The Project Gutenberg eBook of Oriental Women, by Edward Bagby Pollard (2025)

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Title: Oriental Women

Woman: In All Ages and in All Countries, Volume 4 (of 10)

Author: Edward Bagby Pollard

Release Date: May 18, 2010 [eBook #32418]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORIENTAL WOMEN***

WOMAN

VOLUME IV

ORIENTAL WOMEN

by

EDWARD B. POLLARD, Ph. D.

OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

REBEKAH AND ISAAC'S AGENT, ELIEZER
After the paintingby A. Cabanel

Probably no feature in the social life of a people is ofso universal an interest as its marriage customs, and there is nocourtship, either ancient or modern, which has more enkindled theimagination and awakened the interest of men than that between Isaac andRebekah..... It is a truly picturesque and even romantic story, whichnever loses its charm; and Rebekah, whether at the well or in herhousehold, will always present a unique picture of womanly grace andbeauty.

The ancient wooing of Rebekah is Isaac, though it is by no meanstypical in all its details, contains many elements that mark Orientalweddings..... The courage of Rebekah in consenting to mount the camel ofa stranger and go into a far country to be wed is noteworthy. With allthe apparent grace and gentleness of Rebekah, here was a pluck mostcommendable.

In all ages and in all countries

VOLUME IV

ORIENTAL WOMEN

by

EDWARD B. POLLARD, Ph.D.

Of the George Washington University

Illustrated

PHILADELPHIA
GEORGE BARRIE & SONS, PUBLISHERS

PREFACE

The relative position which woman occupies in any country is an index tothe civilization which that country enjoys, and this test applied to theOrient reveals many stages yet to be achieved. The frequent appearanceof woman in Holy Writ is sufficient evidence of the high positionaccorded her in the Hebrew nation. Such characters as Ruth, Esther, andRebekah have become famous. Wicked women there were, such as Jezebel,but happily their influence was not of lasting duration. No otherancient people so highly prized chastity in woman; motherhood wasregarded as an evidence of divine favor, while barrenness was considereda curse. The home life was one of singular purity and sweetness.Idleness was deplored as a crime, and every child was taught to workwith his own hands.

The deities of the Babylonians and Assyrians were feminine as well asmasculine. Ishtar was the Venus of classical mythology--the goddess oflove, and the Babylonian Hades was presided over by a feminine deity.Rank, however, determined social freedom; the woman of the lowest classmight go and come at will, but the woman of the high class was condemnedto a life of isolation. Woman's position of honor in Egypt is evidencedby the presence of temples and monuments erected to her memory. Sheassisted her husband in the management of his affairs, and was granted apart in religious worship.

In the countries in which Brahmanism and Mohammedanism is the prevailingreligion, the position of woman is relatively low. The Hindoo woman hasno spiritual life apart from her husband; she can only hope for ultimatehappiness through a union with him. The harem prevails, and woman is theslave of man.

In contrast to the position of woman in these countries and in China isthe position she holds in Japan. While not yet occupying a place ofrespect equal to that accorded her in the Occident, she is cominggradually to be regarded as she deserves. There yet remain the loosemorals, characteristic of the Oriental nature, and it is still regardedas right and proper that a good wife should barter her chastity if it isnecessary in order to save her husband the disgrace of imprisonment fordebt. The higher classes, however, are coming to treat woman with arespect far higher than that usually accorded her in the Orient. Theprocess of her elevation must of necessity be slow, for no great reformis accomplished by a coup d'état, but only through the amelioratingeffects of enlightenment and education, and this alone will accomplishthe final emancipation of the woman of the Orient from her presentcondition of servitude.
E. B. POLLARD.

I

WOMEN OF THE DAWN

The story of the first woman in the Hebrew Scriptures and Semitic mythis as familiar as a household tale. Jewish and Christian literaturealike have frequent mention of the part she played in the race'sinfancy, though in the sacred writings themselves she is but rarelymentioned.

What the Book of Genesis furnishes upon the creation of the first womanmay not be considered of great interest as a scientific treatise uponthe first appearance of feminine life on the earth, but it is of markedimportance as revealing the idea around which the life and character ofthe Hebrew woman were developed. Here we find a pure monotheism (thepresence of no goddess at the birth of things), a high morality, thedignity of marriage and of motherhood, that give to the Hebrew womengreat advantage over their sisters of many another country.

Very early was it discovered, say the Hebrew records, that it is "notgood for man to be alone." The method by which this fact was first mademanifest is of no little suggestiveness. Would it be possible from themany creatures of earth, sky, and sea, already made, for man to find acompanion in whom he might confide, with whom the long hours might bemade more joyous? God tries the man whom he has made. Could he besatisfied with a creature of a lower order as fellow and friend? Couldhe, by subduing and having dominion, find in dog, camel, or favoritesteed a sufficient helpfulness, a satisfaction for his human longings?No! As one by one the living creatures passed in solemn order beforehim, it was soon realized by the names that Adam gave them, that hefound no true fellowship in all that earth-born throng. "And the mangave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the air, and to every beastof the field, but for man there was not found an helpmeet for him."

The epoch-making "deep sleep" that fell upon Adam, the taking of therib, the making of the first woman, the closing again of the wound, andthe presentation of a helpmeet for the man--all this is a familiarScripture story. Whether it be intended to be literal history is oflittle moment here. Very beautifully have Matthew Henry and others,following the rabbis, commented upon the essential meaning of thisnarrative in suggesting that woman is not represented as taken from thehead of man that she should rule over him; nor from his feet, to betrampled under foot; but she was taken from his side that she might behis equal; from under his arm that she might be protected by him; nearhis heart that he might cherish and love her. "This is now bone of mybone and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Ishshah"--that is, ifman is to be called Ish, woman shall be Ishshah, simply his equal.

It is not strange that there should have arisen many legends about thisfirst Oriental woman. According to one of the Jewish stories containedin the Talmud, Adam was at first very huge. When he stood, his headreached to the very heavens; and when he reclined, he covered the earthwith his gigantic form. But in a deep sleep which God caused to fallupon him, Eve was made from parts of all his members. After the creationof Eve, therefore, Adam was never again quite so large. Some of theJewish rabbis taught that Adam, the first man, had in his body thirteenribs,--one more than was possessed by any of his descendants,--and thatthis surplus bone became, in the hands of the Creator, the physicalbasis for the creation of the mother of all.

The thought has been suggested that as man was commissioned to subdueand have dominion over the beasts of the field and all the forces ofNature, the reason for woman's creation lies in her ability to tameman. Whether this be true or not, the student of Hebrew history willnot lack ample evidence to show that to the women of Israel is duelargely the place that their people hold in history as teachers ofreligion and morals; to them is due, also, that conservative qualitywhich has made the Hebrews a peculiar and permanent people.

One of the old rabbis, commenting upon the Biblical account of woman'screation from the rib of Adam, remarked: "It is as if Adam had changed apot of earth for a jewel." Good Dr. South, of pious memory, unaffectedby the modern views of development, is credited with the remark that"Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam." If this be true, what mustEve have been!

About the beauty of the first woman, the Scriptures are silent, though,in Paradise Lost, Milton finds no hesitancy in creating her withsurpassing physical grace, so that it was possible for her, likeNarcissus, to fall in love with her own charms. Poets have not been slowto sing her praises:

The Hebrews called the first woman Eve--that is, living orexpanded, "the mother of all living." But these Oriental recordsattribute to Eve the advent into the world of death and human woes. Thediscord that came from the apple once tossed into a famous company offrolicking Greeks cannot compare with that which grew out of the fatalfruit, forbidden to the primal tenants of the Garden of Eden.

The French saying cherchez la femme has been in some form upon thelips of men from the earliest dawn of time. "The woman which thou gavestme," is Adam's lame apology for his weakness, as in one brief sentencehe shifts the blame with dexterity upon God--the giver,--and woman--theGod-given.

In marked contrast with this dark view of the first woman's legacy tothe world is the account of the first promise, the light that burstforth suddenly as through a rift in the overshadowing cloud: "The seedof the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Thus Lamartine's remarkthat "woman is at the beginning of all great things," becomes aspertinent as it is true. It is impossible to estimate the effect uponIsraelitish motherhood of the belief in that ancient promise that somemother's son should yet arise to crush the monster of evil that wasloosed in the world. Many a Hebrew mother came to feel that her own babemight become the hero chosen to strangle the serpent. This thought mademotherhood the more prized, it became the aim of every Hebrew woman.

What if we could reproduce the sensations of that mother-love when thefirst woman enfolded in her bosom the first infant born, and heard itsfirst cry for a mother's care? Of much interest is the Hebrew narrativehere; for when Eve beheld her firstborn son she is said to have made anexclamation which many Hebrew scholars interpret as meaning, "I haveobtained the promised One," believing that the pledge of Jehovahconcerning the woman's seed had even then been realized. But the firstson was to bring pangs to his mother's soul by slaying the firstbrother. Who can adequately describe the effect which that first deathmust have had upon the maternal heart? Instead of the lost Abel came anew son to console the mother-heart, Seth, the good; and the strugglebetween good and evil goes on throughout the Hebrew records, womanusually taking her place with the forces that made for righteousness.

Concerning the first bad woman, Lilith, held by some to have been thewife of the first man, very curious are the legends. Later rabbinicliterature is rife with these stories. Among the Babylonians andAssyrians, Lilith was a night-fairy, as the derivation of the namewould indicate, though some derive it from lilu, the wind. Popularsuperstition among the Hebrews, either through inheritance from theearly days before Abraham, their father, lived in the Mesopotamianvalley, or through the contacts with this region during the Babylonianexile, looked upon Lilith as a female demon of the night. She wassupposed to be especially hostile to children, and this is why the Latintranslations of the Vulgate version of the Scriptures rendered the wordas lamia, a hag or witch who was supposed to be harmful to the littlefolk--though grown up people, also, might well beware of her banefulpower. She is mentioned but once in Scriptures, and then in that highlygraphic portrayal by the prophet Isaiah concerning the coming desolationthat should soon befall the land of Edom, which was to become a placewhere "the wild beasts of the deserts meet with the wolves, and thesatyr cries to his fellows, and Lilith (rendered in the acceptedversion, Screech Owl, and in the later version, Night Monster) takesup her abode."

It is Lilith's earlier history that is of especial interest, for, asruns the Jewish legend which one often meets in Talmudic literature,Lilith was the first wife of Adam, but becoming angered, she flew awayand became a demon of the night. But the world will probably neverconcede that the first woman was a wicked one. The subtlety of an evilwoman's charms is probably the underlying motive of the story of this"sweet snake of Eden," of whom Rossetti, in his Eden Bower, affirmsconsolingly, "not a drop of her blood was human."

"Who was Cain's wife?" is one of the perplexing questions asked by thosewho delight in hard sayings. The late Professor Winchell believed in arace of pre-Adamites, and many persons are committed to the theory ofseveral centres of human origin. To those holding such views thequestion of Cain's marriage does not present particular difficulties.But those who hold to the theory that there was but one pair from whomall the family of mankind has sprung find difficulty in reconcilingtheir theory with Biblical statements, and they are driven toacknowledging the necessity for marital relations between near kindredwhen the race was in its beginning--relations which would offend thebest moral sentiment of to-day.

There is a curious passage in the Book of Genesis which tells of themarriage of the "sons of God" with the "daughters of men." Have we herethe echo of that ancient tradition that once the gods and menintermarried and from the union the great heroes of the past were born?The close position of this statement concerning the "sons of God" andthe "daughters of men" with the account of the great growth of evil inthe world has led some to hold that these "daughters of men" were womenfrom the unrighteous line of the murderous Cain, while the "sons of God"were men from the more upright family of Seth. Others, however, seeingalso in close connection the statement that giants were on the earth inthose days, find here a remnant of a very general tradition that fromthe gods had descended great heroes and giants who in past ages hadfallen in love with daughters of human parentage. Since the Hebrews,however, were so strong in their monotheistic conceptions, this lattertheory loses a great part of its force.

The state of society presented in the earliest Hebrew records indicatesthat the practice of polygamy was general. There are some who seeindications among the Hebrew customs that there was a period, earlierthan that of which any Hebrew records tell, in which polyandry and notpolygamy was the fashion--when one woman had several husbands, ratherthan one husband several wives. The so-called Levirate marriage whichwas in vogue among the Hebrews is perhaps the strongest evidence thatthe customs of polyandry and mother-right were practised among them.

In common, then, with other peoples, the Hebrews practised polygamy; andwhile the influence of the best thought and teaching was, except in theearlier, patriarchal period, distinctly against it, the practice wasstill customary even down to the Christian era. The law of Moses, whilenot forbidding plurality of wives, discouraged the custom, andespecially forbade the king from "multiplying wives."

The earliest example of polygamy of which the Hebrew records speak isthat involving one of the most unique and interesting families of thisearly twilight of human existence. One Lamech, a descendant of Cain, issaid to have married two wives, who bore the rather musical names ofAdah and Zillah. And here we are introduced into the presence of a mostremarkable household. For not only is Lamech to be awarded thedistinction of having made the earliest attempt at verse which theHebrew tradition has recorded, but Adah and Zillah became the mothers ofa most talented family; the former of Jabel, "the father of such asdwell in tents and have cattle," and of Jubal, the inventor and patronsaint of the harp and the pipe; while Zillah was the mother ofTubal-Cain, the first forger of implements of brass and iron. Lamech,the father, having doubtless received a sword from the forge of his son,used it in revenge upon an enemy, and gave utterance to the firstrecorded lines of poetry, which are possibly a fragment from what hasbeen called The Lay of the Sword. It is a crude poem, dedicated byLamech to his wives--for it was not uncommon among the early Semites tocall the women to witness a hero's deeds of prowess:

It is not to be wondered at that in the very midst of dry genealogicaltables the writer of Genesis should have stopped for a moment to tell ofthis epoch-making household.

Whether the women of this unique family, Adah, Zillah, and her daughterNaamah, were equally gifted with the men of the household, we are nottold; but surely there must have been some genius in those femininemembers of the home, who were so closely connected with the beginnings,not only of the fine arts of poetry and music, but also of theindustrial pursuits of cattle raising and of metal working.

The early Hebrews were nomads. At first glance it might appear thatwoman's part in such an order of society would be scant, and her lifeone of comparative inactivity. But this view would lead into error, forin the nomadic life, while the men were guarding their flocks from thedepredations of hostile bands or from the ravages of wild beasts, thewomen were the home makers and the home keepers.

Mason, in his Woman's Share in Primitive Culture, commenting uponHerbert Spencer's division of the life history of civilization into theperiod of Militancy, and the later period of Industrialism, raises thequestion whether it may not after all be more in accord with thefacts--at least in the early history of the race--to speak of a sex ofmilitancy and a sex of industrialism. The Hebrew woman, from her placein the tent or seated about the tent door, not only tended the fire, butinvented, developed, and carried on many a handicraft into which notuntil later the men themselves entered.

For centuries the story of the lives of the patriarchs has thrilled andedified many a young heart, but what of the credit due to thematriarchs? What part do we find them playing in the early life ofthese Oriental peoples! The patriarch was not only father of his familyor clan, but was their king and high priest. Yet it would be a mistaketo suppose that the mother of the family was not an important factor inthat early society, as the lives of many a Hebrew woman will easilydemonstrate. The names of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Miriam, Huldah, and ahost of others will readily occur to the mind of anyone at all familiarwith the literature of the Old Testament.

A fair type of the life of the wife and partner of an ancient chief(sheik) of the higher order is found in that of Sarah, wife of thefirst and greatest Hebrew patriarch, "Abraham, the faithful." Living thelife of nomad and shepherd, this pioneer of a new monotheism took hisspouse away from the land of her fathers in the valley of Mesopotamia.Sarah's reverence for her husband became proverbial, and her conduct hasbeen taken as the type of what was best in the domestic life ofIsrael--chaste behavior coupled with reverence. And Peter, known as theApostle to the Hebrews, writing over two thousand years after the bodyof Sarah had been laid in its last home in the cave of Machpelah, givesa glimpse of the Hebrew conception of the ideal relation between husbandand wife typified in Abraham and Sarah. While enjoining upon the womento whom he wrote the need of a "meek and quiet spirit," a spirit notdiscoverable in jewels and elaborate apparel, but in what he terms "thehidden man of the heart," he said: "For after this manner in the oldtime the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, beingin subjection unto their own husbands: even as Sarah obeyed Abraham,calling him lord; whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well." Thusdid the virtues of Sarah impress themselves upon later generations.Sarah is not to be classed among the strong-minded women. Probably shewas not virile in any true sense of the term, since in the traditions ofher people she does not seem to have made for herself a place as leaderthat at all corresponds to the rank of her husband. He was to allHebrews "Father Abraham," the first and foremost of his race; and no Jewcould esteem his future life as giving promise of happiness unless hishead might at length rest in Abraham's bosom. There is an ancient legendwhich says that Sarah, hearing of the plan of Abraham to sacrifice Isaacon the sacred spot of Moriah, died from the shock to her maternal heart.The father returned, bringing his only son alive with him, but Sarah hadpassed away. The narrative distinctly says that Abraham "came to mournfor Sarah and weep for her," as though the end had come during theabsence of her husband. The Hebrew respect for women is illustrated inthe costly burial accorded Sarah in a cave which was purchased from thesons of Heth--a place reverenced by the people of Israel for manycenturies, because Sarah was buried there.

There is but one blot upon the life of this first mother of the Hebrews.Sarah was a faithful wife and devoted mother, but on at least oneoccasion she revealed a character capable of hasty, jealous, and cruelconduct. It is the time for the weaning of her only son--an occasion ofmore than usual interest in a Hebrew home. The family feast is at itsheight; Sarah discovers that her handmaid, an Egyptian woman, Hagar,whom she herself had given to Abraham as wife, for thus we may call her,was jesting at her expense. Quickly and hotly she demands that thebondwoman and her son Ishmael be immediately driven from the home, towhich request Abraham reluctantly yields. Like most other women, Sarah,though now aged, could brook no rival in her home, and her womanlyinstinct at once discerned that only a step thus sharp and decisivewould prevent, in the circle of domestic life, endless friction, morebitter than the sufferings occasioned by her cruel action.

Hagar in the thirsty wilderness, laying her perishing child under a bitof shrubbery and then departing a little distance that her mother-eyesmay not behold the end, has powerfully awakened the imagination of theartist, as, indeed, she touched the heart of the Almighty, as the recordtells us. For although Hagar wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba,the region of "the seven wells," no water had she found--so far was shefrom the life-giving draught; and yet was she so near--for lo! her eyesnow fell upon a well of water, from which she and the lad quenched theirmortal thirst. Thus was preserved him who was to become the father ofthe Ishmaelites, a people whose hand was to be against every man, andevery man's hand against them. The breach that day in the tent ofAbraham, between his two wives, one bond and the other free, was to bedeep and abiding, as N. P. Willis, in describing Hagar's feelings in thewilderness, has written:

And an apostle versed in rabbinic lore uses the story of Sarah astypical of the abiding difference between the principles of law and theprecepts of grace.

Probably no feature in the social life of a people is of so universal aninterest as its marriage customs, and there is no courtship, eitherancient or modern, which has more enkindled the imagination and awakenedthe interest of men than that between Isaac and Rebekah. The Englishprayerbook, in its ceremony of marriage, has chosen Isaac and Rebekah asthe ideal pair to whose fidelity the young couples of the later yearsare directed for inspiration and example. It is a truly picturesque andeven romantic story, which never loses its charm; and Rebekah, whetherat the well or in her household, will always present a unique picture ofwomanly grace and beauty.

This ancient wooing of Rebekah by Isaac, though it is by no meanstypical in all its details, contains many elements that mark Orientalweddings. The prominence of the parents in the negotiations ischaracteristic. It cannot be said, however, that the choice of eitherIsaac or Rebekah was constrained.

When Isaac and his parents have reached the conclusion to which Richterhas given voice--"No man can live piously or die righteously without awife"--the faithful Eliezer is made to thrust his hand under the thighof his master and swear that he will see that Isaac is wedded not to adaughter of the people around, but to a woman of his own kindred livingin the regions of Aramea. This habit of marrying within one's own tribebecame firmly fixed in Hebrew custom. The use of marriage presents, hereso rich and costly, is almost as old as marriage itself; and how muchRebekah and Laban, her brother, were influenced by this manifestation ofthe riches of her wooer none can ever know. The part taken by Laban inthis marital transaction is by no means unusual. Brothers in the Eastoften played an important rôle on such occasions. When Shechem, theHivite, wished to marry Dinah, daughter of Jacob, he consulted not onlyher father, but her brothers as well; and the brothers of the heroine ofthe Song of Songs are represented as saying: "What shall we do for oursister in the day when she shall be spoken for?"

The courage of Rebekah in consenting to mount the camel of a strangerand go into a far country to be wed is noteworthy. With all the apparentgrace and gentleness of Rebekah, here was a pluck most commendable. Wemay say with Dickens: "When a young lady is as mild as she is game andas game as she is mild, that's all I ask and more than I expect." But itturned out to be but one of the many cases, since the world began, of"love at first sight"; and affection strengthened with the years! Thefrequent and cynical remark that marriage is after all but a lotterywill probably long survive. Isaac did not act upon the sentimentexpressed in the remark of Francesco Sforza: "Should one desire to takeunto himself a wife, to buy a horse, or to invest in a melon, the wiseman will recommend himself to Providence and draw his bonnet over hiseyes." The daughters of Heth and of Canaan around him were not to hisliking, and Providence seems greatly to have helped him in theemergency, for in the unseen Rebekah (whose very name means "to tie" or"to bind") Isaac found a lifelong blessing; and probably nothing couldbetter disclose the wisdom of his matrimonial choice than the words ofthe Bible narrative, "and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted afterhis mother's death."

There is one blot upon Rebekah's record as a wife and mother, which,however, no less reveals a fault in Isaac's character as a father. It isa defect that was doubtless inherent in the ancient Oriental systemitself. It was more usual than otherwise for mothers as well as forfathers to have favorite children. When both parents centred theiraffection upon the same child, usually a boy, it was ill for the rest;when mother and father were divided, it was ill for family felicity.Rebekah loved Jacob, the younger; Isaac loved Esau, the elder. And it isin this unfortunate distribution of parental affection that is to befound the beginning of a violent fratricidal feud, a long separation, aswell as the causes which led to the bringing within the confines ofHebrew history two of the most important women of ancient Israel,--Leahand Rachel. Here again we find illustrated the fixed habit among theHebrews to seek wives among their own people.

Among the Hebrews it was the custom that one who would acquire a wifemust pay for her, either in money or in service. Usually, the younggirl's consent was not thought to be a necessary part of the matrimonialbargain, and a father delivered a daughter to the purchasing suitor, ashe might a slave that he had sold to the highest bidder. The womanherself played but a secondary part. It is thus quite plain that in thisearly day, marriage did not depend upon a contract entered into betweenone man and one woman, but between two or more men. And yet, in ancientIsrael, while daughters were sold for wives,--or, to put it lessharshly, given away for a consideration,--there is no intimation that awife was in any sense regarded as a slave; nor are there instances of ahusband selling his wife for a consideration. Parents were usually theparties to matrimonial bargains. In the case of Jacob and Rachel,however, we do not find the parents making the match, for the parents ofthe pair are widely separated. Jacob falls in love with Rachel at hisfirst sight of her, as she, at close of day, leads the flock of Laban,her father, to drink from the open well hard by the dwelling. Labanreadily agrees to surrender his daughter to Jacob,--who doubtless had nopurchase money to procure a wife,--if the young man will serve him forseven years. But at the close of the stipulated period, the wily Labanfalls back upon an unwritten law among the people of the day, that thedaughters must be taken in marriage in the order of their seniority.Thus Leah, the elder sister, is accorded to Jacob, and seven years'additional service is necessary for the possession of Rachel.Persistence wins, and Jacob is at length in possession of both Laban'sdaughters, but the victory was the beginning of a life of struggle. Someone has remarked: "The music at a marriage always reminds me of themusic of soldiers entering upon a battle;" it was so with Jacob. Theremust be a battle with Laban, the uncle and father-in-law, in which thedaughters both take the part of the husband against their father, andagree to flee from that parent's house with the man to whom they hadlinked their destinies. There must be a battle with Esau, when mothersand little ones were to be exposed to great dangers and hardships;indeed, a long life of vicissitudes awaited the women whose lives wereone with Jacob's, and contests between rival sons of rival mothers wereto follow.

It has already been remarked that Sarah, wife of Abraham (whose name,Sarah, means "the princess"), occupies no such place in the imaginationand tradition of the Hebrews as did Abraham, their father. It isaround Leah and Rachel that the tribes of Israel group themselves, andthe book of Ruth speaks of them as having built the house of Israel, andLeah and Rachel were the mothers of the twelve patriarchs for whom thetribes were subsequently named. Especially does Rachel occupy a highplace, not only because she was Jacob's most favorite wife, but becauseof those personal qualities which more readily stirred the poetic andreligious imagination of the people. The poet-prophet, Jeremiah, writingof the loss of life among the sons of Israel, because of the invasionand cruelty of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, represents the people'ssadness at the terrible calamity as "Rachel weeping for her childrenbecause they are not"--an expression which may have been suggested byRachel's early condition of childlessness, followed by the loss of bothher sons, Joseph and Benjamin, in the land of Egypt. The expression hasborrowed new force, because it is quoted as again exemplified in "theslaughter of the innocents" by Herod the Great at the time of the birthof Jesus.

II

ISRAEL'S HEROIC AGE

In the early history of the Hebrews, the people followed the free,roving life of the shepherd. In a climate where water supply was by nomeans sure, where a flowing stream which gave drink to the flocks to-daymight be a rocky ravine to-morrow, families must needs have no certainabiding place. Woman the homekeeper must of course be affected by thisBedouin manner of life. Many daughters, like Rebekah and Rachel, wereshepherdesses of their father's flocks of sheep and goats. When theIsraelites went down into Egypt because the fertile valley of the Nilemade famines less frequent than in the land of Canaan, they weresomewhat ashamed, we are told, of the fact that they were shepherds, onaccount of Egyptian prejudices against that occupation, but in theirnative country they were proud of their occupation, and rather lookeddown upon merchantmen. The hated "Canaanite" became the synonym for"trafficker." It was the later exigencies of exile and dispersion thatforced the Jews to buy and sell, and right well did they learn thelesson the world forced upon them. But in the beginning it was not so.And hence we find Israel, even after the twelve patriarchs had settledin the plains of Goshen, their Egyptian home, keeping their flocks anddeveloping their home life in their own way in the kingdom of thePharaohs.

Among the many notable women of Israel's heroic age, Miriam must not beforgotten. The romantic story of the hiding of her infant brother, inthe rushes of the Nile, when King Pharaoh would have destroyed everyHebrew boy, is a familiar chapter. The sisterly tenderness and devotionwhich stationed the girl of twelve years to watch what might happen tothe infant brother, to fight away wild beasts, and at length to directthe living treasure to the bosom of its own mother, is one of the bestexamples in literature of womanly tact and sisterly devotion.

The daughter of Pharaoh, a child of the Nile, comes down to the sacredstream to wash her garments or bathe her body in the saving water, andquickly, indeed quite willingly, falls into the well-wrought plan ofJokabed, the mother of the child Moses, and Miriam, the sister--acounterplot to that of the princess's father, and so ancient history iswritten with new headlines.

It is Miriam who enjoys the distinction of being the first prophetessin Israel, as her brother Moses is the first who was called a prophet,and her brother Aaron the first high priest. The part she took inleading the intractable people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage intothe land of the Canaanites, must have been considerable, thoughaccording to the record she was nearing the century mark before thejourneying began. As a poetess and musician, also, Miriam holds no meanplace, for we are told that when her people had successfully crossed thearm of the sea, and Pharaoh's pursuing hosts had been cut off in thedescending floods, Miriam organized the women into a chorus, and goingbefore them with timbrel in her hand she led in voicing the refrain sentback in antiphonal strains to the song of the great camp, while hercompanions followed with timbrels and dances. This aged woman had musicand patriotic fervor still present in her soul, as victory was assuredto her people. The Hebrew song that grew out of this incident which isrecorded in the Book of Exodus has been termed "Israel's Natal Hymn," asort of poetic Declaration of Independence, and is far more majestic inits qualities than Moore's poem based upon the same event:

By a singular confusion, the Koran identifies Miriam, sister of Moses,with Mary, the mother of Jesus. This may be partly due to the fact thatthe New Testament Scriptures as well as the Septuagint Greek translationof the Old spell both names alike, "Miriam."

But great women, like great men, sometimes make mistakes, and theirblunders are often just at the point where they have achieved greatness.Miriam's distinction lay in her insight into the merits of her brother'smission and in her unselfish devotion to the cause to which he had beendedicated. Her greatest grief befell her by her unfortunate effort tobreak that very influence and to destroy his leadership, because she wasdispleased with a marriage he had contracted. She was smitten withleprosy, but the esteem with which she was held may be discovered whenwe read that the whole camp grieved at her calamity and consequentisolation from the people, and "journeyed not till Miriam was brought inagain."

Miriam, the first prophetess and one of the strongest women that Israelever produced, died during the wilderness wandering, and was buried inthe region west of the Jordan. For many generations her tomb was pointedout in the land of Moab. Jerome, the Christian father, tells us that hesaw the reputed grave close to Petra in Arabia. But, like the place ofthe entombment of her more distinguished brother, "no man knoweth itunto this day."

Among no people has the national consciousness been more thoroughlydeveloped or more deeply seated than among the Hebrews. It is not to bewondered at, therefore, that among the women of Israel may be discoveredthe most ardent spirit of patriotism. Miriam's part in the founding ofthe Hebrew Commonwealth has already been noticed. When in the wanderingsof the wilderness it became necessary to erect a temporary structure forthe worship of Jehovah, the God of Israel, the women willingly toretheir jewels from their ears, their ornaments from their arms andankles, and devoted them to the rearing of the tabernacle. With theirown fingers they spun in blue, purple, and scarlet, and wrought finelinen for the hangings and the service of their temple in the desert. Ina theocracy, piety and patriotism were one. Not even the Spartan mother,who wished her son to return from the wars bringing his shield with himor being borne upon it, nor the women of Carthage, who plucked out theirhair for bowstrings, could surpass the women of Israel in theirsacrifices for national independence and political glory. In the days ofOctavia, the ministers of Rome levied a tax upon Roman matrons to carryon a foreign war, and demanded a sacrifice of their jewels; and theRoman women thronged the public places, appealing to the high andinfluential in their vigorous protest against this taxation, and thussaved their ornaments. But the women of Israel did not need to be urgedto tear off their ornaments and devote them to the common welfare. Itwas a woman who received the first recognition for services rendered thevictorious hosts of Joshua, after the first campaign against theCanaanites had been waged. This was Rahab, a woman of Jericho, who,though her past life had been far from exemplary, seemed to see in theapproaching Israelites a people of destiny. She therefore hid the Hebrewspies who had come to inspect the land, and, letting them down over thewalls of the city, saved their lives. Thus did Rahab, the harlot ofJericho, preserve her own life when Joshua entered the city a victor;and, being admitted among the people of Israel, she became theancestress of their greatest king, David, and, through him, theancestress of Christ.

During that era in Israel's life, when the people were no longer merelyan aggregation of shepherd clans, but had not yet been moulded into anational existence by a strong feeling of unity or the recognition of acommon need, woman's life was exceptionally severe in its hardships anddangers. The unorganized tribes, engaged in their agricultural andpastoral pursuits, with hostile clans about them and hostile cities andstrongholds as yet unsubdued, were subject to frequent incursions frombands of marauders and from armies of neighboring tribes, which wouldsuddenly swoop down upon them like vultures on their prey. It was undersuch conditions as this that the women suffered untold indignities andmisery. Kidnappers sold the women and children to slave traders of thecoast, who carried them to Egyptian and Greek ports; so that even beforethe great dispersion of the children of Jacob which the kings of Assyriaand of Babylonia brought about in the eighth and sixth centuries priorto the Christian era, the Hebrews were being scattered throughout theworld.

It was in the period of transition and chaos which immediatelyfollowed the entrance of the people into the land of Palestine thatIsrael's most manlike woman appears as a veritable savior of her people.She is the second woman to whom the title of prophetess is accorded.The record reveals the fact that she was not only a woman strong indeeds of valor, but a leader in the religious life of Israel. The dayswere dark enough for the descendants of Abraham. For two decades now hadJabin, with his "nine hundred chariots of iron," struck with terror theill-equipped, disorganized Hebrews. But there dwelt "under the palmtree" between Ramah and Bethel among the hills of Ephraim a woman who,by force of will and recognized wisdom, judged the people of Israel."The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, untilthat I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel." It is from thesanctuary of this woman's mind and heart that deliverance from the kingof the Canaanites is to break forth. She is called Deborah, i.e.,"woman of torches," or "flames," either because she made wicks for thelamps of the sanctuary, or because of her fiery, ardent nature.Certainly there was warmth in her heart and fire in her love of hernative land. She speedily sends for Barak, a chief man of Naphtali, andenjoins upon him to prepare an army of ten thousand men to meet Jabin'sarmy, which is approaching under its captain Sisera, on the banks of theriver Kishon. Barak hesitates, but at length answers: "If thou wilt gowith me, I will go,"--so necessary did this strong, magnetic woman'spresence seem for the enlistment of the people in the holy order of theenterprise. Deborah did not flinch in the presence of this challenge.The army is raised. The battle is joined, and Sisera's host isdiscomfited before Israel. The captain himself becomes a fugitive beforethe victors. But the end is not yet. Another woman appears upon thestage of this tragedy. The fleeing Sisera seeks shelter in the secretplace of Jael's tent. Weary to exhaustion, the captain of the enemies ofher people sinks down to sleep, the more profound because of the greatdraught of buttermilk or curds which Jael gave the thirsty man; and thenwith tent pin, a hammer, and an unquivering hand, Jael struck the sharpinstrument through the sleeping man's temple and pinned him swooning tothe dirt floor of her tent.

It was this bloody, but daring, deed which gave rise to one of theearliest of Israel's epic songs, the Song of Deborah. It is a remarkablepoem, given in full in the Book of Judges. It sets forth praises toJehovah for deliverance, and to Jael for the deadly stroke. A few linesfrom this epic, which many consider the earliest piece of Old Testamentwriting, will disclose the patriotic spirit of Israel's womanhood inthose days of social and political disorder. The people are representedas crying out to the strong woman who lived under the solitary palm:

Deborah comes at the call of distress. The people are rapidly marshalledto her help. But some hold back:

The battle is joined. Canaan is worsted before the followers of thewoman of the hour.

Then, turning upon the indifferent and laggard hosts that held back andrefused to strike the blow for liberty, the poetess exclaims:

Concerning the woman whose unfailing hand had struck the fatal blow, thepoetess sings:

The tent pin has pierced the temples of the oppressor of Israel:

Very dramatic do the lines become when, imagining the mother of Siserawaiting for her son to return victorious from the battle, and lookingout through the lattice of her dwelling wondering at his long delay, sheasks:

But Sisera never returns to his maternal roof. For forty years did thepeople enjoy the freedom of Deborah's deliverance, the woman whoseinfluence went out from "the sanctuary of the palm."

It is said of this period, commonly known as the Age of the Judges,that "every man did that which was right in his own eyes." This would beknown in political theory as well as in practical government as nothingshort of anarchy. And indeed, it was, for while each man did that whichwas right in his own eyes, the "right" of each was so frequently wrong,that social chaos reigned with almost unbroken sway. And while one womanof the period became a deliverer for four decades, for more than acentury many women suffered untold misery for lack of unity among thetribes and leaders capable of bringing the life of the reign to rights.

It is often affirmed that sons more frequently inherit characteristicsof their mothers, while to the daughters are bequeathed the traits oftheir fathers. An unnamed woman of this period of the political chaos,the wife of a certain Manoah, from the family of the Danites, was chosento be the mother of a giant. Now, giants were rare in Israel, though inthe earlier days of Palestinian occupation, Nephelim, and "the sons ofAnak," are mentioned as among those enemies of the Hebrews. Their hugeforms, it is written, were a menace to Israel's peace, and in comparisonwith these monsters her sons were said to be "as grass-hoppers." Oneday, as the story runs, an angel appears to this nameless, hithertochildless, wife of Manoah, and informs her that a son who is to be born,and nourished at her own bosom, is to have a remarkable history. Sheherself is to take care neither to drink wine nor any strong drink, forher son is to be dedicated to the abstemious life of the Nazarite. Thewoman is obedient to the angelic voice; and she with her husband offersup a burnt offering to Jehovah in grateful praise. The son is born. Heis taught that no intoxicating draught shall enter his lips, nor shoulda razor touch his head, that his long-grown locks might speak outwardlyof his vows. But wine is not the only temptation that is to beset thisgiant youth. The daughters of neighboring Philistia were to his eyesmore than passing fair.

The influence of these young women, whose features, we may suppose,bore some characteristics of Grecian beauty,--as their progenitors hadlanded on the shores of Canaan from the island of Crete, graduallyadopting a Semitic language and civilization,--was very potent over theheart of the muscular but susceptible young Hebrew. A love affair inwhich the long-haired Nazarite plays a prominent rôle will introduce us,somewhat at least, into woman's world of this disorganized period in theearly life of Western Palestine at a day more than a thousand yearsbefore the Christian Era.

This affair of the heart was brought to light when one day the young mancame in to tell his father and his mother that a fair damsel in Timnah,a city of the Philistines, had captured the very citadel of his being.Neither the protestations of his parents, nor their careful descantingupon the virtues of the daughters of his own people could move the youngman. His heart was set. Neither parents at home nor the lion that methim on the way to secure his bride could thwart his firm-set purpose.Mother and father are for the moment forgotten, and the lion is tornasunder by the strong arms of this young giant. Every obstacle issurmounted and Delilah is in the arms of Samson.

Now, George Sand was doubtless correct in the rather prosaic remark: "Itis not so easy to see through a woman as through a man." Samson did notquite penetrate the wiles of his lady love. Her beauty hid all else, andSamson fell. "The whisper of a beautiful woman," says Diana of Poitiers,"can be heard further than the loudest call of duty." The Nazarite vow,so strong and binding, became in Delilah's hands, as she held theshears, weaker than the withes she bound about the arms of the capturedgiant. Robert Burns has, in a characteristic fashion, given what mightwell be inscribed to Samson's memory:

Delilah, the Philistine, is to be contrasted with the typical Hebrewwomen, not only in the matter of feminine chastity for which they standout among ancient women as preëminent, but also in that fidelity tohusband and to native land which made the Hebrews the most stable andpersistent race with which the world is acquainted.

In marked contrast with this witch of the Philistine plains, stands outthe heroic daughter of Jephtha. Her purity, patriotism, and her deeprespect for the sacredness of a religious oath, place her at the veryopposite pole. "Great women," says Leigh Hunt, "belong to the history ofself-sacrifice." If this be true, Jephtha's daughter must be enrolledamong the great, as her heroic self-devotion shines through the dimnessof ancient history. Her father was one of Israel's deliverers in thedays of tribal division and political chaos. Returning from victory overthe hostile Ammonites, Jephtha purposes to give, as sacrifice to Jehovahfor bringing him success in arms, the first creature that comes forth tomeet him as he turns his face homeward. It is his own daughter, his onlychild, going out to meet him with the timbrel and with dances. In hiseyes a "very daughter of the gods, divinely tall, and most divinelyfair." Will he break his vow? Will the young woman herself, this HebrewAlcestis, shrink from the sacrifice? "My father, thou hast opened thymouth unto the Lord, do unto me according to that which hath proceededout of thy mouth."

For a woman to die childless in Israel was looked upon as a calamity, amark of divine displeasure, and the daughter of Jephtha was a virgin. Itis for this reason that she begged the coveted privilege of two months'respite that, with her maidens, she might withdraw to the neighboringmountain and there "bewail her virginity." At the end of the requiredperiod, returning to her father's house, she yields herself a sacrificeto the hasty but well-meant vow of her patriotic father. So deeply didher pure devotion to filial and patriotic ideals impress the daughtersof Israel, that every year they went out to lament, four days, in honorof the daughter of Jephtha, the Gileadite, of whom N. P. Willis has drawnthis appreciative picture:

Among no ancient people was the love of chastity in women so thoroughand imperative. There is probably no better illustration of this factthan in the very ingenious method by which the men of Benjamin obtainedtheir wives, at a time when total extinction of the tribe seemed tostare them in the face. An aged Levite, with his wife, who had beenunfaithful to him, but by his efforts had been reclaimed and with himwas returning home, is passing through the land of Benjamin. When theyreach the city of Jebus, afterward named Jerusalem, the famous centre ofIsrael's later life, no one offered the customary hospitality, so theman and his wife were about to lodge in the street, a disgrace to thecity, according to the common customs of entertainment. It is then atemporary resident of the city invites the homeless ones into his house.When the Benjamites saw them go in, they took the woman from the houseand shamefully maltreated her, leaving her helpless upon the steps tillmorning. The Levite, incensed at the terrible crime, took the woman, cuther in pieces and sent the fragments throughout the tribes, telling thestory of the deed of some of the sons of Benjamin. It is pronounced byall the worst blot upon the land since the sojourn in Egypt. The wholepeople is aroused to anger. They collect men of war from the tribes, andgo up to battle against their brethren of Benjamin, till the entiretribe seems about to be exterminated. Especially was the destruction oftheir women grievous. What must be done when the dust of battle hasrolled away? Shall a tribe be lost to Israel? This must not be. Thesacred number must be preserved. How shall Benjamin obtain wives, forall the rest of Israel had made a solemn oath that they would never givetheir daughters to the sons of Benjamin because of this horrible crimewhich had been so peremptorily punished. At length, the elders of allthe people devise a plan. Marriage with the Gentile peoples is, ofcourse, not sanctioned, and all the tribes of Israel have refused togive their daughters to Benjamin--there is yet a way out of the dilemma.Some one remembers that every year at harvest time there is given afeast at Shiloh, where many Hebrew damsels come together to enjoy thereligious and festal dances. It is agreed that the sons of Benjaminshall hide themselves in the adjacent vineyards, and while the maidensare dancing, each man is to run out, seize a wife and make his wayswiftly homeward. But what say the fathers and brothers of the purloineddamsels to this high-handed procedure of the young men of Benjamin? Theelders agree to step in then and to advise all to acquiesce inquietness, for the people had not violated their oaths. Their daughtershad not been given to Benjamin; they were stolen! So Benjamin obtainedwives and the tribal existence was preserved by the same method in whichRome was repeopled at the expense of the Sabines.

Israel holds a high place among the people of the earth because of theprevalence of piety among its women. Religion is deeply grounded in theintuitions and feelings of the race, and derives force, at least, fromthe sense of dependence upon higher powers, as Schliermacher has taught.Since women are far truer in their intuitions and feelings than men andthe sense of dependence is more highly developed, it is not strange thatwomen everywhere are more religious than men. Among the holy women ofold none can be accorded higher place than Hannah, the mother of Samuel.

One may at first be astonished that childlessness is so frequentlymentioned as characteristic of women in the Scriptures. Among them,Sarah, Rebekah, Rachael, the unnamed wife of Manoah, Hannah, andElisabeth,--mother of John the Forerunner,--are all familiar examples.But barrenness was probably not more common among the Hebrews than amongother peoples. Only, in Israel, childlessness was accounted a calamity,if not a direct visitation of the Almighty. Hence, every pious womanwished to be released from the curse. The women themselves ridiculed andever despised those who were not blessed with offspring. Besides, everyman among the Hebrews wished to live in his descendants. To die withoutchildren was to be "cut off" from the face of the earth, and to beforgotten. There was a yearning to live forever in the land.

The contrast between the great emphasis which the Egyptian laid uponimmortality, the large place it held not only in their religiousteachings, but in the development of their civilization, as modernexcavations have revealed it, and the lack of such emphasis in thewritings of the Hebrew Scriptures has frequently been noticed, and bymany greatly wondered at. But the Hebrews gave little thought toimmortality in the next world. Their prophets spent most of their timestressing the importance of righteousness in this life, and the peopleemphasized the earthward side of immortality--that is, one's power tolive forever in one's posterity.

The writer in the one hundred and twenty-eighth Psalm expressed thecommon Hebrew conception, as, in recounting the blessings of a trulyhappy man, he said: "Thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happyshalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as afruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like oliveplants round about thy table." Or as another psalmist, in the samespirit, prays: "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitudeof a palace." Many a time in the Hebrew Scriptures is this idealprominent. For a psalmist again writes: "As arrows in the hand of amighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath hisquiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speakwith the enemies in the gate." And when the prophet Zachariah foretellsthe coming glory of Jerusalem, which should supersede the then presentdistress, he gives as one item of blessing: "And the streets of the cityshall be full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof."

It may therefore be readily surmised how a woman of Hannah's pietymight feel in the thought of her condition of childlessness. And whilethe hardships of the barren woman in Israel could in no way compare withthose of some other peoples, as in Australia, where the childless womanof the aborigines is driven out to a dire struggle for existence, yetthe feeling that her God was, for some cause, against her and that herhusband might in his secret heart despise her, must have been agonyindeed. "The brain-woman," says Oliver Wendell Holmes, "never interestsus like the heart-woman; white roses please us less than red." Hannahwas preëminently a heart woman; the red blood of warm devotion coursedthrough her veins. When at length her prayers, made in bitterness ofsuffering, were answered, and heaven gave her a son, she named himSamuel, for, she said, "God hath heard," and dedicated him wholly toJehovah, placing him at the service of the tabernacle. When the timecame to wean the lad, she journeyed with him to Shiloh, the place of thesanctuary, with her offering, as the custom was, and "lent him" foreverto Jehovah, her God.

"I think it must somewhere be written that the virtues of the mothersare occasionally visited upon their children, as well as the sins of thefathers." These words of Dickens suggest one of the occasions in whichmotherly virtues seem to have been visited upon the child, for Samuelbecame the earliest representative of a long line of prophets who, formany centuries, were the spiritual leaders of Israel. He was the fatherand founder of a "school of the prophets," the earliest theologicalseminary of which we have any record. The prayer of thanksgiving whichthe records say Hannah uttered when God blessed her with this preciousgift of a son, influenced not only the famous Magnificat of Mary, whenshe was told of the birth of her greater Son, but also that of Zachariaswhen the birth of John the Baptist was predicted by the angel who talkedwith him in the temple.

History records several famous cases of friendship between men; thatbetween David and Jonathan, and that between Damon and Pythias ofSyracuse, have become proverbial. Fewer have been the friendship amongwomen. Indeed, some have argued the impossibility of such friendships.But there is probably no more attractive story of womanly devotion inall the range of literature than that which tells of the love betweenRuth and Naomi. The Book of Ruth is a beautiful idyll of early Hebrewlife, and the heroine here stands the test. The scene is laid in thetime when judges ruled in Israel; and in this, as in many instances inthe early days of Palestine, an epoch was born out of a famine.Elimelech, with his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion,hunger-driven, set out for the land of Moab. Death lays its claim to thehusband and father, and Naomi, with her boys, is left widowed in astrange land. Mahlon and Chilion, now grown to manhood, marry twodaughters of Moab, by name Orpah and Ruth. A decade passes, and the sonsthemselves die. Bereaved and broken in spirit, Naomi at length turns herheart toward her native Judean hills. Finding her daughters-in-lawinclined to follow her into the uncertainty of her future subsistence inher former home, Naomi counsels their return, each to her mother'shouse. "And they lifted up their voice and wept." Orpah reluctantlyobeys, but Ruth cleaves to her mother-in-law, with those unsurpassed andmemorable words, which the author of the book of Ruth throws into Hebrewmeasure:

"Some women's faces are in their brightness a prophecy, and some intheir sadness a history." As these two women stood with their faces settoward Palestine, upon one was written a history of sorrow; upon theother there fell the sunrise of a new day. In Ruth's determination tofollow Naomi, even to death,--for "a woman can die for her friend aswell as a Roman knight" when she has one, as Jeremy Taylor hasdeclared,--the young widow of Moab began a new life, which was destinedto make her the ancestress of Judah's royal house, the great grandmotherof David the king.

As the poetic story of Ruth proceeds, it records several interestingancient marriage customs among the people of Israel. In marked contrastwith the Hindoo custom of condemning widows to a life of scarcelybearable hardships, the Hebrew law was so framed as to make widowhood asfar as possible a temporary state. The custom of Levirate marriageenforced upon the brother or nearest of kin to the deceased husband theobligation of taking the widow of his brother to wife, in order that thebrother might not be without heir and memory in the land. Ruth'sdeceased husband had rights in the ancestral estate, and the Hebrew lawwas careful that estates should not pass out of the hands of theoriginal owners, if it were possible to prevent it. Ruth, the widow,suddenly appears at Bethlehem, the old home of her husband's people. Itis the time of the barley harvest. Naomi plays the role of the schemingmother. She would have her beautiful young daughter-in-law find ahusband among her kindred, that her lamented son might have an heir tohonor his memory and that the portion of the estate which was Elimelechher husband's might be redeemed. The love plot sends Ruth into the fieldof Boaz, a wealthy farmer and near kinsman of Elimelech, to glean afterthe reapers, for no man was permitted by the law to deprive the poor ofwhatever pickings they might find when the reapers had passed. The quicksuccess of the plot, the fascination that Boaz feels for the gracefulbut unknown woman, the command given the reapers to leave behind bypurposeful accident a little more of the grain than was usual and begracious to the girl; the invitation at mealtime to come and partake ofthe repast of parched corn with the reapers; the resolve of Boaz thatshould there be found no nearer kinsman--whose duty it would first be totake the young woman to wife--he himself would choose her. All theseincidents pass in rapid and romantic succession. The observation isapparently true that "women are never stronger than when they armthemselves with their own weakness." Boaz at once pledged himself to bethe damsel's friend and protector. The next of kin declines or waiveshis right to the young widow, for he does not care to redeem Elimelech'sportion of the land, a necessary part of such a matrimonial transaction.Boaz therefore summons the young man, next of kin, who has declined toredeem the land of his deceased brother and raise up heirs for him, toappear at the gate of the city as the law required. Here ten elders sitto witness and make legal the transaction. The shoe of the refusingkinsman is taken from his foot, in the presence of the assembled people,and given to Boaz, symbolizing the relinquishment of all rights in thepremises. Then follows the custom of spitting in the face of the "manwith the loosed shoe," which became a term of reproach, and was appliedto the man who refused to fulfil toward a deceased kinsman the duties ofthe Levirate marriage. Time passes and the aged Naomi, whose mothernamed her "winsome," forgets the bitterness of her later years as sheholds in her arms the infant Obed, in whom she exultingly sees thepledge that the house of her son shall live on, and a prophecy that hisname will become famous among his people. "And Obed begat Jesse andJesse begat David," the king.

III

THE DAYS OF THE KINGS

As we pass out of the unsettled age of the judges into the period whenthe commonwealth of Israel began to take definite shape, we come upon acorresponding change in the life of the Hebrew woman. The heroism infemale virtue was perhaps no less frequent, but when the "heroic age" isbehind us there is less opportunity for women to stand out in so stronga glare. And, indeed, all through this history the remark of Ruskin isclose to the truth when he says: "Woman's function is a guiding, not adetermining one." While epoch-making women occasionally appeared in theearlier period, they became fewer and fewer as the social order becamemore settled.

It was not till the days of the kings that the Mosaic law, in thebroadest sense of the term, could exert any very potential influenceover the life and conduct of the people. In a disorganized condition ofsociety, of which it was said, "Every man did that which was right inhis own eyes," to enforce Mosaic precepts would have been animpossibility, even had the people at large been acquainted with thatlaw. Now, the law of Moses became one of the most powerful factors ingiving to the women of Israel the high place they held in thecommonwealth. The fifth of the "Ten Words"--which commands were the verynucleus about which the whole law was developed--reads: "Honor thyfather and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which theLord thy God giveth thee." Thus, in this, the very first law of theDecalogue respecting duties to man, the duty of honoring the mother wasmade equally imperative with that of showing honor to the father. And itmay be truly affirmed that Israel's remarkable permanence andpersistency as a people may be traced to its domestic health, and thatthis vigorous domesticity is due largely to a better understanding ofthe true relation of the sexes than is discoverable among any otherancient nation.

That honor for parents makes for the permanence of a people both reasonand history affirm. Any nation which honors its ancestry will holdtenaciously to ancestral ideals. Notwithstanding China's limitations inother directions, that nation, because of its worship of the fathers,has lived through many centuries and seen more powerful nations rise andfall.

The position of Israel as a separate people abides in strength becauseboth father and mother have for ages been respected; and even thoughmost of her sons and daughters are no longer "upon the land which theLord their God gave them," they are still holding with wonderfulfirmness to the faith and ideals of their fathers. The Mosaic teachingsconcerning woman are not a little responsible for this remarkable stateof racial longevity. The Hebrew woman's standing before the law gave hergreat advantage over her sisters of the other Semitic and Orientalpeoples. The Mosaic law tended greatly to lessen the inequalities andmitigate the hardships of womankind. Even a woman captured in war wasprotected against the caprice of her captors. Under the law, her lifewas equally as precious as that of a man, and therefore the taking of awoman's life was punishable with the same severity as was the murder ofa man. The law was especially solicitous of her welfare during theperiod of child bearing, and greatly lessened the sorrows and isolationof widowhood.

While divorces were given almost at the will of the man, yet he couldnot without formality at once eject the woman from his house. He mustgive her a "writing of divorcement," which set forth the fact that shehad been his wife. Thus was she protected from subsequent suspicion thatshe had lived with a man unlawfully. Wives of bond-servants were to goout free with their husbands on the seventh year of service, unless themaster himself had given the wife to his manservant, in which case thewoman and her children still belonged to the master.

Daughters were allowed inheritance as well as sons, though in earliertimes than those of the kings they did not inherit their father'sproperty except there were no sons. Fathers were not allowed todiscriminate against a firstborn son and pass the inheritance to anotherbecause the mother of the oldest child happened to have lost favor inhis eyes.

Laws forbidding unchastity and vice were explicit and severe. One whohad taken criminal advantage of another's daughter was to marry her andpay the father the usual dowry; if not, he was to be amerced fiftyshekels of silver, the ordinary dowry of virgins. If a husband suspectedhis wife of being unfaithful to him, an elaborate, but not severe,ordeal was laid upon the woman, called "drinking the waters ofjealousy." If she passed this examination successfully, her husband hadno power further to punish her; if not, she was to suffer for her shame.

The widow and the fatherless were given special consideration under thelaw. In the feast days when the people's hearts were merry and they wererejoicing in the increase of their lands, the widow was not to beforgotten. In business transactions the people were to take heed thatthe widow suffer not injustice. Her garments could never be taken inpledge, and judges were enjoined to see that no violence was done to herrights. The fallen sheaf in the harvest field, the forgotten gleaningsof the olive trees, the droppings of the vintage were not to be withheldfrom her.

How deep-seated this sense of obligation to the widow was in Israel maybe discovered in the Book of Job. The friends who visited Job in hisbewildering grief could find no more probable cause for so severe adivine chastisement upon the arch-sufferer than that Job had neglectedthe widow or taken her in pledge. One effect of the attitude of thecustomary law toward widows is discovered in a most signal way in theSecond Book of Maccabees, which relates that in the period of which ittells, about B.C. 150, it was customary to lay up large sums of money inthe temple treasury for the relief of widows and of fatherless children.

Such women as Miriam and Deborah were factors to be reckoned with in thepolitical movements of their times. So it was with the prophetessesgenerally, for just as the great prophets dealt with the politics ofstate, so a prophetess could not always escape the problems ofstatesmanship to which her time might give birth. Both prophet andprophetess were looked upon as the chosen spokesmen for Jehovah. Becauseof this, Huldah acted as a sort of prime minister and adviser of bothking and high priests in their Jehovistic reforms during the reign ofJosiah.

That women generally took a deep interest in political matters may beperceived in the way in which the exploits of David appealed to theimaginations of the women when Saul's star was setting and David'sappearing above the horizon; for young women went out to meet the cominghero and king with musical instruments, singing a song whose refrainwas:

The power of the feminine idea may be forcefully seen in the very commonconception of the nation itself as a young woman. Both prophet andpoet--and the prophets were usually poets--refer many times to the"daughter of Zion," meaning the people of Israel.

The prophet Jeremiah, foreseeing the coming destruction of the army ofBabylon, says: "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely anddelicate woman" who is about to be ravaged by the invader. And Isaiah,seeing the time at hand for the people to return from Babylonish exile,cries out: "Loose thyself, O captive daughter of Zion."

Affection for the native land was strong among the women as well asamong the men. Lot's wife did not turn because of curiosity, but byreason of the strong attachment to locality; she looked back longinglytoward her forsaken and burning home. The little Hebrew maid, torn by aninvading army of Syrians from her native land, was quick to tell Naaman,the leper,--her new master,--of the virtues of her country and impelledhim to seek out Elisha, the prophet of Israel.

The social position of Hebrew women was exceptionally free andindependent. While a daughter's matrimonial plans were largely in thehands of father and brother, and wives were expected to look up to theirhusbands with all reverence, yet the recorded examples of independentaction and influence among the women reveal a place of social equalityand power, a lack of masculine restraint and domination that would docredit to more modern times.

Deborah accompanied, if she did not lead, the soldiers into battle andcheered them on to victory. The daughters of Shiloh, unaccompanied, wereaccustomed annually to attend festal dances in the vineyards ofBenjamin. Women often went without escorts upon difficult and dangerousmissions. Prophetesses frequently exerted not only a powerful but attimes a decisive influence.

