otherlands where the faith of Islam holds sway. Much is being done to improvethe social conditions of the people of Egypt, but the real sore remainsuntouched so long as the teaching of the Koran with regard to theposition of women remains in vogue. 

There are many Mohammedan gentlemen who would fain see a better state ofthings, and who, like the late Mr. Justice Budrudin Tyabji, of Madras, devote their efforts to the amelioration of the backward position oftheir brethren in the faith, and desire especially the "mitigation andultimate removal of paralyzing social customs, such as the seclusion ofwomen. " But their efforts are unavailing so long as they remainadherents of the Moslem faith, for in obedience to the Koran they canadopt no other course than the present one. 

Let them substitute for the Koran the teaching of the Christian faith, the faith which alone gives woman her rightful position, and they willfind that she can be a mighty influence for good in the social life ofthe nation. Let her take the place ordained for her by the Great Creatoras the "helpmeet" to man, let her fulfil her mission in the world, laiddown in the teaching of the New Testament, to love and influence, tocheer and strengthen, to pour out her life in the devotion of love andself-sacrifice, whether as daughter and sister, or wife and mother; thenwill the women of Egypt be clothed with "strength and honor" and thenwill the daughters of Hagar put on the robe of chastity and the"adornment of a meek and quiet spirit. "

 "Chastity-- "She that hath that is clothed in complete steel. "

Her price will be "far above rubies, " the heart of her husband will"safely trust in her, " her children shall "arise up, and call herblessed. "

V

BEHIND THE OPENING DOOR IN TUNIS

The lot of a Tunisian woman is probably a brighter one than that of manyof her Moslem sisters who have not the privilege of living under theenlightened rule of a European government. 

It is not possible for her, under existing circumstances, to have theperfect liberty of European women, but should justice not be granted byan Arab tribunal, she has always the right of appeal to the Frenchauthorities, who take care to see that the laws are rightlyadministered. 

The English-speaking race, accustomed to greater freedom for its womenthan any other on the face of the earth perhaps, would find it hard tobe shut up in an Arab house, taking no long country walks, joining in nooutdoor games, knowing nothing of the pleasures of shopping expeditions, having no literary pursuits, and meeting no men outside the circle oftheir relatives; and indeed it is a sadly narrow life. But we mustremember that our Moslem sisters have never known anything better, andthe majority are perfectly contented with things as they are. Tothoroughly appreciate and make a right use of liberty, one must betrained, there must be education to meet its responsibilities, andwithout this its effects would be disastrous. To an Arab lady who nevergoes out otherwise than closely veiled, it would be a far greater trialto walk through the streets with face exposed, than to the European tocover herself. 

Much has been said about the hardships of the woman's being locked induring her husband's absence from the house. This is not infrequent anddoes appear somewhat prison-like; but it is often done solely as aprotection. I knew one woman who preferred to be thus locked in, butarranged with her husband that on the days of my visits the key shouldnot be turned on her. And the doors of Arab houses are always soconstructed that, even when locked, they can be opened from inside on anemergency though they cannot be reclosed without the key. 

When I came to this country some twelve years ago, the thing that moststruck me in visiting Arab houses was the cheerfulness and even gaietyof the women. I had a preconceived picture in my mind of poor creaturessitting within prison walls, pining to get out, and in utter misery. 

Nothing of the kind! What did I find? Laughter, chatter, the distractionof periodic visits to saints' tombs, or that centre of socialintercourse--the bath. Old women, the scandal-mongers of theneighborhood, go round to retail their news. (And it will be allowedthat even in England there are many who take a deeper interest in thedoings of their neighbors than in more elevated topics ofconversation. )

Here Jewesses, spreading out their pretty, silken goods to temptpurchasers, or neighbors who had "dropped in" by way of the roof for agossip, not over a dish of tea, but a cup of black coffee. There Arabwomen, much like children, quickly shaking off little troubles andmeeting greater trials with the resignation of fatalism, which findscomfort in the magic word, "Maktoob" (It is decreed), in a mannerincomprehensible to the Western mind. 

Is it surprising that I almost accused my fellow-missionaries ofmisrepresenting the home life of the people? But I only saw the surfaceand had not yet probed the deep sore of Mohammedanism nor realized theheavy burdens which its system entails. 

Let me tell you of three of the heaviest of these burdens: _Polygamy_, _Divorce_, and the _Ignorance_ which results from complete lack ofeducation and walks hand-in-hand with its twin-sister, _Superstition_. 

_Polygamy_ shall be placed first, although it is not the greatest baneof Tunisian home life. By Mohammedan law a man is allowed four wives, but in Tunisia, though it is by no means rare for a man to have two, heseldom takes more than that number at one time. Occasionally they livein separate houses, sometimes in different towns, and may be quiteunknown to each other. A Moslem will frequently take a second wife inthe hope of having children, or it may be a son, the first wife beingchildless. 

In other houses one finds under the same roof two wives of one husband, each having a large number of children. Each wife will have two or threemaid-servants who sit with their mistresses and mingle freely in theconversation, and, if the family be wealthy, the elder daughters havetheir own special attendants. Thus a household may contain a largenumber of women who live together more or less harmoniously, and whosenumerous quarrels do not conduce to the tranquillity of the master ofthe house. But what does he care as long as he _is_ master and reignssupreme? There is probably not much affection between him and the wifewhom he never saw before the wedding-day, but he loves his children, being specially fond of the little ones and showing all a father's pridein his sons. His hours of recreation are spent at the café or the morearistocratic rendezvous--the barber's shop--and the charms of sweet homelife he has never imagined. 

Year by year, however, Western education is slowly but surely telling onthe Oriental mind. The young men, trained in French schools and imbibingmodern ideas, show a strong tendency to follow the manners and customsof their teachers, and it is at least considered more "comme-il-faut" totake only one wife and in some measure copy the European "ménage. "

_Divorce_ is, however, the great _curse_ which blights domestichappiness, and words fail me to describe the misery it brings. 

The Moslem population of the city of Tunis is sixty thousand. Settingaside men and children there remain, roughly speaking, about twenty-fivethousand women, and comparing my own experience with that of other ladymissionaries we are agreed in affirming that the majority of these womenin the middle and lower classes have been divorced at least once intheir lives, many of them two or three times, while some few have had anumber of husbands. In the upper class and wealthy families divorce isnot nearly so common, and for obvious reasons. 

I have never known a man to have thirty or forty wives in succession asone hears of in some Mohammedan lands. A man once told my brother-in-lawthat he had been married eighteen times, and I heard of another who hadtaken (the Arab expression) twelve wives, one after another; but thislast was related with bated breath as being an unusual and opprobriousact. 

When a woman is divorced she returns to her father's house and remainsdependent on him until he finds her another husband, her monetary valuebeing now greatly reduced. The quarrel which led to the separation issometimes adjusted and she returns to her husband, but _never_ if he haspronounced the words, "Tulka be thaléthe" (Divorce by three, orthreefold). This, even though uttered in a moment of anger, may neverbe recalled, and if he really care for his wife and wish to take herback again, she must be married to another man and divorced by himbefore she can return to her first husband. But the laws relating tomarriage, divorce, and the guardianship of the children, would require avolume to themselves and cannot be entered upon here. 

One is led to ask, what is the cause of this dark cloud of evil whichcasts its terrible shadow over so many homes?

No doubt it chiefly arises from the low standard of Moslem morality andis intensified by the whole basis of the marriage relationship. 

Among the upper classes a girl does not often marry till about seventeenyears old, but a poorer man is glad to get his daughters off his handsat a much earlier age, especially if he can obtain a good dowry inpayment. The girl goes through a form of acceptance, relying on therepresentations of her relatives, which are often far from truthful. Shenever sees her husband until the wedding day and then, no matter howold, ugly, or repulsive the man may be, it is too late to refuse; nowonder that mutual disappointment often ensues, deepening into strongdislike, which produces constant friction, culminating in a violentquarrel; as in the case of a young girl whom I knew, married to an oldman, and divorced a few years later through a quarrel over a pound ofmeat. 

[Illustration: DOROTHY AND FATIMAH]

The history of the two little girls in the accompanying photograph, shows clearly the contrast between the life of an English and that of anArab child. It was taken about eight years ago at the birthday party ofmy little niece, who had been allowed, as a treat, to invite a number ofArab girls to tea, and was photographed with one who was about the sameage as herself. The one, Dorothy, is now thirteen years old and still ahappy, light-hearted schoolgirl, carefully sheltered from all knowledgeof evil. The other, Fatima, to-day, sits in her father's house, divorced, desolate, and soured in temper by her hard fate. And, indeed, her story makes one's heart ache. 

Some few months ago she was married to a young man, who, though not yettwenty, had already divorced his first wife. Still, Fatima's parentsconsidered that no drawback, since he was in prosperous circumstancesand willing to pay six hundred francs for the charming little bride. Themarriage festivities lasted a week, friends showered blessings upon thebride and the bridegroom, who were mutually pleased with each other, andall seemed to augur well for the future. 

But, as in the old fairy story, no one had reckoned on the machinationsof the bad fairy who soon presented herself in the form of the girl'sgrandmother. The old lady strongly objected to the match on the groundthat a slur was cast on the family by Fatima's being married before herelder sister, Hanani, who was not so good-looking and hadconsequently been passed over by the professional matchmakers. She vowedto separate the young couple by "working the works of Satan" over them, which in plain English means, exercising sorcery. But I will tell thestory as I heard it from the mother. 

Five weeks after the wedding the old woman contrived to steal secretlyinto the bride's room and sprinkle over it a powder possessing the powerof casting an evil spell over those she wished to injure, and, to makeher work more efficacious, she further wrapped a knife with evil charmsand hid it amongst the bridegroom's clothes. Shortly after she met theyoung man, and clutching him by the arm, her sharp eyes gleaming frombetween the folds of her veil, she hissed: "Know, O man, that I havebewitched thee and ere long thou shalt be separated from thy bride!" Onentering the house that evening, he complained that he felt as though ina furnace. It was a cold night and the family were shivering, but hekept casting off one garment after another, exclaiming that the awfulheat was unendurable and that he was surely bewitched. 

This went on evening after evening for a whole week until he declaredthat he could stand it no longer, and could only rid himself of hissufferings by a divorce. Before the kadi he explained that he hadnothing against the girl nor their family, who had always treated himwith great kindness, but he was under the influence of sorcery and mustbe divorced. And this statement was accepted as perfectly reasonable. What astonished me the most was, that the bride's parents exonerated himfrom all blame. As the mother said, "I loved him as my own son, but hecould not help it. " The old woman had worked the works of Satan overhim, and how could he escape?

This incident shows not only the slender nature of the marriage ties butalso the immense power which _superstition_ exercises over the mind. Itseems to be part of a Moslem woman's very nature, and largely influencesall her life from the cradle to the grave. 

Beware, when visiting an Arab woman, of too greatly admiring her tinybaby, however engaging it may be! Such admiration would surely attract"the evil eye, " and then woe to the little one! The safest course of anignorant Roumi (Christian) is merely to glance at her little child andsay, "Mabrouk" (May it be blest). 

Is there illness in the house, a message is first sent to the "degaz"(soothsayer), who writes a magic paper, encloses it in a leather case, and sends it to the sick one with directions to fasten it on the head, arm, etc. , according to the part affected. 

Another favorite remedy is to pour a little water into a basin on whichpassages from the Koran are written, and then either drink or bathe withit as the disease may appear to require. 

These powerful remedies failing to restore health, the invalid is nexttaken to the tomb of some celebrated "saint. " There, offerings are madeand prayers recited. A favorite resort in Tunis is the Zawia of SidiAbdallah, situated just outside the city wall. Here a black cock issacrificed and a little of its blood sprinkled on the neck, elbow, andknee of the sufferer on whose behalf it is offered. 

[Illustration: AN ARAB WOMAN ENTERING A SAINT'S TOMB (TUNIS)]

Before our house stands a Zawia (saint's tomb), built in honor of afemale saint, and at this tomb one day stood an Arab woman, knockinggently at the door and crying in piteous tones, "O lady! Heal me, for Iam very ill! I have giddiness in my head! I am very weak! Do heal me!"The poor creature calling in her ignorance on a dead saint not onlymoves the heart to pity but also creates in the mind a wonder as to whothese saints may be, and what has led to their being thus honored. 

Let me give you a sketch of a noted dervish, or saint, who has justpassed away. I first saw Sidi Ali Ben Jaber some years ago seated infront of a café in the Halfouine--the quarter where the late Bey hadbuilt him a house. By his side were native musicians making a discordantnoise while at intervals the holy man was bellowing like a mad bull. Securing a corner of a doorstep, I managed to peep over the surroundingcrowd and my curiosity was rewarded by the sight of a decrepit, filthyold man, his bald pate encircled by scant grizzled hair and unadorned bythe usual fez cap. His sole covering was a dirty cotton shirt, open atthe neck and descending no lower than the knees. But what a shirt! As amark of saintliness, it had not left his body for years, but hadgradually increased in thickness, for when sufficiently caked withaccumulations of filth and snuff, a clean piece of calico had been sewnover it. This had been covered by successive layers as required, untilit is just possible that the initiated might have been able to determinethe age of the wearer by the concentric rings of his garment!

Sidi Ali was not always, however, thus seated in state. He would, fromtime to time, parade the Halfouine, stopping occasionally to demand agift, which was seldom refused. Stories are told of swift judgmentsovertaking bold Moslems who slighted the wish of the holy man, andequally thrilling accounts of deliverance from peril to the Faithful whogranted his desire. 

Sidi Ali Ben Jaber once met another Arab, Sidi Ben Faraji, dragged himinto a neighboring shop and insisted on his buying a large and expensiveblock of marble with which to embellish the "saint's" house, for thathappened to be the holy man's craze for the time. On his way home SidiBen Faraji had to pass under a bridge, which fell, severely crushing hisleft arm, and now was apparent the virtue of his gift to the holy man;for had he refused to buy the marble as requested, the bridge wouldassuredly have fallen, not on his arm only, but on his whole body, andhe would have become a shapeless mass. Our "Halfouine saint" wassometimes in a violent state of mind. Then, as he approached, thebutchers would quickly hide their meat, the confectioners' display ofcakes became suddenly scanty, while other shops appeared equally bare. 

The "saint" might enter a shop, turn the contents into the street, andwork general havoc; the owner not daring to say him nay, but cherishingthe hope of recompense in Heaven to atone for present loss. In cases ofillness, Sidi Ali would be taken to the house of the sick one, and hispresence was said invariably to bring blessing and relief. 

He is also said to have foretold the introduction of electric trams, butthis appears to have been only thought of when they had already madetheir appearance in the city. 

For months the poor old man had been growing feebler, and in the monthof January last he passed away. His death caused general mourning andlamentation, many women weeping bitterly. The corpse was escorted to themosque and thence to the cemetery by various sects displaying coloredsilk banners, emblazoned with Koran verses. Crowds pressed round thebier fighting for a chance of seizing it for a moment and thus securing"merit" in heaven, and it was only a strong force of police whichprevented the whole being upset. Fumes of incense filled the air, dervishes swayed in their wild chants till one and the other fellexhausted, and when the tomb was finally reached the bier was brokeninto fragments and distributed amongst eager claimants from amongst thethirty thousand Moslems assembled. 

Such, dear readers, is a Moslem saint, and their name is legion. It isby the intercession of such as these that the superstitious hope toobtain earthly and heavenly benefits, and it is at the shrines of suchas these that the poor Moslem women come, in the dark days of trouble, to pour out their hearts and seek for help and blessing. 

Some time ago one of my schoolgirls asked me to go and see her sister, who had been brought from a neighboring village seriously ill. Onreaching the house I found a young woman of about eighteen stretched ona mattress on the floor, and sitting by her side, her husband, who wasat least fifty years of age. The poor creature was in great sufferingand evidently too ill for any simple remedy, so I called in the help ofa French lady doctor, who kindly came and prescribed for her. 

On going to the house next day, great was my surprise to find that themedicine ordered had not been given, and the surprise gave place toindignation when I discovered that the family firmly believed that thewhole trouble was caused by an evil spirit which had taken possession ofthe young wife, and that the black sheep, tied up in the courtyard, hadbeen placed there in the hope that the demon would prefer to inhabit thebody of the animal and might thus be induced to leave its presentabode. Poor young thing! She died not long after, but her friends tothis day believe that they did all in their power to help her, and herdeath could not have been averted since it was surely _decreed_. 

The veil that shrouds the Moslem home life in Tunis has been raised andmy readers have had a peep at its sadder side, but it is only a peep!The farther one penetrates the more intolerable its noisome atmospherebecomes. Deceit and lying are so prevalent that a mother questions thesimplest statements of her own son, and I have seen a mistress insist ona servant swearing on the Koran before she would accept his word. Demoralizing conversation is freely indulged in before the children, till their minds become depraved to such an extent that in our school wecould not allow the girls to tell each other stories or even ask riddlesbecause of their indecent character; and bad language, even from thelittle ones, was a thing with which we constantly had to contend. 

And now we, to whom God has given so much light and so many privileges, are brought face to face with the problem, What can be done to help ourMohammedan sisters to lift the burdens which mar the happiness of somany lives?

In the first place it seems to me a necessity that the _man's_ eyesshould be opened to see the true condition of affairs from a Western, orbetter still a _Christian_, standpoint, and should realize the largeramount of domestic happiness he, himself, is losing. And this may bedone by education and the free intercourse with Christian families, which will give him an insight into the joys of their home circles. 

As was before hinted, European education is already cultivating theintelligence of the upper classes and slowly extending its leaveninginfluence among the masses. There is an increasing desire, not only thatthe boys should receive a good French education, but that the girlsshould share its benefits too. Tennyson's words in the mouth of KingArthur have a new significance:--

 "The old order changeth, giving place to new, And God fulfils Himself in many ways. "

But this change cannot be accomplished in a day, nor without a strugglebetween the old and new systems. This may be illustrated by an amusingscene I once witnessed. 

I was one day sitting in the house of a wealthy Arab whose mind had beenenlarged by travelling in many lands. His eldest daughter was one of thevery few Arab girls I have met who could read and write Arabicbeautifully. I was accustomed to give her French lessons, and she was atthat moment in the opposite room across the courtyard, taking a lessonfrom a Jewish music master on a new piano lately sent by her fiancé. 

Suddenly two servant girls rushed into the room exclaiming: "SidiMohammed is coming! Here is Sidi Mohammed!" The grandfather, the headof the family, was at the door, and great would be his wrath should hesee his granddaughter learning music, and above all from a _man_. Fortunately the old gentleman, being somewhat infirm, could not quicklydescend from his carriage although assisted by his two men-servants, sothat by the time he made his appearance the music master was simplyhidden away in a tiny inner room and the whole family assembled in thecourtyard; ready with profuse salutations, welcomes, and kissing ofhands, to conduct him to one of the principal apartments, _not_ that inwhich the Jew was imprisoned. I have often wondered how long the visitlasted, and whether the musician was as fortunate as myself in beingsoon able to beat a retreat. 

Yes! the people are ripe for education--but is there not a seriousdanger in giving them education and education _only_? Is it not to befeared that with minds enlightened to see the errors of Mohammedanism, they will cast off its bonds only to become entangled in the meshes ofatheism and become a nation of "libre-penseurs, " so that having escapedthe rocks of Scylla they find themselves engulfed in the whirlpool ofCharybdis?

My second illustration represents a poor Arab woman entering a saint'stomb, over the portal of which is written: "He (God) opens the doors. Open to us (O Lord) the best door!" And with my Christian readers Iwould plead that they would do all in their power both by prayer and byeffort, that while the doors of education and progress are being thrownwide to these Moslems, the best door--the door of the Gospel--may beopened also, so that they too may know the glorious liberty wherewithChrist hath made _us_ free. 

VI

"NOT DEAD, ONLY DRY"

"It is useless to plant anything: the earth is dead. "

"No, it is not dead, it is only dry. "

"But I tell you, it is dead. In summer the earth is always dead: seehere. " And the Arab who spoke stooped and picked up a rock-like clod, that he had hewn with his pickaxe from the trench at his feet. It lookeddead enough certainly; the Algerian soil in August is much the same intexture as a well-trodden highway. But it is only waiting. 

"It is the very same earth that it is in winter, " I replied; "all itwants is water, and water you must give it. "

With an Oriental's laconic patience, though all unconvinced, the manwent on with the digging of his trench, and the planting therein ofacacia clippings to make a new thorn hedge where it had been brokendown. 

And with a new hope in God my own words came back to me as I turnedaway. "It is not dead: it is only dry. "

For of all the soils in the world our Moslem soil in Algiers seems themost barren, while friend and foe repeat the same words: "It is uselessto plant anything: the earth is dead. "

But in the face of both--in the face of the hosts of darkness who takeup the words and fling them at us with a stinging taunt--we affirm infaith:

"No, it is not dead. It is only dry. "

 * * * * *

Dry: that we know sorrowfully well; it cannot be otherwise. It is drysoil because Islam has come nearer doing "despite to the Spirit ofgrace" than any other religion; it is, as has been truly said, the oneanti-Christian faith, the one of openly avowed enmity to the Cross ofChrist, the one that deliberately tramples under foot the Son of God. 

It is dry also because in the religion itself there is somethingsearing, blighting, as with a subtle breath of hell. This is true of thelands where it has laid hold, and true of the hearts, --it is dry. 

Dry soil, NOT dead soil. If you were out here in Algiers and could seeand know the people, you would say so too. The next best thing is tobring you some of their faces to look at that you may judge whether thepossibilities have gone out of them yet or not: women faces and girlfaces, for it is of these that I write. Will you spend five minutes ofyour hours to-day in looking--just looking--at them, till they have sunkdown into your heart? ARE they the faces of a dead people? Do you see nomaterial for Christ if they had a chance of the Water of Life? These arereal living women, living to-day, unmet by Him. 

[Illustration: TYPES IN TUNIS AND ALGIERS]

To begin with, the first glance will show their intelligence. Get anaverage ignorant Englishwoman of the peasant class to repeat a Biblestory that she has never heard before. She will dully remember one ortwo salient facts. Go up to a mountain village here and get a group ofwomen and talk to them, and choose one of them to repeat to the otherswhat you have said. You will feel after a sentence or two that yourArabic was only English put into Arabic words; hers is sparkling withracy idiom. More than that, she is making the story _live_ before herhearers: a touch of local color here--a quaint addition there. It is allaglow. And this a woman who has sat year after year in her one garmentof red woollen drapery, cooking meals and nursing children, with nothingto stimulate any thoughts beyond the day's need. 

And their powers of feeling: do their faces look as if these have beencrushed out by a life of servitude? Not a bit of it. No European who hasnot lived among them can have any idea of their intensity: love, hate, grief, reign by turns. Anger and grief can take such possession of themas to bring real illness of a strange and undiagnosable kind. We haveknown such cases to last for months; not unfrequently they end fatally;and more than one whom we have met has gone stone-blind with crying fora dead husband who probably made things none too easy while he lived. 

And then their will power: the faces tell of that too. The women havefar more backbone than their menkind, who have been indulged frombabyhood; their school of suffering has not been in vain. In thebeautiful balance of God's justice, all that man has taken from them inoutward rights has been more than made up in the qualities of enduranceand sacrifice that stand, fire-tried, in their character. 

And down beyond these outward capacities, how about their spirit-nature?It may be hard to believe at home, but it is a fact that just as theparched ground of August is the very same as the fertile earth ofspring, so these souls are the very same as other souls. God is "the Godof the spirits of all flesh. " "He hath made of one blood all theinhabitants of the earth. " For IMPRESSIONABLENESS on the Divine side, they are as quick as in enlightened lands: I think, quicker. It is onlythat as soon as the impression is made "then cometh the devil" with anawful force that is only now beginning to be known in Christiancountries, and there is not enough of the Holy Spirit's power to put himto flight. There will be when the showers come!

As yet the soil is dry: the womenkind are a host of locked-uppossibilities for good and sadly free possibilities for evil. 

The dark side lies in untrueness born of constant fear of theconsequence of every trifling act, moral impurity that steeps even thechildren--wild jealousy that will make them pine away and die if a rivalbaby comes. Their minds are rife with superstition and fertile inintrigue. 

And while all this has full play, unchecked and unheeded, the latentcapacities for serving God and man are wasting themselves inuselessness, pressed down by the weight of things. There is somethingvery pathetic in watching the failing brain-power of the girls. Untilfourteen or fifteen years they are bright, quick at learning; but thenit is like a flower closing, so far as mental effort goes, and soonthere is the complaint: "I cannot get hold of it, it goes from me. " Oncegrown up, it is painful to see the labor with which they learn even thealphabet. Imagination, perception, poetry remain, and resourcefulnessfor good and evil, but apart from God's grace, solid brain power dies. Probably in the unexplored question of heredity lies the clue; for atthat age for generations the sorrows and cares of married life have comeand stopped mind development till the brain has lost its power ofexpansion as womanhood comes on. Life is often over, in more senses thanone, before they are twenty. 

The story comes before me of three warm-hearted maidens who a few yearsago belonged to our girls' class: the eldest came but seldom, for shewas toiling over shirtmaking for the support of her mother and sister. This sister and a friend made up the trio. 

Their mothers were "adherents"--we had hoped at one time MORE thanadherents, but compromise was already winning the day: the daughters hadopen hearts towards the Lord, all of them in a child-like way. 

Where are they now?

They came to marriageable age, and Moslem etiquette required that theyshould marry. We begged the mothers to wait a while and see if someChristian lads were not forthcoming: but no, fashion binds as much in aMoslem town as in the West End of London. 

The eldest girl was carried out fainting from her home to be the wife ofa countryman. He was good to her: his mother became madly jealous. Within two years the bride fell into a strange kind of decline; whendeath came there were symptoms showing that it was from slow poison. 

The second to marry was the little friend. At her wedding feast thosewho had forced the marriage on, drugged her with one of their terriblebrain-poisons. The spell worked till she could not bear the sight of us, and hated and denounced Christ. 

It wore itself out after a few months and light and love crept back. Wewent away for the summer. Before we returned she had been put to deathby her husband. Through the delirium of the last day and night her oneintelligible cry was "Jesus"; so the broken-hearted mother told us. Shewas an only child. 

The third is still alive, a mere girl. She has been divorced twicealready from drunken, dissolute husbands. Long intervals of silentmelancholy come upon her, intense and dumb, like threateningbrain-trouble. She was playful as a kitten five years ago. 

Poor little souls--crushed every one of them at sixteen or seventeenunder the heel of Islam. Do you wonder that we do not consider it anelevating creed?

And yet they have gone under without tasting the bitterest dregs of anative woman's cup; for (save a baby of the eldest girl's who lived onlya few weeks) there were no children in the question. And the woman'sdeepest anguish begins where they are concerned. For divorce is alwayshanging over her head. The birth of a daughter when a son had been hopedfor, an illness that has become a bit tedious, a bit of caprice orcounter-attraction on the husband's part--any of these things may meanthat he will "tear the paper" that binds them together, and for eightfrancs the kadi will set him free. This means that the children will beforced from the mother and knocked about by the next wife that comes onthe scene; and the mother-heart will suffer a constant martyrdom fromher husband if only divorce can be averted. The Algerian women may claimthe boys till seven and the girls till ten or twelve; the countrywomenhave no claim after the little life becomes independent of them forexistence. 

Look at the awful and fierce sadness of this face: more like a wildcreature than a woman. [D] She has probably been tossed from home tohome until she is left stranded, or wrecked on rocks of unspeakable sinand shame: for that is how it ends, again and again. 

 [D] See illustration opposite page 294. 

Turn from her: we cannot have her to be the last. Look once more at agirl, untroubled as yet. If you want to see what the women could be ifbut the social yoke of Islam were loosed from their shoulders, study thelittle maidens upon whom it has not yet come. Take one of them if youcan get hold of her--even a stupid one, as this one may be with all hersoft grace--let her expand for a few weeks in an atmosphere of love andpurity. Watch the awakening: it is as lovely a thing as you could wishto see, outside the kingdom of God. 

[Illustration: A YOUNG GIRL OF THE ABU SAAD TRIBE]

And if this budding and blossoming can come with the poor watering ofhuman love, what could it be with the heavenly showers, in theirmiracle-power of drawing out all that there is in the earth that theyvisit. Oh the capacities that are there! The soil is "only dry. "

And in the very fact of its utter dryness lies our claim upon God. "Iwill make the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showersof blessing, " is His promise. The "season" for the showers in thesesouthern lands, is the time of utmost drought. It is not in July whenthe gold lingers in the grass, but in September when the tangle of thespring has sunk to ashen gray, ready to crumble at a touch--it is thenthat we know the rains are nearing. God's "season" comes when all hasgone down to despair. 

So we look round on our Moslem field, and triumph in the dryness that isso like death, for it shows that we need not have long to wait. 

 * * * * *

But a great fight is fought overhead in the natural world out herebefore the rains are set free: the poor dry lands seem to wrestleagainst the one thing that they need. Before the clouds burst there willcome days--weeks, perhaps, off and on--of fierce sirocco, hurling themback as they try to gather. Sometimes they seem on the point ofbreaking, and a few drops may get through the heavy air, then back gothe clouds, leaving the brassy glare undimmed. On the fight goes, andgets only harder and harder, till suddenly the victory is won. The southwind drops, or shifts to the west, and the clouds, laden now with theirtreasure, mass themselves in the east; then the wind wheels to the eastand gets behind them, and in an hour or less, unresisted, they areoverhead; unresisted, the windows of heaven are opened, and the raincomes down in floods with a joyful splash, drenching the earth to itsdepths, and calling to life every hidden potentiality. 

A fight like that lies before us in the lands of Islam. It has beguneven now; for we have seen again and again the clouds gather and sweptback, leaving a few drops at best, and these often quickly dried. Theyare not yet full of rain, so they do not empty themselves upon theearth. 

And it is not from this side that they can be stored: it is not thethirsty earth that can fill them. They travel from afar, where ocean, river, and lake can breathe their vapors upward, swept unseen by thewind that bloweth where it listeth, to the parched places. We need you, in the far-off, Spirit-watered lands to store the showers. You may bebut a roadside pool, but your prayer-breath may go up to be gathered inGod's clouds and break in His "plentiful rain. " When the clouds are fullHe will still the sirocco blast of evil that fights it back, and it willcome down with the sudden swift ease that marks the setting in of therains here, year by year. 

Do we believe that each heaven-sent prayer brings the cloud-burstnearer? That one last cry of faith, somewhere, will set it free? Do weact as if we believed it? Shall we give ourselves to hasten it?

