I received some days ago your letter asking for something upon the condition of Mohammedan women in Bulgaria. My observation has been limited, and I have not had opportunity to learn from others what they had seen, except from our dear old Fatima Hanum, for so many years a Bible woman among Mohammedan women.
Bulgaria cannot be called Turkey. Indeed it is much freer from Turkish influence than Egypt is. There is a free intercourse also between Turkish, Bulgarian, and Armenian women, which must influence the home life and the views of the Mohammedan families. Most of them would be ashamed to take more than one woman, and the Turkish women are continually comparing their situation and life with that of their Christian neighbors. They are sad not to be able to read and write, and they try to give their daughters a better education. But as they see that their (orthodox) Bulgarian neighbors care more for instruction than for religion and real education, they, of course, cannot understand till now, that religion is the root of culture.
Polygamy is by no means prevalent among theMohammedans of Bulgaria, indeed it is very rare that a man has more than one wife, but these few exceptions are productive of great misery. Divorce for very trivial reasons is not uncommon, but there has recently occurred under my eye a case of happy reconciliation and restoration through the influence of Christian friends.
The Mohammedan woman of Bulgaria shares to a degree the freedom of her Bulgarian sisters, is a power in the home, and, especially if the mother of grown sons, is much respected and considered. But ignorance is her curse. Here and there one finds a grown woman able to read, but the mass are content to let their girls go to school for a few years and then gradually forget all they have learned. But still I have known some keenly interested in the reading of Scripture. I recall one visit in a roomful of women at the festival of Bairam, when a young girl attracted by 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 to that roomful of deeply interested listeners. As she finished, clasping the 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, reminding us earnestly of our promise to send her a book soon. We know that the book was much read.
Another girl of seventeen, whom Fatima Hanum had taught not only to read but to love the Book,found great comfort in the prayers and Christian sympathy of this same dear friend during a long illness. On her death-bed she said to her mother: "We have lived in darkness, but there is light and I have seen it!"
We believe the light is beginning to glimmer in more than one Mohammedan home in Bulgaria. In this city, as in many others, Mohammedan women are accustomed to spend Friday, whenever the weather will permit, under the trees in some pleasant spot, and Fatima Hanum with her Bible is a familiar figure among them—indeed they often send word to her: "We are going out for the day. Come with us and bring the Book."
In a recent tour I was a welcome guest in several Turkish homes, and warm approval was expressed by the women of their Protestant neighbors—only one failing was regretted—"they eat pork," but even they acknowledged that it wasn't so bad as telling lies, and saying unkind things about each other; and they begged me to come again and read to them from our Great Teacher's Book.
One can never forget the first sight of a Moslem woman—that veiled figure, moving silently through the streets, so enshrouded that face and form are completely concealed. Men and women pass each other with no greeting or token of recognition, and if a wife accompanies her husband, she never walks beside him, but at a respectful distance behind, and neither gives a sign that they belong together.
A woman's first instinct is to efface herself. Even the poor, washing clothes in the street at the water-course, pull their tattered rags over their faces. The Persian expression for women, "those who sit behind the curtain," shows that their place is silence and seclusion. When the closed carriage of a princess passes, her servants, galloping before, order all men to turn their faces to the wall, though all they could possibly see would be carefully veiled figures. The beggar sitting on the ground at the street corner is equally invisible under her cottonchader, as with lamentable voice she calls for mercy on the baby in her arms.
During the month of mourning, we often pass a brilliantly lighted mosque, where men sit sippingtea or smoking, listening to the tale of the death of their martyrs, but crouching on the stony street outside in the darkness, a crowd of women are straining their ears to catch what they can. Such are the passing glimpses one gets of the Persian woman in public.
Her real life is lived in the "harem." We realize its meaning, "the forbidden," when after passing through the imposing street gate, and the outer court where are the men's apartments, we are conducted to a curtained door, guarded by a sentinel, who summons an old eunuch to lead us through a dark, narrow passage into the inner court, orandaroon. Here no man may enter but the very nearest relatives of the inmates, and they under severe restrictions. As women, we have free access, and this privilege is shared by the Christian physician, who is welcomed and trusted. One such gives us this picture.
Theandaroonis usually very far from being an abode of luxury, even in wealthy families, unless the number of wives is limited to one or two. The favorite wife has many advantages over her rivals, but she is usually encouraged to set an example of severe simplicity, in respect to her house and its furnishings, to the other wives; each of whom would make life a burden to her lord, were marked discrimination shown in such things. He, therefore, contents himself with reserving the best of everything for theberoon, or outer apartments, wherehe receives his own guests. Here are fountains, spacious courts, shady walks, and profusion of flowers without, while within are large, high-ceiled and stuccoed rooms, elaborate windows, delicately wrought frescoes, the finest rugs and divans, showy chandeliers and candelabra, stately pier glasses brought on camels' backs from distant Trebizond or Bushire, inlaid tables from Shiraz, and portières from Reshd.