Marriage customs among the Hebrews in the days of the kings were notgreatly different from those of other Oriental people of the same era.They differed but slightly from those of an earlier period. As a rule,marriage was not born out of impulse of the heart; though there weremany marriages that surely ripened into love. If, as Jean Paul Richtersays, "Nature sent woman into the world with a bridal dower of love," wehave an explanation of the fact that there are many happy marriages inIsrael, notwithstanding the fact that the arrangements continued to belargely in the hands of the parents. A daughter belonged to her fathertill of age: after this she could not be betrothed except by her ownconsent. Among the Hebrews betrothal was of the nature of an inviolablecontract, and could be annulled only by divorce. If not in early days,yet in the later periods of Hebrew history there were writings ofbetrothal which set forth the mutual agreements between the parties.Later, there followed the marriage contract, also in writing. The amountpaid for a maiden came to be at least two hundred denars, and justone-half as much for a widow. The father was to provide dowry accordingto his ability, and an orphan girl's dowry was bestowed by thecommunity.

The marriage ceremony consisted of leading the bride from her father'shouse to that of the bridegroom. At which time there was a season offestivity and rejoicing. The marriage of a maiden usually occurred onWednesday evening, that of a widow on Thursday. The "children of thebride chamber," the name by which the invited guests were called, mademerry at the "marriage feast," which was always provided and lastedseveral days. As the procession passed along, going from the bride's tothe bridegroom's house, people along the route might join in thefestivities.

Grains of corn, nuts, and other edibles were the confetti tossedgood-humoredly at the bridal pair. It became the custom, which stillexists among Jews to-day, to break a glass bottle at Hymen's altar toindicate that the former life is no more, and that the bride has enteredupon a new estate. Among the Hebrews the married woman was betterprotected in her rights than among most people of ancient times. Whileher property was usually under control of her husband, yet the dowrycame to be considered her own, whether it be money, property, or jewels.A husband could not compel his wife to remove from the land of herfathers; and in many ways her individual rights were protected. Woman'sinferior position in Greece was one element in the decline of thatremarkable country; the defilement of the womanhood of Rome hastened thedownfall of that city's power; but the protection given to Hebrewwifehood and widowhood became an element of great strength in the lifeof Israel.

The Greek attitude toward woman could probably be reflected in the oldsaying: "A woman who is never spoken of is praised most." In the periodof Rome's decay women became immodestly conspicuous in the social andpublic functions of the day. As opposed to both these conditions theHebrew, the wise man in the Proverbs, calls her a virtuous woman whomher husband can praise in the very gates.

Edersheim calls attention to a suggestive custom which sprung up fromthe slight difference of sound in the words for "find" in two passagesof Scripture concerning women, both of which occur in the wisdomwritings. The first of these reads: "Whoso findeth a wife, findeth agood thing." (Proverbs 18: 22.) The other, "I find more bitter thandeath the woman whose heart is snares and nets." Hence arose the habitof saying to a newly married man, "Maza or Moze?" "Have you found a'good thing' or a 'bitter'?"

The tendency in Israel continued to restrict marriage to one's owntribe. The law of inheritance gave force to this custom. Those very nearof kin were thus regarded as most eligible for wedlock. Jacob marriedtwo of his first cousins. A similar situation is seen in the marriage ofAbraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebecca. Each husband, under speciallytrying circumstances, had claimed that his wife was his "sister," and soshe was,--for in the patriarchal form of society all who belonged to thesame family or clan were brother and sister,--but not in the strictsense which the word was intended to convey. While brothers and sistersof the whole blood might not marry, yet it would not have been regardedas altogether out of place for half-brothers and sisters to marry,especially if they had a different mother.

The story of Amnon and Tamar not only throws light upon this point, butillustrates how brother and sister by the same father as well as thesame mother stood in a greatly different relation, the one to the other,in the matter of brotherly protection from that of half-brother andhalf-sister.

Amnon, son of David, fell desperately in love with his half-sister,David's daughter, Tamar. By a cunningly devised plot Amnon succeeded inbringing the beautiful damsel into his chamber. When Absalom, Tamar'sbrother and half-brother to Amnon, heard that his sister had thus beendealt with, he felt himself under obligation to defend her honor, byslaying his half-brother, which he did at a feast given during theseason of sheep shearing, when the king's sons were all making merry.

The remark of Frances Power Cobbe is as true in Israel as elsewhere. "Aman may build a castle or a palace, but poor creature! be he as wise asSolomon or as rich as Croesus, he cannot turn it into a home. Nomasculine mortal can do that. It is a woman, and only a woman,--a womanall by herself if she must, or prefers, without any man to helpher,--who can turn a house into a home." It was the Hebrew wife andmother who largely gave to the homes of the Israelites their peculiarquality. But it may be said it was seldom her necessity or herpreference to set up a home without the presence of some son of Israel.

The birth of children was always considered an occasion for rejoicing.Hebrew women were, as a rule, active and strong, and natural in theirmode of life. There are but two cases in all the Hebrew Scriptures ofdeath at the time of childbirth. One is that of Rachel, who, when upon afatiguing journey with her husband and family, gave birth to Benjaminand died; the other is the wife of Phineas, who, when she heard the sadnews of the victory of the Philistines over Israel, the capture of theArk of Jehovah, of her father Eli's and her husband's death in thebattle, gave birth to a child whom the nurse called Ichabod, for saidshe: "The glory is departed from Israel." In the naming of her childrenthe Hebrew mother thus often revealed a poetic imagination that is of ahigh order. In this the Hebrew language was helpful, for, as one hasremarked of it: "Every word is a picture."

The bright eyes and graceful form of the gazelle suggested the name fora daughter of Tabitha, of which Dorcas is the Greek. Zipporah was alittle bird; Deborah, the busy bee; Esther, a star; Tamar, a palm tree;Zillah, a shadow; Sarah, the princess; Keturah, fragrance; Hadassah, themyrtle. Thus, some resemblance or poetic association suggested to themother, either at the birth of the child, or because of some fact orincident of later experience, the name the little one was to bear. Oftenthere is a tragedy or a mother's sorrowful life history crystallized ina name. When Rachel, Jacob's favored wife, brought forth her second sonamidst the suffering which was to take away her life, the woman standingby tried to comfort her in the fact that another son had been born tobless her. The mother, with her last faint breath, replied: "Call hisname Benoni (son of my sorrow)." But the father, unwilling thus toperpetuate his wife's anguish, called him Benjamin (son of my righthand). When Naomi, the widow, bereft of her husband and sons, returns toher native Bethlehem after many years of absence and of sorrow, thewomen came out to meet her, saying: "Is this Naomi?" She answered them:"Call me not Naomi (pleasant or winsome), call me Mara (bitter), for theAlmighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." So, among the Hebrews, namesnot only were given to both men and women at birth, but were frequentlychanged at some critical moment or because of some extraordinaryexperience in their life. Ordinarily, however, the favorite method ofnaming sons connected the boy in some way with his God; as when Hannahnamed her baby boy Samuel (God hath heard), and the name of Jacob (thesupplanter), was changed to Israel (the prince of God). The girls seldomif ever bore names ending in el (God), ajah (Jehovah), but werecalled by some name of poetic association or natal experience. In norespect do the Hebrew mothers deserve greater praise than for theirshare in the upbringing of children. While the Jewish law placed theresponsibility for the training of the Hebrew youth upon the father, avery large share of the responsibility fell upon the mother. With theHebrew child, as with the children of all nations, it is impossible tosay exactly where its education begins. The famous dictum: "If you wouldbring up a child in the way it should go, you must begin with itsgreat-grandmother," finds special force among the Israelites. The womenheld an honored place in the education of the Jewish youth. Before thechild could walk or could lisp a syllable, while still in its mother'sarms, it would see her, as she passed from one room to another in thehouse, stop and touch the mesusah on the doorpost, and then kiss thefinger that had thus come in contact with the sacred words of the lawencased there. The little one would easily learn to put out its own tinyfinger and touch the aperture of the sacred box on the doorpost, andthen press it to the baby lips.

Here was the first lesson in the law of its fathers. Very early themother took her babe to the temple, and offered a sacrifice for it.Especially was the birth of the firstborn significant, for the firstbornson belonged to Jehovah, just as the firstborn of the herd and the flockand the first-fruits of the ground. These must be sacrificed on thealtar of the Lord. But, happily for the mother heart, the firstborn sonmight be redeemed by the sacrifice of a lamb, or, if the mother werepoor, by a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons. So the youngmother brought her boy to the altar, made her offering, and took herbabe back to her bosom.

From the time of offering onward, the mother greatly aided in shapingthe life of the young Israelite. In this training the sacred Scripturesplayed an important part. The rabbis, however, never regarded women asbecoming masters of the intricacies of the law. It was a saying amongthem that "Women are of a light mind." This was doubtless an appropriateremark, for it is certainly true that much of the rabbinic lore isheavy, almost beyond expression. There were not a few women, though, whowere well versed in the Scriptures and also in rabbinical teaching. Thesynagogues were open to the women, where they occupied seats partitionedfrom those of the men. The attendance of women upon the great feasts,where much could be learned of custom, tradition, and teaching, alsogave them opportunity to be instructed in the religion of their fathers.The Christian apostle Paul congratulated his young friend Timothy, thatfrom a babe he had known the Hebrew Scriptures, which he had learnedfrom his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. These are typicalmothers of the higher order; and while probably only the richer homesowned a copy of the entire Bible, most families possessed at least oneor more scrolls containing parts of the sacred writings.

The strength of motherly devotion was nowhere stronger than among themothers of Israel. The spirit of Rizpah was the spirit of most of them.For when seven of her sons, the sons of Saul, had been slain and theirbodies exposed, in the revolution which brought David to the throne,Rizpah took a piece of sackcloth, and, spreading it upon a rock near by,guarded the bodies of her offspring from the beginning of barley harvesttill the early rains: that neither birds might molest them by day norbeasts of the field by night.

Home life among the Hebrews of Palestine to-day is marked by much thatcharacterized that life ten or even twenty centuries ago; therefore afew facts concerning the home life in the Jerusalem of to-day will teachus much concerning that of the past. Probably nine-tenths of the nativehomes of Jerusalem are unpretentious, unattractive, uncomfortable, andshow signs of poverty. The people have learned the fine art of economyin house room. Father, mother, and the multitude of little ones withwhich the Jewish home is usually blessed do not find it difficult to betucked snugly away in two or three rooms. These give ample space forcooking, dining, sleeping, and performing the necessary labor ofdomestic life; besides furnishing opportunity for the hospitality forwhich the East is still justly noted. Call any time you will, on anybusiness bent, and your hostess, if there be no servant, will, beforeyou are permitted to mention the matter of your call, bring to you aglass of wine or perhaps a cup of coffee to refresh you. This, too,though the family be poor and it be deprivation for even this repast tobe served to the guest. And though you know of the sacrifice the hostessmakes, you must not refuse, lest you offend and wound the spirit ofhospitality at its very heart.

The brunt of the work of the house falls, of course, upon the wife andmother. And it is doubtful if the place of the woman of the Palestine ofto-day, even among the Jewish families, is as high as in the days ofIsrael's independence and power. While great respect is shown the fatheras head of the family, the mother is often scarcely more than theservant of her children. The sons especially do not give her the respectthat was once her unquestioned due. The girl is from her birth lookedupon and treated as inferior to her brothers. Patiently, all women ofthe Orient seem to bear this inferiority--a sort of penalty they mustpay because Heaven made them women and not men. The young girl'smatrimonial prospects are never in her own hands. She tamely submits toarrangements made for her, and, without test or questioning, assumesthat her husband is her superior in all things.

Education among the girls of modern Palestine has been almost hopelesslyneglected--except as teachers from England and America have been able tosupply the deficiency or overcome the indifference. There is littlewonder that home life is unattractive and the housekeeping miserablewith so little possibility for the women to catch even a glimpse of thehigher things that elevate and refine. Sometimes the Jewish girl is awife as early as ten or twelve, and frequently at the age of fourteen.Thus home life is often rendered unhappy and divorce frequent. Physical,mental, and moral anguish follow in the wake of many of these earlymarriages. The young Jewish maiden's life is cheerless before herwedlock, as she is shut out from the joys of social gatherings; and,after marriage, cheerlessness gives way to impenetrable gloom. To saythat there are no happy marriages would be wide of the mark. Butdivorces are sadly common among the Jews of Palestine to-day; thehusband having almost unlimited power to break, under very slightprovocation, the bond that binds him to his wife. The rabbi must ofcourse confirm the dissolution of the bond, and thirty piasters is theprice. The effect of this custom upon modern Jewish womanhood in thevenerated land of Rebekah and Rachel is most unhappy.

Home life in ancient Israel was singularly sweet, pure, and industrious.The family was both the social and the religious unit. Idleness wasconsidered a curse; and every child was taught to train his hands aswell as to cultivate his heart.

The occupations of women were numerous and varied. Everywhere in theEast needlework was and is highly prized. Mothers set their children atit at a very early age and great skill is often attained. The poorerwomen frequently earn with their own fingers the amount of theirmarriage portion; and in the hours of seclusion wives of the harem havealways found embroidery and other forms of rich needlework a commonpastime for the empty hours.

While working in skins, clay, and in metals was reserved for the men,the Hebrew women were very largely the producers of the food and thewearing apparel. They assisted in the cultivation of the fields, werethe millers, grinding with their primitive stone mortar and pestle, thebakers, the weavers and spinners, making use of the hand spindle whichmay be seen in Syria and in Egypt to-day, though in the latter countrythe men shared with the women the skill in this handicraft. Among theHebrews, as with the Greeks, Clotho is a woman.

We find the virtuous woman, as ideally drawn in the Book of Proverbs, tobe one who finds good wool and flax and works willingly with her hands;distaff and spindle fly at her finger's bidding, so that her wholehousehold sits doubly clothed in scarlet, and even fine linen is wroughtin her house, and rich girdles go out to the merchantmen. She makes thefield and vineyard turn out profitably and imports her food from afar.Whether as shepherdess, gleaner, or the maker of food stuffs ortextiles, the Hebrew woman may justly hold a place of respect among hersex.

Among the amusements in which women specially engaged, those of musicand dancing should be given first place. These often had a religious orsemi-religious character. Women did not usually sit down, or ratherrecline, at banquets with the opposite sex. Their songs and dances weregenerally among themselves; dancing with the opposite sex was unknown.Instrumental music frequently accompanied their singing, a sort oftambourine or hand drum being a favorite instrument. Women played animportant part also in mourning customs. Professional female mournerswere hired to go up and down the highways, wailing piteously as part ofthe funeral rites. The prophet Nahum in predicting the overthrow ofNineveh uses a figure suggested by frequent observation of mourning:"Her maids shall lead her, as with the voice of doves, tabering upontheir breasts."

The religious status of woman is one of the most significant facts inIsrael's history. Passing out of the patriarchal stage of life, when thefather was high priest in his home, into a more complex existence, it isnot surprising that woman's place should become subordinated. Besidesthis, the Hebrew worshipped no goddesses, except in times of religiouslapses. The women of Israel, however, are often found engaged insacrifices, prayers, and active service to their God Jehovah.

While only the men were required to attend the annual feasts, theattendance of women in large numbers is often recorded. Their presenceseems to be presupposed in the accounts of Hebrew worship; though forthem the annual religious pilgrimages to Jerusalem were not obligatory.

In the temple worship they had a separate court, further removed fromthe inner precincts of the holy altar than the court of the men. Andwhile they might join in the eating of some sacrificial meals, the sinoffering was only to be partaken of by males. The official duties of thesanctuary were performed by men, but there were "serving women" whoperformed certain menial tasks about the sacred enclosure. When thetemple ritual became elaborated, women were among the singers in thetemple choirs, and they often aided in the music and by singing anddancing in times of great national rejoicing. And it is not without itssuggestiveness that the Hebrews spoke of a divine revelation as BathKol, or "daughter voice."

In the days when religious secretism became popular in Israel, and thepeople began to divide the exclusive adoration they had hitherto givento Jehovah and to worship other gods and even goddesses, women becameprominent in idolatrous rites. Jezebel, who was a worshipper of thePhoenician goddess Ashtoreth, not only became the patron of the priestsand puppets of the Baal cult, but endeavored to break down Jehovahworship by the destruction of his prophets. Maachah, the mother of KingAsa of the southern kingdom of Judah, introduced the worship of theAssyrian goddess Astarte. Devotion to Ishtar, the chief goddess ofBabylon became the fashion in Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah theprophet, who tells of Hebrew women kneading dough and baking cakes inshape of the silvery moon in honor of the "queen of heaven," Ishtar, themoon goddess; or perhaps, as some hold, this was the worship of theplanet Venus, for similar offerings were made in Arabia to the goddessAl-Uzza, who was represented by the star Venus; and the Athenians too,we are told, offered cakes of the shape of the full moon in honor ofArtemis.

During the period of the Babylonish captivity, before the final fall ofJerusalem, Ezekiel rebukes the women of Jerusalem for worshippingTammuz, the Babylonian Adonis, who had been taken to the under world;for, says the prophet, "There sat the women weeping for Tammuz," thedeparted husband of Ishtar.

There was never among the Israelites that reverence for women, akin toawe, which was manifested among the Teutonic tribes--a reverence whichmade women natural oracles. Doubtless in Israel, as everywhere, theinstinctive, intuitive nature of women was discovered by the men ofIsrael as in other parts of the world. But women as oracles are isolatedand exceptional. There were witches, who were under the ban. The highestspiritual influence and leadership in Israel was that of the prophet,for he was regarded as the mouthpiece of God, and, though of a farhigher order, corresponded to the oracle among heathen peoples. Could awoman hold this place of dignity and power? The first person of thisclass mentioned in the literature of Israel is Miriam the prophetess. Inthe days of political confusion, before the time of the monarchy,Deborah the prophetess arose; and it was Huldah the prophetess whodirected the reforms instituted by King Josiah, when the worship ofJehovah was purified, the temple repaired, and Mosaism restored topower. Just as there were false prophets in the days of religiousdecline, so there arose false prophetesses, like Noadiah, who attemptedto thwart the reforms of Nehemiah and put his life in jeopardy. In theearly days, the counterfeit of the prophetess, namely, the witch andsorceress, was not unknown in the land of Palestine. The law, however,was very stringent against such persons, though King Saul himself oncewent disguised to consult the Witch of Endor. Scripture says: "Thoushalt not suffer a sorceress to live." These are the words which werethought to give sanction to the burning of witches in New England acentury or more ago.

In writing of the women in the days of the kings, one naturally turnsto the days of David, the first who brought Israel to a state ofpolitical stability. The familiar saying, "The great men are not alwayswise," is well illustrated in the matrimonial experiences of King David.Many times was he married. Four of the wives of David are worthy ofnote. The first may be called his wife of youthful romance, Michal,Saul's daughter; the next, Abigail, the wife of manhood's admiration;the third, Bathsheba, the wife of lustful passion; the fourth, Maachah,the wife of old age's sorrow, for she bore unto him Absalom, the rebel.It was a giddy and dangerous height to which David the youth hadsuddenly arisen when the people were giving him, because of his prowessin slaying Goliath of Gath, greater honor than the king. Even the youngPrincess Michal could not disguise her admiration for the new andyouthful hero. But he must slay one hundred Philistines if he is topossess Michal, says Saul, thinking David would lose his life in theattempt. But the young man slew two hundred, and claimed his bride.While her father was plotting the life of his young rival, Michal wasplotting more skilfully to save it; for, overhearing her father giveorders that her husband and lover should be slain, she let him down fromthe window, substituting for her absent lord an image resting in herbed, beneath the covering, in such wise as to support her statement tothe messengers, who came to take him before Saul, that David was sick.Michal, having to make choice between her father and her husband, chosethe latter; and though she was long separated from him while Davidwarred with Saul, when at last David reigned he sent and recovered her,his first love, and Michal became his wife again.

But there were women of affairs in Israel, as well as women ofsentiment and devotion. The story of Abigail, wife of Nabal, and how shebecame espoused to David, is a pleasing chapter of woman's power toexcite the admiration of a manly heart by combining the grace and thetact of the womanly character with worldly wisdom and courage. It is oneof the finest illustrations recorded of woman's independence in the landof the Hebrews. The story of Bathsheba's marriage to David is wellknown. Falling in love with Bathsheba's beautiful form, the king plottedthe life of her husband, put him in the front rank in the battle, and,when he fell, took her to his own house as wife. And while Maachahbecame the mother of a son who was to be a very thorn in the heart ofhis father, the wickedness which brought about the marriage to Bathshebabecame the cause of the bitterest expression of penitential anguish inall the range of literature. For an ancient tradition, embodied in theintroduction to the fifty-first Psalm, affirms that that poem ofheart-stinging grief was written when Nathan the prophet had shown KingDavid the heinous blackness of his sin toward Uriah the Hittite.

Diplomatic marriages were not uncommon in the ancient commonwealth ofIsrael. They were not provided for in the law of Moses. Indeed, theywere distinctly prohibited both by the genius of that law and by itspositive enactments. And yet, no less influential a name than that ofSolomon might have been quoted as giving sanction to this method ofassuring national peace.

Even modern governments might be cited--not only of the East, but ofthe countries of Europe--as pernicious examples of the very ancientcustom of cementing political friendship by the interchange ofdaughters. The Tel El Marna tablets present a number of illustrations ofdiplomatic correspondence between Oriental kings concerning daughterswho had been given as wives to brother monarchs as a seal of friendship.Now this well-nigh universal custom of diplomatic marriages, thoughdiscouraged by the law of the Hebrews, spoken against by their prophets,and forbidden by the very genius of their religion, was not uncommon inthe land of Israel. Saul, the first king, can scarcely be said to havewelded the tribes into a stable and recognized nationality. David, hissuccessor, was a warrior, who depended for his successes more uponmilitary prowess than upon the skill of diplomacy. The third King ofIsrael fell heir to a nation made by the master hand of his father. TheHebrews were now recognized by contemporary peoples as a great nation,and, being respected for their power, peace reigned in Palestine.Solomon, a man of peaceful temperament, resolved to sway the sceptre andenhance his influence by the arts of diplomacy rather than by theinstruments of war. Among these arts was that of knowing how to bewisely and numerously wed. He it was who introduced the harem, in themodern meaning of the word, into Palestine.

The living wives--in number seven hundred--that are said to have beenpossessed by King Solomon shows that the prayer made by the people whenfirst they sought a king "like all the nations" had been answered. Herewas the beginning, as some of the prophets thought, of Israel'ssubsequent disaster and final undoing as a kingdom. To them Jehovah wasthe one unifying cause, the great power that was to preserve theirnational integrity, their very existence as a people. To admit foreignwives into the palace, bringing with them their gods, and becomingperchance the mothers of their future kings was to defile the religionof the realm at its heart, to undermine the worship of Jehovah in thehouse of him who should be its main defender. In the life and reign ofKing Solomon we have the strange contradiction which is not infrequentlydiscovered between theoretical wisdom and practical folly, betweenprivate life and public conduct. No man of ancient days appears to haveunderstood woman better than Solomon, nor said more wise thingsconcerning them. His dealing with the rival claimants of a certain baby,his wisdom in answering the hard questions of the Queen of Sheba havemade his name famous. And yet it was his lack of practical wisdom inarranging his own household that sowed the seed of discord anddissolution which were later to cause great distress and at lastdisruption.

IV

THE ERA OF POLITICAL DECLINE

Altogether the most glorious reign in all the history of the Hebrewcommonwealth was that of Solomon. David his father's military prowessand his own skill in diplomacy had brought peace with foreign nations,and rapid internal development. But even now germs of decay wereperceptible. The custom of diplomatic marriage with daughters of heathenkings, the incoming of luxury, which was destined to undermine thesocial, political, and religious hardihood which had previouslycharacterized the people, were destined powerfully to influence the lifeand character of Hebrew women. For here, elements of weakness will oftenfirst show themselves. It was inevitable that with the harem should comeimmorality, luxury, effeminacy, and the encroachments of foreigninfluence, through the women of many lands bringing their forms ofworship and also their deities with them. It was in anticipation of allthese dangers that the law forbade the king to "multiply wives tohimself." It will be remembered that it was the increased taxationnecessary to keep up such an establishment as that which Solomon broughtinto being in Israel that led at his death to a disruption of thekingdom into two antagonistic parts. It was the violation of this lawthat later led the northern kingdom of Israel into one of the bittereststruggles, one of the most cruel wars of extermination, ever enactedamong a people which has suffered many grievous national experiences.King Ahab married a Princess of Phoenicia, the daughter of Eth-baal,King of the Zidonians. With her came her worship of Baal, the very nameof which divinity was imbedded in the name of her father, Eth-baal.

For force of character, Jezebel is probably unexcelled in the Scripturerecords. But that character was, unfortunately, villainous. Molièreaffirms that "It is more difficult to rule a wife than a kingdom." Ahabmust have found it so, and surrendered both enterprises to Jezebel.When--like the famous miller of Potsdam who would not part with his milleven to the great Frederick--Naboth refused to sell the vineyard whichwas so coveted by the king, Jezebel says tauntingly to the disappointed,fretting husband: "Dost thou rule over the Kingdom of Israel?" This LadyMacbeth cries: "Give me the dagger." She prepares a great feast, invitesNaboth as a guest of honor, accuses him falsely and has him killed.Triumphantly she now can present her husband with the much-covetedvineyard. Her horrible death in the revolution which the fast-drivingJehu led is held up by the prophets as a warning to subsequentgenerations, for, unburied and eaten by dogs, Jezebel's body was castaway, so that none could afterward honor her memory or say: "This isJezebel." And in the same revolution, by a Nemesis so common in history,Jezebel's son Joram was slain in the field of Naboth. That her name madea deep impression upon the Hebrew mind, however, may be seen in the factthat in the book of Revelation, written nearly ten centuries afterward,an heretical and idolatrous influence is referred to as "that womanJezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess to teach my servants tocommit fornification and to eat things sacrificed to idols."

In marked contrast with the motherly devotion which generallycharacterized the "daughters of Rachel" stands out the example ofAthaliah the unnatural; since she was the daughter of Jezebel, the factis not strange. To the truthfulness of the remark of La Bruyère that"Women are ever extreme, they are better or they are worse than men,"history has often testified. The woman who is usually satisfied to sitbehind the throne has occasionally had ambitions to sit upon it. So itwas with Athaliah. The law of the Hebrews, while it made provision forinheritance of daughters along with the sons, does not contemplate thedominion of a queen. Only one woman ever sat upon the throne of theHebrews.

When King Ahaziah, the reigning King of Judah, had been slain by Jehu ina revolution directed against Joram, King of Israel, and all the seedroyal, Ahaziah's mother, seized with ambitions to be herself thesovereign, proceeded to put to death all the possible heirs to thethrone. Fortunately for the Davidic dynasty, however, a sister of thedead king rescued one of his sons, an infant, from the bloody massacre,and hid him in one of the apartments of the temple. When the proper timecame, the high priest Jehoiada brought forth the lad, now seven years ofage, and with the aid of mighty men, proclaimed him king. Athaliah wassurprised and overwhelmed and was slain; but she had given Judah sixyears of unrighteous government.

The religious influence of Jezebel in the northern kingdom and ofAthaliah, her daughter, in the southern was of greater consequence inthe shaping of the history of the times than their lack of moral worth.Jezebel was an ardent worshipper of Baal; indeed, she was the patronessof Baal's prophets, the very bulwark of idolatrous practices in Israel.Over against her stood the prophet Elijah, the representative of whatwas apparently a lost hope. Jezebel had driven the prophets of Jehovahinto the dens and caves of the earth. It is commonly thought that whilemen have more vices than women, women have stronger prejudices. But hereis a woman of whom it may be stated--altering a remark made concerningNero--"There is no better description of her than to say shewas--Jezebel."

The Baal worship which she would foster, and did greatly succeed infastening upon Israel until its overthrow by Shalmaneser, King ofAssyria, was a debasing nature-worship, which tended to destroy manhoodand drag womanhood into shame. And while there was set up no materialmonument of her power in Israel, yet it required generations for thepernicious influence of her life to die away. If, as Dean Stanleysuggested, that Hebrew epithalamium, the forty-fifth Psalm, was writtenin honor of Jezebel's marriage to Ahab, none of its ideals concerningthe new-made queen was ever realized in Israel. She must stand in thehistory with Jeroboam whose constant literary monument is disclosed inthe oft-repeated words, "He made Israel to sin."

In contrast with the proud and cruel queen whose aim had been to slayElijah and all who stood for Jehovah worship are certain obscure womenwho protected and comforted the prophet. "You will find a tulip of awoman," says Thackeray, "to be in fashion when a humble violet or daisyof creation is passed over without remark." We shall not fall under theimplied condemnation by forgetting the nameless widow of Zarephath who,though found gathering a few sticks to make a meal of the last handfulof flour and a little oil left in the cruse, yet when asked took thefleeing Tishbite into her frugal home and shared with him her poorrepast. For fully a year did Elijah live under the widow's roof, and themeal in the barrel wasted not, nor did the oil in the cruse fail, tillthe famine was broken by the coming of the long delayed rains.

A people's religion will register its mark quickly upon its women. Amost suggestive Semitic conception is found in the use of the figure ofmarriage to describe the relationship between a people and their god, orperhaps more accurately, between a land and its governing divinity. Thisentire conception finds its best illustration in the term Baal, whichmeans husband, or lord. The god was conceived of as father and the landas mother of the people and of all the products of the soil.

The influence of the Baal cult upon Israelitish society, especially uponwoman, cannot be understood without reference to the nature of thatworship. Picture before your mind's eye the rustic prophet Amos, withwandering staff in hand, impelled by a divine impulse, making his waynorthward, and carrying a divine message to the people. He reachesBethel in the southern part of the kingdom of Israel--a city that fromtime immemorial had been a sanctuary. He is shocked at the terribleorgies practised about the altars there in the name of religion; at theunbridled passion and lewdness in the name of the god and goddess offertility, Baal and Ashtoreth; at the men and women revelling in shame,that the increase of the land might be celebrated and productivenesssymbolized.

It is while looking upon such a scene of bestialized worship anddebauched womanhood that Amos cries out in prophetic grief:

The domestic life of the prophet Hosea furnishes perhaps the bestillustration of the condition and dark possibilities of womanhood inIsrael during this era of religious lapse and of consequent moral decay.When religion sanctions prostitution at the altar, profligacy is notunnatural. Hosea had married one Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. Soon sheforgets her marriage vows and gives herself to a life of shame. Hosea,not then a prophet, more than once tried to reclaim the erring wife ofhis love; but she again falls into evil ways. His home is destroyed; andas he thinks of the meaning of this fatal blow to his domestichappiness, he can but see in it a divine call to go forth to correct acondition of society which could foster such vice and make such sorrowspossible. The whole meaning of his ministry, as he starts out with hischildren as object lessons of his and the people's great humiliation, isbut an enlarged reproduction of his own bitter experience.

That the god and his land were related as husband and wife, was a veryfamiliar conception in Israel, as well as with the nations round about.Even Isaiah proclaimed that the land of the Hebrew should be calledBeulah, that is, "married," a land wedded to Jehovah, in pure andabiding love. But it remained for the worship of Baal, which means both"lord" and "husband," to fasten upon Israel the basest practices betweenthe sexes, as a part of the worship of the god to whom the land wasmarried.

Hosea sees in his own poignant grief an epitome of Israel's relation ofapostasy from Jehovah. She should have been a wife of purity, keepingher covenant vows with her Lord, but instead, she had gone away toconsort with other gods and was playing the harlot against her firstlove. Repeated efforts had failed to reclaim her, and now she is givenup to horrible vice as she sacrifices her virtue at the altar of Baal.It is a fearful arraignment, hot with his own experiences and saturatedwith tears. The words of Hosea are themselves the best representation ofsociety of the day, as we speak under the figure of his own bittergrief:

"Plead with your mother, plead, for she is not my wife and I am not herhusband. Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight andher adulteries from between her breasts." This is the earnest plea for apurified Israel and a redeemed womanhood.

The day is to come, says the prophet with the broken heart, when "sheshall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them. Thenshall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was itbetter with me than now." "For she did not know," says Hosea forJehovah, "that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied hersilver and gold, which they prepared for Baal." And looking forward to aday when the sensual worship of Baal which so debauched womanhood,should be no longer known in Israel, the prophet, again as themouthpiece of Jehovah, still carrying out the same figure of wedlock,says to Israel: "And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I willbetroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me infaithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah. And it shall come to pass inthat day that I will hear, saith Jehovah, I will hear the heavens, andthey shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear (with) the corn, andthe wine, and the oil."

It was only after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in B.C. 586, and the consequent exile of the Hebrews, that this natureworship which so endangered womanly virtue was exterminated.

During the long, synchronous reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, and ofJeroboam II., King of Israel, in the eighth century before the Christianera, prosperity both at home and abroad had given the people of bothkingdoms great wealth. The Syrians had for a long series of years been abreakwater against the growing power of Assyria. In the meantime, therewas unsurpassed opportunity for internal development, commercialexpansion, and the accumulation of wealth. Riches had led to luxury, andcommerce had made the people more hospitable to foreign ideals, bothsocial and religious.

It was in the reign of Uzziah's successor, Jotham, that a new andeloquent voice was lifted up on behalf of reform, calling the peopleback to the ideals of the fathers and of the prophets. This new force inJerusalem was the young Isaiah, whose striking vision in the year KingUzziah died caused him to give up a profane life for the prophet'soffice; and upon none of the Hebrew prophets do the condition andcharacter of woman seem to have made so deep an impress. Among the veryearliest of his public utterances, so far as they have been preserved tous, is that severe arraignment of the women of Jerusalem for theirwanton haughtiness, their wasteful extravagance, their love of show,their self-indulgence and vice. Thus in detail does the prophet draw forus the moving picture of female pride: "Moreover, the Lord saith:Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forthnecks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing (or tripping delicately) asthey go, and making a tinkling with their feet: therefore, the Lord willsmite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, andthe Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord willtake away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments (anklets) about theirfeet, and their cauls (net works), and their round tires like the moon(crescents), the chains (or ear pendants), and the bracelets, and themufflers, the bonnets (head tires), and the ornaments of the legs (anklechains), and the headbands, and the tablets (or smelling boxes), and theearrings, the rings, and the nose jewels, the changeable suits ofapparel (festal robes), and the mantles, and the wimples (probably,shawls), and the crisping pins, the glasses (hand mirrors), and the finelinen, and the hoods (or turbans), and the vails. And it shall come topass that instead of sweet smell (of Oriental spices) there shall bestink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set hair,baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; andburning instead of beauty. Thy husbands shall fall by the sword, and thymighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she beingdesolate, shall sit upon the ground."

In this period, the women as they went along scented the air with theperfume from the boxes that hung at their girdles; they lolled idly andluxuriantly upon ivory beds and silken cushions sprinkled with perfume,and they gossiped to the sound of music.

In predicting the great disaster and slaughter that were to come uponthe people through the Assyrian invasion, made successful by theeffeminacy of the people, the prophet discloses not only the direextremity to which the people were to be reduced, but reveals thefeminine ideal among the Hebrews, already alluded to in this volume,namely, that which makes motherhood the aim of every Hebrew woman andthe absence of it a calamity. In that day seven women shall take holdof one man, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel;only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." Widowhoodand celibacy were equally sources of deepest grief among the women ofIsrael, and both were to be among the results of the luxury and vice ofthe land.

Woman, as well as man, in this era of decay, had fallen into the habitof the most cruel covetousness, and, when occasion offered, the rich andpowerful women oppressed the poor. The herdsman-prophet Amos, comingfrom his home in the rural districts of Judah, was shocked at thecorruption into which even the women of Samaria, the capital of thenorthern kingdom of Israel, had fallen, and so, with a rustic boldnessthat would not mince matters of such grave concern, he compared thewomen to the fat cattle of the land of Bashan, saying to the wives andmothers of the corrupt and luxury-loving city: "Hear this word, ye kineof Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor,which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring and let usdrink!"

In the age of decline, it is a noteworthy fact that not a woman appearsto have lifted up prophetic voice against the moral and religious decay.Prophets there were, but apparently no prophetesses, except those whomJeremiah rebukes with scathing earnestness,--women who prophesiedaccording to their own feelings and desires rather than in harmony withthe eternal principles as applied to the then present conditions.Indeed, in the entire period of decline which preceded the fall ofSamaria in B.C. 722 and of Jerusalem in B.C. 586, no prophetess appearsin the record, except that Isaiah speaks of his wife as the prophetess.This involves an entire change in the meaning of the word.

But there were patriotic women, just as there were patriotic men,during the days of decline. There was no greater suffering than that ofwomen when they saw the Babylonian soldiery laying Jerusalem in ashes.Hugging their babes to their breasts, some were hewn in pieces, whileothers suffered shameful indignities and were led away among thecaptives, to sojourn in a strange land. The prophets had foreseen thecoming anguish of the women; and when Jeremiah foretold the restorationof Israel to her land, he proclaimed that the eyes of Rachel, which hadwept for her children "because they were not," should at length bedried, and her mourning turned into rejoicing. Thus the picture drawn inthat elegiac poem--the greatest of all Hebrew threnodies, known as theLamentations of Jeremiah--when he saw the sacred city in ruins, wasreversed:

This was but the enlargement and national application of the distressexperienced by the women of Israel during the siege and final overthrowof the city in which all Jewish hopes centred.

Of the Hebrew women during the period of the exile, we knowcomparatively little. And yet no woman of later Biblical Judaism made sodeep an impression upon the Jewish mind as did Esther. By her beauty andthe wise cunning of her uncle, she became the wife of King Ahasuerus,the famous Persian who attempted to measure arms with the Greeks--aneffort which turned out so disastrously for the gigantic butundisciplined Persian army. The story of Vashti's deposal, because sherefused to lend herself to the immodest proposal of the king, befuddledby the wine of banqueting and revelry; of the subsequent selection ofEsther as queen; of her entreaty for her people, against whom adeep-laid and cruel plot was soon to be executed,--is a familiarnarrative.

That a Jewish woman should have been elevated to such a position in thePersian palace seems so improbable that some have been inclined to doubtthe accuracy of the story which the Book of Esther records, especiallysince profane history tells of but one wife of Ahasuerus, Amestris. Butthe argument from silence is always precarious. Vashti and Esther mayeasily have been extra-legal wives of the king, even though Amestriswere his only legally recognized wife. The well-known custom of Orientalmonarchies makes such a view highly probable. At all events, therestands the well-known feast of Purim, the "festival of the Lots," as amonument in Jewish religious life of the substantial accuracy of theevents recorded in the Book of Esther.

The power of Esther's life and of her service to her people in exilemay be in a measure estimated by the fact that no book in all the Biblewas so much copied, or was so generally in possession of the Jewishfamilies as that of Esther. Indeed, it was asserted by Maimonides andbelieved by many that when at the coming of Messiah all the rest of theOld Testament should pass away, there would still remain the five booksof the law and the Book of Esther. Written as it was, upon separatescrolls, it was in thousands of Jewish houses. Even at the present dayrolls containing Esther are the prized possession of Jewish families;and these are sometimes even now passed down from parents to theirchildren upon the wedding day. On the day of Purim, the book is read inpublic as a part of the service, that the way in which Esther became thesavior of her people may never be forgotten. The power of Esther's storyover the Jewish mind has seemed the more remarkable, since it is thesingle book in the Hebrew Canon which does not contain the name of God.But on the other hand, there is no Hebrew writing that is so intense inits national spirit; none which breathes and burns so deeply with thecharacteristic genius of "the peculiar people."

There was perhaps no time in the history of the Hebrews when sociallife received a more severe shock than during the days of the reformsinstituted by Nehemiah about the middle of the fifth century beforeChrist. When the Jews returned from their exile in Babylonia many ofthem married women of gentile blood and religion, daughters of those whohad peopled the land of Palestine during the exile. Children of Jewswere being born and taught heathen language and heathen worship by theirmothers. Nehemiah, under appointment as governor, when he saw that Jewshad married "wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab," commanded that allforeign women be immediately divorced, and that only Jewish women shouldbe taken for wives. Great was the temporary suffering involved, to besure, but the aim in view, namely that of keeping the people henceforthfree from idolatry seemed to justify even so drastic a measure. Agrandson of the high priest, himself in priestly line, had marriedNicaso, daughter of Sanballat, the Horonite, the very crafty andtroublesome ruler of Samaria. When Nehemiah demanded of him that he giveup his wife he refused. The governor accordingly expelled him fromJerusalem, chasing him out of his presence, as the Biblical narrativeinforms us. Josephus says that when the people demanded that he give uphis alien wife or his priestly office,--as the law flatly forbadepriests from having foreign wives,--he decided first in favor of hisoffice. But when Sanballat, his father-in-law, heard of it, he told himnot to move hastily, but if he would keep Nicaso his wife, he,Sanballat, would build him a temple of his own, so that he might be notonly a priest, but high priest, and Nicaso's husband at the same time.This appealed to Manasseh's judgment, and he chose the plan of hisfather-in-law. Thus was built the temple on Mount Gerizim, which becamethereafter the centre of Samaritan life and worship. It was concerningMount Gerizim that the Samaritan woman at the well spoke when she saidto Jesus: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that inJerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

The suffering of the women during the grievous persecution of the Jewsunder Antiochus Epiphanes, "the illustrious"--nicknamed Epimanes, "themadman"--was frightful in the extreme. Some men, but fewer women,yielded to the pressure of the effort to destroy the Jewish religion byforcing the Greek pantheon, Greek games and theatre, and the Greekculture upon the Jews. The struggle into which the people were plungedbrought the self-sacrifice of the women into prominence. A typical caseof suffering is given in the Second Book of Maccabees. King Antiochushad laid hold of a mother and seven sons, and commanded that theyviolate their law by eating swine's flesh. The eldest was first put tothe test. He refused to obey. The king commanded that the tongue of himwho spoke thus defiantly should be cut out, his limbs mutilated, and hisliving body roasted in hot pans, and that his mother and her youngersons should witness the awful sight. One after another the sons werecruelly dealt with and slain. Each one was given opportunity to save hislife by eating the forbidden flesh, but each refused. At length theyoungest only remained. The king appealed to the mother, standing by, toadvise her boy to obey and save his life. But the sturdy Jewish motherturned to this son and strengthened him in his determination to dierather than prove faithless to the religion of his fathers by obeyingthe merciless tyrant. He too was then murdered, even more cruelly thanthe rest. And at length, the mother herself lost her life upon the samealtar of faithfulness, rather than transgress the law. Of such sturdystuff were the Jewish mothers of this awful period made. There is littlewonder that the sons of such women succeeded in winning theirindependence and in setting up again a Jewish state, which had beensuppressed for more than four centuries.

A look into this period would be incomplete without reference to one ofthe apochryphal or deutero-canonical books of the Old Testament, highlyprized by the Jews as containing a picture of pious home life among theJews in the captivity. A devout Jew, as the story goes, with his wifeAnna and his son Tobias were among those whom Shalmaneser, King ofAssyria, had taken captive from the land of Israel and placed in thecity of Nineveh when Samaria fell about B. C. 722. Loyal to his religion,Tobit, even in exile, refused to eat the bread of the Gentiles; but bydint of hard work and fidelity he at length became purveyor to the king.By the revolving wheel of fortune, Tobit is at length reduced topoverty. Here Anna his wife, with devoted womanly faithfulness, comes tothe rescue with her skilful fingers, weaving and spinning for alivelihood; for her husband was now both poor and blind. One day Anna,wearied and provoked, reproaches her husband for his blindness--suchcalamities were esteemed a divine curse in Israel, whereupon Tobitprayed that he might die. On the self-same day, a young Jewess, Sara,daughter of Raguel, a captive in Ecbatana of Media, was offering up asimilar prayer that the end of her life might come. For her father'smaid had charged her with killing her seven husbands, who had died oneafter another, each on the very first night of the wedding feast, thoughthe strange deaths had been the work of Asmodeus, the evil spirit, whowas not willing that the maiden should wed. Now these two widelyseparated and unrelated prayers were to be brought together into oneromantic story by the help of an angel, who becomes a guide to the sonof Tobit, young Tobias, who is about to start out in life in quest of afortune. The angel guides him to Ecbatana, bids him make the eighth tooffer marriage to Sara, whose seven husbands had perished on the nuptialnight. Though Tobias had never seen the young woman before, he was toher the next of living kin and so should be (according to the Mosaiclaw) the one to offer his hand to the youthful, much-married widow.Would the young Tobias prove strong enough bravely to face the record ofthe seven deaths? The angel here comes to the rescue, and calls Tobias'sattention to the heart and liver of a great fish which had been caughtin the Euphrates as the two had journeyed together from Nineveh toEcbatana. These, burned with perfumes in the bridal chamber, drove theevil spirit Asmodeus away, and the marriage festivities went on merrily.The life of Tobias had been saved. He takes his newly wedded wife backto his father's house in joy and triumph, cures his father's blindnessby the same magic charm which had saved his own life in the bridalchamber, and peace and wealth and long life follow in rich profusion.

This story is chiefly of interest to us as it shows the continuation,even into the period of exile, of the Levirate marriage custom. Whilethe story of the marriage of Sara, daughter of Raguel, is a Jewishromance, the literature of the inter-biblical period is not without itstragedies, in which woman plays an important rôle. Among these is thewell-known story of Judith and Holofernes.

Many Jewish women have passed into literature and art. Rebekah at thewellside, Miriam watching by the reeds or singing the pæan of victorywith timbrel, Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz, Delilah thevoluptuous, and Athaliah the monster, have exerted their influence bothupon the makers of art and writers of drama, but probably no Hebrewwoman before the birth of Jesus has made a deeper impress upon theimagination of men than Judith, the beautiful woman and patriot ofBethulia. A woman once saved the city of Rome from overthrow. Severaltimes in the history of Israel was it given to a woman to be thedeliverer of the people. The names of Deborah, Esther, and Judith havecome down the centuries as those of women who risked their lives for thesalvation of their people from the enemy, and succeeded because of theirtact and prowess.

The story of Judith and Holofernes is told in the apocryphal Book ofJudith. The Assyrians are at war with Israel, whose cities are beingbesieged and wasted in the merciless onslaught. Holofernes, the Assyriangeneral, at length lays siege to Bethulia in his onward march to theholy city of Jerusalem. The people are reduced to straits most direfuland bitter. Women and little ones perish in the streets, and the peoplecry out to their leaders to sue Asshur for peace. The rulers, thusurged, promise within five days to yield to their besiegers. It is thenthat Judith, wealthy and pious, a widow of the city, comes forward tostrengthen the fainting heart of the governors and to bid them trust Godand stand firm. She promises, in the meantime, that she herself will aidthem. Praying earnestly that God will help her in her purpose, she laysaside the habiliments of widowhood, and, arraying herself in garments ofgladness, goes forth with her maids to the camp of Holofernes. Charmedwith her beauty and grace, the Assyrian gives a feast, to which thebewitching Judith is invited. Holofernes makes merry, and, drinking todrowsiness, lies down in his tent to sleep. Others depart in the night,leaving him and the Jewess alone. Seeing her opportunity, Judith seizesthe scimiter that hung on the pillar of Holofernes's bed, and, layinghold upon the hair of the sleeping man's head, severed it from his body,and made her way in the darkness back to the city. In the early morninga sally was made from the city gates, and the Assyrians, finding theircaptain headless, were thrown into utter confusion and completelyrouted. Thus did Judith become the deliverer of Israel. The women of thecity ran together to see her who had been their savior, made a greatdance for her, sang her praises, and bestowed their benedictions,placing garlands of olive upon her brow.

Portia's shrewd dealing with Shylock, the Jewish money lender, calledforth the frequent applause of the onlookers: "A Daniel come tojudgment, yea, a Daniel!" It is in the History of Susanna, anapocryphal addition to the canonical Book of Daniel, in which the greatprophet is presented in the rôle of arbiter. He appears in a causeagainst a woman, Susanna, a Jewish lady of great beauty, the wife of awealthy and distinguished Hebrew whose home was in Babylon. Susannaexcited the amours of two judges, elders of the people, who werefrequently at her husband's home; but she spurned all their advances,till, angered and resentful, they united in a plot to destroy her, andaccused her of unfaithfulness to Joachim, her husband. The penalty foradultery was death, and the people crowded to the trial; for if therewas conviction, stoning would follow. The two elders, standing, withtheir hands upon the innocent woman's head, tell the story agreed upon,how they saw the wife of Joachim in the very shameful act of which theyaccused her; and the assembly, believing the testimony of the two eldersand judges of the people, condemned Susanna to death. At this juncture,the young man Daniel appears upon the scene, much as Portia in the trialof Antonio, and, by adroitly cross-questioning the two witnessesseparately, involved them in contradictions, revealing the cowardly plotagainst the virtuous woman and convicting them of false witnessing. Andsince the law of Moses prescribed the same penalty for those who borefalse testimony as that which would have come to the accused, the elderswere put to death, and Susanna was given honor before all the people.This is but one of the many examples in Hebrew history which reveal theunusually high moral character and purity of life that prevailed amongthe Hebrew women.

It is one of the noteworthy and distressing facts of late Jewishhistory that in the later teaching of the rabbis woman is placed upon adistinctly lower plane. Her inferiority to man is frequently emphasized.And yet there was one factor which came into the life of Judaism, afterthe Babylonian exile, which gave to Jewish women an advantage which theyhad not previously enjoyed. It was the establishment of the synagogue.The secondary place given to women in the temple worship has alreadybeen referred to. The man, as head of the family, was representative ofthe family and responsible, therefore, for the performance of theceremonies required of every Hebrew household. With the destruction ofthe temple and the dispersion of the Jews, the temple rites wererendered impossible. When the synagogue arose to fill the vacancy madeby these conditions, women were given a place in attendance at theinstruction given in these new centres of Jewish life. And while theywere never strictly considered members of the congregation, yet, seatedin a separate part of the room, they heard the Scriptures read andexpounded; and it was not unknown for women even to read on the Sabbathas among the seven appointees for the day. The Torah, or law, however,was considered rather too sacred and important to be committed to theirexposition.

Judging from a remark in the Halacha it is just to infer that in thedays when the Jews had become dispersed throughout the Roman world,there were two facts that had a very powerful influence upon Jewishwomen, one of them of Hebraic, the other of Greco-Roman origin. For theHalacha, in speaking of the women leaving their homes, said that therewere two causes which took the women away from their domestic duties:one was the synagogue, the other, the baths,--not, indeed, an altogetheruncomplimentary comment upon the women of the times, for it would seemthey believed in the oft-coupled virtues of cleanliness and godliness.

From the days of John Hyrcanus, the influence of the Jewish rulers hadbeen decidedly in favor of Hellenic culture. Thus the revolution broughtabout by the Maccabean revolt seemed about to be undone by thesuccessors of the Maccabees. Jewish independence had been won in aneffort to resist Antiochus Epiphanes and others in their attempts todestroy Judaism by making the Greek religion and customs prevalentthroughout Palestine. Would the sons and successors of the sturdyMaccabeans give away the fruits of the hard-won victory? When toAlexandra was bequeathed the government by her husband, she decided toespouse the cause of the Pharisaic party, who hated the encroachments offoreign influence. But, alas, for the queen's inability to cope with asituation so strained! In her effort to appease the opposite party sheput weapons into their hands, which were soon turned against her. As anold woman of seventy-three, she saw her two sons in bitter contest, atthe head of opposing forces, each trying to rule over a tumultuous,faction-torn nation. She passed away, deploring a condition which shewas utterly unable to correct. It was not till Pompey brought his Romanlegions to the gates of Jerusalem, and set up the Roman eagles in theholy city itself that intrigue and battling for the Jewish throne wasbrought to a close. Then Jewish independence was no more.

A great granddaughter of Alexandra was destined indirectly at least toplay a prominent rôle in later Jewish history. This was Mariamne. Herod,afterward known as the Great, had hoped by marrying this descendant ofboth the contending Jewish parties, to unite the influence of the twobranches of the Asmonean house. In this, however, Herod wasdisappointed, and he proceeded to accomplish by force what he had hopedto do by wiles. In the frightful war of extermination waged by Herodagainst the whole Asmonean line, which he feared might endanger therulership secured to him by the Roman power and his own politicalprowess, there figured a Jewish woman who, because of her sagacity, isnot to be passed over in silence. She was Alexandra, a granddaughter ofthe queen of the same name. When Herod attempted to place in the officeof Jewish high priest a young man who would be simply a tool for him,Alexandra advocated the candidature of Aristobulus,--her son and abrother of Mariamne,--who by birthright was in line of officialsuccession. Alexandra shrewdly wrote to Cleopatra that the wily woman ofthe Nile might use her influence with Antony to force Herod to terms.Herod was compelled to yield and appointed Aristobulus, but determinedthat Alexandra as well as the new high priest should be put out of theway. One day after both Herod and Aristobulus had been enjoying abanquet given by Alexandra, Herod successfully plotted the killing ofthe high priest in a fishpond attached to the house of feasting, Herod'sminions holding him playfully under the water until he was drowned. ButAlexandra was not so stupid as to fail to take in the situation. ThroughCleopatra she again succeeded in forcing Herod upon the defensive. Beingsummoned to appear before Antony, Herod succeeded, however, in againingratiating himself with the Roman, and he returned as strong as everto Jerusalem.

But his return was not altogether happy; for on his departure, he hadgiven command that should his interview with Antony be ill-fated,Mariamne, his Jewish wife, should be slain, that no other man might haveher for wife. The secret leaked out, and came to Mariamne's ears. Sheviolently resented the treatment of Herod and on his return reproachedhim for his cruelty; but the insanely jealous and wily Herod was not tobe changed by reproaches. On his absence from home on the occasion whenhe went to meet Octavius, the new star which arose on Antony's downfall,Herod again commanded that both Mariamne and Alexandra be put to deathshould he not return alive. Mariamne on his return received him withcold resentment. With the help of Herod's mother and sister theestrangement became more and more bitter. The king's cupbearer wasbribed by them to declare that Mariamne had attempted to poison herhusband. The jury, as well as the evidence, being well-arrangedbefore-hand, the unfortunate Mariamne was led away to execution in B.C.29, to be followed next year by Alexandra, who had watched heropportunity and, taking advantage of an illness of Herod, had attemptedto gain possession of Jerusalem and overthrow the reign of Herod. It wasa bold stroke for a woman. It failed, and she was executed. With herdeath the line of Asmonean claimants to the throne was ended.

But the end of this chapter in which womanly hate and intrigue played soprominent a part was not yet. When Herod's sister, Salome, who had takenso large a part in the death of Mariamne, saw Herod's sons return fromtheir studies in Rome, with the looks and royal bearing of their mother,Mariamne; when she perceived the people's joy at their likeness to thelate Jewish queen who had been so cruelly murdered, her jealousy becamemost bitter, and she began to plot against them as she had against theirmother. Herod for a time seemed unmoved and married one of them toBerenice, Salome's own daughter. This only intensified Salome's hate;and step after step of domestic hatred and unhappiness led at length tothe order by Herod that the two sons of his Jewish wife, Alexander andAristobulus, should be strangled at Sebaste, where years before theirmother Mariamne had become his bride. No wonder Augustus Cæsar couldutter his famous pun in the Greek language which may be reproduced inthe words: "I would rather be Herod's swine than his son!"

This was the same Herod who issued an edict that rent the heart of manya mother "in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof," a command whichsent Mary, the mother of the infant Jesus, into exile with her newbornSon, whose coming into the world was destined to open a new volume, asthe narrative passes from Hebrew to Christian womanhood.

Among the Semitic peoples it is not usual, certainly in strictlyhistoric times, to find women holding the first place in the seat ofgovernment. Semiramis in the prehistoric period of Assyria is anoteworthy exception to the general custom; and queens sometimes ruledamong the Arabians, and "the Queen of Sheba" in southern Arabia becamefamous. But the common Semitic conception that the king was son andspecial representative of the deity made it more difficult for women tohold the sceptre. Among the Hebrews there is no instance of a womanbeing legally recognized as queen. Deborah, before the days of thekingdom, "judged Israel" by virtue of her prophetic character and herability as a woman of affairs, and Athaliah was enabled to usurp thethrone through the murder and banishment of male heirs to the crown. Inspeaking of her reign it was said that she was the only woman who everreigned over Israel. There is, however, one other woman who held theJewish sceptre. After the bloody struggle led by the Maccabees, the Jewsat length obtained their liberty from the yoke of the Seleucid kings.Israel then enjoyed about a century of independence. During this periodthere arose one woman who for nine years ruled the nation. This wasAlexandra, the widow of Alexander Janneus, whose unhappy reign came toan end by strong drink, B. C. 78. The conception of the government as apure theocracy where the king reigned as representative of Jehovahhimself rendered it impossible for women to be recognized as lawfulsovereigns. The second Psalm, which seems to be a sort of coronationode, written at the time of the incoming of a new king, expresses therelationship between Jehovah and the earthly ruler:

Even wives of the Kings of Israel, as a rule, are not called queens,though Jezebel,--the Phoenician wife of Ahab,--king of the Ten Tribes,is a notable exception. This may be accounted for, however, by the factthat she was not an Israelite and worshipper of Jehovah, but a devoteeof Ashtoreth, the queen divinity of Phoenicia; and withal she was a farstronger, more aggressive personality than her inefficient husband. Itis of interest to observe also that Jezebel is called queen only inconnection with her sons. The idea of queen-mother is far more commonamong the Hebrews than that of queen-wife. Mothers of kings were givenespecial honor. King Solomon takes his seat upon his throne and sends,not for his wife to sit by his side, but for Bathsheba, his mother,whose adjacent throne is set at the king's right hand. Asa, in hisreligious reforms, removed his mother from being queen because she hadset up an image or sacred pillar in honor of Baal worship. Jeremiah theprophet called upon the King of Israel and his queen-mother--who seemsto have been most active in opposing the prophet's proposed policy insubmitting to the Babylonians without a struggle--to humble themselves,because their crowns were even then toppling from their heads. Thus thesemi-royal character of the mothers of the kings is evident. This willaccount, at least in part, for the wording of the chronicles of thekings of Israel and Judah, for this is the set formula: "And A----sleptwith his fathers, and B----, his son, reigned in his stead. And hismother's name was M----. And he did that which was right (or evil) inthe sight of the Lord."

Thus is the importance of the queen-mother constantly emphasized inthe Hebrew records.