And when it comes, we shall see the latent possibilities awake, and thelatent powers assert themselves, and the people of Moslem countries, menand women, show what they can be and do for Him and in His kingdom. For, thank God, they are not dead lands, they are "only dry. "

VII

LIGHT IN DARKEST MOROCCO

The factors in a Moorish woman's life are largely those of her Moslemsisters everywhere; excepting as exaggerated by the absence of allEnglish or French influence. In Morocco we have the rugged path Mohammedallotted their sex painfully adhered to, and any European influence ofother lands conspicuous by its absence. The lack of education, inabilityto read, undeveloped powers of thought handed through the generations ofthirteen centuries, are at least not lessened by time or weakened byheredity. 

The families in which daughters are allowed to read are few and farbetween: just an occasional one among high-class government officials, or a favorite daughter here and there who is destined to support herselfand relatives by teaching the few privileged to learn among the risinggeneration. The little girl is seldom welcomed at birth. It is acalamity she was not a boy. A few years of half-freedom for thetown-child and hasty neglect for the village maiden. Many a better-classwoman enters her home as a bride, in the carriage which so carefullyconceals her, and sees but four whitewashed walls for the remainder ofher days, nor leaves their monotony until carried out in her coffin. What uplifting or educating influences does the bare windowless abode(opening only to the central court of the home) exercise? We hearbetimes of the wish to remove the veil and allow more liberty to woman. In Morocco she is hardly ready for the change, but needs educating andpreparing, ere, with propriety and true modesty, she can take herrightful place. 

Divorce is fearfully common and easy. Plurality of wives is an awfulcurse. The chief features of home-life are quarrels, intrigues, attempted poisonings, and rankling bitternesses. 

Slavery is more common than in other countries so near the borders ofcivilization, and the possession of these human chattels denotes themeasure of worldly prosperity. Occasionally they find a kindly master, but, more often, are inhumanly treated and regarded as so much property. We are frequently urged to treat the slave for illness and so increaseher market value, while the wife, or wives, may suffer unnoticed andunassisted. 

The Moorish woman has little part in religious life. She has no meritsor opportunity of attaining such, unless she be a well-known linealdescendant of their prophet. Very few learn the prescribed form ofMoslem prayers and fewer still use them. Once and again we find onegoing through the positions of prayer and accompanying set phrases. These women are usually the most difficult to deal with and least readyfor the hearing of the Gospel. One of them, during a medical visit, drewher prayer mat to a distance lest I defile it and closed her ears withher fingers to shut out my words. Undoubtedly the _very best_, and often_only_, way of reaching them is through the dispensary. 

Their lives centre largely round the three annual feasts, in preparationfor and enjoyment of them. Every birth, circumcision, wedding, death, and even serious illness, is an opportunity, for those allowedsufficient freedom, to receive and pay visits, feast, enjoy theaccompanying minstrels, appear in their most gorgeous dress andcriticise that of others. Meanwhile they engage in empty and profitlessconversation, which too often passes into the injurious both for bodyand soul, of young and old, hostess and guests. Much attention is paidto fashion, and Moorish etiquette is not to be lightly treated or easilyfulfilled. 

Some of the women figure in the weird orgies of religious sects of aprivate and public character. Their wild, dishevelled, and torn hair isprominent in the Satanic dance of the Aisowia Derwishes, and they viewith the men in its frenzied freaks, falling finally exhausted to theground, unable to rise. But this class fortunately is not numerous. Iwas visiting in one of these houses last year in Fez. The occupants werestrangers and had come pleading me to relieve one in very acute pain. The atmosphere of the room hung heavily over me, I knew not why. Takingmy colloquial Gospel, I spoke of Christ and asked to read. A blankrefusal was the answer. Then the storm broke and during my second visitI had to rise and leave, asserting my union with Christ and theimpossibility of having me or my drugs without the message of my Masterand Saviour. They have since been, when the violent pain returned, pleading for relief, but not again inviting to their house. Such uncannysense of the immediate presence of the evil one, I have neverexperienced, as when under their roof, nor would wish to again. It wasan intense relief to breathe freely in the open air afterwards. Yet twoof our recent converts, and one of them among the most promising, havebelonged to these followers of Satan! Their wild hair is now neatlybraided and they are clothed and in their right minds, sitting withtheir converted sisters to learn more of Jesus and lifting up voices inprayer to Him. 

Female slaves, from the far Soudan, are betimes among our bitterest andloudest opponents during Gospel teaching. They have more courage thantheir mistresses and are more outspoken. Yet, even among them, we haveseen notable changes. One, exceptionally well-taught and able to quotethe Koran, met me first with loud contradiction in her Fez home. Frequent attendance at our medical mission wrought a marvellous change. Open opposition first ceased. Then an awakening, and at leastintellectual, acceptance of the vital truths of Christianity andreadiness to explain them to newcomers. When she had to follow hermaster to the south, we were conscious of losing a friend and helper. She took with her a Gospel and was followed by our prayers. 

[Illustration: A BEDOUIN GIRL FROM NORTH AFRICA]

Classes for sewing, reading, and singing are important factors as meansof reaching the women and girls. The first of my four years at theTulloch Memorial Hospital, Tangier, brought me in contact with a mostinteresting woman. Many years she had been under Mrs. Mensink's teachingand otherwise had known the missionaries. A gradual awakening wasmanifest, until, during that year, when ill with pneumonia, I found herapparently trusting Jesus. One difficulty haunted her, she was ignorant, could not even read, and her teachers told her Jesus was not the Son ofGod;--must they not know best? A few days before her death she joyouslytold me of a dream she had had and assured me her last doubt had gone. In it Jesus appeared to her and proclaimed Himself the Son of God. Noafter-cloud damped her joy. The death-bed was that of a consistentChristian. Her relatives would not own it and buried her as a Moslem intheir own cemetery, with her face towards Mecca. 

This year, in one of our inland cities, not a few members of sewingclasses have simply trusted Christ for salvation and now meet for prayerand instruction with their leaders. A native women's prayer meeting hasbeen formed, where each of these new converts takes part and learns topray. Several also have been led to Jesus through the medical missionand the visitation of their homes. 

An instance of earnest simplicity in prayer occurred in our own home. Wehad spoken to a convert about prayer. She said, "I am too old to learnand too ignorant!" The following day when asked, she replied: "Oh, yes, I prayed this morning. " "And what did you say?" "Well, I did not know atfirst, but then repeated the only prayer I knew, the first chapter ofthe Koran, and at the end added, 'in the name and for the sake of theLord Jesus, ' and I thought _He_ would understand it and fill in for meall I had been mistaken in or unable to tell Him. " He truly did so, forsince that time the dear old woman has learned to pray. Grasping my handafter one native prayer meeting, she said, "Oh, to think of it! three ofus praying together in the name of Jesus; three of us believing in Him. "These were, her married daughter, an only son, and herself. One of theseconverts of last spring had typhus fever a few months later and passedinto the Presence of Him whom she had learned to love. Another isnearing her end and wonders why He tarries so long in coming to take herto be with Himself. 

One day's journey from Tangier on mule-back, lives the first woman Iever heard pray; consistently she seeks to tell others the little sheknows. A lady missionary, since departed, lived with her a fortnight inthe early days of the North African Mission. She dates her conversionfrom that time and, without any resident missionary since, dependentonly upon the teaching of a few days or weeks during an itineratingvisit, she still knows and can explain to others that "the blood ofJesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. " Nearly all of this year's numerousconverts are the result of much seed-sowing and the patient labors oflong years past, now gathered by prayer into the fold. Not a few of thesowers have passed to their reward without seeing the harvest whichshould be. 

We have found medical work a powerful handmaid to awaken interest in theGospel story. To our great grief, however, the continued politicalunrest, due largely to the presence of the Pretender and rising of thetribes from time to time, during the past four years, has almost closedup this highly useful evangelistic and Christ-like work. 

The Northern rebellion would have ceased long ago had the present Sultanhonest and energetic soldiers and leaders. Few, however, are imperviousto foreign gold; and no one trusts another, unless he pay well for theinterest in his affairs. The Sultan is a pleasant and enlightenedperson, but unable to cope with the surrounding lawlessnesssingle-handed. Many a tale of bribery and wrong reaches us. The wildtribes know no other fear than that of seeing turbulent skulls andrebellious heads hanging upon the city gates. We went down to Fez fouryears ago, a few weeks after the violent and sad death of our dearfriend and brother, Mr. Cooper. His only crime in the eyes of theviolent tribesman, his murderer, was that of being a foreigner. Twoweeks after our arrival in the city, Consuls ordered foreigners to thecoast. We had to obey. Six weeks were spent in Tangier and then again wereturned to our scene of labor, the large out-patient dispensary whichtreated over eleven thousand cases last year and so reached between twohundred and one hundred and fifty with the Gospel on Women's mornings, every day. 

Two years ago orders again came to pack up and prepare for emergencies. The storm blew over and since then the main roads have been practicallysafe for ordinary traffic and merchandise. Even the foreigner cansecurely take his place in any caravan without fear of ill. 

Raisuli's capture of European and American citizens for hostages alarmedmany, but he had sought the Government's recognition of his lawfulKaidship, and when refused, wrongly determined to claim the same byforce. The strong hand with which he now controls those wild tribesunder his jurisdiction, proves his ability to govern. His justice, ifsemi-barbarous, is certainly ahead of that of most of his fellow Kaids. He reversed the decision of a Moorish tribunal which had wrung from apoor widow her lawful property, restoring that which had beenunlawfully taken. A few such men in the highest circles would soon bringorder out of chaos and strength to the throne. The English missionaryhas had the great advantage of being favorably received by the people onaccount of his or her nationality. It stood, to them, for integrity, strength, and honor. Whatever changes may have taken place during thelast four years to lessen this trust in her, England has still muchfavor with the majority. Hers were the pioneer-missionaries, for whereno man would have been trusted or allowed to reside, her lady workerspenetrated. Before any resident Consul, Miss Herdman and her companionswent to Fez and commenced medical work. She won her way into the heartsof the people and is still lovingly remembered. It was her work whichMr. Cooper had taken up for a few short years, when so suddenly snatchedfrom it by a lawless fanatic's hand. The seed sown thus long andfaithfully has lain dormant. Just a few, one here and there, gatheredinto the fold; native converts prepared for colportage work; thebuilding of a foundation on the Rock Christ Jesus. But to those whofollowed her has been granted to see the increase, and begin to reckon, even, on the "hundredfold. "

The coast towns have ever been more accessible to the foreigners; yetalas, where the foreigner is LEAST known the native is most receptive, courteous, and hospitable. The average colonist, or even tourist, seldomrecommends the Kingdom of God, and the native points to the drinktraffic, so opposed to his religious views, and asks how that isincluded in the Christian country's commerce and consumption!

Thus, the farther removed from _such_ Christian influence the greaterthe freedom for Gospel work. Tangier was first opened; Hope House beinga partial gift to the North African Mission. 

At first both men and women were treated here, but the greatdesirability of conforming to Moorish rules of life led to the openingof a Women's Hospital in the town. Here I did one year's out-patientwork during the absence of the efficient and indefatigable ladydoctor--Miss Breeze--in England. These were largely the ploughing, seed-sowing days. Since then several have professed conversion. One, onreturning to her village home, was bitterly persecuted and finally, toescape death, had to flee by night to her former teachers and with themfind refuge. Some four or five of the elder girls in the Moorishorphanage came out boldly on the Lord's side. The teaching of girls hasbeen a prominent feature of the work in that city. 

Larache, two days down the coast by mule, was permanently opened manyyears later, some medical and class work being done, with house to housevisitation. Mr. And Mrs. Taylor, our Scotch friends, are independentworkers here. 

El Kaar, six hours inland from Larache and two days from Tangier bymule, is worked from the former by the North Africa Mission, and fiveAmerican lady workers of the Gospel Union Mission do good house to houseservice in that little town. Its inhabitants are unusually genial andreceptive; these are days of seed-sowing, for the harvest is not yet. Women's and girls' classes are also held, and prayers are asked for afew already deeply interested. Some very happy days have I spent workingamong Moorish friends there. 

House to house visitation is essentially for the women. They are always"at home, " and to them we definitely go since they can so seldom come tous. Classes have already been a prominent feature of the work in Fez, and gather larger numbers than is usual in the other towns. This city ofsome one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants has been the residenceof the Sultan and his court for the past four years. It is consequentlyvery full and affords splendid opportunities, having been so freelyopened up by the large medical mission established there. 

Early in the year, a mother and her daughter said to me, "We have beenloved into HEAVEN, we have seen the love of Jesus in care and healingduring our sickness, we take Him now as Savior for our souls. " These areliving consistently for Him now. Two years ago a prominent theologicalprofessor asked me in the street for medicine. I directed him to themedical mission. To the surprise of all he came often, listened quietlyfrom the first, and, ere long, became a decided Christian. His wife, anoble woman (_sherifa_), is now reading the Gospel with him, saying, "Yes, I believe that which is written, but, oh! I do want to remain a_sherifa_!" Not yet can she count all things but loss for the excellencyof the knowledge of Christ Jesus, her Lord. 

In an inland town in Morocco, where a number of women had professedfaith in Christ, the question of baptism arose; two were wishing for it. How could they brave its publicity? One woman had been baptizedprivately in Tangier, few, even of the missionaries, knew beforehand itwas to take place--so bitterly were her relatives opposed to the Gospel. The rite had not been publicly received by any Moorish woman heretofore. After some eighteen months of constant teaching in preparation, thesetwo sisters were ready to brave all danger and opposition, and despiteall efforts to foil their purpose, passed through the waters of baptismunveiled before the assembled native church and foreign missionaries, and that as bravely and modestly as any Englishwoman would have done. This was a terrible blow to the devil. He had fought courageously toavert the calamity to his kingdom, but God heard continued and earnestprayer that a first public stand be thus taken for Him. The blow hasfallen upon the powers of darkness and this great triumph in women'swork been gained for Him. They now "break the bread and drink the wine"with their converted husbands and friends "until He come. " One of themreceived such a spiritual impetus after the step as to make us fearfullest her boldness endanger life. She brought a formerly bigoted relativeand said, "Teach her, pray with her, she is near the Kingdom!" And so itproved, for that day she "entered in. " When reading the colloquialGospel of Luke in one of the highest Government houses, the remark wasmade to me, "Why, this is the book and this the story we heard from MissMcArthur in Morocco city!"

Some of our native colporteurs work with our Scotch brethren and thus isChristian unity cemented. Dr. Kerr and his fellow-workers have a strongmedical mission in Rakat and a similar one was carried on by the NorthAfrican Mission in Casablanca, until the recent death of Dr. Grieve. 

Tetuan has long maintained its vigorous out-patient dispensary, successful visiting in the homes, and numerous classes. Mention shouldcertainly be made of the great impetus given to labors among Moorishwomen by the publication of a Moroccan colloquial version of Luke. Withso few female readers, and the majority of men even, insufficientlyeducated to understand the magnificent classical translation intoArabic, one within the grasp of every man, woman, and child was urgentlyneeded. 

Our American brethren have hitherto published only the Gospel of Luke, which has been so well received, but they hope soon to have in printother portions, which are eagerly looked for. 

You say, "We have heard only of encouraging cases, bright prospects, and ingathering; we thought it was not so in Moslem lands and especiallyamong their women. " Perhaps it has not been, and even now, only thebeginning of early harvest is in the reaping. Thank God, a grandwheat-garnering has yet to follow, and those who have labored longestand seen least fruit will yet divide the spoil. Undoubtedly there arerejecters of the Cross of Christ, and His bitterest enemies are surelyunder the Crescent's sway. At the same time there is tremendousencouragement for hearts and laborers who can "afford to wait" and havelearned to pray. 

Only twice in our vast crowded city (though making from six to eighthundred visits in the homes yearly) have I been refused liberty to speakfor Jesus and NEVER been denied admittance. There are six sisters in Fezdoing this work from house to house, but HUNDREDS of homes await uswhich we are utterly unable to enter. ONE life is so short where theneed is so great, and open doors are on every hand. Most of our fellowmissionaries in other stations would plead in the same words. Doors, doors, but how can we enter them? At present the people inland arehardly prepared for the qualified lady doctor. In the bulk of instanceswhere her skill is most urgently needed, she would be refused. MissBreeze, in Tangier, has patiently labored and trained the women to trusther and submit to the necessary operations. 

Away from the coast a similar patience and training are necessary toprepare the female sex for her valuable assistance. At present thetrained nurse has the fullest scope, and the limits of her powersrepresent the willingness of the people for medical work. Sad, indeed, are those instances wherein a little assistance would undoubtedly savelife, but is refused point-blank on the plea "if the patientsubsequently died the missionary would be accused of murder. " Atpresent, no explanation, no persuasion, can change the fiat. Moorishlaw, like that of the Medes and Persians, "altereth not. " They are, however, very susceptible to the influence of drugs, and the simplestremedies often work cures which by them are regarded as miracles, andfaith in the "Tabeeba" is proportionately increased. 

Colloquial hymns are much valued and a standard hymn-book would be agreat boon. I have taken a small American organ with me and sung andexplained the Gospel in bigoted and wealthy homes, where reading itwould not have been possible. In two instances, I took a magic-lanternwith me, from the slides of which plain teaching was an easy task. Onceit was a wedding festival and friends had gathered to the feast. Ourhostess had lived some years in England with her merchant husband, but aknowledge of English life, or even ability to speak its language, by nomeans predisposes to the reception of the Truth. It certainly was not soin the present instance. A few months ago she said to a fellowmissionary, "I know the right is with you. I well know what I ought todo---leave Mohammed and accept Jesus--but this would mean leaving myhusband and children--turned out of home and robbed of all! I cannot doit. " One sad instance stands for many: a rejected Gospel!

I once attended a wealthy and influential _sherifa_ dying oftuberculosis. No English consumptive clings to life more tenaciouslythan she did. Everything was at my disposal and courtesy lavished untilshe found there was no hope for her life. Then she bitterly turned fromany word of a Life to come and flung herself hopelessly upon hercharm-writers and native crudities until past speaking. Her husband tooka Gospel, and I heard, sat up into the night and studied its contents. We followed the volume with prayer. To-day news reaches me from thefield that he has died of typhoid fever. Oh! to know he accepted itstruths!

Sometimes those cases where I have given longest and most frequentmedical attention, have finally been least responsive to the story ofthe Cross. In other instances a single visit awakens interest and thesoul goes on into full light and liberty. Several homes I have closelyvisited and watched, hoping to find an entrance for Christ; but notuntil some serious illness or other calamity comes are its occupantssufficiently friendly to hear of God's love in Christ. The lady workerand constant visitor in her long white native garment (silham), withveiled face is much safer, humanly speaking, and usually moreacceptable than the foreign worker in European dress. I have even beenasked to climb over the roofs into a house within some sacred precincts, where infidel foot may not be known to tread, and one patient was alwaysreached through the stable door, as the main entrance was too near aso-called saint's place. Again I was asked to see and treat a poorsufferer, very ill, in the open street, to avoid standing on their holyground and defiling the spot. 

Probably all I have written is equally true of any Moslem land. Thereligion of Islam knows no progress and has within itself only theelements of decay. Means for the propagation of the Gospel will scarcelyvary. The harem always depends upon the consecrated and tactful sisterto reach its inmates from without. These thousands of homes can only beentered by the multiplication of the individual worker a hundredfold. 

Now is Morocco's day. A few days later and her opportunity will havepassed by forever. Once broken up, or Europeanized in any way, andcivilized nations will, perhaps, "fear the propaganda of the Cross andthe distribution of the Bible lest fanatics be aroused, holy warproclaimed and bloodshed ensue. " At least thus they said when Khartoumwas opened to the merchant, and similarly have thought other nations intheir respective colonies. They have not yet learned that the convertedMoslem is the only one who can be trusted, and the men will largely beinfluenced by what their mothers and wives are in the home. They knownot as we do, that, in time of war, unrest, and danger, valuables andmoney are brought to the missionary for keeping, and the place of safetyto the native mind is the mission house. To meet, in any degree, existing needs, or use present opportunities for freely distributing andreading the Gospel, teaching its precepts and hastening Christ's Kingdomin "Sun-set land, " we must strongly re-enforce every station. Increasethe number of missionaries working under each mission. Send forth womenwho have learned how to pray in the home lands to seek these poor sheepand gather them into the one fold and unto the one Shepherd. Thecommencement of this year's unprecedented blessing among women datesback primarily and supremely to the increased spirit of prayer. At firsteven all the foreign workers were hardly alive to this, but persistentprayer won them one by one. Then followed the united requests forindividual souls, and these too were granted. The Holy Spirit brought usin contact with those hearts within which He was already working, orpreparing to work, and as a result the Father was glorified in theSon--souls were saved, and not alone among the angels, but even uponearth and amid the Church militant. 

These babes in Christ need daily tending and teaching as littlechildren. The work in the hands of those workers already in the fieldcan scarcely allow any addition, and yet we PRAYED for these; and nowwho shall feed them? Not only so, some are still halting between twoopinions, reading the Word and needing the loving hand to lead themgently over the line; but this individual care is a big task wherewomen's medical mornings each already bring one hundred and twenty toone hundred and fifty patients. Surely we shall unite in the prayer tothe Lord of the Harvest, that He send forth laborers into His harvestand to some--as we pray--He will answer, "Go ye!"

VIII

MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN THE CENTRAL SOUDAN

The form of Islam seen in the large centres of population in the HausaStates is that of a virile, aggressive force, in no sense effete orcorrupted by the surrounding paganism. It has had no rival systems suchas Hinduism or Buddhism to compete with, and until now has not come intoconflict with Christianity. The distinctive characteristics of theAfrican have, however, tended to increase in it sensualism and a laxityof morals, and this has stamped, to a large extent, the attitude_toward_ women and the character _of_ women as developed under itssystem. 

Social and moral evils, which may have a thin cloak thrown over them inthe East as well as in those lands of Islam in the North of Africa, areopen, and boldly uncovered, in the Hausa States. 

Most of what is written in this chapter refers to the Hausa women, whoform by far the greatest number in this country; but it is necessary towrite a few lines first about the Fulani women, who are aliens and of adifferent social, political, and racial type. 

It is now generally acknowledged that these people--Fulanis--originallycame from Asia, or at least are Semitic. 

They are the rulers of all this great empire, and have for a hundredyears exercised a tyrannical rule over the Hausas and the pagan peopleswhom they had succeeded in enslaving before British rule in turnovercame them. The Fulani women are many of them olive-colored; some arebeautiful and all have the small features, thin lips, straight nose, andlong straight hair associated with the Asiatic. The Fulani rulers, following the Eastern fashion, have large harems and keep their womenvery secluded. 

The late Emir of Zaria was terribly severe to all his people, and cruelto a degree with any of his wives who transgressed in any way or weresuspected of unfaithfulness. In one instance in which a female slave hadassisted one of his wives to escape, both being detected, the wife wasimmediately decapitated and the slave given the head in an open calabashand ordered by the Emir to fan the flies off it until next night!

I have been admitted into the home of one such family, the home of oneof the highest born of all the Fulani chiefs, saw two of the wives andbowed to them, but the two little girls of seven and eight years came tocall on me. On the whole I was struck with the cheerful appearance ofthe wife and the sweetness of the two little girls, but the husband wasa particularly nice man, I should _think_ a kind husband, and I _know_ akind father. 

I knew one other Fulani lady long after the death of her husband, shebeing about sixty-five years of age, and a very nice woman in many ways. She told me that her husband, although of good family, had married onlyher and that they had been happily married for over thirty years when hedied, and she had remained a widow. I fear, however, these areexceptional cases and that the ordinary life of the women of the rulingFulani class is a hard one. 

I was once sitting in my compound when a well-covered and veiled womancame to see me, with the excuse that she wanted medicine. After someconversation I found it was trouble that had brought her. She had beenfor some years loved by her husband but had had no children; so herhusband had married another wife and disliked her now, and she wantedmedicine from me to make him love her again! She begged me never tomention that she had come to me, saying that her husband would certainlybeat her nearly to death if he knew that she had come out, and much moreso if he knew she had come to me. 

The ease with which all Hausa women, but specially those of the middleand lower classes, can obtain divorce for almost any reason; also thefrequency with which they can obtain redress for cruelty from theirhusbands in the native courts, gives them power and a position in thecommunity not to be despised. A man, for instance, in order to get agirl of sixteen years in marriage will pay her parents a sum of perhapsten or twelve pounds. If at any future time she desires to leave him andmarry another man, she can do so by swearing before the native courtsthat they have quarrelled and that she no longer wishes to live withhim. But if that is all she merely gets a paper of divorce and eitherherself or her next husband has to refund to the aggrieved formerhusband the sum originally paid for her. If, however, she can proveviolence or injury from her husband she has not to pay him anything, butmay even in some cases get damages. 

A girl is usually given the option of refusing the man whom her parentshave arranged for her to marry. This is not often done, but I have knownof some cases in which the girl has availed herself of the privilege, and stated that she prefers some one else, in which case the engagementis broken and the new marriage arranged at once with the man of herchoice. 

In the villages, and among the lower classes in the cities, girls arenot usually married until they are about sixteen. Frequently, however, among the higher and wealthier classes the engagement is made by theparents when she is much younger, perhaps eleven or twelve, and she isafter that confined with some strictness to the house or else carefullywatched. 

There is a very vicious and terribly degrading habit amongst the Hausas, which is known as "Tsaranchi. " One cannot give in a word an Englishequivalent and one does not desire to describe its meaning. It has theeffect of demoralizing most of the young girls and making it almostcertain that very few girls of even eleven or twelve have retained anyfeelings of decency and virtue. 

In this the girls are deliberately the tempters, and many boys and youngmen are led into sin who would not have sought it. Here one must notblame the women or the girls, for the original sin is with the men, who, through the terribly degrading system of polygamy and slave concubinage, have introduced since centuries that which destroys the purity of thehome, and makes it impossible for the children to grow up clean-minded. It is a sad fact that the evil effect of this seems to have acted moreon the women and children than on the men. 

One feels sorely for the boys brought up in this land without a glimpseof purity in true home life; with never a notion of a woman being themost holy and chaste and beautiful of all God's creation, and neverseeing even the beauty of girlhood purity. 

One is glad to see that among many of the men there is a growing feelingthat they have lost much in this way; and often in talking to men on thesubject of women and their naturally depraved condition, I have shownthem how, where women are given the place God meant them to have in thehome and in the social and religious life of a people, their characteris always the most regenerating thing in the life of a nation, and thatit is useless for them to wish their women to be different when they doeverything to prevent the possibility. With the boys in my own compoundand under my own care I am bound to forbid all intercourse with girlsbecause of their evil minds and influence. Of course such a thing isfearfully unnatural and cuts off from a boy's life all those influenceswhich we in Christian lands consider so much tend to strengthen anddeepen and soften his character. 

It is easy to see from the above the reason why amongst those who arecareful to preserve a semblance of chastity, the girls are carefullysecluded from a tender age and not allowed outside their compoundsexcept under exceptional circumstances, until the time that they areabout to be taken to the house of the man to whom they have beenbetrothed. 

This preservation of virtue by force, points to the fact that there isno public opinion; no love of purity for its own sake; no real and vitalprinciple in Islam which tends to preserve and build up purity. 

A mere lad, the viciousness of whose first wife had led him quickly totake a second, said to me when protested with for doing it, "Our womenare not like yours, and you can never tell what it all means to us. Evenif we wanted to be good they would hinder us. "

The existence of a large class of pagan slave girls, who have beencaught and brought from their own homes and carried into the Hausacountry to become members of the harem of some of the Hausas, alsocomplicates and intensifies the evil; for this mixture only tends tolower the standards and make the facilities for sin tenfold easier. 

It is not true in the Central Soudan, as is so often stated, thatpolygamy tends to diminish the greater evils of common adultery andprostitution. These are very frequent, and it is perfectly true what manafter man has sadly told me, that no one trusts even his own brother inthe case of married relationships. I am bound to acknowledge, however, in honesty, that these evils are intensified in the cantonments withtheir large number of native soldiers of loose character, and some evenof one's own immoral countrymen. 

I have seen very little systematic cruelty towards women or children, except of course in the slave-raiding and slave markets which are nowhappily abolished. Women are able to take care of themselves andcertainly do, so far as I have seen. 

The knowledge that a wife may leave at will, that less labor can be gotout of a cruelly-treated slave wife, and that little girls can leavehome and find a place elsewhere, all have tended to make women's livesfreer, and to some extent less hard in the Central Soudan than in NorthAfrica. 

On the other hand, one is struck with the apparent lack of love, andforced to the conclusion that a woman is not in any sense, to a man ofthe Hausa race, more than a necessary convenience; a woman to lookafter his house, have children, and prepare his meals. In old age she isoften abandoned or driven away, or becomes a mere drudge. This is oftenthe case also with a man, if not wealthy; when old his wives will leavehim, and many a case I have seen of such desolation. Of real love whichtriumphs over circumstances of poverty and sickness there is but little;women will leave their husbands when through misfortune they have losttheir wealth, and go and marry another, returning later when fortune hasagain favored the original husband and frowned on the later one. 

I met one beautiful exception to this. One of the most beautiful girls Ihave seen in the Hausa states, with a really good face and one whichanywhere would have been pronounced pretty, brought her blind husband tome. When married he had been really good to her, and after one year hadlost his sight. For four years she had stuck to him and tended him andreally loved him, taking him from one native doctor to another, and atlast to me. It was touching to see her gentleness to him and the evidenttrust of each in the other. I have never seen such another in the Hausacountry. Yet what possibilities of the future!

Very few girls attain the most elementary standard of education. Butsome few _do_ and every facility is provided for those who can and willgo farther, and I have known girls, mostly those whose fathers were_mallams_, who learned to read and write the Koran well, and who wereconsidered quite proficient; and at least one case I know of a womanwho, because of her wisdom and education, was entrusted with the rule oftwo or three cities in her father's Emirate. 

The chief occupations of women are the grinding of corn and thepreparation of food for the family, the care of their babies, who areslung on their backs, the carrying of water from the well or brook, and, to some extent in the villages, agriculture, though with the exceptionof the poor slaves it is rare to see women overworked in the fields. 

They are great traders also, and if not young or too attractive looking, they are allowed to take their flour, their sweetmeats, etc. , to themarkets and trade. Then again when the season for all agricultural workis at an end, and their husbands and brothers start for the west and thecoast places, for the long wearisome journey which takes them to theplaces where they sell their rubber, nitre, and other goods, and bringback salt, woollen and cotton goods, the women go with them, and it is amost pretty and interesting sight to see the long row of these youngwomen, in single file, neatly and modestly dressed, with white overallsand a load of calabashes and cooking utensils neatly packed and carriedon their heads. They often sing as they march, and coming in at the endof the day's journey, light the fires and prepare the meal forthemselves and their male relatives, while the latter go and gather thesticks and grass to make a temporary shelter for the night. 