Theandaroonpresents a marked contrast. The rooms are usually small and low without ventilation, the courts confined, sunless, and bare; the garden ill-kept, and the general air of a backyard pervading the entire establishment. This order is reversed by many ecclesiastics, who in deference to the popular idea, that to be very holy, one must be very dirty, reserve all their luxuries for theandaroon, and make a show of beggarly plainness in the part of the house to which their pupils and the public have access.
The Persian wife seldom ventures into theberoon, and when she does, it is as an outsider only, who is tolerated as long as no other visitor is present. All its belongings are in charge of men-servants, and the dainty touches of the feminine hand are nowhere seen in their arrangement, and her presence is lacking there, to greet its guests, or grace its entertainments.
When the Khanum suffers from any of the ailments, for which in America or Europe outdoorexercise, travel, a visit to the seaside, to the mountains, or to the baths is required, the physician feels his helplessness. He sees that the patient cannot recover her nervous tone in her present environment. But there is no seaside except at impossible distances and in impossible climates. A visit to the mountains would mean being shut up in a little dirty village, whose houses are mud hovels, the chief industry of whose women is the milking of goats and sheep, and working up beds of manure with bare feet, and moulding it by hand into cakes for fuel. Or, if the husband have both the means and the inclination, for her sake to make an encampment upon the mountains large enough to afford security from robbers and wandering tribes, she would be confined largely to the precincts inclosed by the canvas wall surrounding the harem. She rides only in akajava, or basket, or in a closedtakhterawan, or horse litter, or, as she sits perched high up, astride a man's saddle, looking in her balloon garments, and doubtless feeling, more insecure than Humpty Dumpty on the wall. In her outdoor costume, the Khanum never walks. At best she can only waddle, therefore she is almost as effectually shut out from this important form of exercise as the women of China. In both countries the peasant class are blessed with more freedom than those of higher rank, and the village women, dispensing with the baggy trousers and in some districts also with thechader, or mantle, swing by on the road withan elastic stride that would do credit to a veteran of many campaigns.
Travelling in Persia is, for women particularly, a matter of so great discomfort, that even the shortest journey could seldom be recommended as a health measure. There are some famous mineral springs in Northern Persia, but they are usually in regions difficult of access, and often dangerous on account of nomads and robbers, and they generally have only such facilities for bathing as nature has afforded. If they really do heal diseases their virtues must be marvellous, for the sick who visit them usually stay but a day or two, though they make a business of bathing while they have the opportunity. To prescribe travel, therefore, would be about the equivalent of prescribing a journey to the moon, and to recommend outdoor exercise for an inmate of theandaroonwould be like prescribing a daily exercise in flying, the one being about as practicable as the other. Should the physician find it necessary on the other hand to isolate his patient for the treatment of hysteria, which is exceedingly common, or for mental troubles, which are also very common, he is equally at sea. No nurse, not even a "Sairey Gamp" could be found. When it is known that one has a severe illness or visitation from God, they come, as in the days of Job, "every one from his own place—to mourn with him."
In cases where absolute isolation has been ordered, as an essential condition of the patient'srecovery, the physician may expect on his next visit to find the room filled with chattering women, who have gathered to speculate on the possibilities of a recovery or each to recommend the decoction which cured some one else, whose case was "just like this." There is but little watching done at night in the most severe cases, and a physician is seldom called up at night to see a patient.
On my first introduction to theandaroon, I had little acquaintance with either Persian customs or costumes. I had been asked to see the wife of a high dignitary, and on my arrival was at once ushered into her presence. I found my fair patient awaiting me, standing beside a fountain, in the midst of a garden quite Oriental in its features. She was closely veiled, but her feet and legs were bare, and her skirts were so economically abbreviated as at first to raise the question in my mind, whether I had not by mistake of the servant been announced before the lady had completed her toilet. She, however, held out her hand, which apparently she did not intend me to shake, and I presently made out that I was expected to feel her pulse as the preliminary to my inquiries concerning her symptoms; or rather in lieu of them, the competent Persian physician needing no other clue to the diagnosis. Then the pulse of the other wrist had to be examined, and I inspected the tongue, of which I obtained a glimpse between the skilfully disposed folds of the veil. This woman had been suffering from a malarial disease, which had manifested some grave symptoms, and I tried to impress upon the family the importance of her taking prompt measures to avert another paroxysm. Feeling somewhat anxious as to the result, I sent the next morning to inquire about her condition and the effect of the remedy prescribed, but learned to my disgust that the medicine had not yet been given, the Mullah who must make "istekhara" (cast the lot) to ascertain whether the remedy was a suitable one for the case, not having yet arrived.