V

THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN WOMEN

Archæology here puts on her apron, takes her pick and spade in hand tohelp us uncover the story of the woman of Babylonia and Assyria. Skulls,jewels, cylinders, tablets, monuments, mural decorations must be broughtto light after their long sleep beneath the surface of the ground. Asalive from the dead these come forth to tell, at least in broken story,of those women who helped to make the valley of the Tigris and Euphratesamong the most noteworthy spots upon the face of the Eastern world.

What we may know concerning the women of this early Assyro-Babyloniancivilization may be derived in part from the Greek annalists who taughtthe world to write history, but chiefly from the discoveries in modernexcavations. And even with these sources at our command, we shall findthat many things which we would like to know about Assyrian andBabylonian women are still obscure.

The Sumer-Accadian question shall not disturb us here. That there was anon-Semitic people living in the region of the Euphrates and the Tigris,and that they developed a civilization from which the Babylonian andAssyrians later borrowed, seems clearly established. What the Sumerianand Accadian women left to their Semitic sisters who came at length intothe ancient heritage, it would now be impossible to say with any degreeof certainty.

The ancient mythology and the epic poems of these people contain manyfemale characters, which may throw some light upon woman's place intheir civilization. A people's mythology is the dim daguerreotype oftheir childhood thinking. Fortunately for us, the last fifty years havebrought to light a whole series of epic poems from early Babylonianlife, some of them in fragmentary form, others more or less wellpreserved. In nearly all these the feminine character has its place.

It will be remembered that in the Hebrew account of the creation nofemale divinity plays a part. In the kindred Semitic accounts fromBabylonia and Assyria, however, Tihâmat, or Mummu Tohâmat, becomes theprimeval mother of all things. She was chaos--corresponding to theHebrew Tehôm, or "abyss." And thus, from the womb of dark chaos, withthe ocean as father, came the divinity, the sun, moon and stars, earth,man, everything. But, strangely enough, after the birth of the firstgods from chaos, a strife arose between them and their mother Tihâmat.It is, however, the old story of light's struggle with darkness. Anuwould decide the dispute, but Tihâmat declares that the war must go on.Marduk, the god of light, becomes the special champion of the forcesarrayed against primeval darkness, and Tihâmat is vanquished and cutasunder. From one part he makes the firmament of the heaven, to whichthe gods of the heavenly lights, sun, moon, and stars, are assigned, andfrom the other half he fashions the earth.

So, also, in the story of the Deluge, the Babylonian Noah, calledSît-Napishti, takes his wife with him into the ark; and when the floodssubside and the ship rests, stranded upon the land, Ishtar, the goddessof the rainbow, greatly rejoices as she smells the sweet incense thatarises from the grateful altar of Sît-Napishti. The god Bel is persuadednever again to destroy the earth with a flood, and so takes Sît-Napishtiand his faithful wife by the hand, blesses them, and at lengthtranslates them to paradise.

One of the most prominent heroines of early Babylonian epic is Ishtar.Indeed, there are many variant stories concerning her. Ishtar's descentinto Hades is, in fact, one of the most important legends of Orientalmythology. She is the goddess of love, corresponding to the Canaaniteand Phoenician divinities Ashtoreth and Astarte. She is the Aphrodite,the Venus of classic myth. Earlier she did not hold power over men'sminds. She was a goddess of war, and the earlier warriors honored her astheir patroness. It was Esarhaddon who enlarged the honors paid her; andhe is said once to have interrupted his scribe, while reading of twoimportant expeditions of arms, to send and fetch The Descent of Ishtarinto Hades.

This romantic story of adventure on the part of the goddess is wellset out in early Assyro-Babylonian literature. Tammuz, the young husbandof Ishtar, has been cut off by the boar's tusk (of winter). Ishtarmourned incessantly for her lover, but in vain. She resolved to rescuehim if possible from the realm of shade, the kingdom of Allat, whence hehad gone; for, though god he was, he must keep company with all the restwhom death claimed. Only one method of restoring him to the realm oflife was possible. There was a spring which issued from under thethreshold of Allat's own palace. One who could bathe in and drink ofthese wonderful waters would live again. But, alas! they were zealouslyguarded; for a stone lay upon the fountain, and seven spirits of earthwatched with assiduous care lest some might drink and live. Of thesewaters Ishtar resolved to go and fetch a draught. But no one, not even agoddess, can descend into this Hades alive. So we read: "To the landfrom whence no traveller returns, to the regions of darkness, Ishtar,the daughter of Sin, has directed her spirit to the house of darkness,the seat of the God Iskala, to the house which those who enter can neverleave, by the road over which no one travels a second time, to the housethe inhabitants of which never again see the light, the place wherethere is no bread, but only dust, no food, but wind. No one can see thelight there, ... upon the gate and the lock on all sides the dust liesthick." But Ishtar, in her quest of love, is nothing daunted by thedifficulties or the forbidding aspects of her task. She descends to thegates of Allat's abode and knocks upon them, calling commandingly to thedoorkeeper to unlock the bolts: "Guardian of life's waters, open thydoors, open thy doors that I may go in. If thou do not open thy gate andlet me in, I will sound the knocker, I will break the lock, I willstrike the threshold and break through the portal. I will raise the deadto devour the living, the dead shall be more numerous than the living."The porter goes and tells his mistress, Allat, of the imperious demandof Ishtar. "O goddess, thy sister Ishtar has come in search of theliving water; she has shaken the strong bolts, she threatens to breakdown the doors." Allat treats her with contempt, but finally commandsher messenger: "Go, then, O guardian, open the gates to her, but unrobeher according to the ancient laws." Since men come naked into the world,they must go out unclad, and the older custom among the Babylonians wasto bury the dead without clothing. Ishtar is stripped of her garmentsand jewels, and at each successive gate more of her ornaments wereappropriated. First went her crown, for Allat alone was queen in thatgloomy realm; then her earrings, her jewelled necklace; then her veil,her belt, her bracelets, and her anklets. When through the seventh gateshe passed, all her garments were taken away; and Allat commanded herdemon Namtar--the plague devil--to take her from the queen's presenceand strike her down with disease of every sort. Meanwhile, in the upperworld all are mourning because of her absence; for, as goddess of loveand procreation, all nature was perishing, and there was no renewal. Allthe forces of the upper world, therefore, united to bring her back tolight; for the world would be depopulated and barren, if some means werenot found to restore her.

Here the supreme god Hea comes to the rescue, for he alone, ascontroller of the universe, can violate the laws which he himself hasimposed thereon. Hea commands that Allat give life again to Ishtar bythe application of the water of life to her. She was informed that powerover the life of her consort Tammuz was given into her hands. The waterof life was poured upon him, he was anointed with precious perfumes andclothed in purple. Thus "Nature revived with Tammuz: Ishtar hadconquered death."

That the Babylonian Hades was presided over by a queen; that the realsceptre in the underworld was swayed by a woman is a matter of somesignificance. In the old Norse mythology the goddess Hel, without ahusband, ruled in the abode of Hell, or the place of death. Among theGreeks, Persephone divided with her husband, Pluto, the control of theunderworld. With the Babylonians it is the goddess Allat whose powercontrols the realm of the dead; and even her scribe, contrary to what wemight expect, was also a woman, whose name was Belit-Iseri. Allat, themistress of death, is not represented as an attractive woman, but illshaped, with the wings and claws of a bird of prey. She goes to and froin her realm, exploring the river which flows from the world to her ownabode. A huge serpent is brandished in each hand, with which, as "ananimated sceptre," she strikes and poisons those against whom her enmityis directed. The boat in which she navigates the dark river has a fiercebird's beak upon its prow, and a bull's head upon its stern. Her poweris irresistible; and even the gods cannot invade her realm except theydie like men, and graciously acknowledge her supremacy over them. Justas the dead eat and drink and sleep, so does Allat. Her daily portion,as with other divinities, comes from the table of the gods, brought byher faithful messenger, Namtar. Libations poured out in sacrifice by theliving also trickle down to her through the earth. Thus Allat lives andreigns in the land from which no traveller returns, a kingdom into whichtwice seven gates open to receive the dead; but none opens for theirrelease.

Professor Peter Jensen, of Marburg, Germany, has raised the question:Why in the realm of the dead is the power of woman so important, andeven monarchical in character? He answers it by the very simpleexplanation that just as the Hebrews personified their Sheol, and theNorth Germanic nations their Hel, so the Assyrians and Babyloniansregarded their country of the dead as a person. And that since names ofplaces and lands are of feminine gender, in Assyrian thought as in theHebrew, the land of the dead was conceived of under the form of a woman.Whether this be the true explanation or not, certain it is that thefemale principle played an important part in the religious thinking ofthe Assyro-Babylonian peoples.

It is not difficult, therefore, to perceive that women would hold animportant place in Babylonian and Assyrian religious life, and in thePhoenician cult. When the goddess plays an important part in religion,especially when the renovative and procreative powers of nature areworshipped, woman will naturally find a place. While the Hebrews havetheir prophetesses, the religion of Babylonia and Assyria has itspriestesses as well as prophetesses.

No account of the women of Assyria would seem complete withoutreference to the legend of Semiramis and her wonderful exploits. And asis the case with much of the history of the dawn of nations, we areindebted to the Greeks for preserving for us the story of thissuperlative queen. Ctesias, Diodorus, Herodotus, Strabo, and others tellher story or mention her achievements. This remarkable woman was said tobe the daughter of Derceto, the goddess of reproductive nature and of ayouthful mortal with whom she had fallen in love. The babe was exposedby its mother, but was found and cared for by a shepherd named Simmas.Having developed into a very beautiful damsel, she won the hand ofOannes, Governor of Syria. In the war against Bactria she sodistinguished herself for bravery, disguising herself as a soldier andscaling the wall of the besieged capital, that the King Ninus, founderof the city of Nineveh, took her to be his own queen. Soon Ninus diedand Semiramis became sole ruler of the realm. Unbounded ambition,coupled with surpassing genius, caused her to undertake the labor ofeclipsing the glory of all her predecessors. She built cities, threw updefences, conquered kings, and extended her territory in everydirection. She made the city of Babylon one of her capitals, fortifyingit with gigantic walls of sun-dried brick, cemented with asphalt. Shebuilt wonderful bridges supported by huge pillars of stone. DiodorusSiculus, quoting Ctesias, thus describes her work upon the walls of thecity of Babylon: "When the first part of the work was completed,Semiramis fixed on the place where the Euphrates was narrowest, andthrew across it a bridge five stadia long. She contrived to build in thebed of the stream pillars twelve feet apart, the stones of which werejoined with strong iron clamps, fixed into the mortises with meltedlead. The side of these pillars toward the run of the stream was builtat an angle, so as to divide the water and cause it to run smoothly pastand lessen the pressure against the massive pillars. On these pillarswere laid beams of cedar and cypress, with large trunks of palm trees,so as to form a platform thirty feet wide. The queen then built at greatcost, on either bank of the river, a quay with a wall as broad as thatof the city and one hundred and sixty stadia long, that is, nearlytwenty miles. In front of each end of the bridge, she built a castleflanked by towers, and surrounded by triple walls. Before the bricksused in these buildings were baked, she modelled on them, figures ofanimals of every kind, colored to represent living nature. Semiramisthen constructed another prodigious work: she had a huge basin, orsquare reservoir, dug in some low ground. When it was finished the riverwas directed into it, and she at once commenced building in the dry bedof the river, a covered way leading from one castle to the other. Thiswork was completed in seven days, and the river was then allowed toreturn to its bed, and Semiramis could then pass dry-shod under waterfrom one of her castles to the other. She placed at the two ends of thetunnel, gates of bronze, said by Ctesias to be still in existence in thetime of the Persians. Lastly, she built in the midst of the city thetemple of the god Bel."

It will be seen from such a paragraph as this just quoted how Semiramisanticipated much of the best work of engineering of modern times. Themountains and valleys yielded to her daring when highways were to bebuilt for the extension of her power and her commerce. In Armenia,Media, and all the regions around she exhibited her genius and prowess.Even Egypt and Ethiopia fell before her. Only when she undertook tocarry her arms into far-off India did she meet with reverses.Stabrobatis, King of India, with the aid of elephants, utterly routedthe army of the valiant queen, and she never again attempted anexpedition to the Far East. As an example of what Semiramis thought ofherself, we may quote the words attributed to her: "Nature gave me thebody of a woman, but my deeds have equalled those of the most valiantmen. I ruled the empire of Ninus, which reaches eastward to the riverHinaman (the Indus), southward to the land of incense and myrrh (ArabiaFelix), northward to the Saces and Sogdians. Before me no Assyrian hadseen a sea; I have seen four that no one had approached, so far werethey distant. I compelled the rivers to run where I wished, and directedthem to the places where they were required. I made barren land fertileby watering it with my rivers; I built impregnable fortresses; with irontools I made roads across impassable rocks; I opened roads for mychariots, where the very wild beasts were unable to pass. In the midstof these occupations, I have found time for pleasure and love!"

What are we to think of this story of the very wonderful lady of theOrient of long ago? Did she ever live, move, and have her remarkablebeing? It is needless to reply that the story is purely legendary, thatnone of the modern excavations which have been so fruitful in characterhave confirmed the story of Ctesias. On the contrary, the monuments haveas yet failed even to certify to the existence of such a woman. The factthat her birth is given as from a goddess, that at her death she waschanged into a dove, and was thereafter herself worshipped as a goddess,is some evidence of the unreliable character of the narrative. A queenwho bore the name of Sammuramat and lived between B.C. 812 and B.C. 783has been discovered as a historical personage, a name that may possiblyhave influenced that given the great prehistoric queen. But themarvellous achievements attributed to Semiramis are discovered to be thework of man through a long series of years, and that, too, highlyidealized in the numerous details.

That the imaginary queen, as the story goes, had a power over the mindsof the people is evident from the fact that many later achievements ofarms and of building were attributed to her. And yet, notwithstandingthe mythological character of the story of Semiramis, there is reflectedmuch truth concerning Assyro-Babylonian history in these legends. Thatso great achievements should have been attributed to a woman is evidenceof a lack of that prejudice against woman which is discoverable amongmany Oriental people. In the region of the Euphrates and the Tigris,women had a noteworthy degree of independence, and in some respects arecognized equality. The legend could have developed only in such anatmosphere. The comparison of feminine and masculine virtues has beenmade time out of mind; the following words from Plutarch are, in thisconnection, of interest: "Neither can a man truly any better learn theresemblance and difference between feminine and virile virtue than bycomparing together lives with lives, exploits with exploits, as theproduct of some great art, duly considering whether the magnanimity ofSemiramis carries with it the same character and impression with that ofSesostris, or the cunning of Tanaquil the same with that of KingServius, or the discretion of Portia the same with that of Brutus, orthat of Pelopidas with that of Timoclea, regarding that quality of thesevirtues wherein lie their chiefest point and force."

It is certain that if early Assyrian myth is to be consulted, theAssyrians had no hesitancy in recognizing the possibility of realgreatness in woman's accomplishments and womanly genius.

While there are few queens of note among the prominent personages ofwhom we read upon the monuments, and while the name of no woman occursin the Eponym Canon by which the chronology of the nation's life isreckoned, yet the place of woman among the Assyrians and Babylonians wasone of greater privilege and honor than among most ancient nations.Those unsurpassed walls that protected the great city of Babylon and thehydraulic works which Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon, was forced tocapture before the city fell into his hands are attributed by Herodotusto a woman,--Queen Nitocris.

In the Code of Hammurabi, who was King of Babylon about B. C. 2250, themost ancient of all known codes of law, woman fares well for so early aperiod. One of these quaint laws reads: "If a woman hates her husbandand says, 'Thou shalt not have me,' they shall inquire into herantecedents for her defects. If she has been a careful mistress andwithout reproach, and her husband has been going about and greatlybelittling her, that woman has no blame. She shall receive her presents,and shall go to her father's house." "If she has not been a carefulmistress, has gadded about, has neglected her house and belittled herhusband, they shall throw that woman into the water!" Under this code, aman might sell his wife to pay his debts. For three years she might workin the house of the purchaser; after which she was to be given herfreedom. Where the law of Moses says: "He that smiteth his father orhis mother shall be surely put to death," Hammurabi's code enjoins:"Who smites his father, loses the offending limb."

From the many contract tablets that have been exhumed much fresh lighthas been thrown upon the social customs of the people in the valleys ofthe Euphrates and the Tigris. In Babylonia the woman did not suffergreatly before the law from the fact that she was the weaker vessel.Indeed, the scales were held quite evenly as between the sexes. A womanmight hold her own property, appear in public, and attend to her ownbusiness. Frequently, Assyrian women are depicted upon monuments ridingon the highways upon mules. Woman might even hold office and plead in acourt of justice--so far did Babylonia anticipate the progress of modernWestern ideas. Agreements have been discovered upon tablets by which itwas covenanted between a man and his wife that should the husband marryanother during the lifetime of the first wife, all the dowry of thefirst shall be returned to her and she shall be allowed to go where shepleases. The law concerning divorce, however, would seem to lack thatfairness which characterizes many other regulations of social life. Aman might divorce his wife by the payment of a pecuniary consideration;but if a woman undertook the initiative in annulling the marriagecontract, she might be condemned to death by drowning.

In the formula for the exorcism used by the priests to break the spellthe gods had sent upon one possessed or sick, we discover that despisingthe mother was regarded as being as culpable as dishonoring the father."Has he perchance set his parents or relations at variance, sinnedagainst God, despised father or mother, lied, cheated, dishonored hisneighbor's wife, shed his neighbor's blood, etc. Indeed, an ancient law,which is thought to go back even to Accadian precedents, even gives tothe woman, if she be a mother, greater honor than to the man for it isprescribed that if a son denies his father he is to be fined; if hedenies his mother, he is to be banished."

It must be said, however, that the social freedom of the women dependedmuch upon their social rank. The women of the lower walks of life weresingularly independent for an Oriental community. Indeed, their libertywas practically unrestricted. They could be seen upon the publichighways, with both head and face uncovered. They could make theirpurchases at the market place, attend to any business that they mightfind necessary, and visit the homes of their friends without restraint.While all women, whatever might be their rank, had the same standingbefore the laws of the land, unbending custom kept women of the highestplane of social life within the seclusion of the home. Even when allowedthe privilege of being seen in public, they must go attended by eunuchsor pages, so that both seeing and being seen were difficult processes.Of course, in the highest lady of the land, the queen, was found theculmination of dignity and exclusiveness, and she was rarely seen byanyone except her husband, members of the royal family, and herservants. Thus rank, instead of giving freedom and enlarged powers,tended only to bring monotony and seclusion.

The women of the lower classes usually went with bare feet, as well asbare heads. With their long shaggy garments they did not present a verypicturesque or attractive appearance. The truth is, the costumes of thepeople of Babylonia and Assyria were wanting in that grace and beautywhich is discoverable among some other people of the Orient. Thegarments lacked that lightness of effect which flowing robes and draperymake possible. The designs and materials were stiff, and with theprofusion of borders and fringes presented a heavy aspect. The women didnot choose so to dress as to show their natural figure, but byconcealing themselves in heavy and sometimes padded garments, theirforms were far from beautiful, and contrast most unfavorably with theGreek and Egyptian grace of womanly dress and carriage. The women aswell as the men used much embroidery, which was generally very heavy andoften elaborate. Some of the designs were highly ornate and beautiful.

Of the education of women in Babylonia and Assyria little definite isknown, except that it was common for women as well as men to read andwrite. Exercises and translations of school children have been exhumedfrom the mounds of ancient Babylonian cities. Dolls and other playthingsof the children have also been brought to light, showing that thechildren of all ages have much the same tastes and occupations. Music,dancing, embroidery, besides reading and writing, were among theaccomplishments of the girls of these lands.

Households were amply equipped religiously, for every home must beprovided with some method of keeping itself free from the power of evilspirits. When all believe that the world is peopled with demons who areperpetually trying to ensnare men and bring them to ruin if possible, wemight expect that the women would be especially superstitious andpunctilious to the last degree in order that all evil spirits may befrightened from their dwellings. Hence, they hung amulets in almostevery conceivable place. Talismans, statuettes of the dreaded spiritsmight be seen in every home. Every charm was used to thwart the enemiesof human happiness in their attempt to destroy domestic peace, estrangehusband from wife, drive the head of the family from his own roof, andsend barrenness and blight in every quarter.

The ancient Babylonians had a queer way of marrying off their daughters,if we may believe Herodotus--which we do not. Not any period in the yearmight the maiden select as the time to become a matron, but only on oneoccasion during the year, and that a public festival, was marriagepermitted. On this occasion, the daughters of marriageable age were putup at public auction. The crier took his place, while the young men whowere looking for wives or the young men's parents who were to pay forthem, stood about watching their opportunity to exchange their money forfeminine values. It is said that the girls were put up for purchase,according to their beauty--the prettiest first, and so on to the end ofthe sale. Often the contest of buyers would run high in excitement, andlarge prices were offered for the coveted prize.

After the good-looking damsels were all sold at fair prices, then camethe less attractive maidens, who, we are informed, were not sold, butoffered as wives with a dowry, the proceeds of the beauties being usedto add to the value of their less fortunate sisters. When the auctionwas over, the marriage followed, and the brides accompanied theirnew-made husbands to their homes. There was no escape from this methodof wedlock. The procedure was not optional, but imperative. There was nomarriage ring or bracelet to commemorate the event, but each new wifewas given a bit of baked clay in the form of an olive. Through thismodel a hole was pierced so that it might be worn continually about theneck, and upon it were inscribed the names of the parties to thetransaction and the date of their marriage. Several of these claymemorials have been found as mute witnesses of the days when girls wereput up at the annual sale of wives in the month of Sabat and knockeddown to the highest bidder.

Later, however, this custom gave way to one more rational, when marriagecame to be considered both "an act of civil law and a rite of domesticworship." It became a contract entered into by two parties. A scribemust be called in to draw up the marriage bond. It is to be properlywitnessed and filed away with a public notary for future reference.There is a long period of social evolution between these two methods ofconducting marriage. And it is not to be supposed that all trace ofbargain and sale have disappeared. Not at all. The following happyeffort has been made at reproducing a scene which might have easilyoccurred between the father of a young man who seeks in marriage thehand of a certain damsel and the father of the girl at the home of thelatter.

"'Will you give your daughter Bilitsonnon in marriage to my sonZamamanadin?' The father consents and without further delay the two menarrange the dowry. Both fathers are generous and rich, but they are alsomen of business habits. One begins by asking too much, the other repliesby offering too little; it is only after some hours of bargaining thatthey finally agree and settle upon what each knew from the beginning wasa reasonable dowry--a mana of silver, three servants, a trousseau andfurniture, with permission for the father to substitute articles ofequal value for the cash." There being no further obstacles the marriageis accordingly fixed for a day of the next week.

But does not the young lady need a longer time to prepare for an eventof so great moment in her life? No, because she has been anticipatingfor some time that such a transaction will be effected by her parents;for has she not already arrived at the age of thirteen? She hastherefore not let the past months slip idly through her fingers. She hasbeen busy sewing, embroidering, and making other things of beauty andusefulness for her expected home. But nothing has concerned her morethan to see that her own person shall be attractive to her new husbandwhen the veil is lifted on her wedding day. Odors and ornaments amplehave been provided.

Early upon the appointed day the friends may be seen moving toward thehome of the bride-elect. The scribe who is to draw up the marriagecontract is present ready to perform his important task. With histriangular stylus he indents the covenant in soft clay. This is to beinserted in an envelope also of clay that there may be a doubleimpression of the words of the contract. This is to be carefully bakedand filed away for possible future use--it may be to be found thousandsof years afterward by some explorer digging in the ruins of a longburied city. The day has dawned beautiful, for the astrologer has saidthat all would be propitious. The hands of the bride and groom are tiedtogether with a thread of wool, the customary emblem of the union intowhich they have now entered. The marriage contract is clearly readbefore the assembled company, and the witnesses make their mark upon thesoft tablet, the dowry and other presents are given over. Prayer is madeto the proper gods for the happy pair, and curses are invited upon anywho shall undertake to annul the covenant or revoke the gifts.

Next comes the banqueting, of which the Assyrians were so fond. Musicand dancing, jesting and telling happy tales, with eating and drinking,make up the round of merriment. At length the time comes for the bridalparty to make its way to the home of the groom's parents. All along theway are signs of rejoicing, in which all are expected to join. Thegroom's house is reached, and here the festivities are resumed andcarried on for several days, till all are fatigued and sated with mirthand quite ready to see the young couple settle down to their new life ashome makers.

Polygamy was rare for the Orient, especially at so early a period; butwhere polygamy was practised at all, the harem existed. In Assyria, theking might have more than one legitimate wife, to say nothing of thosewho were not so ranked. Sargon had three lawful wives, for each of whomhe erected a separate apartment in his royal palace of Dur-Sargina. LikeOriental houses generally, the several apartments are entered from acentral court. The queen's apartments were usually rich in decorationand furnishings. The harem of Sargon's palace, which may be taken astypical, was entered by gates. One of these had upon the front two hugebronze palm trees, on each side one. Since the palm tree is emblematicof both grace and fecundity, the significance of its use is apparent.There were anterooms and drawing rooms, as well as bedrooms, for theuse of the queen. These were plastered, and mural decorations wereabundant, the designs being sometimes conventional, sometimes depictingreligious ideas in symbolism. Of course, the winged bull and the wingedlion, watchful guardians of Assyrian interest, were often painted uponthe walls. The gods were favorite subjects. In the women's apartmentswere chairs, stools, tables, and the floors of brick or stone werecovered with carpets and mats. The bed, more like a modern lounge, wasraised upon wooden legs, and held a mattress and appropriate coverings,and placed in a highly ornamented alcove, gave to the bedroom anattractive air.

But how does the queen amuse herself? for long indeed must the hoursoften have seemed as she lived out her life a comparative prisoner. G.Maspero, the noted French assyriologist, has thus described theoccupation of the queens, as they try to fill the idle hours: "Dress,embroidery, needlework, and housekeeping, long conversation with theirslaves, the exchange of visits, and the festivals, with dancing andsinging with which they entertained each other, serve for occupation andamusement. From time to time the king passes some hours amongst them, orinvites them to dine with him and amuse themselves in the hanginggardens of the palace. The wives of the princes and great nobles aresometimes admitted to pay homage to them, but very rarely, for fear theyshould serve as intermediaries between the recluses and the outerworld."

The kings of both Assyria and Babylonia were, as a rule, kings ofinsatiable conquest. Hence, much of the year was spent with the army insome distant territory, or, it may be, in lion hunting, a sport whichhad great attractiveness to a number of the kings. It will be thus seenhow little the wives of the monarch enjoyed his real companionship.There was ample time for monotony, broken now and again by jealousies,followed by bitter hatred and deadly plottings. One wife would almostinevitably share more of the attention of the king than the rest. Thosewho had reason to believe themselves neglected would certainly beincensed against the more favored rival. The servants of the palacewould often be drawn into the disputes, which sometimes had a tragicend. The whole harem, combining against a favorite, might, through theuse of poison or by some other clandestine means, end the life of herwho was so unfortunate as to be loved by the king beyond the measurethought by her rivals to be her due.

One happy effort tended to relieve at least a little the dull seclusionof the ladies of the harem. This was the planting of a garden in a courtadjacent to the house of the women. Often these gardens would be mostelaborate and beautiful. The hanging gardens of Babylon, accounted asamong the Seven Wonders of the World, were built in honor of a favoritequeen. The garden of the harem consisted of trees, such as the sycamore,the poplar, or the cypress, and other plants selected to please the eyeof those whose seclusion must have made this suggestion of the countrymost grateful.

Feasting played an important rôle in the heyday of Nineveh's grandeur,as also in the Babylon of later days. The king has just returned from agreat triumph in the Westland. The whole city is agog. For days theround of drinking and carousing has proceeded, till the whole city isdrunken. The queen wishes to have a part in the expressions of victoryand rejoicing. She, with some trepidation, invites the king to dine withher in her apartments in the harem. At the appointed hour all isarranged. The gorgeous couch the queen has prepared for the king torecline upon while he sips his wine scented with aromatic spices, therich drapery of the couch, the small table near by, laden with goldenand silver vessels of costliness and elegance, the slaves who attendupon the lord's wishes, the poet-laureate to sing the conqueror'spraises in elaborate lines of flattery--all conspire to make theoccasion one of great magnificence. Thus, from king and queen to thelowliest of the great city, the spirit of revelry, the love of carousal,and the habit of intoxication, took hold of the luxuriant capital. Werecognize the appropriateness of the familiar words of Nahum, the Hebrewprophet of Elkosh, who had been an eyewitness of the growing effeminacyof the great Assyrian capital, Nineveh, when he foretold the fall of theonce glorious city: "Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women,the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thy enemies; the fireshall devour thy bars."

How did the ordinary housewife spend her time? M. Maspero attempts toreproduce the daily life of the Assyrian woman of about the eighthcentury before the Christian era in these graphic words:

"The Assyrian women spend a great deal of time upon the roofs. Theyremain there all the morning till driven away by the noonday heat, andthey go back as soon as the sun declines in the evening. There theyperform all their household duties, chatting from one terrace to theother. They knead the bread, prepare the cooking, wash the linen andhang it out to dry, or if they have slaves to relieve them from thesemenial labors, they install themselves upon cushions, and chat orembroider in the open air. During the hottest hours of the day theydescend and take refuge indoors. The coolest room in the house is oftenbelow the level of the courtyard and receives very little light." Thusthe Assyrian lady adapts herself as well as she may to her surroundings,which were usually very simple as to furnishings and such things as amodern inhabitant of the West would classify under the head of"comforts." An Assyrian housewife was usually satisfied with a fewchairs and stools of various heights and sizes. There were few beds,except among the rich. The people generally slept upon mats, which couldbe folded and put away during the daytime. Taking care of the house waswoman's work, unless the family was rich enough to own slaves to attendto the menial work of domestic life. The women had the care of the oven,which was usually built in one corner of the court, and the meats werecooked by them at the open fireplace. Care of the culinary work of anAssyrian home was no small task, for the Assyrians were goodfeeders,--and as for drinking, here they surpassed even their powers ateating. So the woman of the house would find it necessary to care forthe wine skins and water jars that might be seen hanging about theporches to keep them cool.

The people along the waterways lived largely upon fish. These werecaught in great numbers and dried. The industrious housewife would takethese dried fish, pound them in a crude mortar, and then make them intocakes, which Herodotus tells us were almost the sole diet of those wholived in the lower or marshy regions of the Mesopotamian valley.Ordinarily, men and women partook together their daily repast from acommon dish, into which all dipped, but on the occasion of greatbanquets it was customary for the women to be served separately.

VI

THE LAND OF THE LOTUS

"Concerning the virtues of women, O Cleanthes, I am not of the same mindwith Thucydides, for he would prove that she is the best womanconcerning whom there is least discourse made by people abroad, eitherto her praise or her dispraise; judging that, as the person, so the veryname of a good woman ought to be retired and not gad abroad. But to usGorgias seems more accurate, who requires that not only the face, butthe fame of a woman should be known to many. For the Roman law seemsexceedingly good, which permits due praise to be given publicly both tomen and to women after death." These words of Plutarch find applicationin the life of the women of the land of the Nile. There is no lack ofpraise for the Egyptian women both while living and after they hadpassed away, as the testimony of the monuments amply prove.

It should be remembered that the history of Egypt extends over a verywide stretch of time, and that changes are to be reckoned with even in aregion where everything moves slowly. For this reason it is not alwayspossible to say that this or that was true of the Egyptian women. Forthere were the ancient, middle and later kingdoms, with each of whichcame new influences, and these differed in many respects from the periodof Greek or Macedonian power; and the Egypt of to-day is a verydifferent Egypt from that of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies.

There are many widely differing people in the land of the Nile to-day.The traveller finds great diversity of scenery and of social conditions,and one has said of this marvellous land as the great dramatist wrote ofone of her most notable daughters:

The oldest book in the world is an ancient Egyptian papyrus discoveredby M. Prisse at Thebes. It goes back to a period probably not later thanB.C. 3580, being a collection of didactic sayings, or precepts, ofPhtahhotep, a prince of the fifth dynasty. What so early an Egyptiansage has to say concerning women should be of no little interest. Ingiving advice to husbands, he gives this counsel, which we might imaginea wise man of to-day might easily have written: "If thou be wise, guardthy house; honor thy wife, and love her exceedingly; feed her stomachand clothe her back, for this is the duty of a husband. Give herabundance of ointment, fail not each day to caress her, let the desireof her heart be fulfilled, for verily he that is kind to his wife andhonoreth her, the same honoreth himself. Withhold thy hand fromviolence, and thy heart from cruelty, softly entreat her and win her tothy way, consider her desires and deny not the wish of her heart. Thusshalt thou keep her heart from wandering; but if thou harden thyselfagainst her, she will turn from thee. Speak to her, yield her thy love,she will have respect unto thee; open thy arms, she will come untothee."

Ancient Egyptian literature does not lack its reference to women. Oneof the most famous of the stories that have been presented to us fromEgyptian sources is The Tale of the Two Brothers. This goes back tothe day of Moses, and has suggested to many the Hebrew account ofJoseph. It reveals the charms of her whose beauty the sea leaped up toembrace, and the acacia flowers envied. This romance, written for theentertainment of Seti II. when he was yet crown prince, and considered,by Mr. Flinders Petrie, to be connected with the ancient Phrygian ofAtys, gives us an early illustration of the fact that many ills and manypleasures have been born to the race through love of a woman.

The women of Babylonia and Assyria enjoyed a measure of freedom that wasexceptional for the Orient, and yet the Egyptian woman was moreindependent still. Indeed, the respect that was paid to womankind by theEgyptians is one of the fairest elements in the civilization of thevalley of the Nile. Motherhood also was highly respected. But oneillustration, referred to by Lenormant, will suffice to prove thisstatement. A woman while enceinte, condemned to death for murder orany other crime, could not be executed till after the birth of thechild; for it was considered the height of injustice to make theinnocent participate in the punishment of the guilty, and to visit thecrime of one person upon two. And he adds: "The judges who put to deathan innocent person were held as guilty as if they had acquitted amurderer."

Before the law woman's rights were respected. In the division of thepaternal estate, the daughters shared equally with the sons, and weremore responsible than the sons for the care of the parents. In worship,the queen is sometimes depicted as standing near her husband in thetemple--behind him, to be sure, as the king was the head of the religionand indeed "son of the Sun," but with him, like Isis behind Osiris,lifting her hand in sympathetic protection and shaking the sistrum, orbeating the tambourine to dispel all evil spirits, or holding thelibation vase or bouquet.

The Egyptian woman, of the lower or middle classes at least, suffered noenforced seclusion. She came and went as her will led her, appearing inpublic without covered face, and chatting with acquaintances whom shemet without having her conduct questioned or her modesty placed undersuspicion. She might enjoy a banquet with the opposite sex, and at itsclose look upon the weird figure of a corpse carved in wood, placed in acoffin, which Herodotus says was carried around by a servant. As heshows the image to each guest in turn the servant says: "Gaze here anddrink and be merry; for when you die such you will be." Thus wasEpicurus anticipated in ancient Egypt. Dum vivimus, vivamus. TheEgyptians generally, however, kept the next world always in view, andimmortality played no small part in shaping the Egyptian life, both asto its men and its women. The Greek influence, which, after the days ofAlexander, was destined to revolutionize Egyptian thought and custom,notwithstanding the efforts of the Ptolemies to win favor of thepopulace by revolutionizing the waning worship of Osiris, is illustratedin a poem written about one hundred years before Christ, a Lament forthe Dead Wife of Pasherenptah. In this poem, the ancient hope ofimmortality is overcast, and the weeping spouse is enjoined:

The first lady of the land was of course a queen. The queens of Egyptnot unfrequently had a wide outlook upon the material progress of thepeople. This is well exemplified in the expedition of Queen Chuenemtamunof which we know from discovered monuments, which represent the shipbeing ladened with large and costly stores under her direction. QueenHatshepsu fitted out a fleet of five ships and sent them to the land ofPunt,--the southern coast of Arabia, or, as some suppose, the Africancoast south of Abyssinia,--that they might bring back scented fig treeswhich she would transplant in her gigantic orchard at Thebes. Thetallest monolith in the world, of reddish granite and one hundred andeight feet high, said once to have been covered with a coating of gold,was the work of this famous queen.

In a few cases queens ruled in Egypt, wives of kings governed jointlywith their husbands, and there are instances in which pretenders to thethrone married women of royal lineage that their claims might have atleast the show of being legitimate. This was the case with Piankhi, oneof the Ethiopian dynasty of kings, whose wife Ameniritis is described asa woman of rare intelligence and of superior merit; one who, because ofher rare strength of character and wisdom, exerted a powerful influencein the government and won for herself great popularity in Thebes and theentire region around.

A modern traveller may easily be reminded of the honor paid to women inancient Egypt by visiting the sites where temples and tombs were erectedin honor of some beloved wife and queen. The temple of Hathor at themodern Aboo Simbel, which was erected by the famous builder Rameses II.in honor at once of Hathor the goddess of love, and of his wifeNofreari. Six statues adorn the entrance to the temple. They are thirtyfeet high, and represent Rameses and his beloved queen, who appearsunder the favor of the goddess Hathor. On the brow of the goddess is thecrown--the moon resting within the horns of a cow; she wears also theostrich feathers, which are the sign of royalty. Their children, asoften portrayed upon Egyptian monuments, have their places beside theirparents: the daughters stand close to the queen; the sons, near to thefather. About the sculptured forms is recorded in hieroglyphiccharacters the love which the king felt for his fair queen, whose namemeant "beautiful and good." The temple and statues are hewn out of theliving rock, and, on entering, there is the shrine of Hathor, "thesupreme type of divine maternity."

There is a touch of romance here, for on the outer wall the inscriptionstell us that this temple was reared "by Rameses the Strong in Faith, theBeloved of Ammon, for his royal wife Nofreari, whom he loves"; whilewithin the doorway of this same temple may be read the legend, it wasfor Rameses that "his royal wife who loves him, Nofreari the Beloved ofMaat, constructed for him this abode in the mountain of the PureWaters." Thus beautiful was the enduring love between this royal husbandand his wife.

No period of ancient Egyptian history is entirely wanting in the namesof conspicuous women. There is a legend that comes down from the days ofthe Ptolemies, to the effect that when King Ptolemy Euergetes startedout upon his expeditions against Syria, the strong rival of Egypt forthe supremacy over the East, his queen, the beautiful Berenice (afavorite name for princesses for two centuries), made a vow that if herhusband should be permitted to return from his expedition in safety, shewould dedicate her hair to the gods. Her prayer was answered; and,faithful to her solemn vow, she cut off her hair and hung "the beautifulgolden tresses that had adorned her head in the temple, whose ruinsstill stand on the promontory of Zephyrium." But, alas! they were notlong allowed to adorn the walls of the holy place, for some sacrilegiousthief carried them away from the shrine. The priests were bewildered,the king was wroth, no one knew what to do. At length the astronomerscame to the relief of all concerned by announcing that it could havebeen no ordinary thief who plundered the temple for the beautifultresses, but that the gods themselves had taken them, and that the keeneye had only to be turned heavenward to discover a new constellationwhich they now separated from Leo. The king and all concerned were nowreconciled and happy. The constellation shines on.

Among the most beautiful of ancient buildings is the temple ofDenderah. While magnificent in itself, much of its interest to us hereis due to the fact that it was erected and dedicated to the Egyptiangoddess of love and beauty, Hathor, nurse of Horus, the son of Osirisand Isis; and further, that it was begun by that fascinator of kings,the notorious Cleopatra. On the outside walls of the temple are figuresof this famous queen, and of Cæsarion, her son by Julius Cæsar. Onewould judge from these representations that Cleopatra's beauty was ofthe most voluptuous and sensual type, the features being not only fullbut fat, though regular. On her head is placed the horned disc,--inhonor of Hathor,--the sacred vulture, and the horns of Isis. Thus havebeen perpetuated the personal and religious features of the mostremarkable woman Egypt ever produced. Pascal's oft-quoted comment uponthe beauty of this Egyptian character doubtless contains a modicum oftruth: "If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of theearth would have been changed." Cleopatra, however, whose charms subduedvictors, was more a Greek than an Egyptian beauty. The women of the Nilecountry, however, were not lacking in personal grace and physical charm.Their complexions were dark, their features generally regular, and theirbodies athletic, though not large.

One might judge from the paintings that have come down to us, whichdepict the form and vesture of the Egyptian woman, that she was greatlylacking both in grace of figure and in taste for arraying herselfattractively. But we are not to be misled by the elongated, wiry-lookingfigures that the monuments portray for us. Some of the blame must,without doubt, be laid upon the Egyptian artist, who had little ideaeither of proportion or perspective.

Egyptian women spent much time upon their toilettes. Great attention wasgiven to the care of the complexion. For this beautifying process apowder was used consisting of antimony and charcoal, powdered fine andapplied with so much skill that the skin by contrast is made to standout in soft whiteness. For this cosmetic regimen a mirror of highlypolished metal was found to be of indispensable value. The finger nailscame in for a full share of attention, henna being used to stain them.As for the feet, scarcely less care was given them, and anklets and toerings frequently adorned them. Shoes, or sandals, seem never to havebeen in high favor in Egypt, and, even when clothed in the most costlyapparel, women preferred to go with bare feet.

It would seem very difficult, to modern taste, to attain to real beautyby means of tattooing. But we have grounds for asserting that theEgyptian beauties, at least at a certain period of their nationalhistory, covered their forehead, chin, and breasts, and sometimes thearms, with indelible painting in color. They were fond of rouging theirfaces, especially the lips, and the eye was a feature to which much timeand art were given. Large eyes were the fashion, as may be readilyjudged from the many pictures of ox-eyed maids which have beenpreserved. A band of black pigment almost entirely surrounded the eyes,and extended across the temples to the roots of the hair. By paintingthe eyebrows and eyelids, the eyes were made to appear not only largerbut more brilliant.

The Egyptian woman was fond of the use of oil, which was rubbedgenerously upon the body. Perfumes also played an important part in herlife. Women made and sold perfumes and used them profusely. They wereexceedingly fond of flowers, especially if they were new varieties.Extracts and essences from sweet-scented plants were much sought after.Favorite shrubs and flowers were transported from distant lands andtransplanted in the land of the Nile. This was often done upon a largescale. Even the liquors drunk at banquets were scented with sweetperfumes.

The women usually dressed in a long, close-fitting smock-frock, clingingclosely to the body and reaching quite to the ankles. The shoulders andupper part of the breast were left uncovered, the frock being held inplace by two straps running across the shoulders. But it is not to besupposed that the women of Egypt knew nothing of fashion; though it mustbe confessed that fashions changed slowly. And in this matter the menwere as fond of fashion as the women; for they wore linen skirts usuallyreaching to the knees, although their length was regulated by theprevailing style.

Under the New Empire woman's dress did not leave both shoulders bare,as formerly, but covered the left shoulder; the right shoulder and armbeing left free. At length drapery began to be more common, and insteadof the heavy, straight garment of earlier days, graceful folds appeared.With the drapery came a lengthening of the skirt. When this changeoccurred only the priests retained the simple skirt of former days. Mostmen wore a double skirt, consisting of an inner short garment, and anouter. Indeed, the men seemed quite as fond of their costume as thewomen, and were more varied in their tastes, loving finery, and leavingit to the women to be more conservative in matters of dress.

From the paintings and the other representations that have come down tous, both the peasant maid and the princess wore the same kind ofgarments, so far as the cut of them is concerned. Mother, daughter, andmaid were dressed much alike and without much variety of color. The richoften wore a profusion of beads.

There was no part of the Egyptian woman's toilet upon which so much carewas bestowed as upon the hair. Indeed, the Egyptians prided themselvesupon their coiffure. Herodotus is authority for the statement that therewere fewer bald-headed people in Egypt than in any other country.Civilization, in the valley of the Nile, at least, did not seem greatlyto increase the tendency to baldness. There were cases, but they were ofthe nature of a calamity. Woe to the physician whose skill did notsucceed in checking the falling hair. Pomades of various ingredientswere common remedies for this ill. Oil, dog's feet, and date kernelswere considered of great virtue, as was also a donkey's tooth pulverizedand mixed with honey. And there was no more direful or more frequentimprecation pronounced by an Egyptian lady upon her rival than that thehair of her whom she hated might fall out!

GHAWAZI
After the painting by C. L. Muller

The "dancing girls" known as ghawazi, are often in evidence. Theyclothe themselves in gay garments of various colors. Sometimes they arepretty and attractive specimens of female grace, but, as might beexpected from their character and profession, they soon become coarseand repulsive. They may be seen at the public places, and their dancesare indecorous and immodest. They play a leading rôle in those wildorgies known as Fantasia.

Wigs were commonly used by women as well as by men of the AncientEmpire. There was a coiffure of straight hair down to the shoulders orto the breasts. Examples have been found, however, in which the wigsreached not so far, as is the case in the statuette of the Lady Takusit,which is now among the ancient ornaments in the Museum of Athens. Shewears a wig of stiff curly locks in rigidly regular lines plasteredclosely to the head, reaching almost from the eyes in front to the napeof the neck, and hiding the ears. The plaiting of the hair became commonin later times, the hair hanging stiffly over the shoulders.

This piece of statuary, that of Lady Takusit, or Takoushet, as it issometimes spelled, one of the most perfect of its kind, shows a woman ofgood form and regular features, standing erect with one foot in advance,her right arm hanging gracefully by her side, her left pressed naturallyagainst her bosom. She is dressed in the closely fitting skirt alreadydescribed, supported by straps over the shoulders and reaching to apoint just above the ankles. Her robe is richly embroidered with scenesof a religious character, and her wrists are adorned with bracelets.

Besides the ordinary hair dress of the women, the queen enjoyed theexceptional privilege of wearing a diadem or headdress, representing avulture, which was the sacred bird of Egypt and was accounted thespecial protector of the king in battle. This royal bird is representedas stretching out its strong wings over the head of the first lady ofthe land.

The women were great lovers of trinkets and jewelry of all kinds, andthe men were not far behind them in this. They put an ornament whereverit could be appropriately worn. And this ruling passion was even strongin death, for the dead were often literally loaded with jewels upontheir arms, fingers, ears, brow, neck, and ankles. Favorite jewels,specially, were entombed with the dead. In the Boulak Museum has beenpreserved probably the most complete collection of funeral jewelry, thatof Queen Aahhotep, mother of Ahmes, the first king of the eighteenthdynasty. The following are some of the womanly belongings buried withQueen Aahhotep: a fan handle plated with gold, a bronze-gilt mirrormounted upon an ebony handle, on which was a lotus of chased gold,bracelets of various designs, anklets, armlets, gold rings, ornamentsfor the wrist made of small beads in "gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian andgreen feldspar, strung on gold wire in a chequer pattern," and manyother ornaments of fine gold, of chased and repoussé work of greatvalue.

The women of Egypt to-day are dark in complexion and generally slender.The women of the poorer classes are ill kept and poorly clothed. Theygenerally wear long, and frequently tattered, garments of blue and blackcotton. Their feet are bare, but the love of decoration is manifeststill; for, though they be dirty and begrimed through lack of care andsuitable clothing, the silver anklets, the rings for their fingers andeven for their toes, and the bracelets for their arms, tell the tale oftheir fondness for adornment. Mohammedanism has caused the universal useof the veil. A narrow strip of black is caught by a brass or silverspiral directly between the eyes. The falling veil, therefore, coversall the face below the eyes. Ladies of the higher classes weartransparent Turkish veils of costly material, and their costly silkgarments are loaded with embroideries.

Mothers in Egypt carry their babes on their backs or shoulders. Themother holds fast to the feet or the legs of her offspring, while thechild throws his hands about her head and seems well satisfied with hisposition. The tattooing, which we have noted as existent in early Egypt,is no longer general; it, however, may be seen to-day among the women ofNubia. Some of the Berber women not only are tattooed, but place bluelines on their under lip and on the cheeks and arms. The men, women, andchildren of that region are very dark. The women plait their hair intonumerous tiny curls, which stay well in place, for the hair has firstbeen soaked in castor oil, partly because of the æsthetic effect, andpartly as a protection against the hot rays of the tropical sun. Thedress of the younger women is very scant; the older females aregenerally clothed in long blue garments, which they gather about them infolds. The younger girls, however, with much unadorned innocence, wearsimply a leathern girdle and a complacent smile, for the Berber womenappear good-humored and happy. This costume, a girdle of leather, soakedwell in castor oil and adorned with shells, worn by the younger bellesof Nubia, is known as "Madam Nubia."

The "dancing girls," known as ghawazi, are often in evidence in thetowns of modern Egypt. They clothe themselves in gay garments of variouscolors. Sometimes they are pretty and attractive specimens of femalegrace, but, as might be expected from their character and profession,they soon become coarse and repulsive. They may be seen at the publiccafés, and their dances are indecorous and immodest. They play a leadingrôle in those wild orgies known as fantasia.

The modern Egyptian water girl is often an interesting bit of humanity.Canon Bell thus describes her in his Winter on the Nile: "You may beaccompanied, if you like it, by a little girl clad in blue, adorned witha necklace of beads, earrings and bracelets, and sometimes a nose-ring,carrying a water jar on her head, from which she will supply you atluncheon among the temples and tombs, for a small backsheesh. She willrun beside your donkey for miles, and never seem tired, and if you willdrink from her jar, of the same shape which you will see sculptured onthe temple walls, will reward you with a sweet smile from her corallips. And what teeth she and all the people have! I never saw teeth soregular and so white. They are like a string of orient pearls; and it isa pleasure when the lips part, and you see them gleaming white as drivensnow."

In ancient Egypt the woman was queen of her own house, the real mistressof domestic life. When the husband was at home, he was looked uponrather in the light of a "privileged guest," and the housewife was therespected hostess, holding everything beneath her undisputed sway. Inshort, she was the very soul and centre of the domestic activity, risingearly and stirring the household into life and movement.

Let us take a peep into an Egyptian home. Excavation has revealed thatthe palaces of the kings of Babylonia were built in a much moresubstantial and enduring fashion than were the temples of the gods. Thereverse is true of Egypt. Egyptian temples were built not for time, butfor eternity. The palaces, however, were of far lighter character, beingerected of brick or undressed freestone, but rarely of granite or themore enduring materials. Eternity played an important part in thereligious thinking of the Egyptians. This will account in a measure forthe more enduring character of the houses of the gods. The dwellings ofmembers of the richer classes were made up of an aggregation of houses,suggesting a miniature village. There were separate houses for thevarious members of the family: the master, the chief wife, the haremwomen, the visitors, and the several classes of servants. Storehouseswere separate from buildings designed for habitation, and the severaldomestic offices had their individual buildings. The court, which everyvilla had, was planted with trees and flowers, and frequently wasprovided with a fountain and a pool. The women of the harem foundopportunity for amusement in these beautiful courts. During the daythese secluded beauties whiled away their time in gossiping, playingupon instruments, and indulging in the games in vogue. When night camethey lay down to rest with their heads upon pillows consisting of apiece of curved wood, upon which was usually carved an image of the godBisou, who guarded the sleeper. This little dwarf, a divinity with shortlegs and rotund stomach, drives away the demons who infest the night andare liable to injure the sleeping one, unless protected by thiswell-disposed and well-armed deity.

The wife in the average Egyptian home was the companion of her husband,assisting him to manage his affairs. She encouraged him in his own dailywork, and there are pictures of wife and children, seemingly in a mostinterested mood, standing by while the husband and father is busilyengaged in some engrossing occupation. Often the king will take his wifefully into his life. The queen is frequently pictured by the king's sidein some public function. The wife of Amenophis IV., with the rest of theroyal family, is represented, probably on some important state occasion,as standing upon the gallery of the royal residence and tossing goldencollars to the people. Indeed, Amenophis IV. is discovered to have beenmost domestic in his tastes, giving his wife and daughters a place ofrespect and honor in his kingdom. Some of his monuments represent himriding in his chariot, followed by his seven daughters, who were hiscompanions even in battle. Sometimes the queen of the Pharaohs is foundriding in state processions in her own chariot behind that of herhusband.

How did the average women of the Nile busy themselves during the longdays? While they were not the hewers of wood, women were usually thedrawers of water, as in Palestine and Syria. They were not idlers,though men did the spinning, weaving, and laundry work. In truth, as wehave before stated, it was the daughter, or daughters, and not the sonswho were expected to provide for their parents in times of want and oldage. This did not permit women to be in any sense a dependent class.

The relation of the Egyptian woman to the practical affairs of life issignificant and of great interest. It is in the matter of buying andselling that we perhaps have most frequent representations upon themonuments. And women as well as men are portrayed driving their bargainswith the venders of all sorts of wares. Women both buy and sell in thepublic places. One has perfume of her own manufacture, upon the meritsof which she glibly descants, even in terms poetic, as she thrusts thejars under the nostrils of the hoped-for purchaser. Women jewelers arediscovered attempting to dispose of their rings, bracelets, andnecklaces, while other women are trying to obtain goods at the lowestpossible prices. "Cheapening" was fashionable even among the women ofEgypt. Sometimes groups of women are represented as bargaining in theshops. Herodotus in his travels observed what to him was a strikingcontrast between the industrial and commercial customs of the Greeks andthose of the Egyptians in that the men of Egypt worked at the looms andcarried on the handicraft, while the women frequently transactedbusiness. But it should not be thought that women did not weave. Theyoften worked at the loom, and men as well as women bought and sold theordinary commodities of life.

In the house Egyptian women not only engaged in weaving, spinning, andthe making of fabrics generally, but they assisted in the curing offowls, birds, and fish. Of this kind of food the Egyptians were veryfond. When the husband, who was very partial to hunting, returned withthe game he had killed or trapped, it was at once preserved for lateruse upon the table. Strangely enough, the cooks are usually representedas men, though the women were not strangers to the preparation of foodfor family use. The Egyptians laid much stress upon their dietary. Theybelieve, Herodotus tells us, that the diseases men are heir to are allcaused by the materials upon which they feed. Swine's flesh was, as withthe Israelites, forbidden flesh, except upon certain extraordinaryoccasions. Their staff of life was bread made of spelt. Their drink waschiefly a beer made from barley. Salt fish, and dried fowls, such asducks, geese, and quail, were eaten with great relish. Some birds, aswell as some fish, were tabooed because of religious scruples.

The recreations that were allowable to the Egyptian women were quitenumerous and varied. But dancing, singing, and performing upon musicalinstruments were their favorite amusements. The kettle drum and thecastanet were in common use among them, and pictures of girls playing onthe lute are not infrequent. A wall painting in a Theban tomb disclosesthe fact that dancing girls were often employed to afford merriment atthe feasts. It was not against Egyptian etiquette for women to attendbanquets, and they are often represented as drinking freely, even todrunkenness, lying about with forms exposed, and vomiting fromoverindulgence.

In this connection it is curious to note the relation of the women ofEgypt to gymnastic feats. In the Turin Museum there is an example of afemale acrobat, who is in the very act of performing with wonderfulagility a very difficult feat. The young woman is nude, with theexception of a double belt, one thong of which encircles the waist, theother confines the hips. She is willowy in form and with great ease andgrace she throws herself backward, apparently about to turn asomersault, but she keeps her feet upon the ground, and her hands almosttouch her heels. Her hair flows out loosely as she seems about to whirlher lithe body through the air.

That the Egyptian women were pleasure-loving may be learned by many amonument. Portrayals of elaborate festivals have been unearthed, othersare recorded by early historians. Herodotus gives a description of oneof these in honor of the Egyptian Diana in the city of Bubastis. "Theyhold public festival not only once in a year but several times.... Nowwhen they are being conveyed to the city of Bubastis they act asfollows; for men and women embark together, and great numbers of bothsexes in every barge; some of the women have castanets on which theyplay, and the men play on the lute during the whole voyage, the rest ofthe women sing and clap their hands together at the same time. When incourse of their passage they come to any town, they lay their barge nearto land, and do as follows: Some of the women do as I have described,others shout and scoff at the women of the place; some dance, whileothers stand and pull up their clothes; this they do at every town atthe river-side. When they arrive at Bubastis, they celebrate the feast,offering up great sacrifices and more wine is consumed at this festivalthan in all the rest of the year. What with men and women, besideschildren, they congregate, as the inhabitants say, to the number ofseven hundred thousand."

The law of Egypt prescribed that there should be in each family but onelegitimate wife. From numerous representations upon the monuments itwould seem that great affection usually existed between spouses.Marriage was termed "founding for one's self a home." Temporary ortentative marriages were often made for one year. After the expirationof the trial period, by the payment of a certain sum, the man mightannul the agreement.

The Tel-el-Amarna tablets brought to light in 1887, furnish some veryinteresting and informing materials concerning diplomatic marriages.Many letters passed between the kings of Egypt and the rulers of theland of Mitanni, and other Asiatic provinces concerning the marriage ofroyal daughters to the King of Egypt or to the king's son. Evenbargaining concerning dowry finds a place in this correspondence.Inquiries respecting the treatment of a daughter who has been given inmarriage to a prince, complaints of the breaking of the marriagecontract, and all conceivable complications which might grow out ofthese marital relations, are discussed.

In the days of the Ptolemies and in the Roman period, it became verycommon for men to marry their own sisters, especially in the royalfamilies. This was true of Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy Epiphanesand Cleopatra. She married first her brother Ptolemy Philometer, andlater, a second brother Ptolemy Physcon. This was the Cleopatra wholived a century before the famous "witch of the Nile." She distinguishedherself by her signal favoritism toward the Jews, who had then becomevery numerous in Egypt, giving great encouragement to Onias in hisundertaking of the erection of a Jewish temple at Leontopolis in Egypt.

In modern Egypt, however, marriage with sisters has given way tomarriage between cousins, which in current opinion is by far the bestsort of wedding match. It is not strange that this custom of legalizedincest, the marrying of sisters should have sprung up in a land whereOsiris and Set were worshipped. For both of these gods were wedded totheir sisters, Isis and Nephthys.