[Illustration: GOING TO MARKET. TWO BURDEN BEARERS]

They are tidy, industrious, and lively, and, to any one who did notunderstand their language, these women would give the impression of acharming picture and of many things good and true. But to one who couldhear the conversation, as I often have, the secret of the utterdepravity of all the people is soon learned, and one sees how it is thatnone grow up with any idea of purity. The minds of even young childrenare vitiated from the earliest age. 

I have found many very "religious" women. It must, however, not beforgotten that the religion of Islam is totally divorced from thepractice of all morals. Women in some numbers attend the weekly middayservice in the mosques, sitting apart and worshipping. 

One very handsome woman whom I knew had as a little child been enslaved, and later married to the Emir of Zaria, and had been the mother orstepmother of many of the Zaria princes. She was a very religious woman, was allowed a fair amount of liberty, and was much respected. She notinfrequently attended the services and was much interested. But it iscertain that, with the exception of the use of a certain number of piousexpressions, religion has little hold over the Hausa women, and they canin no sense be considered to share in the devotions of the men, or to becompanions with the men in those things which are the deepest part ofhuman nature. Hence with Christians there is the learning of a newrelationship altogether, when the man begins to feel that his wife mustbe his companion and helpmeet in things pertaining to all his life andsoul and spirit. 

Amongst the very lowest classes, with whom there are less objections tocoming into contact with men, and especially white men, and who in theirsuffering have allowed us to minister to them, I have been able to get aglimpse into the terrible sufferings of the poor women of all the otherclasses. In their hours of agony and suffering they can get noalleviation, no nursing or skill to shorten the hours of weary pain, andin large numbers they die terrible deaths for the lack of that surgicalhelp we could so easily render them. I was able once to visit a womanwho seemed to be dying. She was in a terrible condition; the completedelivery of her child could not be effected, and for two days she hadbeen in a shocking state. In their despair her people asked me to come, and within three hours, by surgical knowledge, we were able to put herright, and finally get her to sleep and complete her cure. But we weretold that many, many died in the condition in which we found her, andthat there was never any thought of calling for help. Many a man whoseemed fairly intelligent, and to whom I have talked almost withindignation of such things, has answered me: "We do not know what to do;our women cannot help these cases, for they have no skill, and we wouldany of us rather let them die than call a man in to help. " And so theydo die. They will not yet trust us, although they fully realize that weare different from their own religious leaders. Whole realms of thoughthave yet to be broken through, whole tracts of life principles andperverted ideas have to be destroyed, before it will be possible for themany poor sufferers in this land to get what the love of Christ hasbrought within their grasp, but which they are afraid as yet to take. 

I have tried to show that there is a bright as well as a sombre side tothis picture; that where there is restraint there is often somekindness; that with ignorance there is often a desire and a yearningafter better things, and a dull feeling that what _is_, is _not_ best. 

Nothing but a radical change in the very fundamental ideas of woman, even by woman herself, can bring about the regeneration of this land. Only the restoration of woman to the place gained for her by Christ, andsnatched from her again by the prophet of Islam, can bring true holinessand life into the homes of Hausa, and bring a new hope and reality intothe lives of the men. 

The knowledge and worship of Christ are beginning to do this, and in oneor two homes in North Nigeria already men, who previously thought womaninferior human beings or superior cattle, and who would have looked uponit as madness to suggest that a woman should be considered the helpmeetof the man in all that pertains to this life Godward and manward, arerestoring to their wives and mothers and sisters that dignity. How happywill be the result when this spirit has spread and all the land hasbegun to feel the influence of good and holy women in the home, themarket, the school, and the church. 

IX

A STORY FROM EAST AFRICA

Mombasa, though a Mohammedan town, is perhaps scarcely a typical one, asof late years it has become decidedly cosmopolitan, still in what iscalled the "Old Town" Mohammedanism with all its attendant ignorance andbigotry prevails. 

There are women in this part of the mission-field with whom we havetalked and prayed in past years, who seem further off from the Truth andLight than they were even in those early years of work amongst them. 

These are the words of a young girl who, we know, was convinced of thetruth of the Gospel: "Oh, Bibi, if I confess Christ openly I shall beturned out of my home, I shall have neither food nor clothing, and [witha shudder] perhaps they will kill me. " We knew this was only too true. 

She was a beautiful girl with sweet, gentle manners, living in thosedays with her sister in a dark, ill-ventilated room which opened on to asmall courtyard where all the rubbish of the house seemed to be thrown, and where goats, hens, and miserable-looking cats seemed thoroughly athome amongst the refuse. 

Yet, in spite of these surroundings and in spite of her knowledge of allmanner of evil (alas! how early these children learn things which wewould think impossible to teach a little child), in spite of all thisshe was pure and good. Now she seems to have no desire at all to hear orread the Gospel. When we do see her, her manner is always flippant andworldly. We don't want to give her up, we keep on praying for her, butthere have been so many hardening influences since those early days, andshe never took the definite step of openly confessing Christ. She wassoon married to a man much older than herself who already had a wife;probably more than one. We suppose he was a higher bidder!

She had one little baby that soon pined away and died. How can women, brought up as she was, have healthy children? Amongst all the Mohammedanwomen I have visited here I have never known one to have more than twochildren. The majority have no living child. 

I believe the husband was kind to her, but he did not live long, andvery soon she was married again. If she bears no children he willprobably tire of her and leave her. I have been told by one of the womenthat if a wife does not cook his food properly he may get a divorce. Oneold woman I saw to-day told me that her daughter is now married to herthird husband; the other two left her for some trivial reason. When Iasked, "What will become of her when she is old and perhaps cast offagain?"

"Ah, Bibi!" she said, "what _has_ become of me? I am weak and ill andold, and yet I have to cook and work for others. " This is just what doeshappen unless they have a house and property of their own. They becomehousehold drudges to those relations who take them in, and there isrejoicing at their death. 

The rule here is for each man to have four wives, if he can afford it. The number of concubines is, I believe, unlimited. Here the wives liveeach in a separate house. The reason given is: "If we lived together weshould be jealous and quarrel and make our husband miserable. "

I have known cases where the husband has only the one wife and thereseems to be a certain amount of affection. One little wife said to methe other day, "I love my husband now, but if he ever takes another wifeI shall hate him and leave him. "

Could one blame her?

In most cases just as a girl has learned to read she has been forbiddenby her husband, and I have been told, "My husband says there is noprofit in women learning to read and he has forbidden it. "

How one has felt for and grieved with some of these women! One day ingoing as usual to give a reading lesson to a mother and daughter (thesetwo really loved each other), I found them both very sad and miserable. It seemed that the father of the girl determined to marry her to anelderly man whom, of course, she had never seen. The mother said herdaughter was too young to be married, and she knew something of thecharacter of the man. She begged me to try and do something, but we werequite helpless in the matter; a large sum of money was paid for thedaughter. Some time afterwards when I visited the house the mother saidto me, "Yes, Bibi, she is married to him and I have had to sit in theroom listening to the cries of my child as he ill-treated her in thenext room, but I could do nothing. "

How one longs for the skill to bring home to our favored English girlsand wives and mothers, the awful wrongs and the needs of these theirMoslem sisters! But what human weakness cannot do, God by His HolySpirit can. May He lead some of you to give yourselves to the gloriouswork of bringing light and life to these your sisters who are "Sittingin darkness and the shadow of death. " Love is what they want. Our lovethat will bring knowledge of Christ's great love to them. Will you notpray for them?

X

OUR ARABIAN SISTERS

 "Women are worthless creatures and soil men's reputations. " "The heart of a woman is given to folly. " --ARABIC PROVERBS. 

This is an outline sketch of the pitiful intellectual, social, and moralcondition of the nearly four million women and girls in MohammedanArabia. To begin with, the percentage of illiteracy, although not sogreat as in some other Moslem lands, is at least eighty per cent, of thewhole number. In Eastern Arabia a number of girls attend schools, butthe instruction and discipline are very indifferent; attention to thelesson is not demanded, so that a Moslem school is a paradise for a lazygirl! A girl is removed from school very early to prepare for herlife-work and that is marriage. In a majority of cases she soon forgetswhat little knowledge she may have attained. A few women are goodreaders, but these are the most bigoted and fanatical of all women, andit is difficult to make any impression upon them as they are firmlyconvinced that the Koran contains all they need for salvation now andhereafter. 

General ignorance is the cause of general unhappiness and such denseignorance often makes them suspicious and unreasonable. Nothing is doneby the men to educate their women. On the contrary, their object seemsto be to keep them from thinking for themselves. They "treat them likebrutes and they behave as such. " The men keep their feet on the necks oftheir women and then expect them to rise! The same men who themselvesindulge in the grossest form of immorality become very angry and cruelif there is a breath of scandal against their women. In Bahrein, a youngpearl-diver heard a rumor that his sister was not a pure woman; hereturned immediately from the divings and stabbed her in a mostdiabolical way without even inquiring as to the truth of the matter. Shedied in great agony from her injuries, and the brother was acquitted bya Moslem judge, who is himself capable of breaking all the commandments. 

Polygamy is practised by all who can afford this so-called luxury, particularly by those in high positions. The wives of these men are nothappy, but submit since they believe it is the will of God and of Hisprophet. The women are not at all content with their condition, and eachone wishes herself to be the favored one and will take steps to insurethis if possible. Those who have learned a little of the socialcondition of women in Christian lands very readily appreciate thedifference. 

[Illustration: WOMEN CHURNING BUTTER IN BEDOUIN CAMP (Arabia)]

It is a common thing for us to be asked to prescribe poison for a rivalwife who has been added to the household and for the time being isthe favorite. Through jealousy some of these supplanted wives plungeinto a life of sin. I do not know anything more pathetic than to have tolisten to a poor soul pleading for a love-philter or potion to bringback the so-called love of a perfidious husband. Women, whether rich orpoor, naturally prefer to be the only wife. Divorce is fearfully common;I think perhaps it is the case in nine out of every ten marriages. Manywomen have been divorced several times. They marry again, but this earlyand frequent divorce causes much immorality. Some divorced women returnto the house of their parents, while the homeless ones are mostmiserable and find escape from misery only in death. 

All these horrible social conditions complicate matters and it isdifficult to find out who is who in these mixed houses. It is far morepathetic to go through some Moslem homes than to visit a home forfoundlings. When a woman is divorced, the father may keep the childrenif he wishes, and no matter how much a heart-broken mother may plead forthem, she is not allowed to have them. If the man does not wish to keepthem he sends the children with the mother, and if she marries again thenew husband does not expect to contribute to the support of the childrenof the former marriage. 

There can be no pure home-life, as the children are wise above theiryears in the knowledge of sin. Nothing is kept from them and they areperfectly conversant with the personal history of their parents, pastand present. 

A man may have a new wife every few months if he so desires, and in someparts of Arabia this is a common state of affairs among the rich chiefs. The result of all this looseness of morals is indescribable. Unnaturalvice abounds, and so do contagious diseases which are the inheritance ofpoor little children. 

There is a very large per cent. Of infant mortality partly on thisaccount, and partly on account of gross ignorance in the treatment ofthe diseases of childhood. 

Instead of a home full of love and peace, there is dissension anddistrust. The heart of the husband does not trust his wife and she seeksto do him evil, not good. For example, a woman is thought very clever ifshe can cheat her husband out of his money or capital, and lay it up forherself in case she is divorced. There is nothing to bind them in sweetcommunion and interchange of confidences. As a rule, when a man and awoman marry they do not look for mutual consideration and respect andcourtesy; marriage is rather looked upon as a good or a bad bargain. That marriage has anything to do with the affections does not oftenoccur to them. If only a man's passions can be satisfied and hismaterial needs provided, that is all he expects from marriage. 

But I do not deny that there are grand though not frequent exceptions tothis evil system. I have seen a man cling to his wife and love her andgrieve sadly when she died. And some Arab fathers dearly love theirdaughters and mourn at the loss of one, and the little girls showsincere affection for their fathers. And yet all these bright spots onlymake the general blackness of home-life seem more dense and dismal. 

Missionary schools and education in general have done much in breakingup this system. Many Moslems of the higher class are trying to justifythe grosser side of their book-religion by spiritualizing the Koranteaching. But secular education will never make a firm foundation forthe elevation of a nation or an individual. Those who have been led tosee the weakness of a religion that degrades women, have gained theirknowledge through the Gospel. 

The fact that attention is paid to suffering women by medical missionsis already changing the prevalent idea that woman is inferior andworthless. And although it may seem sometimes an impossible task to everraise these women to think higher thoughts and to rise from thedegradation of centuries, yet we know from experience that those whocome in contact with Christian women soon learn to avoid all uncleanconversation in their presence. Visiting them in their huts and homes isalso a means of breaking down prejudice. The daily clinic in the threemission hospitals of East Arabia, where thousands of sick women receiveas much attention as do the men, is winning the hearts and opening theeyes of many to see what disinterested love is. They can scarcelyunderstand what constrains Christian women to go into such unlovelysurroundings and touch bodies loathsome from disease in thedispensaries. 

When the men have wisdom to perceive that the education of their womenand girls means the elevation of their nation, and when they give thewomen an opportunity to become more than mere animals, then will thenation become progressive and alive to its great possibilities. Reformation cannot come from within but must come from without, from theliving power of the Christ. Are you not responsible to God for a part inthe evangelization of Arabia in this generation?

 "Let none whom He hath ransomed fail to greet Him, Through thy neglect unfit to see His face. "

The following earnest words, from one who being dead yet speaketh, are aplea for more workers to come out to Arabia. Marion Wells Thoms, M. D. , labored for five years in Arabia and wrote in one of her last letters asfollows:

"The Mohammedan religion has done much to degrade womanhood. To be sure, female infanticide formerly practised by the heathen Arabs wasabolished by Islam, but that death was not so terrible as the livingdeath of thousands of the Arab women who have lived since the reign ofthe 'merciful' prophet, nor was its effect upon society in general sodemoralizing. In the 'time of ignorance, ' that is time before Mohammed, women often occupied positions of honor. There were celebrated poetessesand we read of Arab queens ruling their tribes. 

"Such a state of things does not exist to-day, but the woman'sinfluence, though never recognized by the men, is neverthelessindirectly a potent factor, but never of a broadening or upliftingcharacter. To have been long regarded as naturally evil has had adegrading influence. Mohammedan classical writers have done their bestto revile womanhood. 'May Allah never bless womankind' is a quotationfrom one of them. 

"Moslem literature, it is true, exhibits isolated glimpses of a worthierestimation of womanhood, but the later view, which comes more and moreinto prevalence, is the only one which finds its expression in thesacred tradition, which represents hell as full of women, and refuses toacknowledge in its women, apart from rare exceptions, either reason orreligion, in poems which refer all the evil in the world to the woman asits root, in proverbs which represent a careful education of girls asmere waste. 

"When the learned ones ascribe such characteristics to women, is it anywonder that they have come to regard themselves as mere beasts ofburden? The Arab boy spends ten or twelve years of his life largely inthe women's quarters, listening to their idle conversation abouthousehold affairs and their worse than idle talk about their jealousiesand intrigues. 

"When the boy becomes a man, although he has absolute dominion over hiswife as far as the right to punish or divorce her is concerned, he oftenyields to her decision in regard to some line of action. In treating awoman I have sometimes appealed to the husband to prevail upon his wifeto consent to more severe treatment than she was willing to receive. After conversing with his wife his answer has been, 'She will notconsent, ' and that has been final. Lady Ann Blunt, who has travelledamong the Bedouins, says, 'In more than one sheikh's tent it is thewomen's half of it in which the politics of the tribe are settled. '

"In regard to their religion they believe what they have been told orhave heard read from the Koran and other religious books. They do nottravel as much as the men, and do not have the opportunity of listeningto those who do, hence their ideas are not changed by what they see andhear. All the traditions of Mohammed and other heroes are frequentlyrehearsed and implicitly believed. 

"Although the Arab race is considered a strong one, we find among thewomen every ill to which their flesh is heir, unrelieved and oftentimeseven aggravated by their foolish native treatment. A mother's heartcannot help but ache as she hears the Arab mother tell of the loss oftwo, three, four, or more of her children, the sacrifice perhaps to herown ignorance. The physical need of the Arab women is great and we praythat it may soon appeal to some whose medical training fits them toadminister to this need in all parts of Arabia. 

"In the towns in which there are missionaries there are comparativelyfew houses in which they are not welcomed. In our own station there aremore open houses than we have ever had time to visit. Wherever womentravellers, of whom there have been two of some note, have gone, theyhave been met with kindness; hence it will be seen that the open door isnot lacking. "

Ignorance, superstition, and sensuality are the characteristics whichimpress themselves most strongly at first upon one who visits the Arabharem, but there are those, too, among the women who are reallyattractive. It is a dark picture, and we do not urge the need of moreworkers because the fields are white to harvest. We ask that more offerthemselves and be sent soon, rather, that, after they have learned thedifficult language, they may be able to begin _to prepare the ground forseed-sowing_. It is a work that can only be done by women, for while theBedouin women have greater freedom to go about and converse with the menthan the town women have, and while some of the poorer classes in thetowns will allow themselves to be treated by a man doctor, and sit andlisten to an address made in the dispensary, the better class are onlyaccessible in their houses. Their whole range of ideas is so limited andso far below ours that it will require "line upon line and precept uponprecept" to teach these women that there is a higher and better life forthem. In fact there must be the creation of the desire for better thingsas far as most of them are concerned, but love and tact accompanied bythe power of the Holy Spirit can win their way to these hearts andaccomplish the same results that have been accomplished among otherOriental women. 

I have been striving to show that there is a crying need for work amongthe Arab women and that there are ample opportunities for service. Iappeal to the women of the church whose sympathies have so long gone outto heathen women everywhere, not to have less sympathy for them, but toinclude Mohammedan Arabia and her womanhood more and more in their love, their gifts, and their prayers. In the days of Mohammed, after thebattle of Khaibar, in which so many of her people had been mercilesslyslaughtered, Zeinab, the Jewess, who prepared a meal for Mohammed andhis men, put poison in the mutton and all but caused the prophet'sdeath. It is said by some that he never fully recovered from the effectsof the poison, and that it was an indirect cause of his death. It seemsto us who have lived and labored in the land of the false prophet thathis religion will only receive its death-blow when Christian women riseto their duty and privilege, and by love and sacrifice, not in vengeancebut in mercy, send the true religion to these our neglected, degradedsisters, --sisters in Him who "hath made of one blood all nations. "

XI

WOMEN'S LIFE IN THE YEMEN

The term "Yemen, " meaning the land on the right hand, is the nameapplied to that whole tract of land in Arabia south of Mecca and west ofthe Hadramaut, which has always been looked upon as a dependency orprovince. 

In early historical times the Yemen was occupied by Homerites and otheraborigines, but later on by the Himyarites, who drove many of theoriginal inhabitants to seek a new home in Africa, where, havingintermarried with the Gallas, Kaffirs, and Dankalis, they formed a newrace which is generally known nowadays as the Somali. 

The physical conformation of the Yemen is not unlike that of the portionof Africa immediately opposite, where there is as great diversity inclimate and soil as there is in the manners and customs of the peoples. 

From Aden, the Eastern Gibraltar, right northward there stretches arange of mountains chiefly formed of igneous rocks that have been bent, torn, and twisted like the iron girders of a huge building that has beendestroyed by fire and almost covered by the ruin. Bare peak after peakrises from the mass of débris yet everywhere pierced, scarred, andseamed by the monsoon floods seeking their way to the ocean bed; theyseldom reach it, however, as a stream and never as a river, because ofthe barren, scorched, sandy zone which belts the Red Sea and sucks intoits huge maw everything that the hills send down. 

Like his country the Yemen Arab is girded about with an arid zone ofreserve which few Europeans have ever crossed, but when they havemanaged to do so, according to the individual they have met, they havefound it may be a man with a heart as hard as a nether millstone. Marrying one day and divorcing almost the next, only to marry another assoon as he can scrape together sufficient funds to purchase a wife, thistype of man looks upon woman as an inferior animal formed for man'sgratification, and to be flung aside like a sucked orange when the juiceis gone. 

Or on the other hand, they may find men whom real love has saved andmade to give forth warm affection and true domestic joy, just as theterraced ridges on their mountain slopes retain the God-given moistureand send forth a luxuriant crop of strengthening cereals, deliciouscoffee, and luscious grapes. 

I have known young men of twenty-four who have been married and divorcedhalf a dozen times, and also Arabs whose days are in the sere and yellowleaf who never had but one wife. 

There was a native chief who used to come occasionally to our dispensarywhose children were numbered by three figures, and Khan BahadurNumcherjee Rustomjee, C. I. E. , who was for many years a magistrate inAden, told me he knew a woman who had been legally married more thanfifty times and had actually forgotten the names of the fathers of twoof her children!

One day an Arab brought a fine-looking woman to our dispensary, and ashe was very kind to her and seemed to love her very much I ventured totell him that she was suffering from diabetes mellitus, and that inorder to preserve her life he would require to be careful with her diet. He thanked me most profoundly, promised to do all that he could for her, took her home and divorced her the same day, casting her off in thevillage and leaving her without a copper. 

Next morning she came weeping to the dispensary and I tried to getcompensation, but the man pleaded poverty, and because I was the causeof her plight I felt in duty bound to support her until she died somemonths later. 

Another man of more than fifty years carried the wife of his youth toour dispensary on his back. She was suffering from Bright's disease andascites, yet he toiled on and till now has shown no sign of wavering inhis allegiance. Warm-hearted, courteous, and kind, I look upon him asone of nature's noblemen whom even Mohammedanism cannot spoil. 

Another man whose wife had an ovarian tumor brought her down fromHodeidah for me to operate on, and faithfully attended to all her wantswhile she was ill, and at last when the wound caused by operation washealed, took her home joyfully as a bridegroom takes home the bride ofhis choice. 

A third man, who had either two or three wives at the time, called me tosee one who had been in labor for six days. When the Arab midwivesconfessed that they could do nothing more for her and when he saw hersinking, love triumphed over prejudice, and he came hurriedly for me. Iperformed a Cæsarean section, and so earned the gratitude of bothhusband and wife, who, though years have gone, still take a warminterest in all that concerns the mission. 

I wish, however, that I could say that cases like these were commonexperiences with me, but unfortunately the reverse is the case. Men seemalways ashamed to speak of their wives and when wanting medicine forthem or me to visit them always speak of them as, "my family"--"themother of my children"--"my uncle's daughters, " or like circumlocution. Once I boxed a boy's ears for speaking of his own mother as his"father's cow!"

Brought up in ignorance, unable to read, write, sew, or do fancywork--in all my experience out here I have never known of a real Arabgirl being sent to school nor a real Arab woman who knew the alphabet. Sold at a marriageable age, in many cases to the highest bidder, thenkept closely secluded in the house, is it any wonder that her health isundermined and when brought to child-bed there is no strength left?

Called one day to see a Somali woman I missed the whip usually seen in aSomali's house, and jokingly asked how her husband managed to keep herin order without a whip. She, taking her husband and me by the hand, said, "You are my father and this is my husband. Love unites us, andwhere love is there is no need for whips. "

I was so pleased with her speech that I offered her husband, who was outof work, a subordinate place in our dispensary. Yet less than a monthlater I heard that he had divorced his wife and turned her out of doors. 

The following case will, I think, illustrate the usual attitude of theArabs in the Yemen towards womankind:

A man whose wife had been in labor two days came asking for medicine tomake her well. My reply was that it was necessary to see the womanbefore I could give such a drug as he wished. "Well, " said he, "she willdie before I allow you or any other man to see her, " and two days afterI heard of her death. 

I have often remonstrated with the men for keeping their wives soclosely confined and for not delighting in their company, and makingthem companions and friends. But almost invariably I have been answeredthus, "The Prophet (upon whom be blessing and peace) said, 'Do nottrouble them with what they cannot bear, for they are prisoners in yourhands whom you took in trust from God. '" And therefore as prisoners theyare to be kept and treated as being of inferior intellect. 

I have known cases where a man gave his daughter in marriage oncondition that the bridegroom would never marry another wife; but theman broke his word and married a second wife, whereupon he was summonedbefore the kadi, who ruled that, "When a man marries a woman oncondition that he would not marry another at the same time with her, thecontract is valid and the condition void because it makes unlawful whatis lawful, and God knoweth all. "

The consequence of such laws is that the women become prone to criminalintrigues, and I have known dozens of cases where mothers have helpedtheir daughters and even acted as procuresses for them to avenge someslight upon them or injury done to them. There is no fear of God beforetheir eyes. Heaven to them is little better than a place ofprostitution. Why, then, should they desire it? Here they know thebitterness of being one of two or three wives, why then should they wishto be "one of seventy"?

XII

PEN-AND-INK SKETCHES IN PALESTINE

Sir William Muir, who lived for forty years in India, says: "The swordof Islam and the Koran are the most obstinate foes to civilization, liberty, and truth the world has yet known. " After a residence of nearlytwenty years in Palestine and much intercourse among all classes, bothin city and village life, the writer of this chapter can confirm thestatement. 

Islam is the same everywhere and changes not. 

The chief cause of its blighting influence is its degradation andcontempt of women, which is the result of ignorance of the Word of God. _Therefore, the wide-spread preaching of the Gospel to-day is the needof Islam_, and the responsibility for it rests chiefly upon theChristians of England and America. 

One looks in vain among Moslems for peaceful homes, honored wives, affectionate husbands, happy sons and daughters, loving and trusting oneanother. 

A Moslem home is built upon the foundation of the man's right(_religious right_) to have at least four wives at a time; to divorcethem at pleasure and to bring others as frequently as he has theinclination or the money to buy. 

A son is always welcomed at birth with shrill shouts and boisterousclapping of hands or beating of drums; but a baby girl is received insilence and disappointment. 

The boy is indulged in every way from the day of his arrival. He isunder no restraint or control, and usually at two years of age is alittle tyrant, freely cursing his mother and sisters. The mother smilesat his cleverness, she herself having taught him, and her own teachingleads afterwards to much misery in the lives of other women. 

Great numbers of boys die in infancy, or under three years of age, because of the ignorance of their mothers in caring for them. They areeither overfed or neglected. In some families, where there have been anumber of both boys and girls, all the boys have died. The women havebeen blamed for this and sometimes divorced, or else retained to servethe new wives who have been brought instead. 

How often I think of the dear little Moslem girls! The most teachableand responsive to loving kindness of all. Oh, that they might have happyhomes, happy mothers, wise and loving fathers! One dear Moslem child, only four years old, after having been in a Christian mission school fora year, was taken ill and died. All the members of a large family werepresent as she lay dying (crowding into the room of the sick is anOriental custom) and heard her exclaim: "My mother! Jesus loves littlegirls just like me!"

A Moslem can divorce his wife at his pleasure or send her away from hishouse without a divorce. If he does only the latter, she cannot marryany one else. This is often done purposely to torment her. But the womenare not the only sufferers through these wretched domestic arrangements. Many of them are utterly heartless and show no pity for their ownchildren. They will leave them to marry again, the new husband refusingto take the children, and numbers die in consequence. Many a troublesomeold man is also put out of the way by poison administered by the wivesof his sons. Not long ago a prison, in an Oriental city, was visited bysome Christian missionaries who had obtained permission to see the womenwho had been sentenced for life. They are found to be there for havingmurdered their "da-râ-ir, " that is, their husbands' other wives, or thechildren of their hated rivals; and, having no money, they had not beenable to buy their way out of prison, as can be done and is customary inMoslem countries. 

As the camera would not do full justice to Moslem "interiors, " either inhouse-life or in the administration of public affairs, both also beingdifficult to obtain, a few "pen and ink" sketches are sent by the writerof this article, taken in person on the spot. 

Here is a picture of Abu Ali's household. Abu Ali has two wives, Aishaand Amina. Confusion and every evil thing are found in his family life. Each wife has five children, large and small, and the ten of the twofamilies all hate each other. They fight and bite, scratch out eachother's eyes, and pull out each other's hair. The husband has goodhouses and gardens but the women and children all live in dark, damprooms on the ground floor. The writer knows them and often goes to seethem, especially to comfort the older wife, whose life is very wretched. She is almost starved at times. She weeps many bitter tears and cursesthe religion into which she was born. The Prophet Mohammed's religionmakes many a man a heartless tyrant. He is greatly to be pitied becausea victim by inheritance to this vast system of evil. Wild animals showmore affection for their offspring and certainly take (for a while atleast) more responsibility for their young than many Moslems do inPalestine. 

Werdie is another case. This name in Arabic means "a rose. " There aremany sweet young roses in the East but, hidden away among thorns andbrambles, their fragrance is often lost. This Werdie, a fair youngblue-eyed girl whose six own brothers had all died, lived with hermother and father and his other wives in a very large Oriental house(not a _home_). She lived in the midst of continual strife, cursings, "evil eyes, " and fights. This household is a distinguished family intheir town!

Sometimes the quarrels lasted for many days without cessation and Werdiealways took part in them as her mother's champion. The quarrels werebetween her father's wives, --her mother's rivals, --and she often boastedthat she could hold out longer than all the others combined against her. On one occasion her awful language and loud railings continued for threedays, and then she lost her voice--utterly--and could not speak forweeks! She had an ungoverned temper, and when goaded by the cruelinjustice done her mother she delighted to give vent to it; but she alsohad a conscience and a good mind and was led into the Light. On beingtold of the power in Jesus Christ to overcome, she said one day, "I willtry Him. I want peace in my heart, I will do anything to get it; Ibelieve in Him and I will trust Him, " and she did. She was afterwardsgiven in marriage by her father, against her wish, to a man she did notknow. He treats her cruelly as does also her mother-in-law. But now shehas another spirit, a meek and lowly one, and is truly a follower of theLord Jesus Christ. In the midst of strife she is a silent sufferer and amarvel to all the members of her family. She prays much and hasliterally a broken and a contrite spirit. She is the Lord's. There areother roses among the Moslems whom Jesus Christ came to redeem. Let uspray for them and go and find them! _He will point the way. _

Saleh Al Wahhâb is a Moslem in good position with ample means. He firstmarried a sweet-looking young girl, Belise by name, but she had nochildren, so he divorced her and married three other women. Not havinghis desire for children granted, he divorced all three of these womenand took back his first wife, who was quite willing to go to him!