Seclusion, lack of exercise, the monotony that leaves the mind to prey upon itself, ignorance, early marriage, unhappiness, abuse, and contagious diseases bring upon the Persian woman a great amount of physical suffering directly traceable to the system of Mohammedanism. One special demand of her religion, the month of fasting, is a case in point. At the age of seven, the girls must assume this burden, not taken up by boys till they are thirteen. For a mere child to be deprived of food and drink, sometimes for seventeen hours at a stretch, day after day, and then allowed to gorge herself at night, cannot but be a physical injury.
In illness, no pen can depict the contrast between a refined Christian sickroom and the crowded noisy apartment, poisoned with tobacco smoke, where lies the poor Persian woman in the dirty garments of every-day wear, covered by bedding in worse condition.
Mentally, the Persian women are as bright as those of any race. The same physician 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 in Christian lands; some who were very entertaining in conversation, even in their husbands' presence; some who were their husbands' trusted counsellors; some who were noted for learning; some who were successfully managing large estates; some who have stood by me in my professional work, in emergencies demanding great strength of character and freedom from race and sectarian prejudice."
But these are the exceptions; scarcely one in a thousand has any education, even in its most restricted sense of being able to read and write her own language intelligently. It is marvellous to see how all the 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 a common 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 spoke strongly of their present illiterate state. He taxed the mothers with the great mortality among children, and made the amazing statement, that in Australiaevery woman who loses a child is punished by law with the loss of a finger! He did not venture to prescribe this drastic remedy for Persia, but says the husbands and fathers who allow their women to remain in ignorance should be held up to public scorn and contempt, and that nothing but education and religion will make a change.
Wonderful to relate, this article elicited the following reply from a lady, which we print as it was written:
LETTER FROM A MOSLEM WOMANTo 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 theGuidethat 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 andthe 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 theistekhara? 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 reproachthe 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 theajil(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 theandaroon. 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." ...
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 theGuidethat 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 andthe 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 theistekhara? 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 reproachthe 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 theajil(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 theandaroon. 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 in this country and that some women are feeling its influence; that among them there are stirrings of a new ambition, and a great dissatisfaction with their present condition. Moslem ladies, invited to witness the closing exhibition of a school for missionary children, exclaimed, "When will our daughters have such opportunities?" A young girl was filled with the extraordinary ambition to become a doctor, like the lady physician whom she admired; she came for lessons in English, physiology, chemistry, and materia medica, showing talent and remarkable studiousness; but during a disturbance against foreign schools, her father forbade her coming, so the cloud again shrouded this particular bright star.
What is the legal and social position of woman? A girl comes into the world unwelcome; while the birth of a boy is announced and celebrated with 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 endure the same sorrows I have known? She is of little value; a father of passionate temper, annoyed by the crying of the sickly infant daughter, flung her out of the window, effectually and forever stilling the pitiful wail. He was no more punished than if it had been the kitten who had suffered from his rage." If she grows up, the grace, beauty, and sweet audacity of childhood often gain for a little girl a place in her father's affections; but not to be long enjoyed; an early betrothal and marriage are the universal custom.
Engagements take place as early as three years old, and the bride is sometimes then taken to grow up with her future husband. Should one inquire as to the condition of unmarried women in this country, we are reminded of the famous chapter on "Snakes in Ireland." There are no snakes inIreland. I am credibly informed, that in many places it is impossible to find an unmarried girl of thirteen, and in the course of extensive travels, covering a period of more than twenty years, I have myself met but four spinsters or confirmed old maids. It is needless to add that these were persons who possessed great native strength of character and firmness of purpose, and all seemed highly respected in their own family and social circle. One, the daughter of a Mujtahid, or highest religious teacher, was thoroughly versed in all the special studies of her father, who had educated her. She understood Persian, Arabic, and Turkish, being able to read and write them well, and was often consulted on difficult points in the Koran, by the Mullahs, who admitted that she understood it better than they. Another, living in a large family of several brothers, enjoyed the esteem and affection of all, and was most sincerely mourned when she died.
These are, however, great exceptions, and considered as directly opposed to the command of the Prophet. It is regarded as a cardinal sin not to marry, and our single ladies are often assured the only prospect before them is of the eternal pains of hellfire, as the penalty for the obstinate disobedience in this particular. Even the lepers, segregated in their wretched villages, feel the pressure of opinion and are obliged to marry in accordance with religion.
Theoretically, no girl is married against her will; but practically, the pressure from her family andsociety is too strong for her to resist, and the same is much the case with the young men. The choice of a partner for life being one in which often the boy has no voice, it follows that the girl has none whatever. A father engaging his daughter was asked, "What does the girl think of it herself?" "She? It is none of her affair; it is my business whom she marries." Like Browning's Pompilia:
"Who, all the while, bore from first to lastAs brisk a part in the bargain, as yon lambBrought forth from basket, and set out for saleBears, while they chaffer o'er it; each in turnPatting the curly, calm, unconscious head,With the shambles ready round the corner there."