As among the Hebrews, it was a matter of congratulation and of greatdomestic happiness to possess children, and much rejoicing took place atthe birth of a babe. The inscriptions of monuments and tombs wouldindicate, too, a very beautiful family life in Egypt. There was nothingthat so tended to give domestic life this charm as the fact that themother took complete charge of the child's upbringing. She was itsnurse, feeding it from her own breast often till it reached the age ofthree years. In Eastern countries it is not uncommon to see children ofconsiderable size thus taking nourishment. When the child was unable towalk, or when the journey was too great for the yet undeveloped limbs,the mothers carried their children upon their necks, as do the Egyptianmothers to-day.

Motherhood was much respected both by sons and daughters,--more than istrue of the children of modern Egypt,--and the wise men and poets of theland wrote and spoke most tenderly and sympathetically of the maternallove. As one of them said: "Thou shalt never forget what thy mother hathdone for thee. She has borne and nourished thee. If thou forgettest her,she might blame thee, she might lift up her arms to God, and he wouldsurely hear her complaint." An utterance of an Egyptian sage, whichbears the spirit of the words of the Hebrew wise man, who said: "Forsakenot the law of thy mother. Bind it continually upon thy heart, and tieit about thy neck. When thou goest it shall lead thee, and when thousleepest it shall keep thee. When thou awakest it shall talk with thee;"and again: "Despise not thy mother when she is old." Affection betweenmothers and their sons was very strong. Many of the inscriptions upontombs, with the accompanying pictures, reveal the dead son and hismother, and not the son and his father. This is in accordance with thevery common fact in Eastern lands, especially in this part, thatbrothers and sisters by the same mother were much closer to one anotherthan brothers and sisters by the same father. It is quite evident thatin early days in Egypt descent was always traced through the mother, andnot through the father. When, in a remote period, marriage ties wereloose or polyandry was practised, it was manifestly easier to trace thefamily lineage through the mother. In ancient Egypt, it is interestingto note that inheritance of property passed not from a father to hisson, but to the son of his sister, or sometimes to the son of his eldestdaughter.

When children were named they did not receive a family or surname. Allnames were individual, the gods coming in for their share of honor inthe selection, as was very common among ancient people, among whomreligion pervaded everything. The girls were frequently named, forpoetic or imaginative reasons, after trees, animals, qualities of moralexcellence, and the like. Such appellations as"Daughter-of-the-crocodile, Kitten," etc., were not infrequent; and evenhere we find a religious motive, for both the crocodile and the cat wereworshipped in Egypt. Mummied sacred cats have been exhumed in greatnumbers in recent years, only to be ruthlessly turned into fertilizersby the unappreciative and practical Westerner. "Beautiful Sycamore" isalso an example of a woman's name. "Darling" and "Beloved" were alsofavorite names, and "My Queen" is also found. From the number ofinstances discovered, it would seem--and not unnaturally--that womenliked to be called after Hathor, the goddess of love.

How did the little girls amuse themselves in those far-off Egyptiandays? The girl nature is the same the world over, and has not undergoneany radical change since the very dawn of history. The girls, of course,played with dolls. These were made from cloth and were usually stuffed.Some of them had long hair. Figures resembling jumping-jacks, looselyjointed and manipulated with a string, were a means of merriment for thelittle ones. The nursery was also frequently brightened by the presenceof flowers; and birds, some free and some caged, were common pets; cats,too, were everywhere, and the small donkey furnished much sport.

It may seem somewhat strange that in a land to which has often beenattributed the invention of the art of writing, there should have comedown to us no literature from the hand and brain of a woman. The secretof this is probably found in the fact that while women were respectedand even esteemed as the equals of men, yet it was not considered worthwhile to educate them in a literary way. In some of the arts, however,such as music, women were skilled.

In modern Egypt the education of the women is sadly neglected. It doesnot compare with that given them in ancient times. Indeed, in Mohammedancountries, generally, woman is sternly thrust into a position ofinferiority, even of degradation. The school provided for theinstruction of the children in Egypt, as in all Mohammedan countries, isthe kattub, which is to be found in most towns and even in some of thesmall villages. These schools are attached, when possible, to a mosque,and the instruction is religious rather than literary, for the teachingis limited to the Koran, and all instruction is in the Arabic language.The schoolmaster, who usually has an assistant, is himself very ignorantof all that the modern Western world would term "learning." Even theelements of a modern education are strangers to him. There are said tobe about nine thousand five hundred of these kattubs in Egypt, and inthem are enrolled one hundred and eighty thousand pupils. But the kattubis dark and unattractive. There are no seats or furniture of any kind.To an Occidental eye, the schoolroom is inconvenient in every respect,and withal quite unsanitary and forbidding. The teacher sits on a mat,cross-legged. In front of him are ranged two rows of children, both boysand girls, sitting sideways to the teacher. One would suppose, seated asthe children are, that the dreary humdrum of the daily instruction wassurely meant to go in at one ear and out at the other. But the pupilslearn to repeat passage after passage from the sacred book of Mohammed.For the time is largely taken up reciting sura after sura from theKoran, and the most lengthy passages are well memorized, the mastercorrecting the boy or girl whose tongue has slipped, or prompting onewhose memory has failed him. As the singsong of recitation is rolled outin languid sweetness, the pupils sway their bodies back and forth,keeping time to the rhythm. There is no casting of eyes at the girls, nogiggling, no crooked pins in use, in the kattubs. The pupils know thestern master is on serious business bent. Besides, he makes use of theprinciple of "the expulsive power" of preoccupation; for, while thememorizing and reciting of texts goes on, there are no idle hands forSatan to make busy. The teacher himself sets the example of industry,for his hands are engaged in weaving a mat, while his ear watches todetect the slightest lapse from correctness in the pupil's tongue. So,too, the boys and girls must be busied at some useful handiwork, such asplaiting straw. Thus, "technical training" goes hand in hand with themental in modern Egypt. The number of girls in these schools, however,is comparatively small. There are hopeful signs in the matter of femaleeducation in the Egypt of to-day, for the government, seeing the need,has granted a double sum for every girl in attendance upon the kattubs.

Women of all lands have had an important place in the time of sicknessand death. Egypt is no exception to the rule. There were doctors in thiscultured land. Specialism was in vogue even in ancient Egypt. As thecelebrated Greek historian again says: "Medicine is practised among themon the plan of separation; each physician treats a single disorder andno more." There were eye specialists, headache specialists, toothspecialists, intestine specialists, and so on to the end of the categoryof diseases. Some of their treatises, comments upon cases, diseases,formulæ, methods of physicians, both of Egypt and of other lands, havecome down to us. And yet, it must be confessed that exorcism held animportant place in the Egyptian practice of medicine; and the women wereamong the foremost believers in this magical method of effecting cures.The Egyptian lady is suffering from a most violent attack of headache.She sends for the physician. He presently arrives, with one or moreservants or assistants, bringing with them his book of incantations, anda case containing his materia medica, which consists of a goodlysupply of clay, plants or dried roots of all sorts, cloths, models inwax or clay, black or red ink, et cætera. A diagnosis of the case ishurriedly made. Kneading some clay, with which various ingredients aremixed, this disciple of Æsculapius, or rather of Imhotep, repeats theappropriate incantation several times, places the ball of clay under thehead of the sick, and leaves, feeling sure that the inimical spiritwhich torments her will not be able to gain possession against thepowerful charm.

In case of death in any household, the mourning was pronounced andpitiable. The part which women played in Egyptian funerals was notunlike that among the Hebrews and other Oriental peoples. "They were,"says Maspero, in his Struggle of the Nations, "not like those to whichwe are accustomed--mute ceremonies in which sorrow is barely expressedby a fugitive tear. Noise, sobbings, and wild gestures were theirnecessary concomitants. Not only was it customary to hire weeping women,who tore their hair, filled the air with their lamentations, andsimulated by skilful actions the depths of despair, but the relationsand friends did not shrink from making an outward show of their griefnor from disturbing the equanimity of the passers-by by the immoderateexpressions of their sorrow." "O my father!" "O my brother!" "O mymaster!" "O my beloved!" would be heard from the female voices standingaround the dead. There was no superstition which prevented a fondembracing of the body of the loved one who had just passed away. Tearsflow in great profusion, hair and garments are rent, and the women beattheir breasts, and then depart from the house of death. "With nudebosoms, head sullied with dust, the hair dishevelled and feet bare, theyrush from the house into the still, deserted streets." Friends andsympathizers join in their grief as they pass along, and follow theprocession of mourning. Since the Egyptian believes that the spirit cansurvive only so long as the body lasts,--a sort of conditionalimmortality,--the corpse must be embalmed. The method is determined bythe rank of the deceased. If it be a princess who has passed away, themost elaborate and costly methods and materials must be used. Each toeand finger must be carefully and separately wrapped and cared for. Nextcomes the solemn funeral procession, with the noisy, heartrending hiredmourners, the libations and offerings, the catafalque drawn by oxen, andat length the dead is laid away in the tombs. An important part of theEgyptian funeral is the banquet, in which the dead, through hisrepresentative, partakes; during the feasting, the almehs executetheir death dances and sing their songs appealing to the livingconcerning death and the dead.

It is Nut, the goddess of heaven, who, during the journey of the soul,after it leaves the tomb appears from the midst of a sycamore tree,offering the spirit a dish containing loaves and a cruse of water, andif the soul accepts the proffered gift, he becomes the guest of thegoddess. Beyond are dangers of every sort which only amulets and themost powerful incantations can dispel. If the soul can passthese--though many fall by the way--he is transported by the divineferryman to the presence of Osiris, the great god. Maat, the goddess ofTruth, stands by and whispers the proper confession into the ear of himwhom Osiris questions, and the soul is passed on to the "Field ofBeans," the place of the blessed, where feasts, dances, songs, andconversation are thereafter enjoyed.

Probably no Egyptian woman was ever more influential, for a period atleast, than Queen Tyi, the mother of King Chuen-Aten, who is betterknown as Amenophis IV. His father, Amenophis III., was born, as thestory goes, under conditions most auspicious. Ra, the great Sun god, whowas considered to have been the father of all the Pharaohs, and thefirst sovereign of Egypt, as well as the creator of the universe,favored King Thothmes by giving to him the son for whom he prayed. QueenMoutemouait, wife of Thothmes, as she lay sleeping in her palace wassuddenly aroused by seeing her husband by her side, and then immediatelyafterward the form of the Theban Amen. In her alarm she heard a voicetelling her of the birth of a son, who should come to the throne inThebes, and then the apparition "vanished in a cloud of perfume sweeterand more penetrating than all the perfumes of Arabia." The child whoseadvent was predicted became King Amenophis III., one of the mostbrilliant and successful kings of the eighteenth dynasty.

King Amenophis III. was wedded to a foreign wife, more than one in fact.Among the wives of his harem was Gilukhipa, or Kirgipa, a daughter ofthe house of Mitanni, between which and the Pharaohs of this epoch theTel-El-Amarna tablets reveal so voluminous a correspondence. There wasalso in his harem a Babylonian princess, and, most famous of all, alady, probably of Semitic extraction, whose name was Tyi. This Queen Tyibecame the mother of the successor to Amenophis III. Under the influenceof the queen-mother, the young King Amenophis IV. resolved on extensivereligious reforms. He determined to dethrone or degrade the formerdeities of Egypt and exalt the "Sun Disc." Asiatic influence wasparamount. He changed his capital from Thebes to the site ofTel-El-Amarna, and erected there both palace and temple. He changed hisname to Chuen-Aten (Glory of the Solar Disc). But during his activity asa religious reformer, his empire was falling away by the sad neglect ofthe foreign affairs to which his father gave so large and successfulattention. At his death his work fell to pieces, and his reformationswung back. Even his sons who succeeded him undid his work, and his namecomes down to us as "The Heretic King," being caricatured by artists ofthe period which followed his ephemeral undertakings.

A modern Egyptian woman, or perhaps more accurately an Arab woman,digging into a mound in Middle Egypt, not far from the Nile, for thepurpose of getting some material with which to patch her hut, pulled outa piece of baked clay with some queer inscriptions upon it, which turnedout to be the cuneiform characters of the Assyro-Babylonian writing.Further excavations revealed the record hall of Amenophis IV., longburied under the ruins of his short-lived city. This collection ofdocuments and correspondence in the Assyrian language, which was theLingua Franca of those early days, are the source of our most accurateknowledge of the marriages, domestic relations and diplomatic history ofthis period in Egyptian history; indeed, of the history of thesurrounding peoples as far east as the Mesopotamian valley.

At least two Egyptian women emerge in the Hebrew records, one of whomwould indicate a low degree of morals, if we may judge of Egyptian womenof high standing of the period by this one. It is Potiphar's wife whofell so deeply in love with Joseph, the handsome young Hebrew slave whomPotiphar had bought and made a servant in his own household, that shesought to use her wiles to entice the youth from rectitude. At lengthfailing in her purpose, she charged him with attempting to use violenceupon her, and had him imprisoned, only to find that the young man was tocome forth stronger at last and find an honored place in the annals ofHebrew life in the land of Egypt.

The other Egyptian woman of whom Hebrew history speaks is Pharaoh'sdaughter, who, bathing in the Nile, with her maidens, discovered theinfant who was destined to lead Israel out of Egypt and become the chiefpower in moulding the Hebrew commonwealth. The young Egyptian woman whobecame a mother to the child Moses, gave him all the advantages ofEgyptian culture, which for those days were by no means meagre, and soplayed no insignificant part in the making of a lawgiver, and throughhim, in the making of a nation, whose moral and religious influence wasto be second to none in the history of the past.

Late Judaism came in contact with a number of Egyptian princesses,especially in the age of the Ptolemies. Among these are the Cleopatras,three of whom lived a whole century before the days when Mark Antony wasled astray by the most celebrated of all the women of this name. One ofthese was daughter of Antiochus the Great and wife of Ptolemy Epiphanes.She being attracted by the value of the balsam and other products ofPalestine, asked that the taxes of the land of the Jews be given her asher dowry. A second Cleopatra, daughter of the last, greatly favored, aswe have already noted, the Jews in Egypt, according to Josephus, and wasin turn greatly beloved by the larger number of the Jews of theDiraspora, or Dispersion, who had sought refuge and a livelihood in therich region of Egypt.

The third Cleopatra, daughter of the last-mentioned and of PtolemyPhilometer, was married in B.C. 150 to Alexander Bala. His checkeredcareer is given us by Josephus and in the First Book of Maccabees. Twoother women of this name also appear in the history of the Jews, one amother of Ptolemy Lathyrus, a woman of great force and determination,who expelled her son from Egypt and caused him to take refuge in theisland of Cyprus. The last was wife of Herod the Great, and mother of"Philip the Tetrarch." The story of Cleopatra, the beguiler of MarkAntony, is too well known to need repeating here. The women of Egypt ofthe Macedonian and Roman periods, let it suffice to say, were a power inthe affairs of those marvellous days.

The moral code of the Egyptians, theoretically speaking, was relativelyhigh, though it cannot be said that the women well known in Egyptianhistory or presented in romance bore an exceptionally elevatedcharacter. But the best women of ancient days were not usually thosewhose names were furthest known or most widely heralded. According tothe Greek legends, some of the queens were not slow to accomplish theirpurposes, regardless of the method or the cost. Queen Nitocris, of thefifth dynasty, the celebrated queen with the "rosy Cheeks," avenged themurder of her brother by inviting the conspirators against his life to abanquet hall lower than the Nile, and while they feasted turned in thewaters of the river upon them.

The Egyptian religious life was shared in by priestesses. Their pantheoncontained goddesses, who were highly honored. Women were considered tohave souls as well as men, and as great honor was paid them in the ritesaccorded to the dead.

Sacred prostitution, which was so well known among the ancient Semites,was also practised in Egypt. Anthropomorphism was common there aselsewhere among early religionists. The gods were supposed to have theirgeneration in the same manner as men. The male and female divinitiestherefore had their necessary part in the mysterious creations ofnature. The female function in generation, however, was a purely passiveone. Just as, according to the current ideas, the father was the soleparent of the child, the mother only furnishing carriage and nourishmentfor the infant, so the female principle in nature was receptivematter--"the lifeless mass in which generation took place."

"Women," says Frederick Shelden, "are compounds of plain sewing anddeception, daughters of Sham and Hem." This morsel of wit is not true ofthe women of Egypt in ancient days. The women of the Nile were, as arule, remarkably faithful to their obligations to their gods, as theyconceived them, and often to their households and to society. They werelimited, to be sure, in their outlook upon life and service, yetreligious to a fault, and sometimes moral. It has not been long sincethere was exhumed in Egypt,--which has proved indeed the most fruitfulof all fields for the archæologist,--a remarkable prayer engraved uponthe funeral shell of an Egyptian lady who lived in the age of thePtolemies. It is a prayer, the sentiments of which show how some of theessential elements of a commonwealth life have been recognized by goodmen and women of all lands and of all ages. The prayer is as follows:"All my life since childhood I have walked in the path of God. I havepraised and adored Him, and ministered to the priests, His servants. Myheart was true. I have not thrust myself forward. I gave bread to thehungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked. My hand was open toall men. I honored my father, and loved my mother; and my heart was atone with my townsmen. I kept the hungry alive when the Nile was low."Here godliness, support of religious ideals and services, truthfulness,humility, charity for the distressed, honor to parents, and goodcitizenship, are recognized as the true conduct and held worthy of theconsideration and reward of the gods.

Among the Christian women of western Egypt of to-day are the Copticwomen. Christianity very early made wide conquests in Egypt, and whilethe Christian religion has revolutionized ideals and modified customs,it has never destroyed many of the social habits that have had racialsanction for centuries. The Christian church of Egypt is the CopticChurch, which has existed almost since the beginning of the Christianera. The women of this fellowship are of course very different in manyrespects from the other women of modern Egypt, notably the Mohammedans.Close to Heliopolis is pointed out a sycamore fig tree called the Treeof the Virgin. It is here, according to the Coptic legend, that Maryand Joseph rested with their infant son when fleeing from Herod. Not faraway is a miraculous fountain, in which, as the story goes, Mary bathedthe feet of the child Jesus. Having once been salt, the spring nowbecame wholesome and sweet.

The Copts have preserved their early traditions, and their customs arein many respects in contrast with those of other people around them. Itis the mother of the young man, not the father who usually makes thearrangements for their son's marriage. "She goes among her friends tofind a wife for her son, and when after inquiry she discovers a girlwhom she thinks in every way suitable, she informs her son, who isinfluenced by her opinion and commits the arrangements to her judgment.Sometimes the choice of the bride is left to women whose profession itis to select a fitting bride for the man who employs them, and to openthe preliminary negotiations. There is naturally a good deal of risk inthis; but as women are so entirely secluded in the East, as they areshut out from their legitimate place in society, such an arrangementbecomes necessary, and so husband and wife are married without havinglooked into one another's face." But when once a Copt has chosen a wife,she is his forever. No divorce is permissible. They are one till death.

When the influences that had early gone out from Egypt and made for artand learning in all the lands about the Mediterranean began to returnwith compound interest from the shores of Greece to the land of theLotus, the women as well as the men were destined to feel their power.Many a woman had her life lifted from the drudgery of the purelyphysical life into the higher atmosphere of intellectual pursuits andattainments. Especially marked was this in Alexandria where the greatlibrary and university were exerting a powerful influence, andChristianity was making its teachings felt in favor of equality ofopportunity. In that great university town, the first Christiantheological seminary was established, where both men and women mightstudy the teachings of the Nazarene. Theological discussions at lengthbecame so general in Alexandria that some one has said that "Everywasher-woman in the city was arguing the merits of homoousian andhomoiousian in the streets."

It was in this later period of Egypt's history that there arose one ofthe most unique of all female figures. For, of all women who ever livedin Egypt probably none can be given so high a place for variousattainments and virile powers as must be accorded to Hypatia. She wasborn of intellectual ancestry, her father being the mathematician andphilosopher Theon, who lived in the fourth century of our era. She was adisciple of her father, and had probably been a student in the culturedcity of Athens. Returning to her native city she became a lecturer onphilosophical subjects, and was recognized as a leader in theneo-Platonic school of her day. She is said to have attracted studentsfar and wide to her classroom, not by her rare intellectual gifts alone,but by her charm of manner, her beauty of person, her modesty combinedwith real eloquence. Not only in the classroom did she exhibit her powerof persuasion and forceful speech, but in courts of law she proved apowerful advocate. Her very eloquence, however, was her undoing, forbecause of the strife that arose in Alexandria between Christian sectsand aroused them to the white heat of controversy and hate, the giftedHypatia lost her life in a manner most horrible. Torn from the chariotin which she was riding she was dragged to the Cæsareum--which had beenconverted into a Christian church--stripped naked in the presence of ahowling, fanatical mob, and then cut to pieces with oyster shells. Ahorrible blot is this upon Alexandrian life and a fearful comment uponthe wild extravagances that were sometimes enacted while Christianitywas disentangling itself from paganism.

Truly wonderful has been the life history of this land of the lotusflower. Once the seat of the highest learning, by its fertilizing Nilethe feeder of the bodies as well as the minds of men; later, the home ofGreek philosophy and of Christian theology--it is to-day little reckonedwith, except as a prize for stronger powers. Some day its natural wealthmay redeem it, and its women put off their rags, or their veil, andexert new power in the march of progress.

VII

THE WOMEN OF THE HINDOOS

The mother of the primitive Aryan or Indo-European stock would surelybe an interesting character if we could with certainty reconstruct herfrom her descendants of the several branches of that family which sentout the Hindoo, the Persian, the Greek, the Roman, the Slav, theScandinavian, the Teuton, and the Celt. The part these races have playedin the world's drama would indicate that the womanhood of ancient Irancould not have been lacking in qualities that made both for enduranceand for progress. The ancient Hebrew tradition that Japheth should beenlarged even to dwelling in the tents of Shem seems realized in thisfar-spreading Aryan family. It is interesting to note that the word for"daughter" in all the branches of this family of languages is the same;the two roots of which it is composed signify to draw milk, attestingnot only to the primitive pastoral condition of the peoples, but also tothe common occupation of the girl as milkmaid in the days before theseveral migrations took place. India is a populous country, there beingtwo hundred and fifty million people living in Hindoostan. These consistof Hindoos, Mohammedans, Eurasians, Europeans, and Jews. There isconsiderable variety, therefore, of custom and condition among thesemillions. Among those who prefer this or that particular form ofreligion there is a sameness of social condition, though localpeculiarities may be discovered. There is probably no country where thedetails of life are performed with such scrupulous regard for theprescriptions of custom and religion. The great religions to-day differamong themselves upon many points; but so far as their teachingsconcerning women are concerned, they are in wonderful agreement. Thesacred books of India, the Vedas, and other writings, the code of Manu,for example, were vested with an authority that had untold influences inthe shaping of woman's destiny in the land of the Hindoos. Originally,that is, in the earliest Aryan civilization,--for non-Aryan peoplepreceded the coming of the people of western Asia,--women were held inesteem and exerted unusual influence. Some of the most beautiful hymnsof this ancient period are products of women's genius. The great epicsof Mahabharata and Ramayana, with their wealth of female character,belong to this early Aryan period. Considering her place in later Hindoohistory, the great attention given to woman in the Hindoo literature isnoteworthy. No country of the Orient can furnish a literature in whichwoman is given a larger place, or to which women have contributed morefrequently. The names of Ahulya, Tara, Mandadari, Lita, Kunti, andDraupadi are familiar to students of this Indian literature. TheMahabharata and the Ramayana are the two most important of theancient epics of India. Both give a considerable place to women. Thechivalry of man and the virtue of women furnish here as elsewhere thebase of legendary literature.

"The ideas of the human family are few," says Mr. E. Wilson, inLiterature of the Orient, "when the world's great epics are compared,the same old story of human struggles and achievements are sung, thoughwith variations. The same heroes and heroines occur again and againthrough the world's history; and although in literary merit, in thepoints of artistic proportions and movement, the great Epics of Greeceand Rome, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Æneid, are found to surpassthe Ramayana and the Mahabharata, yet the ideals of love, marriage,conjugal fidelity, are no stronger in the Western classics, and indeedthe moral tone of the Eastern masterpieces is more elevated than that ofthe classic writings of Greece and Rome." Like characters appear in thegreat works. Not the least interesting of those in the Eastern epos isKrishna, the faithful wife of Arjuna, the Hindoo Hector, a heroine whomay readily be compared with the devoted Andromache. The story of Arjunabringing home Draupadi as a prize, and of his mother bidding him shareher charms with his brothers, seems to point to a time when polyandrywas practised in India. The method by which Draupadi chose her husbandfrom among her five suitors reveals also an early Hindoo custom known asthe Svayamvara. Those who seek the young girl's hand are invited to bepresent in some public place where the ceremonies may readily be carriedout. The company forms itself into a ring; and the maiden, making theround of the circle, tosses a garland of flowers upon the head of theone whom she prefers. The marriage rite is then performed. Muchbloodshed was wont to occur on such occasions, because of thedisappointment of the unsuccessful suitors.

It is not to be supposed, however, that the choice was prompted by theimpulse of the moment or by some sudden fascination. The girl usuallyknew the records of her suitors, and her selection was based uponprevious acquaintance and deliberate preference.

Indeed, in marked contrast with the present customs of India, it seemsclear that in early times brides, especially of the higher classes, notuncommonly made choice of their own spouses. This may be seen in theHindoo story of the faithful wife. An early ruler of Madra, Ashvapati, apious and virtuous king, was much beloved by his people. He waschildless. Many years did he spend in prayer for offspring. The godsgave him a daughter, who grew up to be a woman of surpassing beauty;but, strangely enough, no prince sought her hand in marriage. Herfather, therefore, according to the ancient Hindoo law, sent her forthto choose her own husband. At length she returned with the man of herlove, Savitri:

Among the choicest women of early Hindoo epics is Sita, heroine of theRamayana. The famous poet Valmiki is supposed to have been the author;but the poem in its present form is supposed to contain additions madeeven as late as the Christian era, though its earliest portions probablygo back to a period as early as the third century before Christ. TheRamayana is accounted among the sacred books of India, and specialspiritual considerations, such as forgiveness of sin and prosperity, arethought to be the reward of those who diligently study it. Sita, theheroine, is the wife of Rama, the son of Dasharatha, who had longmourned his childlessness. This Dasharatha, a descendant of the sun,lives in the city of Ayodhya, the modern Oudh, a place of beauty andsplendor:

But the line of the prince is threatened with extinction. He decides tolay his plea before the gods by the sacrifice known as the Asva-Medha,in which the victim is a horse. After the offering has been made withextraordinary magnificence, the high priest in charge makes known to theking that he shall have four sons to uphold his royal prerogatives andmaintain Dasharatha's line. One of these is Rama, whose wife Sita was awoman of extraordinary beauty:

And Sita was deeply devoted to her lord. But the demon Ravana desiresardently to possess the fair queen. He hits upon a plan to gain accessto her quarters. Assuming the form of a humble priest, an ascetic, hegains possession of her by craft; and, taking her in his chariot, hecarries her away to Lanka, a "fair city built upon an island of thesea." Thus Rama, like Menelaus of the classic myth, has lost the womanof his love. Rama decides to make use of a large army of monkeys, withwhich he will march against the city of Lanka. But the wide watersstretch between him and the island where his fair Sita is in possessionof the vile Ravana. Rama invokes the goddess of the sea, and she comesin radiant beauty, telling how a bridge may be built to cross the watersthat lie between the royal lovers. The monkeys--as busy as the littleimps that reared the temple of Solomon, according to the Mohammedanlegend--build a bridge of stones and timbers. Lanka is reached, and Ramabegins the fight for her possession. Indra looks down from heaven uponthe holy contest and decides to send his own chariot down, that Rama maymount in it and ride to victory. In single combat, riding in Indra'schariot, Rama vanquishes Ravana, and Sita, his wife, is restored to hisbosom.

As evidence of the exalted nature of the early ideals of womanhood andof man's faithfulness to the dictates of true love, we may turn to thewords of Prince Nala, who even when about to ingloriously forsake hisunprotected wife, sleeping in a dangerous wood, spoke thus:

Woman occupies an interesting place in many of the early fables ofIndia. Sir Edwin Arnold has translated into English a number of thestories from the Hitopadesha, which has been called "the father of allfables," and may easily take rank with the illustrious Æsop. Storieswhich present womanly traits, the tricks and wiles of love, are there,and are graphically told. Such are the fables of The Prince and theWife of the Merchant's Son, which illustrate how the darts of love,even in ancient India, struck their mark without waiting upon reason orsocial standing, as the handsome prince, son of Virasena, criesconcerning the beautiful Lavanyavati: "The god of the five shafts hashit me; only her presence can cure my wound."

An account of woman in Hindoo literature would be incomplete withoutsome allusion to the drama. This was developed after the Alexandrianconquest and shows marks of Greek influence. In the drama we may discernwoman of Brahmanic India from an interesting viewpoint. Of all thedramatic productions of the Hindoo poets, there is none so famous asthat of Shakuntala, by Kalidasa, the great court poet of Vikramaditya.As is true of many of the earlier Hindoo masterpieces the exact date ofits composition is not known. Some students place this work as early asthe first, some as late as the fifth century of the Christian era. Thedrama of Shakuntala is of interest as illustrating the effect of caste.It is a drama in seven acts, and, because of its importance, its storymay be recounted.

As King Dushyanta, King of India, is driving in his chariot through aforest, armed with his bows and arrows, in hot pursuit of a blackantelope, a word forbids him to slay the innocent creature. It is theword of a hermit and the antelope belongs to the hermitage. The king isobedient to the request, and is conducted to the dwelling of the greatsaint Kanva, who is absent upon a distant pilgrimage, and has left hisfoster-daughter Shakuntala in charge of his companions. The king findshimself in the midst of a secret grove. He stops his chariot andalights. As he goes reverently through these holy woods "he feels asudden throb in his arm. This argues happy love and soon he sees themaidens of the hermitage approaching to sprinkle the young shrubs withwatering pots suited to their strength." Among these beautiful maidens,rare in form and grace, the king observes one especially; it isShakuntala, foster-daughter of the hermit, half concealed by the trees,but standing "like a blooming bud enclosed within a sheath of yellowleaves." A beautiful girl is she, but the king stands puzzled. For if shebe of purely Brahmanic birth, she is prohibited from marrying one of thewarrior class, even though he be the king. As Shakuntala moves aboutwatering the flowers of the wood, she starts a bee from one of thejasmine flowers. The bee pursues her, as if to do her harm with itssting, but Dushyanta comes to the rescue; and the fair girl of thehermitage feels some strange thrill as she sees the king, an unusualvisitant in that hallowed neighborhood. Off she hurries with her twocompanions, but a series of happy accidents enables her to cast sideglances at the king: a prickly Kusa-grass has stung her foot, she mustwait a moment, a bush has caught her robe, she must stop to disentangleit. And love is born. In the second act, while Dushyanta is thinking ofhis love, two hermits arrive who tell him that demons have takenadvantage of Kanva's absence from the sacred grove and are disturbingthe sacrifices, and requests that he come and defend the grove fromtheir intrusion. He consents with keen delight and he will not leave thegrove, even though his mother requests his presence at a sacrificeoffered in his own behalf. He sends his representative, but cautions himto say nothing concerning his love for the fair Shakuntala. In the thirdact, the king is discovered walking in the hermitage calling upon thegod of love "whose shafts are flowers, though the flowers' darts arehard as steel." He tracks the object of his love by the broken stems ofthe flowers she had plucked in her rambles, and at length finds her inan arbor with her attendants. She reclines upon a stone bench strewnwith flowers, she looks pale and wasted. Her maidens seek to know thecause of her sickness, and she tells her love in a poem, written on alotus leaf. Just here the king rushes in and avows his passion. He triesto overcome her scruples against a marriage, so out of accord with theregulations of caste. He hears a voice of ill omen telling of the demons"swarming round the altar fires." He hastens to the rescue. In thefourth act, Shakuntala is seen wearing the signet ring of the king,which ring has the charm to restore the king's love, should it ever growcold. Kanva returns from his pilgrimage in time to see the preparationsbeing made for Shakuntala's departure. The old hermit submits resignedlyto her going and gives his blessing to the departing one. The fifth actpresents Dushyanta, like King Saul, overcome with a deep and stubbornmelancholy. He is under a curse of Durvasas, and this induces completeforgetfulness of his wife Shakuntala. "Why has this strain," says theking, "thrown over me so deep a melancholy, as though I am separatedfrom some loved one?" Here the hermit and Shakuntala, who is about tobecome a mother, are ushered into the presence of the king. He does notknow her; denies he ever knew her. The Shakuntala is about to producefrom her finger the ring which should be proof of the marriage. But,alas! she discovers it to be lost. "It must have slipped off, in theholy lake when thou wast offering sacrifices," said Gantami, who hadaccompanied her. The king laughs derisively. Despite her endeavors, theking fails to recollect the marriage. The sad Shakuntala buries herhands in her robes and sobs piteously. At length the ring is found by afisherman, in the belly of a carp. It is brought to the king, who placesit upon his finger, when he is overcome with a flood of recollections.But his wife and little son have been carried away to a secret grove faraway from earth in the upper air. The king, conducted in the celestialcar Indra, at length joins them. There the royal pair are reconciled andreunited, and the drama comes to a close with a prayer to Siva.

Many of the Hindoo lyrics breathe of love and woman's graces, showingnow a high respect for womanly charms, now indulging in humor at herfrailties. "The God of Love," says the poet Bhartrihari, "sits fishingon the ocean of the world, and on the end of his hook he has hung awoman. When the little human fishes come they are not on their guard,quickly he catches them and broils them in love's fire." Again, the poetsings: "She whom I love, loves another, while another is pleased withme." A song from the famous Kalidasa will illustrate the poet's attitudetoward a woman of beauty.

It would be impracticable to trace the history of the chief women ofthe long line of kings in the several dynasties which successively ruledin India. In fact, it would not be possible to do so, even though theremight be material important for our present purpose. It was probably inthe days of the Mogul dynasty that emerged the most influential femalecharacters in historic times. The brilliancy of the court of the Mogulkings and the prominence of some of the queens and princesses give tothis period, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of our era, anespecial fascination. Akbar, known as the Great, was a religiousreformer, as well as a great sovereign. His favorite wife was a princessof a Rajput family, and to her was due no little of Akbar's success. Itwas through his influence that the earliest attempt was made to prohibitthe suttee, or self-immolation of widows, a religious custom which hadalready begun to dot the hallowed places of the land with little whitepillars that commemorated such sacrifices. One of Akbar's wives is saidto have been a Christian woman. Akbar's son, Emperor Jahangir, was alsowedded to a woman of great force, one who is said indeed to have beenthe power behind his throne. He called her Nur Mahal, or "Light of theHarem," for she was his favorite wife. It was during Jahangir's reignthat the English first established themselves at Surat. Nur Mahal was awoman who knew how, like Jezebel and Lady Macbeth, to take into her ownhands the reins of administration when a strong grasp became necessary.Many of the intrigues that characterized the emperor's reign areattributed to her. Coins of the realm were stamped in her name, and atlast she was buried by the side of her husband at Lahore. During theperiod of the Mogul dynasty the queen lived in the midst of the greatestsplendor, which, indeed, is generally more or less true of the wives ofIndian kings. Jewels were theirs in extravagant abundance. Fountainsplayed for their enjoyment. Marble baths were provided for theircomfort, and numberless slaves waited on their bidding. The magnificenceof the royal houses greatly impressed the Persians when they conqueredthe land, or they would not have said, as is illustrated by theirinscription upon one of the palaces they had taken: "If there be aparadise on earth, it is this, it is this!" Among the best specimens ofarchitectural magnificence was that erected by Shah Jehan, son ofJahangir. It was he who built the famous Taj Mahal at Agra, his favoriteresidence. He also erected the costly peacock throne at Delhi. The TajMahal was built as a mausoleum for the Empress Mumtazi Mahal, who diedwhile giving birth to the Princess Jehanava. Isa Mohammed designed thebuilding, and its erection was begun in the year 1630. After seventeenyears, the employment of twenty thousand workmen, and the expenditure ofmillions of dollars, the Taj Mahal was finished. It is one of the mostmagnificent public buildings in India, and one of the most famous in theworld. With its dome of two hundred and ten feet in height, its tropicalgarden, its mosaics and inscriptions, its marble of white, black, andyellow, its crystals, jaspers, garnets, amethysts, sapphires, and evendiamonds, it is the richest and most notable tribute of marital lovethat has ever been erected.

Another monument built in honor of a woman is the famous tower KootabMinar, the highest pillar in the world, being of red sandstone and twohundred and thirty-eight feet high. It is said to have been built thatthe king's daughter, from the vantage ground of its high turret, mightlook out upon the mosque which could be discerned in the distance.

Let us revert for a moment to the ancient Hindoo writings and theirinfluence upon the history of Hindoo women. To the religious books ofIndia woman has to-day no personal access. Her religious sacrifices andceremonies before marriage are with reference to the procuring of ahusband. After marriage she may approach the deity, but only in the nameof her husband. Him she must revere almost as if he himself were a god.She hopes that in time she herself may be born a man. Anciently therewere in India virgins dedicated to the service of the temple and pledgedto a life of purity, like the vestal virgins of ancient Rome. In thecourse of the centuries the custom was degraded; and young women inlarge numbers became the dancing girls at the temples, and others openlydedicated themselves to a life of shame at the shrines. They areeuphemistically termed "God's slaves," but might more properly be spokenof as slaves to the bestial passions of the profligate Brahmans of thetemple to which they belong. Dedication of virginity to a popular deity,through his priest, became common. The young woman was said to have beenmarried to the god, and was given over to a life of shame.

Brahmanism, which has been defined as "the religion which exalts thecow and degrades the woman," has been one of the most potent factors inshaping the life of woman in India. Among the Hindoos, woman has noindependent spiritual life. Her hope is in being married to a man.Through him must her fortune be secured, and only in obedience to himcan she hope for any ultimate happiness. Woman has been regarded by thesages of India as a snare to man's rectitude and an obstacle to his bestinterests. Buddha is said to have been seated one day in a grove nearthe banks of the Ganges, with many about him who had come to do himreverence. As he saw a woman, the lady Amra, circumspect and pious,approaching in the distance, Buddha said to those about him: "This womanis indeed exceedingly beautiful, able to fascinate the minds of thereligious: now, then, keep your recollection straight. Let wisdom keepyour mind in subjection. Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth, orunder the sharp knife of the executioner, than to dwell with a woman andexcite in yourselves lustful thoughts. A woman is anxious to exhibit herform and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping. Evenwhen represented as a picture, she desires most of all to set off theblandishments of her beauty, and thus to rob men of their steadfastheart. How, then, ought you to guard yourselves? By regarding her tearsand her smiles as enemies, her stooping form, her hanging arms, and allher disentangled hair, as toils designed to trap man's heart."

Caste, in India, dominates everything from the cradle to the grave, andhas greatly affected the life of woman. The lines of demarcation aredeep-drawn and inexorable. The social gulfs are impassable. As one hasremarked, the only tie between the castes is the cow, which is reveredby all. There are four castes. To quote Manu, "The Brahmana, theKshatriya, and the Vaishya castes are the twice born ones, but thefourth, the Shudra, has one birth only; there is no fifth caste." Butthere are the outcasts who, because of some violation of caste rule,have lost their social status and are despised by all, even the lowest.The highest caste, according to popular belief, descended from Brahma'smouth, this is the priestly class. The second came from Brahma's arms,this is the warrior class. The third from his thighs, this is themerchant class; least of all are the Shudras people, born of Brahma'sfeet. The highest caste influences, in a measure, the customs of thelower castes. The women of the low caste are burdened with many outsideduties, caring for their children in the intervals. They therefore enjoyno little freedom. The women of the high caste, however, are shut up inthe zenanas, and so know little of the outside world.

INTERIOR COURT OF A ZENANA
From an Indo-Persian painting

The zenanas are the apartments of the women, and are quitesecluded, the windows invariably looking upon the inner quadrangle ofthe house. The wives are closely confined to the house. In order toenjoy a social visit, permission must be given by the husband, who israrely willing to grant the coveted freedom. There is not much gayetyabout the zenanas, though sometimes there may be music, dancing, andmirth. Petty duties, trivial acts, and idleness make up "the life behindthe curtain." The girls and boys are permitted to play together untilthe girl is about ten years old, then she must begin to keep purdah;that is, she must go behind the curtain.

The zenanas are the apartments of the women, and are quite secluded,the windows invariably looking upon the inner quadrangle of the house.The wives are closely confined to the house. In order to enjoy a socialvisit, permission must be given by the husband, who is rarely willing togrant the coveted freedom. There is not much gayety about the zenanas,though sometimes there may be music, dancing, and mirth. Petty duties,trivial acts, and idleness make up "the life behind the curtain." Thegirls and boys are permitted to play together until the girl is aboutten years old, then she must begin to keep purdah; that is, she must gobehind the curtain. She must dwell in the seclusion of the women, notallowing a man, not even her own brothers, to look upon her. The Hindooscannot believe that a woman may be good and free at the same time; shemay be good, she may be free, but both, never. The Mohammedan Hindoowomen are of course influenced by the teachings of the Koran, whichregards the best women as those who never see any man but their husbandsand sons, the next best those that have laid eyes only upon theirrelatives. Very meagre is a girl's educational training. Besides thedomestic duties, in which she is instructed that she may be fitted forher married life, the girl is taught a few prayers which may be ofservice to her in winning the favor of the deities concerned withmarital relations, and some popular songs by means of which she maywhile away the hours. The deference which members of the female sex arealways expected to show to those of the male manifests itself somewhatdifferently in different sections of India. In the northern parts, wherethe women uniformly wear veils, they can more readily cover their facesat the unexpected appearance of a man, or they may run into anotherapartment. In southern India, where veils are not common, the women arenot compelled to hide from the presence of men, but must always rise andremain standing out of deference to them. The Hindoo woman will not callher husband by name; she uses such terms as "Master, Chosen," and"Husband," and the husband, on the other hand, never alludes to hiswife, nor does anyone inquire of him concerning her. The absorption ofthe wife's identity into that of the husband is complete. After marriagethey become one and he is the one. There is little wonder at this whenManu says: "By a girl, by a woman, or even by an aged one nothing mustbe done." "In childhood, a female must be subject to the father, inyouth to her husband, and when her lord is dead to her sons; a womanmust never be independent." And the Vedas declare that he only is aperfect man who consists of three persons united, his wife, himself, andhis offspring.

The expense of a marriage ceremony is very heavy in India. It is themost expensive of all the festivities of the Hindoos. Among the highercaste the outlay is usually above two hundred dollars. This, for acountry where the people are so poor, is a large outlay. Since religionmakes it necessary for the girls to marry, two daughters may bankrupt afamily. When it is remembered that the father must not only support hiswives and children, but also his aged parents, his indigent or idlebrothers and their families, the nearest widowed relations, and numerousother dependants, it may be seen that a breadwinner's life in this landof recurring famines is not always a happy one. It is not an uncommonthing in India for four generations of family life to be crowded intoone house. The occasion of a marriage is, of course, one of primeinterest. It is the only incident in which a woman may become the centreof an event of great religious significance. Then Vedic prayers areoffered up and festivities run high. Men dancers or Nautch girls may beseen singing the amours, the quarrels and reconciliations of Krishna andhis wives or his mistresses. These are not a whit elevating. The truthis India is not lacking in obscenity, not even in the frescoes of itstemples. Though little be given to the Hindoo girl, much is expected ofher when she becomes a wife. For, says the laws of Manu, "She mustalways be cheerful, clever in the management of household affairs,careful in cleaning her utensils and economical in expenditure."

The necessity of bringing forth sons and being a good loyal wifegenerally may be discerned in the law of Manu, which says: "A barrenwife may be superseded in the eighth year; she whose children all die,in the tenth; she who brings only daughters into the world, in theeleventh; but she who is quarrelsome, without delay."

Faithfulness of a wife to her husband and her husband's interests mustbe unquestioned. Thus alone may a woman find her higher blessedness. "Afaithful wife," says Manu, "who desires to dwell after death with herhusband must never do anything that might displease him who took herhand whether he be alive or dead. By violating her duty to her husband awife is disgraced in this world, after death she enters the womb of ajackal and is tormented by diseases, the punishment of her sin."

One of the most remarkable customs of a remarkable people is that ofchild marriage. Since a woman attains her blessedness, if not herspiritual entity by union with a man, marriage should be early. It isregarded as a disgrace for a father to have an unmarried daughter uponhis hands. In Oriental lands generally the marriageable age of girls isabout twelve years, the period at which, in those countries, a younggirl usually attains to physical womanhood. But in India even infantgirls are married by their parents to other infants, or to older boys,or to men. A woman is not esteemed at all till she is married andbecomes the mother of a son. Then she becomes at least worthy of acertain respect.

The history of the life of a Hindoo girl of high caste may be thusdrawn. Word comes from the zenana that it is a girl. Instead ofcongratulations and joy at the little one's advent, the mother isreviled by an angry husband because she brings him a daughter instead ofa son. In his reproaches all the household join. For has she notdisgraced her husband? And is she not accursed rather than blessed ofthe gods? The little one is hid from the eyes of the father when heenters the zenana, lest his anger burst forth anew. Two years rollaround, and the little girl hears sounds of rejoicing and of feasting inthe house. A boy is born, and the father's attitude is changed towardthe mother, and somewhat toward the daughter; but even yet she is anegligible quantity. The mother loves and sometimes caresses the girl.Occasionally the father, too, will notice her; and when the brother hasbecome old enough, the two little ones may play together. In a shorttime, it may be between the ages of five and six, the little daughter isarrayed in silk and costly gems. The day of her wedding has come, thoughshe herself knows little of what it all means, and timidly assents towhat her father in his unquestioned authority has done. She is broughtto the man whom the parent has chosen from his own caste. They look uponeach other for the first time, and the little girl scarcely sees him nowfor her timidity. The ceremony is over, and the husband returns to hisown home. For the child wife must be taught the duties of housewifery.Her mother is diligent in imparting the required knowledge. It consistsof proficiency in the arts of cooking, spinning, weaving, and waitingupon her husband, more particularly when he is eating. The fundamentalduty of marital obedience is instilled with supreme care. At abouteleven years the girl wife is deemed ready to assume the serious dutiesof wedded life. The husband comes and takes her to his own home. If hiscircumstances permit he is royally seated, it may be, upon a gaudilybedecked elephant, and she is conveyed in a closely covered palanquin.The girl wife is now among strangers, she must make her way as best shecan. Life is not always easy for her. The Hindoo mother-in-law at oncebecomes master of the new situation, and the daughter must be a willingslave. Her apartments are not over cheerful, and the other women of thezenana receive her with chilling indifference or with positive cruelty.At twelve years of age the young wife is in all probability a mother. Ifthe child be a son, she is emancipated from her thraldom to thehusband's mother. She is now worthy in the sight of her husband, and ifall goes well, her life is lifted to a higher plane.

Since a woman is bound to her husband as long as she lives,--eventhough the husband himself be dead,--remarriage for her is out of thequestion. Social ostracism would surely follow the woman who would daremarry again. The man, however, may marry as often as he pleases and asmany wives as may be to his liking and convenience. The Englishgovernment attempted the impossible by the passage of a law--enacted in1856--legalizing the remarriage of widows. Few, however, were able toface the social hardships and loss of property which remarriageinvolved. The widow who refuses to marry may often hold her property,even though she live a life of shame.

Financial conditions have much to do with the number of wives which eachhusband acquires. The Brahmanic caste may marry almost without limit.Indeed, it is permitted to them to make a business of marriage.Sometimes an illustrious Brahman may go up and down the land, marryinggirls, always of course within his own caste, receiving presents fromthe parents of the bride,--who esteem it an honor for their daughter tobe wed, especially to one so distinguished,--but passing on and neverreturning to claim his wife. But the father is satisfied with thebargain, for his daughter is at last free from the disgrace and ridiculeof being unmarried; and being the wife of a Brahman of a high caste, thegirl will be happy in the world to come.

Since the members of the kshatriyas, or warrior class, are notpermitted to accept gifts as are the Brahmans, or priestly class, theformer cannot enjoy the privilege of enrichment by the process ofmulti-marriage. They therefore have fewer wives, the number beingregulated by their power to support them. The same is also true of thenumber of the daughters whom they are willing should survive,infanticide being commonest among the people of this caste.

It must not be thought that every utterance of the sacred books is onthe side of the woman's inferiority. A single passage from Manuproclaims that "A daughter is the equal of a son," but the law proceedsto let it be known that it is only through the husband or the son thatthis equality is realized. This doctrine is true not of women only, foreven a man is made perfect only through his possession of a son or sons."Through a son he conquers the world, through a son's son he obtainsimmortality, but through his son's grandson he gains the world of thesun." Indeed, "there is no place in Heaven for a man," says Vasishtha,"who is destitute of offspring."

With the exception of child marriage, there is probably no factconcerning the Hindoo woman's life that has received so much attentionas the customs which bear so hard upon widowhood. Beginning with theassumption that the death of the husband was sent as a punishment forthe wickedness of the wife, in some previous state of existence it maybe, it is easy to conclude that the widow's life should be made asmiserable as possible. She is therefore maltreated, neglected, and attimes almost starved. When death takes away him in whom alone she hadany reason for being respected, her head must be shaved, all jewels andwearing apparel are taken away, and instead the coarse weeds of thewidow are put on. One meal a day is permitted, and no more. Even thewomen themselves are most harsh in the treatment of their bereftsisters. For as soon as it is known that the husband is dead, the womenrush immediately upon the bewildered, grief-stricken wife, tear herornaments from her body, shave her hair from her head, and pronounce theseverest curses upon her whose sins in a bygone state had killed herhusband. They advise her to appease the wrath of the deity by throwingherself with the husband upon the funeral pyre and thus as far aspossible wipe out the awful disgrace. Formerly, many yielded toself-immolation, and immediately put an end to a life that otherwisewould be a prolonged misery, or at length, driven to frenzy by theirthousand deaths of torture, in some way cut short their terrible agony.

There are about one hundred and forty million women in India. At the ageof fifteen, more often several years earlier, they are either wives orwidows. Since child marriage is so common in India, there are manywidows of very tender years. There are said to be twenty-three millionwidows in India; at least two million of these became widows in earlychildhood. Of these, eighty thousand are still under nine years of age,and six hundred thousand have not yet reached the age of twenty. Thesorrows produced by religious belief concerning widowhood and by socialcustoms cause many very young girls to end their lives byself-destruction. Pundita Ramabai, in her High-Caste Hindu Woman, saysof the widow: "She must never take part in the family feasts; is knownby the name of harlot; if she escapes from her home, no respectableperson will take her in; suicide, or a life of infamy is inevitable."

Happily, the self-immolation of widows in India has now well-nigh passedaway. The English government has done much to break this awful custom,which was thought to be the only means of destroying the force of awidow's eternal misery and of bringing to her any future blessedness.This horrible death, known as suttee, was made unlawful in 1830. But"cold suttee," as some have called the living death which widowssuffer from social customs, is still maintained.

From all that has been said, it is not strange that fathers maysometimes be found who will be willing, for so many rupees, to selltheir daughters to a course of infamy, or that men may sometimes lendtheir wives for a money consideration, or that the suicides of femaleshave been so numerous in India.

There are above five million fewer women in India than men. This markeddiscrepancy may be accounted for by the infanticide which prevails insome parts and among some classes of the Hindoos, notwithstanding allthat the government can do to prevent it. Female infants are sometimesstrangled, sometimes exposed to wild beasts, or generally neglected. Thedark, unsanitary conditions of the women's quarters, and theextraordinarily harsh and unintelligent treatment of women at the timeof childbirth, also play their part in the death rate of females.

All this is in marked contrast to the position of women in Siam. Herethe seclusion of the Turkish harem and the Hindoo zenana does not exist,and the women are probably the freest, most independent of the women ofthe East. They openly attend to their duties, bringing their food tomarket, buying, selling, aiding in the management of the house andfield. A man does not spend his money without consultation with thewife, should he prize the family peace: the woman usually carries thepurse. Inheritance of house and lands is through the mother rather thanthrough the father--a survival of the ancient mother-right. Women evenin this comparatively favored land, however, are seldom educated, exceptit be in schools established by Christian foreigners. If a woman wishesto learn at all, it must be through her husband or brother at home.

Woman in Burmah also is comparatively free, neither the zenana nor theveil prevailing there. She too holds the purse strings; but in all otherrespects she is distinctly inferior to her husband and must constantlyacknowledge it. A good wife will never say "I" in talking to her husbandconcerning herself, but must speak of herself as "Your servant." In theeyes of the man, the woman here is not only inferior, but vile, even tothe touch. Her garments are polluting to the passer-by; hence, shealways draws them more closely about herself as she passes a man uponthe streets.

In Assam also woman holds a far higher place than in other parts ofIndia or in Burmah, even among the rude and warlike people. To the Nagasof the hill country of Assam a girl is most welcome at birth and by manypreferred to a boy, for she is more docile, helpful, and obedient; sheis less expensive to rear and more filial in her attitude to her agedparents. This last consideration is one that counts for very much in allOriental lands. Instead of the early child marriages of India, here wefind marriage at about thirteen, the bride not leaving the parental rooftill three or four years after. The wife is respected and consulted, thehusband often deferring to his wife. "I will come from the house andtell you," means "I will ask my wife."

At marriage an iron bracelet is placed on the wrist. This is sometimesworn with gold circlets to lessen the sense of subjection. But the ironbracelet does not thus lose its significance, for the woman haseverything to remind her of her secondary place in society. Sir MonierMonier-Williams gives the following summary of woman's life in India:"In regard to women, the general feeling is that they are the necessarymachines for producing children (Manu, lx: 96), and without childrenthere could be no due performance of the funeral rites essential to thepeace of a man's soul after death. This is secured by early marriage. Ifthe law required the consent of boys and girls before the marriageceremony they might decline to give it. Hence, girls are betrothed atthree or four years of age and go through the marriage ceremony at sevento boys of whom they know nothing; and if these boy husbands die thegirls remain widows all their lives."

Since the boys soon find out their superiority to their mothers, thelatter have little part in shaping the characters of the children, andtherefore comparatively small influence in moulding the destiny of thepeople. Wherever the cow is exalted and the woman degraded a nation canhope for little from its women. "We all believe," says a prominentHindoo, "in the sanctity of the cow and in the depravity of woman."Unwelcomed at her arrival and often harassed and kept in subjection tillher death, she can contribute little to the welfare of her people. Itmay be said, however, that the Hindoo woman is in the main satisfiedwith her lot, and is the mainstay of Hindooism.

VIII

BESIDE THE PERSIAN GULF

It is a familiar remark that the essential difference between thecivilization of the East and that of the West is disclosed in the statusof woman in each of these regions of the earth. Erman, in writing of thewomen of Egypt, broadly remarks that in the West woman is "the companionof man, while in the East she is his servant and toy. In the West at onetime, the esteem in which woman was held rose to a cult, while in theEast, the question has frequently been earnestly discussed whether womanreally belonged to the human race." But he justly adds, this is notabsolutely fair, either to the East or to the West. While in India womanhas been denied a soul, and among the Teutonic tribes she was honoredwith a superstitious reverence, yet not all the veneration can beaccounted upon the one side, nor all the degradation upon the other.Among the primitive Aryan peoples woman's place appears to have been nomean one. The early traditions of the women of Bactria, ancient Iran,and the region of the Oxus converge with those preserved in the Rigvedaof the Hindoos to indicate a high degree of respect for woman, formarriage, and for the other domestic virtues.

The science of comparative philology has helped us to discover some ofthe primitive ideas attached to the names of the female members of thehousehold. The root ma, matar, "mother," signifies the creatrix,"she who brings children into the world." The coming of a girl into thecountries bordering on the Persian Gulf does not seem to have been thematter of regret that it was so frequently in the Orient; for the name"sister" appears to be connected with svasti, "good," or "goodfortune"; while the daughter manifestly held the important place, in thepastoral life of the times, of milkmaid, from duhitar, "she who bringsthe milk from the cows."

Lenormant, writing of this ancient period, says: "Marriage was aconsecrated and free act, preceded by betrothal and symbolized by thejoining of hands. The husband, in the presence of the priest, both whilethe priestly office was invested in the head of the family, and alsoafter the priesthood became separate, took the right hand of the bride,pronouncing certain sacred formulæ; the bride was then conducted on awagon drawn by two white oxen. The father of the bride presented a cowto his son-in-law, this was intended originally for the wedding feast,but in later times it was taken to the house of the bridegroom; this wasthe dowry, an emblem of agricultural richness. The bride's hair wasparted with a dart; she was conducted around the domestic hearth and wasthen received at the door of her new abode with a present of fire andwater."

Many of these ancient customs which prevailed in the regions of Iraniain the earliest times existed in the various branches of theIndo-European family in their scattered locations. There may bementioned the fire ordeal, such a trial as that through which thevirtuous Sita, heroine of the Ramayana, was compelled by hersuspicious husband King Rama to pass in order to destroy his suspicions.There were two methods of testing a woman's virtue. By the first, shemust pass unharmed through a trench filled with live coals. In thesecond, a succession of concentric circles, about ten inches apart, wasmarked out. A red-hot lance head, or another piece of similarly heatedmetal, must be carried by the accused woman without being burnt acrossthe first eight circles and thrown into the ninth, and it must even thenbe sufficiently hot to scorch the grass within the last circle. If thehand that bore the red-hot metal was not burnt, the innocence of theaccused was established.

In the legendary period of Persia's history woman performs an honorableand--it is needless to add--a romantic part. Indeed, there has been aninterest of romance attached to Persia from the early days whenHerodotus travelled and Xenophon gave the world his Cyropædia.Persia's great epic poets, notably Firdausi in Shahnamah, havepreserved many of the early traditions of this land. More particularlydo the deeds which gather about the name of Shah Jamshid, one of theearliest of Persian rulers, stand out in bold character. According tothe ancient legend, it was he who not only introduced the handicrafts ofweaving, of embroidering upon woollen, cotton, and silken stuffs, butalso it was he who divided the people into the four socialstrata,--priests, warriors, traders, and husbandmen. Both thesecontributions to Persia's early history may be said to be of primeimportance in the development of the womanhood of the country. Of thisking many interesting stories are related, episodes in which heroicwomanhood conspicuously figures. War and love, deeds of daring and ofchivalry hold a large place in the Persian legends.