Haji Hamid, who made the pilgrimage to Mecca, was the chief of aMatâwaly village and highly honored, belonging to the Shiah sect ofMoslems. He has had many wives, some of whom he had divorced becausethey displeased him, and others had died. When he became an old man, hebrought a young and, as he was assured by others, a very beautiful andvirtuous bride. He had never seen her. He paid a large sum of money forher, most of which she wore afterwards as ornaments--gold coins--on herhead and neck. 

Soon after her arrival in the sheikh's house he became seriously ill. She found this unpleasant, as she was a bride and wanted to enjoyherself. So she ran away, taking all the gold with her, and left him todie!

There is no honor or truth among Moslems. The Prophet's religion doesnot and cannot implant pity or compassion in the human heart. Haji Hamidhad inherited from his birth false teaching, the evil influences andresults of lying, corruption in Government affairs, tyranny, bribery, bigotry, and contempt for women. He only reaped as he had sown. However, he heard the Gospel on his dying bed and seemed grateful for kindnessesshown to him by Christian strangers. 

Abd Er Rahim, "Slave of the Merciful, " was a rich Moslem who once hadseveral wives. Some he had divorced, some he had sent back to theirfathers' homes, and some had died, and he was tired of the one whoremained because she was getting old. 

By chance he had seen a very handsome young peasant girl, and he wantedher, but he was afraid of his wife, for he felt sure that she would betroublesome if he brought this young girl to his house. So he planned a"shimel-howa" for his wife (a pleasant time, literally, a "smelling ofthe air, " a promenade), to which she readily agreed. She put on herjewelry and silk outer garments, and started. Her husband was to followher, but, according to Moslem custom, at a distance, as a man is notseen in public with his wife. She never returned, but was found dead twodays afterwards, drowned in a well, wearing all her jewelry. Her husbandfound her. The facts were never investigated. A few days afterwards thenew wife was brought into the house and lived there until the death ofAbd Er Rahim. He has now gone to his reward! He never knew anythingabout the Lord Jesus Christ. No one ever told him. His last wife, however, did have the opportunity of knowing, but she laughed and madefun of His name. When she died, about three years ago, twenty large jarsof water were poured over her to wash away her sins. She was arrayed inseveral silk gowns and buried, with verses from the Koran written onpaper placed in her dead hands, to keep evil spirits away from her soul. Such is their ignorant superstition. 

Benda was a poor Moslem woman who lived in a goat's-hair tent on one ofthe plains mentioned in the Bible, a Bedouin Arab's cast-off wife. Shehad lost her only child, her son, a young man. When first found, sheherself was a mere skeleton. Very deaf and clothed in rags, she sat onthe ground, weeping bitterly over the two long black braids of hair ofher dead son, a pitiful object. It was very difficult to make her hear, but she was taught, often amidst the roars of laughter of some nominalChristians who said to her teacher: "Why do you cast pearls beforeswine?"

However, Benda was one of His jewels. She had a hungry heart, sheunderstood the truth, believed, and was saved and comforted. Before she"went up higher" she became a "witness" to some of her own people. 

There are other Moslem Bendas yet to be found, others to be brought intothe fold. Who will come to help to find them and to bring them in? Thelost sheep of the house of Ishmael. 

Some one has asked: "What happens to the cast-off wives and divorcedwomen among the Moslems?" Sometimes they are married several times anddivorced by several men. If they have no children, after their strengthfails them so that they cannot work, they beg and lead a miserableexistence, and die. A woman who has lived at ease and in high position, after being divorced, will sometimes reach the very lowest degrees ofpoverty, hunger, and misery, and then die. For such, there are nofuneral expenses; nothing is required but a shallow grave. Moslem menare usually willing to dig that in their own burying ground, and thebody is carried to its last resting place on the public "ma'ash, " orbier. Benda was buried in this way, but "she had an inheritanceincorruptible and that fadeth not away. "

[Illustration: A MOSLEM CEMETERY]

[Illustration: A CHRISTIAN CEMETERY]

Sheikh Haj Hamid's story is that of a rescued Moslem. Let me tell it toyou. 

There is to-day in the far East a town built out of the ruins of a cityof great antiquity, in the land where giants once lived, and King Ogreigned (Genesis xiv. 5; Deuteronomy iii. 11, 13). 

Some of the Lord's messengers went out there, recently, to gather intothe fold any of His scattered and wandering sheep they might find. Probably the Gospel had not been preached there for one thousand fivehundred years. The Lord had promised to go before His messengers, andhad assured them that there were sheep in that place who would hear Hisvoice and follow Him, and, trusting this sure guidance, they started. "In journeyings, often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, inperils in the wilderness, in perils among false brethren, " theysearched for the sheep and lambs--and found them. One of the number wasa dignified, gray-haired Moslem sheikh who, on hearing "the call, " withgroans and tears asked, "What must I do to be saved, for my sins reachup to Heaven? What am I to do with them? For forty long years I havegone daily to the mosque, but never before, until this day, have I heardof salvation in Jesus Christ. " And he wept aloud and cried out: "Won'tyou pray for me?" He eagerly received instruction and believed. His lastand oft repeated words to his new-found Christian friends, as they rodeaway, were: "Won't you continue to pray for me?"

The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to His own among Moslems to-day, butmany have never heard of Him. There are more than two hundred millionMoslems in the world. "How can they hear without a preacher?"

Hindîyea's story will also interest you. A Moslem woman lay dying in acoast town of old Syro-Ph[oe]nicia. She was the wife of an agedKâtib--the scribe of the town and the teacher of the Koran. The womanknew that her end was near, but how could she die? Where was she going?Her husband had no word of comfort for her, he did not know. She wasgreatly troubled and deep waters rolled over her soul. Who could tellher? Was there no one to stretch out a helping hand?

Suddenly she thought of a foreign lady, a missionary, who was at thetime in her own town, and whose words had once strangely stirred herheart. Perhaps she would come to her? She did come and on her enteringthe room, Hindîyea, endued with new strength and wonderful energy, satup in her bed and called out in a loud voice, her great eyes shininglike stars: "Welcome! Welcome! a thousand times welcome! I need you now, can you teach me how to die? Will you come and put your hands on my headand bring down God's blessing upon me? Surely you can help me. "

Hindîyea was told just in time the Way, the Truth, and the Life, andwent home to God. Christ came for others just like her in the greatMoslem world. Who will go to teach them how to die and how to live?

There is a general belief among Christians that Moslems worship the OneTrue God--the Almighty God; but this is a mistake, they do not worshipHim at all! They worship the God who has Mohammed for his prophet and_who is he_? Certainly not the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The call that goes up from thousands of minarets all over the Moslemworld six times a day--"There is no God but God, and Mohammed is hisprophet, "--is in direct conflict with the Word of Truth, that we haveaccess to our God through His Son, Jesus Christ, for they deny theSon, --"and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and hethat hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John v. 11, 12). 

"Who is the liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. This isthe Anti-Christ, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieththe Son the same hath not the Father: he that confesseth the Son haththe Father also" (1 John ii. 22, 23). 

In direct contradiction to this teaching of the New Testament is ChapterCXII of the Koran, which, in Sale's translation, is as follows: "My Godis one God, the eternal God, He begetteth not, neither is He begotten, and there is not any one like unto Him. " Also in Chapter XIX: "It is notmeet for God that he should have any Son, God forbid!" Chapter CXII isheld in particular veneration by the Mohammedan world and declared bythe tradition of their prophet to be equal in value to a third part ofthe whole Koran. Wherever Islam prevails, or exists, Christ is denied tobe the Son of God. All Moslems deny also the death on the Cross and theresurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is a clarion call to-day for prayer, prayer for the Moslem World. When the Christians of evangelical lands begin to pray, the walls of thestrongholds of the enemy will fall, and the chains that have boundmillions of souls for one thousand three hundred years will be broken. 

Islam's only hope is to know God, "the Only True God, and Jesus Christwhom He has sent. "

XIII

ONCE MORE IN PALESTINE

The condition of all Moslem women must necessarily be more or less sad(for under the very best conditions it can never be secure), yet I thinkthat the lot of Moslem women in Palestine compares favorably with thatof their sisters in India. There is less absolute cruelty. There arefewer atrocious customs. The lot of widows is easier, and girls are notaltogether despised. 

Polygamy is lawful, yet this custom is certainly decreasing witheducation and civilization. The Turks have very seldom more than onewife. My experience of the officials who come from Turkey to hold officein Palestine, both civil and military, tells me that it is now thefashion among enlightened Moslems to follow European ways in the matterof marriage, and I observe that, when men are educated and havetravelled, they seldom care for a plurality of wives. 

However, among the Arabic-speaking inhabitants of Palestine men withmore than one wife, both rich and poor, may still be found. 

Among the uneducated rich men (and by the term uneducated, I mean thosewho have not completed their studies in Egypt or Europe) you will oftenfind one having two wives. Also among the landowners, or sheikhs ofvillages, who travel from place to place to overlook their property, youwill be told that they have a wife in each village living with asuitable retinue of servants. The Arabic word for the second wife means"the one that troubles me. " This word is used in 1 Samuel i. In thestory of Hannah, and is translated "adversary. " I know of an educatedgentleman, living in a large city, who added a young bride to hisfamily, but his first wife was treated with every consideration. Therich can afford to put their wives in different suites of apartmentswith different servants, and by this means quarrelling is prevented; butthe case is very different among the poor. 

Not long ago a sad case came under my own notice. A prosperouspharmacist was married to a very nice woman, and they were a happycouple with sons and daughters growing up around them. By degrees, thewife perceived a change in her husband's temper. If anything went wrong, he immediately threatened her, not with divorce, but to introduce asecond wife into their happy home. This threat he finally carried out, and the wife had the chagrin of welcoming the bride, and she was obligedto behave pleasantly over the business. These two women appear to livein harmony, there is no alternative, for over the first wife Damocles'sword hangs but by a hair. But you can imagine the bitterness in herheart, her anger against the husband, and her hatred of the bride. Youcan imagine also the loss of respect for their father which the sonswill feel. 

Among the poorer classes it is the usual thing to find a man with twowives. One of these is old. She acts as housekeeper, and is consultedand considered by the husband. The other is usually quite a young woman, who must obey the older wife and treat her as a mother-in-law. These twoare generally fairly happy, and, as a rule, live in peace. I have seen aman with three wives, all under the same roof. He acts impartially toall--but the quarrelling among themselves and among their children inhis absence is very sad. The effect of polygamy upon the home is mostdisastrous. What effect it may have on the domestic happiness of the manI cannot say, but one can make a guess and that not a very favorableone!

Divorce is easy, inexpensive, and very prevalent; and it is no uncommonthing to hear that a man has had ten or eleven wives and that a womanhas had eight or nine husbands. For an angry man to say the words, "Idivorce you, " and to repeat them three times, swearing an oath by theProphet, is enough to oblige the object of his wrath to leave his house;carrying with her a bed, a pillow, a coverlet, and a saucepan, togetherwith the clothes which she had from her own family at her marriage. Shereturns to her father's house, or to the nearest relation she has, should he be dead, until another marriage is arranged for her. 

Among the richer classes divorce seldom occurs; and, if the wife haschildren and devotes herself to the comfort of her husband, she may feelher position tolerably secure. Should she fall ill, however, it is rarethat a husband permits her to remain in his house, for he has notpromised to cherish her in sickness and in health. He will send her toher own family till he sees how the illness will turn; and, more thanprobably, she will be told in less than a month that she is divorced, and that her husband has married another. How often in our Palestinehospitals do we try to comfort and soothe the poor sick women in theirfeverish anxiety to get well, for fear of this dreaded Damocles' swordfalling on their unhappy heads!

Among the poorer classes divorce is extremely prevalent. If a woman hasno child, she is immediately divorced, and is returned to her ownfamily, who arrange for a second marriage, generally in about ten daysfrom the time she is divorced. Should she again have no child, her lotwill indeed be a sad one. She must then be content to be the wife ofsome blind or crippled man, who, perhaps, will also exact a sum of moneyfrom her relations for his charity in marrying her. If a woman bedivorced after she has had children, she must leave them with thehusband, to be probably harshly treated by her successor or successors. If the father dies, the children are supported by his brothers orrelations, while the widow marries again. It is seldom that a widow ispermitted to take a child, or children, to her new home. There is nodifficulty in providing for orphan girls; they are much sought after inmarriage, for the law excuses a young man from foreign military serviceif he can prove that his wife is an orphan. This means that he would notbe able to leave her alone during his absence. Such orphans aregenerally taken into the houses of their future husbands as little tinygirls of four or five years old, where they are trained by themother-in-law, and grow up as daughters. By this means the husband isexempt from paying any sum of money for his bride. 

We must not forget that the marriages of Moslems are wholly withoutaffection, and that the only way in which the husband can enforceobedience from his ignorant and listless wife is by the law of divorce. She will obey him and work for him simply from the fear of being turnedaway. When a woman has been divorced four or five times, she finds adifficulty in getting a husband; for the report spreads that it "takestwo to make a quarrel, " that her tongue is too sharp and her temper tooshort. I have been asked what becomes eventually of the woman who hasbeen frequently divorced. Finally she remains with the old or very poorman who has married her in her old age. Or, possibly, if she is a widowwith a grown-up son, he will support her until death relieves him ofwhat he feels to be only a burden. The insecurity of a Moslem wife'sposition quite precludes any improvement in herself, her householdarrangements, or in her children's training. She does not care to sew, or to take an interest in her husband's work. She does not economize, ortry to improve his position, for fear that, if he should find himselfwith a little spare money, he would immediately enlarge his borders bytaking another wife! Therefore, a Moslem woman's house is alwayspoor-looking and untidy. She keeps her husband's clothes the same, thathe may not be able to associate with wealthy men and envy theirpleasures. Here we see the wide gulf between Christianity and Islam. Thewife, whom God gave to be the "help, " and whose price is far aboverubies, has been debased by the prophet Mohammed, into the "chattel" tobe used, and when worn out, thrown away!

The Christian woman's home in Palestine is generally clean and tidy. Herinterests are identical with those of her husband. She is glad to workto help the man, that the position of both may be improved. 

I do not think the rich man ill-treats his wife. I have found himinvariably kind and indulgent. In Palestine the women have plenty ofliberty. It is a mistake to say that they are shut up. To begin with, they live in large houses with gardens and courtyards enclosed. They goout visiting one another, to the public baths, and to the cemeteryregularly once a week, where they meet and commune with the spirits ofdeparted friends. 

The girls go to school regularly. The richer Moslems have residentgovernesses for their daughters, and they are eager for education. Thereis no doubt that the customs are changing. Education is raising thewoman, and the man will naturally appreciate the change and will welcomecompanionship and culture. To educate both men and women is the best wayof checking the evil system of polygamy, and its daughter, divorce. Polygamy was promulgated by the Prophet as a bribe to the carnal man. Without that carnal weapon I doubt if Islam had numbered a thousandfollowers! It ministers to self-gratification in this world, andpromises manifold more of the same license in the world to come. It issmall wonder that when we speak of a clean heart and a right spiritwithout which we cannot enter the spiritual kingdom, our words areunintelligible. But that is our theme. Holiness, without which no mancan see the Lord! These poor women are so ignorant. They know that sinhas entered into the world, but they know not Him who has destroyed thepower of sin. They have never heard the words, "Fear not, I haveredeemed thee. " ... 

[Illustration: A VILLAGE SCHOOL IN SYRIA]

[Illustration: MOSLEM AND CHRISTIAN GIRLS READING TOGETHER]

The following are the words of another writer:

Never believe people who tell you Moslem women are happy and well-off. Ihave lived among them for nearly eighteen years and know something oftheir sad lives. 

A Moslem girl is unwelcome at her birth and oppressed throughout herlife. When a child is born in a family the first question asked is, "Isit a boy or girl?" If the answer is, "A boy, " congratulations followfrom friends and neighbors. But if the answer is, "A girl, " allcommiserate the mother in words such as, "God have mercy on thee. "

As the little one grows up she has to learn her place as inferior to herbrothers, and that she must always give in to them and see the best ofeverything given to them. 

I am glad to say that Christian missions have made it possible for herto go to school if she lives in a town. But at the age of ten she isprobably taken away from her mother, the only real friend she is likelyto have in the world, and sold by her male relations into another familywhere she becomes what is virtually a servant to her mother-in-law. Weknow that mothers-in-law even in England have not always a good name, but what may they be to a young girl completely under their power? Manyare the sad stories I have heard of constant quarrelling, followed onthe part of the little bride by attempts to run away to her old home, and the advent of her relations on the scene of strife, to patch up areconciliation and induce the girl to submit to her fate. 

Perhaps you say, "Why does her husband not protect his wife fromunkindness, does he not care for her?" There you strike upon the root ofa Moslem woman's unhappiness. The boy husband has no choice in hisbride, has probably never set eyes on her until the marriage day. Heseems to care little about her beyond making use of her. She is to behis attendant to serve him and provide him with sons. As to the first, Ihave watched one of these girls in a merchant's house in Jerusalemstanding in attendance on her young husband's toilet, handing himwhatever he wanted, and folding up his thrown-off clothes. But I lookedin vain for the least sign of kindly recognition of her attentions fromhim in look or word or deed. The Moslem thinks it beneath his dignity tospeak to his wife except to give orders, and does not answer herquestions. It is not customary for them to sit down to meals together, and as for going for a walk together it would be scandalous! One mustnot even ask a man after his wife in public and she may not go out tovisit friends without his permission, and then veiled so thickly as tobe unrecognizable. The higher her social rank the greater the seclusionfor a Moslem woman. 

Then, as to her motherhood. The young wife's thoughts are continuallydirected to the importance of pleasing her husband and avoiding thecorporal punishment which accompanies his anger. If she does not bearhim a son she is in danger of divorce or of the arrival of a co-wifebrought to the house. It is strange that the latter trial seems to befaced preferably to the former, which is a great disgrace. 

A Moslem wife has no title until she has a son, and then she is calledthe "mother of so-and-so, " instead of being called by the name of herhusband. But she soon regrets the day he was born, for he defies herauthority and repulses her embraces. I have seen a boy of four years oldgo into the street to bring a big stone to throw at his mother withcurses! The mothers soon age. Their chief pleasures are smoking andgossip. 

Their religion is very scanty. Some know the Moslem form of worship withits prostrations and genuflexions. Most of them know the names of thechief prophets, including that of Jesus Christ, and believe thatMohammed's intercession will rescue them from hell. I once asked a richMoslem lady what was woman's portion in paradise, but she did not know. 

Does this little description stir your pity? Are we to leave these, oursisters, alone to their fate? To suffer not only in this life but alsoin the life to come? If you saw their daily life, and knew the peace ofGod yourself, I think you would want to do something to cheer them, bytelling them Christ loves them too, and that there is a great futurebefore them in Him and His Gospel. 

XIV

MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN SYRIA

Syria is one of the countries bound down by the heavy chain whichMohammedanism binds on the East. The weight of this chain presses mostheavily on that which is weakest and least capable of resistance, andthat means the hearts of the women who are born into this bondage. 

There are probably from 1, 200, 000 to 1, 500, 000 Mohammedans in Syria, andthis estimate also includes the sects of the Nusairiyeh (the mountainpeople in North Syria), the Metawileh, and the Druzes, who, thoughdiffering in many ways from the true Mohammedans, are yet classed withthem politically. When the word "Christian" is used in this chapter itshould be understood as distinguishing a person or a sect which isneither Jew, Druse, or Mohammedan, and does not necessarily imply, aswith us, a true spiritual disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Our purpose is to show the condition of the Mohammedan and Druze womenin Syria to-day as far as it has been possible to ascertain the factswhich have been gleaned from those most qualified to give them. From acasual survey one may very likely come to the conclusion thatconditions in Syria are better and the lives of the women brighter thantheir co-religionists in other Mohammedan lands. There are happy homes(or so they seem at first sight) where there is immaculate cleanliness, where the mother looks well after the ways of her household and herchildren, is ready to receive her husband and kiss his hand when hereturns from his work, where there is but one wife, and a contented andindulgent husband and father. When you come to look more closely youwill find in almost every case that more or less light has come intothese homes from Christian teaching or example. There are many instanceson record of Mohammedan men testifying that the girls trained inChristian schools make the best wives. More than once have they come tothank and bless the Protestant teachers who have taught to their pupilssuch lessons of neatness, gentleness, obedience, and self-control. Thereare many Mohammedan men who are worthy to have refined, educated wives, and can appreciate the blessing of the homes such are capable of making. On the other hand, however, there is a very large proportion who need tobe educated themselves in order to know how to treat such women and whohave the deserved reputation of being brutal, sensual, unspeakably vilein language and behavior. Many of these belong to the better class inthe large inland cities. The women who are at the mercy of the capricesand passions of such men are very greatly to be pitied. 

In the towns along the coast, where there is more enlightenment; thewomen have more freedom and seem outwardly happier than those who aremore strictly secluded in the towns where Mohammedanism is thepredominant influence. Freedom, however, is used as a comparative term, for the following was told to me to show what privileges are accordedunder that name to the upper-class women in one of the smaller coastcities. They are allowed to go often, every day if they like, and sit bythe graves in the Mohammedan cemetery. When you consider the fact thatthey are shrouded in their long "covers" or cloaks, with faces veiled, and that the cemetery is not a cheerful place, to say the least, andthat it is the only place where they are allowed to go, this so-called"freedom" does not seem to be so very wonderful, after all. However, itis far better than being shut indoors all the time. 

[Illustration: A FAMILY GROUP AT JERICHO]

Any one living among these people becomes gradually accustomed to theaccepted state of things, especially when one has learned that outsideinterference only makes matters worse, and it is only now and then whensome especially sad or heart-rending thing comes to your knowledge thatyou realize how truly dreadful the whole system is. The other day I wastalking about this with a friend whose knowledge of Mohammedan women hadbeen confined to a few families who on the outside would compare veryfavorably with Christian families she knew, as regards comfort, cleanliness, and contentment. I agreed with her that there were many ofthe nominal Christian families where there certainly was greatunhappiness. But one must not, in comparing the two, lose sight of thebitterest, darkest side. No Christian woman has to contend with the factthat if her husband wearies of her, or some carelessness displeases him, he is perfectly at liberty to cast her off as he would toss aside an oldshoe. In fact he would use the same expression in speaking of his shoe, of a dog, some loathsome object, the birth of a daughter or of hiswife, --an expression of apology for referring to such contaminatingsubjects. Nor does a Christian woman fear that as the years pass and herbeauty fades, or her husband prospers, that one day he will causepreparations to be made and bring a new wife home. The Mohammedans havea proverb that a man's heart is as hard as a blow from the elbow, andthat his love lasts not more than two months. 

A Mohammedan friend was telling me of a woman she knew and was fond of. "She was a good wife and mother, " she said, "and she was very happy withher two children, a boy and a girl; her husband seemed to love her, forshe is not old, and it was a great surprise to her when he told her oneday that he was going to marry another wife, for she had forgotten thatit might be. He said he would take a separate room for the new wife. Shesaid nothing--what could she say? But he deceived her, for he only tookthe room for the new wife for one week, and then he brought her to livewith the first wife. And now she weeps all the time, and oh! how unhappythey all are! I tell her not to weep, for her husband will weary of herand divorce her. " A shadow crossed the face of my friend as she spoke, and I could see she was thinking of her own case, and fearing the fearof all Mohammedan women. "Why did that man take another wife when he washappy and had children?" I asked, for I knew that where there are nochildren a man feels justified in divorcing his wife, or taking asecond, third, or fourth. "He wanted more children. Two were notenough. "

Can there be any real happiness for a Mohammedan woman? She gets littlecomfort from her religion, although if she is a perfectly obedient wife, attends faithfully to her religious duties, and does not weep if herchild dies, she has a hope that she may be one of seventy houris whowill have the privilege of attending upon her lord and master in hissensual paradise. The idea of these two horrors, divorce and other wivesto share her home, is constantly before her. 

A Protestant woman recently told me that she had let some of her roomsto a Mohammedan family from Hums. The man was intelligent and the wifewas an attractive young woman with a little girl. The man told her inthe presence of his wife that when he went back to Hums he thought heshould take another wife. "Why do you do that when you are so happy asyou are? Think of your wife--how unhappy it would make her to have youbring in another!" The man laughed and told her that she made a greatmistake in thinking that Mohammedan women were like Christian women, that they did not mind having another woman in the house, they wereaccustomed to it and brought up to expect it. "But I hope that what Isaid will make him think and perhaps he will decide not to take anotherwife, for I showed him plainly the evil of it. "

The women may be brought up to expect it, --they may have been themembers of a polygamous family themselves, --but the human heart is thesame the world over, and the sanctity of the home with one wife is neverinvaded without poignant suffering. A wealthy Mohammedan will establisheach of his wives in a separate house, those not able to afford thisluxury have their harem in one house. It does not require a very vividimagination to be able to picture the inevitable result: jealousies, heartburnings, contentions, wranglings, and worse. 

A Bible woman told me of dreadful scenes where the women fight like catsand dogs, and the husband takes the part of the wife he loves the bestand beats the others. One feels that the man often bears his ownpunishment for this state of things by being obliged to live amid suchscenes. 

In a city of Northern Syria where the Mohammedans are the most powerfulclass and their haughtiness and contempt of women so great that theywill elbow a foreign woman into the gutter, not necessarily because sheis a Christian, but because she is a woman, a Syrian woman whisperedduring a walk: "Look at that man over there, I'll tell you about himlater. " And afterwards she explained that the man was a neighbor and hehad just taken his fourth wife, and she was only ten years old. He wasan elderly man with gray hair. 

One well-known and wealthy Mohammedan had splendid establishments infour different places and he is said to have had thirty sons. Anotherbrought home an English wife, with whom he had lived ten years inEngland, and established her in an apartment just above the one in whichone of several wives was living. Could English girls realize the miseryin store for them in marrying Mohammedan husbands, they would bethankful for any warning. Even if the husband himself is kind, there aremany painful things to undergo from his women relatives. And worse thanall is the denying of Christ before men in the acceptance of Islam. Oneof these English women living in Syria as the wife of a Mohammedan, hadher daughter married to an own cousin at the age of thirteen, anotherwas obliged to give her ten-year-old daughter in marriage. I asked thislast woman how she could do such a thing. "It is her father's will and Icould do nothing. " But she ran away the next day, so the man divorcedher. This same daughter has been married and divorced twice since then, and is now living at home, and is at the head of a Mohammedan school forgirls. Two other sisters have been divorced, and are at home, one withher child. 

In Beirut, among the better classes girls are not married as young asthey used to be, though occasionally you hear of instances, as in thecase of a woman who had eight daughters and married two of them, twins, at the age of eight. She gained nothing by this cruel act as they weresoon divorced and sent home. One reason for child-marriages amongMohammedans in Syria is the conscription which demands for the armyevery young man of eighteen. The one who cannot afford to escapeconscription by paid substitutes or money may be exempt if he has a wifedependent upon him. When he is sixteen or seventeen his family send offto some distant town for a young girl who is a destitute orphan, andthis child is married to the youth, --she may be ten years old, or nine, or even eight, and cases are known where a girl of seven has beenmarried to a boy of sixteen. 

One can hardly wonder that many of these girls are divorced, for theyare simply untrained, naughty children, unable to grasp what the dutiesof a wife are, or that it is necessary to please their husbands orconciliate their mothers-in-law. Mohammedan women say that the happinessof a child-wife and her status in the family depend almost entirely uponher mother-in-law. It is a sad fact that these little brides--childrenin years--are very often old in knowledge of evil. Most Mohammedanchildren are brought up in an atmosphere of such talk that their naturesseem steeped in vulgarity from their cradles and no mystery of life ordeath is hidden from them. 

It makes one's heart sick to think of these children, so sinned againstand so cruelly treated for being the products of this system. Sadstories are told of those who are put out to service, especially whenthey go to Turkish families. It is not very common, fortunately, forthere is always the fear that the men in the family, regarding them aslawful prey, will ill-treat them. Girls disgraced in this way have aterrible fate. 

A friend came to us one day, weeping because of a dreadful thing whichhad just come to her knowledge, too late, alas! for any help to begiven. The daughter of a neighbor, a poor man, had been sent out toservice, and the worst befell her. She was sent home in disgrace, --herfather was obliged to receive her, but he would not recognize her orhave anything to do with her till one day he ordered her to go out intothe garden and dig in a spot he indicated. Each day he came to see whatshe had accomplished, till at last there was a hole deep enough for herto stand in, her full height. Her father then called his brothers, theybrought lime, poured it over her, and then buried the child alive in thehole she herself had dug. She was only twelve years old! The neighborsfound it out and informed the government. The parents and all concernedwere imprisoned, and the father is still in prison, though the motherhas been released. 

The feeling is strong that such a disgrace can only be wiped out bydeath, and this is especially the case when there has been misconductbetween a Mohammedan man and a Christian woman. In a Syrian city aChristian girl of aristocratic family was betrothed and was soon to bemarried when suddenly the engagement was broken. It could no longer behidden that she had been guilty of wrong relations with some man, andthe man proved to have been a Mohammedan. This disgrace was intolerableto the families involved, and before long a man connected with thefamily came to the girl with a glass of liquid, and said: "Here, drinkthis!" She took it, drank, and died. Comments on it showed that thesentiment of the community is in sympathy with such a course. "What elsecould be done?" they say. 

Probably a Mohammedan would not see the inconsistency of condemning todeath the child-victim of a man's lust, as in the first instance given, while practically the same thing is legalized in allowing the marriageof children with the probability of a divorce in the near future. Howcan they hope for the growth of purity among their women, or wonder whenimmorality and unchastity are discovered!

Frequent reference has been made to divorce. It is the weapon always athand when a man is dissatisfied. His law allows him to divorce his wifetwice and take her back, but if he divorce her the third time, he maynot take her back until she has been married to another man and divorcedby him. The ceremony is a simple one; repeating a formula three times inthe presence of a witness not a member of the household, and telling thewife to go to her father. 

A divorced wife must go back to her father's house, or to her brother ifher father is not living, or to her nearest relative. If she isfriendless then she has the right to go before the Mejlis or Court, andstate her case. She is asked if she wishes to marry again, and if so, the Court must find a husband for her. If not, then the husband is madeto support her. If she returns to live with her friends, the husband hasto give her one penny halfpenny a day. If there are children under seventhey go with the mother. If they are older, they are allowed to choosebetween mother and father. They are supported by the father. 