"Who, all the while, bore from first to lastAs brisk a part in the bargain, as yon lambBrought forth from basket, and set out for saleBears, while they chaffer o'er it; each in turnPatting 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 her mother-in-law. As a rule, the married couple have had no previous acquaintance with each other.
Such a state of society is hard on both sexes. A man is bound to a wife who will in all probability deceive and disobey him, who compasses by fraud what she cannot obtain by fair means, and who has no affection for him. She is ignorant; she is no companion for him mentally; it is not strange 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 like putting out a hand into the dark, to receive we know not what. Of one thing only we are sure; it will be bad." It is impossible that much unhappiness should not result, as shown by the number of divorces, reckoned by one of themselves as at least forty per cent. of the marriages. The wonder is that happy marriages do occur. Some there undoubtedly are, but in defiance of the system, and not in consequence of it. When one such comes to our notice, it appears like a green and refreshing oasis in a monotonous desert. One lady told us, "I have been married fifteen years, and my husband and I have never had a difference." Another said, "He is so kind to me; he has never yet scolded me for anything I did." She added, "But I am extremely careful to avoid what I know he does not like and in all matters I try my best to please him." It must be said, however, that one of these men is secretly a believer in Christ, and the other a follower of the Bab, in whose system the equality and rights of woman play a prominent part.
Did space permit we should gladly tell the romantic history of Qurrat-el-Ayn, the Joan of Arc of the Babi movement; but in this connection, we may be pardoned for giving the following sonnet, evoked by her remarkable life and tragic death:
"Quarrat-el-Ayn! not famous far beyondHer native shore. Not many bards have sungHer praises, who, her enemies among,Wielding her beauty as a magic wand,Strove for the cause of him who had proclaimedFor poor down-trodden womanhood the rightOf freedom. Lifting high her beacon lightOf truth, she went unveiled and unashamed,A woman, in the land where women liveAnd weep and die secluded and unknown,She broke the bonds of custom, and to giveThe Bab her aid, she dared the world alone,Only to fail: death closed the unequal strife,And Persia blindly wrecked a noble life." ...
"Quarrat-el-Ayn! not famous far beyondHer native shore. Not many bards have sungHer praises, who, her enemies among,Wielding her beauty as a magic wand,Strove for the cause of him who had proclaimedFor poor down-trodden womanhood the rightOf freedom. Lifting high her beacon lightOf truth, she went unveiled and unashamed,A woman, in the land where women liveAnd weep and die secluded and unknown,She broke the bonds of custom, and to giveThe 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 to be trusted, to be kept continually under surveillance as a necessary evil, with something disgraceful in the fact of her existence, a person to be controlled and kept down from birth to death. "Why do you take your wife out to walk with you?" said one brother to another more enlightened. "I see you promenading outside of the village with her; she will get out of her proper place, and neither obey or respect you, if you 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 elder answered, "She must know that her proper position is under your foot."
A poet says, "A thousand houses are destroyed by women." Another Moslem authority writes, "Jealousy and acrimony, as well as weakness of character and judgment, are implanted in the nature of women, and incite them to misconduct and vice." Mohammed says, "Chide those whose refractoriness you have cause to fear, and beat them." The limit suggested 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 leads to a state of perversion, when the power is overpowered and the commander commanded. Second, consulting or acquainting a wife with secrets or amount of property." Mohammed also warns, "Not to entrust to the incapable the substance which God hath placed with you," and, "Beware, make not large settlements on women." "Third, Let him allow her no musical instruments, no visiting out of doors, or listening to stories."
As to a woman's duty, Mohammed declared that if the worship of one created being could be permitted to another, he would have enjoined the worship of husbands. It seems strange to calculate a woman's value arithmetically, but in Moslem law the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man, a daughter gets half a son's inheritance, and a wife only an eighth of her husband's property, if there are children; otherwise a fourth. A husband does not speak of his wife as such, but uses some circumlocution as "My house, my child, or the mother of such a boy." A villager asked the doctor to come and treat his mother. "How old is she?" "Thirty." "And how old are you?" "Forty." "How can she be your mother?" A bystander, filled with contempt for such obtuseness, whispered, "It is his wife, but he doesn't like to say so." In like manner, the children are not taught to say fatherand mother, but the master, the older brother, the mistress, the lady sister, the older sister.
A comic paper published by Mohammedans in Russia, and in their own language, has recently had some amusing pictures bearing on the position of women. In the first, two women and several men are coming before the Mullahs for marriage or divorce; large heads of sugar carried into the presence hint at bribery as a factor in the case. The women, who stand mute and submissive, with their mouths tied up, as is literally the case with many of them, have evidently nothing to say in the matter. The second scene shows a man and three boys sitting around a large bowl of rice, which is rapidly disappearing before their vigorous onset. The cat is crunching a bone, but the wife and mother sits at one side while even the baby in her arms is given a portion; but she waits till all are satisfied, and she may come in for the leavings. Again, the lord and master of the house, stretched upon a divan, smokes his pipe, a crying child beside him on the floor. His wife enters, staggering under a heavy stone water jar on her shoulder, another in her hand, and a child tied on her back. He exclaims, "Oh, woman, may God curse you! this child gives me the headache! come, take it also on your back."