The thrilling stories of King Jamshid's meeting with the irresistibledaughter of Gureng, King of Zabulistan; of their love and marriage; thelegend of the fair Tahmimah, daughter of the King of Semangan, and howshe fascinated and led captive the love of the youthful warrior Rustam,whose fame had come to her ears; the unhappy trick by which she deceivedher absent husband, saying that the infant born to them was a girl, sothat the child might be left with her,--a deception which ended in thetragedy of young Suhrab's death at the hands of his own father; Rustamand Tahmimah's death from grief; the romantic finding of a queen forKing Kai Kaus, a lady who was to become the mother of King Saiawush; thestory of Byzun and the fair Princess Manijeh--all these, and more,render the Persian epic literature rich in tales of love and chivalry.

It is out of the long and bloody struggles between the Iranians and theTuranians, who for over ten centuries battled for supremacy, that theearly epic stories have largely sprung. There was no prejudice in theancient days of Persia against a strenuous as well as an amatory lifefor womankind.

In the chapter upon the women of the Assyro-Babylonian people, the storyof Semiramis, the illustrious queen, has been told. So widespread wasthe legend, however, that it belongs to the Persians as well as to theinhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The story was well known inthe region of Armenia, and may have been introduced into Persian historybecause of its political value.

Among the early women of distinction must be named Homai, who hasindeed been identified with "the Persian Semiramis." She was a princessof renown and daughter of Bahman, and to her has been given the creditof being the author of a collection of tales known as Hezar Afsane,which comprises about two hundred stories told upon a thousand nights.It is from this collection by the Princess Homai that many suppose theArabian Nights was constructed. How much of the material from theformer went to make up the latter is not capable of present proof, butthat the general idea and plan and some of the names, and the groundworkof many of the tales, were borrowed from the work of the Persianprincess seems quite certain. Homai is mentioned in the Avesta, thesacred book of the Persians; and the Persian poet Firdausi makes her thedaughter as well as wife of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Her mother is said tohave been a Jewess, Shahrazaad, among the captives brought fromJerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. She is reported as havingdelivered her nation from captivity, and has been identified with Estherof the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as with Shahrazaad the Jewess of theArabian Nights. Professor Gottheil thinks that the case here is wellmade out by Kuenen and others. The period of Cyrus the Great brings usupon the borderland between legend and history. Very romantic is thestory told by Herodotus concerning the mother of Cyrus. Astyages, theMedean king, had a daughter named Mandane. This young woman was given inmarriage to Cambyses, son of Theispes. Shortly after this, King Astyageshad a dream in which there appeared a vine springing from his daughterMandane and spreading till it had overshadowed all Asia. Wishing to knowthe meaning of this unusual dream, Astyages received from the Magi theinterpretation that a son of Mandane should some day reign in his place.Alarmed at this, the king called a trusted servant, Harpagus, andcommanded that he make plans to put to death the infant to which Mandanewas soon to give birth; and the wife of Cambyses was closely guarded.Harpagus, however, unwilling himself to be guilty of so bloody a crime,directed that a herdsman of the king expose the infant son on a desertmountain, where its death would be certain. The herdsman, however,instead of leaving the little one to perish, reared him himself insteadof his own stillborn son. The child received the name of Agradates, butlater that of Cyrus, who by his achievements won the cognomen "TheGreat." According to Ctesias, Cyrus, after defeating Astyages, marriedhis daughter Amytis, who had been the wife of a Mede named Spitaces,whom Cyrus put to death. Herodotus, as we have seen, says that themother of Cyrus was a daughter of Astyages. The two statements may beboth correct, however, since an Oriental conqueror would not hesitate tomarry his mother's sister if the procedure gave him greater power over aconquered territory.

It was a woman, according to Herodotus, who at length brought the greatconqueror Cyrus to his end. Desiring to vanquish the Massagetæ, awarlike tribe inhabiting the steppes north of the river Jaxartes, hesent out his army, with the greater confidence of victory since thispeople was then governed by a woman. When the Queen of the Massagetæ,Tomyris, perceived the approach of the large army of Persians and thework of building bridges across the Jaxartes, she sent a herald toCyrus, proposing a fair and open contest between the two forces, onwhichever side of the river Cyrus might select. Cyrus chose the sideof the river next the Massagetæ, but made use of a piece of strategy bywhich the Massagetæ were defeated and the queen's son, who led in thebattle, was captured. Queen Tomyris, on hearing of the disaster, wrote abitter message to Cyrus, and threatened revenge that would be mostdireful if her son were not returned alive. Cyrus gave no heed to thethreat. Thereupon, Tomyris mobilized all the forces of her kingdomagainst the Persian army. "Of all the combats in which the barbarianshave ever engaged among themselves," says the ancient historian, "Ireckon this to have been the fiercest." First, the armies stood apartand shot their deadly arrows. When the quivers were all emptied, theforces joined in hand-to-hand encounter with lances and daggers, neitheryielding, till at length the army of the queen prevailed by thedestruction of the larger part of the Persian army. Cyrus himself wasslain; and as Tomyris passed his bloody corpse, she heaped insults uponit, saying: "I live, and have conquered thee in fight; and yet by thee Iam ruined, for thou tookest my son with guile; but thus I make good mythreat, and give thee thy fill of blood."

The story of Araspes and Panthea, related by Xenophon, is one of theearliest pieces of romantic fiction. It is told in the Cyropædia, andis intended to illustrate the steadfastness and virtue of the greatCyrus. Among the early gifts to the conqueror was a Susian lady, wife ofAbradates, King of the Susians, and regarded as the most beautiful womanin Asia. Cyrus, never having yet seen her, committed her to the care ofAraspes till he might call for her. But the guardian fell so in lovewith his fair ward that he feared the displeasure of Cyrus. The king,however, astutely seizing upon his supposed anger toward Araspes,decides to send him, as if a fugitive, to the enemy, that informationmight be received by Araspes and communicated to him. Moreover, Pantheanow sends to Cyrus a message that her own husband Abradates wouldhimself become a fast friend to her lord, should he be allowed theprivilege of coming to him. Thus Cyrus, unlike many another king andwarrior, by supreme self-control in the matter of his loves gainedfriends and subdued enemies.

The kings of Persia, while usually marrying but one legal wife, enjoyedthe universal custom of supporting a vast harem, and of inviting into itdaughters of neighboring kings. Usually the purposes were peaceful, butsometimes they were of a hostile character. This was the case whenCambyses, having resolved to carry out his father's plan of making aconquest of Egypt, demanded of Amasis, Egypt's king, his daughter inmarriage, hoping thereby to pick a quarrel. Amasis replied by sending,not his own daughter, but another damsel of his realm, who, unable orunwilling to keep the secret, divulged to Cambyses the deception thathad been practised upon him. The Persian king desired no better pretextfor war, and the marriage trick was avenged by Egypt's fall.

The wives of the kings sometimes exerted much influence in the realm,either for good or bad. Amestris, the only lawful wife of Xerxes, issaid to have been instrumental in the death of her husband by the handsof two of his chief men. Amestris was his own cousin. That sheinstigated this murder is not at all improbable, since there was ampleground for jealousy on her part because of the notorious gallantries ofXerxes. Indeed, the Hebrew Book of Esther draws a picture of thecorruptions of his court which in general outline is certainly true tothe facts.

Royal personages sometimes married their own sisters. This, however,was contrary to the ancient custom. Cambyses, who succeeded Cyrus uponthe throne, fell in love with Meroe, his youngest sister, and wished tomarry her. Not wishing to fly in the face of the custom of the Persians,he called together the judges of the empire and inquired of them whetherthere might not be a law which allowed the marriage of brother andsister. The judges informed him that there was no such law among thePersians, but that there was a law allowing the king to do whatever hepleased. Disgusted and enraged, the king ordered his sister to be put todeath; so that if marriage with her was prohibited to him, it might notbe possible to a lesser man. This was no surprise, however, to a peoplewho had known of the cruelties of this tyrant, whose own brother Smerdishad been brutally executed at his command. Cambyses having died of aself-inflicted wound, his successor, known as the Pseudo-Smerdis, orGomates, married all his predecessor's wives--a common custom amongOriental monarchs; for the harem might easily be regarded as a part ofthe spoils of conquest, or of the inheritance, as the case might be.Gomates kept his numerous wives confined in separate apartments, for theintrigues of the seraglio were the bane of the Persian as of the otherOriental dynasties.

When Darius I. came into possession of the Persian throne he proceededto add dignity to his kingly claims by marrying Atossa, daughter ofCyrus, who had already been successively the wife of her brotherCambyses and of the false claimant Smerdis. Such political andincestuous marriages became quite common in Persia. One might marry notonly a sister, but a daughter, and even a mother. At the instigation ofParysatis, Artaxerxes II., her son, married his own daughter.

Atossa figures in an interesting story, which may, however, lackhistoric truthfulness. Democedes, a physician of Crotona, had healed theinjured foot of Darius, and was now called upon to visit Atossa in anillness. Democedes, anxious to return to his native land, sees hisopportunity. Atossa, healed of her malady, is induced to appear beforeDarius and reproach him for idly sitting still and not extending thePersian dominion. "A man who is young," said she, "and lord of vastkingdoms should do some great thing, that the Persians may know it is aman who rules over them." Darius replied that he was even then preparingan expedition against the Scythians. "Nay," answered his wife, "do notfight against the Scythians, for I have heard of the beauty of the womenof Hellas and desire to have Athenian and Spartan maidens among myslaves, and thou hast here one who above all men can show thee how thoumayest do this--I mean he who hath healed thy foot." Atossa prevailed.But the expedition was only a reconnoitring party sent out in ships toGreece and Italy. Democedes reached his home, and sent Darius word thathe could not return, because he had married the daughter of Milon thewrestler; but the expedition met only with disaster.

That Persian women of royalty often took no inconsiderable part inpolitical and military activity is illustrated by many examples from thedays of Persia's strength. Xenophon has immortalized the zeal ofParysatis in her efforts at placing her son Cyrus, the younger, upon thethrone, and her plottings in his behalf against his elder brotherArtaxerxes. Parysatis failed, but won no small power even in herunsuccessful efforts.

Alexander the Great, on his Eastern campaign, seemed as willing tomarry the daughters of conquered princes of the East as to be worshippedas a god by his obedient followers. Indeed, he would frequently giverespite to a strenuous life of conquest by marrying an Oriental woman.While Alexander was engaged in his Phoenician campaign, Darius wroteAlexander a letter offering him not only all lands west of the EuphratesRiver, but also his own daughter, Statira, as the price of peace. It wason this occasion that the famous dialogue between Alexander and hisgeneral Parmenion occurred. The latter had advised that the offer ofDarius be accepted and no further risk of battle be undertaken. "Were IAlexander," said Parmenion, "I should take these terms." "So should I,if I were Parmenion," said Alexander; "but as I am not Parmenion, butAlexander, I cannot." Accordingly, he wrote to Darius in reply to hisoffer: "You offer me a part of your possession, when I am lord of all;and if I choose to marry your daughter, I shall do so whether you giveconsent or not." Events justified Alexander's boast, for both theterritory and the daughter fell into the hands of the Macedonian victor.It was not, however, till the conqueror reached the palace city of Susa,on his return from India, that he celebrated his marriage with Statira,a daughter of Darius and Parysatis, who herself was daughter of Ochus,predecessor of Darius. Alexander wished to encourage such unions withPersian women, and went so far as to offer to his soldiers a fullpayment of all debts to those who would take to themselves Persianwives--an argument which appealed powerfully to the extravagantspendthrifts, but was of little force with the sober and provident ofhis followers. Many of the former availed themselves of their general'soffer and followed his illustrious example. Ten thousand soldiersreceived presents for marrying Eastern wives, and at least eighty ofAlexander's courtiers celebrated their marriage to Persian wives whileat Susa.

The intermarriage of Greeks with Persian women was desired by Alexanderas one means of welding together the Greeks and the Persians into oneunited empire. In the opinion of the Greeks, however, a union betweenthe sons of Hellas and the daughters of the East could not be regardedas a regular marriage; and yet, Roxana, the Bactrian, was exalted to beAlexander's queen. The spirit of the East, however, conquered theconquerors, and polygamy was introduced among the Greek invaders,Alexander himself having married three wives of the East, Roxana,Statira, and Parysatis. The most noteworthy matrimonial coup ofAlexander during his Eastern conquest was, of course, that with Roxana.Her son, born after Alexander's death, and called by the name of hisfather, laid claim to the title of "the great king"; but Alexander'sEastern plans, so far as they looked toward a universal empire, meltedaway in the early morning of their conception.

After the decline of the Græco-Persian power and the rise of Parthiansupremacy, we enter a new epoch in Persian history. The Parthians hadlong been a rude, nomadic people. Their women were uncultured, andplayed little part, except in a physical way, in the new era that dawnedupon the land of proud Persia. The Parthian women were, however, sturdy,self-sacrificing, and brave, adapted well to the dashing character ofthe Parthian warrior, whose tactics in battle struck terror to thestoutest hearts, even among the brave Greeks and the well-nighinvincible Romans.

Following the downfall of the Parthians comes, under Ardeshir, the riseof the Sassanian dynasty, which many suppose to be a revival of the onceglorious line of Achæmenian kings. It was not long before woman began tofigure prominently in the new history. Sapor I., son of Ardeshir, or theSassanian Artaxerxes, as he is called, finding difficulty in bringingthe province of Hatra under his sway, receives an overture from thedaughter of Manizen, the ruler of Hatra, an ambitious youngwoman,--without moral scruples,--with intimation that if she were madeQueen of Persia she would promise to betray her father's forces intoSapor's hands. The compact was faithfully carried out by the damsel; butSapor, when he came into possession of Hatra, ordered the traitress tobe put to death, instead of marrying her, for Sapor not unnaturally feltthat he could not be safe on his throne with such a wife. It was duringthe reign of Sapor that a new element was injected into Persian socialand religious life which was destined somewhat later to influence almostevery home in Persia. This was the rise of Manicheism, named for itsfounder Manes.

This was a new form of Christianity--a syncretic faith into whichentered a little of Zoroastrianism, somewhat of Judaism, a modicum ofBuddhism, and some Christianity. Manes's teachings seemed so plausiblethat many were swept away by them; they appeared to be destined to shakethe older faiths from their foundations, and they changed many of thecustoms as well as portions of the worship of the people. Manes was azealous patron of the decorative arts. The art of weaving carpets ofsilk and of wool, which has given employment to so many female fingersfrom that day to this, and the fine embroideries which have made Persiafamous are to be attributed in no small degree to the influence ofManes.

The lives of the women of the Sassanidæ were not always to be envied.The story, though it may have changed form and color somewhat bytransmission, is not an improbable one which tells of King Varahran'sanger at his queen. One day, seated with her in an open pavilionoverlooking the plain, he saw two wild asses approaching. With his bowthe strong man, skilled in the chase, transfixed both of the animalswith one well-aimed shot. Turning to his spouse to receive the applausehe thought due him, the wife replied: "Practice makes perfect." Angeredat the lightness with which his skilful feat was received, he orderedher to be executed, but quickly repented, and simply divorced her fromthe palace. In quiet moments, he repented of his haste. For years, hehad no trace of the former queen, but when hunting one day he beheld ascene which quickly excited his curiosity and admiration. It was a womancarrying upon her shoulders a cow, with which, indeed, she easily walkedup and down the stairs of the country house. On asking her concerningthe remarkable feat, she replied, as she dropped her veil: "Practicemakes perfect." The king recognized his wife, now no longer young, butstill possessing physical charms, and invited her to take her placeagain in the palace. The woman had commenced to carry the cow when itwas but a tiny calf, and had shrewdly planned the feat in the hope thatsome day she might win back her husband's respect. It has been suggestedthat cows are small in Persia, as is indeed the case, but more probablysome small animal, such as a goat or a gazelle, first figured in thestory.

Persian kings of the house of Sassan intermarried frequently withTurkish women, and one of the best known of this dynasty, Hormisda, hada Turkish mother. It was he who won the mortal enmity of one of Persia'sgreatest generals by sending to the veteran a distaff, together with awoman's costume, suggesting that he give up the art of war for that ofspinning. The suggestion cost the king his sceptre. The soldiery,however, raised to the throne his son, the many-sided Chosroes Parveez,whose name stands out prominently not only as a foster-father of thearts among the people, but as preëminent in a long line of Persian kingsbecause of his unswerving love for his wife Shirin all through his longand, in some respects, most honorable reign. His harem, however, was oneof the most extensive in all Persian annals.

Modern Persia has, of course, lost much of the grandeur of the days ofMandane or of the mother of Xerxes. Persia, being an inland as well as amountainous country, with scarcely any railway facilities in the entirecountry, and no navigable waterways, has been very little influenced bymodern ideas or customs. As there are many tribes and nationalities inthe land, and many different religions as well, many differences arefound in manners, customs, and even in language. Each nationality andeach sect continues distinct from the other. Broad differences haveengendered social distinctions and sometimes enmity and strife.

No single statement as to the relation of the sexes in Persia will applyto all the peoples of the country. The large majority of the peoplebeing Mohammedans, the customs are very similar to those of all othercountries where Islam rules. Among the Nestorian Christians and theCatholic Christians women are unveiled and free to come and go. Amongthe so-called "Fire Worshippers" of the Monsul mountains, men and womenassociate in their great feasts, and the sexes dance and sing together.The laws of the people fix the number of wives at not more than six,and, of course, the girl may not choose her husband; but is sold by herparents, though she may remain single by paying through hard labor a sumto the father for the privilege of remaining under the parental roof.Among the Parsees, the modern followers of Zoroaster, who number abouttwenty-five thousand, woman is given a better opportunity for educationthan among the Mohammedans. Obedience to her husband is, of course, herfirst duty; and married life is looked upon as specially blessed, andrich Parsees are known to aid in a pecuniary way those who aremarriageable, but lack the material means to make them happy. Polygamyis prohibited among the Parsees, except that after nine years ofsterility, a wife may expect another woman to share the home of herhusband. Divorces are forbidden, and wives have comparative freedom. Thewealthier Persians, generally found in the towns, reside in largedwellings having several apartments. The masses of the people, however,live poorly in mud houses or huts from thirty to forty feet square, withone room and a single door.

Woman's work in Persia, as generally in the East, is multiform as wellas menial. The women, of course, do the baking. They use yeast in themaking of their bread. Having kneaded the dough, they set it aside torise, after which they divide the mass into small parts, and with arolling-pin they roll these pieces of dough very thin, and sometimes tothe size of two feet in length by a foot in width, and then stick themto the side of the oven. The latter is a cylindrical hole in the ground,lined with clay and located near the centre of the house. It is aboutfour feet deep, and approximately two and a half feet in diameter. Thewomen make fire in this oven but once a day. The wife bakes once ortwice a week, if the family be small, but if large, every day or everyother day. This oven, whose top is even with the floor, is also theplace around which in cool weather the family gather upon mats to keepthemselves warm. The fuel is not wood, which is very scarce, but manure.At first both the smoke and the odor are very perceptible, but when oncethe fire is burning freely, the impurities of the fuel are drawn upthrough an opening in the roof, a window, just above the oven. Out ofthis window, which remains open day and night, the smoke is supposed togo, as indeed it will, if ample time be given. The Persian housewife isthus enabled to keep her house ventilated, but its walls and ceilingssoon become very black with soot. In rainy weather the good housewifemust place a pan or other receptacle immediately under the window--forthis opening in the ceiling is both the avenue for light and forventilation, hence must not be closed. If a woman wishes to know herneighbor's business, she will creep upon the top of her neighbor'sroof--for houses are very often close together, and eavesdrop throughthe open window.

Weaving is done both by women and by men. The weaving and spinningapparatus, as well as the crude cotton-gins, are in the same room wherethe family eats, sleeps, cooks, and converses. As a rule, the men weavethe light goods, such as cotton fabrics, while the women make thecarpets, rugs, and the like. The women are the spinsters, and, withuntiring energy, they rise early and spin all day. It is said that awoman of ordinary skill can spin a pound of cotton a day, provided sheworks very hard. For this she receives, if done for another, abouttwenty cents.

The women do the milking. In fact, it is regarded as beneath the dignityof a man to milk, if not as a positive disgrace. The women milk cows,buffaloes, sheep, and goats. Butter is made from buffalo milk, which isgiven by the animals in large quantities and is exceedingly white. Sinceclabber is more highly prized than fresh milk, the housewife, as soon asshe has finished her morning's milking,--they milk twice a day,--heatsthe fresh milk almost to boiling, allows it to cool a little, and thenadds a table-spoonful of sour milk. Speedily the whole begins tocoagulate, and the next morning, with the addition of syrup, it formsthe customary breakfast. The good housewife finds it indispensable tokeep a little sour milk at hand in order to hasten the coagulation.Women residing in towns do their churning in earthen vessels orpitchers, called meta, always using sour milk. Among the nomadicpeople of the country sheepskins are used for this purpose. Thesesheepskin churns are filled, and suspended by means of cords from awooden frame. The churn is thus shaken back and forth by the women tillthe butter comes. If butter in excess of the immediate need isproduced,--and the poorer classes use it sparingly,--it is convertedinto oil, which keeps its quality for a year or two and is much used forcooking.

The women are also the millers, braying the corn in mortars inprimitive fashion, or beating it to meal upon a flat stone with a stonehammer, or, in some advanced households, grinding it in hand mills. Itrequires two or three women to use a hand mill, which consists of twohuge round stones, one revolving upon the other. Two or more women willtake hold of a handle attached to the upper stone and turn, whileanother pours the grain, from an earthen jar, through a hole in theupper millstone. As only a little wheat can be ground at a time, itrequires much patience, and the men generally give over the labor to thewomen.

Harvesting is also done by the women. The season between June and Augustof each year is therefore peculiarly severe upon them. Their domesticduties must be finished soon after sunrise; then, with their sickles,they start out from the villages to the harvest fields, a mile or twodistant. One may often see the baby in its tiny cradle flung across theshoulder of the mother on her way to the day's labor. She puts thecradle down in the shade in view of the reapers, and performs her dailytask in the broiling sun. While the women reap, the men gather thebundles and bind them for the threshing floor. At the close of the day,homeward they trudge, tired and soiled by the day's work; the motherscarrying their little ones back to their homes, where the domesticduties of evening are to be performed before comes the opportunity forrest. When grain harvest is over, the vineyards are to be gleaned, andthe women are to do most of the work of picking the ripe, lusciousbranches of grapes, filling the huge baskets and carrying them to theplace where the fruit is to be spread out to be dried. In fifteen ortwenty days the grapes have become raisins, and they are again taken upand piled away, ready for the market. Wine and molasses are also madefrom grapes, the work being largely the task of the women.

Just as Persia has its Ruths gleaning in the fields, so also Rebekahwith her water pot may be seen daily. In lieu of modern buckets, thePersians are content to have their women take large earthen jars,morning and night, to the public wells, springs, or streams outside thevillage. There the women fill their pots, lift them first to the hips,then to the back or shoulder, and trudge home with their burden,chatting happily as they go, and becoming straight and strong by themuscular exercise involved. Eight or ten trips may be necessary beforeeach woman has filled all her jars, and so procured the necessary amountof water for the daily use.

There is a saying in Persia: "When cousins marry they are never happy."And yet, as a rule, marriages are within the religious sects. If aChristian--Christians in Persia are of the ancient Nestorianfaith--should marry a Mohammedan woman, he would be compelled torenounce his religion for the Mohammedan, as the ruling class would notallow it to be otherwise. Christian parents, on the other hand, wouldnot give their consent to the union of their daughter with a worshipperof Islam. Occasionally, however, attractive Nestorian girls are capturedand carried off, and compelled to accept the Mohammedan religion, andmarried to a Persian or a Turk. Generally, girls marry within their ownvillages, since each neighborhood is, as a rule, a communityuninfluenced and unvisited by people from other communities. Persia isno exception to the ordinary Oriental rule, that marriage contracts aremade by the parents--the children accepting with unquestioning obediencethe conditions that have been prepared for them.

A young man, being where isolation of the sexes does not prevail, may,however, and often does, show unmistakably his preference for the girlof his liking; and since the communities are often small, isolatedmarriages of those who have known and loved one another from infancy arenot infrequent. The wise parent finds out if the two young people arereally in love, though both will often vehemently deny what is plainlytrue, and tries to arrange matters in accordance with the eternalfitness of things. The girl in question, however, is never consulted inthe matter. All girls are supposed to marry, and a youth who remainslong single is considered of all creatures the most miserable. As isgeneral throughout the East, Persian girls are ready for conjugal lifeat twelve years of age, certainly at the age of fifteen. Betrothal oftentakes place as early as infancy. Parents will sometimes undertake tocement, or at least to express, their strong friendship by engagingtheir infants, one to another. These two, growing up with theunderstanding that they are finally to be husband and wife, often becomeardent lovers, and the match is a happy one.

When a young man has become of age, which in many cases is very early inlife, especially among the rich classes, the parents will send two orthree male friends to act as mediators, who will go to the house of thegirl in question and ask her parents for her hand. After somedeliberation, with apparently great reluctance, the request is granted.To seal the contract, one of the mediators rises and kisses the hand ofthe father. The contracting parties return to their homes and reporttheir success to the parents of the young man. In accordance with theaffirmative report, his parents, within a few days, meet the parents ofthe girl and conclude the arrangements for the wedding.

The first in the order of preparation is the buying of the weddingclothes for the bride; for these the father of the prospectivebridegroom pays. The father must make presents to the members of thegirl's family and to her friends. The chief officers of the town mustalso be remembered. After this the parties make ready for the marriage.While the bride is engaged in preparing for the wedding, there arefeasts and revels at the houses of both the bride and the groom.Provision for these sumptuous feasts is made by the groom's father. Thisfeasting lasts from three to six days. The predominating features in itare music and dancing, in a style peculiar to Persian life and custom.Mirthful song is provided by professional singers, to the great delightof those present. After two or three days of incessant preparation onthe part of the girl, and of festivity on the part of the ever mirthfulguests, the men and the boys, following a leader, go to bring the bridehome. As soon as the gay company has arrived, a feast is in readinessfor them. A dance in the house or in the yard follows. Meantime, thebride is being prepared to take her journey to her future home. At lastit is announced that she is ready, and the musicians play a dolefultune, while the girl kisses her parents good-bye; and bidding adieu toall the friends of her childhood, she is soon mounted on the horse whichis to carry her. At that moment the musicians change their mournful tuneto one more lively, and off the whole company marches with the bride toher destination. At the arrival of the bride, which is reported by ayoung man, all the people of the community emerge from their huts andcome out to witness the festive scene. After some ceremony, the bridedismounts before the house of the most prominent man in the town, intowhich she is escorted, and there she is received and entertained withhonor.

That night again the town in general enjoys hilarious feasting andmirth, especially in the house of the groom. The next day the musiciansgo to the different parts of the town where the guests are beingentertained, and summon them to the enjoyment of another feast. As soonas this is over, they accompany the groom, led by the music and dancers,to the place where the bride is being entertained; and thence, if theybe Catholic Christians, they at once proceed to the church, where thepriest performs the marriage rite. The husband and wife are now ready tobe escorted to their future home, which is the birthplace of the groom.The rest of that day is spent in conversation and feasting. The femalefriends of the groom look, for the first time, upon the unveiled bride;and they examine the embroidered work, which the girl has made with herown hands, and which constitutes a part of the bridal equipment. The daybeing over, the friends depart and the bride and groom are launched ontheir new life.

The women of the Persian seraglio are more closely confined, ifpossible, than the women of the Hindoo or of the Turkish harems. Inancient days it was customary to put the women who entered the royalharem under a strict regimen or course of preparation. A glimpse of thispurifying process is given in the Hebrew Book of Esther, the author ofwhich shows minute acquaintance with Persian life and customs. "Now whenevery maid's turn was come, ... after that she had been twelve months,according to the manner of the women (for so were the days of theirpurification accomplished, to wit: six months with oil of myrrh, and sixmonths with sweet odors, and with other things for the purifying of thewomen), then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever shedesired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women untothe king's house."

The custom of strict seclusion and oversight of the women, introducedby the ancient kings to guard better a pure lineage and to exhibitgreater state, has had large influence in Persia, except among thenomadic peoples. The arrangements of the house for obtaining privacy forwomen are usually the same throughout the land. The first apartment ofthe house is for the use of men; the second or interior apartment,called the "anteroom," is for the women, and no men are allowed tointrude into the "harem" or "forbidden place"; else the voice of theeunuchs, or guardians, will be quickly heard crying out: "Women--away,"and every face in the harem will be at once veiled from the sight of theintruder.

"I am a woman" is frequently given and regarded as an ample reason why amodern Persian girl need not learn to read. Every city or town has itsschool for boys, but there are no schools for girls (unless they bemission schools), since it is commonly believed that it is a prudentpolicy to keep the female sex satisfied with their present position inthe economy of life. The wealthier parents may, however, sometimesemploy private tutors for their girls. The deep-seated line that marks awoman as different from a man appears even in the method of capitalpunishment meted out to women. While a man who is to be executed willhave his jugular vein cut, be nailed to a wall, or be blown from acannon's mouth, a woman will be sentenced to have her head shaved, herface blackened, to take a bareback ride upon a donkey along the publichighway, and finally to be beaten to death in a bag. Or she may bestripped of all clothing and placed in a bag full of cats, which willsoon scratch or bite the unfortunate victim to death.

Domestic peace does not always hover like a white dove over Persianhomes. Even among the Nestorians, the ancient Christian sect, it is verycommon for the husband to assert his lordship over his spouse by givingher an occasional flogging. The women expect this as one of theconditions of their position. The failure of this method of emphasizingthe husband's authority, however, would appear from the testimony that"the number of women who revere their husbands is as small as the listof husbands who do not beat their wives."

In this land of the ancient Magi it is not strange that there should bemany superstitions connected with marriages and engagements. Sometimesit is manifest that the husband does not love his wife. If this be thecase, the wife or her mother may consult a magician. He will write forher a charm. This is to be sewed into some designated part of her dailyapparel; a like charm is prepared for direct effect upon the husband,and this must be secretly sewed into his clothing. The hoped-for resultof these charms is the renewal of conjugal affection. Another charm,which is highly regarded, directs the wife to cut off a few hairs fromboth her own and her husband's head, to burn them together and fromtheir ashes make a potion which the husband is to be caused,clandestinely, to drink. Some magicians will direct that the loveprescription be placed under the hinge of the door of the house, so thatas the door is constantly opened and shut, the husband's love will asconstantly grow toward his spouse. Sterility is uniformly regarded as amisfortune, if not a curse. Incantations and charms are frequentlyemployed to induce fecundity. The Persian women and Orientals generallyhave innumerable superstitions. For example, when a hen is heard tocrow, it is regarded either as a good or a bad omen. To ascertainexactly which it may be, the crowing hen is blindfolded and carried tothe top of the flat roof. She is then dropped through the open windowinto the centre of the room below. If the hen turns toward the corner ofthe house, it is considered a good omen, and all is well. If on theother hand, she starts toward the door, it is regarded as portendingevil, and the hen is killed at once. This odd custom suggests another,somewhat similar, once in vogue in Persia. Suppose a woman has lost apiece of money, and she suspects that some disloyal neighbor, she doesnot know whom, has taken it. To prevent a public trial and to spare theinnocent the disgrace that may come upon those wrongly suspected, allthe neighbors agree that at a certain time every man and woman of thevicinage shall go, one after the other, to the dwelling from which themoney was stolen, and in passing, each person shall throw a handful ofdirt into the window of the person whose money has been lost. One goesand returns to his own house, and then another, till all have thrown ina handful. When the last one has deposited the dirt he has brought, theowner goes in and finds in the midst of the total deposit the losttreasure; for the guilty party, fearing that he will at length bedetected and suffer punishment, and knowing that he cannot be detectedif he throws the money down into the house along with his handful ofdirt, avails himself of this means of escape from the charge which hefears.

There are no women who have a harder, and apparently a happier, lifethan do the women of the Kurds. The men of the tribe deny that women arepossessed of souls. A woman must not, therefore, be present where a manis at prayer. If she should touch him while performing this hallowedduty, it is thought that she might get the benefit of the prayer.Indeed, it is believed that if she touch him, she obtains his soul.Should a woman be seen approaching, the man at prayer may rise, go outfrom the prayer circle, take his gun and shoot the woman, and thenpiously return to his devotions.

The Kurdish women are very dark in complexion and picturesque in theirapparel. They use paints and other cosmetics in abundance, to please theeye of their husbands. Their day of toil is a long one, for, afterfinishing their household duties, they are expected to hasten to thefields to tend the flocks, or to gather fuel for the winter. At nightthey return with large packs upon their shoulders, enough for twodonkeys to carry. They may be seen spinning and singing on their way toand fro, as though their lot were the happiest in the world. Littlethinking of the ordinary ailments of women, they trudge along over thefields or the mountain heights; and frequently a Kurdish woman may beseen returning home in the evening, happy, with her huge bundle ofsticks for the fire, and with the infant to which she has given birthduring the day! A Kurd usually thinks more of his steed than of hiswife, who may sometimes be compelled to vacate her place in the dwellingto make room for the horse.

Any account of Persian women is incomplete without some reference towoman in the native poetry of the Persians. No poetry of the East hasbeen so generally admired, translated, and read as the Persian. In itwoman finds a large place. And yet, it cannot be said that she ispresented always in the light of the brightest ideals of virtuouswomanhood.

The Persian poet Hafiz is said once to have been asked by thephilosopher Zenda what he was good for, and he replied: "Of what use isa flower?" "A flower is good to smell," said the philosopher. "And I amgood to smell it," said the poet. Too often woman is shown as theplaything of man's passion and fancy. Yet the virtue of heroic womanhoodin the early days is presented with great force and beauty.

The Persian poets, in the treatment of love, leave little place forreflection, still less for practical considerations. It is spontaneouslove, "love at first sight," which they deem alone worthy of their song."Love at first sight and of the most enthusiastic kind is the passiondescribed in all Persian poems, as if a whole life of love werecondensed into one moment. It is all wild and rapturous; it has nothingof the rational cast. A casual glance from an unknown beauty oftenaffords the subject of a poem." These words well sum up the Persianpoets' most common attitude toward love and the female graces. Thefollowing lines written concerning the beauty of the daughter of GurengKing of Zabulistan, are typical:

These words, too, were said of a damsel who had won fame as a warrior inher father's army, and her skill, valor, and judgment had made enemiesfall at her feet. Indeed, one of the most romantic portions of theShahnamah of Firdausi are the passages describing the meeting of thegallant King Jamshid with the beautiful daughter of Gureng, whose fatherhad given her permission to marry, provided only it should bespontaneous love which should guide her in the choice:

One day, as by chance, the handsome young King Jamshid arrived at thecity, a fatigued stranger, and was not permitted by the keepers to passthrough King Gureng's rose garden. Weary, Jamshid sat down at the gate,under a shade tree. The damsel sees him, and at once falls in love withhis manly form and demeanor. She brings him wine, by which he may berefreshed, and pours out her tender soul to him. Presently a dove andhis cooing mate alight upon a bough above their heads. The damsel askswhich of the birds her bow and arrow must bring to the ground. Jamshidreplies: "Where a man is, a woman's aid is not required; give me thebow."

Blushing, the girl gives over the weapon, and Jamshid says: "Now for thewager. If I hit the female, shall the lady whom I most admire in thiscompany be mine?" The damsel, her heart bounding with throbs of love,assents. Jamshid drew the string and struck the female bird so skilfullythat both wings were transfixed with the body. The male bird flew away,but presently returned and perched itself again upon the bough as ifunwilling to leave its stricken mate. The damsel grasped the bow andarrow, and said: "The male bird has returned to his former place; if myaim be successful shall the man whom I choose in this company be myhusband?"

Just then the aged nurse of the princess appears, and recognizes in KingJamshid him whom the oracles had predicted would be the young girl'sspouse.

They are married. And the story of her father's displeasure and of histreachery toward Jamshid, the latter's betrayal and death, the youngwife's inconsolable grief and sad self-slaughter move before the readerin a most thrilling fashion. This Persian poem, setting forth theromantic side of female character, is one of the greatest pieces ofliterature ever written.

The Persian romances delight in making the women do most of the lovingand the courting. The heroines are the first to feel passion and themost rapturous in expressing it. They, however, like Saiawush in theShahnamah, are fond of coyness until they have determined to yield tothe force of love. But when the love of a Persian woman has once goneout, the Persian poets usually depict it as strong and steadfast to theend. It speaks like that of Manijeh, the unfortunate Byzun:

Even the best poets, such as Firdausi, who was called the "poet ofParadise," Persia's great national poet, often present woman's charms inlines highly overdrawn. Such these are concerning the Princess Rudabah:

Khakani, considered the most learned of Persia's lyric poets, wrote somebeautiful verses in which womanly charms find place. Such is his poemThe Unknown Beauty, in which occur the lines:

The great price placed upon womanly beauty is clearly discerned in suchwriters as Sadi, who died about A. D. 1292. In his Gulistan, or "RoseGarden," he tells the story of a doctor of laws who had a daughter. Shewas so extremely ugly that she reached the age of womanhood long beforeanyone wished her in marriage, although her fortune and dowry werelarge--for "Damask or brocade but add to deformity, when put upon abride void of symmetry," says Sadi. Finally, to avoid perpetualmaidenhood, the girl was given in wedlock to a blind man. Very soon aphysician who could restore sight to the blind happened to come thatway. "Why do you not get him to prescribe for your son-in-law?" thefather was asked. "Because," said he, "I am afraid he may recover hissight and repudiate my daughter--for the husband of an ugly woman oughtto be blind."

Few poets have written more of love and womanly grace than did Hafiz,who died in A. D. 1388. In the Diwan, which has been compared to astory of pearls, Hafiz says:

A story is told of Hafiz and Tamerlane, which is doubtless apocryphal.Coming upon the poet one day, Tamerlane said: "Art thou not the insolentversemonger who didst offer my two great cities Samarkand and Bokharafor the black mole upon thy lady's cheek?" "It is true," replied Hafiz,with much calmness; "and indeed, my munificence has been so greatthroughout my life that it has left me destitute; so, hereafter I shallbe dependent on thy generosity for a livelihood." This apt reply ofHafiz is said to have so pleased the conqueror that he sent the poetaway with a present.

It may be said, as a rule, that the Persian poets emphasize almostexclusively woman's physical charms. "Women, wine, and song" are, intruth, the chief burden of the poems. The sensuous side of love is mostfrequently disclosed. There are, however, some exceptions to thisgeneral rule, as may be discovered in passages from the writings ofJami. While it is the beauty of the unmarried woman which mostfrequently and most naturally holds place in Persian song, yet themarried life is not forgotten. Firdausi, in his account of the beautifulRudabah, says of wedlock:

And Firdausi makes Kitabun say:

Examples of the recognition of love that is deep and full of meaning arenot wanting among the Persian poets.

Nizami, Persia's first great romantic poet, who lived in the twelfthcentury of our era, wrote nothing better than his romance of Bedouinlove, the story of Laili and Majnun, which has been happily termed theRomeo and Juliet of the East. "France," says a recent writer, "has itsAbelard and Eloise, Italy its Petrarch and Laura, Persia and Arabia havetheir pure pathetic romance." Many see in the story of Laili and Majnunan allegorical or spiritual interpretation. At least, it illustrates thestress which the Persian poets put upon a true, undying devotion, andthe Orientals consider it the very personification of faithful love.

The higher ideals are often found in the dramatic literature. Manyconsider Jami's celebrated Yusuf and Zulaikha, a dramatic poemmodelled after Firdausi, to be the finest poem in the Persian language.Sir William Jones pronounces it "the finest poem he ever read." It givesaccount of Yusuf--the Israelite Joseph--and Zulaikha, Potiphar's wife.In this is disclosed how the human soul attains the love for the highestbeauty and goodness only when it has suffered and has been thoroughlyregenerated, purified, as was the life of Zulaikha. The poet, seeing theemptiness of mere beauty, reaches the inevitable conclusion that

The Dabistan was first brought to public notice by that enthusiasticOrientalist of more than a century ago--Sir William Jones. In it thereis a dissertation on the "Hundred Gates of Paradise," in which occurdirections for entering the place of blessedness. Sons and daughters areto be given in early marriage. Milk must be given to a child as soon asthe mother gives it birth. Directions are given to women in sickness andin childbearing. Implicit obedience to husbands is strictly enjoined,and warning is carefully given against the woman of unchaste life.

The Zend-Avesta, as well as the great body of Persian poetry, haspreserved much of the ancient life and flavor of Iran. There is scarcelyany feature in the literature of the religion of Zoroaster, which holdsa more emphatic place than that which enjoins purity of life. Domesticvirtues are accorded high place in these teachings. Says theZend-Avesta: "Purity is the best of all things; purity is the fairest ofall things, even as thou hast said, O righteous Zarathushtra,--Purityis, next to life, the greatest good." Zoroaster inquires of Ormuzd whichis the second best place, when earth feels most happy? To which Ormuzdmakes reply: "It is the place whereon one of the faithful erects a housewith a priest within, with cattle, with a wife and with children andgood herds within, and wherein afterward the cattle continue to thrive,virtue to thrive, fodder to thrive, the dog to thrive, the wife tothrive, the child to thrive, the fire to thrive, and every blessing oflife to thrive."

IX

THE WOMEN OF ARABIA

Woman's conservatism has already been referred to in these pages. Thereis probably no people in the world, certainly no branch of the widelyscattered Semitic family, among whom ancient ideals and customs havebeen more persistent than among the Arabians. Indeed, Arabia occupies aunique position in the world's history. From her territory thereprobably went out the different branches of the Semitic people, a partof the human family which is second to none in its influence upon thecourse of history. For one of its branches, the Assyro-Babylonian,probably developed the earliest civilization which has come down to us;another was the most powerful of all ancient faiths, the Hebrew, whiletwo other historic religions, the Christian and the Mohammedan, hadtheir origin in Semitic soil.

Arabia is truly a land of mystery; but for this very reason theinterest in her people is yet the keener. She has but few ancientmonuments written upon tablets of stone and hardened clay--in palacesand ancient temples--as have Egypt and Assyria. Her records are inlegend, story, tradition, and the persistent customs of her people. Withthe exception of the influence of the birth and the death of a culturewhich awakened the world and helped to scatter the Dark Ages, and of therise of Mohammed, there have been few changes in this remarkable land.

Two forces stand out as most potential in the shaping of the Arabwoman's character. These may be summed up in the words, the desert andthe cult; the latter being in some sense the product of the former. Tothese may possibly be added a third. That is the war spirit, withoutwhich the lord as well as the lady of the Arabian peninsula would havewritten out for themselves a far different, and perhaps a far lessromantic history. For there were those who, even like Khaled, spurn thelove of a noble maiden from his "pride of the passion of war." Even lovemaking, which holds an important place in Arabic literature, gives wayto what was regarded as the noblest of all occupations, the making ofwar.

Womanhood, in the so-called "time of ignorance,"--the days before Islamwrought so marked a change in the life of Arabia,--enjoyed a freedom andstrength which spoke of the open air and the far-stretching plains. Asshe followed the fortunes of her nomad chief, the woman was indeliblywriting her history. It is in religious ideals too that woman mustalways find the key to her standing and influence among any people.

Among the early Arabs the female idea held no small place in theirreligious beliefs and practices, and this is true of the early Semitesgenerally. This is specially noteworthy, however, as Robertson Smith haspointed out, in the olden Arabic cult. Gods and goddesses went in pairs,and the goddess was usually the more important divinity. The jinn, whichheld so conspicuous a place, were regarded as feminine. In the Minæanpantheon, Wadd and Nikrah, "Love" and "Hate," female divinities, playedan important rôle in the religious life of this branch of the Arabicpeople. Wherever the female divinity is prominent, woman enjoysconsiderable privilege and influence in religion, and this was true inancient Arabia.

The people believed in an inferior order of divine beings--emanations,secondary spirits--compared to angels by some Mussulman writers. Thesebeings were of the female sex and known as Benat Allah (daughters ofAllah). Mohammed in the Koran, however, strongly condemned this earlierbelief as not consonant with the unity of God, which is a doctrine soemphatically preached in the religion of Islam. Each tribe not only hadits Kahin, or "diviner" (Hebrew, Kohen, "priest"), but its Arrafa,or "sorceress."

Woman's sphere in the olden days of Arabia was no mean one. Arabic womenhave from time immemorial shown themselves, on occasion, to possess acourage and hardihood unsurpassed in history. Arabia has had herAmazons. In prehistoric times, armed heroines of invincible bravery haveleft their record in the myths of this ancient people. And in the daysof authentic history, women have fought valiantly to advance the causefor which their husbands and brothers waged war so fiercely.

The high place held by women in the ancient wars of Araby still survivesin the thrilling custom of having some courageous woman accompany anArab force into the battle. The maiden is mounted upon the back of ablackened camel, and placed in the front of the line as it makes itsonslaught upon the enemy. As the fighting men press forward to thebattle she sings verses of encouragement to her compatriots, and insultsare flung from her lips against the opposing force. It is around thisyoung woman and her camel that the fiercest battle rages. Should she beso unfortunate as to be killed or captured, the calamity is unspeakableand the rout utter. But should her friends be victorious, it is she whoheads the triumphal march.

As we might expect, the spirit of chivalry is not lacking in Arabicsong and story. In the romance of Antar, the story of the hero's lovefor Ibla, "fair as the full moon," and the account of her rescue,breathe the spirit of genuine romance. Antar does not hesitate to strikedown the man who has "failed in respect to Arab women." The ArabianNights, though in less degree, has also preserved to us evidences ofancient chivalry and romance.

Hagar, of whose sad life the Hebrew narratives give us record, thoughherself called an Egyptian woman, became ancestress of an Arab clan andplays some part in Arabian tradition. She was the ancestress of therestless, roving Ishmaelites--a typical Arabian tribe. Mohammed, inexplaining the preservation of an ancient idolatrous custom of visitingin religious pilgrimages the hills of Safa and Marwa, where once wereworshipped two idols, one representing a man and the other a woman,says, in the Koran, that it was between these two eminences that Hagarwandered, distracted, running from one to the other, till the angelshowed her the miraculous spring which saved her boy's life.

Indeed, the Arab legend says that when Hagar and Ishmael were drivenfrom Abraham's tent at Sarah's behest, she was conducted far into thedesert, at the place where Mecca now stands. When her provisions areexhausted, laying the boy down, she runs to and fro in despair. In histhirst and suffering, Ishmael strikes his head against the earth, and aspring of sparkling water gushes out. Some members of an Arab tribe,thirsty, and seeking their lost camels, come, guided by birds, to thespot, seeking to quench their thirst. Never having known water to springin that locality before, they received Hagar and Ishmael with especialreverence, and bade them take up their permanent abode with them, lestbecause of their departure the spring might dry up. To Ishmael was givenin marriage one of their maidens, Amara, daughter of Saïd. This is butone of the many instances of the overlapping of Hebraic and Arabiclegends.

Many are the stories told by the Arabs concerning the famous Queen ofSheba, who herself was an Arabian woman. She belonged to that southernbranch of the family known as the Sabeans. Her fame has gone into manylegends, both Arabic and Hebrew. Her visit to King Solomon of Israelfurnishes the basis of most of these. As a lover of wisdom, or thephilosophy of practical life, she was drawn to the ruler of the Hebrews,whose reputation had extended far and wide. Solomon proved especiallysuccessful in answering her favorite riddles and in untying for her themost knotty questions. Among the many Talmudic legends is thisinteresting one. The queen took groups of small boys and girls, dressedthem precisely alike, and demanded of Solomon that he distinguish theboys from the girls. The king commanded that they all wash their hands.The boys washed only to the wrists; the girls rolled up their sleevesand bathed to their elbows. Thus the secret was disclosed. TheMohammedan legends concerning this remarkable queen are full and minute.Having with her own hand slain the reigning king, she herself, being ofroyal lineage, was proclaimed queen, and "protectress of her sex." Shereigned with great wisdom and prudence, and administered justicethroughout her kingdom. According to these Arabian legends, the Queen ofSheba, who was called Balkis, became one of Solomon's wives, though heallowed her to continue her beneficent reign over her own people.

The women of old Arabia, the dames of the desert, were comparativelyfree, as their open-air life would naturally suggest. The Arabian poets,in drawing the ancient life, so portray it. In the romance of Antar,already mentioned, are found many delightful episodes, in which thewoman appears as the loving friend, partner, and counsellor of herhusband. These carry us back to the heroic age of Arabia. The customwhich permitted infanticide in case of female children seems in markedcontrast with the high place of woman in early Arabic literature. Thiscruel custom is the motive of one of the most attractive of the earlyromances, that of Khaled and Djaida. The latter, when a babe, that shemight not be known as a girl, was called by her mother by the nameDjonder, and given a prolonged feast such as is accorded only to boys attheir birth. About the same time, the chief of the tribe--and uncle toDjonder--had born to him a son, who was called Khaled. The cousins grewup, both learned in the arts of war, and both made for themselves namesfor their high courage. Djonder was taught to ride and to fight, asthough she were a man, and the very name of Djonder became a terror tohis foes. Khaled heard of his cousin's exploits and rushed to see him,that he might witness his skill at arms. But his father, being at enmitywith Zahir, his own brother and father of Djonder, would not permitKhaled to know Djonder. At length the desire of Khaled was realized. Hewas strangely enamored of his cousin, whom, however, he thought to be ayoung man like himself. Djonder, too, fell desperately in love with thevaliant Khaled. The latter chooses the field and war instead of love,however, and leaves Djonder in tears. Later, by the fortunes of war,they meet on the field of battle in single combat. Djonder has soconcealed her identity that Khaled does not know with whom he fights.After a long contest of marvellous prowess, neither is victor. Djonderreveals herself. The old love returns. It is Djonder now who resists theimportunity of Khaled's love. After testing him by several difficult anddangerous exploits, she becomes his wife.

Of music and poetry the Arabs from the most ancient days have beenpassionately fond. The nomad life tends to develop both poetry and song.The most ancient bards in all lands were wanderers. David, "the sweetsinger of Israel," was a shepherd lad. Hesiod heard the call of theMuses while leading his flock at Mount Helicon. Caedmon, England'searliest poet, was watching his herd when the call came to sing. TheArab bard sings freely of his camel, the antelope, the wild ass, thegazelle, of his sword, his bow and arrows, of wine, and, above all, ofhis ladylove.

In the famous literary collection known as the Muallakat, made byHammad about A. D. 777, seven of the best poems of the early Arabs arebrought together. Those that most fitly set forth the love of woman arethe poems of Imr-al-kais and Antar. Sa'id ibn Judi, the truerepresentative of Arabian knighthood, must not be forgotten as the poetmost loved by the fair sex. The flavor of these lyrics may be discoveredin the brief poem of Antar upon A Fair Lady, "whose glittering pearlsand ruby lips enslaved the poet's heart:

For variety of gifts and force of character there is no Arabian womanwho is comparable in fame to Zenobia. By birth she was a Palmyrene, andwithout doubt, of Arab blood. The descriptions of her personal beautytell of her black, flashing eyes, her pearly teeth, and the grace of herform and carriage. Her bodily strength and commanding manners gave herinfluence over all with whom she came in contact. As wife of Odenathus,King of Palmyra, she contributed much to her husband's success andpower. She was a woman of rare native qualities as well as ofextraordinary accomplishments. She was a linguist, being familiar withthe Coptic, the Syriac, and the Latin languages. She was skilled in thearts of war, and gifted with remarkable political insight and sagacity.After her husband's death she ruled as Queen of Palmyra, and personallyconducted successful conquests, causing the nations around to tremblebefore her; and even Rome itself found her no mean antagonist in arms.The high spirit of the queen would not permit her to account herself avassal even to the imperial city on the Tiber. She had won Egypt, Syria,Mesopotamia, and parts of Asia Minor to her sovereignty, but in thecontest with Rome she was defeated, though many Romans had joined herarmy. The battles of Antioch and Emesa were lost. Zenobia fled to thePersians, but was captured. Those near her were put to death, butZenobia graced the triumph of Aurelian, the victorious general who ledher into the Roman capital in A. D. 271. For years she resided there withgracious dignity and unconquered pride. She was essentially a woman ofaffairs and as queen was mistress of every situation, giving all toknow, "I am queen, and while I live I will reign." As wife she is saidto have declined to cohabit with her husband, except so far as wasnecessary to the raising up of an heir to the throne of Palmyra. Thebrilliancy of her court was scarcely ever surpassed by any queen, whileher personal charms and almost marvellous achievements rendered her oneof the most remarkable, if not the greatest woman of ancient times.

In the days of Mohammed a new influence is brought to bear upon Arablife, and therefore upon female character. Mohammed's relation to womanmight be of itself lengthened into an interesting chapter. Abdullah,Mohammed's father, was married to a woman of noble parentage, namedAminah. She was a woman of sensitive, nervous temperament, and her sondoubtless inherited from his mother qualities which made his subsequentreligious ecstasies both physically and mentally possible. Aminah isreported to have been miraculously free from the pangs of childbirthwhen her son first saw the light. For several months she nursed theinfant, but sorrow is said to have soon dried up the fountain of herbreast, and Halimah, a woman of marked fidelity to her charge, becameMohammed's foster-mother. A kahin, or sorcerer, is said once to havemet Halimah with the boy. "Kill this child," said he; "kill this child."But Halimah, snatching up the child, made away in haste. The sorcerersaw in the boy an enemy of the ancient idolatrous faith.

It was not till the rich widow of Mecca, Khadijah, came into Mohammed'slife that he began to make himself felt in the world. Wishing someone toattend to some business affairs for her, Khadijah secured Mohammed'sservices. So well did he execute his task that the rich widow becameenamored of the young man. She asked him for his hand. At twenty-fiveyears of age, Mohammed married the woman who was destined to influencehis life so powerfully, she being at least fifteen years his senior. Itwas not long before Mohammed turned his thoughts toward religion and sethimself to the task of reforming the religious ideas and practices ofhis people. With what result the world knows.

It is Mohammed's attitude toward woman and his teachings concerning herthat most concern us here. His love for Khadijah, his first wife, waspure and constant; and his mother he always honored with a most devotedspirit. It is with reference to Mohammed's personal bearing toward thefemale sex that he has received the most scathing criticisms. How manytimes he was married subsequently to his wedding with Khadijah is amatter of dispute; but there were probably no less than fourteen otherwives, besides the widow of Mecca. Since Mohammed allowed his faithfulfollowers but four wives, it was necessary to explain why he himselfshould have exceeded that meagre number. The prophet was ready with hisreply, that while men generally were to have no more than four, aspecial revelation to himself had given him the right to go beyond thatnumber.

Among those whom Mohammed espoused was his child wife Ayesha, who livedlong after the death of the prophet and took an active part in shapingthe political history of Islam immediately after Mohammed's demise. Shefostered a burning dislike toward Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, to whomthe prophet had given his daughter Fatima. Because of Ayesha's intriguesAli was unable to succeed Mohammed as kalif. Abubekr, Omar, and Othmanin turn held sway. But at length Ali was victorious, taking Ayesha aprisoner and becoming the fourth of the line of the kalifate. Ayesha inpersonal daring belonged to the heroic type of Arabian womanhood. In thebattle of the Camel, A. D. 656, she actually led the charge. Ali, likehis distinguished father-in-law, considered himself an exception to theordinary rule which accorded but four wives to the faithful, havingmarried eight others besides his loved Fatima.

Among the kalifs there was none whose court was more magnificent thanthat of Haroun al Raschid. So greatly did he dazzle the eyes of hisgeneration by his brilliancy, that his name became associated with manyromances. The account of the wives and favorites of Haroun borrow a halofrom their association with his illustrious name. The Thousand and OneNights are replete with the romantic adventures of the days of thisbrilliant kalif. But the actual life of the women of the Arabianpeninsula cannot be accurately gauged by the appearance they made in thestories of romantic adventure.

Mohammed's attitude to woman has, of course, been the decisive religiousinfluence in shaping the history of woman's life among the followers ofIslam since his day. The Mohammedans have a legend that when Adam andEve sinned, God commanded that their lives should be purified by boththe culprits standing naked in the river Jordan for forty days. Adamobeyed, and so became comparatively pure again; but Eve refused to bethus washed, and, of course, her standing before God has been relativelylower ever since.

The Mohammedan woman does not worship upon an equality with the man. Notthat the prophet positively forbade the female sex from publicattendance upon worship at the mosque, but he counselled that theyshould make their prayers in private. In some parts of the wideterritory under the prophet's power, neither women nor young boys areallowed to enter the mosque at the time of prayer. At other places womenmay come, but must place themselves apart from men, and always behindthem. "The Moslems are of the opinion," says Sale, "that the presence offemales inspired a different kind of devotion from that which isrequisite in a place dedicated to the worship of God," and adds thatvery few women among the Arabs in Egypt even pray at home.

The Koran has much to say of woman. One lengthy sura is taken upalmost entirely by this theme. The ancient doctrine of woman's creationfrom the man is accepted, and probably was derived from contact with theJews, the influence of which contact is marked throughout Mohammed'steachings. Honor "for the woman who has borne you" is frequently taught;justice and kindness toward female orphans is repeatedly enjoined. Womenshould be given freely their just dowries, and should not be omittedfrom the rights of inheritance; but a son may receive as much as twodaughters. The prohibited degrees for marriage are most carefully laiddown. Accusing a chaste woman of adultery is regarded as one of theseven grievous sins. The prophet counsels that husband and wife adjusttheir disputes amicably between themselves, "for a reconciliation isbetter than a separation." Thus one after another, in a manneraltogether lacking in order or in systematic treatment, Mohammed givesforth his commands concerning women. Matters of marriage, divorce,dower, chastity, and the like are frequently before the prophet's mind;but his precepts, while making concessions to human weakness, are farhigher than his example. The teachings of Mohammed, even at their best,placed woman on a distinctly lower plane than man, rendered her asubservient tool on the earth and painted a heaven where man'ssensuality was to be gratified to the limits of his capacity forenjoyment.