The Mohammedans have a saying that when a woman marries she is neversure that she will not be returned, scorned and insulted, to herfather's house the next day; nor, when she prepares a meal for herhusband, is she sure that she will be his wife long enough to eat of itherself. 

In conversation with a Mohammedan woman one day we were commenting onthe fact that a certain wealthy bridegroom had given directions to theprofessional who was to adorn his bride for her marriage, not todisfigure her face with the thick shining paste which is usuallyconsidered (though very mistakenly) to enhance her charms. He wasreported to have said that he wished to see her face as God had made it. I remarked that I thought it was very sensible and that I did not seewhat was ever gained by disfiguring a face by plastering it with paintand powders. The woman said: "But you do not understand! We do it sothat we may be beautiful in our husband's eyes, for if we are pale orwrinkled they cease to love us and go to other women or else theydivorce us. " It is very far from being "for better, for worse, --insickness, in health. "

It is impossible to gather statistics as to the proportionate number ofdivorces. All the women say, "It is very common. " The condition of adivorced woman returned to her father's house is not an enviable one. Insome cases they are kept on like servants, living in some out-house orstable, or in some inferior room if the house is a grand one. It hasbeen suggested by a writer, that the sight of the misery of thesepositionless women has a strong influence upon the young men of thefamily, making them determine that they will never have more than onewife. Let us hope that this is true. From what is told me I have learnedthat it is not usually the young men who have more than one wife, butthe older ones. I must not omit to say that in the smaller Mohammedansettlements where there is much intermarrying in families, there isalmost no divorce, for even if a man wishes it, he must be verycourageous to brave the united wrath of the whole circle of femalerelatives or of his enraged uncle or cousin, who resents bitterly havinghis daughter sent back to her home. 

Among the poorer people, too, those who have come most closely under myobservation, divorce is rare and no man has more than one wife. But theyare steeped in superstition and many are so bigoted they will notreceive the visits of the Bible woman nor allow their children to attendschools. Frequently, in paying visits, we will find a blind Mohammedansheikh instructing the women in the Koran, and some of them have veryglib objections to offer to the New Testament stories and truths we readto them. They will often ask to be read to, but the Old Testament is thefavorite book. 

Among the Druzes, divorce is even more common than it is among the trueMohammedans, and the state of morals is very low. The Druzes are aninteresting, even fascinating people. They live on the Lebanons andinland on the Druze mountains of the Hauran, and are a warlikeindependent race, of fine physique, and most polished, courteousmanners. Some of their women are very beautiful and their peculiarcostumes are most becoming and picturesque. They are always veiled, butone eye is uncovered, and it is second nature with them to draw theirveils hastily across their faces if a man appears in sight. As was saidbefore, they are classed with the Mohammedans although they have theirown prophet, Hakim, and they take pride in having their own secretreligion, which is little more than a brotherhood for politicalpurposes. It is extremely difficult to make any real impression on them. 

At a recent wedding in Druze high life in a Lebanon village almost everywoman present had been divorced, and one woman was exactly like theSamaritan woman who came to the well to draw water: she had had fivehusbands, and the one she had now was not her husband. The hostessherself, the bridegroom's mother, a woman of fine presence, had beendivorced, but was brought back to preside over this important function, as there was no one else to do it, but her former husband was notpresent, as Druze law forbids a man ever looking again on the face ofhis divorced wife. Their women are cast off in a most heartless way, butthey cannot be taken back again. The ceremony of marriage consists infastening up over a door a sword wreathed with flowers and with candlestied on it, and then passing under it. 

The form of divorce is very simple. It is illustrated in the life of aDruze prince who married a girl of high family, beautiful and of astrong character and fine mind. They were devoted to each other, but shehad no children. She had suspicions of what was in store for her, whichwere realized one day when she had been on a visit to her nativevillage with her husband. They were riding together towards home, whenthey came to a fork in the road. 

The prince turned and said: "Here is the parting of the way. " Sheunderstood, and turned, weeping, back to her father's house. The princeafterwards sent and bought a beautiful Circassian slave, and marriedher, but she had no children, and so she in turn was divorced. Theprince had, contrary to custom, been in the habit of paying visits tothe house of his first wife who had been married to another man, and nowhe obliged her second husband to divorce her. He turned Mohammedan inorder to be able to take his wife back again. 

Among the Druzes, the ladies of good family are secluded even morerigorously than in Mohammedan families. Even in the villages they rarelyleave their homes, going out only at night to pay visits to women ofequal station. Some of them have never been outside of their own doorssince they were little girls. One girl, the daughter of an Emir, wassent away to spend a year in a Protestant boarding-school. There she wasallowed to go for walks with the girls, attended the church services, and had a glimpse into a life very different from the dull seclusionwhich would naturally be her lot among her own people. But she failed totake home the lessons taught her that Christ was her Saviour and Friend, and would be her help and comfort in whatever was hard to bear. Shereturned to her home and soon learned that, although she had beenallowed these unusual privileges, she need expect no more liberty thanher mother had been allowed before her. She found the shut-in life sointolerable that she secretly ate the heads of matches and poisonedherself so that she sickened and died, having confessed her act andtelling the reason. 

There are others among these girls who have been taught in evangelicalschools, who have learned to love Christ, whose faith is strong andwhose trust sustains them and keeps them patient and cheerful amid verygreat trials and even cruel treatment from their husbands, "Strengthenedin their endurance by the vision of the Invisible God. "

To go back to Mohammedan women. It is surprising how exceedinglyignorant many of them are, even the women of the higher classes fromwhom you might expect better things. A visitor inquired of herMohammedan hostess if she would tell her the name of the currentMohammedan month. "I do not concern myself with such things, you mustask the Effendi. " Their minds seem to be blank except in regard to theirrelations to their families, to sleeping, eating, and diseases, to theirclothes, and their servants, and the current gossip of the neighborhood. Formerly it was not believed that girls were capable of learninganything, and years ago an Effendi in Tripoli, when urged to have hisdaughter taught to read, exclaimed, "Teach a girl to read! I should assoon try to teach a cat!" But those days are passing and theMohammedans are beginning to bestir themselves in the matter ofeducating their girls. They are opening schools for girls in all thecities, though judging from the attainments of some of the teachers, thegirls are not taught very much. When these schools were first opened inBeirut, the only available teachers were girls who had been inattendance on the Protestant schools, and some of them had only beenthere a few months. 

In Sidon there is a large Mohammedan school for girls, where aregathered from five to six hundred girls. The Koran is the text-book, reading and writing are taught and needle-work has a large place in thecurriculum. 

Years ago an old Effendi was attending the examination in Miss Taylor'sschool for Mohammedan and Druze girls. "My two granddaughters are here, "he said to a missionary sitting beside him. "I was instrumental instarting a school of our own for girls, and I took my granddaughtersaway from here and put them in the new school. One day I went to visitthe school. When I was still at a distance I heard the teacher screamingat the girls and cursing them, saying, 'May God curse the beard of yourgrandfathers, you dogs!' Now, I was the grandfather of two of thosechildren and I knew they heard enough of such language at home withoutbeing taught it at school, so I brought them back to this good place. "

The aim of the Mohammedans in their schools is twofold: being both tobenefit and train the girls, making them more companionable, and also tofortify them against Christian teaching. The aim of our work and ourteaching is more than that, for we desire, not only to enlarge themental horizon but to cultivate the heart, to open up for them thewellspring of true joy and store their memories with hymns of praise andthe inspiring and comforting words of Christ. But more than all to leadthem to accept for themselves their only Saviour, the Son of God, whodied for them, who only is the true "Prophet of the Highest, " whosemission is "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadowof death. " We claim for these dear women and girls the liberty whichtheir own sacred Koran inculcates: "Let there be no compulsion inreligion. " (From the Sura called "The Cow, " v. 257. )

And will the favored Christian women of England, America, and Germany, and all free Christian lands not join those already on the field eitherin prayer or personal service, that they may have a part in bringingmany of these Mohammedan women, sweet and lovable, and capable of risingto high levels as many of them are, out of their "darkness into HisMarvellous Light"?

XV

BEHIND THE LATTICE IN TURKEY

If the condition of women under Islam is degraded and wellnigh hopelessin other parts of the world, what must be the condition of such women inTurkey, the seat of Moslem power, the centre of the Caliphate, with thegreen flag of the Prophet kept at Seraglio Point, in Constantinople?

The picture of woman's degradation throughout the Empire is blackenough, yet gleams of light play over the blackness, and these gleamsgrow steadily stronger and more frequent. Turkey not only borders uponEurope, and thus is nearer to Western civilization and its progress, butits extended coast-line affords many ports of entry, to which comes noinconsiderable part of the travel and trade of the world. KaiserWilliam's railroads are opening up the western portion of the empire, and cause a curious jumble of modern advance with so-called fixedOriental ways. 

With their parasols held low over their heads, even though the day becloudy, or the sun be set, the veiled and costumed Turkish women may beseen in crowds on Friday, their Sabbath, and holidays, sitting upongrassy slopes, with their children playing about them. They go ingroups or followed by a servant, if from richer families, as they arenot trusted to go alone. In the interior, even, non-Moslem women areveiled almost as closely as the Mohammedans, when upon the street. Suchis the power of prejudice that it is not thought proper for any woman tobe seen in public. 

They live behind their lattices, and woe to any Christian house whosewindows command a view into a Moslem neighbor's premises, no matter howdistant. Such juxtaposition is the reason for the unsightly walls andlofty screens which disfigure many an otherwise beautiful view, in anypart of Turkey. No strange man may look upon any Moslem woman. 

The slow but sure disintegration of these customs, prejudices, andsuperstitions, is going on, thank God! Darkness is fleeing before thelight. If the churches of Christ will but take the watchword, "TheMoslem world for Christ, in this century!" and put all needed resourcesof men and means, consecrated energy and prayer, into the campaign, eventhe False Prophet shall be vanquished before Him who is King of kingsand Lord of lords!

I have travelled on the railroad in Turkey with Moslem women, in thespecial compartment, where in the freedom of the day's travel, they havethrown back their veils and silken wraps, showing their pretty Frenchcostumes and the diamonds upon their fingers, as they offered theirFrank fellow-traveller cake, or possibly chocolates, and have more thanonce felt the embarrassment of a missionary purse too slender to allowof such luxuries, with which to return the compliment. Once a Moslemwoman took from her travelling hand-basket paper and pencil, andproceeded to write, as I was doing! Page after page she wrote, though injust the reverse manner from our writing, and we soon established afeeling of comradeship. 

I have been also a deeply sympathetic witness of moving scenes in whichthe proverbial love of the Turkish father for his children could not beconcealed. As the train awaited the signal for departure from a station, one day, the evident distress of a pretty girl opposite me, broke intocrying. She had climbed into the corner by the window, and the guard hadnot yet closed the door. Involuntarily my eyes followed the child'sgrieved gaze, until they rested upon a tall, gray-bearded Turkishofficer standing by the station, who was evidently striving to controlhis emotion answering to the grief of the child. Finally he yielded tothe heart-broken crying of the little one, and came to the car door tospeak soothingly to her. The young mother sat stoically through it all, seemingly content with her rich dress and jewels, and her comfortableappointments for travelling. Not so with the father and his child, whowere so grieved over their coming separation. When finally the door hadbeen slammed by the guard, and locked, and our journey begun, some timeelapsed before the still grieving child could be won to take anyinterest in the good things with which her mother then sought to beguileher. Surely such a human father, so tender toward his little child, could be taught the love of our Heavenly Father for each child of His, which has provided a Saviour for every repenting soul returning to Him!Thus the lion would be changed into the lamb, and the Turkish officer, often unspeakably cruel to his enemies, would become a man and a brothereven to his foes. 

Moslem women, although by the rules of their religion almost entirelysecluded from the outer world, and from all men save those of their ownfamilies, are, nevertheless, being powerfully affected by the growinglight of civilization, which has not only revealed their darkness, buthas penetrated it to some degree, while the burning glow and love ofChristianity, through zenana workers and schools, has far more thanbegun the work of transformation. 

How can mothers consent that their daughters shall be sold, while yetchildren, to any man, no matter how old, who will pay the price herfather demands for her, when she has learned even a little of the lovinghonor given to his wife and daughter by the Christian husband andfather? How can she consent to see her given in a marriage to which herapproval has not even been asked, or possibly where it has been refused?Yet, pity it is that without the consent of mother or girl, she may beconveyed, a bride, to the house of her lord, who has perhaps not deignedto be present, --and she of course not, --at the arrangement by theirlegal representatives, for signing the contract, and fixing the amountof dowry which she brings, or the sum which he shall give her in case heat any time shall decree her divorce. This is all that constitutes themarriage ceremony in Turkey. I once saw the arrival of a Turkish brideat her bridegroom's house. There was no welcome. She alighted with awoman friend from the closed carriage. Some one must have waited withinthe garden, for the heavy street-gate opened at their approach, receivedthe women, closed upon them, and the bride was shut into her husband'shouse, from all the world. If she displeases him in any way, even if hercooking does not suit him, a word from her husband suffices to divorce awife, according to Moslem law. He may have as many wives as he wishes, and another is easily found. 

Mohammedan husbands are allowed to punish their wives with blows, toenforce obedience. A whole town pervaded by these Turkish ideas wasfilled with amazement at a burly non-Moslem friend of mine, whose wifehad become a Christian. Although jeered at and ridiculed by hiscompanions as one who could not make his wife obey him, he never liftedhis hand against her, for he loved her too well. He did, however, causeher great unhappiness for years, until the Spirit of God broke his hardheart, and made him also a Christian. 

No Turk expects a woman to speak to him in a public place, or if shedoes he will not raise his eyes from the ground. A friend of mine was indeepest distress in a lonely place in Turkey, wringing her hands andcrying "Alas! Alas!" as she saw a man approaching her; but Agha Effendimgave her no heed until she walked straight up to him, so sore was herneed, and told him her trouble. Then his heart was touched, andMohammedan Albanian as he was, he rendered her the aid which she asked. 

Forty Mohammedan women, living too distant from Mecca to allow apilgrimage thither, made the ascent, one summer, of one of the loftiestmountain peaks in European Turkey. They did this as a religious duty. Itwas a feat which required all the vigor and strength of an Americanmountain-climber, who ascended the same peak some days later. She couldnot abandon the task, however, which they had accomplished, whose feetknew only the heelless slipper or the wooden clog, when about theirhousehold duties, or stepped noiselessly in their gaily embroideredhomemade stockings, when indoors. _The Turkish woman can climb. _ She canreach lofty heights. Slowly and painfully she will leave her denseignorance, her habits of superstition, her jealousies, and her intriguesbehind her and will emerge, led by the loving hand of her Christiansister, sometimes of her husband or child, into the glorious liberty ofthe children of God. 

We admit that ofttimes the obstacles seem insuperable, when we meet thebarrier of the unawakened life. What opportunity is there before thelittle mother but fourteen years old herself? How shall she escape thename which her own family perhaps give her--"a cow"? "Cattle" is acommon term for women. Her men-folks will very likely hinder hereducation, in many instances, but she must be led out of her old life, along this way. The mothers of coming generations, with unlimitedinfluence over their husband's inclination and conduct even when settoward progress--the Turkish woman _must_ be reached! Christianity isthe one means to allay her superstitions, her jealousies, her fears, andto give her a true outlook upon life and its meaning. The women ofChristendom must help her who cannot help herself. The pitifulness ofthe condition of Turkish women, and the difficulty of reaching them, form the challenge of Islam to the Christian world. Shall we take up thegauntlet thrown down by the Crescent and the Star, and lifting high thebanner of the Cross, go forward in Christ's name, because God willstheir salvation as truly as ours, and sends us to them in His name?

The influence of civilization is necessarily felt far less in theinterior of Turkey than in the maritime sections; yet here also, thanksto the multiplication of schools and teachers and loving Christianwomen trained in those schools, conditions are beginning to be changed. "In one city of western Turkey, " we are told, "the Turks themselvesasked for a kindergarten teacher from our American mission school, toopen a kindergarten for them, and it was done. Girls' schools havesprung up among the Moslems in various parts of the country, from thesame influences which affected Greeks and Armenians, though more slowly. Quite recently there has been an awakening among the Turks to the factthat if they would keep pace with the march of civilization they mustprovide for the education of their girls. So now, in some of the largecities, schools for Turkish girls have been established, and, althoughthe attendance is still small and the work elementary, yet it shows thetrend of opinion, and gives great hope of soon bettering the conditionof women in the empire. "

Another observer writes concerning more progressive portions of Turkey:"The power of education is proving a sure disintegrator to the seclusionof Moslem social life. Turkish women have already taken enviable placesamong the writers of their nation. Others are musicians, physicians, nurses, and a constantly increasing number are availing themselves ofthe educational facilities afforded by the German, French, and otherforeign institutions which have been established at Constantinople, Smyrna, and elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire. In the beautiful AmericanCollege for Girls, on the heights of Scutari, Constantinople, Turkishgirls, as well as those of all nationalities of the Orient and Franks, eagerly take advantage of the course, and a few have graduated withhonor. A far larger number, however, are removed to the seclusion oftheir homes as they approach maidenhood. On the day when the first sixgirls from Moslem families were received, more than one of them learnedthe entire English alphabet. What a need for prayer that the Spirit ofGod shall reach those receptive young hearts from the very first day, inthis and every other Christian educational institution to which Moslemgirls turn their steps!" The most tactful and consecrated work of theirmissionary or native teachers must be done every day, for such Turkishgirls, whether in more elementary schools or in colleges, inasmuch asthe proverb of the country: "Either marry your daughter at sixteen orbury her!" is still very much in force beyond those limited districtswhere the influence of Western ideas has availed to modify somewhat theold thought. What they gain during the short time when they may remainin school, must be the food of their lives, in multitudes of instances. 

We know the paucity of literature of all kinds in Turkey, wheregovernment press regulations prohibit any general output ofpublications; this, combined with the very general poverty of thepeople, makes many a home bookless, and the great majority of livesbarren. Sometimes in missionary tours we have seen far up on thehillside a group of poor peasants descending. The sudden turning of thewomen of that party, drawing their filthy veils closer across theirfaces on hot July or August days, reveals to the passers-by that theseare Moslems. They have discovered that there are men in the approachingparty of travellers. They may have mistaken the ladies wearing hats asgentlemen also. A command has evidently been given by their lord andmaster, at which the women have sunk to the ground, with their backs tothe road, while still far from it, lest one of those infidel eyes shouldpeer through their veils, and look upon their faces. Yet women'scuriosity compels those hidden eyes to seek at least a surreptitiouspeep at the foreign travellers, and they watch us furtively. Under suchcircumstances there can be no hope of any personal touch, save ifoccasion might arise which would allow a call at the hovel whichconstitutes their home. On one of my last journeys in Turkey I chancedto meet a Turkish soldier on a lonely mountain road. As I passed him, walking in advance of my horse and driver, filled with no smalltrepidation at such proximity in that lonely place, he gave me nosalutation, and I confess to a feeling of relief when I had passed himunchallenged. But how that feeling changed to remorse when my driverovertook me, and said that the soldier had stopped him to inquire if theteacher who had just gone by were a doctor, for a little child of hislay at home grievously ill. What an opportunity had been missed! If heonly had spoken, the pitiful need in that home would have been opened upto the missionary teacher, who, although not a doctor, would have donewhat she could to relieve the little sufferer, and to comfort thesorrowing parents. There would have been a chance to bring to that poor, ignorant mother in her miserable home, a token of love and tendernessout of the great world of which she knew nothing. 

One of the most discouraging aspects of life in Turkey at the presenttime, is found in the fact that as men travel about in their business orprofessional life; come into contact in various ways with those ofdifferent views and more advanced thought than themselves; becomeinfluenced by them; and mildly enthusiastic to put the new ideas intopractice; they are met on the very threshold of their homes by theiruncomprehending and immovable wives, who with horror refuse to allow thesouls of their families to be imperilled by tolerating any suchheresies. This difficulty, instead of being cause for discouragement, constitutes a powerful challenge to the heart of Christianity, to helpsuch an awakening man, and to find the dormant soul of this woman. Noopposition can long stand before the appeal of the Gospel, whentactfully, lovingly, prayerfully brought to bear upon such souls. 

Fatima Khanum ("my Sovereign Fatima"), a Bible woman, seventy years old, finds the joy of the Lord to be still her strength, as she goes fromhouse to house, telling in her musical Turkish tongue the story of God'slove for every man, and urges all to receive it. Very closely they gettogether on a wintry day, as visitor and visited gather about thebrazier of coals, and talk over the wonderful words of life. May Godgreatly multiply the number of such faithful witnesses for Him, throughout the Turkish Empire!

"Evet, Effendim!" ("yes, my lord!") frequently says a missionary friendwho, having learned the Turkish as her missionary language when a youngteacher, still cherishes her love for it, and sometimes uses it to herbest-beloved. Shall we not say, Yes, Lord! to Him who died on Calvaryfor all, and who is "not willing that any should perish, " and with Himseek those "other sheep, " and bring them to the fold of the GoodShepherd? There can be no failure here, although the church of Christhas but slowly and late come to the realization that the Mohammedanworld too, with its millions of women and children, must be His. Hathnot God said: "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:for I am God, and there is none else.... Unto Me every knee shall bow"?

XVI

A VOICE FROM BULGARIA

I received some days ago your letter asking for something upon thecondition of Mohammedan women in Bulgaria. My observation has beenlimited, and I have not had opportunity to learn from others what theyhad seen, except from our dear old Fatima Hanum, for so many years aBible woman among Mohammedan women. 

Bulgaria cannot be called Turkey. Indeed it is much freer from Turkishinfluence than Egypt is. There is a free intercourse also betweenTurkish, Bulgarian, and Armenian women, which must influence the homelife and the views of the Mohammedan families. Most of them would beashamed to take more than one woman, and the Turkish women arecontinually comparing their situation and life with that of theirChristian neighbors. They are sad not to be able to read and write, andthey try to give their daughters a better education. But as they seethat their (orthodox) Bulgarian neighbors care more for instruction thanfor religion and real education, they, of course, cannot understand tillnow, that religion is the root of culture. 

Polygamy is by no means prevalent among the Mohammedans of Bulgaria, indeed it is very rare that a man has more than one wife, but these fewexceptions are productive of great misery. Divorce for very trivialreasons is not uncommon, but there has recently occurred under my eye acase of happy reconciliation and restoration through the influence ofChristian friends. 

The Mohammedan woman of Bulgaria shares to a degree the freedom of herBulgarian sisters, is a power in the home, and, especially if the motherof grown sons, is much respected and considered. But ignorance is hercurse. Here and there one finds a grown woman able to read, but the massare content to let their girls go to school for a few years and thengradually forget all they have learned. But still I have known somekeenly interested in the reading of Scripture. I recall one visit in aroomful of women at the festival of Bairam, when a young girl attractedby the Injil Sherif--the New Testament--in the hands of the Bible woman, opened it and read aloud the whole of the eighteenth chapter of Luke tothat roomful of deeply interested listeners. As she finished, claspingthe book to her heart, she exclaimed: "Oh, give me this wonderful book, I must read it all. " When we left she followed me to the door, remindingus earnestly of our promise to send her a book soon. We know that thebook was much read. 

Another girl of seventeen, whom Fatima Hanum had taught not only to readbut to love the Book, found great comfort in the prayers and Christiansympathy of this same dear friend during a long illness. On herdeath-bed she said to her mother: "We have lived in darkness, but thereis light and I have seen it!"

We believe the light is beginning to glimmer in more than one Mohammedanhome in Bulgaria. In this city, as in many others, Mohammedan women areaccustomed to spend Friday, whenever the weather will permit, under thetrees in some pleasant spot, and Fatima Hanum with her Bible is afamiliar figure among them--indeed they often send word to her: "We aregoing out for the day. Come with us and bring the Book. "

In a recent tour I was a welcome guest in several Turkish homes, andwarm approval was expressed by the women of their Protestantneighbors--only one failing was regretted--"they eat pork, " but eventhey acknowledged that it wasn't so bad as telling lies, and sayingunkind things about each other; and they begged me to come again andread to them from our Great Teacher's Book. 

XVII

DARKNESS AND DAYBREAK IN PERSIA

One can never forget the first sight of a Moslem woman--that veiledfigure, moving silently through the streets, so enshrouded that face andform are completely concealed. Men and women pass each other with nogreeting or token of recognition, and if a wife accompanies her husband, she never walks beside him, but at a respectful distance behind, andneither gives a sign that they belong together. 

A woman's first instinct is to efface herself. Even the poor, washingclothes in the street at the water-course, pull their tattered rags overtheir faces. The Persian expression for women, "those who sit behind thecurtain, " shows that their place is silence and seclusion. When theclosed carriage of a princess passes, her servants, galloping before, order all men to turn their faces to the wall, though all they couldpossibly see would be carefully veiled figures. The beggar sitting onthe ground at the street corner is equally invisible under her cotton_chader_, as with lamentable voice she calls for mercy on the baby inher arms. 

During the month of mourning, we often pass a brilliantly lightedmosque, where men sit sipping tea or smoking, listening to the tale ofthe death of their martyrs, but crouching on the stony street outside inthe darkness, a crowd of women are straining their ears to catch whatthey can. Such are the passing glimpses one gets of the Persian woman inpublic. 

Her real life is lived in the "harem. " We realize its meaning, "theforbidden, " when after passing through the imposing street gate, and theouter court where are the men's apartments, we are conducted to acurtained door, guarded by a sentinel, who summons an old eunuch to leadus through a dark, narrow passage into the inner court, or _andaroon_. Here no man may enter but the very nearest relatives of the inmates, andthey under severe restrictions. As women, we have free access, and thisprivilege is shared by the Christian physician, who is welcomed andtrusted. One such gives us this picture. 

The _andaroon_ is usually very far from being an abode of luxury, evenin wealthy families, unless the number of wives is limited to one ortwo. The favorite wife has many advantages over her rivals, but she isusually encouraged to set an example of severe simplicity, in respect toher house and its furnishings, to the other wives; each of whom wouldmake life a burden to her lord, were marked discrimination shown in suchthings. He, therefore, contents himself with reserving the best ofeverything for the _beroon_, or outer apartments, where he receives hisown guests. Here are fountains, spacious courts, shady walks, andprofusion of flowers without, while within are large, high-ceiled andstuccoed rooms, elaborate windows, delicately wrought frescoes, thefinest rugs and divans, showy chandeliers and candelabra, stately pierglasses brought on camels' backs from distant Trebizond or Bushire, inlaid tables from Shiraz, and portières from Reshd. 

The _andaroon_ presents a marked contrast. The rooms are usually smalland low without ventilation, the courts confined, sunless, and bare; thegarden ill-kept, and the general air of a backyard pervading the entireestablishment. This order is reversed by many ecclesiastics, who indeference to the popular idea, that to be very holy, one must be verydirty, reserve all their luxuries for the _andaroon_, and make a show ofbeggarly plainness in the part of the house to which their pupils andthe public have access. 

The Persian wife seldom ventures into the _beroon_, and when she does, it is as an outsider only, who is tolerated as long as no other visitoris present. All its belongings are in charge of men-servants, and thedainty touches of the feminine hand are nowhere seen in theirarrangement, and her presence is lacking there, to greet its guests, orgrace its entertainments. 

When the Khanum suffers from any of the ailments, for which in Americaor Europe outdoor exercise, travel, a visit to the seaside, to themountains, or to the baths is required, the physician feels hishelplessness. He sees that the patient cannot recover her nervous tonein her present environment. But there is no seaside except at impossibledistances and in impossible climates. A visit to the mountains wouldmean being shut up in a little dirty village, whose houses are mudhovels, the chief industry of whose women is the milking of goats andsheep, and working up beds of manure with bare feet, and moulding it byhand into cakes for fuel. Or, if the husband have both the means and theinclination, for her sake to make an encampment upon the mountains largeenough to afford security from robbers and wandering tribes, she wouldbe confined largely to the precincts inclosed by the canvas wallsurrounding the harem. She rides only in a _kajava_, or basket, or in aclosed _takhterawan_, or horse litter, or, as she sits perched high up, astride a man's saddle, looking in her balloon garments, and doubtlessfeeling, more insecure than Humpty Dumpty on the wall. In her outdoorcostume, the Khanum never walks. At best she can only waddle, thereforeshe is almost as effectually shut out from this important form ofexercise as the women of China. In both countries the peasant class areblessed with more freedom than those of higher rank, and the villagewomen, dispensing with the baggy trousers and in some districts alsowith the _chader_, or mantle, swing by on the road with an elasticstride that would do credit to a veteran of many campaigns. 

Travelling in Persia is, for women particularly, a matter of so greatdiscomfort, that even the shortest journey could seldom be recommendedas a health measure. There are some famous mineral springs in NorthernPersia, but they are usually in regions difficult of access, and oftendangerous on account of nomads and robbers, and they generally have onlysuch facilities for bathing as nature has afforded. If they really doheal diseases their virtues must be marvellous, for the sick who visitthem usually stay but a day or two, though they make a business ofbathing while they have the opportunity. To prescribe travel, therefore, would be about the equivalent of prescribing a journey to the moon, andto recommend outdoor exercise for an inmate of the _andaroon_ would belike prescribing a daily exercise in flying, the one being about aspracticable as the other. Should the physician find it necessary on theother hand to isolate his patient for the treatment of hysteria, whichis exceedingly common, or for mental troubles, which are also verycommon, he is equally at sea. No nurse, not even a "Sairey Gamp" couldbe found. When it is known that one has a severe illness or visitationfrom God, they come, as in the days of Job, "every one from his ownplace--to mourn with him. "

In cases where absolute isolation has been ordered, as an essentialcondition of the patient's recovery, the physician may expect on hisnext visit to find the room filled with chattering women, who havegathered to speculate on the possibilities of a recovery or each torecommend the decoction which cured some one else, whose case was "justlike this. " There is but little watching done at night in the mostsevere cases, and a physician is seldom called up at night to see apatient. 

On my first introduction to the _andaroon_, I had little acquaintancewith either Persian customs or costumes. I had been asked to see thewife of a high dignitary, and on my arrival was at once ushered into herpresence. I found my fair patient awaiting me, standing beside afountain, in the midst of a garden quite Oriental in its features. Shewas closely veiled, but her feet and legs were bare, and her skirts wereso economically abbreviated as at first to raise the question in mymind, whether I had not by mistake of the servant been announced beforethe lady had completed her toilet. She, however, held out her hand, which apparently she did not intend me to shake, and I presently madeout that I was expected to feel her pulse as the preliminary to myinquiries concerning her symptoms; or rather in lieu of them, thecompetent Persian physician needing no other clue to the diagnosis. Thenthe pulse of the other wrist had to be examined, and I inspected thetongue, of which I obtained a glimpse between the skilfully disposedfolds of the veil. This woman had been suffering from a malarialdisease, which had manifested some grave symptoms, and I tried toimpress upon the family the importance of her taking prompt measures toavert another paroxysm. Feeling somewhat anxious as to the result, Isent the next morning to inquire about her condition and the effect ofthe remedy prescribed, but learned to my disgust that the medicine hadnot yet been given, the Mullah who must make "istekhara" (cast the lot)to ascertain whether the remedy was a suitable one for the case, nothaving yet arrived. 