A full two-page colored cartoon depicts the carriage of a most exalted personage, with the veiled wife in it rolling through the street, while all men and boys are turning their backs, and some evenshutting their eyes in obedience to officers armed with long whips. A dog also has duteously and humbly turned his back to the forbidden sight, and is crouched down with the most virtuous air you could imagine. When such satires as this can appear, and the edition of the paper runs up into the thousands, people are beginning to think.
There is indeed another side to the question, and all honor to the Moslem men whose eyes are open to see the wrongs of women, whose hearts pity, and who venture into the thorny and dangerous path of reform! Many more, no doubt, feel all these things, but what can they do? They are so bound in the net of custom and prejudice, that it is next to impossible to 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 I should be to see her free as you are! It is no pleasure to me to have her shrouded in a black wrap, and shut up behind a curtain; it is the dream of my life to take her to Europe, and have her travel with me, as a companion and a friend. But in this country I dare not deviate in the least from our customs; she is so pretty, if other men saw her I should be killed for her sake." This man was studying English, and the teacher being aman, 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 the honor 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 sufficiently surprising to have him sit at the same table and eat with us, but how much 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. He had never appeared so honorable in our eyes, as when, thus laying aside the pride of rank and station, he was "among us as one that served."
Mat-makers (Persia)Mat-makers(Persia)
Indoor Dress (Northern Persia)Indoor Dress(Northern Persia)
When one first comes to a Moslem country, a sentiment of profound pity for the women predominates; but as it is evident that half the population cannot be kept in an unnatural and degraded condition, without entailing disastrous consequences on the other half, one begins to feel equal sympathy for the men, who suffer under the disadvantage of having no true family life, and indeed of being unable to form a conception of what it is.
The great trouble is the lack of confidence in married life; as it is a very rare thing to find a wife who can trust her husband not to divorce her, if it appear convenient and desirable, or not to add to his wives if he be able.
Divorce, which a woman may obtain under certain rare conditions, is a man's right without restriction. A woman's only protection is, her dowry must be paid her, and her husband must pronounce the sentence of divorce three times. Thus a little check is put on an angry impulse. Age, poor health, loss of beauty or eyesight, lack of children, especially of sons, or the merest whim, may be the excuse for it. The most pathetic appeals 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 fair amount of wedded happiness, was dazzled by a proposed alliance with a princess of such rank as to brook no rival. The indispensable condition was a divorce, and absolute separation from the wife he had. She knew nothing of her fate till one day, when visiting at her brother's, word was brought her she need not return home. That night the wedding was celebrated with firing of cannon and great festivities, but the children were 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 her husband and his new wife might be cursed of God. The man met with some very signal and public reverses, and transported with joy, she flew to another sacred place, to call down more misfortunes on his head.
Many of the divorced women remarry; others become beggars or maid-servants. As for the children, if the family be wealthy, they remain with the father; if poor, in case both parents find other partners, they are often cast adrift to shift for themselves.
On a journey, the wife of the muleteer was seen to be laying aside part of the tea, sugar, etc., purchased by the man for their joint use, and was asked the cause. She replied, "It is necessary to make some provision for myself against the day when he shall divorce me; I have had six husbands and he has had seven wives; what can I expect?" The couple had been newly married, and this was their wedding trip.
A sad-faced drudge in our lodging place told us, "I am the twenty-fifth wife, 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 regarded by many as highly meritorious. Some of the poor also practise it, but most of them have but one wife at a time, and are comparatively faithful to her. The percentage of men who live in polygamy is difficult to arrive at, but a good judge has estimated it at thirty per cent. The best men seem to be ashamed and to deprecate it. Some say it is forbidden in the Koran, by the verse which allows only as many wives as a man can treat with equity; as they say this is an impossibility, if a man has more than one consort, to treat them alike. When asked about the example of the Prophet, and the holy men, especially the Imams,they say, as for Mohammed, he was allowed peculiar privileges, not granted to other men. Some who consider the Imams sinless, explain their conduct in the same way. Those who do not accept this solution say the Imams did wrong in having a plurality of wives. When asked about the Shah, they reply he does wrong in practising polygamy, but it is permitted to him because he has the power in his hands.
No Moslem woman is supposed to have any right to require or expect that her husband will be true to her in the marriage relation, though fidelity to him is rigorously exacted of her, and her breach of it is punishable 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 the language, or personal acquaintance with the inmates, will often be assured that they love each other fondly, and are more than sisters in friendship; but the trusted family friend, or the lady doctor, can tell a 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 were friends; but soon after, the older one being sick, she saw a good deal of her in private, and was obliged sadly to confess she had been mistaken.