The Arabs, while sensual in their nature, have some strict lawsconcerning chastity. If a woman be guilty of lewdness, she is summarilyput to death by her nearest relative. Unless this be done the familywill lose all social recognition and civil rights. If it appears thatshe has been forced to the crime, the ravisher must flee or pay thepenalty with his life, or if not, the life of those next of kin is indanger. If the malefactor be caught at once he is slain by the relativesof the woman. If not he may escape death through negotiations by which"the price of blood" is paid for the woman as if she had been killed.Sometimes arrangements of marriage are effected, but even then "theprice of virginity" must be paid to the girl's parents.

The method by which a family purifies itself of the unchastity of adaughter is horrible enough. The family of the young woman assembles insome public place; the sheiks and leading men are present inconsiderable number. Some close relative stands with sword in hand, andsays: "My honor and that of my family shall be purified this day bymeans of this sword which I hold in my hands." The guilty woman is thenled out, laid upon the ground, and her head severed from her body at thehands of her father, brother, or some next of kin. The executioner thenwalks dignifiedly about the bleeding form three times, passing betweenthe head and the trunk of the body, saying at each circuit: "Lo! thusour honor is left unstained." All dip their handkerchiefs in the bloodof the culprit and take their leave, without any show of emotion. Thebody is left unburied, or is hacked to pieces by the woman's relativesand cast into a ditch.

Often, however, it is possible to save the young girl's life. Someonewho is sufficiently kindly disposed toward her steps forward at thecritical moment when she is being led forth to death and intercedes tosave her life. This protector approaches the girl and says to her: "Wiltthou repent of thy fall? If so, I will defend thee." She repliesaffirmatively: "I will give thee the right to cut my throat if I committhis crime again." The man is then required to strip off his clothing inthe presence of the multitude, declare that he has never seen this womancommit any crime, that it must therefore be the power of an evil spiritthat took possession of her; "I therefore redeem her," says he. Then thewhole scene changes from one of tragic solemnity to one of intense joy.The girl returns to the bosom of her family, reinstated; and no onethereafter has the right to cast any reflections upon her past life.

Pierrotti, in his Customs and Traditions of Palestine, tells of ascene witnessed by him when architect-engineer to Surraya Pasha, ofJerusalem. During a visit to Hebron in company with some Armeniangentlemen, he found the whole community stirred. A youth of eighteen hadmet in the fields a girl of fifteen, who was betrothed, and had tried tokiss her without her consent. She told her parents of the young man'smisconduct. The families belonged to different clans or districts, andso were enemies. Efforts on the part of the boy's parents, through thesheiks of the two communities, were unavailing, though the fatherentreated earnestly for his son, and even promised to give up all he hadas a ransom for his life. The girl's father demanded the boy's blood aspropitiation for the wrong. And so, in the presence of an assembledcrowd, the parent drew his sword and struck off his child's head,without a tear, saying: "Thus wipe I away every stain from my family."Overcome, he then instantly swooned away. His friends restored him tolife, but his reason had fled. A clan war at once commenced, and thosewho had demanded the youth's destruction were slain in the strife.

Concerning the slaying of a woman, there are certain customs whichsound strange to the Western ear, but are in keeping with the generallaw of "the price of blood" which prevailed among the ancient Hebrews,though in a somewhat modified form. If a man should be so unfortunate asto kill a woman, the members of the family that is wronged seek revenge,just as is the case should a man be slain, but "the price of blood" isnever so high in case of the woman, it being about two thousandpiastres, or about eighty dollars. This sum goes largely to therelatives of the woman. If the woman be married, the husband's damage ismeasured at eight hundred piastres and a silk dress. Should the murderedwoman be pregnant, the slayer is amerced as if he had killed two. If theoffspring would have been a boy, it is as though a woman and a man wereslain, and "the price of blood" is so measured. If it would have been adaughter, the smaller price is charged, the father receiving the fullprice for the child and his eight hundred piastres for the murderedwife. Should it be a maiden, however, who has been slain, arrangement isoften made whereby a sister of the slayer is given by her family to thebrother of the slain as his wife; or if this arrangement is notfeasible, the price of a woman is paid as first described.

A very curious custom exists among the Arabs in connection with theancient "law of asylum." They recognize the right of sanctuary for thoseupon whom summary vengeance may be taken for some blood crime. Butflight is often exceedingly dangerous because of the possibility ofambuscade along the way; and even when a village which owes protectionto a fugitive undertakes to give him safe escort, the defenders may beovercome and the offender slain. Under such circumstances, it iscustomary to give him over to the escort of two women, who are hisdefenders. For it is a point of honor among Arabs not to attack or harmanybody or anything that has been placed under the protection of awoman.

That the modern Arab sometimes, however, has great confidence in thepower of his wives, over others at least, may be illustrated by anamusing incident told by Loftus. During his researches his party wasattacked by a company of Arabs, on account of which some of theassaulting party had been seized and lodged in prison. One of the chiefsheiks of the country came to make friends with the explorer and toentreat for the release of the culprits. This was refused. Later a coupwas conceived. Loftus looked out and saw the sheik's harem, in mostradiant costumes, approaching the tent in single file, led by the sheikand a black eunuch. Thus the Arab hoped to appeal to Occidental chivalrythrough the prayers of the masked beauties who surrounded the tent,declaring they would not raise the siege till the occupant yielded totheir entreaties.

The rich Mohammedan ladies are far less industrious than the poorerclasses. Entering the harem at the tender age of twelve to fourteenyears, the young woman is condemned to a life of sloth and sensuality.There is little opportunity for self-improvement or for enjoyments of ahigh order. They eat, drink, gossip, suckle their young, quarrel, plot,and eke out a miserable existence--always under the control of theirmasters.

The country women have greater freedom and far more influence withtheir husbands than do the women of the harem. Polygamy among the formerclass is rare, and hence the women are more highly regarded than thoseof the city. The peasant woman is industrious, engaged in some usefulemployment about the house or in the field. She buys and sells and getsgain for her husband and her home, and often is highly esteemed by him;but he will not let you know it, if he can avoid doing so. In public healways assumes the attitude of superiority. If but one can ride, it isthe man and the children who sit upon the beast; the woman walks alongat the side, carrying a bundle on her head or a baby at herbreast--sometimes jogging along with both. If Arab and wife must bothwalk with burdens, the man carries the lighter load. And the woman mustprepare the meal at the journey's end, while her lord reposes--andsmokes. Excavators in the East have frequently found Arab girls whodesired work, and with their baskets they would for hours carry out theearth with endurance apparently equal to that of the men.

The Arab girls, as a rule, grow up in ignorance. It is not thought worthwhile to educate the daughter; and, indeed, it is regarded by many asdestructive of the best order of society to give woman any opportunitywhich may cause her to desire to usurp the power which heaven has placedin the hands of men. There is, accordingly, little enlightenedhousekeeping, little to stimulate a woman's mind, little opportunityhere for "the hand that rocks the cradle" to move the world. Sons growup with little respect for their mothers, for there is nothing to makeit otherwise. The husband, should he wish to divorce himself from hiswife, simply orders her to leave his house, and his will is law. Civilgovernment takes no cognizance of matrimonial affairs, and religiousauthority allows the husband to do much as he may see fit in his ownhouse.

AN ORIENTAL WOMAN'S PASTIME
After the painting by Frederick A. Bridgman

She is not a companion, but only a gilded toy, adecorative object.... Among the higher class she is still kept in strictseclusion, and her time is passed in luxurious idleness, save for thehours she employs at her embroidery or tapestry. The garden, with itsheavily perfumed blossoms, pleases her; the ceaseless plash of thefountain falls musically on her ear; all her physical needs areministered to. But everything conduces to the dreaminess of her nature,to slothful habits; her activities are fettered by the law of Mohammed.After all, her garden is but an exquisite prison.

The women of the Arabs, like the men, are fond of tattooing theirbodies, regarding the figures they stamp into their flesh as highlyornamental, though perhaps originally there was a religious significancein them. The figure to be imprinted is first drawn upon a block of woodand blackened with charcoal. This is then impressed upon some part ofthe body, and then the outlines are pricked with fine needles which havebeen dipped into an ink made of gunpowder and ox-gall. The whole issubsequently bathed with wine, and the figure is marked indelibly.

Even the poor are very fond of personal ornaments. Chains, rings,necklaces, gold thread, may be seen in abundance, if not in costliness.It is not unusual for an Arab woman, though clothed in tattered raiment,to wear several rings of silver. But if this metal be beyond her means,then of iron or copper and sometimes of glass. Ornaments of variouslycolored glass are very popular among Arab women; often they can affordno other. Even bracelets are made of this material, and are much worn.Some of the nomadic tribes still wear anklets.

The women of the desert are often seen with nose-drops, or rings in oneor the other side of their nostrils, which in consequence tends to drooplike the ear. This custom prevails in other parts of the East, moreparticularly among those whose occupation is thought to call for muchornamentation, such as the dancing girls and odalisques. The ancientHebrews sometimes used to put rings in swines' snouts for practicalreasons, as indeed the Arabs do to-day in the noses of horses, mules,and asses to aid in evaporating the moisture from the nostrils, but thebeauty or the utility of a ring in an Arab woman's nose has never beensatisfactorily determined.

The Arab women of good quality do not, as a rule, wear their hair verylong. It usually reaches about to the neck, and is tied with a coloredribbon. Many of the poorer and less cleanly among them, however, weartheir tresses long, ill-kempt, and filthy. The men often think more oftheir beards than do the women of their locks.

The favorite flower is that of the shrub called Al henna. It is theplant from which is obtained a dye much used by Oriental ladies upontheir skin and nails as a cosmetic. The manner of preparation is thusdescribed: "The young leaves of the shrub are boiled in water, thendried in the sun, and reduced to a powder which is of a dark orangecolor. After this has been mixed with warm water, it is applied to theskin." The use of henna is very old; and when the woman has finished thework of art--she herself being the subject--she looks, as one has said,like a vampire stained with the blood of its victim. The flower ofAlhenna, however, is beautiful and strongly fragrant--reminding one inappearance of clusters of many-colored grapes. These blossoms are usedas ornaments for the hair and as decorations for the houses, thefragrance often conquering the malodorous atmosphere of many ill-kept,uncleanly homes.

As is the custom with Oriental ladies generally, the women in ridingplace themselves astride the beast, like a man, and seldom present agraceful appearance to a Western eye. Loftus has thus described an Arablady as she sits astride the patient mule: "Enveloped in the ample foldsof a blue cotton cloak, her face (as required by the strict injunctionsof the Koran) concealed under a black or white mask, her feet encased inwide yellow boots, and these in turn thrust into slippers of the samecolor, her knees nearly on the level with her chin, and her handsholding on to the scanty mane of the mule--an Eastern lady is the mostuncouth and inelegant form imaginable."

Mohammedans are never seen walking with their wives in the street, andare seldom seen in company with them or any other woman in any publicplace. Should a man and his wife have occasion to go to any place at thesame time, he goes in advance and she follows on behind him. Jessup, inThe Women of the Arabs, gives the following explanation advanced by aSyrian of the aversion which the men feel with reference to walking inpublic with women:

"You Franks can walk with your wives in public, because their faces areunveiled, and it is known that they are your wives, but our women are soclosely veiled that if I should walk with my wife in the street, no onewould know whether I was walking with my own wife or another man's. Youcannot expect a respectable man to put himself in such an embarrassingposition."

If inquiries are made by one man of another concerning his family, theboys and the beasts are invariably mentioned first; the wife last ofall. Among the ancient Arabs the birth of a female infant was lookedupon as little short of a domestic calamity and sometimes the infant wasnot allowed to live. The horrible custom, wad-el-benat, of buryinginfant daughters alive grew out of an unwillingness of parents to sharethe scant support of the home with the newcomer, or, as has beensuggested, from ferocious pride, or false sentiments of honor, fearingthe shame that might come should the girl be carried off and dishonoredby the enemies of their tribe. The birth of a son, however, wasconsidered the occasion of great rejoicing. The daughters of the modernArabs are usually well cared for, though apparently with littleaffection. They are useful in agricultural pursuits, and they are forsale as wives when they become of a marriageable age. Their marketablevalue is determined by their rank, their fortune, or their beauty. Amongthe Arabs marriage is seldom an affair of the heart, but is purely acommercial transaction. Three thousand piastres, or about one hundredand twenty dollars, is regarded as a good price to pay for a wife. Theprice is generally less. The father of the young man pays the bill; hiswealth regulating somewhat the amount paid. The parents of the youngcouple make all the arrangements, though generally assisted by relativesand interested friends. Much bargaining and delay are often gone throughwith as a matter of course. If the whole sum finally agreed upon cannotbe paid in a lump sum, the parties of the first and the second part fixupon the size and frequency of the instalments; the bride being claimedonly when the last instalment has been paid.

The time for the wedding is next settled upon, whether it be days,weeks, months, or years in advance. When that event is at lengthcelebrated, the Arab love of feasting has full opportunity to giveitself rein. Days are spent in these rounds of pleasure before the youngcouple settle down to the stern facts of practical copartnership.

The Arab women have a number of folk songs which are sung by them atweddings and at the birth of children. Some of these may be here quotedas revealing the Arab woman's idea of physical grace and of womanlyvirtue, and of those qualities which are desirable in the wife and themother. Here is a song to the bride:

Again, they sing:

The rejoicing in maternity, and especially in the birth of sons, isnotable among the Arabs. The women sing:

Between the verses of the songs, the women who are not singing willrepeat the refrain:

to emphasize their sympathy with the sentiments just sung.

Because of a deep reverence for the mystery of life, the Arabs give tothe woman a separate tent or hut during the period of childbirth, andthere she must remain for a period. There is a strong superstitionconcerning the results that might come from seeing or touching her orher belongings during the time of this separation.

In the naming of children, family names are not given, but individualnames, to which is often added the name of the father, and sometimesthat of the mother. The latter is probably the older, and manyethnologists believe it to have once been the universal custom among theArabs; pointing to a day when polyandry prevailed, when it was customaryfor women to have several husbands, if they were not indeed the commonproperty of the tribe.

The influence of the nomadic life of the ancient Arabians still has itspower over the modern Arab if he be true or a dweller in tents. Thesedesert roamers despise those Arabs who are engaged in the arts ofhusbandry. Dr. A. H. Keane, quoting from Junker, gives the followingevidence of this prejudice: "In the eyes of his fellow tribesmen, thehumblest nomad would be degraded by marriage with the daughter of thewealthiest bourgeois." But, as he adds: "Necessity knows no law, hungerpinches, and so these proud and stubborn were fain ... to renounce thefree and lawless life of the solitude and at least partly turn toagriculture for several months in the year."

The Arabs are proverbially a hospitable people. Let a stranger once eatwith an Arab family and he is a friend; certainly so long as the food isthought to remain a part of his body. But since the patriarchal ideasurvives, man is absolutely lord of his own house. Hence, in the house,the inequality of the sexes is most noticeable. The Moslem wife neversits down to a meal with her husband if any male guest be present; andshould the husband be very strict and formal in his habits, she is notpermitted to eat with her lord, even when there is no guest. It is herpleasure to serve. When the master of the house has finished his repast,he allows what remains to go to the rest of the family. By this thehusband does not mean to be selfish at all; but customs which haveprevailed for time out of mind give to woman an inferior place as amatter of course. But the guest is never turned away empty. Even in thepoorest houses, the Moslems will offer the visitor a cup of blackcoffee, and it may be cigarettes.

Polygamy was common in ancient Arabia. In earlier days every man mightmarry as many wives as he could take care of, and the length of thewifehood was solely in the husband's hand. The family possessions werehis property, and should he die, his widow was looked upon as a part ofthe estate. Unions between mothers and step-sons were not infrequent.Mohammed numbered this, however, among the "shameful marriages."

Sir William Muir, in his Annals of the Early Caliphate, says:"Polygamy and secret concubinage are still the privilege, or the curseof Islam, the worm at its root, the secret of its fall. By these theunity of the household is fatally broken, and the purity and virtueweakened of the family tie; the vigor of the dominant classes is sapped;the body politic becomes weak and languid excepting for intrigue; andthe throne itself liable to fall a prey to doubtful or contestedsuccessors." "Hardly less injurious," says he, "is the power of divorce,which can be exercised without the assignment of any reason whatever, atthe mere word and will of the husband. It not only hangs over eachindividual household like the sword of Damocles, but affects the tone ofsociety at large; for even if not put in force, it cannot fail as apotential influence, existing everywhere, to weaken the marriage bond,and detract from the dignity and self-respect of the sex at large."

Mohammed's complete misunderstanding of the true relation of the sexeshas had much to do with the degraded position of woman in Moslem lands,and the complete failure of Islamic social life. It is woman that makesor unmakes society. She is the keystone of the arch, not the mudsill.

Mohammed's state of mind regarding woman is universal among hisfollowers, whether in Algeria, Tunis, or Morocco, in the land of theLotus, in the Ottoman Empire, or in the lesser Mohammedan dominions. Thecustoms springing from this state are, of course, modified among thedifferent peoples, as, for instance, among the Moors through theadmixture of Spanish and Moorish blood, which resulted in a somewhatbetter appreciation of woman. Yet she is not a companion, but only agilded toy, a decorative object, to be fitfully enjoyed or waywardly putaside. Among the higher class she is still kept in strict seclusion, andher time is passed in luxurious idleness, save for the hours she employsat her embroidery or tapestry. The garden, with its heavily perfumedblossoms, pleases her; the ceaseless plash of the fountain fallsmusically on her ear; all her physical needs are ministered to. Buteverything conduces to the dreaminess of her nature, to slothful habits;her activities are fettered by the law of Mohammed. After all, hergarden is but an exquisite prison.

By placing women upon so far lower a plane of social and religious lifethan man, Mohammedanism has not only degraded the female sex, but hasdisrupted, if not destroyed, those healthy family relations which lie atthe very foundation of all social progress and national greatness.

X

THE TURKISH WOMEN

Out of the ruins of the Seljuk domination arose the Turkish Empire,founded by Ottoman, or Osman I., a nomad chieftain of great prowess,after whom the Ottoman Empire derived its name. Among the very firstevents narrated concerning the life of this important Turk was one ofromance, for Ottoman was not only a bold warrior, but a brave lover, andwithal, like the young Hebrew Joseph, a dreamer. In the little villageof Itburuni there lived a learned doctor of the law, a man ofaristocratic blood, one Edebali, with whom it is said Ottoman loved toconverse, not only because of the gentleman's fine personal qualities,but because Edebali had a daughter, whom many named Kamariya, or"Brightness of the Moon," because of her beauty; but most called her MalKhatum, or "Lady Treasure," on account of her pleasing personality. Butthe learned sheik did not take kindly to Ottoman's advances, for he hadnot yet "won his spurs," and his authority was not recognized byneighboring princes. Fortunately, a timely dream--that potent argumentwhich is so effectual among the people of the East--came to Ottoman'said in the pursuit of his suit. The dream is thus recorded: "One nightOttoman, as he slumbered, thought he saw himself and his host stretchedupon the ground, and from Edebali's breast there seemed to rise a moonwhich waxing to the full, approached the prostrate form of Ottoman andfinally sank to rest on his bosom. Thereat from out his loins theresprang forth a tree, which grew taller and taller, raised its head andspread out its branches till the boughs overshadowed the earth and theseas. Under the canopy of leaves towered forth mighty mountains,Caucasus, Atlas, Taurus, and Hæmus, which held up the leafy vault likefour great tent poles, and from their sides flowed royal rivers, Nile,Danube, Tigris, and Euphrates. Ships sailed upon the waters, harvestswaved upon the fields, the rose, and the cypress, flowers and fruitsdelighted the eye, on the boughs birds sang their glad music. Citiesraised domes and minarets toward the green canopy; temples and obelisks,towers and fortresses lifted their high heads, and on their pinnaclesshone the golden crescent. And behold as he looked, a great wind aroseand dashed the crescent against the crown of Constantine, that imperialcity which stood at the meeting of the two seas and two continents, likea diamond between sapphires and emeralds, the centre jewel of the ringof the Empire. Ottoman was about to put the dazzling ring upon hisfinger when he awoke." The story of the wondrous dream was told to thefather of the fair Mal Khatum. He was at once convinced that the Fateshad marked Ottoman for future greatness and for wide dominion. Themoon-faced damsel fell a prize to the inevitable conqueror, son ofErtoghrul. Another early incident in Ottoman's career may be of interestin this volume upon the women of Turkey. Ottoman understood that anumber of his rivals at arms were to be present at a certain wedding tobe celebrated at Bilejik, in the year 1299; and that the event was to bemade the occasion of his being entrapped and slain. Learning of theconspiracy against him, he secured for forty women of the Ottoman clanadmission to the festivities. When all present were engrossed in theceremonies of the hour, these forty sturdy warriors cast aside theirfemale attire and not only captured the entire garrison, but also thefair maiden whose nuptials were being celebrated. She was a young Greeklady named Nenuphar, or "the Lotus Blossom," who afterward became themother of Murad I. Ottoman now descended like an avalanche upon hisrivals and their territory, extending his dominion even to MountOlympus.

It is to Arabia and to Persia that Turkey owes most of its civilization,its religion, its literature, its laws, its manners, and its customs.Beginning with a Tartar basis, Turkish life has been chiefly shapedunder the influence of a religion and a literature. As for the first,the debt is chiefly to Arabia; for the second, Persia must have thelarger share of credit. Since these two forces, religion and literature,are doubtless the most effective in shaping the ideals of womanhood, andso in developing the female character among any people, we are compelledto look to the ancient lands of Persia and Arabia for the springs ofTurkish life.

Remembering the kinship of Turkish literature to the Arabic and Persian,it would not be difficult to surmise that woman would hold noinsignificant place in the literature of Turkey. While there are as manyas twenty-five different written languages used in the Empire, theliterary language is a product of the original Tartaric tongue andstrong Persian and Arabic elements. Very much of the romantic materialthat goes to make up the Turkish literature is drawn from such earlystories as the great Persian epic Shahnamah.

The romance of Laili and Majnun has made a deep impression in Turkishliterature. Fuzuli of Bagdad, one of the greatest of Turkish poets, hasreproduced the strong love of these characters of old Persian legend,besides giving to the nation's literature many ghazels in whichfondness for the virtue of woman is presented with characteristicEastern passion.

The Persian lady also figures in the work of Kemal Bey, who was regardedin his lifetime as "a shining star in the Turkish literary world," andone who did much to arouse the Turks to enthusiasm for their nativecountry. He was the author of a trivial novel Tzesmi, of high reputein Turkish literary circles, in which a Turkish warrior of poetic talentand a Persian princess figure.

There are numerous love ballads of Moorish origin that are highly prizedand have greatly influenced Turkish literature, such as Fatima's Love,Zaida's Love, Zaida's Inconstancy, Zaida's Lament, Guhala's Love, andthe like; also much Moorish romance, as The Zefri's Bride. So we findTurkish poems breathing of love and womanly charms. Among suchproductions is that of Ghalib, whose Husn-u-Ashk, or Beauty andLove, is regarded as one of the finest productions of Turkish genius.

It must be remembered, however, in reading Turkish poetry of love thatthere is often, if not indeed generally, beneath what seems to be asensuous and even voluptuous song or romance an allegorical or mysticalsignificance. God is the Fair One whose presence the heart craves, andwhose veil the suitor would see cast aside that his perfect beauty maybe revealed to the worshipper. Man, therefore, is the lover; the tressesare the mystery of the divine character; the ruby lip is the sought-forWord of God; wine is the divine love; the zephyr is the breathing of Hisspirit; and so on. And yet, that many Turkish, as is true of many Araband Persian, poems are upon a low moral level of human passion, and arerevolting to the ethical sense of the more sensitive natures, is not tobe disputed.

Fame in poetry has not been unknown to Turkish women. Notable amongthese literary women of Turkey is Fatima Alie, daughter of the formerstate historiographer Dzevdet Pacha, whose history of the Ottoman Empiretakes high rank. In Fatima Alie, Turkish womanhood finds one of itsstaunchest champions.

Zeyneb Effendi was a royal poetess in the days of Mohammed theConqueror. She recounted in glowing lines her hero's achievements. Soalso Mirhi Hanum was a poetess of talent. She was born of a wealthyfather, a grand vizir. She was so unfortunate as to have had as a loverone who did not reciprocate her passion. She, therefore, sung her younglife out in avowed virginity, wearing an amber necklace, symbolizing hereternal choice of celibacy. Among other poetesses of note may bementioned Sidi, who died in the year 1707, the authoress of Pleasuresof Sight and The Divan. Mirhi, who has been styled "the OttomanSappho," was a poetess of Amasiya, full of the passion of love. She sangboldly concerning the object of her devotion, but her virtue was neverquestioned, nor her talent deprecated.

But the women of Turkey have been affected less by the literaryinfluence of Persia than by the religious inheritance from the Arabs.Before Mohammed polygamy flourished among the various Arabian tribes.The prophet brought some order out of the chaos, and the harem became amore or less well-defined system, with its definite laws andregulations. Therein woman was somewhat advanced from the state in whichshe earlier found herself. And yet, Mohammed manifestly wavered in histreatment of women and in the ideals which underlay it. A certainequality between man and woman is at one time taught in the Koran, aswhen it said: "The women ought to behave to their husbands in likemanner as their husbands should behave towards them, according to whatis just." And again the prophet said: "Ye men have right over your wivesand your wives have right over you." This truly is reciprocity. And yethe asserted that "woman is a field--a sort of property which her husbandmay use or abuse as he thinks fit;" and again, that "a woman's happinessin Paradise is beneath the sole of her husband's feet." Commercially,the girl was of more value than the boy, because she could be sold andmade a wife, and perhaps she might be converted to the Mohammedan faith.

It is, in truth, the Turkish slave woman's physical beauty, as she wascaptured and came into the possession of Arab sheiks, which firstbrought the Turkish woman into notice. But these superbly attractive,dark-eyed slaves at length captured their captors, and the Turk becamemaster of the Arab and the most virile exponent of the Arabian faith andcivilization.

Concerning his ideals as to woman, the Turk imbibed much from the Arab,who valued woman mainly for her points of physical excellence--thesewere tabulated in a standard of eight "fours" as follows: "A womanshould have four things black; namely, hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, andthe dark part of the eyes. Four things white; namely, the skin, thewhite of the eyes, the teeth, and the legs. Four red; namely, thetongue, the lips, the middle of the cheek, and the gums. Four round;namely, the head, the neck, the forearm, and the ankle. Four long: theback, the fingers, the arms, and the legs. Four wide: the forehead, theeyes, the bosom, and the hips. Four thick: the lower part of the back,the thighs, the calves, and the knees. Four small: the ears, the breast,the hands, and the feet."

Since Mohammed allowed four wives to all Mussulmans, the sultan as afaithful follower of the prophet may have four official wives; and afterthese he may take as many non-official wives as his fancy may desire.The four favored ones are known as the kadins. First stands the BachKadin, who is the "first lady of the land." Next her is the SkindijKadin, or "second lady." Then come the "middle lady" or Artanié Kadin,and last of all the Kutchuk Kadin, or the "little lady." When a kadinbecomes the mother of a male child she is then entitled to be calledKhasseki-Sultan, or "royal princess." When a daughter is born to one ofthem she is known as Khasseki-Kadin, or "royal lady."

The mother of the reigning sultan always holds high place at court, yetnot because she is mother of the ruler, but because it is thought thateach of the four legitimate wives of the sultan must in every detail ofcourt life enjoy perfect equality with the others, from the services of"the mistress of the robes down to the lowest scullion." Thus, themother, called the Valideh-Sultan, holds the rank that usually belongsto the wife of a monogamous ruler. Should the sultan's mother bedeceased, his foster-mother holds this position of influence. Thepresent sultan's foster-mother has conducted herself with muchconservatism in her exalted position and, it is said, with strictattention to the dignity and economy of the harem. The Valideh issometimes poetically known as Tatch-ul-Mestourat, that is, "the crown ofthe veiled heads." This means that the Valideh is regarded as queen ofall the Mohammedan women, who are uniformly veiled, according to theteaching of the prophet. The Valideh is in her dignity most august. Nowoman, not even the Khasseki-Sultan, may dare come before her unlesssent for. All women when they appear in her presence must be clothed infull court dress, and, whatever the weather may be, without mantles.When she goes out she is entitled to a military escort similar to thatof the sultan. An ancient custom still prevails which demands that theValideh, once a year, on the night of Kurban Bairam, present a slavegirl of twelve years of age to the sultan. The slave damsel at oncebecomes a member of the harem, and it is possible for her to rise to thehighest position a woman may attain at the Turkish court. It is nowcustomary, however, for the young girl to be sent as a pupil in theinstitution at Scutari, which has been established by the sultan for thehigher education of Mohammedan women. She is now more frequentlymarried, with a dowry, to some officer of the court or member of thesultan's household.

The sultan is granted privileges not generally accorded others as tomarriage. He may marry a Christian or a Jewess, if he should see fit soto do. As a rule, the women who thus marry are expected to become Moslemin faith, though there have been notable exceptions. Theodora, wife ofOrkhan, was a Greek Christian woman, and with marked persistence held onto her ancestral religion. But Orkhan was unlike Mohammed II. incharacter; for the story is told of the latter's strong passion for thebeautiful Irene, who, however, refused to abjure her faith. The priestsof Islam reviled their ruler for loving one who would not accept thereligion of the prophet. This was too much for Mohammed. One day thepriests were assembled in one of the halls of the palace. Here, too, wasIrene, covered with a veil of dazzling whiteness. With great solemnitythe sultan lifted Irene's veil with one hand and revealed the youngwoman's great beauty to all who were present. "You see," said theSultan, "she is more beautiful than any other woman you have everbeheld; fairer than the houris of your dreams! I love her as I do mylife; but my life is nothing beside my love for Islam." With this, heseized the long, golden tresses of the unfortunate woman, entwined themin his fingers, and with one stroke of his sharp scimiter severed herhead from her body.

A lady of imperial blood has the right to add "Sultan" to her own name.This is her privilege, even though she should marry a subject, which issometimes the case. Her superior descent, however, is always recognized;for her husband may not sit down before her, unless she should sopermit.

Turkish rulers have taken a different view of the value of foreignmarriages from that which has usually prevailed in the East. Politicalties have been made and strengthened by royal marriages. In Turkey,however, a custom, amounting to law, prevents the sultan from marrying afree woman, one taken from the high families of his own people, orprincesses of foreign courts, that no tie of politics or affinity ofblood should alter the superior impartiality of the supreme master.Thus, while he is above all his subjects so far as rank is concerned, heis inferior, on his mother's side at least, in the matter of birth,Hence, the meanest subject of the Empire of the Ottomans may here feelhimself on an equality with the sultan, since he is "the son of a slavewoman."

It is not customary for a ceremony to be performed when the sultanmarries. Only three Turkish sultans are said to have undergone aceremony on the occasion of taking to themselves wives. When the GreekPrincess Theodora was wedded to Orkhan; when Roxelana became the wife ofSultan Suleyman; and when Besma, an adopted daughter of a princess ofEgypt, was married to Abd-ul-Medjid, the marriage ceremony wasperformed.

As a mark of certain inferiority, the bride is expected to enter thenuptial bed from the back, lifting the covering with much ceremony. Itis never good form for a gentleman to inquire concerning the health ofanother's wife.

Mothers of the harem are often compelled to live in mortal fear fortheir infant sons, lest they be foully dealt with. For if a child haveany prospect of some day being the Turkish ruler, his life is neverregarded as altogether safe. The baby prince is brought up in the harem,with his mother and nurse; but since brothers and even uncles comebefore sons, the question of succession to the sultanate has oftencaused great disorder and bloodshed.

On the death of Mohammed, the great Arab leader, there was no mentionof a law of succession. This was partly due, doubtless, to the fact thathe left no son who might assume leadership of the hosts of Islam. Atlength, the Seljuk Turks attained to power, after which the empire fellinto minor sovereignties, which were brought together at last into theOttoman Empire. And while of late the stability of the reigning dynastyhas been the most noteworthy of the East, yet the fact that there wasnot early established the ordinary custom of transmitting thesovereignty from father to son has been the cause of much intrigue,crime, and uncertainty in the dominion of the Turk. Cases have not beenunknown in Turkish history where several hundred women of the seragliowere drowned in the Bosphorus because of plottings to depose the sultan.They were tied in the traditional sack and dropped into the sea. It wasIbrahim I., known as the Madman, one of the very worst of Turkishrulers, who first conceived the idea of thus disposing of the old womenof the seraglio. Surprised and seized in the night, the unfortunatevictims of the sultan's madness were tied in sacks and then sunk to thebottom of the sea. Only one of the large company of the unfortunatesescaped, by the loosing of the sack, and was picked up by a passing shipand conveyed to Paris to tell the story of the cruel death of hercompanions. Among the many notable instances of the tragic end to whichthe plottings of the harem have come may be mentioned that of Tarkhann,mother of Mohammed IV. So desirous was she that her son should reign,that she slew all the other possible male heirs to the throne. She mether nemesis, however, by strangulation. It is upon her life and that ofher rival that Racine has constructed his Bajazet.

Connected with the sultan's harem there are estimated to be aboutfifteen hundred persons. The harem consists of a number of littlecourts, or dairas; and the central figure of each of these courts is alady of the female hierarchy.

In the royal household there are three classes of women. The kadins, ofwhom we have spoken, who may be termed the legitimate wives of thesultan, though they are never formally married. Next are the ikbals,or "favorite women." From this class the kadins are usually chosen. Thencome the gediklis, "those pleasant to look upon." The ikbals may comefrom the number of these. The women of the third class are usually ofslave origin, purchased or stolen perhaps from Georgian or Circassianparents. Those who are stolen are usually taken so early from theirhomes, and so clandestinely, that their origin is seldom known to them.If, however, the lady comes of high station her identity usually becomesknown, and she not unfrequently succeeds in elevating her family to aposition of power and emolument, either by direct influence or byintrigue. In addition to these three classes of women there are ustas,or "mistresses," who are maids in the service of the sultan's mother;shagirds, or "novices," who are children in training for the higherpositions in the harem; and jariyas, or "damsels," who do the moremenial work of the establishments.

Captured slave girls have sometimes had a most interesting career. Theyare brought in an almost continuous stream, but privately. In theearliest days of their presence in the harem they are called alaikés,and are placed under the care of elderly women, or kalfas, who bringthem up to suit the tastes of an Oriental court. They are instructed inmanners, in music, in drawing, and in embroidery. When later they reachthe proper age, they become attendants upon the kadins and theprincesses of the imperial household. There is no bar to their reachingat length the highest station that it is possible for a woman to attain,the favorite wife of the sultan.

The female department of the Turkish household is called the Hareemlick,the male apartments being named the Islamlick. The women's apartmentsare, of course, secluded. A male physician may see only the hand andtongue of the sick lady. A black curtain is stretched to separate herfrom his inspection. A eunuch conducts the physician to a point wherethe sick woman may thrust out her hand through a hole in the curtain sothat the doctor may diagnose her disease.

Faithfulness in women is held in high esteem, restraint of the harembeing intended to insure it. In former days it was not a thing unknownfor unfaithful women to be drowned; but the custom has fallen intodisuse. Ladies of the harem, however, have a fair amount of liberty. Oncertain occasions they go out driving and visiting; they frequent thebazaars and the public promenades, always in vehicles, never afoot. Theyenjoy entertainments among themselves. Theatricals are frequentlywitnessed by them in the garden of the palace. Operas are also oftenrendered for their enjoyment. When Turkish ladies visit one another inthe harem,--which they may do without permission or restraint from theirhusbands,--it is customary to place their shoes outside the harem doorthat their husbands may know guests are being entertained.

The harem of one ruler is generally regarded as the property of hissuccessor. The women thus inherited, however, are not always sure offavor. Sultan Mohammed II. killed, by drowning, all the women of hisbrother's harem. Indeed, women of the harems generally cannot be said tohave ample protection; for no officer may enter any harem to inspect theconduct there, or for any purpose whatever, unless the law of the houseadmits him. The women, whether they be wives or slaves, are practicallyat the mercy of their masters. Some women of the sultan's harem haverisen to positions of much influence and genuine power, though they havegenerally been of foreign birth. The mother of the noted reformingsultan, Mahmud II., who began to reign in 1808 when a mere child, was aFrench woman. His stout resistance of the allied powers won for him acertain admiration for doggedness, even if success did not crown hisefforts to keep Greece in subjection. It was into this struggle thatLord Byron threw himself on behalf of Greece. Mahmud, it may be to someextent through the influence of his French mother, introduced Frenchtactics into his army, but to no avail, and at length Grecian freedomwas assured.

The wife of Mahmud, Besma, taken as a little girl from the life of apeasant, rose to a position of supreme dignity and great influence. Herbeauty easily won the passion of Mahmud. She never lost sight of herhumble origin and was much beloved by the masses of the people, eventhose of the most lowly classes. She was the mother of Abd-ul-Aziz, andit was she who unsuspectingly gave to the sultan, her son, the scissorswith which he killed himself. At any rate, the unfortunate monarch wasfound dead in his apartments. The mother pined away in seclusion, andwas seen only in her deeds of charity. It was Besma who built the mosqueYeni Kalideh at Ak Serai, and it is here she rests in the midst of abeautiful garden of flowers, of which, during her lifetime, she was sofond. On her death, about fifteen years ago, she was accorded a funeralof great magnificence, and she was generally mourned throughout theempire. It is said that when Besma was building the mosque, her moneyfell short of her purpose, so that she could build but one minaretinstead of two, as custom entitled. Her son, however, came forward,offering the necessary funds, which she declined with the remark: "No,one minaret is sufficient to call the people to prayers; another wouldonly glorify me; the poor need a fountain." So she built a fountain forthe people, and it is one of the most beautiful in Constantinople.

One of the most celebrated--even if she be not one of the best--womenof Turkey history was Khurrem, the "Joyous," whom Europeans generallyknew as Roxelana. She was wife of the greatest figure in Turkish annals,Suleyman the Magnificent, who reigned about the middle of the sixteenthcentury. Roxelana, though her origin has not been clearly traced, wasprobably of Russian descent. From the first this strong-minded womanexerted great influence over Suleyman. In the first place, she forcedhim to marry her publicly and with much ceremony, a proceeding which wasthen without precedent. Usually to have it announced that a woman hadbecome mother of a male heir to the throne was regarded as sufficientannouncement of marriage with the sultan. But this woman, who had nowrisen from the position of a slave woman to that of the highest dignitypossible for a woman in the empire, determined that her marriage withthe great monarch should be full of publicity and pomp. There wasfeasting and, apparently, great rejoicing, though the people weresurprised and hardly understood what it all might mean. Roxelana was,however, equal to the emergency, and with the sagacity and determinationwhich were native to her sent many slaves among the people as theyfeasted, distributing presents of money and pieces of silk to themasses. From this time, she not only held absolute sway over the sultan,but evinced great skill in buying the friendship of the people by giftsand acts of charity. Diplomacy was characteristic of her, and fromcruelty she would not shrink if it were necessary to carry out herpurposes, for she induced Suleyman, generally so just and prudent, todestroy the oldest and most promising of his sons, since the young man,Mustafa by name, stood in the way of her own son Selim as heir to thethrone. She succeeded in her designs, but placed on the throne one ofthe weakest and most worthless of Turkish rulers, "Selim, the Sot."Roxelana's beauty is described as that which "attests that mixture ofthe Asiatic and Tartar blood, wherever the dark eyes, the silken lashes,the creamy paleness of the tint, the languor of the attitude habitual tothe Persian beauties, contrast with the rounded outline of the face,with the shortness of the nose, the thickness of the lips, and the warmcoloring of the skin, traits peculiar to the daughters of the Caucasus."At fifteen, she is said to have been the marvel and even the mystery ofthe harem. Her memory knew only the rearing of the seraglio; but herremarkable alertness and force of mind as well as beauty of person madeher from the first one of a thousand. Taught in the arts of music anddancing, versed in foreign languages, and the study of history andpoetry, Roxelana added to her exuberance of youth a power of mind whichmarked her for preëminence.

Rebia, wife of Mohammed IV., is another example of womanly power overthe head and heart of the supreme ruler of Turkey. Rebia was a Greekgirl from the island of Crete. Lamartine says of her: "The delicacy ofher lineaments, the brilliancy of her complexion, the ocean azure of hereyes, the golden auburn of her hair, the caressing tone of her voice,and the witchery of her wit made her to be dreaded still as the prisoncompanion of a fallen monarch, of whom she might amuse the languor andreëstablish the intrigue from the depth of his captivity." Even inMohammed's dethronement, Rebia clung to the fortunes of her lord, overwhom, during his power, she had always exerted decisive influence.

Italian women have also risen to a place of prominence in the royalharem. This was notably true in the case of the beautiful Safia, aVenetian captive girl, who had been brought into the seraglio of SultanMurad III., who succeeded Selim his father in the year 1574. Murad wasnot strong, and was easily deceived by sycophants and ruled by women.Among the latter was Safia, sometimes known as Baffo, belonging to thefamily of Baffo of Venice. Baffo proceeded to rule her royal lord in theinterests of her native land. Venice, after Suleyman's death, had becomerestless of Turkish rule, and proceeded successfully to throw it off.Baffo never forgot her origin, and ruled with a high hand, not only asKhasseki-Sultan, but also as Valideh. She set her son Mohammed III. onthe throne as successor to her husband, even though the consummationcould be reached only by the slaying of nineteen of the one hundred andtwo sons of Murad. Foreign women will probably never again play so largea rôle in Turkish affairs. The present sultan is said, however, to befond of the social attractions of European women. He is probably thefirst Turkish sultan who has invited a European lady to dine with him.

The Turkish sultans have long lived in much magnificence. The oldseraglio, or imperial residence (from the word seray, a palace), wasbeautifully situated "among the groves of plane and cypress that clothethe apex of the triangle upon which the ancient city of Constantinopleis built." Now, however, the sultans have left these precincts aroundwhich clustered so many memories of the horrible tragedies enactedthere, memories which even the magnificence of the place could notdestroy, and established their present residence, equal in naturalbeauty to the old, but removed from the dirt and the memories, which hadat length gathered about the old seraglio.

The women's quarters are situated in the innermost portion of theseraglio. Here are from three to twelve hundred women; at times thereare even more. These women are all foreigners. Indeed, all the guardsand attendants of the palace are of foreign blood. The sultan and hischildren are the only Turks dwelling in the inner departments of theroyal palaces; and both he and they are born of foreign mothers. Thewomen's departments are carefully guarded. There were speciallyappointed officers in the old seraglio as guards of the queens and theirchildren. These were the Baltajis, or "halberdiers," who were fourhundred in number. They, however, really attended the royal women onlywhen the sultan took with him some members of his harem to bear himcompany on a journey or a campaign.

The Baltajis, on such occasions, walked by the side of the carriages ofthe imperial ladies and guarded their camp at night. Ordinarily, thesultan's harem was under the care of the black eunuchs, or about twohundred Africans, who were specially entrusted with the imperial ladies.Their chief was known as the Kislar Aghasi, or "master of the girls,"and was regarded as one of the chief men of the empire.

The trade in captive boys and girls stolen from Europe, Asia, andAfrica was once very large; the pick of them being brought by purchaseinto the sultan's palace, for one purpose or another. It was thoughtthat his imperial majesty's life was safer in the hands of foreignersbrought up almost from infancy in the palace, and knowing no otherallegiance than that to the will of the sultan.

Times have changed, however, and it is not possible for the ruler of theTurks to regard the best of the children of white and black parentage asborn to replenish his harem. Much of the old time mediæval splendor hasbeen swept away, not only through the reforms of Sultan Mahmud II., butby modern conditions which make the old seraglio an impossibility.

In the olden days the young princes were closely confined in a part ofthe seraglio known as the Chimshirlick, or "boxwood shrubbery." Itcontained twelve pavilions each surrounded by high walls which encloseda little garden. These were the residences of the sons of the sultan.Each young prince was kept guarded in his pavilion enclosure, from whichhe dared not emerge without his royal father's special permission. Thusa prince's minority was spent in the kafe, or "cage." Each youth hadas attendants ten or twelve fair girls, besides a number of pages. Theseand black eunuchs, who were his teachers, were his sole companions. As arule, the tongues of male attendants and of women unable to bearchildren were slit. At the tenth year a young prince leaves his motherand the harem for the guardianship of a lalo, or "male attendant," whois his companion day and night; next a mullah, or "priest," takes theyouth in hand and gives him his schooling, which consists chiefly ininstruction in the teachings of the Koran.

THE MUTES
After the painting by P. L. Bouchard

The women's quarters are situated in the innermost portion of the seraglio.Here are from three to twelve hundred women; at times there are evenmore. These women are all foreigners. Indeed, all the guards andattendants of the palace are of foreign blood..... The women'sdepartments are carefully guarded.

Women who bear no children and the subaltern eunuchs have their tonguesslit. Whan an order of death is issued, these mutes, with the fatalcords, enter and noiselessly fulfil their commands.

Among the female officials of the seraglio is the Hasnada Ousta, or"grand mistress of the robes." She is usually an elderly woman ofrespectability and of dignity. This lady acts as vice-Valideh, caringfor matters in the establishment to which it may not be possible for theValideh Sultan to give her own personal attention. She holds a place ofmuch honor, and women holding this position have been known to becomeValideh. There is also the Kyahya Kadin, or "lady comptroller," who isgenerally selected by the sultan from among the oldest and most trustedof the Gediklis.

The dress of the ladies of the royal harem was formerly altogetherOriental; so also were the furnishings of the women's apartments. Theselast still consist largely of low divans, costly embroidery, couches,and the like; but European customs have now made themselves felt, notonly in the furnishings of the rooms, but more particularly in thematter of feminine attire. Costly robes from Paris and Vienna haveinvaded the precincts of the harem; and these, added to the wealth ofjewelry of which Oriental ladies are so fond, make it possible for thewomen of the rich Turkish households to be quite cosmopolitan in theirmodes of dressing.

Many of the lower ranks wear upon their head a sort of hood of blacksilk, the Egyptian chaf-chaf. To this is attached a piece of blacknetting, which can be dropped over the face of the wearer when she sopleases. The women of Constantinople, however, are not so careful in thematter of the veil as are the ladies living in cities under lesscosmopolitan influence.

European ideas and habits have greatly modified Turkish customs. Theyashmac is the face veil which the Turkish girl receives when sheattains to the marriageable age. The word is derived from a verb whichmeans, when fully interpreted, "May long life be granted you." Thematerial is thin, fine lawn or similar stuff. The older and lessattractive women, or ladies who do not wish to be recognized in a publicconcourse, as when shopping, wear a veil of thicker material.

The cloak used is the feridjè. It is usually of black material, andits shape is intended to conceal the outlines of the figure. Theferidjè is now much modified, however, by European tastes, and is notgreatly different from the opera cloak worn by the ladies of Paris.

The once fashionable footgear, the yellow Turkish slipper, has givenplace generally to the slipper of patent leather worn by Europeanladies. Much of the beauty of color and picturesqueness of costume hastherefore passed away, as may be seen from the following description ofthe Turkish woman's appearance at the middle of the sixteenth century:When they (the women of Turkey) go abroad, the ladies wear theyashmac made of gold stuff, heavily fringed, and confined to the headby a crown blazing with jewels. The figure is concealed by a cloak ofrichest brocade or velvet. Sometimes you may have the charm of seeing asmany as one hundred arabas, or carts, very splendid and richly gilded,drawn by gaily decorated bullocks, each containing a number of thesegreat ladies with their children and slaves.

"The procession is a most gorgeous sight. Each cart has as many as fourmounted eunuchs to protect it from the curiosity of the public, who havetheir faces almost to the earth, or avert them entirely, as the caravanpasses." So, also, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu has left, in a letter tothe Duchess of Marlborough, written in 1717, a very graphic account ofthe costume of the sultana.

Lady Mary describes the dolma, or "vest of long sleeves," thediamond-bedecked girdle, the long and costly chain about the neck,reaching even to the knees, the earrings of diamonds shaped like pears,the talpoche, the headdress covered with bodkins of emeralds anddiamonds, the diamond bracelets, the five rings upon her fingers, thelargest ring Lady Mary ever saw except that worn by Mr. Pitt. There wasalso a pelisse of rich brocade brought to the royal Turkish lady whenshe walked out into her garden. Fifty different kinds of meat wereserved at her dinner, but one at a time; her golden knives were set withdiamonds in the hafts; gorgeously embroidered napkins were in abundance,etc. Much of this magnificence and display has now passed away, but, asStanley Lane-Poole says in his The History of Turkey: "While the houseof the Ottoman monarch of to-day, if more in keeping with the spirit ofthe time, is very commonplace beside that of last century ...nevertheless, the modern seraglio is hardly an anchorite's cell."

Cosmetics were once used in profusion. The painting of the eyebrows andthe dyeing of the finger tips with henna were considered marks ofbeauty. The custom is dying out entirely in Constantinople, though inthe remoter regions of the empire the habit is still in vogue. Theattempts at beautifying the face are often referred to by the poets asmarks of beauty, as when Fuzuli dilates upon the

Mohammedan countries of any culture have long held the bath in greatesteem. Turkish ladies of high rank once frequented the public bathswith regularity, but the modern improvements in the private houses havemade this custom far less general.

The women of the Turkish empire present an almost infinite variety.Under the dominion of the sultan the nationalities are many andheterogeneous. So also it would be impossible to make any generalstatement of the treatment of women among the Turks. In many parts ofTurkey there is but one wife in the household, and she is well treatedand highly respected; affection prevails in the harems of not a few;while in others concubinage, neglect, harshness, ignorance, vice arepresent with their deadly effect.

Divorce may be readily obtained in Turkey; but parental influence oftenprotects the woman who otherwise might fare unjustly. Mohammed also gavesome protection to wives, since he considered a wife to have rights inher own fortune even while married, and held that if divorced,restitution of this fortune was to be made.

Turkish women, except those of the richer families, generally nursetheir own children. Many children die in infancy through the ignoranceof mothers of the lower classes. Some mothers still swaddle their littleones. In the event of illness, instead of a trained physician, manymothers send for a "wise woman" or a wizard. In the harems, it issuspected that many infants are actually killed. The Mohammedanpopulation increases more slowly, notwithstanding the practice ofpolygamy, than the Christian population of the Turkish Empire.

It is the custom among families of the better class to give the boysover from infancy to the care of a dadi, or slave girl, whose businessit is to care for him during his youth, and it is not infrequent thatevil springs from this intimacy. Both boys and girls are under the careof a lalo, or male slave, when the children are out of the precinctsof the harem. The influence of the slaves and menials, with whom so manyTurkish children are thrown, is, as a rule, far from elevating.

Submission is a lesson that is very early taught to Turkish children.This insures an obedient, tractable spirit, and is the cause of all thatis best in the Turkish character.

There are almost thirty million Turkish women, the masses of whom moveupon a very low level of culture. This cannot, however, be said of all,for many of the upper classes and of the court are well educated, thoughthe branches or subjects they are taught are not varied. Foreigngovernesses are often employed to teach the girls French, German, andEnglish, which they can, in many cases, speak fluently. Language andliterature furnish a large part of their education. A change isgradually coming over the Turkish people in this matter of thedevelopment of its women, and this, notwithstanding, the fear in manyminds that a better educated woman will be a less manageable woman; acreature dissatisfied with her lot. A recent writer of acute observationof Turkish affairs has said of efforts on the part of Americanphilanthropists to instil the spirit of the American public school intothe minds of the Turks: "The general opinion seemed to be that thefemale sex had no intellectual capacity. The first efforts of theAmericans to make the women sharers in intellectual progress andrefinement were met with opposition, and often with derisive laughter.They created a new public sentiment in favor of the education of women.This is shown by the interest taken in the schools established byAmericans for the education of girls. Pashas, civil and militaryofficers of high rank, the ecclesiastics and wealthy men of all thedifferent nationalities attend the examinations, and express theirhearty approval of the efforts made by the Americans for improving theconditions of the women of Turkey."

The tendency of these influences is to win for women a greater respectfrom fathers, husbands, brothers; greater freedom in choice of theirlife partners; to defer the marriageable age from twelve years tofifteen or twenty; to secure for mothers greater respect from theirchildren; and to elevate womanhood in every relation of life.

Turkish women who are still living under the patriarchal system--and inno small part of the empire does this ancient system prevail--developunder a different environment from that prevailing in the other parts ofthe realm. Under a patriarchate the mother yields to the grandmother andthe great-grandmother. The wife holds not only a subservient place inthe family, which often contains as many as forty persons, but she isoften, literally, a slave to the mother-in-law, and her children aretrained by almost everybody else but herself. The patriarchal system isgradually yielding, however; and more and more, even in the conservativeregions of the world, newly married people are forsaking father andmother and cleaving to one another, setting up their own homes anddeveloping the parental character, and training their young in their ownsweet way.

Under strict Moslem influence, motherhood has a place of honor; atleast in theory. For Mohammedanism gives to the woman who bears childrenand trains them faithfully a rank in heaven with the martyrs.Unfortunately, however, the light esteem in which women are held inMoslem lands makes against woman's power, even in her noblestopportunity,--that of moulding the children into character that isnoblest and best. Much work has been done by foreign philanthropists inan effort to raise the standard of home training among the Turks.Stanley Lane-Poole, in his Studies in a Mosque, a book not writtenfrom the viewpoint of the modern missionary, but that of a candid anddiligent student of historic conditions, says: "It is quite certain thatthere is no hope for the Turks, so long as Turkish women remain whatthey are, and home training is the imitation of vice." This is surely adark picture. But the time may yet come when the Turkish woman willassume a position more like that of her Western sisters and become anelevating influence in the land whose present territory includes much ofthe most renowned soil the sun ever shone upon, not only that which sawthe birth of the religion of the Jew, the Christian, and the Mohammedan,but also much that is rich in classic and mediæval memories--the countryof which Byron wrote:

Yes, even the land of the Turk may see such ideals of womanhoodrealized as those which made the women of the ancient Hebrews and theearly Christians--who lived upon what is now Turkish soil--to be honoredthroughout the ages.

XI

THE MOORISH WOMEN

We are now to turn our attention to one of the most fascinating of allthe women of the world--the Moorish woman. Her fascination does not liealtogether in her intrinsic charm, but in the atmosphere that romancehas cast about her. And while there is, of course, a very close kinshipbetween the Moorish women of Spain and Morocco and the women of theOrient, especially the Mohammedan women, yet, the lady of Moorishancestry has a history and a life of her own which are well worthy ofconsideration.

The Moors brought culture to Spain, and it was not long after theirexpulsion that learning began to decline, and with it Spain. It wasduring the period of the Western movement of Mohammedanism that Islammade its contribution to the world's progress. In its very work ofdevastation, Arabian civilization was destined to render mankind greatservice. Conquering the north of Africa and then coming across thenarrow Straits of Gibraltar, the Moors were destined to write out awonderful history in their European home. So deeply did the Moorsimpress their life upon the Spaniards, that long after their expulsionthey continued to influence Spain by the power of their thought and theimpress of their customs. Even to-day, after the lapse of more than fourcenturies, Moorish footprints are traceable in Spanish soil. While theMoors brought culture into Spain, it cannot be said that they made anydirect attempt to educate or to elevate their women. But among a peoplewhose learning was relatively so high for its age, it was impossible toprevent the women from receiving a certain refinement and at times anelevation of mind which made them worthy of the respect and admirationof not only the prouder sex, but of the world. The capacity for truepoetry and the gift of music were not uncommon accomplishments of thesewomen. There was ample leisure for these arts to be cultivated by them.Charm of presence seemed to belong by nature and habit to the Moorishwoman, as

The Moorish women were pretty, as indeed their descendants are,especially when young. Like the ancient Egyptians, they blackened theireyelashes and eyebrows and used henna stains upon their finger tips.Beauty was at a high premium, not because there was so little of it inMoorish Spain, but because it was highly prized. Some of this peculiartype of beauty persists even to-day in parts of the peninsula. AsAranzadi (quoted by Ripley) says: "The very prevalent honey-brown eyesof the southwest quarter of Spain, near Granada, is probably due tostrong Moorish influence."

The respect for women among the Moors of Spain was higher than it wouldbe natural to expect in a land where Mohammed's influence was paramount.It is a tradition that the Prophet once declared: "I stood at the gateof Paradise and lo! most of its inmates were poor; and I stood at thegate of Hell and lo! most of its inmates were women." The Arabian naturewas intuitive, ardent, impulsive. So the beauty of a beautiful womanawakened the feeling of love and chivalry. On the other hand, the womenwere warm-hearted, though custom required them to be dignified andself-contained. Among a people where generosity, courage, hospitality,and veneration for old age were conspicuous virtues, it is not strangethat women should have received more than ordinary respect. And yetthese very qualities, when abused, often degenerated into idleness,pride, ignorance, bigotry, and even the grossest sensuality.

Chivalry, however, had its better side, for "Here gallants held itlittle thing for ladies' sake to die," as the old Spanish ballad tellsus. The Cid stories of valor--like that of Antar in Arabian literature,Orlando in Italian, and Arthur in early English legend--brought thispowerful influence upon the imaginations and conduct of both men andwomen:

Spain was for centuries known for its gallantry. Indeed, "the Spaniardsbore away the palm of gallantry from the French," and have in somerespects perpetuated the influence stamped upon them by the Moorishwomen, even to this day. As Thomas Bourke says, in his Moors in Spain:"Much of the chivalrous manner of the Granadians is no doubt to beattributed to their women, who were exactly qualified to create and keepalive this spirit of gallantry among their countrymen and to occasionthose excesses of love, of which so many examples, equally extraordinaryas pleasing, occur both in Spanish and in Arabian history."