Seclusion, lack of exercise, the monotony that leaves the mind to preyupon itself, ignorance, early marriage, unhappiness, abuse, andcontagious diseases bring upon the Persian woman a great amount ofphysical suffering directly traceable to the system of Mohammedanism. One special demand of her religion, the month of fasting, is a case inpoint. At the age of seven, the girls must assume this burden, not takenup by boys till they are thirteen. For a mere child to be deprived offood and drink, sometimes for seventeen hours at a stretch, day afterday, and then allowed to gorge herself at night, cannot but be aphysical injury. 

In illness, no pen can depict the contrast between a refined Christiansickroom and the crowded noisy apartment, poisoned with tobacco smoke, where lies the poor Persian woman in the dirty garments of every-daywear, covered by bedding in worse condition. 

Mentally, the Persian women are as bright as those of any race. The samephysician says, "The Persian woman is often neither a doll nor a drudge. I have known some who were recipients of apparently true love, respect, and solicitude on the part of their husbands, as their sisters inChristian lands; some who were very entertaining in conversation, evenin their husbands' presence; some who were their husbands' trustedcounsellors; some who were noted for learning; some who weresuccessfully managing large estates; some who have stood by me in myprofessional work, in emergencies demanding great strength of characterand freedom from race and sectarian prejudice. "

But these are the exceptions; scarcely one in a thousand has anyeducation, even in its most restricted sense of being able to read andwrite her own language intelligently. It is marvellous to see how allthe advantages are lavished on the boy, who will have Arabic, Persian, and French tutors, while his sister is taught nothing. In consequence, the ignorance and stupidity of woman have become proverbial. It is acommon saying, "Her hair is long, but her wit is short. "

In a Persian newspaper, there lately appeared some articles in which, after apologizing for mentioning the subject of women, the writer spokestrongly of their present illiterate state. He taxed the mothers withthe great mortality among children, and made the amazing statement, thatin Australia every woman who loses a child is punished by law with theloss of a finger! He did not venture to prescribe this drastic remedyfor Persia, but says the husbands and fathers who allow their women toremain in ignorance should be held up to public scorn and contempt, andthat nothing but education and religion will make a change. 

Wonderful to relate, this article elicited the following reply from alady, which we print as it was written:

 LETTER FROM A MOSLEM WOMAN

 _To the honored and exalted editor of the "Guide":_--

 "I myself have no education, but my two children, a boy and a girl, have a little. Every day they use your paper for their reading lesson, and I listen with the greatest attention. Truly, as far as a patriot's duty goes, you are discharging it. Your paper is having a remarkable effect on the minds of both men and women. I rejoice, and am delighted with your love for race and country, and praise especially the articles recommending the education of women. 

 "Some days ago, the children were reading, and I was listening because I take such an interest in the writings in the _Guide_ that I am constrained to defer the most necessary labors, till the reading is finished. You have spoken well about the poor unfortunate women; but first the men must be educated; because the girl receives instruction from her father and the wife from her husband. You reproach these ill-starred women, because they are addicted to superstitious practices. Your humble servant makes a petition that they are not so much to blame. 

 "In this very city I know men of the first rank, who have even travelled in Europe (I will not mention their names) who are superstitious to an incredible degree. Before putting on a new suit of clothes, they consult the astrologer and look in the calendar for an auspicious hour, and if shoes or other articles come from the bazaar at an unlucky moment, they return them till the stars shall be more propitious; when they contemplate a visit to royalty, or to Government officials, they take the chaplet of beads and cast lots to ascertain a fortunate time. Is it then strange that women believe in written prayers, fortune telling, and the _istekhara_? You write that in a foreign country you have seen men who had fled there to escape their wives. You are telling the truth, because, indeed, the women are a thousand times more incapable than the men. And why should they not be, who always sit behind a curtain wrapped in a veil? The husband can flee from his wife to a foreign land, but what of her who is left behind: her arms are, as it were, broken, her condition remediless, hopeless? For her, there is but one place whither she may flee--the grave! Look, and you will see in every cemetery one-fourth of all are men's graves; the rest are of women who have escaped their husbands by death. 

 "Again you speak of their ignorance of domestic economy, the rearing of children, the avoidance of contagious diseases, etc. When a poor woman is taken to her husband's home, it is true she knows nothing of these things, and does not make home comfortable, but by the time she is the mother of two or three children, she begins to learn; she economizes in food and clothing; she looks after her children; she adds to her husband's prosperity. She takes a pride in the home, in which she hopes to enjoy many happy days; but poor creature! she sees one day a woman entering her door, who says, 'Your husband has married me, ' She recalls all her struggles for family and home, and her heart is filled with bitterness. Quarrels ensue, and her husband, taking a stick, beats her till she is like well-kneaded dough. Afterwards they both go before the judge, who without making any investigation of the case, gives sentence in favor of the man. 'You have not in any wise transgressed the law; the female tribe are all radically bad; if this one says anything more, punish her. ' Unfortunate creature! If she is modest and self-respecting, this trouble falling upon her occasions various illnesses, and she knows not what becomes of house and children. The neighbor women, seeing all this, are completely discouraged from improving their homes, or rearing their children properly, as they say, 'The more our husbands' circumstances improve, the less they will care for us. ' Why then reproach the women? It is proper to advise the men, who have learned two things thoroughly from the law of the Prophet: one I have mentioned, and the other is this. In the evening when the Aga comes, he first washes himself to be ceremonially clean and says his prayers to fulfill the law of the prophet. Then he goes to his private room, or to the men's apartments. Half an hour does not pass, till he sends to demand the _ajil_ (food used with intoxicating drinks, meat, fruits, etc. ). The wife makes all ready, and sends to him. Then the unhappy soul hears from that quarter the sound of piano, organ, or tambourine, and some women just from their feelings at such times, become a prey to divers maladies and untold misery. At one or two o'clock in the morning, the Aga brings his honorable presence into the _andaroon_. The wife asks, 'What is this business in which you have been engaged? How long must I put up with these evil doings?' Immediately a quarrel ensues; the husband, partially or quite intoxicated, and not in his right mind, answers, 'What business of yours is it what I do? If I wish to bring the musicians and dancing women, I shall do as I like. ' Many women, on account of these evil practices of their husbands, give themselves up also to wicked ways, and others take to their beds with grief. Should such a one take her case to a judge, he is worse than her husband, and should she complain to the religious heads, many of them in secret indulge in the same vices. 

 "Why then judge so severely those who are all suffering under these troubles? Again you say that women should be educated, but fail to indicate in which quarter of our city is situated the school which they are to attend. We, in our ignorance of its location, beg you to point out where we may find it. In my own neighborhood there are twenty capable girls who are ready; some wishing to study dressmaking, some sick-nursing, midwifery, etc. Unfortunately, our nobles and ecclesiastics are so busy, advancing the price of wheat, speculating on the next harvest, snatching their neighbors' caps from their heads, that they have not yet found time to establish a school or university. I hope, through a blessing on the labors of your pen, this will all be remedied, and this stupid people awaken from its sleep. This brief petition I have made, and my daughter has written it out. As I have no learning, I beg you to excuse its mistakes and defects. " ... 

This letter is remarkable as showing that an awakening is beginning inthis country and that some women are feeling its influence; that amongthem there are stirrings of a new ambition, and a great dissatisfactionwith their present condition. Moslem ladies, invited to witness theclosing exhibition of a school for missionary children, exclaimed, "Whenwill our daughters have such opportunities?" A young girl was filledwith the extraordinary ambition to become a doctor, like the ladyphysician whom she admired; she came for lessons in English, physiology, chemistry, and materia medica, showing talent and remarkablestudiousness; but during a disturbance against foreign schools, herfather forbade her coming, so the cloud again shrouded this particularbright star. 

What is the legal and social position of woman? A girl comes into theworld unwelcome; while the birth of a boy is announced and celebratedwith great rejoicings, that of his sister is regarded as a misfortune. Said a mother, "Why should I not weep over my baby girl, who must endurethe same sorrows I have known? She is of little value; a father ofpassionate temper, annoyed by the crying of the sickly infant daughter, flung her out of the window, effectually and forever stilling thepitiful wail. He was no more punished than if it had been the kitten whohad suffered from his rage. " If she grows up, the grace, beauty, andsweet audacity of childhood often gain for a little girl a place in herfather's affections; but not to be long enjoyed; an early betrothal andmarriage are the universal custom. 

Engagements take place as early as three years old, and the bride issometimes then taken to grow up with her future husband. Should oneinquire as to the condition of unmarried women in this country, we arereminded of the famous chapter on "Snakes in Ireland. " There are nosnakes in Ireland. I am credibly informed, that in many places it isimpossible to find an unmarried girl of thirteen, and in the course ofextensive travels, covering a period of more than twenty years, I havemyself met but four spinsters or confirmed old maids. It is needless toadd that these were persons who possessed great native strength ofcharacter and firmness of purpose, and all seemed highly respected intheir own family and social circle. One, the daughter of a Mujtahid, orhighest religious teacher, was thoroughly versed in all the specialstudies of her father, who had educated her. She understood Persian, Arabic, and Turkish, being able to read and write them well, and wasoften consulted on difficult points in the Koran, by the Mullahs, whoadmitted that she understood it better than they. Another, living in alarge family of several brothers, enjoyed the esteem and affection ofall, and was most sincerely mourned when she died. 

These are, however, great exceptions, and considered as directly opposedto the command of the Prophet. It is regarded as a cardinal sin not tomarry, and our single ladies are often assured the only prospect beforethem is of the eternal pains of hellfire, as the penalty for theobstinate disobedience in this particular. Even the lepers, segregatedin their wretched villages, feel the pressure of opinion and are obligedto marry in accordance with religion. 

Theoretically, no girl is married against her will; but practically, thepressure from her family and society is too strong for her to resist, and the same is much the case with the young men. The choice of apartner for life being one in which often the boy has no voice, itfollows that the girl has none whatever. A father engaging his daughterwas asked, "What does the girl think of it herself?" "She? It is none ofher affair; it is my business whom she marries. " Like Browning'sPompilia:

 "Who, all the while, bore from first to last As brisk a part in the bargain, as yon lamb Brought forth from basket, and set out for sale Bears, while they chaffer o'er it; each in turn Patting the curly, calm, unconscious head, With the shambles ready round the corner there. "

Thus the girl enters a new home, often to be the slave of hermother-in-law. As a rule, the married couple have had no previousacquaintance with each other. 

Such a state of society is hard on both sexes. A man is bound to a wifewho will in all probability deceive and disobey him, who compasses byfraud what she cannot obtain by fair means, and who has no affection forhim. She is ignorant; she is no companion for him mentally; it is notstrange that he dreads to place in her keeping his honor, his property, and the welfare of his house. I have heard a young man say, "We are likeputting out a hand into the dark, to receive we know not what. Of onething only we are sure; it will be bad. " It is impossible that muchunhappiness should not result, as shown by the number of divorces, reckoned by one of themselves as at least forty per cent. Of themarriages. The wonder is that happy marriages do occur. Some thereundoubtedly are, but in defiance of the system, and not in consequenceof it. When one such comes to our notice, it appears like a green andrefreshing oasis in a monotonous desert. One lady told us, "I have beenmarried fifteen years, and my husband and I have never had adifference. " Another said, "He is so kind to me; he has never yetscolded me for anything I did. " She added, "But I am extremely carefulto avoid what I know he does not like and in all matters I try my bestto please him. " It must be said, however, that one of these men issecretly a believer in Christ, and the other a follower of the Bab, inwhose system the equality and rights of woman play a prominent part. 

Did space permit we should gladly tell the romantic history ofQurrat-el-Ayn, the Joan of Arc of the Babi movement; but in thisconnection, we may be pardoned for giving the following sonnet, evokedby her remarkable life and tragic death:

 "Quarrat-el-Ayn! not famous far beyond Her native shore. Not many bards have sung Her praises, who, her enemies among, Wielding her beauty as a magic wand, Strove for the cause of him who had proclaimed For poor down-trodden womanhood the right Of freedom. Lifting high her beacon light Of truth, she went unveiled and unashamed, A woman, in the land where women live And weep and die secluded and unknown, She broke the bonds of custom, and to give The Bab her aid, she dared the world alone, Only to fail: death closed the unequal strife, And Persia blindly wrecked a noble life. " ... 

The popular estimate of woman is that she is naturally inferior, not tobe trusted, to be kept continually under surveillance as a necessaryevil, with something disgraceful in the fact of her existence, a personto be controlled and kept down from birth to death. "Why do you takeyour wife out to walk with you?" said one brother to another moreenlightened. "I see you promenading outside of the village with her; shewill get out of her proper place, and neither obey or respect you, ifyou pamper her in that way. " The younger man replied with indignation, "Is she not a human being, and shall I not treat her as such?" The elderanswered, "She must know that her proper position is under your foot. "

A poet says, "A thousand houses are destroyed by women. " Another Moslemauthority writes, "Jealousy and acrimony, as well as weakness ofcharacter and judgment, are implanted in the nature of women, and incitethem to misconduct and vice. " Mohammed says, "Chide those whoserefractoriness you have cause to fear, and beat them. " The limitsuggested is, "Not one of you must whip his wife like whipping a slave. "

A book containing sage advice warns man against three things: "First, excess of affection for a wife, for this gives her prominence and leadsto a state of perversion, when the power is overpowered and thecommander commanded. Second, consulting or acquainting a wife withsecrets or amount of property. " Mohammed also warns, "Not to entrust tothe incapable the substance which God hath placed with you, " and, "Beware, make not large settlements on women. " "Third, Let him allow herno musical instruments, no visiting out of doors, or listening tostories. "

As to a woman's duty, Mohammed declared that if the worship of onecreated being could be permitted to another, he would have enjoined theworship of husbands. It seems strange to calculate a woman's valuearithmetically, but in Moslem law the testimony of two women is equal tothat of one man, a daughter gets half a son's inheritance, and a wifeonly an eighth of her husband's property, if there are children;otherwise a fourth. A husband does not speak of his wife as such, butuses some circumlocution as "My house, my child, or the mother of such aboy. " A villager asked the doctor to come and treat his mother. "How oldis she?" "Thirty. " "And how old are you?" "Forty. " "How can she be yourmother?" A bystander, filled with contempt for such obtuseness, whispered, "It is his wife, but he doesn't like to say so. " In likemanner, the children are not taught to say father and mother, but themaster, the older brother, the mistress, the lady sister, the oldersister. 

A comic paper published by Mohammedans in Russia, and in their ownlanguage, has recently had some amusing pictures bearing on the positionof women. In the first, two women and several men are coming before theMullahs for marriage or divorce; large heads of sugar carried into thepresence hint at bribery as a factor in the case. The women, who standmute and submissive, with their mouths tied up, as is literally the casewith many of them, have evidently nothing to say in the matter. Thesecond scene shows a man and three boys sitting around a large bowl ofrice, which is rapidly disappearing before their vigorous onset. The catis crunching a bone, but the wife and mother sits at one side while eventhe baby in her arms is given a portion; but she waits till all aresatisfied, and she may come in for the leavings. Again, the lord andmaster of the house, stretched upon a divan, smokes his pipe, a cryingchild beside him on the floor. His wife enters, staggering under a heavystone water jar on her shoulder, another in her hand, and a child tiedon her back. He exclaims, "Oh, woman, may God curse you! this childgives me the headache! come, take it also on your back. "

A full two-page colored cartoon depicts the carriage of a most exaltedpersonage, with the veiled wife in it rolling through the street, whileall men and boys are turning their backs, and some even shutting theireyes in obedience to officers armed with long whips. A dog also hasduteously and humbly turned his back to the forbidden sight, and iscrouched down with the most virtuous air you could imagine. When suchsatires as this can appear, and the edition of the paper runs up intothe thousands, people are beginning to think. 

XVIII

DARKNESS AND DAYBREAK IN PERSIA

PART II

There is indeed another side to the question, and all honor to theMoslem men whose eyes are open to see the wrongs of women, whose heartspity, and who venture into the thorny and dangerous path of reform! Manymore, no doubt, feel all these things, but what can they do? They are sobound in the net of custom and prejudice, that it is next to impossibleto remedy, in any degree, the existing evils; while by attempting it, they run the risk of making things worse, and so shrug their shoulders, and feel there is nothing to do but to submit. 

One husband, sincerely attached to his wife, said to me, "How glad Ishould be to see her free as you are! It is no pleasure to me to haveher shrouded in a black wrap, and shut up behind a curtain; it is thedream of my life to take her to Europe, and have her travel with me, asa companion and a friend. But in this country I dare not deviate in theleast from our customs; she is so pretty, if other men saw her I shouldbe killed for her sake. " This man was studying English, and the teacherbeing a man, the lady sat behind a screen, listening to the lessons, and learning faster than the gentleman. Though he had three other wives, this one (though being childless) had complete possession of his heart. They gave a supper to our lady physician and myself, he doing us thehonor to wait on the table, a thing which, had not my own eyes seen it, I could not have believed possible in Persia. It was sufficientlysurprising to have him sit at the same table and eat with us, but howmuch more so, that with each course he should rise, change our plate, and serve the food which the cook brought to the door of the room. Hehad never appeared so honorable in our eyes, as when, thus laying asidethe pride of rank and station, he was "among us as one that served. "

[Illustration: MAT-MAKERS (PERSIA)]

[Illustration: INDOOR DRESS (NORTHERN PERSIA)]

When one first comes to a Moslem country, a sentiment of profound pityfor the women predominates; but as it is evident that half thepopulation cannot be kept in an unnatural and degraded condition, without entailing disastrous consequences on the other half, one beginsto feel equal sympathy for the men, who suffer under the disadvantage ofhaving no true family life, and indeed of being unable to form aconception of what it is. 

The great trouble is the lack of confidence in married life; as it is avery rare thing to find a wife who can trust her husband not to divorceher, if it appear convenient and desirable, or not to add to his wivesif he be able. 

Divorce, which a woman may obtain under certain rare conditions, is aman's right without restriction. A woman's only protection is, her dowrymust be paid her, and her husband must pronounce the sentence of divorcethree times. Thus a little check is put on an angry impulse. Age, poorhealth, loss of beauty or eyesight, lack of children, especially ofsons, or the merest whim, may be the excuse for it. The most patheticappeals are made to the lady doctor, by women in dread of divorce. 

A wealthy nobleman, married to a young and beautiful lady of equal rank, the mother of both sons and daughters, and as reported, with a fairamount of wedded happiness, was dazzled by a proposed alliance with aprincess of such rank as to brook no rival. The indispensable conditionwas a divorce, and absolute separation from the wife he had. She knewnothing of her fate till one day, when visiting at her brother's, wordwas brought her she need not return home. That night the wedding wascelebrated with firing of cannon and great festivities, but the childrenwere crying for their mother, and for her and them there was no redress. She immediately went on pilgrimage to a holy shrine, to pray that herhusband and his new wife might be cursed of God. The man met with somevery signal and public reverses, and transported with joy, she flew toanother sacred place, to call down more misfortunes on his head. 

Many of the divorced women remarry; others become beggars ormaid-servants. As for the children, if the family be wealthy, theyremain with the father; if poor, in case both parents find otherpartners, they are often cast adrift to shift for themselves. 

On a journey, the wife of the muleteer was seen to be laying aside partof the tea, sugar, etc. , purchased by the man for their joint use, andwas asked the cause. She replied, "It is necessary to make someprovision for myself against the day when he shall divorce me; I havehad six husbands and he has had seven wives; what can I expect?" Thecouple had been newly married, and this was their wedding trip. 

A sad-faced drudge in our lodging place told us, "I am the twenty-fifthwife, some are divorced, some dead; to-morrow it may be my turn to go. "

Polygamy is prevalent among the rich who can afford it, and is regardedby many as highly meritorious. Some of the poor also practise it, butmost of them have but one wife at a time, and are comparatively faithfulto her. The percentage of men who live in polygamy is difficult toarrive at, but a good judge has estimated it at thirty per cent. Thebest men seem to be ashamed and to deprecate it. Some say it isforbidden in the Koran, by the verse which allows only as many wives asa man can treat with equity; as they say this is an impossibility, if aman has more than one consort, to treat them alike. When asked about theexample of the Prophet, and the holy men, especially the Imams, theysay, as for Mohammed, he was allowed peculiar privileges, not granted toother men. Some who consider the Imams sinless, explain their conduct inthe same way. Those who do not accept this solution say the Imams didwrong in having a plurality of wives. When asked about the Shah, theyreply he does wrong in practising polygamy, but it is permitted to himbecause he has the power in his hands. 

No Moslem woman is supposed to have any right to require or expect thather husband will be true to her in the marriage relation, thoughfidelity to him is rigorously exacted of her, and her breach of it ispunishable with death. 

There may be instances where the women of a polygamous household agree;the casual stranger, who visits a harem without any knowledge of thelanguage, or personal acquaintance with the inmates, will often beassured that they love each other fondly, and are more than sisters infriendship; but the trusted family friend, or the lady doctor, can tella very different tale. 

Our doctor told me once, she thought the two women of a certain house, were an exception to the general rule, and that they really werefriends; but soon after, the older one being sick, she saw a good dealof her in private, and was obliged sadly to confess she had beenmistaken. 

I have myself known of one case, in which the rival wives were of thesame mind. One of our neighbors had two partners of his joys andsorrows, who sometimes joined forces, and gave him a good beating, sohe would be seen flying in hot haste from his "happy" home. One man saidto one of us, "I don't need to die in order to go to hell; I have it inmy own house; I live there. " Another, when told by the indignant doctor, "Your mode of life is beastly, " replied, "I know it; compared with methe beasts are decent. "

If the wives are in the same house, it is filled with bitterness andjealousy; if they are in separate houses or even in different towns, thecase is not much better. If the women were not taught by their religiousleaders that their sufferings are the will of God, and that it is verymeritorious to accept them, and if they believed any other fatepossible, I do not think they would endure it. They say "Christian womenhave their heaven now, but afterwards they will inherit endlesssuffering; we have hell in this life, but hereafter shall come eternalbliss. "

"Do we love our husbands?" said one in answer to a question, "Yes, asmuch as a sieve holds water. " One of our friends, the third of threewives in one house, was found by us at her mother's. "Oh, yes, " shesaid, "I have come home to stay; I simply could not bear it any longer;so I hired a woman to take my place with my husband and came here. "

These are regularly married wives, with dowry rights and the protectionof law. What of the poor temporary hired ones, who come for a longer orshorter period, and a specified wage? This is the peculiar shame andblot of the Shiah sect of Islam, which not only tolerates the vileinstitution of _muti_, but takes it under the sanction of law andcustom, and even permits the ministers of religion to be the chiefpromoters of it, many of them accumulating wealth by this base means. 

You will sometimes hear it stated that there are no houses ofprostitution in Moslem lands. In Persia, at least, the institution maynot exist in precisely the same form as in other countries, where it isunder the ban of the law, and in defiance of public opinion, but it ishere, in a form which utterly depraves the mind of the people, andobliterates for them all moral distinctions, poisoning family life atthe very fountain. It is impossible to go fully into this subject: thedetails are too revolting, but one or two instances may suffice. 

We know of a girl who was sold for five dollars by her family, and takenby her brother to a city where a Khan wished for her during histemporary sojourn; on his return he discarded her, and she came back toher family, her social standing in no wise affected by the transaction, which was merely a matter of business. An old roué, who had already hadover thirty wives, sitting like a spider in his web, from his upperwindow spied a pretty young girl in the street. Her family was poor, andhe tempted them with money and large promises, and sent silks and satinsfor the trousseau. It was all but done, when some missionary ladiesremonstrated on her behalf, and showed how she would soon come back tothem ruined and diseased. So she escaped for that time. 

In the house of my Turkish teacher, I was introduced to "my brother'swife. " Inquiring about her some months after I was told, "My brother hasno wife; he has never been married. " "But who, then, was that woman whowas presented to me as his wife?" "That was a _muti_ woman; he treatedher so badly she could not stay her time out, but asked to be excusedand went away without her money. "

The effect of polygamy and divorce on children is very bad. A son, particularly, seeing his mother treated with disrespect, feels contemptfor her, and will in many cases tyrannize over and beat her. Anothereffect is that curiosity is stimulated, and a premature and unhallowedknowledge is gained of the most sacred relations of life, which iscontaminating, and destroys for ever the innocence of childhood. As amatter of course, there is jealousy between the children of differentwives, and estrangement and hatred destroy family affection. One who hasseen the children of Sarah in the place of honor, presented proudly tothe visitor and indulged in every wish, and at the same time thechildren of Hagar standing humbly in the presence as servants, orhanging about the door outside, will not soon forget the contrast. 

In such a house there is nothing whatever to teach a boy the possibilityof leading a clean life; purity is not expected of him, and often themost elaborate provision is made to satisfy the lusts of the flesh. Themother of a young boy will hire a female servant for him as part of theregular family. The effect of such an element on the whole household maybe imagined. Bitter also is the retribution often suffered for suchbreaches of the law of God. Barrenness is a most common thing, and theMoslem population does not increase but barely replaces itself, whilethe Jews and Christians, whose family life is comparatively pure, survive and win in the race of life. 

If a Moslem woman were sure of her place in her husband's affection andher position in the home, I am certain she would prove herself as worthyas any; for I have observed some families among them where the traditionor custom of the clan is against polygamy and divorce, and the women inthose homes are loyal to their husbands' interests, ready to work hardand deny themselves for the home which they know is guaranteed to themand their children. We are very apt to think that having known nothingbetter and having nothing else to hope for, they must be contented andreconciled to their lot. This reminds one of the answer of the oldfishwife, when one remonstrated with her on the habit of skinning eelsalive, "Oh, they don't mind it; they are used to it. " This is far frombeing the case, and it is especially true of those who, by travel orcontact with Christians, have had their eyes opened to the fact, thatin other countries their sisters enjoy advantages of education, and areobjects of respect denied to themselves; that Christian women aretrusted with freedom, and as a rule prove worthy of it. 

Yet the fact remains: these women and girls cannot be educated andemancipated, without bringing to bear on the social fabric influenceswhich would result in its disintegration and destruction, with nothingbetter to replace it. Galling as are the curtain and the veil, theycannot be dispensed with, for fear of worse evils. Ignorance andseclusion are better than education and liberty without moral restraint. 

While polygamy and divorce exist, and there is no standard of purityequally applicable to both sexes, more freedom than woman now possessescannot with safety be granted her. I fail to see any remedy, but in thedoctrine and practice of Christianity. The fact known to be true of aschool in Syria, points out the solution of the problem. Of the pupilsof a Protestant school, conducted there, for many years, and largelyattended by Moslem girls, it is stated a case has never been known wherea pupil who had passed through their hands had been divorced or obligedto accept a second wife in her home. 

These women have learned lessons of duty, of personal responsibility toGod, of self-respect, self-control, kindness, and love, that cause thehearts of their husbands safely to trust in them. Can we say as muchfor any other system of education or religion?

Certainly Mohammedanism, with its twin evils of polygamy and divorce, has not only failed to elevate woman, but has everywhere resulted in herdegradation. More pitiful than the more obvious wrongs inflicted by thissystem, is the effect produced upon character. Being distrusted, she hasbecome untrustworthy; being abused, she has become abusive; and everyevil passion is given free rein. 

The bad wife is described by a Moslem writer as "a rebel for contumacyand unruliness; as a foe for contemptuousness and reproach; and as athief for treacherous designs upon her husband's purse. " She becomes anadept in the use of woman's weapon, the tongue; "an unruly evil full ofdeadly poison. " "An angry woman in a passion of rage, pouring forthtorrents of curses and invectives, is a fury incarnate. " The jealousy ofrival wives often leads to dreadful crimes. One woman became blind fromvitriol thrown in her face by another wife; an only son, most preciousand of high rank, was poisoned in his innocent babyhood by his mother'srival; a young bride attempted suicide in her despair. 

These are but instances; every harem has its unwritten tragedies. 

Not the least feature of the moral ruin into which they have fallen, isthe impurity which seems to permeate every thought; so that they delightin obscene songs, vile allusions, and impure narratives. A missionarylady visiting at the home of a highborn Moslem woman, very religious anddevout according to their standards, was so shocked by the character ofthe conversation with which her hostess was trying to entertain her, asto be forced to say, "If you talk to me like this, I shall be obliged toexcuse myself and leave your house. "

Saddest of all, they often become so depraved that they not only conniveat the evils of the system, but actively promote them. A lady going on along pilgrimage herself chose and brought two young girls, to be herhusband's concubines in her absence. A mother cultivates in her son thepassions she should teach him to subdue. The present mode of life issupposed to be perpetuated in Paradise, where every true believer is tohave "seventy-two wives, and eighty thousand slaves, " all Hourisspecially created for him. The place for Moslem woman is not definitelyspecified. 

The religion that robs them of happiness in this life, and gives no hopeof it in the next, lays the same obligations upon them as on men, viz. , the five foundations of practice: the witnessing to the Unity of God andthe apostleship of the Prophet; observing the five daily seasons ofprayer; alms-giving; the fast of Ramazan; and the pilgrimage to Mecca. 

In Persia is added the mourning for a month, for Hassan and Hossein, themartyred grandsons of Mohammed. As in all religions, women are mostzealous and devoted in the performance of these duties, but thepractice of Islam has nothing to satisfy their soul hunger. Their beliefin God is cruel fatalism, and all their rites work no change of heart, and give no peace of conscience. 

The Gospel comes to them with a special appeal, and bringing its ownmessage. That they should have any message, or be considered at all, isnews to them; they are so used to neglect and disrespect. When two ofus, at the invitation of a lady of rank, attended their Passion Play, wesat with her on the ground, among a crowd of women, who were pushedabout by ushers with long poles, while the "lords of creation" satcomfortably above on chairs, and in booths. 