I have myself known of one case, in which the rival wives were of the same mind. One of our neighbors had two partners of his joys and sorrows,who sometimes joined forces, and gave him a good beating, so he would be seen flying in hot haste from his "happy" home. One man said to one of us, "I don't need to die in order to go to hell; I have it in my own house; I live there." Another, when told by the indignant doctor, "Your mode of life is beastly," replied, "I know it; compared with me the beasts are decent."
If the wives are in the same house, it is filled with bitterness and jealousy; if they are in separate houses or even in different towns, the case is not much better. If the women were not taught by their religious leaders that their sufferings are the will of God, and that it is very meritorious to accept them, and if they believed any other fate possible, I do not think they would endure it. They say "Christian women have their heaven now, but afterwards they will inherit endless suffering; we have hell in this life, but hereafter shall come eternal bliss."
"Do we love our husbands?" said one in answer to a question, "Yes, as much as a sieve holds water." One of our friends, the third of three wives in one house, was found by us at her mother's. "Oh, yes," she said, "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 protection of law. What of the poor temporary hired ones, who come for a longer or shorter period, and a specified wage? This is thepeculiar shame and blot of the Shiah sect of Islam, which not only tolerates the vile institution ofmuti, but takes it under the sanction of law and custom, and even permits the ministers of religion to be the chief promoters of it, many of them accumulating wealth by this base means.
You will sometimes hear it stated that there are no houses of prostitution in Moslem lands. In Persia, at least, the institution may not exist in precisely the same form as in other countries, where it is under the ban of the law, and in defiance of public opinion, but it is here, in a form which utterly depraves the mind of the people, and obliterates for them all moral distinctions, poisoning family life at the very fountain. It is impossible to go fully into this subject: the details 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 taken by her brother to a city where a Khan wished for her during his temporary sojourn; on his return he discarded her, and she came back to her family, her social standing in no wise affected by the transaction, which was merely a matter of business. An old roué, who had already had over thirty wives, sitting like a spider in his web, from his upper window spied a pretty young girl in the street. Her family was poor, and he tempted them with money and large promises, and sent silks and satins for the trousseau. It was all but done, when some missionary ladies remonstratedon her behalf, and showed how she would soon come back to them ruined and diseased. So she escaped for that time.
In the house of my Turkish teacher, I was introduced to "my brother's wife." Inquiring about her some months after I was told, "My brother has no wife; he has never been married." "But who, then, was that woman who was presented to me as his wife?" "That was amutiwoman; he treated her so badly she could not stay her time out, but asked to be excused and 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 contempt for her, and will in many cases tyrannize over and beat her. Another effect is that curiosity is stimulated, and a premature and unhallowed knowledge is gained of the most sacred relations of life, which is contaminating, and destroys for ever the innocence of childhood. As a matter of course, there is jealousy between the children of different wives, and estrangement and hatred destroy family affection. One who has seen the children of Sarah in the place of honor, presented proudly to the visitor and indulged in every wish, and at the same time the children of Hagar standing humbly in the presence as servants, or hanging about the door outside, will not soon forget the contrast.
In such a house there is nothing whatever to teach a boy the possibility of leading a clean life;purity is not expected of him, and often the most elaborate provision is made to satisfy the lusts of the flesh. The mother of a young boy will hire a female servant for him as part of the regular family. The effect of such an element on the whole household may be imagined. Bitter also is the retribution often suffered for such breaches of the law of God. Barrenness is a most common thing, and the Moslem population does not increase but barely replaces itself, while the 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 and her position in the home, I am certain she would prove herself as worthy as any; for I have observed some families among them where the tradition or custom of the clan is against polygamy and divorce, and the women in those homes are loyal to their husbands' interests, ready to work hard and deny themselves for the home which they know is guaranteed to them and their children. We are very apt to think that having known nothing better and having nothing else to hope for, they must be contented and reconciled to their lot. This reminds one of the answer of the old fishwife, when one remonstrated with her on the habit of skinning eels alive, "Oh, they don't mind it; they are used to it." This is far from being the case, and it is especially true of those who, by travel or contact with Christians, have had their eyes opened to thefact, that in other countries their sisters enjoy advantages of education, and are objects of respect denied to themselves; that Christian women are trusted with freedom, and as a rule prove worthy of it.
Yet the fact remains: these women and girls cannot be educated and emancipated, without bringing to bear on the social fabric influences which would result in its disintegration and destruction, with nothing better to replace it. Galling as are the curtain and the veil, they cannot be dispensed with, for fear of worse evils. Ignorance and seclusion are better than education and liberty without moral restraint.