What is the secret of the alluring and overpowering charms with whichthe Moorish women have fascinated the historian, enkindled the novelistand poet, set the musician's heart to vibrating and stirred theimagination of the world? A description of them which goes back to theold Arabian days is of interest in finding the secret of their powerover the senses and the imaginations of men. "They are uncommonlybeautiful; their charms which very rarely fail to impress, even at firstsight, are further set off by a lightness and grace which gives them aninfluence quite irresistible. They are rather below the middle stature;their hair, which is of a beautiful black, descends almost to theirankles. No vermilion can vie with their lips, which are continuallysending forth the most bewitching smiles, as if expressly to displayteeth as white as alabaster. They are profuse in the use of perfumes andwashes which, being exquisite in their kinds, give a freshness andlustre to the skin rarely to be equalled by the women of othercountries. Their steps, their dances, all their movements display agraceful softness, an easy negligence, that enhances their other charms,and not only renders them irresistible, but exalts them beyond all powerof praise. Their conversation is lively and poignant; their wit refinedand penetrating, equally adapted to grave and abstruse discussions as tothe pleasantest and most lively sallies."

The dresses of the Granadian women, not unlike those of the modernTurks and Russians, consisted chiefly of a long tunic, which was held inby a girdle. There was also an upper garment with straight sleeves. Thiswas called a dolyman. Large drawers upon the legs and Morocco slippersupon the feet finished the costume, with the exception of their smallbonnets, to which were attached costly veils, richly embroidered anddescending to their knees, altogether presenting a picture which, at itsbest, made the Moorish woman one of the most graceful and picturesque ofher day. The stuffs which went into a Moorish woman's dress were usuallyof extraordinary fineness, and the trimmings were costly, gold andsilver edging being used without stint.

Hairdressing was not an unimportant part of her toilette. The blackhair, befitting her complexion, was allowed to fall down in braids uponthe shoulders, but in front there was a fringe. Strings of coral beadswere often intertwined with the side locks; and the ornaments of thehair, often costly pearls, were allowed to hang down, giving a delicatetinkle as the woman moved her head. There were some little superstitionsabout the hair. It was thought that a direful curse fell upon those whojoined another's hair to their own. To send a person a bit of hair, oreven, by metonymy, the silken string which bound it, was a token ofsubmission. Jewelry was used by the Moorish women in great profusion.They are still passionately fond of ornaments. Even the poorest are wellsupplied, and the shapely brown arms of the little girls are encircledat the wrist and above the elbow with bands of brass or copper. As thewomen walk they "make a tinkling with their feet, because of all therings and anklets and bangles which they wear with so much delight."This jewelry is the woman's personal property, and in case her husbandshould see fit to divorce her, it still remains her own.

One of the most important parts of a Moorish lady's daily life was thebath, a pastime which was both pleasurable and imperative, especially inthe homes of the wealthier classes. Coppée, in his Conquest of Spain,has thus described the bathing equipment of a Moorish home: "Passingfrom the centre of a luxurious court through a double archway intoanother patio, similar in proportions and surroundings, and usuallylying at right angles to the first, in the centre is a great estangue,or oblong basin, seventy-five feet long by thirty in width, and six feetin depth in its deepest part, supplied with limpid waters, raised to apleasant temperature by heated metallic pipes. Here the indolent, thewarm, the weary, may bathe in luxurious languor. Here the women disportthemselves, while the entrances are guarded by eunuchs againstintrusion. The contented bather may then leave the court by a postern inthe gallery, which opens into a beautiful garden, with mazy walks andblooming parterres, redolent with roses and violets. Water iseverywhere; one garden house is ingeniously walled in with fountaincolumns, meant to bid defiance to the fiercest heats and droughts ofsummer."

From these ample and often luxurious arrangements, it might be surmisedthat by the Moor water was regarded not as a luxury, but as an absolutenecessity to a happy life. All classes shared more or less in the habitsof cleanliness; for it is said that many of the poor would have spent"their last dirhem for soap, preferring rather to be dinnerless thandirty," while the Moors of the higher order were so scrupulously cleanlythat they are said to have spent a very large part of their lives in thebath.

Strangely enough, the Catholics of Spain, determining to get as faraway as possible from the customs of their Mohammedan captors, eschewedthe bath because the Moors made so much of it; and men and women amongthem were known to be strangers to the touch of water. So far fromcleanliness being regarded as next to godliness, dirt became the veryemblem of Christian society, "monks and nuns boasted of theirfilthiness," and there is on record a female saint who boasted at theage of sixty that no drop of water had ever touched her body, exceptthat the tips of her fingers had been dipped into the holy water at themass!

Nine hundred well-equipped baths in the rich city of Cordova, andthousands throughout Spain, were destroyed by Philip II., the husband ofQueen Mary of England, on the ground that they were but relics ofSpain's occupancy by the infidel.

While Mohammed refused to Mohammedan women the right to marry any but aMohammedan, yet he granted to his male followers the right to marryChristians or Jewesses if they saw fit. This privilege led to aconsiderable admixture of blood in Moorish Spain. Spanish pride did notsuffice to prevent these intermarriages of Arab and Spaniard. Polygamyalso being in vogue,--for their religion allowed the Moors fourwives,--a blending of races went on rapidly, and the Moorish type ofbeauty may be discovered to-day in any part of southern Spain. TheChristian influence in Spain tended to soften the almost necessaryasperities of a life where plural marriages are sanctioned. Thedegradation incident to Mohammedan ideals concerning women was muchchecked by a counter current of Christian feeling, by which the Moorscould not but be influenced. So, also, did poets and lovers in MoorishSpain show a respect for womanly worth and grace, if not womanly virtue,which marks an advance from the Mohammedan or even the earlier Arabiandays.

As might be inferred from their Oriental antecedents, the Spanish Arabsgave much time to eating and drinking. The chief meal followed theevening prayer. The men ate alone, the women and children followed whentheir lord had finished his repast. The tray containing the food wasplaced upon an embroidered rug. Silver and fine earthenware were notwanting. Bread and limes were expected with every meal. A dish made ofthe flesh of a sheep or fowls stewed with vegetables was a common dish,as, indeed, it is a favorite among the Moorish people to-day. "The dinersat on a low cushion, with legs crossed. A servant poured water on hishands before eating, from a basin and ewer, which formed a necessarypart of the table furniture. The meal then began with theBismillah--'In the name of the most merciful God'--for grace. Theright hand only was used in eating; and with it the host, if he hadguests, transferred choice pieces from his own plate to theirs, andsometimes, as a mark of greater favor, to their very mouths. Ordinarilythere were soups, boiled meats, stuffed lambs, and all meats notforbidden. Very little water was taken during the meal; in its place,and especially after the meal, sherbets were drunk, those flavored withviolet and made very sweet being preferred."

The contact between the Mohammedans and the Christians in MoorishSpain inevitably brought conflict. Christians often unnecessarily threwaway their lives in courted martyrdom. Many were the staunch women whothus willingly laid down their lives. The story of Flora, the beautifuldaughter of a Moorish father and a Christian mother, has in it elementsof the deepest pathos. The offspring of mixed marriages among the Moorswas universally regarded by them as of necessity Mohammedan in faith.Flora's mother, however, had secretly instilled into her the beliefs ofthe Christian religion, though outwardly she was a good follower of theProphet. At length, however, stirred by the sacrifices she saw theChristian martyrs making for their cause, her father being now dead, shefled from her home and took refuge among the Christians. Her Mohammedanbrother searched for her, but in vain. Priests were charged with herabduction and were punished with imprisonment. Unwilling that theyshould be thus punished on her account, Flora returned and gave herselfup, confessing that she was no longer a Moslem, but a Christian. Allefforts to make her recant proved fruitless. There remained nothingexcept to bring her before the Mohammedan judge and try her for thecapital offence of apostasy. The judge, however, willing to show mercy,sentenced Flora not to death as the law prescribed, but to a severeflogging. Her brother was enjoined to take the girl home and instructher in the faith of Mohammed. It was not long, however, before she againmade good her escape and joined some Christian friends, among whom a newexperience awaited her. Here, Saint Eulogius, an enthusiast among theChristians, met Flora and conceived for her a love that was pure andtender, so admirable did he adjudge her steadfastness to the faith. Itwas a day when martyrs willingly laid down their lives, accounting it aproud distinction to die at the hands of the infidel. They courteddeath. So with Flora. Appearing before the judge one day with aChristian maiden who also sought a martyr's death, this girl of halfMoorish blood, but with staunch Christian faith, reviled that officerand cursed his religion and the Prophet. The Mohammedan judge pitied theyoung girls, but had them thrown into prison. Here they might haveweakened had not Eulogius urged them to stand fast in their holy faith.The sentence of death was passed upon them; and the girls were led awayto execution. Eulogius, who loved Flora above all else on earth, andhence desired her to win what he considered the most glorious of allcrowns, that of martyrdom, looked on in the hour of her death, andwrote: "She seemed to me an angel. A celestial illumination surroundedher; her face lightened with happiness; she seemed already to be tastingthe joys of the heavenly home.... When I heard the words of her sweetmouth, I sought to establish her in her resolve, by showing her the crownthat awaited her. I worshipped her, I fell down before this angel, andbesought her to remember me in her prayers; and strengthened by herspeech, I returned less sad to my sombre cell." Thus did Moorish bloodand Christian faith unite to make a life of wonderful daring andfortitude.

To-day in Moorish states the strictest seclusion prevails for thewomen. The love of idleness, ignorance, and sensuality are theirdominating traits. They are veiled when in public, and in the north ofAfrica wear a striped white shawl, called a haik, of coarser or finermaterial, according to the wealth or position of the wearer. This pieceof apparel is thrown over the head and conceals the person down to thefeet, the face being hidden by a white linen handkerchief, called theadjar, tied tightly across the nose just under the eyes. Says Sequin,in Walks about Algiers, in describing the Moorish women of thatregion: "In the street they present the appearance of animatedclothes-bags, and walk with a curious shuffling gait, very far removedfrom the unfettered dignity of their lords and masters. They are not'emancipated'; and though in the houses of the richer Moors the slaveryof their women may be gilded, it is but slavery after all. TheMohammedan invariably buys his wife--that is to say, he pays a price forher to her family, large or small, according to her reputed beauty, oraccomplishments as a housewife; and though when a girl is born to him,an Arab laments, a man with many daughters, if he knows how to disposeof them well, in time becomes rich. Arab women, unlike the men, aresmall in stature, and the wearing of the adjar has flattened theirnoses and made their faces colorless. It is a curious fact that thisdisguise was unknown among Arab women until the time of Mahommed'smarriage with his young and beautiful wife Ayesha, as to whose conduct,indeed, it became needful for the angel Gabriel to make a specialcommunication, before the Prophet's uneasiness could be removed. Thejealousy of one man has been powerful enough to cover the faces of allMoslem wives and daughters for twelve hundred years."

The Moorish women of the better class are rarely seen upon the streetsor in public places. Indeed, they are not expected to cross theirthreshold for at least twelve months after their marriage; and when thattime has elapsed, it is seldom they are seen abroad. They go to thebaths, and sometimes on Fridays they visit the cemeteries. Otherrecreations or amusements are not open to them, except that in themarriage ceremonies women have peculiar privileges, since theseceremonies are held in the women's apartments. "Marriage festivitieslast a week, during which time the chief amusement is the eating ofsweetmeats and the dressing, bejewelling, dyeing, painting, andgenerally adorning of the bride, who is, as a rule, a girl of somethirteen or fourteen years old, and who is compelled to sit idle andimmovable the whole time without showing the slightest interest inanything. She has probably never seen and has certainly never been seenby the bridegroom. At the conclusion of the ceremonies the bridegroom isintroduced to the women's apartments, and permitted to raise his bride'sveil, but etiquette obliges the lady to keep her eyes tightly closed onthe occasion, and in some cases the unfortunate young woman's eyelashesare gummed down to her cheeks, to save the possibility of an indiscreetglance. If the face of the bride is displeasing to the bridegroom, he isat liberty after this one glance to reject her. If, on the contrary, heis satisfied, he drinks a few drops of scented water from the bride'shand, offers her the same from his, and the marriage is concluded."

In contrast with their once great enemies, the Spaniards, the Moorshave no kind of public spectacle. For the Moors of Africa,story-telling, in which the Arabs have time out of mind delighted, therecitation of poems, to which is usually added a dance of almehs,generally negresses, expert in their art of pleasing the nativeassemblies. These entertainments are held in the open courtyard of somequaint old Moorish house; the centre of the court being reserved for thedancers and the musicians. The men fill the space around, beneath thearches, while in the galleries are the ghostly forms of veiled women.

It cannot be said that the Moorish women of to-day still retain thatgrace of form and charm of manner which the Moorish lady of fivecenturies ago possessed. A prominent woman, who has travelled widely inMoslem countries, has given this rather repellent description of thewomen of the Moors of to-day. "They are huge puncheons of greasy flesh,daubed with white and scarlet, strung with a barbaric wealth of jewelsand scented beads. They eat and sleep, and then for variety's sake theysleep and eat. They gossip, scold, and intrigue; and are valuedaccording to their weight. They blacklead their eyes, and paint theircheeks like Jezebel; beat their slaves, drink tea and chat and quarrel."Not a very attractive picture is this,--and perhaps a littlegloomy,--but it is given as presenting a marked and altogether truthfulcontrast between the Moorish women of the days when chivalry flourishedin southern Spain, and the women of the Morocco of to-day in theirpoverty and degradation. Once the women exerted a strong influence overthe men; the truth is that frequently the "power behind the throne" wasto be located within the harem. This was probably true during the reignof Hakam II., who was so fond of books that war and the practicalconcerns of government had little charm for him. He was the son of thegreat Kalif of Cordova, Abd-er-Rahman III. The latter had built a cityto please his Ez-Zahra, and called it "City of the Fairest," but he didnot turn over the government to his spouse. His son Hakam, however,allowed the influence of the women of the court to become dominant, andon his death the Sultana Aurora, mother of the young Kalif Hisham,became the most important personage in the state. It was she who waschiefly instrumental in introducing into power the young Almanzor.Gifted in the fine art of flattery and being brilliant withal, theprincesses, and more particularly Aurora herself, fell in love with thetalented young man, and turned all the currents of influence and powertoward him. Thus did the women of the court succeed in developing one ofthe most successful and unscrupulous of Moorish leaders. He made allSpain tremble by his victories, and Christians sighed with relief whendeath at last conquered the conqueror.

The power of the wife of the Spanish Moor was by no means small. A fineexample of her influence at times may be illustrated by the history ofMuley Abul Hassan, the royal Moorish ruler of the Alhambra, who came tothe throne in A.D. 1465. "Though cruel by nature," says WashingtonIrving, "he was prone to be ruled by his wives." He had married early inlife a young kinswoman, the daughter of the Sultan Mohammed VII., hisgreat-uncle. This Ayxa--or Ayesha, as she has been called--was, says thehistorian, of almost masculine spirit and energy, and of such immaculateand inaccessible virtue that she was generally called La Horra--"theChaste." To her there was born a son, who received the name of AbuAbdallah; or as he is commonly known, by the abbreviation Boabdil. Theastrologers were called upon to cast the horoscope of the infant, as wasusual; and, to their great trepidation, it was found that it was"written in the book of fate that this child will one day sit upon thethrone, but the downfall of the kingdom will be accomplished during hisreign." At once the young prince and heir began to be looked upon withsuspicion and even aversion by his father, who proceeded to persecutethe child over whom such a prediction hung. He was accordingly nicknamedEl Zogoybi--"the Unfortunate." It was a valiant and fond-hearted motherwhose constant care and protection enabled him to grow up to youngmanhood; for she was a woman of strong character and of dominating will.But, alas! growing somewhat old, and losing some of her personal charmand influence, Ayesha must face a rival in the harem. Among the captivestaken by the Moors at this time, says Irving, was one Isabella, thedaughter of a Christian cavalier, Sancho Ximenes de Solis. Her Moorishcaptors gave her the name of Fatima; but as she grew up, her surpassingbeauty gained her the surname of Zoraya, or "the Morning Star," by whichshe has become known to history. Her charms at length attracted thenotice of Muley Abul Hassan, and, after being educated in the Moslemfaith, she became his wife.

Zoraya soon acquired complete ascendency over the mind of Muley AbulHassan. "She was as ambitious as she was beautiful, and, having becomethe mother of two sons, looked forward to the possibility of one of themsitting on the throne of Granada." Zoraya succeeded in gathering abouther a faction, who were drawn to her by her foreign and Christiandescent. These were anxious to assist her in her ambition and that ofher sons, as they arrayed themselves against Boabdil and his mother. Thelatter, however, were not without their ardent supporters. There wereengendered jealousies that were inveterate and hatreds that were deep.Intriguing was the order of the day. Fearing that a plot would succeedin deposing Muley Abul Hassan and in putting Boabdil upon the throne ofhis father, the prince, together with his mother, was thrown into prisonand confined in the tower of Cimares. Hassan resolved not only to setthe stars at defiance and to prove the lying fallacy of the horoscope,but to silence at once and for all, by the executioner's sword, theambitions of his son Boabdil. But here the versatility of Ayesha againasserted itself. She at once began to make a way for Boabdil's escape."At the dead of night she gained access to his prison, and, tyingtogether the shawls and scarfs of herself and her female attendants,lowered him down from a balcony of the Alhambra to the steep, rockyhillside which sweeps down to the Darro. Here some of her devotedadherents were waiting to receive him, who, mounting him upon a swifthorse, spirited him away." The young man, acting under the advice ofambitious friends and relatives, began to make preparations for war; andhis own mother encouraged his heart and equipped him for the field,giving him her fond benediction as she lovingly girded his scimiter tohis side. But his young bride wept, as she tried to fancy the ills thatmight befall him in so uneven a conquest. "Why dost thou weep, daughterof Ali Altar?" asked the invincible Ayesha; "these tears become not thedaughter of a warrior, nor the wife of a king. Believe me, there lurksmore danger for a monarch within the strong walls of a palace thanwithin the frail curtains of a tent. It is by perils in the field thatthy husband must purchase security on his throne." But Morayma, daughterof Ali Altar, found it hard to be comforted; and as her husband, theprince, departed from the Alhambra, she took her place at her mirador,and then, overlooking the Vega, she watched the departing loved one,whom she thought never to see again, as his forces vanished from hersight, and "every burst of warlike melody that came swelling on thebreeze was answered by a gush of sorrow."

This succession of fateful incidents connected with the career of onewho was destined to be the last to sit upon a Moorish throne in Spain ishere recounted because the events give at once an insight into thestrength and the weakness of the Moorish womanly character, with all itsardent love and spiteful hate, with its loyalty and its trickery, itshopes and its fears.

It was Ferdinand, with his wife Isabella, who was destined to return tothe Spaniards the possession of their land, so long held by the Moors.The story of the overthrow of Boabdil is a narrative of chivalry andreal pathos. Boabdil, standing on a spur of the Alpuxarras, with hismother Ayesha by his side, looked back upon the glory of his lostdominion. The towers of the Alhambra loomed up before him, and the richand fertile Vega stretched out before his eyes for the last time."Allahu Akbar," said he, sorrowfully, "God is most great," and burstinto tears. "Well may you weep like a woman," said Ayesha, "for thatwhich you were unable to defend like a man." This final standing placeof the last of the Moorish rulers in Spain is still known as El UltimoSospiro del Moro--"the last sigh of the Moor." The standard of Castileand Aragon by the side of the Cross has supplanted the crescent ofIslam; and Ferdinand, with Isabella, knelt in the Alhambra and gavethanks to God, while the Spanish army knelt behind them, and the royalchoir chanted a Te Deum. Had Isabella been more gracious and keptfaith with the infidel, the lot of the vanquished had been lesssorrowful.

When the Moors were driven out from the home that had been theirs formore than seven eventful centuries, none suffered more than did theproud Moorish ladies. It is creditable, however, to their Spanishvictors that they preserved as a part of their own national literaturemany of the ballads of the vanquished Moors. Lines from the MoorishLament for the Slain Celin are expressive of the wail of maid andmother at the loss of their former glory and their expulsion from theplace they had so long held:

The aged women also had their hopes stricken low by the downfall oftheir people:

The fall of Granada brought bitterness to many a heart. The words of theballad, Woe is Me! translated from the Spanish by Lord Byron, mightwell depict the feeling of the hour:

The aged Moor, pacing to and fro before the king, pours out his plaint:

As one has written: "Beautiful Granada, how is thy glory faded! Theflower of thy chivalry lies low in the land of the stranger; no longerdoes the Bivarambla echo to the tramp of steed and the sound of trumpet;no longer is it crowded with thy youthful nobles, gloriously arrayed forthe tilt and tourney. Beautiful Granada! The soft note of the lute nolonger floats through thy moonlit streets; the serenade is no more heardbeneath thy balconies; the lively castanet is silent upon thy hills; thegraceful dance of the Zambra is no more seen beneath thy bowers.Beautiful Granada! why is the Alhambra so forlorn and desolate? Theorange and the myrtle still breathe their perfumes into its silkenchambers; the nightingale still sings within its groves; its marblehalls are still refreshed with the plash of fountains and the gush ofthe limpid rills! Alas! the countenance of the king no longer shineswithin those halls. The light of the Alhambra is set for ever!"

XII

WOMEN OF CHINA AND COREA

China, once the country of perpetual calm, has in recent years becomethe land of magnificent disturbances. Not an unimportant factor in thechanges that have lately taken place in the Flowery Kingdom has beenwoman. The influence of the women of the nations is generallycentripetal. Of the peoples of the earth the Chinese would doubtless benamed as altogether the most conservative, and in this conservatism theChinese women play a most important part.

Ancestry worship has marked this people from time immemorial, and ifthere be one characteristic of Chinese life stronger than all the rest,it is that of filial piety. This regard is not taught to end withchildhood, but is to be lasting even in mature manhood. From thelowliest subject to the emperor himself the rule is imperative. Thelatter is father of the people of the realm, and as such is to bereverenced; he in turn is the son of Heaven. Confucius was careful toinstil into his pupils filial regard--a virtue which the sages beforehim had urged upon the people. To such teachings is to be attributedmuch that is best in Chinese life.

Thus the Chinese system is a gigantic patriarchal system with its baseresting on the earth, its head penetrating heaven. Mencius spoke oftenand in no uncertain words upon this theme. "Of all that a filial son canattain to, there is nothing greater than his honoring his parents. Ofwhat can be attained to in honoring his parents, there is nothinggreater than nourishing them with the whole Empire. To be the father ofthe son of Heaven is the highest nourishment." In this may be verifiedthe sentence in the Book of Poetry:

Every department of life is reached by this trait. Someone once askedMencius how it was that Shun, an exemplary character of more ancientdays, had married without consulting his parents. For "if the rule bethus (i.e., to inform the parents), no one ought to have illustratedit so well as Shun." To which Mencius replied: "If he had informed themhe would not have been able to marry. That male and female should dwelltogether is the greatest of human relations. If Shun had informed hisparents, he would have made void this greatest of human relations, andincurred thereby their resentment. It was for this reason that he didnot inform them." Thus only did Mencius save the filial character of thegreat and good Shun.

Since social and religious ideals are the most potential in shapingwoman's life among any people, filial piety has naturally held a notableplace in the making of Chinese womanhood, from the earliest period ofChinese history. Respect for age is, therefore, one of the most eminentof Chinese virtues. This is shown in innumerable habits of everydaylife. Let a company be walking out together, the eldest will lead theway, while the others follow on, paired according to their respectiveages.

The teachings of Confucius have without doubt influenced the thinkingand the conduct of Chinese men in their relations with the female sex;even though he said little directly about women or their conduct. Hisloose ideas as to marriage and the admission of concubinage are amongthe blots upon his social teachings. The body of early Chineseliterature gives a most suggestive insight into the ancient idealsconcerning woman; and because of the dreary conservatism of the peoplethese ideals are still potential.

The Li Ki, or "Book of Ceremonies," has many bits of counsel which areintended to regulate the everyday life of the people. Of course, thereis much there concerning the life of woman, of wives, of concubines, ofmothers; concerning betrothal, marriage, domestic and filial duties.

The Chinese are not usually regarded as a people overflowing withsentiment; and yet many of their ancient poems are not lacking inromantic interest. From such effusions as that which exclaims:

to deeper meditations upon feminine worth and character, the earlypoetry sweeps over quite a wide range of sentimental reflection.

The Shi King, a collection of Chinese poetry gathered by Confucius,an anthology of more than three hundred poems, contains some glowingepithalamia setting forth at length the unmistakable virtues of thebride. Others of them present the industry of a queen, the charming andvirtuous manners of an admired maiden, or the affection of a spouse.While still others set forth the feelings of a wife who bewails theabsence of her husband, away in the performance of duty; or, it may be,of a rejected wife giving forth her bitter plaint. A husband's crueltyis bemoaned; a woman scorns the praises of an artless lover; or a wifeis consoled by her husband's home-coming.

These songs, born in the early days of feudalism, when the dukes orgovernors of the states would come together to consult with the kingconcerning public matters, breathe of a period long past. Among theofficers in attendance on these occasions were the music masters. "Letme write the songs of the people," one has said, "I care not who makestheir laws." To the music masters was assigned the duty of supervisingthe songs in use among the subjects of the realm. The songs approved bythe king's music master were preserved as classics. It was from thesethat Confucius selected; and he preserved many in which the Chinesewoman is the motive and inspiration. The ode celebrating the virtue ofKing Wan's bride is but one of many such poems giving a good insightinto the ancient attitude of mind toward feminine beauty and virtue, aswell as preserving some of the older customs attending the festalwedding day:

The Chinese drama, a much more modern art--though nothing seems modernin China--often depicts woman in her best as well as in her lessfavorable light. There is present here the true spirit of romance. Inthe Sorrows of Han, a historical tragedy setting forth conditions inthe days of effeminacy:

Lady Chaoukeun, a farmer's daughter, who has been raised to bePrincess of Han, has never yet seen the king's face. She was eighteenyears of age when brought into the royal palace, but by the intrigue ofthe prime minister she had been ignored and neglected. Her picture hasbeen mutilated by the official, not only that he might destroy herprospects in the royal eye, but also that he might extort money inselecting other beauties for the palace. Her father, being poor, wasunable to pay the amount exacted. But by chance the king comes upon heras she plays the lute in the darkness. He, enraptured by the music, asksto see her. Her beauty at once charms him. He hears the story of hersadness, and the plot of the minister is made known. The latter is atonce condemned to lose his head. Making his escape, however, he reachesthe camp of the Tartars, who are at this very juncture threatening theland, and gives himself over to their assistance. Being shown a truepicture of Lady Chaoukeun in all her beauty, the prince of the Tartarsfalls desperately in love, and is willing even to offer peace to theking if he will but give up the beautiful princess. The king, sorrowful,but unable otherwise to save his land from devastation, delivers overhis wife to the enemy, she herself consenting to be sacrificed that thekingdom and her husband's dynasty may be preserved. But, faithful in herlove, she is not long in the hand of the Tartar prince. She seizes heropportunity, and throws herself into the surging river, along which theTartar army was camped, and is drowned. When Khan, the Tartar prince,saw his prize had escaped his grasp, he decides to give back the traitorminister to King Han for punishment. That very night Han sees his martyrwife in his dreams. He arises to embrace her, but she is gone again. Theplay closes with the order for the beheading of him who has brought uponthe royal house such sorrow.

Most of the romance in a Chinese woman's life, however, is found in thebooks, which tell of the earlier days. The first event in the life ofmost women in China, though she does not at the time realize it, is asad one. There is usually scant welcome for the girl. Certainly, amidstthe masses of the people, she enters upon a rough and weary way. She isreared in seclusion and ignorance. Her little brothers, even, are nother companions. If she should have any association with them, she islittle better than their servant. Her name does not appear upon thefamily register, since she is expected to belong to another family whenshe is old enough to wed.

Does one ask of courtship in China? There is no such thing there,unless bartering by go-betweens could be called by that name. Girlsspend their last days of maidenhood in loud wailing, and their girlfriends come to weep with them. Well may they do this. After marriage,which is itself a bitter rather than a happy experience for the bride,they continue a life of worse slavery--slavery abject and heartless--towomen who have been slaves to other women. The mother-in-law in Chinarules her daughter-in-law with an iron hand, and the wife's futuredepends much more upon the character of the husband's mother than uponthe husband himself. That the coming of girls into the home is not sowelcome an event as that of boys is quite natural, for it is expectedthat at about sixteen years of age the girl will become a member ofanother family, returning but occasionally to the house of her birth. Sothat while a mother's hope of prestige lies in her sons, the ministeringcares which she might expect in duty from her daughter must be tenderedher by the wife of her son rather than by the sympathetic hands of herdaughter, whose attentions must be unremitting to the mother of her ownhusband.

Betrothals are sometimes made in infancy. But since such contracts areregarded as being quite as binding as a marriage, wisdom usuallydictates a postponement. Girls are therefore usually betrothed a year ortwo before marriage, which in most cases occurs at about fifteen yearsof age. Among the poorer classes, in order to avoid the expenseordinarily involved in betrothal, a mother will sometimes buy, orreceive as a gift, an infant girl, who is reared as a wife for her son.

Marriage, however, in China as elsewhere, is always regarded as a matterof deep concern in a woman's career. But in China she has little sharein the events which lead up to the wedding day. Proposals of marriageand the acceptances are often made without either party to the lifeunion knowing about the transactions. Nor are the experiences of thenuptial day always joyous to the timid young bride. Up to the time ofher marriage, the girl has spent her days in comparative seclusion.Thrust now suddenly among strangers, she naturally shrinks with afeeling almost akin to terror. This ordeal she must face with apparentlylittle sympathy. Audible comments are made concerning her when she is atlength in the home of her new-found parents, as they give their vividimpressions of the newcomer. In parts of China at least, it is customaryfor the unmarried girls along the route to throw at the passing bridehandfuls, not of rice, but of hayseed or chaff, which, striking upon herwell-oiled black hair, adheres readily and conspicuously. Not only mustthe girl be given in marriage by the parents, but the man must let hisparents know of his desire to marry, and get counsel at their hands. Inthe sacred Book of Poetry it is expressly written:

Married women seldom have names of their own. A wife may have twosurnames, that of her husband and that of her mother's family. If shehave a son, she may be called "Mother of So-and-So." Nor is she expectedto speak to others of her husband directly as her husband. She must usesome circumlocution which does not directly state her relation to him.

Chinese economists might possibly defend polygamy and concubinage on theground that these tend to produce a sturdier race than would beotherwise possible; for the concubines of the wealthier classes areusually taken from among the stronger working people, whose superiorphysical vigor is constantly adding fresh blood to the more delicateclasses. But the moral evils of the system undoubtedly more thancounterbalance any physical advantage that may accrue to society throughits existence.

The birth of an infant works a marked transformation in a Chinesewoman's life. So long as she is childless, she is expected to serve.When she becomes a mother, she at once takes up the sceptre. Wives,therefore, pray to their deities for the coming of a son; and when theobject of their hearts' desire is realized, the delighted parents paytheir devotions to the god who has sent the new joy into their lives.The sway of the woman over all the household, with the exception of herliege lord and her sons, is complete. The Shi King puts this in poeticform in describing the bride's entrance upon her new estate:

But remember that first she must become a mother. The brightest featurein the life of Chinese women, the one thing that brings them mostcomfort, is their boys. It is these which most surely lift women into aposition of respect. And this is true, even though, according to theteaching of China's sages, the mother must be subject to her son as wellas to her husband. "The one bright spot in the lives of Chinese women,"an educated Chinaman has recently said, "is their resignation, theirwillingness to endure, to make the best of their circumstances." Indeed,of the Chinese as a race, this is true, though it is more emphaticallytrue of the women. Certainly their lot is far harder than that of themen. From the cradle to the grave, in the view of one from the Occident,the Chinese woman's way is a dark and cheerless one. Few of the outerrays of the world's joy penetrate the seclusion of their lives. Andwhile Chinese girls and women are amply capable of being made theintellectual and social equals of the opposite sex, the fact is they arenot in any true sense companions of their brothers and husbands.

It is the lack of training that makes the Chinese woman, as a rule,uncompanionable. There are exceptions, to be sure. In their present lackof real preparation for the wider sphere of womanly usefulness, it isdoubtless well that the women have no larger freedom. Wherever theWestern school has gone, however, there has been given to the girls ofChina an opportunity for a broader outlook upon life through educationand training.

"Of all others," says Confucius, in the Analects, "women servants andmen servants are the most difficult people to have the care of. Approachthem in a familiar manner, and they take liberties; keep them at adistance, and they grumble." These words throw some light, by way ofillustration at least, upon woman's place in China as respects freedomto mingle with the outside world. The sex probably enjoys as muchliberty as conditions justify. And yet keeping them from the worldwithout does not tend to develop the most genial temperament; theirfaces do not evince cheerfulness or hope.

What is the attitude of a Chinese husband toward his wife? Of course,she is regarded as his inferior; and, as a rule, she actually is.Because of the limitations which from infancy have everywhere beenthrown about her life, it could not be otherwise. When the girls must bemarried off to get rid of the craving of another mouth; and when wivesare largely looked upon as but a means of rearing children, that thesemay do the pious duties in behalf of the ancestral dead, it could not beexpected that the idea of the equality of the sexes should ever beconceived.

In China, as elsewhere in the broad world, wives are often neglected.From early Chinese literature, as well as from modern life, expressionsof the wife's sad lament are heard. As one of the poets puts it in themouth of a neglected spouse, whose husband comes not to her comfort:

Second marriages, though often made are not highly regarded in China.Naturally love is less likely to spring up as in the earlieraffiliation. The yengo, a species of wild goose is, among the Chinese,the emblem of love between the sexes. This bird especially stands forstrong and undying attachment. For it is said that when once its mate isdead, it never pairs again. For this reason an image of it is worshippedby the newly married couples of China. There is a popular saying amongthe Chinese that a second husband to a second wife are husband and wifeso long as the poor supply holds out. When this fails the partners flyapart, and self is the care of each. While it would be entirely unjustnot to recognize the presence of genuine love on the part of many ahusband, yet a wife may be handled severely by her spouse if for anyreason he may think her deserving of such treatment. This is more trueof concubines, whose lot is indeed a hard one. Whenever there is in thehousehold more than one wife, jealousy, bickering, strife, and plottingare almost certain. The Shi King sets these forth in a little poem onthe jealousy of a wife:

The Chinese have a saying that it is impossible to be more jealous thana woman; and in the word for "jealous" there is an intended suggestionof another word of the same sound, but of different intonation, meaning"poisonous;" which play upon the word reminds one of the remark of theHebrew sage that "jealousy is cruel as the grave."

The wife is not seen upon the streets with her husband. Nor does she, asa rule, eat with him. After the men of the family have finished theirmeals, the women take their turn at the board. Too little is thesympathy they get in their ailments; for generally scant is theattention paid to their suffering, and poverty often prevents aphysician's care. Much, too, that goes for healing is hideously crueland permeated with the wildest superstition.

It must seem the grimmest irony in one of Goldsmith's Chinese lettersfrom his Citizen of the World, when he makes Lien Chi Altangi, whilewriting of his purpose to open a school for young women, say: "In this Iintended to instruct the ladies in all the conjugal mysteries; wivesshould be taught the art of managing their husbands, and maids the skillof properly choosing them; I would teach a wife how far she mightventure to be sick without giving disgust; she should be acquainted withthe great benefits of cholic in the stomach, and all the thoroughbredinsolence of fashion; maids should learn the secret of nicelydistinguishing every competitor; they should be able to know thedifference between a pedlar and a scholar, a citizen and a prig, asquire and his horse, a beau and his monkey; but chiefly they should betaught the art of managing their smiles, from the contemptuous simper tothe long laborous laugh."

One of the cornerstones of Confucius's teaching was "reciprocity." Butthis doctrine he does not seem to apply to the practical relations ofmarried life, about which he had little or nothing to say. Suicides ofyoung wives would be far less frequent in China were this doctrine ofthe great lawgiver applied to marital life. A cruel husband may, almostwith perfect impunity, greatly injure his wife, or even kill her,especially if he can make good a claim before the authorities that shehad been unfilial to his parents.

The Chinese wife is, of course, not free from the evils of divorce. Ifshe be guilty of such faults as scolding, disobedience, lasciviousness,or theft, which is next to murder in its heinousness, or if she be thevictim of such misfortune as leprosy or barrenness, she may be sent backto her parents, if they be still alive. Among the causes for whichdivorce is possible, the failure to bear sons is the first. Widowssometimes remarry. In some parts of China the suttee, or"self-immolation," of widows is not unknown, the unfortunate woman beingcompelled to strangle herself, after which her body is burned.

The maternal instincts are seldom stronger than in the attitude towardthe helplessness of infancy; yet, in China infanticide is ofextraordinary prevalence. The greatest danger that besets a Chinesewoman is at her birth. In an already overpopulated country, it is notstrange that the custom of killing the female infant, for whom it isdifficult to provide sustenance, should have gained ground. Besides,while the congested condition of the population is somewhat relieved byemigration of the men to other lands, the women do not leave; hence,there is a tendency toward a surplus of women. It frequently happensthat if a Chinese mother has not yet been blessed with the birth of aboy, she will destroy her female offspring, with the thought that inthis way she may hope the sooner to bear a son. If, on the other hand,she has one or more sons, she may allow two or three daughters to live.After this, many mothers will not hesitate to smother the girls at theirbirth. "By the accident of sex," says a recent writer, "the infant is afamily divinity; by the accident of sex, she is a dreaded burden, liableto be destroyed, and certain to be despised." The Chinese officials havetried earnestly to break up this frightful custom of infanticide. Bookshave been written and circulated condemning the practice. Foundlinghospitals have also been established, in order that this kind of murdermight be checked and the rejected little ones cared for. Stone tabletshave been erected on river banks, by pools, and in places at which thekilling of girls might probably occur, or where their dead bodies arelikely to be deposited. During a period of rebellion, and of direpoverty, so many desperate mothers throw their babes by the roadside forthe dogs and birds of prey to devour, that "baby towers" wereconstructed at certain points, where the tiny dead bodies might bethrown, to avoid the dangerous offensiveness to the population.

But if in infancy the girl is not killed, she is allowed to live. Shouldpinching poverty come, she may be sold or given away. In some districtsbaby merchants are not unknown. When the little girls grow up theybecome serviceable in numerous ways in the domestic life; but many ofthem are sold to a life of shame.

A wise Chinese writer, Hwei Kwo, in discussing infanticide among hispeople, says: "Before you drown the infants you ought to think, 'I thusharshly violate propriety. But there are gods above; how can I deceivethem? My ancestors are beside me; how can I present myself before them?'Before long the babe will call kwa, kwa, and want some nourishment;before many months she will call ya yah, and begin to talk, firstcalling year-niang (father, mother), and walk carefully about yourknees. Before many years she will be helping you in all your hard work,and when she is married and bears a son, how very pleased you will be.If you get a good son-in-law, and their children are well to do, howmuch admiration and glory. 'If I endure present trouble, I may by and byeat my daughter's rice.'" But even these low and selfish motives are notsufficient to destroy the prevalence of infanticide, which is moreparticularly practised in southern China. It is almost, if not quite,unknown in the north.

Woman's standing before the law in China would not be regarded as highin a country where woman's rights have been agitated. Her propertyrights are practically nil, except as she enjoys them through malerelatives. And yet, with all her limitations, the woman of China is insome respects in advance of her sisters of many other Oriental lands.She is not shut up in a harem, as she is in Turkey; she is not bounddown by the harsh caste system, as in India; she is not looked upon asdevoid of spiritual existence, as in Burmah; she is not degraded by thecurse of polyandry, as in Thibet. In no Eastern land, with the exceptionof Japan, has woman a better opportunity to exert power and developcharacter than in China.

The dress of Chinese women might be thought by women of some otherlands to be lacking in beauty and grace; and yet, it is in many respectshighly sensible, being at least modest, healthful, and economical. Ithides the contour of the person effectually, and this, among theChinese, is its chief design. Being loose, it gives full play to thevital parts, as well as to the limbs, and the same thickness ofmaterials prevails over the whole body. There is no waste in thecutting, and no unnecessary ornaments or appendages, eight yards ofyard-wide goods being sufficient for a complete set of winter garments.The mental worry that comes to the woman of the West in selectingpatterns, in cutting, and in fitting, is all done away with in China,since the Chinese lady always selects the same pattern,--or has had itselected for her by her great-grandmother,--and there is little need forfitting. Figures that would look unattractive in Western attire can wearthe Chinese dress without disadvantage. Some have attributed the greatage to which Chinese women so frequently attain--notwithstanding theoften unsanitary condition of their homes, often floorless andwindowless--to the hygienic character of their clothing. The winterclothes in the more northerly sections are padded garments that appear,to be sure, rather clumsy and uncomfortable. The use of woolenunderclothing does not prevail. These padded garments hang about thebody like bags; and sometimes when children fall down they are utterlyunable to rise without assistance. It is needless to say that woman'swinter attire is by no means graceful or convenient. If even the men donot use pockets,--which conveniences seem to a Westerner soindispensable,--it may be surmised that the women have no suchcontrivances in their dress. The ordinary costume of a woman consists oftwo garments. The upper one appears very much like an American lady'sdressing-sack, only somewhat longer, with flowing sleeves, and is quiteloose fitting, the fastenings being along a curve from the neck tobeneath the right arm, and then in a straight line down that side. Thelower garment is a pair of loose trousers. There is little or nodifference in the style of the outer and inner garments, more or fewerbeing worn according to the state of the weather. A skirt is seldom wornin the Canton section, except by a bride at the time of her marriage.This custom, however, varies in different sections of China. InShanghai, women are seldom seen without skirts. Notwithstanding thesameness and similarity of cut in Chinese costume, the quality of beautyis not entirely forgotten. A Chinese gentleman, when asked what thingsthe Chinese women most delight in, replied: "First, beautiful clothesand ornaments with which to make themselves attractive. Secondly, tolive in idleness. Thirdly, to have servants to wait upon them." Theremark would suggest moral weakness which is, alas! far too common.Tsq-hia once asked Confucius what inference might be drawn from theoften quoted lines:

To which the teacher replied: "Coloring requires a pure and clearbackground." This was the great master's way of emphasizing character asa necessary accompaniment of true beauty. But this ideal is largelyforgotten.

The custom of binding the feet is not so common as is often supposed.There are many localities in which the habit is almost universal; whilein many sections, especially in the agricultural districts, the feet ofthe women are of normal growth. In the sections and among the classes inwhich this fashion prevails, the early suffering, as well as the laterinconvenience, is intense. The Chinese woman, however, does notemphasize the importance of convenience as would her practical sister ofthe West; the suffering they bear with much resignation. Variousexplanations are given of the origin of foot binding. Some accountsstate that it arose from a desire thereby to remove the reproach of theclub feet of a popular empress; others hold that it sprang from a greatadmiration for delicate feet and an attempt to imitate them; othersclaim that it was imposed by husbands to keep their wives from gadding.Still other accounts say that the Emperor Hau Chu, of the Chan dynasty,in A.D. 583, ordered his concubines to bind their feet small enough tocover a golden lily at each step. He had golden lilies made andscattered about for them to walk upon when they were playing before him.The admirers of the ruler imitated the practice, and so it spread. Thisseems to be the most probable explanation, as the expression kam-lin,literally "golden lilies," meaning "ladies' small feet," and lin-po,literally "a lily step," meaning "a lady's gait," are in common useto-day. In the beginning, the feet were not bound so early nor sotightly as to-day, and the custom now varies greatly in different partsof the empire. The present, the Manchu government, has made efforts toprevent the practice of foot binding among the people, but with littleor no success. The Manchus do not practise it themselves, and they arepowerless to prevent it. As the Chinese sometimes say: "Fashion isstronger than the emperor."

The Chinese find it difficult to understand the freedom of intercoursewhich characterizes the sexes in the West. They regard such socialfreedom as being difficult to harmonize with modesty and morality. As arule, Chinese women are modest and chaste. But it is thought that theseare best assured by restricting their social freedom. On the streets thewomen, with the exception of the lewd, appear with becoming modesty anddecorum. Notwithstanding the advantage that must come from the limitingof woman's sphere of influence, examples are not wanting in whichChinese women have exerted their native powers to a conspicuous degreein moulding the history of their times.

Through the isolation of the women, they become naturally moresuperstitious than the men; and, as might be surmised, the former arethe stronghold of the ancient religious faiths of the Chinese. And yetnone of the ancient religions nor the philosophies of the country havedone much to elevate the feminine half of the nation. The best theBuddhist priest can hold out to the pious woman is the hope that in thenext transmigration her soul may be born a man's.

Some women of the Celestial Empire have held commanding positions ofpolitical influence. Whether a woman might occupy an influential placein the management of Chinese public affairs has depended somewhat uponthe character of the ruling dynasty. And while queens are not possiblein China, because sons alone may hold the sceptre, women have been knownto exert such influence in the matter of government as to be practicallysupreme. There have been a number of cases of empresses regent. Therewere two such instances during the Ming dynasty which were quoted asjustifying a more recent regency that has been one of the mostremarkable on record in any land. When the Emperor Hien-fung died onAugust 22, 1861, his son Chiseang, then but six years of age, wasproclaimed emperor in his stead, under a regency composed of eight men.By a bold coup d'état, Prince Kung, brother of Hien-fung, succeeded,by the aid of the army, in driving this regency from power and inproclaiming a new one composed of two empresses: Tsi An, the principalwife of the late Hien-fung, and Tszu-Hszi, the mother of the youngemperor. Neither of these royal women knew the Manchu language, andPrince Kung was the power behind them, and was rewarded with the post ofprime minister under the two empresses. It was not long, however, beforean edict was issued degrading the prince, whose growing power andarrogance the empresses feared. And just here emerges the evidence thatthe prince was dealing with one of the most astute and aggressive womenof the world, Tszu-Hszi, a woman who has compelled the world to reckonwith her presence for half a century.

It is true that when the young emperor had reached the age of sixteen,and had been married about four months, the empresses, no longer able topresent excuses for not doing so, issued a decree bestowing uponChiseang, now called Tungche, the right to assume the management of theaffairs of state. But his reign was brief, for after about three years,as it is said, he "ascended upon the Dragon to be a guest on high." Manysuspected foul play, but certain it is that the outcome inured to theadvantage of the two empresses. That which was more ugly still was thetreatment of the young Empress Ahluta, wife of the late ruler. On thedeath of her husband she was about to give birth to a child. Theempresses, however, saw their opportunity as well as their danger. Forif Ahluta's child should be a son, not only would he be the legal ruler,but the mother herself would at once assume a prominent place in thegovernment. Ahluta must be set aside. Soon she sickened--some saidbecause of her grief for her husband, while others knew of thedetermination of the empresses to retain power at all hazards. Who thenshould be chosen heir to the throne? The empresses selected Tsai Tien, ason of Prince Chun, brother of the powerful Kung. The latter was againin complete control, by the grace of the two astute and ambitious womenwhose minds were firmly set upon retaining rule at whatever cost. Thefortunate, or unfortunate, young man who had been made nominal emperor,not by inheritance, but by selection, was given the style of Kwang-su,or "Illustrious Succession." The way in which Tszu-Hszi, empressdowager, has been able to be the controlling factor in Chinese nationallife, crushing rivals, winning the support of politicians, and carryingout policies, is one of the wonders of modern political history. Thisseems the more remarkable in a country where women are generally forcedto the background, and in an age in which tumultuous scenes and graveupheavals have been many.

The head of the army of the United States was not far from the truthwhen he pronounced the Empress-dowager of China, not even excepting thegreat and good Victoria, as altogether the ablest woman of the century.

Contiguous in territory and closely related in manners and customs tothe Chinese are the Coreans. The Corean ruler, though in his own countryan absolute monarch, was for several centuries a vassal of the ChineseEmpire, and the educated class continue to employ the Chinese languagein literary and social intercourse. In 1894, Corea having repudiated thesuzerainty of China, war ensued between Japan and China, and as a resultCorea has since been largely under Japanese influence.

The native Coreans fondly call their country "the Land of the MorningCalm." Its people are of the Mongolian type, and are therefore closelyallied in sympathy to the Chinese and Japanese, with whom they have hadsocial and political kinship and contact from time out of mind. Themoral status of the women may be surmised when it is remembered thatwoman is regarded as without moral existence. It is not to beunderstood, however, that she has no name. When a very little girl, shereceives a temporary surname by which she is known to her relatives andintimate friends. When she reaches the age of puberty, this appellationis no longer used by her friends. When she marries, her parents cease tocall her by her childhood's name. She is now known to them by the nameof the district into which she has married. Her husband's parents,however, speak of her as the woman of the place from which she came.

In Corea there is no family life in our true sense of that term, for themen and the women live in separate apartments. The husband is seldomseen in conversation with his wife, whom he looks upon as absolutelybeneath him. The male and the female children are separated. When theyreach the age of nine or ten years the girls are sent to the women'sapartments; the boys take refuge with the men. The boys must not setfoot upon the territory assigned to the women, and the girls learn thatit is disgraceful to be looked upon by members of the opposite sex; sothey hide at the approach of a boy or a man.

The Corean women have little or no legal standing. They are absolutelyin the power of their husbands, who may not sell them, however, norshould their lords be too brutal. Percival Lowell, in his Land of theMorning Calm, puts it strongly when he says: "Mentally, morally, andsocially, she (the Corean woman) is a cipher." But there are exceptions.In fact, we are not to infer that throughout the entire Orient thesubjection of women is universally so complete as it is sometimespictured by writers upon the social life of the East. Campbell, in hisJourney through Corea, gives the following incident, showing how womenmay be very influential at times: "To make matters worse, the head manupon whom I had relied for assistance in hiring the men I wanted wasabsent, but his wife proved a capable substitute and seemed to fill herhusband's place with unquestioned authority. Between bullying andcoaxing, she rapidly pressed twenty reluctant men into service. Thesubjection of women, which is probably the covenant of accepted theoriesin the East, receives a fresh blow in my mind. Women in these parts ofthe world, if the truth were known, fill a higher place and wield agreater influence than they are credited with." Nor is it to be supposedthat there is no respect shown to the women of Corea. The men give themat least an outward show of deference. They will step aside to allow awoman to pass in the street, regardless of her social position, and theladies are often addressed in phrases of a most polite character.Children are taught respect for their mother, though they are enjoinedto give more to the father. When a mother dies, her children areexpected to mourn at least two years; for the father the period islonger. Someone has said that "there are three classes of Corean women;first, there are the invisible,--those who are always in theirapartments, or, when out of them, ride in a closed palanquin. Second,are the visible invisible, who, possessing less wealth, must walk whenthey go out upon the streets, and yet are seen only as a mass ofclothing moving before the eye. Third, there are the invisible visibleclass, the poor, who are seen, to be sure, but not noticed,--workingwomen, whom etiquette prevents one from seeing."

The women's apartments do not greatly differ from the zenanas of India.In the interior of their apartments, screened as far as possible frompublicity, the unmarried women may receive their parents and friends,with whom they chat and gossip upon matters of common interest, or whileaway the hours with games. After marriage, the confinement becomes stillmore secure, and the woman is inaccessible. "So strict is the rule,"says Griffis, "that fathers have on occasions killed their daughters,husbands, their wives, and wives have committed suicide, when strangershave touched them even with their fingers." Woe unto the Corean wife whois not above suspicion in the eyes of her husband.

In the "Hermit Nation" one is accounted a boy until he is married, nomatter what his age may be; but public sentiment prevents a young manfrom remaining long without a spouse to enrich, or at least to share,his life. The woman is a child till she is married, and sometimes longafterward.

The women of Corea usually marry outside of the village in which theyare brought up. They have nothing whatever to do with the match that isto be made. Negotiations are carried on by the parents and a middle man.The bride, indeed, must be silent all through the nuptial ceremony. Themarriage festival and the funeral are the two great events in Coreansocial life. When the festivities of the wedding are at an end the brideis conducted to her husband's home--in a palanquin, if the parties bewell to do; on horseback, if they be poor.

There is but one true, or legal wife, but often many concubines, thenumber being determined largely by the wealth of the husband. Childrenof the true wife are the legitimate heirs. The other children, thoughnot disgraced by their position, have no legal standing as regards thematter of inheritance. Children of concubines, however, may belegitimized, in case there are no lawful descendants.

The following interesting story, taken from Ballet's History of theChurch in Corea, will not only illustrate certain customs in Corea, butshow upon what a low plane the marriage relation moves in the HermitNation: "A noble wished to marry his own daughter and that of hisdeceased brother to eligible young men. Both maidens were of the sameage. He wished to wed both well, but especially his own child. With thisidea in view he had already refused some good offers; finally he made aproposal to a family noted alike for pedigree and riches. Afterhesitating for some time which of the maidens he would dispose of first,he finally decided in favor of his own child. Three days before theceremony he learned from the diviner that the young man chosen wassilly, exceedingly ugly and very ignorant. What should he do? He couldnot retreat. He had given his word. In such a case the law isinexorable. On the day of the marriage he appeared in the woman'sapartments and gave orders in the most imperative manner, that his nieceand not his daughter should don the marriage coiffure and the weddingdress and mount the nuptial platform. His stupefied daughter could notbut acquiesce. The two cousins being about the same height, thesubstitution was easy, and the ceremony proceeded according to the usualforms. The new bridegroom passed the afternoon in the men's apartments,where he met his supposed father-in-law. What was the amazement of theold noble to find that far from being stupid and ugly, as depicted bythe diviner, that the young man was good-looking, well formed,intelligent, highly connected, and amiable in manners. Bitterlyregretting the loss of so accomplished a son-in-law, he determined toreplace the girl. He secretly ordered that instead of his niece, hisdaughter should be introduced as the bride. He knew well that the youngman would suspect nothing, for during the salutations the brides arealways so muffled up with dresses and loaded with ornaments that it isimpossible to distinguish their countenance. All happened as the old mandesired. During the two or three days which he passed with the newfamily, he congratulated himself upon having so excellent a son-in-law.The latter, on his part, showed himself more and more charming, and sogained the heart of his supposed father-in-law, that in a burst ofconfidence, the latter revealed to him all that had happened. He told ofthe diviner's report concerning him, and the successive substitutions ofniece for daughter and daughter for niece. The young man was at firstspeechless, then recovering his composure said: 'All right! and that isa very smart trick on your part. But it is clear that both of the youngpersons belong to me, and I claim them. Your niece is my lawful wife,since she has made to me the legal salute, and your daughter, introducedby yourself into my marriage, has become of right and law my concubine.'The crafty old man caught in his own net had nothing to answer. The twoyoung women were conducted to the house of the new husband and master,and the old noble was jeered by both parties for his folly and his badfaith."

As in other parts of the Far East, the life of widows is exceedinglyharsh. They may not marry again. Indeed, second marriages are neverlooked upon with favor, except among people of the lower classes whogenerally disregard the etiquette and ideas which prevail among thenobles and the rich who imitate them. A widow of high standing isexpected to show grief for her husband not only by weeping over hisdeath, but by wearing mourning as long as she lives; and children ofwidows born after widowhood are looked upon as illegitimate. Often,however, being debarred from lawful marriage, widows become victims oflust and violence. If, however, they are determined upon preservingchastity, they will frequently resort to suicide if their virtue bethreatened. The method of self-slaughter among women is cutting theirthroat, or piercing the heart.

Like most women of the world, dress plays no unimportant part in theCorean woman's life. There is probably no part of her toilet upon whichshe bestows more zealous regard than upon her hair. Generally thenatural growth is insufficient to suit her ideals of beauty, and sofalse hair is used in profusion. Corean women do not attend thebanquets. These are for men alone.

XIII

UNDER THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

THE WOMEN OF JAPAN

No woman of the Orient has in recent years enlisted so much of theworld's attention as the woman of Japan. This interest has bordered uponreal fascination. If the comparative alertness of mind has caused theJapanese men to be called the "Oriental Yankees," the attractiveness ofthe women might give them the right to be compared to the "SouthernBeauties." They have been much written about and the world has read ofthem with keen appreciation.

Japanese civilization is comparatively modern. The islands owe much toCorea and China for the development of their letters and the refinementof their social life. Their alertness of mind and receptivity ofcharacter mark them among all the peoples of the Mongolian stock. Thisflexibility of temperament is no less true of the women than of the men,and it is partly these mental traits which give to the Japanese theirattractiveness.

The women of the several strata of society present marked differencesin Japan, as in other countries. This was more true in the days offeudalism, when the lines were more rigidly defined than now; though theinfluences of the feudal system are still perceptible and will longendure. But the women of court and castle, the women of the militaryclass, and the women of the shop and of the soil, with all that wasnationally common, lived a very different order of life. Thesedifferences are inevitable and, of course, abiding.

The chief glory of every Japanese woman is in becoming the mother ofsons. And while daughters are not unwelcome, as is the case among someOriental people, yet their birth is never so much the cause of rejoicingas is the coming of boys into the world. On the occasion of such anadvent, messengers fly, notes are sent by friends, and all friends andrelatives must visit the new arrival in the home. The visitor who bringshis congratulations, must add to them toys, articles of dress, and thelike--besides the dried fish or the eggs for good luck. The poor mothermust well-nigh tax her already weakened strength to the very limit ofphysical endurance in receiving visitors and their congratulations. Itis the father, or some chosen friend, who selects the newcomer's name,and if it be a girl, that of some attractive object in nature is usuallychosen, it not being regarded as specially appropriate or as involvingany compliment to name a child for a friend or loved one. This duty ofnaming the child occurs on the seventh day, and on the thirteenth, it iscarried to the temple and placed under the special guardianship of somedeity. After this the little one becomes accustomed to the ordinaryroutine of eating, sleeping, and crying. Very soon it may be seen on thestreets and in public places strapped to the back of an older sister, orit may be a brother; and it is not long before the babies themselves areinterested in the play of the older children, to whose backs they aresecurely fastened.