So accustomed are Moslem women to being hustled about that they wonderat Christ's "Forbid them not, " which we are apt to apply only to thechildren, forgetting that it was spoken for the mothers. It is sometimesmost amusing to see a pompous dignitary crowd his way into thedispensary of the lady physician, and when made with difficulty tounderstand that only women are treated there, retire crestfallen. Thereat least women have not only the first, but the only entrance. They arenot surprised at the Syrophenician woman being called "a dog. " They areused to the epithet and employ it themselves. One often hears oneberating her own offspring, as "child of a dog. " When driven todesperation by want, the Persian woman can be as defiant, shameless, and persistent, as she of old before the unjust judge. Not unfrequentlymobs of women led by a woman, attack the gates of the governors, demanding bread. 

Their often miserable and diseased condition of health makes them feelhow tender is Christ's compassion in His miracles of healing. They alsohave often suffered much from quack nostrums, "only to grow worse. " Inany crowd of village women, one may see an old hag, bent and "bowedtogether--not able to lift herself up, " and there is no more pitifulsight than the old women of Persia. A neighbor, a hundred years old, always appeals to our charity on the ground of being "an orphan. "

Their life and occupations are so identical with those of Bible times, that they feel at once familiar with the scenes described in the NewTestament. Every morning, a village woman must mix the leaven in hermeal for the daily baking, must sweep her mud floor, and often two ofthem sit at the hand mill grinding wheat or salt. Every one who can, wears a necklace of silver coins, and counts each one precious. Thecustom of covering the face "lest a man look upon a woman" is soinwrought into their earliest training that they are able to draw theirveils _instantly_, whatever they are doing, if a man approaches. 

They marvel, as did Christ's disciples, that He talked with a woman, especially of a foreign race, and that He asked for a drink of water, for to-day the Persians think a cup defiled if a Christian drink fromit. In a wedding procession in a village, the musicians lead with fifeand drum, and "the virgins" follow in all the finery they can muster. Attimes of mourning also, they act just as the Gospels describe. Friendsgather to "weep and bewail. " I have seen a roomful of women swaying andsobbing, while a mother chanted a plaintive refrain: "Alas! alas!"repeating the beloved name of the dead; often tearing her hair, andbeating her breast. I have often seen blear-eyed women, who said theyhad become so by excessive weeping over the death of a child. To suchcomes Jesus' message, "Weep not. "

Religious observances in Persia are such as give special significance toGospel teaching. I had a visitor whose lips were continually mumblingwhile she fingered her beads. She told me she was making merit, byrepeating the hundred names of Allah. Often when in their homes, ourhostess will excuse herself, because "it is the hour of prayer, " andgoing to a corner of the same room, will go through the forms andgestures of Mohammedan worship. "Vain repetitions" they seem, when weknow the words are Arabic, a language she does not understand; and as inthe midst of her prayers she calls out directions to her servants, onecan see there is no devotion in them. 

Fasting is a terrible burden, when, for a month, from dawn to dark, nota morsel of food, or drop of water, or a whiff of the loved cigarette orpipe can pass their lips. The people acknowledge that it is the causeof quarrelling and reviling, so irritable do they become under thestrain, yet they dare not "break their fast" for fear of others. 

All who can afford it make the long pilgrimage to Mecca, or in lieu ofthat to Kerbela or Meshed; and bear thereafter the holy name of Haji, Kerbelai, or Meshedi. To them it is a new thought, given by Christ tothe woman of Sychar, that no special location is "the place where menought to worship. " Of all His words none receive more approval from thePersian woman than His teachings on marriage and divorce. They often sayto us, "How happy you Christian women are with no fear of divorce!"

Not only Christ's teachings but His character makes an impression, andHis gentleness and purity especially attract them. We are shocked at thecoarse questions: "Can God have a Son? Was Jesus married?" but as theyhear the story of His marvellous life a look of awe sometimes comes intotheir faces, as the vision of "the White Christ" dawns upon them. 

A Moslem lady said to me, "I cannot read, but one woman in our haremcan, and she reads the Injil (New Testament) to us; we can never getenough of it. " Another, making a call of condolence upon me, said, "There is only one book that can comfort you; you have told me about it;now I tell you. "

Those who have grown up in the midst of free institutions, under theprotection of law, and in the light of publicity, can really have noidea of the difficulties to be encountered by the Moslem woman whobecomes a Christian. A man can escape by flight, but this refuge isdenied her. Even if she wish to keep her change of faith secret, it isimpossible to do so, and be true to her new-found Saviour. The wholewarp and woof of her daily life are so bound up with religiousobservances, and the least failure to perform them is so jealouslynoted, the least endeavor to fulfil the commands of the Gospel withregard to Sabbath rest, reading the Word, or secret prayer is at oncethe object of remark and criticism; often of active opposition. Were itnot so her changed life and character mark her out as walking in adifferent path and measuring her conduct by another standard from thosewho surround her. She is most happy if, as sometimes happens, herhusband, brother, father, or son is in sympathy with her, and hasperhaps been the means of her enlightenment; or if a sister or friend isof like faith, and they can strengthen each other. But often she standsentirely alone in her family and social circle, and must bear much pettypersecution, even if she is not turned out of her home, does not loseher children, or her life. In such circumstances, if a convert standfirm, and even win her enemies to accept Jesus, it is a genuine miracle. Yet it is seen to occur. 

Words cannot tell the beauty of some of these transformed faces: thesweetness plucked from bitterness, the "lily among thorns. " The presenthelp of a living Saviour and the wonderful hopes for the future havemade life an entirely different thing. One such who had borne a heavyyoke in her youth, had suffered deeply, and with rancor and rebellion inher heart against him who had blighted her life, has learned to forgiveand pray for the one who so deeply injured her; and her daily householdlife is a triumph of grace. During a cholera epidemic, when all aroundwere panic-stricken, she and her sisters, who have found the likeprecious refuge, were perfectly calm, saying, "Why should we fear death?It can only take us to Jesus, which is far better; as living or dying weare His. "

One old woman walked three miles and back once a week in order to beinstructed in the Gospel, and is never satisfied, always wants to learnmore, and takes great pains to remember texts and prayers. Once afterthe others had gone she caught hold of me, saying, "Do you think I walkall these miles, with my blind eyes, to learn nothing? Come and teach mesome more. " Showing some hard barley bread, she said, "No one shall sayI come for food; I have brought my own bread. "

Another woman, whose paralytic son had learned to read the Bible, said, "At first I did not care for it, but little by little I got to love it. "It worked a transformation in that humble home; the son in his firstdespair had attempted to poison himself; but he learned to praise Godfor the affliction which was the means of acquainting him with hisSaviour. The mother instead of considering the helpless young man aburden, and complaining of the misfortune, nursed him for years withsuch rare patience and tenderness, that we marvelled to see it. Thecontrast between her and her neighbors is marked; her face is gentle andkind, her voice sweet. She is faithful, industrious, and honest; for awhole summer when a family was absent, she went alone every week tosweep the house, and not a thing was ever missed, though, in general, weexpect nothing better than pilfering and theft from the women of thecountry. 

In one city is gathered a little band of believing women, who hold aweekly prayer meeting, and "it is most touching to hear their simplerequests and pleading for this and that one still outside the fold. WhenI was going to B---- they gave me a message for the sisters there. Theyhad long taken a special interest in the work in that place, and neverfailed to remember it at the throne of grace. They had heard severalwomen there were secret believers, but afraid to confess their faithopenly, so they sent word to them that they themselves were once in thesame state. They feared to confess Christ before men, but He hadpromised to be with them, and He had given them grace to come outboldly, and He had kept His promise to give peace and joy in all timesof trial and difficulty. They then begged their sisters to do as theyhad done, to take the plunge, trusting in His power to help them, andthey would find all their fears taken away and courage given instead. "

Such, living and dying, was the experience of Almass of Urumia. She hadbecome a Christian, and her husband also had suffered great persecutionfrom her own family on this account. Her husband being away, she wasliving in her father's house, and her stepmother would not even give herenough to eat, constantly reviled her, made her life bitter, and did herbest to prevent her praying. Being stricken with consumption, she wentto the hospital, where she rejoiced in Christian companionship andinstruction, but at the last, she was taken to her own home to die. Ayoung Nestorian doctor, called in to attend her, witnessed hertriumphant death; himself but a nominal Christian, he exclaimed, "Wouldthat I could die so happy!" Her whole trust was in Jesus, and her onlyanxiety that her little daughter should be trained in the same faith. 

Almass means diamond, and in the day when the Lord "makes up His jewels"she will surely be among them. 

 Far away in the isles of Bahrein, Down under the depths of the sea, The Persian diver gathers his shells For the goodly pearls that shall be. 

 And what is the price of a goodly pearl? A merchant man once for one, 'Tis said, sold all he ever possessed, And counted the deed well done. 

 And what is the price of a human soul? The price it is set so high The Son of God gave all that He had When He came on earth to buy. 

 Submerged in the sea of sin are the souls, Are the souls of Persian girls; Ah! who will dive to the lowest depths, To gather these hidden pearls?

 They are gems for the crown of the King of kings, More precious far in His sight Than the jewels rare of the Shah-în-Shah, -- All His glory and delight. 

XIX

THE CONDITION OF MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN BALUCHISTAN

In the degraded position of its women is to be seen the worst fruit ofthe religion of Islam. I will quote from the Government Report ofBritish Baluchistan: "Throughout the Province, but especially among theAfghans and Brahuis, the position of woman is one of extremedegradation; she is not only a mere household drudge, but she is theslave of man in all his needs, and her life is one of continual andabject toil. No sooner is a girl fit for work than her parents send herto tend cattle and she is compelled to take her part in all the ordinaryhousehold duties. Owing to the system of _walwar_ in vogue among theAfghans, a girl, as soon as she reaches nubile age, is, for allpractical purposes, put up for auction sale to the highest bidder. Thefather discourses on her merits, as a beauty or as a housekeeper, in thepublic meeting places, and invites offers from those who are in want ofa wife. Even the more wealthy and more respectable Afghans are not abovethis system of thus lauding the human wares which they have for sale. The betrothal of girls who are not yet born is frequent, and a promiseof a girl thus made is considered particularly binding. 

"It is also usual for an award of compensation for blood to be orderedto be paid in this shape of girls, some of whom are living, while othersare not yet born. 

"Similar customs prevail among the Jhalawan Brahuis, but they have notyet extended to all the Balneh tribes, though there are signs that thepoorer classes are inclined to adopt them. The exchange of girls, however, among the Baluchis and the framing of conditions, regarding anyoffspring which may result from the marriage, indicate that among thisrace also, women are regarded in much the same light. 

"These details may appear to be beside the mark in discussing theclassification of women as dependents or actual workers, but I relatethem with the object of showing that woman in Baluchistan is regarded aslittle more than a chattel. For where such a state of parental feelingor rather want of feeling is to be found, is it surprising to find thatwoman is considered either as a means for increasing man's comforts, inthe greater ease with which they are procured by her toil, or an objectfor the gratification of his animal passions?

"A wife in Baluchistan must not only carry water, prepare food, andattend to all ordinary household duties, but she must take the flocksout to graze, groom her husband's horse, and assist in the cultivation. So far is this principle carried out among the Jajars of Zhob, that itis considered incumbent on a married woman of this tribe to providemeans by her own labor for clothing herself, her husband, and herchildren, and she receives no assistance, monetary or otherwise, forthis purpose from her husband, but in addition to all this, the husbandhopes that she may become the mother of girls who will fetch as high aprice as their mother did before them. Hence it happens that amongAfghans, polygamy is only limited by the purchasing power of a man; anda wife is looked on as a better investment than cattle, for in a countrywhere drought and scarcity are continually present, the risk of loss ofanimals is great, whilst the offspring of a woman, if a girl, willassuredly fetch a high price. " So far the census report. 

Slavery, polygamy, and concubinage exist throughout the Kelat state andBaluchi area. Slavery is of a domestic character, but the slave is oftenin a degraded and ignorant condition, and in times of scarcity almoststarved by his owner. 

The female slaves often lead the lives of common prostitutes, especiallyamong the Baluch tribes, where the state of the women generally seemsvery degraded. 

Regarding polygamy, the average man is unable to afford more than onewife, but the higher classes often possess from thirty to sixty women, many of them from the Hazare tribes of Afghanistan, whose women andchildren, during the rebellion in the late Amir's reign, were sold overinto Baluchistan and Afghanistan. In nearly every village of any sizeone sees the Hazare women, and the chief will talk of buying them as afarmer at home will speak of purchasing cattle. 

Worse than all, one has daily illustrations of the truth that the sinsof the fathers are visited on their families, in the degraded victims ofinherited and acquired disease who come to the missionary doctor forrelief, healing being impossible in many of the cases of these poorwomen. Pure selfishness characterizes the men in their relationship withtheir wives. All must not and cannot be told in illustration of this, but what happened a short time ago in our out-patient department of theZenana Mission Hospital is an instance. 

A young Brahui mother was brought in order to be relieved from sufferingby an operation which would require her to remain in the hospital afortnight. When this was proposed, the woman who brought her said atonce, "If she does that her husband will send her away. " The poor girlhad to depart untreated, because the husband feared his bodily comfortsmight be less if she were not there to minister to them. 

May those who see this dark picture of the effect of Islam on womanhoodin the East, do all that is in them to bring the glorious light of theGospel of Christ to their suffering sisters. 

XX

IN SOUTHERN INDIA

In South India the Mohammedans have been more or less influenced by theChristian and heathen communities by which they are surrounded. Many ofthem, especially those belonging to the trading communities, havemarried women of Hindoo birth who have become nominal Mohammedans. 

Amongst the higher classes, especially amongst the rich and well-to-do, polygamy is still common, though there are many men who have only onewife and few who have more than two. As a rule, in the city of Madras, each wife will have a small place of her own. It is a rare thing forseveral wives to live in the same house. It is, however, extremelydifficult to find out, without undue questioning, who the variousinmates are. Often a house will be quite full of women and children ofall ages, but as a rule the true explanation will be that the head ofthe house has many sons, each of whom has brought his wife to live inhis old home, and all live in strict outward obedience to themother-in-law. How much depends upon this mother-in-law! When she is akindly, peaceable woman, things go fairly smoothly, but terrible thingshappen in homes where the mother-in-law is harsh and severe. 

In all the homes the purdah is strictly kept, and alas! who can tellwhat dark deeds are _occasionally_ done in these secluded homes. Stilleducation is spreading rapidly, and with it changes must and do come. Young educated Mohammedans are now wanting educated wives. The principalMohammedans in Madras come very much in contact with Europeans and areconsiderably influenced by them, and we do not see the Moslem as heappears in Moslem countries under Moslem rule, but as he appears afterliving for generations under the British flag. If he disagrees withpublic opinion (which no doubt he often does) he keeps his opinion verymuch to himself, and with graceful courtesy agrees to differ. 

The purdah system is one that brings with it terrible evils, and yet itis a system to which those who apparently suffer from it most, cling themost closely. The secluded women themselves look upon it as an honor, and a proof of the value set upon them. Even the very poorest peopleseclude their wives; while soldiers on the march hang up blankets, sheets, and even rags to form a little enclosure for their wives at eachhalting place. Though individual women will often speak of their manytroubles they rarely mention their isolation, and truly pity those ofother nations who are not taken equal care of. With education thisaspect of affairs will change, and girls who have been educated inmission schools view things in a very different light and no doubt longfor greater freedom. 

The best and only method of helping these poor secluded women is tospread amongst them the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing elsecan really help them, and the great means of doing so is by education. Educating them to read so that they can read of Him in their seclusion, and educating them as thoroughly as possible in schools andhouse-to-house visitation so that they can understand what they read. 

Let me give one illustration of what can be done in this way. Some yearsago I was called in to a small zenana, where the family were of noblebirth but extremely poor; so proud that they would all rather starvethan take money or tell of their troubles. Three little girls read withme, and very bright and intelligent I found them. The mother was in badhealth and seemed sad, though her husband was always very kind to her. The girls read regularly and got very fond of their lessons and wishedthey could live like English girls. One day I was told that the eldergirl was to be married the next week. She was in great distress, for sheknew nothing of the man who had been chosen for her and feared naturallythat he might be uneducated and ignorant. I was unable to go to thewedding, and to my great distress the young bride was taken away to adistant town without my seeing her again. Some months passed and then Igot a letter from a stranger. It was well written and well expressed inEnglish and I found to my great delight that it was from the husband ofmy old pupil. He said he felt he must write to thank me for havingeducated his wife to be a friend and companion for him. He had heardfrom a friend that some girls of his own class were being educated inMadras and he had asked for one in marriage. His dread for years hadbeen to be bound to an ignorant woman and now his fears were dispersed;his wife was a great pleasure to him and her judgment of great use. Headded, "I can only think that her progress has been due to her study ofthe Bible, and I want you to send me a copy that we may study together. "He is dead now and the girl widow is in great distress. She says: "Ihave been in the light and am now back in the dark. " This shows what canbe done by education to raise a people so degraded as many Mohammedansare. 

The part of South India where the Mohammedans are most independent isthe "Nizam's Dominion, " which is under the control of the Nizam ofHyderabad (subject, of course, to England). Hyderabad is a large walledcity, crowded with rather fierce-looking Mohammedans, and it is only oflate years that English people have been allowed within the wallswithout an escort. Even at the present day no English live inside thewalls. Everything inside is purely Mohammedan, and the English live atSecunderabad, where the English troops are stationed, just a few milesoff. 

In Hyderabad, were it not for H. H. The Nizam, many of the Nawabs wouldbe glad to bring their wives out. Quite a number of the leading nobleshave but one wife and glory in the fact. The Crown Prince (Sahibzada)has been married lately to a lady of noble family. This was probably thefirst Nizam to get married. The Nizam, from the fear of intrigue, fillshis harem with low-class women. Some of the nobles bring their wives outof purdah as soon as they leave the state on a holiday. 

Polygamy is still common, especially among the well-to-do. A readypurchase of slaves, during the great famine of 1900, as concubines, proves that this evil still exists. Few men have "many" wives, however. 

The effect on home life of this system is evident. The Sahibzada (thenext Nizam) when a boy was taken from the palace, his home, to escapethe evils and temptations of a royal zenana. He lived in a large housewith only his tutor and guardians till his marriage. A thoughtful munshiwho was anxious about his children's morals, deplored a system that madethe mother so ignorant of the outside world and so unable to direct ayoung son aright. 

Let me give you a few of my experiences with regard to Mussulman women, especially during my stay in Hyderabad. One zenana we used to visitbelonged to an old man who professed to be a great reformer, but whosewomen were still in strict purdah. He several times told us that hewould be delighted if we could persuade his wife and daughters to go outwith us, but of course they would not hear of such a thing. To theirminds it is only the very poor and degraded who wander about unveiled oreven drive in an open carriage, and would not all the ladies of theiracquaintance be horrified at the bare idea of their leaving their oldhabits. So that all our arguments and persuasion were useless, and thehusband went on writing his papers on the need of reform in thetreatment of their women. With this lady and her daughters we one daywent to a fair for women only. We had to submit to having our carriagecovered with a very large sheet so that no eye could see through theclosed venetians, and when, after great difficulty, the lady had beenplaced in the carriage we drove to the enclosure where the fair was tobe held. Right into the enclosure drove the carriage, and then theladies, carefully shrouded in sheets, were conducted through a narrowgateway into a second enclosure, and there were thousands of women andchildren. Not a man was to be seen anywhere. It was so strange to seethem wandering about freely in their bright-colored garments and toremember the streets of the great city they had come from, where hardlya woman is ever seen. These women never crossed the threshold of theirhouses before perhaps, so it was like fairyland to them. 

We found one large, gaily decorated erection belonging to one of theNawabs of Hyderabad, and the women called us in and plied us with manyquestions, and then begged us to go to their house to see them. We wentone day to find these new friends. After driving two or three miles wecame to a quaint walled village, passed under the gateway, and weredirected to the great man's house. We were told he had two hundred womenin his zenana. In front of the house we saw a young man with a drawnsword, just about to mount his horse. He seemed much amused when we toldhim we wanted to go and see the ladies, but he conducted us in to seethe head of the house. He was very polite, and asked us why we had come, etc. We told him our commission and showed our Gospel, and at last hesaid, "Oh, yes! You can go in. " So we were conducted to the other sideof the courtyard and came to an enormous iron gate. A little door in themiddle of it was opened for us to squeeze through, and we were in thezenana. 

Outside were plenty of sun and air, a grand, spacious courtyard withbeds of flowers, and arched verandahs with large cushions to sit on andlean against. 

Inside was a narrow courtyard which gave you the impression of not beingbig enough for all the women and children who crowded round. No garden, no flowers, no pretty verandahs, nor cushions. Old ladies and younggirls, my heart sank as I saw them all shut in together in this prison. They were very pleased for us to sing for them, but it seemed impossibleto talk to them. Even if _one_ wanted to listen the others would not lether. We always came away with a sad feeling. The woman who first askedus to go seemed to be in disgrace when we went the second time, andwould not come near us, and there seemed to be quite a little world toitself of intrigue and quarrel, joy, and sorrow, and sin in there. Oneold lady would have sung to her the quaint Hindustani bhajam "Rise, pilgrim, get ready, the time is fast going, " but she did not want tohear about our Lord Jesus. 

One day, when walking up a street in Hyderabad city selling Gospels, aboy called us into a large house. Here we found a little Nawab beingtaught by his teacher, who was very polite. The great houses give you acurious feeling; all is grand and spacious, but nothing is comfortableor home-like. Great verandahs and balconies all round the centralcourtyard and garden. After hearing our errand, the young Nawab offeredto take us to his mother and grandmother. We went with him. In onecorner of the courtyard was a funny little hole, we could not call it adoor, with a dirty piece of sacking hanging in front of it. We wentthrough and found ourselves in the zenana. Crowds of women and a dirty, dull, dreary-looking place are all that stays in my memory; but we werenot allowed to look long, for no sooner did the old grandmother find wehad the Gospel of Jesus, than she had us hustled out. In vain the boyand younger woman pleaded for us to stay. She would not hear of it, sowe had to go. We left some Gospels with the boy. The teacher begged forthe whole Bible, which we sold him a few days later. Into many zenanaswe went in this way, but we did not get invited a second time as a rule, and we generally find that having once been able to tell the Gospel in aMussulman house, if we do go a second time, we find the women primedwith stock arguments against us. 

We find we get nearest to them in the medical work. We hear tales andstories in the dead of night then, when sitting with them, which we donot get a hint of at other times. I remember a woman once showing me herarm all covered with cuts which she said her husband had done to herbecause she had been fighting with the other wife. We, with our ideas offreedom and liberty, may think these women unhappy, but _they_ do notseem to be more so than our own women. They are quite used to their ownlife and look down upon us poor things, who are so degraded that weallow men to see us freely with no shame! They see no privation in notbeing allowed to go out, or to see the world, and yet it is a suicidalsystem. For the women have not the least idea of what the men and boysare doing. 

Many a time have I seen a mother try to chastize her boy, but he hadonly to get to the door and slip out and she could not go after him. Since the girls can never go out they do not need much education of anysort, and the husband knows the wife has no knowledge whatever of theworld outside, so what is the use of talking to her? So amongstMussulmans there is stagnation, and they of nearly all the people inIndia make least progress. Ninety-five per cent. Of them are classed asilliterate in the last census!

Still progress is being made, we feel quite sure, and one thing seems toprove this. Though the Mohammedans in South India are backward and fullof things to be deplored, yet they are innocent of many things which areevidently carried on in other Mohammedan countries. We, in South India, who have for years worked amongst Moslems never heard of the customswhich seem to prevail in Egypt. Divorce is rarely heard of. Possibly itis too expensive, as the husband must return the dower. A woman beingmarried to half a dozen husbands in succession is unheard of. Surelythis shows that where education spreads and where Christianity, unconsciously perhaps, permeates the whole, there is a brighter daydawning for Islam. What is wanted is more teachers, more helpers to takeup the work of spreading the knowledge of the Lord in Moslem lands. 

XXI

THE MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN OF TURKESTAN

Among the numerous nations and tribes which adhere to the doctrine ofMohammed, the condition of women is of course not everywhere the same. In the vicinity of Europe, e. G. , in European Turkey, the influence ofEuropean morality and customs has become more and more prevailing inspite of the resistance of Moslem priests. Another difference in thecondition of women, which can be observed everywhere and which we shalloccasionally refer to, arises from their social position; among thericher classes a woman must submit to rules and customs different fromthose which are standard among the poorer classes. The fundamentalviews, however, are the same; the evil is one, though its outwardappearance may differ in some respects. 

The misfortune of a Mohammedan woman begins at her birth, for instead ofrejoicing at the arrival of her little daughter, the mother complainsthat she is not a son. She knows that a girl will leave her at the ageof about fourteen, in order to live in her husband's house, and afterthat she will hardly have any connection with her mother, whereas a sonwill stay at his mother's house and support her in case she should bedivorced from her husband. Moreover the mother is anxious lest herhusband dismiss her and take another wife. In consequence the motherfeels less affection for her daughter than she would have felt for ason; she takes little care of her and neglects her. When about six yearsold the little girl begins to do housework; she is ordered to carrywater, to sweep the house, to do kitchen-work, and so on. For the leastmistake she is scolded and beaten, and even if it happens without anyreason, she is not allowed to complain or to defend herself. By thistreatment the mother prepares her for the hard lot which awaits her. Sometimes also she will exclaim: "If you had had good fortune, you wouldhave been a boy and not a girl. " The father treats her with no lesscruelty, so as to give her the impression that she is indeed anunfortunate creature whom God does not love. 

At meal times girls take the last place and must be content with whatothers leave for them. When on holidays or on other occasions boys getpresents, the girls go away empty-handed. Even for boy's dress more isspent than for that of the girls. 

[Illustration: MOSLEM WOMEN OF THE BETTER CLASS IN STREET DRESS (SYRIA)]

The teaching of girls is generally confined to prayers and a fewchapters of the Koran, which they learn by heart mechanically. Veryseldom are they taught to read and write. The exceptions are few and arealways the only children of the rich or the noble. By these exceptionswe know that Mohammedan girls are in every respect sufficientlygifted for a higher education. Many of them have become prominentscholars or artists, perfectly able to rival men. This has been provedby the prose works and poems of Zubdat-ul-Nissa (that is, Flower ofWomen)--by those of Leilai--and in modern times by the Persian womanZarin Tadj, still better known by her surname Qurat-ul-Ain (that is, "Eyes' Comfort"). This woman descended from a priest's family, herfather as well as her uncle and father-in-law had been greattheologians, and her cousin, to whom she was married, was adistinguished scholar. Her extraordinary beauty seems to have beensurpassed only by her intellect and character. When but a child she tooka great interest in the conversations on science which were oftencarried on in her family, and surprised everybody by her sharp wit andrich mind. 

When later on she became acquainted with the doctrines of the Bab, a newleader, who appeared in Persia about the middle of last century, she wasso deeply impressed by them that she entered into intercourse with him, and in spite of the resistance of her family, appeared in public inorder to proclaim her master's doctrines. 

Let us try to give Mohammedan women a share in the higher spiritual lifeof their western sisters, and the slave creatures who serve only theirhusbands' pleasure and ease will become companions in his life-work andeducators of his children. This would produce a perfect change inMoslem family-life. 

This vision of the future, however, is not yet fulfilled. The Mohammedangirl spends her childhood in a dreary way, knowing that until herfourteenth or fifteenth year life will not be changed. Then her parentswill marry her to a man, in the choice of whom they will be led byfinancial reasons only. The young man's mother or some other elderrelation of his chooses a bride for him, and examines the girl withregard to her health and bodily charms. Sometimes the young people areallowed to exchange a few words with each other in presence of themother, but to get acquainted with each other as in Christian lands isconsidered superfluous. After marriage she is a slave not only to herhusband, but also to her parents-in-law, towards whom she must behavemost courteously, and whom she must serve sometimes even before servingher husband. Every morning she rises first and cleans the house; thenshe must bring her father-in-law water to wash himself, and afterwardshis repast. Prudence makes her try to gain the affection of herparents-in-law, that they may protect her, in case her husband shoulddismiss her. Moreover, in the first year after her marriage a young wifeis not allowed to answer the questions of her parents andbrothers-in-law save by bowing or shaking her head; only if no one elseis present, she may talk to them. In the fourth year she is permitted toanswer by saying "no" or "yes"; after the birth of a child, however, she may talk to every one. Besides, it is considered unbecoming that inthe presence of her parents-in-law she should sit near her husband oroccupy herself with her children. The only change and pleasure in amarried woman's life are the visits which she exchanges every now andthen with her parents, relations, and friends, as well as the weddingsand religious festivities which she is allowed to attend. 

The greatest misfortune in the life of a Mohammedan woman, however, isthe absolute uncertainty of the duration of her marriage, which robs herof all real happiness. According to Moslem law, every Mohammedan isentitled to take four legitimate wives. Although Moslem law demands thata man who has several wives ought to treat them equally, and forbids theneglect of one by preferring the other, matters are generally differentin reality. The first wife, instead of retaining a certain pre-eminence, as would be just, gradually becomes the servant of her fellow-wife orwives; if not, her husband dismisses her at last. It is impossible togive all the particulars of the misery which needs must result from suchmarriages, not only for the wife herself, but very often also for herchildren. 

The idea, that woman is a subordinate creature, destined only to serveman, has been so to say numerically expressed in the Mohammedan law ofinheritance, all the particulars of which are founded on the principle:two parts to man, one part to woman. For instance, after the death ofthe wife, the husband inherits a quarter of her fortune, in case thereare children; if there are none, half of it, whereas, the wife inheritsonly a quarter or an eighth. If several wives survive their husband, they inherit these parts together. Accordingly, daughters inherit onlyhalf as much as sons. 

Very seldom a Mohammedan widow is married again. She generally stays inher late husband's house, in order to educate her children, for whom atutor is chosen. The tutor administers the children's fortune and givesthe mother as much money as is necessary for their subsistence. When thechildren are grown up, the mother generally stays for the rest of herlife at one of her sons', not so often at a daughter's. In poorfamilies, however, the woman strives hard to gain her living by washing, spinning, sewing, knitting stockings, and other things of that kind. Later on the grown-up children sustain their mother, so that women whohave children spend their old age in comparative comfort. If, however, awidow, perhaps for want, consents to be married again, her own conditionmay be improved, but her children suffer. 