While polygamy and divorce exist, and there is no standard of purity equally applicable to both sexes, more freedom than woman now possesses cannot with safety be granted her. I fail to see any remedy, but in the doctrine and practice of Christianity. The fact known to be true of a school in Syria, points out the solution of the problem. Of the pupils of a Protestant school, conducted there, for many years, and largely attended by Moslem girls, it is stated a case has never been known where a pupil who had passed through their hands had been divorced or obliged to accept a second wife in her home.
These women have learned lessons of duty, of personal responsibility to God, of self-respect, self-control, kindness, and love, that cause the hearts oftheir husbands safely to trust in them. Can we say as much for 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 her degradation. More pitiful than the more obvious wrongs inflicted by this system, is the effect produced upon character. Being distrusted, she has become untrustworthy; being abused, she has become abusive; and every evil passion is given free rein.
The bad wife is described by a Moslem writer as "a rebel for contumacy and unruliness; as a foe for contemptuousness and reproach; and as a thief for treacherous designs upon her husband's purse." She becomes an adept in the use of woman's weapon, the tongue; "an unruly evil full of deadly poison." "An angry woman in a passion of rage, pouring forth torrents of curses and invectives, is a fury incarnate." The jealousy of rival wives often leads to dreadful crimes. One woman became blind from vitriol thrown in her face by another wife; an only son, most precious and of high rank, was poisoned in his innocent babyhood by his mother's rival; 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, is the impurity which seems to permeate every thought; so that they delight inobscene songs, vile allusions, and impure narratives. A missionary lady visiting at the home of a highborn Moslem woman, very religious and devout according to their standards, was so shocked by the character of the conversation with which her hostess was trying to entertain her, as to be forced to say, "If you talk to me like this, I shall be obliged to excuse myself and leave your house."
Saddest of all, they often become so depraved that they not only connive at the evils of the system, but actively promote them. A lady going on a long pilgrimage herself chose and brought two young girls, to be her husband's concubines in her absence. A mother cultivates in her son the passions she should teach him to subdue. The present mode of life is supposed to be perpetuated in Paradise, where every true believer is to have "seventy-two wives, and eighty thousand slaves," all Houris specially created for him. The place for Moslem woman is not definitely specified.
The religion that robs them of happiness in this life, and gives no hope of 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 and the apostleship of the Prophet; observing the five daily seasons of prayer; alms-giving; the fast of Ramazan; and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In Persia is added the mourning for a month, for Hassan and Hossein, the martyred grandsons of Mohammed. As in all religions, women are mostzealous and devoted in the performance of these duties, but the practice of Islam has nothing to satisfy their soul hunger. Their belief in 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 own message. That they should have any message, or be considered at all, is news to them; they are so used to neglect and disrespect. When two of us, at the invitation of a lady of rank, attended their Passion Play, we sat with her on the ground, among a crowd of women, who were pushed about by ushers with long poles, while the "lords of creation" sat comfortably above on chairs, and in booths.
So accustomed are Moslem women to being hustled about that they wonder at Christ's "Forbid them not," which we are apt to apply only to the children, forgetting that it was spoken for the mothers. It is sometimes most amusing to see a pompous dignitary crowd his way into the dispensary of the lady physician, and when made with difficulty to understand that only women are treated there, retire crestfallen. There at least women have not only the first, but the only entrance. They are not surprised at the Syrophenician woman being called "a dog." They are used to the epithet and employ it themselves. One often hears one berating her own offspring, as "child of a dog." When driven to desperation by want, the Persian womancan be as defiant, shameless, and persistent, as she of old before the unjust judge. Not unfrequently mobs of women led by a woman, attack the gates of the governors, demanding bread.
Their often miserable and diseased condition of health makes them feel how tender is Christ's compassion in His miracles of healing. They also have often suffered much from quack nostrums, "only to grow worse." In any crowd of village women, one may see an old hag, bent and "bowed together—not able to lift herself up," and there is no more pitiful sight 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 New Testament. Every morning, a village woman must mix the leaven in her meal for the daily baking, must sweep her mud floor, and often two of them sit at the hand mill grinding wheat or salt. Every one who can, wears a necklace of silver coins, and counts each one precious. The custom of covering the face "lest a man look upon a woman" is so inwrought into their earliest training that they are able to draw their veilsinstantly, 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-daythe Persians think a cup defiled if a Christian drink from it. In a wedding procession in a village, the musicians lead with fife and drum, and "the virgins" follow in all the finery they can muster. At times of mourning also, they act just as the Gospels describe. Friends gather to "weep and bewail." I have seen a roomful of women swaying and sobbing, while a mother chanted a plaintive refrain: "Alas! alas!" repeating the beloved name of the dead; often tearing her hair, and beating her breast. I have often seen blear-eyed women, who said they had become so by excessive weeping over the death of a child. To such comes Jesus' message, "Weep not."
Religious observances in Persia are such as give special significance to Gospel teaching. I had a visitor whose lips were continually mumbling while she fingered her beads. She told me she was making merit, by repeating the hundred names of Allah. Often when in their homes, our hostess will excuse herself, because "it is the hour of prayer," and going to a corner of the same room, will go through the forms and gestures of Mohammedan worship. "Vain repetitions" they seem, when we know the words are Arabic, a language she does not understand; and as in the midst of her prayers she calls out directions to her servants, one can see there is no devotion in them.
Fasting is a terrible burden, when, for a month, from dawn to dark, not a morsel of food, or drop of water, or a whiff of the loved cigarette or pipe canpass their lips. The people acknowledge that it is the cause of quarrelling and reviling, so irritable do they become under the strain, 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 of that 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 to the woman of Sychar, that no special location is "the place where men ought to worship." Of all His words none receive more approval from the Persian woman than His teachings on marriage and divorce. They often say to us, "How happy you Christian women are with no fear of divorce!"
Not only Christ's teachings but His character makes an impression, and His gentleness and purity especially attract them. We are shocked at the coarse questions: "Can God have a Son? Was Jesus married?" but as they hear the story of His marvellous life a look of awe sometimes comes into their 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 harem can, and she reads the Injil (New Testament) to us; we can never get enough 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 the protection of law, and in the light of publicity, can really have no idea of the difficulties to be encountered by the Moslem woman who becomes a Christian. A man can escape by flight, but this refuge is denied her. Even if she wish to keep her change of faith secret, it is impossible to do so, and be true to her new-found Saviour. The whole warp and woof of her daily life are so bound up with religious observances, and the least failure to perform them is so jealously noted, the least endeavor to fulfil the commands of the Gospel with regard to Sabbath rest, reading the Word, or secret prayer is at once the object of remark and criticism; often of active opposition. Were it not so her changed life and character mark her out as walking in a different path and measuring her conduct by another standard from those who surround her. She is most happy if, as sometimes happens, her husband, brother, father, or son is in sympathy with her, and has perhaps been the means of her enlightenment; or if a sister or friend is of like faith, and they can strengthen each other. But often she stands entirely alone in her family and social circle, and must bear much petty persecution, even if she is not turned out of her home, does not lose her children, or her life. In such circumstances, if a convert stand firm, 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 thesetransformed faces: the sweetness plucked from bitterness, the "lily among thorns." The present help of a living Saviour and the wonderful hopes for the future have made life an entirely different thing. One such who had borne a heavy yoke in her youth, had suffered deeply, and with rancor and rebellion in her heart against him who had blighted her life, has learned to forgive and pray for the one who so deeply injured her; and her daily household life is a triumph of grace. During a cholera epidemic, when all around were panic-stricken, she and her sisters, who have found the like precious 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 we are His."
One old woman walked three miles and back once a week in order to be instructed in the Gospel, and is never satisfied, always wants to learn more, and takes great pains to remember texts and prayers. Once after the others had gone she caught hold of me, saying, "Do you think I walk all these miles, with my blind eyes, to learn nothing? Come and teach me some more." Showing some hard barley bread, she said, "No one shall say I 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 first despair had attempted to poison himself; but helearned to praise God for the affliction which was the means of acquainting him with his Saviour. The mother instead of considering the helpless young man a burden, and complaining of the misfortune, nursed him for years with such rare patience and tenderness, that we marvelled to see it. The contrast between her and her neighbors is marked; her face is gentle and kind, her voice sweet. She is faithful, industrious, and honest; for a whole summer when a family was absent, she went alone every week to sweep the house, and not a thing was ever missed, though, in general, we expect nothing better than pilfering and theft from the women of the country.
In one city is gathered a little band of believing women, who hold a weekly prayer meeting, and "it is most touching to hear their simple requests and pleading for this and that one still outside the fold. When I was going to B—— they gave me a message for the sisters there. They had long taken a special interest in the work in that place, and never failed to remember it at the throne of grace. They had heard several women there were secret believers, but afraid to confess their faith openly, so they sent word to them that they themselves were once in the same state. They feared to confess Christ before men, but He had promised to be with them, and He had given them grace to come out boldly, and He had kept His promise to give peace and joy in all times of trial and difficulty. They then begged theirsisters to do as they had done, to take the plunge, trusting in His power to help them, and they would find all their fears taken away and courage given instead."
Such, living and dying, was the experience of Almass of Urumia. She had become a Christian, and her husband also had suffered great persecution from her own family on this account. Her husband being away, she was living in her father's house, and her stepmother would not even give her enough to eat, constantly reviled her, made her life bitter, and did her best to prevent her praying. Being stricken with consumption, she went to the hospital, where she rejoiced in Christian companionship and instruction, but at the last, she was taken to her own home to die. A young Nestorian doctor, called in to attend her, witnessed her triumphant death; himself but a nominal Christian, he exclaimed, "Would that I could die so happy!" Her whole trust was in Jesus, and her only anxiety 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.