Some older women must be mentioned who are rather frequent in Moslemlands, and who form a class by themselves. Generally they have beenmarried several times, but either have no children, or have abandonedthem to their fate. They pass their old age without a companion andgain their living in as easy a manner as possible, being not veryparticular in choosing the means. Outwardly they seem to be utterlydevoted to their religious duties, and are always seen to murmur prayersand count their beads, by which behavior even religious people are oftendeceived so as to support them. On closer observation, however, theirreal occupation proves to be roaming about in the houses and intrudingthemselves in a skilful and unobserved way in order to spy out people'swhereabouts. They try to make themselves agreeable to the female membersof the household by tale-bearing or making commissions of differentkinds, particularly those which the women cannot make themselves orwhich the landlord of the house must not know about. Thus they gaininfluence over those whom they have served, and assure themselves oftheir gratitude. They promote love-intrigues, make marriages, and so on;if desired, they will also go to some celebrated fortune-teller, inorder to secure a talisman. 

These talismans or amulets generally consist of a scrap of paper, onwhich there are written sayings, names, letters, figures, or signs withcommon ink, or often with a yellow liquid made of saffron, musk, oramber; sometimes even serpent's blood is used for this purpose. If thetalisman is to be worn on the body, the paper is folded in the form of atriangle or a quadrant, then wrapped in a piece of cotton which has beenmade water-proof, and at last covered with a piece of fine cloth. Theamulet is fastened upon the head or tied around the upper-arm or worn onthe breast, with a string around the neck. Some people sew it upon theinside of their clothes so that it lies on the backbone or on the heart. Sometimes the amulet must be fastened with seven-colored silk. Sometimesalso it is thrown into water, to be drunk as soon as the writing isdissolved, or it is burnt and they breathe the smoke. 

Talismans and amulets are said to protect men and animals from the evileye, from the bite of wild beasts, and from wounds in war; they causelove or hatred, they produce or prevent sleep and madness. Theirpreparation is considered a special science, which demands special studyand is practised by so-called magicians or fortune-tellers, but also bydervishes, and even by priests. The latter generally only write versesfrom the Koran, which women wear around their neck as amulets. 

Perhaps all this superstition is harmless in itself or does a directharm only to their purses. Indirectly, however, it has a demoralizinginfluence upon all classes of people, especially upon women, who, asguardians of customs, are most attached to these fables. Only truecivilization and Christianity will redeem and deliver. 

In order to deepen the impression of what has been said and to addsomething from real life, I will tell the story of a Moslem woman, justas I heard it in Kashgar, where I have been working for five years forthe spreading of the Gospel. 

Some fifty years ago there lived in Kashgar a man called ChodshaBurhaneddin. He was descended from a family which since the middle ofthe seventeenth century has given Kashgar its kings. His fellow citizensesteemed him very much on account of his strict observance of thereligious prescriptions of Islam. He married a woman of noble descent, and for some time contented himself with his one wife. But according toIslam it is a merit to take if possible four wives, in order to increasethe number of the adherents of Islam. For this reason Chodsha broughthome another wife whenever he travelled on business to the Russian townof Andishan on that side of the Tienshan, until the number of four wasfull. The consequence was that he not only neglected his first wife, buteven had her do all the housework alone, thus making her the servant ofhis three other wives. She had to serve them from early morning tilllate at night. Without grumbling and with great diligence the poor womantook all the work upon herself; secretly, however, she bewailed her hardlot and employed her few free hours for the education of her littledaughter. However, she did not succeed in satisfying her husband. Healways found fault, beat her, and bade her not show her face before him. His wife submitted patiently and silently; she desisted even from payingvisits to her parents and acquaintances, which would have given hersome comfort, lest her husband think she had gone to her beloved ones tocomplain of his treatment. Four years passed. Meanwhile severalpolitical revolutions had taken place in Kashgar. In China the numerousChinese Mohammedans had revolted, and the revolt had spread over thewestern countries. In eastern Turkestan the Chinese officials as well asthe soldiers and the merchants had been killed by the Mohammedans; onlya few escaped death by accepting Islam. This state of matters was put anend to by Jakob Beg. He had come from Chanab Chokand, north of theTienshan, under the pretext of helping the descendant of the oldKashgarian dynasty of the Chodshas to the throne. In due time he put thePrince aside and founded a kingdom of his own, which included the wholeof eastern Turkestan. After taking hold of the government he tried toweaken the Chodshas in every way possible, some of them wereassassinated, others put in prison in order to be executed. One of thelatter was Chodsha Burhaneddin. As soon as his wife heard that herhusband had been made a prisoner, she hurried to her father, who waswell esteemed at Jakob Beg's court, and besought him to make the most ofhis influence in order to save her husband. Then she prepared a meal, took it to her imprisoned husband, and encouraged him. At his requestshe roused her father still more so as to betake himself at once toJakob Beg, and to prevail on him to set the prisoner at liberty thatsame night. Chodsha Burhaneddin returned to his house and entered theroom of his wife whom he had so long neglected, in order to thank herfor his delivery. Afterwards she had one more child, a boy. 

Some years after these events Chodsha fell ill. Knowing that his end wasnear, repentance overwhelmed him, and he asked his first wife to pardonhim whatever wrong he had done her. It was only she whom he wished to benear him in his pains. His other wives he did not at all care for now, and detested them even in such a manner as to drive them away, wheneverthey approached him. When at last death had released him from his pains, his three younger wives were married again, leaving their children totheir fate. His first wife, however, remained faithful to him even afterdeath; she refused all proposals, honorable as some of them were, anddevoted herself entirely to the education of her son and daughter, whomshe lived to see married. 

From this example, to which many others might be added, it becomes clearto what deep humiliations Mohammedan women are subject, and whattreasure of faithfulness and sacrifice are nevertheless hidden in someof these oppressed and crushed lives. Without knowing the doctrines ofChristian religion, Chodsha's wife had practised them. What she dimlyanticipated, has been fulfilled in her son, whom I baptized as thefirst-fruits in Kashgar, and received into the church. Did theMohammedan women but know to what height Christianity would raise them!Could they but compare the Mohammedan proverb: "Do not ask a woman'sadvice, and if she gives it, do the contrary, " with the Apostle Paul'swords: "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He thatloveth his wife, loveth himself" (Ephes. V:28), and "There is neithermale nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, " they would knowthe distance which separates Christian views from those of Islam. 

If on summer evenings when the heat of the day is over, the inhabitantof a Mohammedan town goes out for a walk to enjoy the evening coolnessbefore the gates, he will sometimes pass the burial-grounds. Weeping andwailing come to his ear. Pitifully he will look at the figures ofmourning women who are kneeling by the graves. But the sorrow which isrevealed there is not always meant for the loss of some beloved onedead; very often women visit the graves of their relations or, if theyhave none, of saints, in order to weep out undisturbed and unheard theirhopeless, desolate lives. In their houses they dare not give way totheir sorrows for fear of their husbands, therefore they go to the deadin order to tell them their griefs!

May these words bring that sound of wailing to the hearts of Christianwomen! May they, for whom Christian morality has made life fair andworthy, who as a beloved husband's true friend and companion take partin his joys and sorrows, or those who in the fulfilment of self-chosenduties have found happiness and content, may they often remember thehard fate of their Moslem sisters in the Orient, and help carry themessage of salvation to them. 

XXII

IN FAR-OFF CATHAY

The social condition of Mohammedan women in Kansu Province in NorthwestChina is not so hard as those of their sisters in the more westerncountries. The Mohammedans, having been in China now about a thousandyears, have, save in the matter of idolatry, practically adopted theChinese customs, even to the binding of the feet of their little girls. Among the wealthier Mohammedans, as with the wealthier Chinese, polygamyis common, many having two or three wives, and among the middle class, when there has been no issue by the first wife, many take untothemselves a second wife. Divorces are of rare occurrence. 

There are no harems. The better-class women are not seen much on thestreets, but in the country places, the farmer's wife, daughters, anddaughters-in-law go out into the fields, weed and reap the corn, carrywater, gather in fuel, and wear no veil. The daughters anddaughters-in-law of the better class, from the age of fifteen to thirty, often wear a black veil when going on a visit to their friends, as alsodo the Chinese. 

In the busy farming seasons, the Mohammedan men, with their wives of thepoorer class, hire themselves out to the Chinese farmers, and come downin large numbers to weed in the spring and gather in the corn in summerand autumn. They bring their children with them and stay on the farmtill the busy time is over. We always get a goodly number of visits fromthem. 

Speaking of the Mohammedan male population in our prefecture of Si-ning, the vast majority are ignorant of the tenets of the Koran, know littleof anything, save that Masheng-ren is their prophet, and that there is aSupreme Being somewhere of whom they are almost as ignorant as theChinese. They seem to realize it a duty to attend worship on two specialoccasions each year, but the majority of them never darken the mosquedoors at other times. Seldom a day passes but we have Mohammedanvisitors, and the answer we get from nine out of every ten to questionsabout their doctrine is, "We are only blind folks and we do not knowanything. " Their ah-hongs or pastors do not trouble to teach any savethe students, for which they are paid. Some even speak of heaven asbeing Khuda (God). In many ways are they influenced by the Chinesearound them. 

Already I have referred to the binding of the feet of their littlegirls. In sickness it is a common thing to see the patient with a tinybook written in Arabic bound up in red cloth and sewn on the shoulderor back of the outside garment, to shield them from the evil spirits. Many also observe the lucky and unlucky days in the Chinese calendar, byremoving from one house to another. One of our patients had evenresorted to the Buddhists or agnostics to recite prayers and use charmsto drive away his sickness. 

At the present rate of spiritual declension, in another century manywill either be Buddhists or agnostics. 

The times of prayer are not observed save by the ah-hongs and mullahsand a few of the old men. 

These few particulars showing the indifference and ignorance among themen, what can be expected of the women? They are heathen, except inname. In our prefecture, we receive a welcome among them whenever we go, but how long this will continue it is hard to tell. In the southwest ofthis province, where formerly much friendliness was shown towards themissionaries, latterly a spirit of bitterness and opposition has beenmanifested owing to a few becoming interested in the Gospel andattending regularly on Sunday. The ah-hongs have warned their peoplethat if any join the church they will be put to death when the foreignambassador arrives from Turkey. Who this individual is, is not veryapparent, and from whence he will get his power to put Chinese subjectsto death is a mystery. Doubtless it is only a scheme of the ah-hongs toput the people in fear. 

So far, however, we have open doors here and no opposition, but owing tolack of workers there is NO ONE TO ENTER IN, NO ONE to take the Bread ofLife to them, NO ONE to bear the glad news to them. 

After the rebellion of 1895, when retribution fell heavily on theMohammedans, thousands of them were reduced to the verge of starvation;women, who had been accustomed to the comforts of a good home, weredeprived of their warm winter clothing and left only with thin summertattered garments, right in the depth of winter with a thermometerregistering below zero (Fahrenheit). By the help of many kind friends indifferent parts of China, we were enabled to open a soup-kitchen andprovide hot food every day for six weeks, during the bitterest part ofthe winter, to an average of three hundred persons each day, and also togive away several warm garments to those in direst need. Every day wetaught the people to repeat hymns, grace before meat, and told themstories from the Bible. On the Chinese New Year's Day we gave them aspecial treat of mutton-broth and afterwards showed them, with the magiclantern, some scenes in the life of our Lord. In the winter of 1896-7 weagain provided food to an average of one hundred and twenty each day, nearly all widows and children. 

When the rebellion was over the Mohammedans were no longer permitted toreside in the east suburb, where formerly they numbered ten thousandpersons, save a few of the poor widows who gained a subsistence bybegging, but were sent to reside in a few villages thirty miles from thecity. Occasionally we have a visit from some of the women and it ischeering to find that they remember much of what was told them in thoseyears of their adversity, and we may hope that some at least will meetus in the white-robed throng hereafter. 

At present we have one Mohammedan woman, much interested in the Gospel, who comes regularly to worship on Sundays when the farmers are not busy. One difficulty stands in their way and that is, the Chinese women hatethem and scorn to sit beside them, and we cannot wonder, for they havesuffered much at their hands, many having lost their all twice in theirlifetime, and some thrice; nevertheless, we are thankful for the moreChrist-like spirit shown towards them by the Christians, who are willingto forget the past and give them a welcome, converse with them freely, and recognize them as sisters for whom also Christ hath died. 

There are two sects of Mohammedans in our district and there are oftenserious quarrels between them, and some of the people fear that if manyMohammedans became Christians serious trouble might ensue; but we feelsure that if the Christians manifest the spirit of their Master, lovingtheir enemies, blessing their persecutors, praying for those whoill-treat them, that finally they would disarm their hatred and bepermitted to live in peace; whereas the two sects lacking that inwardspiritual grace, hating each other, and backbiting each other, finallybring about strife. 

The careful readers of this chapter will observe from what we havewritten that the life of their Mohammedan sisters in China is not sohard and prison-like as that of their sisters in North Africa, Persia, etc, where they are secluded for a lifetime in the prison-like harems atthe command of their husbands. Nevertheless, their need is just asgreat, their souls just as precious, their ignorance of spiritual thingsjust as deep, their lives just as much of a blank, their hope for thefuture just as dark; they live and die "just like animals, " they arewont to say; and all the hopelessness, darkness, and lovelessnesscontinues not because of their SECLUSION in harems at the mercy of theirhusbands but because of their EXCLUSION from their right to the joys andhope of the Christian life by the lukewarm indifference of the Church ofChrist to-day, which fails to realize the great responsibility to carrythe Gospel to every creature. 

In our vast parish, stretching one hundred miles from east to west andtwo hundred and thirty miles from southeast to northwest, comprising sixcities, sixteen walled towns, and thousands of villages with a mixedpopulation of Chinese, Mohammedans, Mongolians, Tibetans, andaborigines, my husband and I are left to labor alone. This does notspell seclusion but exclusion from the knowledge of the Way ofSalvation for tens of thousands of souls for whom Christ died. 

When Jesus saw the leper He had compassion on him; when He saw the widowof Nain He said "Weep not"; when the mourners wept at the grave ofLazarus He saw them and wept also; when He looked from the Mount ofOlives on the city of Jerusalem and thought of her doom, He wept. Wouldthat in a vision or in a dream of the night, you could behold somethingof the hopelessness of your less favored sisters; would that you couldhear just a few of their plaintive cries and see tears rolling downtheir cheeks as they unburden their sorrows to the sympathetic ear. Then, methinks, you would not rest till you had accomplished somethingto make these many dark hearts brighter and sad hearts lighter. 

XXIII

OUR MOSLEM SISTERS IN JAVA

(_Translated from the Dutch_)

The life of the Mohammedan woman in general here is not that of a beingon a par with man, but rather comparable with that of a dumb animal, acreature inferior to and much less worthy than man, which is kept andutilized as long as it performs some services. 

Fatalism, as taught and nourished by Islam, places the woman in aservile relationship to the man, so much so that she, althoughconsidered a creature of no particular value, does not take offence atbeing accounted a negligible quantity. 

Maltreatment of women takes place occasionally but is by no meansgeneral, because nothing hinders the husband from driving away his wifewith whom he may not be satisfied, without even observing the simplestform of a legal procedure. 

Why should the man, particularly amongst Moslems, "the Lord ofCreation, " weary himself or even become angry, seeing it is far wiserand more profitable that he exchange the worn-out wife and mother, whocan no longer add to the number of his children, for a younger andstronger wife? This profitable barter, too, need cost him but a trifle. 

This exchange of wives has even a more demoralizing tendency than thepractice of polygamy itself, which luxury only those can participate inwhose salary is at least fifteen florins per month. 

The results of the sinful practice of polygamy, especially for thechildren and consequently for the state, would be less sad tocontemplate, were it not that the polygamist exchanges his wife asreadily for another as he who can afford but one wife at a time. 

It is scarcely necessary for me to enumerate here the effects of thisevil of which the wife is the victim. 

This much-loved evil is a strong bulwark against the spread of theethics of Christianity. 

A second and a very powerful opponent of mission work is found in thepeculiar Mohammedan village organization, in which the Moslem sheikh orspiritual leader plays the most important rôle. 

Another peculiarity of Islam here, is the fact that the inlandpopulation and the millions of inhabitants who live in the lowlands ofJava are peculiarly interrelated and mutually dependent. Only in a fewof the larger towns in Java do we find the trades practised. 

The villager is a farmer, and since rice is the chief article of foodand this must be raised by irrigation channels in a hilly country likeJava, the villagers are, as a matter of course, compelled to live atpeace with one another, becoming interdependent through the productionof the staff of life. 

A Moslem family that becomes Christian soon experiences deprivation. Theso-called "silent power" soon makes its influence felt, ostracising themfrom every privilege. 

This becomes the more easy to understand when we remember that thedivision of the cultivable soil and of the water supply with all othercivil rights and privileges, are entrusted by Dutch law to theMohammedan village government, in which the Moslem sheikh or priestenjoys an ex-officio vote. 

Because of this peculiar condition of life in the East Indies, thewriter and other missionaries in Java have purposely settled in aninland district in the very midst of the Mohammedan population, wherethose families who have embraced Christianity may gather about themission centre and gradually form a nucleus (in course of time a villageor town), where independent legal privileges may be enjoyed and thepeople ruled over by their own native Christian chiefs. In this mannerthese communities can gradually become "a salt" and "a light" for theirMohammedan environment. 

Of very much importance in this connection is the action taken by HerMajesty, our beloved Queen Wilhelmina, who--at the request of our formerMinister of Colonies, the Honorable Mr. Van Idenburg, at presentGovernor of Paramaribo, in South America--commissioned theStates-General of the Netherlands to describe and protect the legalstatus of the native Christians. 

By reason of this our Christian converts can now claim at least theright of existence, and even the native Christian woman can obtain thatjustice before the law to which she is entitled. 

XXIV

THE MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN OF MALAYSIA

Malaysia comprises the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. The latterincludes the great islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes, andinnumerable smaller ones. The one island of Java contains aboutthree-fourths of the entire population of Malaysia, which is probablyabout forty millions. The vast majority of the population areMohammedans, but the hill-tribes of the Peninsula and of the largerislands are still heathen, the Dyaks of Borneo and the Battas of Sumatrabeing the most numerous of the non-Mohammedan races. There are also manyhundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, of whom onlyone here and there have become Mohammedan. 

The principal Mohammedan races are: (1) the Malays proper, who inhabitthe Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, and the neighboring islands, and are scattered to some extent amongst all the seaport towns of theArchipelago; (2) in Sumatra, the Achinese in the north, and the Rejansand Lampongs in the south; (3) in Java, the Sundanese in the west, theJavanese in the centre and east, and the Madurese in the extreme east;and (4) the Bugis in Celebes. 

The greatest success in the conversion of Mohammedans to Christianityhas been achieved by the German (Barmen) Mission in Sumatra, and chieflyamong the Battas, a very numerous heathen race, who have been graduallywon in small numbers to the faith of Islam, probably for centuries. About fifty thousand of the Battas are now Christians, and many of thesewere at one time Mohammedans. 

In Java the Dutch have made considerable efforts to convert the nativesto Christianity for three hundred years past, and as the result of thisearly work there are considerable Christian communities still existing. It is only within the last century, however, that the work of themissionary societies has infused new life into the work of convertingthe Mohammedans. The greatest numerical success has been achieved bythose who devote their efforts to the founding of Christian communitiesin villages of their own, entirely distinct from the Mohammedans, withtheir own Christian village headmen. It is found that in the Mohammedanvillages the Christians suffer so much persecution from the headmen andothers, that in some cases Christianity has been entirely stamped out, and the Christians have disappeared, no one knows where. The Christianvillages have in most cases been established in unsettled districts, whole families being moved from other places, and clearing the jungleto form their own settlements. These people have been won to Christ bypreaching among the Mohammedans, and are protected from persecution bythus gathering them into Christian communities. Much work is also doneby means of schools and dispensaries. The Dutch Government provides boththe school buildings and salaries of schoolmasters, under certain rules, and it also erects hospitals, and provides medicines free to everymissionary. There are also instances in which Christian communities havegrown up in the midst of Mohammedan surroundings, and it is claimed thatsuch Christians are of a stronger type, and exercise a more powerfulinfluence among their fellow-countrymen. A Dutch missionary writes thatpolygamy and divorce are very prevalent in Java, there being many whohave changed husbands or wives as many as ten or twenty times. The manhas to pay the priest two guilders for a divorce, but a woman would haveto pay twenty-five guilders; the latter is known as "Buffalo divorce, "i. E. , brutal. In Java the second wife is called "A fire in the house. "Four wives are allowed, and any number of concubines. In case of divorcethe girls follow the father, and the boys follow the mother. Divorcedwomen are often in straitened circumstances and become concubines or thekept mistresses of Europeans or even of the Chinese. 

The largest Christian communities in Malaysia are in North Celebes andon the island of Amboina. These are the result of the early labors ofthe chaplains of the Dutch East India Company. 

Among the Malays proper very little missionary work has been attemptedand practically nothing has been accomplished. From 1815 to 1843 theLondon Missionary Society carried on work among the Malays at Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, but then withdrew all their missionaries toChina, with the exception of Rev. B. P. Keasberry, who continued to workamong the Malays in Singapore as a self-supporting missionary until hisdeath, in 1872. He baptized a few Malays, both men and women, one or twoof whom are still living, but make no profession of Christianity. Withinthe last twenty years we know of one Malay man and two or three womenwho have been converted to Christianity and baptized in Singapore andPenang, none of whom has gone back to Islam. 

The extent to which polygamy is practised among the Malays depends verygreatly upon the amount which has to be paid as dowry, and this variesvery much in the different parts of the Peninsula and Eastern Sumatra. Divorce, however, is common everywhere. In our personal intercourse withthe Malays, we have realized how very much the women resemble those ofother nationalities in their aspirations, but how useless it is for themto try to make any real progress, because they are so tied by customs. They say, "We must be content to live as we do, for we are powerless todo otherwise. " When they go out for walks they must be closely veiledor covered, and must walk in front of the men, which seems courteous tous until we are told the reason, which is that the men can watch them, and see that they do not cast glances at other men. Many of the womenlearn to read the Koran, and a few learn to read and write Malayan inthe government vernacular schools, but the latter is sometimes objectedto on the ground that the girls will write letters to men. It is verydifficult to get Malay girls to attend a Christian school, for fear theymight become Christians. The people living in the agricultural districtsseem to be happy and contented, and yet here polygamy is more commonthan in the towns. The heart of the wife and mother is often burdenedbecause her husband has taken a second or third wife, when there islittle enough money for one family to live upon. As a rule the men donot want their wives to know when they are taking new wives. Theyusually say they are going away to work for a few days. We have beenasked to write letters to such husbands requesting money, and beggingthe husband to return. Sometimes the answers to these letters containloving messages to the wife, asking her not to believe the stories toldher, but still he returns not, or worse still, no money comes. The wiveswith tears streaming down their cheeks say, "How can his small wagessupport three or four wives?" In one case a wife received a lettersaying that she could marry again, as the husband had decided to marryanother woman. We have been asked by such deserted wives to enclose lovepotions or medicine in letters to win back the love of the husbands. Thelove potions consist of the ashes of a piece of paper which has had somewords written on it and is afterwards burnt, the ashes being put in apaper, enclosed in a letter and sent to a friend, who is requested toput it in a cup of coffee, and give it to the wayward husband. One womanwhom we knew personally had been deserted by her husband; she lived in ahouse by herself, and would not leave it for more than an hour at atime, fearing her husband would return and accuse her of unfaithfulness. She earned her living partly by taking in sewing, and her relativeswould help her as they could. A young girl was to be married to a manwho had a wife and family in another town. We asked the girl's mother ifshe knew about this. She replied, "Yes, but he has fair wages; he cansupport two wives. " We enquired of a relative of the bridegroom's firstwife if she knew her husband was to be married again. She answered, "Hewill not tell her, but I am sure she will feel it in her heart. " In manycases the deserted wives have to support the children, which they do bysewing or making and selling cakes. 

XXV

"WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO?"

Those of us who have read the pages of this book right through to theend, will find such words as are at the head of this chapter riseinvoluntarily to our lips. What must we do?

Thank God, He has a plan. "He sent not His Son into the world to condemnthe world, but that the world through Him might be saved. " "It is notthe will of your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones shouldperish. " Then let us all ask Him to teach us how these countless Moslemwomen and girls may be saved. He can bless the old ways of work and Hecan lead into new ways. 

The following methods have been tried and each one is capable of furtherdevelopment. 

Women's medical work has removed prejudice and opened closed doors. Weshould have many more women missionary doctors. We should also have manyqualified nurses, especially those skilled in midwifery. They are oftenonly summoned to attend difficult or dangerous cases, so that it is anecessity to be _thoroughly efficient_, and they need to do the work ina missionary spirit. Women's hospitals as a base of operations areneeded, so that those who cannot be attended to in their own homes, with any hope of cure, may be admitted to the hospital. But there shouldbe associated with every nurse or doctor some workers who are whollygiven up to evangelistic work. Through lack of these much of theinfluence of the medical missionary fails to accomplish its wished-forresult. The doctors and nurses feel this themselves strongly. The sameis felt everywhere amongst educational missionaries. The work of theschool needs to be followed up by the visit to the home. There arecountless doors open to the young wives who have been taught in school, and who would delight in a visit from one of the mission ladies. 

This might be done by older workers and we earnestly urge that women'smissionary boards and societies should be willing to receive women forthis department older than they can take for school or medical work. Thelanguage is learnt through constant intercourse with the women. If olderwomen who could meet their own expenses might be allowed to givethemselves solely to this evangelistic work, we believe that a largeincrease would be made to our missionary force. 

[Illustration: A CRY OF DISTRESS FROM ALGIERS]

Women's settlements are only beginning to be tried in different parts ofthe field, but we believe that this method would be found very helpfulboth in towns and villages, but especially in the villages. The thoughtis, to have a group of about four workers and one or two native helpersliving together, composing a women's household, into which the Moslemwomen may freely come without fear of meeting any men. These settlementsshould be within easy reach of an ordinary mission station, so that thework should be part of the whole, and the husbands should be cared forby others at the same time. School, medical, and evangelistic work mayall be done from a settlement. 

It is felt in the educational work that girl's boarding schools are farmore fruitful for good than day schools. One sort of school that seemsto have had the happiest results has been where a lady missionary has alittle group of some twelve girls living with her. They are hercompanions night and day; she shares all their conversation, their play, their household duties, their lessons. The pure, refining influence ofher constant companionship has more effect on these young lives than anyother that has been tried. Will not many Christian women give themselvesto such work as this?

Much might be done in the way of small orphanages for girls, or homeswhere the children of divorced mothers might be received. 

The possibilities before us of what these girls might become through thehome training of several years are almost unlimited. The naturalintelligence and sweetness of character shown by many of them show whatmight be made of them. They have all the light-heartedness and merryways of western girls, with the same tenderness towards suffering. Andat the same time there is a strength of character and determination ofwill that not only explains, perhaps, many of the divorces which nowtake place, but it raises hopes of what these girls may become, and mayaccomplish for the regeneration of their people. 

If they become followers of Christ, they are of the stuff of whichmartyrs are made. One little girl in a mission school in Egypt stood upin front of all her companions and boldly said that she believed inJesus. The news was quickly told at home and she was severely beaten. Aday or two afterwards, she was back in her place at school. Her teacherasked had she been beaten very much. "Yes, " she said, "but never mind, wasn't Jesus beaten for me?"

The centuries of oppression that have passed over the heads of thesewomen have not crushed their spirit. It rises afresh against all thestupidity and ignorance of those who oppress them. And men still findout even among Moslems:

 "What man on earth hath power or skill To stem the torrent of a woman's will? For when she will, she will, you may depend on't, And when she won't, she won't, and there's an end on't. "

That efforts to educate and train the girls are really appreciated bythe men is evident from one fact known of large training schools inSyria. We are told that not one girl graduated there has been divorced, nor have any of their husbands introduced a second wife into theirhomes. This shows us that what the Moslem man really needs is a wife whois able to be a companion to him. One who can talk to him, keep his homeneat, and knows how to take care of his children. And in many a case thelessons of heavenly things which the young wife has learnt at schoolhave been willingly listened to by the husband. 

The chief aim in our work should be to have constant touch with thegirls, to love them, to win their love, and to live Christ before them, not resting satisfied with anything short of their salvation. 

But all this needs to be taken up in dead earnest; and Christian womencan only do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, yielding their liveswholly to the Lord for it. If we do rise to it, and diligently giveourselves to win the women and girls of Islam for Christ, and train themup to live for Him in their homes, we shall find the answer to Abraham'sprayer for his son Ishmael begin to come true: "As for Ishmael I haveheard thee. Behold I have blessed him, "--and God's blessing _is life forevermore_. 

And to Our Moslem Sisters may come again the words that were spoken toHagar: "_The Lord hath heard thy affliction. _" "_And she called the nameof the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me, for she said, Have Ialso here looked after Him that seeth me. _" The fountain of water in thewilderness by which the angel found her was called Beer lahai-roi: "_Thewell of Him that liveth and seeth me. _" And the very name of Ishmaelmeans, "_God shall hear. _" Is it not an invitation and an encouragementto us to take on our hearts these multitudes of their children and claimthe promises for them? _Blessing is life. _ "_I am come that they mighthave life and that they might have it more abundantly. _"

For this end we ask you to enter into a covenant of prayer with us, thatwe may not cease to intercede for our broken-hearted sisters, that theymay be comforted, and for the captives of Satan, that they may be setfree, that the prison gates may be opened for them so that the oil ofjoy may be given them for mourning, the garment of praise for the spiritof heaviness. 

 "Life! life! eternal life! Jesus alone is the giver. Life! life! abundant life! Glory to Jesus for ever. "

When this Life becomes theirs, Our Moslem Sisters will be our ownsisters in a new sense of the word, and we shall see the evangelizationof the Mohammedan home and of all Moslem lands. 

 A PRAYER. 

 "O Lord God, to whom the sceptre of right belongeth, lift up Thyself and travel in the greatness of Thy strength throughout the Mohammedan lands of the East; because of the anointing of Thy Son Jesus Christ as Thy true Prophet, Priest, and King, destroy the sword of Islam, and break the yoke of the false prophet Mohammed from off the necks of Egypt, Arabia, Turkey, Persia, and other Moslem lands, so that there may be opened throughout these lands a great door and effectual for the Gospel, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, and the veil upon so many hearts may be removed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. " (From the C. M. S. Cycle of Prayer. )

LATEST IMPORTANT WORKS ON MOHAMMEDANISM

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Transcriber's Note:

Varying transliterations of Arabic words have not been changed, butobvious mistakes have been corrected. 

Underscores have been used to denote italics, as in the followingexample: _italic_. 

The illustration referred to in footnote [D] is the illustration entitled"A CRY OF DISTRESS FROM ALGIERS. "