As our little girl emerges from babyhood she finds the life openingbefore her a bright and happy one, but one hedged about by proprieties,and one in which from babyhood to old age, she must expect to be alwaysunder the control of one of the stronger sex. Her position will be anhonored and respected one only as she learns in her youth the lesson ofcheerful obedience, of pleasing manners, and of personal cleanliness andneatness. Her duties must always be either within the house, or, if shebelongs to the peasant class, on the farm. There is no career orvocation open to her: she must be always dependent upon either father,husband, or son, and her greatest happiness is to be gained not by thecultivation of the intellect, but by the early acquisition of theself-control which is expected of all Japanese women to even a greaterdegree than of the men. This self-control must consist not simply in theconcealment of all outward signs of any disagreeable emotion,--whetherof grief, anger, or pain,--but in the assumption of a cheerful smile andan agreeable manner under even the most distressing circumstance. Theduty of self-restraint is taught to the little girls of the family fromthe tenderest years; it is their great moral lesson and is expatiatedupon at all times by their elders. The little girl must sink herselfentirely, must give up always to others, must never show emotions exceptsuch as will be pleasing to others about her; this is the secret of truepoliteness and must be mastered if the woman wishes to be well thoughtof and to lead a happy life. The effect of this teaching is seen in theattractive, but dignified manners of the Japanese women,--even of thevery little girls. They are not forward or pushing, neither are theyawkwardly bashful; there is no self-consciousness, neither is there anylack of savoir faire; a childlike simplicity is united with a womanlyconsideration for the comfort of those around them. A Japanese childseems to come into the world with little savagery and barbarian badmanners, and the first ten or fifteen years of its life do not seem tobe passed in one long struggle to acquire a coating of good manners thatwill help to render it less obnoxious in polite society. How much of thepoliteness of the Japanese is inherited from generations of civilizedancestors, it is difficult to tell; but my impression is that babies areborn into the world with a good start in the matter of manners, and thatthe uniformly gentle and courteous treatment they receive from thoseabout them, together with the continual verbal teaching of the principleof self-restraint and thoughtfulness of others, produce with very littledifficulty the irresistibly attractive manners of the people.

One curious thing in a Japanese household is to see the formalities thatpass between brothers and sisters, and the respect paid to age by everymember of the family. The grandmother and grandfather come first of allin everything--no one at table must be helped before them in any case;after them come father and mother; and lastly, the children according totheir ages. A young sister must always wait for the elder and pay herdue respect, even in the matter of walking into the room before her. Thewishes and convenience of the elder, rather than of the younger, are tobe consulted in everything, and this lesson must be learned early bychildren. The difference in years may be slight, but the elder born hasthe first right in all cases. Etiquette, procedure, and self-controlamong the Japanese girls are the most important of the influencesshaping a Japanese woman's life.

Considerable respect is shown to the girl of the family by herbrothers. The native and conventional politeness of the Japanese showsitself even in the names by which the children address one another. Theparents may leave off the appellatives of respect, but brothers,sisters, and servants must treat the young lady with dignity, especiallyif she be the eldest daughter.

What preparation does the Japanese girl have for her position in thesocial fabric of her people? Fortunately for her, there is some effortmade to fit her for her future duties. Quite early the daughter of ahousehold begins to feel the responsibilities of home cares. Even thosefamilies which are able to provide ample domestic service will give tothe daughter of the household the duty of making the tea and of servingit to the guests with her own hands. This is regarded as of greaterhonor to the visitor than if a servant had performed the task. Theeldest girl of the family must learn to act in the place of the parents,should a visitor appear in their absence, or when the younger childrenneed the care and oversight of an elder. In such matters as sweeping therooms, preparing the meals, washing the dishes, purchasing viands, andsewing, the Japanese girl finds ample scope for a practical education tomake her ready for the exactions of the life of a housekeeper when sheherself shall become a wife and mother.

Besides these practical duties in which the girl is early trained,there is education in simpler mathematics and, to a degree, inliterature and the art of poetry. She is expected to be familiar withthe classical poetry of her country, more particularly the choice shortpoems, which are well known to both young and old Japanese. Education,in the stricter sense of the term, is on the increase among the girls ofJapan, as well as among the boys and young men. Besides native schools,schools for the education of Japanese girls have been established bymissionaries from Christian countries. And even higher education ismaking rapid strides, as is seen in the Kobe College for Women. But theadvance of the state or public education during the past decade or morerenders the foreign schools less necessary; and the private teacher, towhom the girls of the better families were formerly invariably sent, isgradually yielding to the larger school. And it may be said that to-daythe girls are provided for, educationally, equally with the boys. Japanhas made wonderful strides in educational matters, being receptive ofnew ideas concerning the common schools; but there are adjustments thatmust be made to the social ideals and customs of the people, because ofthe rise of the new education. Among these there is probably none moredifficult and perplexing than that which grows out of the need ofadapting the old ideas of early marriage for the daughter of a family tothe growing demands and the enlarged opportunities for female education.

The Japanese girl has better opportunity to experience the pleasurableside of life than have girls of most Oriental lands. Her recreations aremore numerous and varied. Among them are the annual festivals, such asthe Japanese New Year, the several flower fêtes, and, above all, theFeast of Dolls, which has been thus interestingly described: "The feastmost loved in all the year is the Feast of Dolls, when on the third dayof the third month the great fireproof storehouse gives forth itstreasures of dolls--in an old family, many of them hundreds of yearsold--and for three days, with all their belongings of tiny furnishingsin silver lacquer and porcelain, they reign supreme, arranged onred-covered shelves in the finest room in the house. Most prominentamong the dolls are the effigies of the Emperor and Empress in antiquecourt costume, seated in dignified calm, each on a lacquered dais. Nearthem are the figures of the five court musicians, in their robes ofoffice, each with his instrument. Besides these dolls, which are alwayspresent and form the central figures of the feast, numerous others moreplebeian, but more lovable, find places on the lower shelves, and thearray of dolls' furnishings which is brought out on these occasions issomething marvellous. Before Emperor and Empress is set an elegantlacquered service, tray, bowls, cups, saké pots, rice buckets, etc.,all complete, and in each utensil is placed the appropriate variety offood. Fine silver and brass hibachi, or fire-boxes, are there withtheir accompanying tongs and charcoal baskets--whole kitchens, witheverything required for cooking the finest of Japanese feasts, as finelymade as if for actual use; all the necessary toilet apparatus--combs,mirrors, utensils for blackening the teeth, for shaving the eyebrows,for reddening the lips and whitening the face--all these are there todelight the souls of all the little girls who may have the opportunityto behold them. For three days the imperial effigies are servedsumptuously at each meal, and the little girls of the family takepleasure in serving the imperial majesties; but when the feast ends, thedolls and their belongings are packed away in their boxes, and lodged inthe fireproof warehouse for another year."

Besides the special festivals and holidays, there is opportunity allthe year round for the little girls to play their merry games of balland battledoor and shuttlecock, which they do with keen delight and withmuch grace of movement. The tales of wonder which are told them are aperpetual source of pleasure; for they have their Jack, the GiantKiller, in Momotaro, the Peach Boy, with his wondrous conquests, andmany other tales to kindle their youthful imaginations. Among these arethe early ancestral exploits, which tend to keep alive love of country.The Japanese girl may be seen occasionally in the theatre, seated on thefloor with her mother and sisters, taking into her memory impressions ofheroism and self-sacrifice, through the historical dramas which presentthe early experiences of patriotism and passion which characterized thefathers of old. Thus, the Japanese girl grows up to womanhood and is afinished product five or six years earlier than is an English orAmerican girl. At sixteen or eighteen she is regarded as quite readyherself to take up the active duties of life.

The preparation given to the girls of Japan has been justly criticisedin that, while furnishing the future woman with remarkable powers ofobservation and of memory, with much tactfulness and æsthetic taste,with deftness and agility of the fingers, there is little to strengthenthe powers of reason and to cultivate the religious and spiritual sideof the nature. Music is almost the sole possession of women, and many ofthem play the koto (a stringed instrument with horizontal soundingboards, not unlike the piano in principle) and the samisen, or"Japanese guitar," with great grace of touch and manner, but with littlemusic, as adjudged by the Occidental ear;--however, standards differ.So, too, the artistic arrangement of flowers is an art much loved by thewomen of Japan. Their education and their daily occupation tend tocultivate the emotional at the expense of the intellectual side of life.Hence, much refinement but less strength, and the best and cleverestwomen of Japan, therefore, are attractive rather than admirable.

The diminutive size of the Japanese women, their pretty hands and feet,their taste in ornamenting shapely bodies, give them a personalattractiveness rarely surpassed. To what an extent the lowness ofstature among the Japanese is to be attributed to their habits cannot bedetermined. It is the shortness of the lower limbs that is chiefly atfault; and the habit, early contracted, of sitting upon the legs benthorizontally at the knee, instead of vertically, inevitably arrests thedevelopment of the lower limbs.

The Japanese women have luxuriant, straight, black hair. The wavy hairwhich Western women prize so highly is not beautiful in the eyes of theladies of Japan. Curly hair is to them positively ugly. They spend muchcare upon the arrangement of their tresses, and their mode ofhairdressing is elaborate. Even the women of the poorer classes willvisit the hairdressers. The locks are first treated with a preparationof oil, and then done up in the conventional style so familiar to allfrom pictures of Japanese women. This is expected with many to remainintact for six or eight days.

At present the modes of dressing the hair of female children and growinggirls, as well as of married women, vary according to taste andcircumstances. In ancient days, however,--and the custom still prevailsin some of the more conservative regions,--the hair of the femalechildren was cut short at the neck and allowed to hang down loosely tillthe girl reached the age of eight years. At about twelve or thirteen,the hair was usually bound up, although frequently this was delayed tillthe girl became a wife. In the romantic poem of Mushimaro, The Maidenof Unahi, we find this custom referred to, as well as the custom ofsecluding the young girl from the eyes of her would-be suitors:

As a rule, the women wear no head covering whatever, except that whichtheir luxuriant hair furnishes. In the coldest weather, however, theywrap the head gracefully in a headgear of cloth. Gloves are rarely seenupon the dainty hands of the women, and shoes are worn only when out ofdoors.

The costume of the Japanese women was, and in great measure still is,marked by simplicity and sameness of cut. There is no variation ofstyle--fond as the women of the country are of dress. In the materialused and in the color, however, they have ample scope for the display oftheir exquisite taste, their individuality, and their wealth. The age ofthe woman may aiso be determined with considerable accuracy by hermanner of dress, for a Japanese woman has no sensitiveness on thisscore. The girl baby is clothed "in the brightest colors, and largest ofpatterns, and looks like a gay butterfly or a tropical bird. As shegrows older, colors become quieter, figures smaller, stripes narrower,until in old age she becomes a little gray moth, or a plain-coloredsparrow." The hair and head ornaments also vary with the age of thewearer; so that one who is acquainted with the Japanese mode can readthe age of his lady friend within a few years, at most. The V-neck isthe uniform fashion in Japan, and when a woman of the better classes isproperly clothed in her native costume she presents a most graceful andattractive appearance. When appropriate, she wears a sort of cloakfastened with a cord, and the familiar kimono made without any plaits,lapped over in front and confined with a broad sash which is looped in abig bunch at the back to conceal the plainness of the kimono. Thissash, or obi, and the collar, or eri, are usually of the finest silkthe women can afford, and are altogether the gayest portion of thehabit. When a Japanese woman is at her best, she may be imagined to havejust stepped from a group painted upon some artistic fan, especiallywhen in the hands are the umbrella and the lantern. The women of thepoorer classes, however, are often meagrely clad--sometimes too scantilyso for decency. They peddle their wares or work in the fields, barefootand almost naked. The shoes of a Japanese lady are so constructed thatthey may be easily taken off before entering the house, as is thecustom. There is first put on a short stocking, or tabi, which reachesa little above the ankle and fastens in the back. This is made after thefashion of a mitten, that the great toe may be separate from the others;for a cord is to pass between the toes to hold in the geta, or"shoes." There are several styles of these; some are partly of leather,to cover the toes on rainy days; some are merely straw sandals; whileothers are of wood, which are clumsy and lift the feet quite above theground, and when worn make much noise along the streets.

In Japan, the disgrace of not being married does not arrive so early inthe young girl's life, as is the case in some countries of the East. Andyet, even here it will not do for a woman to wait until the age oftwenty-five without having made her peace with the god of matrimony.Usually, however, marriage, which to a Japanese woman is almost as mucha matter of course as death itself, comes at the age of sixteen oreighteen. Here, too, the girl of the land of the Cherry Blossom is givenmore freedom of choice as respects the question who her life partnershall be than is generally true in the East; but marry she must. Theinevitable Eastern "go-between" is of value here. The first steps inJapanese courting are undertaken by him in consultation with the parentsof the girl who it is thought will make the inquiring young man happy.Opportunity is given, at the home of some mutual friend, for the coupleto meet and pass upon each other's qualities. If there is mutualadmiration, or, indeed, if the young people find no reason why theyshould not be joined in marriage, the engagement present, a piece ofsilk, used for the girdle by the groomsman, is given, and finallyarrangements are made for the wedding.

WOMAN'S TASTE IN JAPAN
After the water-color by Charles E. Fripp

There is no variation of style--fond as the women areof dress. In the material used and in the color, however, they haveample scope for the display of their exquisite taste, theirindividuality, and their wealth. The age of the woman may also bedetermined with considerable accuracy by her manner of dress, for aJapanese woman has no sensitiveness on this score. The girl baby is "inthe brightest colors. As she grows older, colors become quieter, figuressmaller." The hair and head ornaments vary with the age of the wearer.The V-neck is the uniform fashion in Japan, and when a woman of thebetter classes is properly clothed in her native costume she presents amost graceful and attractive appearance.

The marriage ceremony is not at the home of the bride, but at the houseof the groom, to which the bride is taken, her belongings, such as herbureau, writing desk, bedding, trays, dining tables, chopsticks, etc.,having gone before. The giving of presents is often profuse. But it isnot the bride and groom alone who are remembered; the groom's family,from the oldest to the youngest, the servants, even the humblest, arepresented with gifts by the members of the bride's family. The gifts tothe newly wedded pair are often very practical, consisting of silk forclothing or of articles of household use; and it is not uncommon for abride to receive dress goods enough to last her her lifetime. Theceremony itself is simple and impressive. Friends and relativesgenerally are not present. The bride and groom are there, of course;besides these are the go-betweens of the couple, and a young girl, whoseduty it is to take the cup of saké, or native wine of Japan, and pressit successively to the lips of the contracting parties, emblematic ofthe coming joys and sorrows of their common married life. The weddingguests, who have been waiting in the next room, now appear with theircongratulations, and merriment and feasting follow. On the third dayafter the marriage, the bride's parents must give to the couple anotherwedding feast. At this the bride's relatives receive presents in returnfor the large number of gifts sent by them on the wedding day to thehousehold of the groom. Announcement of the marriage is not sent outuntil two or three months later; it is then made in the form of aninvitation, sent out by the bride and groom, to an entertainment attheir house. Acknowledgments of the bridal presents sent by friendsmust, of course, be made. This is done in sending to those who rememberthe young pair gifts of kawaméshi, or "red rice."

It will be seen that there is in the conduct of a wedding in Japanneither legal nor religious sanction. The only prescribed formality isthe erasure of the bride's name from the register of her father's familyand its insertion in that of the husband's. She is no longer a part ofthe genealogical tree. She lives with and is a part of the groom'shousehold. The exception to the custom is found in the yoshii, or"young man," who becomes a part of his wife's family, taking her familyname and repudiating his own. This is done when in a family there are noboys who may inherit the estate and name. Some youth is then found,usually a younger member of a household, who can be induced to leave hisheritage and unite himself with a brotherless daughter of another house.He cuts himself off absolutely from his own people and raises up heirsfor his wife's people. But he has not the standing and authority of thewoman's husband, for he becomes the servant of his mother-in-law, andmay be sent back to his people if he does not conduct himself in a wayacceptable to his wife's family; or if they should weary of hispresence. Ordinarily, children are scarcely regarded as of the mother atall--the blood is all the father's. The low social standing of themother in no way impairs the rank or respectability of the children. Thepast few decades have witnessed many notable changes in Japan, and thereis a reaching out after legislation that shall make the marriagerelation more satisfactory and permanent, for divorces have been thefrequent cause of great hardships, especially upon the women, who havelittle opportunity to earn an honorable living when once the marriagetie has been broken. Home life is kept comparatively pure in Japan, butthe price is enormous. The abandoned woman carries on her business orhas it carried on for her with shameless openness. The ideals of purityare far higher among the women than among the men. And yet, chastity isnot regarded as the highest virtue among Japanese women as amongnorthwestern people. Obedience to the will of the husband stands firstin the list of virtues. Thus, Japanese women have often been known tosell their chastity in order that they might save their husbands fromdebt or disgrace, and they have received the plaudits of the public forwhat is styled their fidelity to their husbands' interest.

In few, if any, countries of the Orient do the women appear in publicas the equals of their husbands. The Japanese women of the lower socialclasses, when they go out with their spouses, follow on behind, bearingwhatever burden is to be borne. In trains or crowded rooms it is thewomen who stand, and not the men. Japanese gallantry is not shown insuch public courtesies as are commonly offered to women in the UnitedStates. The wife does not begin her wedded life with the thought ofequality with her husband; and, in law, he is greatly her superiorunless, happily, her husband should be motherless. Next to her duties toher parents-in-law, the wife's great concern is to be a goodhousekeeper, rather than a companion for her husband. She must, with dueself-control and even with smiling face, humor the whims and the vicesof her lord and master, even though he bring another woman into thehome. But it may be said that the Japanese husband extends to a legalwife comparative respect and even honor, if, as the mother of children,she fulfils well her duties. Third in line of demand upon a wife's care,stand the children. In them the Japanese mother takes delight; and herethe self-control which she has learned almost from the cradle stands herin good stead and beautifully exhibits itself, for she seldom loses hertemper or scolds her children. Even the wealthy women come in contactwith their children and personally guide their lives. The training ofthe girls is almost entirely in the hands of the mother; and thedomestic cares of routine life are under her skilful direction. In therural districts the activities of women are enlarged by the part theytake in the making of the crops, the running of the rice fields, theproduction of tea, the harvesting of grain, and the care of thesilkworms, the bringing of products to market, and the like. But thefreedom they thus enjoy makes amends, in a measure, for the moreburdensome work of which their sisters of the city know nothing.

The geishas, or singing girls of Japan, are, physically speaking,among the most attractive examples of female grace. The word geishasmeans "accomplished persons," and these girls are trained in the art ofmaking themselves agreeable. They are accomplished in music, singing,and playing the samisen, witty in conversation, and beautiful infigure. Theirs is a regular occupation, their services being sought onoccasions when entertainment is the chief concern. While these girls donot come from the higher social circles, some of them marry well andbecome the mothers of reputable families, while many others, yielding tothe strong temptations incident to their employment, become theconcubines of some well-to-do citizen or lead lives even lower in themoral scale.

Among the special occupations of women may be mentioned that of acting;for there are women's theatres in which all the parts are performed bywomen. Men and women never appear on the same stage. In literature, twoJapanese women have gained the distinction of having written the twogreatest native works--works admittedly at the very acme of Japaneseclassics. One of these is Genji Monogatari, or "Romance of Genji," andthe other Makura Zoshi, or "Book of the Pillow." The authoresses ofthe two masterpieces, both court ladies living in the eleventh centuryof our era, were Murasaki Shikibu and Seisho Nagon. To their names maybe added that of a brilliant female contemporary Isé no Taiyu. TheEmperor Ichijo, who reigned at that period, was a distinguished patronof letters. He gathered about him men and women of culture, and the morelasting literary monuments of his day are those written by women. Thework of these gifted women is marked by ease and grace of movement,fluency of diction, and lightness of artistic touch.

Murasaki Shikibu was a lady of noble birth. She was, in her youth, maidof honor to the daughter of the prime minister of that day. Thisdaughter, Jioto Monin, became wife of the Emperor Ichijo, and from thisstation of influence became a most valuable patroness of Murasaki, thetalented authoress. She herself married a noble, and their daughter alsobecame a writer of note, producing a work of fiction called Sagoromo,or "Narrow Sleeves."

The chief work of this noted Japanese authoress, Murasaki, is what maybe called a historic novel, Genji Monogatari, or "The Romance ofGenji." In this story the writer gives an accurate view of theconditions which surrounded court life in the tenth century of our era.From the romance of Gengi it may be seen, as a native Japanese critichas said, that "Society lost sight, to a great extent of true morality,and the effeminacy of the people constituted the chief feature of theage. Men were ready to carry on sentimental adventures whenever theyfound opportunities, and the ladies of the times were not disposed todiscourage them. The court was the focus of society, the utmost ambitionof ladies was to be introduced there."

In those early days of Japanese life, it was not an unknown occurrencefor a woman when plunged into the depths of some disappointment oroverwhelming grief to take the oath of a religious recluse. "Herconscience," says Sama-no-Kami, "when she takes the fatal vow may bepure and unsullied and nothing may seem able again to call her back tothe world which she forsook. But as time rolls on, some householdservant or aged nurse brings her tidings that the lover has been unableto cast her out of his heart, and his tears drop silently when he hearsaught about her. Then, when she hears of his abiding affection and hisconstant heart and thinks of the uselessness of the sacrifice she hasmade voluntarily, she touches the hair on her forehead, and she becomesregretful. She may indeed do her best to persevere in her resolve; butif one single tear bedew her cheek, she is no longer strong in thesanctity of her vow. Weakness of this kind would be in the life ofBuddha more sinful than those offences which are committed by those whonever leave the lay circle at all, and she would eventually return tothe world."

There are many short Japanese poems which breathe of love, and tell ofwomanly charm. These short poems are highly prized, and many of them arefamiliar to the majority of the people. Among the women who wondistinction as writers of love poems was the Lady Sakanoe, who lived inthe eighth century. She was a woman of high position, being the daughterof a prime minister and wife of the viceroy of the island of Skioku. Herpoems are among the most popular in Japanese literature, and some ofthem reveal a high order of imaginative power.

Japanese poetry, which has been described as "the one original productof the Japanese mind," contains many references to woman, her loves, herlaments, her passions, her ills. Sometimes the loyalty of a maiden'slove is set forth--as in a poem by the Lady Sakanoe in the Manyoshu:

A large number of the love poems are sensual; yet, pure love breathes inmany others, as in A Maiden's Lament, a poem by the Lady Sakanoe, andin the Elegy written by Nibi upon his wife. The poet Sosei, also, haswritten words that speak to the heart:

The mutual regard of husband and wife in early Japanese life isbeautifully expressed in an anonymous poem in the Manyoshu. A wifelaments that while other women's husbands are seen riding along the roadin proud array, her own husband trudges along the weary way afoot:

To which self-denying love, the husband graciously replies:

There have been many able women in this land of the Cherry Blossom, andthe Japanese people have not been blind to their claims to recognitionas controlling forces. This is shown by the fact that no less than nineempresses have ruled the land. Some of them have been women of markedsagacity and influence. On the dim borderland of the mythical, forexample, history shows us the heroic Empress Jingu Kogo, who, traditionsays, was the conqueror of Corea, and the embodiment of all that is goodand great in Japanese womanhood.

Among the women of Japanese legend is the Maiden of Unahi, the story ofwhose noble life and death has been often sung by the poets. Her tomb isto-day pointed out in the province of Settsu, between Kobe and Osaka.Such heroines of the earlier days have furnished inspiration for thewomen of Japan for many generations; and the ideals of domestic life arefar higher than might be expected in a region of the world where women,as a rule, live out their round of life upon a general plane that issorrowfully low.

The present generation in Japan has been truly blessed by the influenceof an empress who is described as not only "charming, intellectual,refined, and lovely," but also "noble and beautiful in character." HaruKo, born of noble parentage, became empress in the year 1868. Herhusband had just come to the throne at the age of seventeen. This wasthe very year of the downfall of the Shogunate and the restoration ofthe imperial power. Though reared in seclusion at Kioto, the youngempress began at once to measure up to the responsibilities which herposition had in store for her. She proceeded to exert her influence infavor of the elevation of the women of her country. Without hesitancy,she mingled personally among the people, administering charity to them.Very early in her life as empress, in the year 1871, she gave a specialaudience to five little girls of the military class who were about toset out for America in order to study to prepare themselves for thelarger life of womanhood in the new Japan. From the beginning of theschool established for daughters of the nobility, who are expected toplay an important part in the Japan that is to be, she has taken greatinterest in its progress.

The religious side of a Japanese woman's life, as has been intimated,is remarkably undeveloped. In the portico of a certain temple in theinterior of Japan is found this inscription: "Neither horses, cattle,nor women admitted here." This may be taken as but one intimation of thefact that little in the way of religion is expected of the female sex.The introduction of Buddhism into Japan marked an epoch in the country'shistory; but Buddhism has done little for woman, for she does not occupyso exalted a position under it as under the more ancient religion.Shintoism has its priestesses and Buddhism its nuns, but neither ofthese religions has brought any noteworthy blessing to the women of thekingdom. The ancient religions still influence their lives. Themultitude of temples still claim the veneration of the people. Kiotoretains its eminence as the chief seat of ecclesiastical learning, butthe Western spirit has found an entrance into the land of the CherryBlossom; traditional customs are yielding to its influence, andinveterate prejudices are bending before it.

The progress of Christian ideals has in recent years been rapid, andWestern religious teaching has advanced with giant strides. Recentlegislation has done something to increase the stability of the home bymaking divorce less easy. The putting of concubinage under the ban bynot allowing the children of concubines to inherit a noble title, makingthis law apply even to the son of the emperor himself, who must alsohereafter be son of the empress if he would inherit the throne, willalso mean much for the elevation of womanhood in the land of the cherryand the japonica.

XIV

WOMEN OF THE BACKWARD RACES OF THE EAST

No volume upon the women of the Orient could be deemed complete withoutsome account of those women whose lives have been developed remote fromthe larger movements of civilization,--the women of the backward races,and those whose sphere has been contracted, not by social ideals simply,but by virtue of the lack of that larger opportunity of world contactwhich has given to some peoples a far more powerful impulse to progressthan has been the privilege of others. As representatives of this classwe may choose the women of the South Seas and of some of the Africantribes. These will furnish us typical examples.

George Eliot has declared that "the happiest women, like the happiestnations, have no history." In the advance of the world's civilizationfrom crude savagery to high culture, woman's part, though ofincalculable value, has, generally speaking, been unheralded. Bearingthe brunt of the downward burden, while man's shoulder presses upward,woman, from the beginning, has had a minor place in written history. Buteven among the obscurer races she has managed to bear her part withmarked happiness. This seems to be notably true among the island womenof the world. The peoples of the seas, removed from many of the pressingconditions and harsh frictions which are present in the larger countriesof the continent, exhibit a freedom, if the term may be justly appliedto undeveloped races, which is not the possession of many of the largerand older nations of men. One is prepared, of course, for great varietyof blood, custom, and development among the peoples who inhabit theislands and the lands that lie out of the beaten track of travel andcommerce. There is probably no part of the world where the races ofmankind have become more mixed than in the South Seas.

The women of the Indo-Pacific area belong to certain great classes orgroups of humanity. First, the Australian, inhabiting the great islandcontinent that seems to be the southeastern extension of Asia; they areconsidered the lowest among the races of mankind, have black skins, butnot woolly hair, and are looked upon as a distinct race. Second, comethe Papuan women, who are in every respect negroes, resembling theirkindred in Africa in the variety of their types, including the tall,very woolly-headed people of New Guinea, who have black skins and comelybodies. Of the same race, but differing greatly in ethniccharacteristics, are the pigmy people of the Andaman Islands, of theMalay Peninsula, and of the Philippines. Third, the brown Polynesians,who are among the finest looking people on the face of the earth; theyinhabit the groups of small islands all about the Pacific Ocean, fromHawaii to New Zealand, and from Easter Island to Samoa. Fourth andfinally, the Malays proper, who are a small, wiry, energetic people ofsoutheastern Asia and the great islands lying around Java, Sumatra,Borneo, and the Philippines. The eight million people (called Filipinos)in the last-named islands are, as will be seen later, of mixed blood, acompound of all the sub-species of humanity, brown, black, yellow, andwhite, even a small sprinkling of American Indian blood being there.Women of so great admixture of blood must necessarily exhibit widedifferences of personal appearance and of inherited as well as acquiredtraits.

It would be highly instructive to take up the women of these severalraces and consider them one by one in the various experiences of theirlives, from birth to burial, in childhood and name, in girlhood andmarriage, in family life and social standing, in religion and the lastact; for interest in this study extends far beyond the lives andactivities of those to whom it is directed. The whole human species areone, and it is not a violation of good reasoning to suppose that theactivities and social life of these lowly women may, in a certaingeneral way, represent the standing of members of our own race in theearly stages of their progress. It is true, however, that in theIndo-Pacific area we are more or less in the suburbs of the world.Caution, therefore, must be exercised in forming conclusions that theabject conditions of the Australians, for instance, is a correct pictureof a previous condition of the Caucasian race. These races have laggedin the progress of the world, and in all the centuries of theirisolation have rather retrograded than advanced. They are in possessionof arts and practise social customs that are evidently the survival of amore advanced state, as will be seen in the separate study of each race.

Further interest is added to the study of these tribes in that, despitethe fact that they are the lowest of the world's peoples, they each leada rounded existence. Industries, fine art, speech, social forms andusages, the explanation of things, creed and cult, all fit togetherharmoniously. To the civilized woman, almost every act in the life ofher sex among the people named would be intolerable, but to the womanthere, these actions are the things to be done and any contrary coursewould never enter her thoughts. The joys of life come from obedience tothe present order and to the venerable customs and traditions that havecome down from mothers for many generations.

In height, Australian women average about five feet two inches, thetallest not exceeding five feet five inches. They have small feet andhands, the widest span being six inches. The color of the skin is darkchocolate, the lips are thick, the nose is broad and incurved, the headlong, the hair black, but not woolly, and is generally worn short. Someof the young girls are pretty, and from carrying burdens on the headthey have an erect pose; the Australians, however, are an unhandsomerace, and at thirty, if she lives so long, the woman is an old hag, theacme of indescribable ugliness intensified by following the habit ofknocking out the front teeth for the sake of fashion.

The girl-child born in Australia has little care beyond what isnecessary to preserve her life. The almost deserted mother is placedapart in a brush shelter and is attended by some old woman of her clan.The birthplace of the little girl is amid the greatest squalor. On rareoccasions mothers practise infanticide. The child is killed as soon asborn, in the belief (in the words of Nicodemus) that it can enter asecond time into the mother's womb and be reborn. As infants are suckledseveral years, the chief cause of this unnatural act is the inability ofthe mother to add another ounce to life's burdens. Being considereduncanny, twins are immediately killed; and once in a while a healthychild meets with a like fate, in order that its vigor may go into aweaker one.

The baby's name is inherited from her mother, or perhaps from herfather. It is merely a class title, for every tribe in Australia isseparated into classes with names. If descent be in the female line,then everyone in a class has the same name from the mothers; if it be inthe male line, all whose fathers are in the same class are named alike.In all Australia there is no such title as "mother," in our sense of theword. Of the girl-child here considered, there are as many mothers asthere are females in that class belonging to the same generation. If thereader were an Australian girl, she would, then, have several or manymothers; there would be her own mother, her maternal aunts, and allcollateral female kin of that generation and of the mother's class. Forexample, suppose a tribe in which the two moieties were named Brown andSmith. Every Brown man would have to marry a Smith woman and vice versa.A Smith would not and dare not marry a Smith, or a Brown marry a Brown.Now, if the mother-right prevailed, all the children of the Brownmothers would be Browns, of the Smith mothers would be Smiths; but iffather-right prevailed, then all the children of Brown mothers would beSmiths, and those of the Smith mothers would be Browns. The marriage tieis so loose in Australia that the family exists only in the group, andthe little girl is not "Miss Brown," but a Brown--one of the Browns. Theprinciple is as here stated, but the practice in detail is mostbewildering. The little newborn girl is not merely "Miss S." or "MissB." Her tribe, with its two moieties or classes, may have six totems ineach. In that case, her father and her mother will have totem names.Take the Urabrinna tribe with its two classes, Matthurie and Kirarwa. Ifthe father be a Dingo Matthurie and the mother be a Water Hen Kirarwa,our little girl will bear her mother's name, so will all other girls ofWater Hen mothers and, also, their children to remotest posterity.

The girls of this generation are, in fact, sisters and look upon thewhole generation that gave them birth as a class of mothers; it is thebest they can do.

In some tribes the classification takes this quaint form: every manbelongs to one of a number of families or classes, which we may mark,for convenience, A, B, C, and D. Every woman belongs, also, to one of anumber of named classes, which we may call E, F, G, and H. Now, all themen in the A class are compelled to marry one of the four classes ofwomen, and their children are classified by rule under the other lettersin the most confusing but interesting fashion. The system is far moreintricate than that of the American Indians.

Besides these class or totem names, each little Australian girl has apersonal name by which she is freely addressed by all excepting such ofthe opposite sex as are tabooed by custom. She may also have nicknameslike the American Indian girls, and finally, every girl of the tribe hasher secret name which may be that of some celebrated woman handed downby tradition. It is never uttered except upon most solemn occasions, andis known to those only who are initiated. When mentioned at all, it isin a whisper. If a stranger should know one's name, he would have aspecial chance to work her ill by ways of magic.

At a very early age, the Australian girl has graduated in all thehardening processes which result in the survival of the fittest, and isready to take her place among women. The rites by which she is initiatedinto womanhood lessen her vitality, if they do not destroy it. No soonerdoes the little girl get upon her feet than her education begins. Herplay is imitation of her mother's labors and enjoyments. A group ofgirls will amuse themselves by the hour, playing little dramas with thehands. Many of these games are to be found among civilized peoples. Yourmeaningless piling of fists in the play: "Take it off, or I'll knock itoff," is part of a game which represents the entire operation of findinga honey tree, cutting it down, gathering the honey, mixing it withwater, and eating it.

The marriage tie of Australian women cannot be likened to that existingamong Christian nations, nor is it similar to the polygamy of Mohammedanpeoples, but is a modified form of group marriage.

The Australian man obtains his wife in one of four different ways. Hisfather secures her for him by an arrangement with the girl's father; hecharms his intended by magic; he captures her as he would an enemy inbattle; or she elopes with him. It is to be understood, of course, thatthe woman belongs to the proper class by descent. The Australians arevery particular in this regard. The first and most usual method oftaking a wife is connected with the law which makes every woman thepossible wife of some man. There is little or no ceremony in connectionwith the rite of matrimony. When a man has secured a wife, she becomeshis private property.

Let us imagine, therefore, that a man has set his heart upon a woman ofthe proper group. There are several ways of practising magic to procurea wife. Spencer and Gillan, the greatest authorities in this line ofstudy, say, that when a man is desirous of securing a woman for hiswife,--it makes no difference whether or not she be already assigned tosome other man,--he takes a small strip of wood, attached at one end toa string, and marks it with the design of his totem, and with thisinstrument (called by the American boy a "buzzer") he goes into the bushaccompanied by his friends. All night long the men keep up a low singingand chanting of amorous phrases. At daylight, the man stands up aloneand swings his roarer. The sound of the instrument and the singing ofthe air is carried to the ear of the woman by magic, and it has thepower of compelling her affections. It is asserted that women have beenknown to come fifty miles in order to marry the man who had bewitchedthem. There are other ways of charming a woman upon whom the lover hasset his heart,--such as the charm of the gaudy headband worn on a publicoccasion, the charm of blowing the horn, and more. Elopement is onlyanother form of magic. The third method of obtaining a wife, by capture,has been described as universal among the Australians, but the latestwriters affirm that it is the rarest way in which the central Australiansecures his wife.

Among the Australians, Polynesians, Malays, and many others of thelower races, descent has been primarily and uniformly through themother. It was not until tribes became sedentary and property was heldby individuals that inheritance passed to the male members of thefamily. The so-called mother-right is based upon the belief thatindividuals forming a certain clan or group, by whatever name they maybe called, are the offspring of a woman who lived long ago. The termmutterrecht, by which this custom is called, is of course a sort oflegal fiction; for men have always governed the world. Two benefits grewout of this form of descent. One was the certainty of motherhood. Theother was the assurance, to every individual, of family support, as thechildren of a number of sisters were not cousins to one another, but allwere brothers and sisters. So long as there were provisions with any oneof this group, the rest were sure of a meal. This plan of descentthrough the mother has survived in many curious ways. It is found amongmany African tribes. Even to-day the Spaniards, who have a great deal ofMoorish blood in their veins, have the custom of adding the mother'sname to the father's to show that the descent is legitimate. It may beof interest to know, in passing, that James Smithson, the founder of theSmithsonian Institution, was required by his father, the Duke ofNorthumberland, to be known by his mother's name until he was of age,when he was allowed to assume the family name of the duke, which wasSmithson. This is but a modern instance of how persistent the ancientcustom has been. As soon as sedentary life and settled ownership ofproperty took the place of nomadic life and communal ownership,mother-right or matriarchy passed gradually into patriarchy. It iscurious to know that among the American Indians at the time they werediscovered one could find all degrees of this transition. We must becareful, too, to discriminate between the tribe and the clan, or gens,for all savage tribes are exogamous with respect to the clans andendogamous with respect to the tribes. When the people develop thetendency to marriage within the tribe, it is evident that they havepassed out of the earlier stages of clan grouping into the stage ofproperty grouping. Marrying in the tribes was necessary, in order, as wemight put it, to "keep the money in the family." Among many of thelowest as well of the highest civilization, the practice is againstmarrying a girl who is akin; and it is always a subject of humor when ayoung woman in our own country marries without changing her name, aquiet recognition of the old practice of the exogamous marriage betweenclan members.

Clothing for warmth or protection is not worn by Australian women; eventhe apron is not universal. The sense of beauty, however, has beenawakened in these savage breasts, and expresses itself in prettyheadbands, necklaces, and breast ornaments of seeds, teeth, and stringscolored with ochre. The men, too, are but little better attired; but oneindispensable article of their costumes must not be omitted in thisconnection, namely, the knout, or coil of twine, with which they thrashthe women.

The home of the Australian woman, where she and her co-wives and theirchildren live, is nothing more than a brush shelter, so faced as toprotect the occupants from the prevailing wind. In front of this, orunder it, they work, eat, sleep, and hold social intercourse. In themorning, they go forth with their digging sticks and wooden troughs togather small animals. They take no thought of what they shall eat, theproblem being to have anything to eat. When the men hunt the smallkangaroo, the women surround the game and drive it toward the ambush.Every edible thing is known and is used for food. The women are thegleaners also, gathering large quantities of seeds, throwing them fromone trough to another so that the wind may blow away the chaff, grindingthem on one stone with another, and cooking in hot ashes the dough madefrom the meal. The cooking of flesh food is done by men, as thatprepared by females may not be eaten by them; the women attend to thevegetable diet. In many places, females over a certain age take theirmeals apart; this rule, however, is not uniform.

Should the Australian woman allow her child to live past the earlieststages of infancy, she is usually a devoted mother. She often bears herchild about on her shoulders as she attends upon her tasks, even afterthe child has become five or six years old. And should the little onedie, she will continue to bear the dear body with her, apparently notnoting the decomposition, which soon sets in. Mothers have been known tocarry the body of a dead child for weeks.

From earliest childhood, girls as well as boys are trained to note thetracks of every living thing. For amusement, skilful women imitate, inthe sand, the tracks of animals; and they know one another's footsteps.Spencer and Gillan say that every woman has her pitchi, or "woodentrough," from one to three feet long, in which she carries everything,even the baby, for she is both pack and passenger beast; when she ishunting, it will very often be used as a scoop-shovel to clear outearth. Her only other implement is her digging stick, the primitivepick-plow excavator. It is a straight staff, pointed at the end. When atwork requiring its use, the owner loosens the earth with the diggingstick, held in the right hand, while her left hand plays the part ofshovel. Acre after acre of the soil wherein lives the honey ant is dugover for this toothsome mite. Little girls go out with their mothers;and while the latter are digging up vermin and insects, the toddlers,with little picks, will be taking their first lesson in what will betheir chief lifework.

Among savages, the textile art--woman's peculiar industry--is littleencouraged. The spindle used in Australia before the discovery of theisland-continent in 1606, and which is still in use among the wildtribes, is the most primitive conceivable, for it is merely a littleswitch with a hooked end. The women make string for tying, as well asfor bags and network, out of human, opossum, and kangaroo hair, fromsinew, like the Eskimo, and from vegetable fibre. They sit upon theground, use the left hand for a distaff, and with the right hand rollthe spindle dexterously on the naked thigh. When a foot or so of stringis finished, it is rolled about the hook of the spindle for a bobbin.When two of these are completed, a stick is driven into the ground, anda rude rope or twine walk is set up. The women know the dyes in manyplants and use them. With the strings they make basketry, nets, bags,plaiting, and many ornamental forms of simple lacework and borders.Indeed, the Australian aborigines are at the bottom of the textileladder, where human fingers perform all spinning, netting, and weaving.

In lieu of the gaudy costumes and of the tattooed tooth patterns etchedupon the skin among other Indo-Pacific tribes, Australian women decoratetheir breasts and other parts with horrid scars. They cut the skin withflint or glass, and rub ashes or down into the open wounds in order thatthe cicatrices may be large and prominent. They submit to these tortureswith the greatest satisfaction, and add more from time to time asmemorials of personal experiences or in honor of the dead.

The Australian women are fond of games and sports. Dr. Roth, theNorthern Protector of Aborigines in Queensland, says that with a fairlength of twine adult women will amuse themselves for hours at a time.The twine is used in the form of an endless string, known to Europeansas "cat's cradle" or "catch cradle." Hundreds of the most intricate andbewildering designs are made, in the formation of which the mouth, theknees, and the toes coöperate with the hand. Some of the figures areextremely complicated. Dr. Roth gives the plates of the finishedpatterns, which certainly are as fascinating as any work of savagehands.

Australian women are described as cheerful and light-hearted, but, onoccasion, they fight with their digging sticks most furiously, givingand taking blows like men. The testimony of the best observers is to theeffect that, in most tribes, women are not treated with excessivecruelty, which would be quickly fatal to the tribe in longevity,fecundity, and service. Women receive their share of the resources, bethey abundant or meagre. What seems to be cruelty is only custom or, asone would say, fashion; and in Australia, even more so than in Paris,you had as well be out of the world as out of the fashion.

All her life, the Australian woman is in the most abject social state;her connection with the rites and ceremonies of her tribes is only as anassistant or attendant. She is charged with all the industrialoccupations of food getting, and is not allowed to venture near thesacred places on in of death. She is bound hand and foot by custom.

No Australian woman is believed to die a natural death. All are killedby magic--it may be a personal enemy near at hand or by a great sorcererfar away. Their life, so remote from ours, is, however, less sensitive,and it would be untrue to say that they are a melancholy set, living inperpetual dread.

When an Australian woman dies, she is at once placed in a sittingposture, with the knees doubled up against the chin. The body thusprepared is deposited in a round hole at once or is placed on aplatform, made of boughs, until some of the flesh disappears, afterwhich the bones are put into a grave. Nothing whatever is deposited withher, and the earth is piled directly upon the body so as to form a lowmound with a depression on the side toward the camp ground. As soon asthe burial is over, her camp is burnt utterly and her group remove toanother place. Those who stood in certain kinship to her may nevermention her name again or go near her grave after the last act ofquieting the spirit has been performed. This ceremony occurs about ayear after the death of a woman, and consists of trampling on her grave.Her mother and the nearest clan kin paint themselves with kaolin andvisit her grave, accompanied by certain of her tribal brothers. On theway, the actual mother throws herself on the ground and is onlyprevented from frightfully cutting herself by watchful attendants. Atthe grave, the blood flows copiously from self-inflicted wounds upon allthe mourners. After this blood letting, charms are planted upon thegrave mound, the blood stained pipe clay, with which the half deadmother has smeared herself, is rubbed off and the grave is smoothedover. All this is done cheerfully, as it is the custom of the country.

The widow (or widows) of a deceased man smears her hair, face, andbreast with white pipe clay, and remains silent during a long time,perhaps a year, communicating by means of gesture language. She remainsin camp, performing assiduously the ceremonies for the dead; indeed,should she venture forth on her old avocations, a younger brother of herhusband, on meeting her, might run her through with his spear. When thetime comes to have the ban of silence removed, she smears herself afreshwith kaolin, prepares a large tray full of food, and accompanied byfemale friends walks to the dividing line of her camp. They are joinedby the proper kindred of the deceased, who, after an elaborate ceremony,release her from her vows, and certify to her having done her wholewidowly duties. At the ceremony of trampling on the grave of the deadman, in which certain women take part, and especially the widow, whoscrapes the kaolin from her body, showing that her mourning is ended.

When a child dies, not only does the actual mia, or "mother," cutherself, but all the sisters of the latter perform a like ceremony. Onthe death of relatives, women gash themselves. The scars thus made havenaught to do with the decorative cicatrices across the breast, beforementioned. They are specially proud of these self-inflicted wounds,since they are the permanent record of their faithfulness to their dead.

Let us turn our attention to the smallest women of the world. History,ethnology, and classic myth have united to make the Eastern pigmies themost interesting people in the world. Though they are a little people,and have been hard pressed by larger and stronger races, they havesurvived for centuries. They are to be found in Asia, Africa, and theislands of the sea. Africa was doubtless their aboriginal home; but thisnegrito type has spread eastward, probably in their canoes in the earlydays, till the islands of the South Seas have become their home.

The women among these little people are even smaller than the men. TheMincopies of the Andaman Islands are among the most interesting of thenegritos. Because of their roving nature, they live in huts which arerather temporary in character. These are put up by the women, thoughwhen a sojourn in a given locality is to be of longer duration the menbuild huts that are more permanent. The boys and girls do not sleep inthe same huts with the married people, but in huts specially constructedfor them. The women often become quite expert in the manufacture ofpottery by hand, the vessels having rounded bottoms, and being decoratedwith wavy lines, or lines made by a wooden style.

Both boys and girls in the first few years of life are left entirelynude. At about six years the little girl has placed upon her an apron ofleaves. This is her sole garment. Later in life, the womanly instinctfor ornament shows itself however, so that necklaces and girdles areadded. There is a certain kind of girdle, made from the pandanus leaves,which is the peculiar possession of the married women. The women, aswell as the men, tattoo their entire bodies. This art of tattooing ispractised almost entirely by the women. They use a piece of quartz orglass, making horizontal and vertical incisions in alternating series.There was probably some religious significance originally in thispractice, since the men begin the process by making incisions with anarrow used in hunting the wild pig, and while the wounds are still freshthe man must refrain from using the flesh of this animal. The bodies ofthe women are usually quite shapely, though their faces are notbeautiful. With the women as well as the men, the body is of nearlyuniform width, there being scarcely any enlargement at the hips. Sincethe race is comparatively pure, marrying among themselves, the type isvery uniform; and since, as Quatrefages says, the occupations of men andwomen vary little, the difference in the development of female ascontrasted with masculine characteristics is exceedingly small.

The young girl enjoys equal freedom with her brother, but preserves hermodesty with commendable strictness. An official, "the guardian ofyouth," scrutinizes the conduct of the young people with much care andattempts to see that wrongs against modesty and chastity are, as far aspossible, righted. The marriage relation is well guarded; bigamy andpolygamy are rigidly prohibited; and betrothals, which are often madefor the little ones at a very tender age, are held as inviolate, abetrothal being regarded as quite as binding as actual marriage. Theyoung couple to be married never take the initiative for themselves,this duty falls to the "guardian of youth," whose watchful eye isexpected to discern the eternal fitness of things in this importantfield of human interest.

The marriage contract is a purely civil one, being celebrated at thehut of the chieftain of the tribe. The bride remains seated. By her sideis one or more women; the groom stands surrounded by the young men. Thechief approaches him and leads him to the young girl, whose legs areheld by several women. After some pretended resistance on the part ofboth, the groom sits down on the knees of his bride. The torches arelighted so that all present can attest that the ceremony has beenregularly carried out. Finally the chief declares the young people dulymarried, and they retire to a hut prepared in advance. Then they aresaid to spend several days silently, without so much as looking at eachother, during which period they receive from friends presents of a verypractical nature, such as provisions and equipments for housekeeping.After this silent but profitable function is over, a wedding dance isgiven in which the whole community joins, except the two who are mostconcerned in the festivities.

"It is incorrect to say that among the Andamese marriage is nothing morethan taking a female slave, for one of the striking features of theirsocial relation is the marked equality and affection which subsistsbetween husband and wife. Careful observations extended over many yearsprove that not only is the husband's authority more or less nominal, butthat it is not at all an uncommon occurrence for Andamese Benedicts tobe considerably at the beck and call of their better halves."

A writer upon the Andamese islanders has this significant utteranceconcerning woman's moral influence even among these uncivilized peoples:"Experience has taught us that one of the most effective means ofinspiring confidence when endeavoring to make acquaintance with thesesavages is to show that we are accompanied by women, for they at onceinfer that, whatever may be our intentions, they are at least nothostile."

As a rule, marriage life among these Andamese islanders is said to bevery happy. The women are constant and faithful; the husbands alsoexercise marked fidelity. The spirit of equality and reciprocityprevails to an exceptional degree when compared with many otheruncivilized peoples, and indeed with many civilized people.

Even before the mother gives birth to the child, the little onereceives a name with a qualitative, according to sex. This it bears fortwo or three years. It is then replaced by another qualitative which theboy bears till his initiation into the rites of manhood, and the girltill the appearance of signs of puberty. This name corresponds to sometree or flower. When the girl marries she drops her "flower name."

Mothers, too, have great fondness for their children, nursing them aslong as there is milk for them, and it is not uncommon for threechildren to feed at the same maternal breast. A peculiar customprevails, however, by which most of the children are by the fifth orsixth year taken from their parents, and become parts of anotherhousehold. This custom of adoption is a method by which friends expressand cement their friendships for one another. As Quatrefages says:"Every married man received into a family regards as an expression ofgratitude and proof of friendship, the privilege of adopting one of thechildren of the family." The parents rarely see children that have beenadopted. They may pay them visits, but they never take them backpermanently to their homes, and temporarily only by permission. Thefoster-father may, strangely enough, pass his adopted child on to somefriend of his, as freely as he might one of his own.

The modesty of the scantily clothed women is noteworthy. Man, who haswritten so minutely upon the Andamese, says that when a woman hasoccasion to remove one of her girdles in order to make it a present to afriend, she does so with a shyness that amounts almost to prudery; andshe never changes her apron before a companion, but retires to somesecret place. Even within the same family circle, the bearing of thesexes toward each other is modest and delicate. The man will observe thegreatest care in his attitude toward the wife of a cousin or of ayounger brother, only addressing her through a third person. The wife ofan elder brother receives the respect accorded to a mother.

The negritos of Luzon in the Philippines are also found to be verycorrect in their ideas upon the relations of the sexes. Adultery is veryrare, and is punished, as are theft and murder, by death. The manners ofthe young girls are very correct, for any suspicion of their chastitymight prevent their marriage, for the young men are particular thattheir wives should be without stain or even an imputation of it. When ayoung man is ready to marry and has found the girl of his choice, helets her parents know of his heart's wish. They are said never torefuse. They do not turn her formally or informally over to her suitor,however, but they send her out into the forest, where, early in themorning, before even the sun has risen, she conceals herself. It is theyoung man's business to find this pearl of great price, or else hecannot claim to be worthy of her and must forever relinquish all rightin her. This, it will be readily seen, is but another way of leaving thewhole matter in the hands of the girl, who may not seek the thickestjungles for a hiding place. The day for the marriage has come. Thelovers climb two young trees which are adjacent one to the other and maybe easily bent together. An aged man comes, and presses the boughs ofthe trees toward each other till the heads of the young couple touch.They are then husband and wife. Feasting and dancing follow, and thenthe pair settle down to life's realities in earnest. The husband giveshis father-in-law a present, a custom surviving from a day when wiveswere purchased; and the father presents his daughter with a present asdowry, which becomes her own personal property. The Aëta has but onewife. If he should die after his children are grown, the family home iscontinued; should the children be yet very young, the mother usuallytakes them and returns to the home of her own people.

Among some of the negrito tribes there has been found an incipientliterature. The following are words of a love song which Montano foundamong the Aëtas. It has thus been translated:

In contrast with these pigmies of probably African origin, there maycome to our minds the ancient tradition of African Amazons. For thepoetical allusions among the Greek authors to such a community of femalewarriors there was doubtless some basis in fact, and this even when alldue allowance is made for the imaginative element in the tale. Accordingto the tradition, these African Amazons, an army of powerful women,under the leadership of their Queen Myrina, marched against the Gorgonsand Atlantes and subdued them, and at last marched through Egypt andArabia and founded their capital on Lake Tritonis, where they werefinally annihilated by Hercules. The truth in these Amazon stories liesdoubtless in the fact that it is not an unknown custom for Africanwomen, strong of body and brave of spirit, to enlist as soldiers incompanies or armies, commanded by officers of their own sex, and tobecome very powerful in regulating the life of some communities.

Among the Dahomeys, women captives are often enrolled in the king'sarmy of "amazons." These are said to have a perfect passion forfighting. They are bound to perpetual celibacy and chastity, under thepenalty of death. They are described as famous in battle, but theirchief utility is to prevent rebellion among the male soldiers. They haveseparate organizations and are commanded by officers of their own sex,and are most loyal to their king.

The world has long known of the Hottentots of South Africa. Their womenare taller and larger than those of the neighboring Bushmen, who are theSouth African pigmies. Among these Hottentots woman often occupies aplace of considerable power; this is notably in the home, where shereigns supreme. The husband may lord it over her outside of the house,and often does, making almost a slave of his spouse; but when he entersthe house, he abdicates his authority. Without her permission, thehusband cannot take a bit of meat or a drop of milk. If he attempts toinfringe the law, the neighbors take up his case; he is amerced, oftento the extent of several sheep or cows, and these become the absoluteproperty of the wife. Should the chief of a tribe die, his wife takeshis place and authority and becomes "queen of the tribe," unless her sonis of age. And it is said that some of these women chieftains have leftfor themselves names of honor in the traditions of their people.

It is a custom among the Hottentots to call their children by the namesof their parents, but by a sort of exchange, the girls assuming that oftheir father, the boys that of the mother--a syllabic suffix indicatingthe sex. To the oldest daughter are accorded especial authority andhonor; for it is she who milks the cows and, in a way, has them underher control. Requests for milk must be made to her, reminding us of theAryan wood-daughter, who was once the milkmaid.

No extraordinary claims can be made for the beauty of the Hottentotwomen. They have the knotty hair that characterizes the negro races, andthe flat noses, thick lips, and prominent cheekbones. While their faceshave no especial beauty, their figures, when maidens, are regular, plumpand attractive; but after the first years of womanhood are past, theroundness of youth yields to the wrinkles of age, and all attractivenessdisappears, the woman either becoming withered and haggard, ormanifesting that peculiar development said to be so much admired amongthe Hottentots, known to science as steatopyga. The famous "HottentotVenus" furnishes an example of this type of beauty. The back is givena most remarkable contour by the enormous growth of fat about the hips,which, though hard and firm, shakes like jelly when our Venus walks.This extraordinary development has to the Hottentot lady not only anæsthetic but also a utilitarian value, in case she cares to support herinfant upon it.

The less cultured a people, the greater the place given by it toornament. Among many uncivilized peoples the men as well as the womenexhibit a fondness for decoration; but ornamentation is preëminently theweakness of women. Although the savage lady regards clothing asaltogether an unnecessary burden, she must have her ornaments. One ofthe methods of ornamentation is that of tattooing the body. Among sometribes almost the whole body is covered with more or less artisticdesigns, while others mark only parts of the body, as by rings aroundthe arms, or, as among the aboriginal New Zealand women, by puncture ofthe lips. The use of shells, metal rings, bands, beads, feathers, mats,and so on ad infinitum, is one of the marks of savagery.

A traveller has given the following description of a Kaffir's marriageceremony witnessed by him. The occasion was the marriage of a Kaffirchief to his fourteenth wife, "a fat good-natured girl--obesity is at apremium among African tribes--wrapped round and round with black glazedcalico, and decked from head to foot with flowers, beads, and feathers.Once within the kraal, the ladies formed two lines, with the bride inthe centre, and struck up a lively air; whereupon the whole body ofarmed Kaffirs rushed from all parts of the kraal, beating their shieldsand uttering demonic yells, as they charged headlong at the smilinggirls, who joined with the stalwart warriors in cutting capers, andsinging lustily, until the whole kraal was one confused mass of demons,roaring out hoarse war songs and shrill love ditties. After an hourdancing ceased and joila (Kaffir beer) was served around, while thelovely bride stood in the midst of the ring alone, stared at by all andstaring in turn at all, until she brought her eyes to bear upon heradmiring lord. When advancing leisurely, she danced before him amid theshouts of the bystanders, singing at the top of her voice andbrandishing a huge carving-knife, with which she scraped big drops ofperspiration from her heated head, produced by the violent exercise shewas performing."

Among African tribes, generally, the value of a woman is rated in termsof the cow. While in India the cow is more sacred than the woman, inAfrica, a woman sometimes brings several cows in a trade. When a manwishes a wife there is usually little trouble in obtaining her, eitherby purchase, theft, or in some rather more sentimental manner. Amongsome tribes female go-betweens are made use of, while genuine courtshipprevails among other tribes. The courtship, however, is seldom of longduration.

The matter of marriage is more completely guarded among the tribes ofAfrica and the Indo-Pacific than we might expect of the people of theirgrade of culture. While tribes vary much in marriage customs, purity oflife is, as a rule, rigidly expected of married women, and most womenmarry at an early age. Lewdness, however, is not generally regarded asso great a crime as marital infidelity, which is often punished withdeath. Betrothals are looked upon as much more sacred and binding thanthey are among more cultivated peoples.

In Tahiti, so careful have been the natives in this matter of betrothal,that the betrothed young lady was compelled to live upon a platform ofconsiderable elevation, built in her father's house. The parents or somemembers of the family attended to her wants here, night and day, and shenever left her high abode without permission of her parents andaccompanied by them.

In the Yomba country courtship is carried on usually through femalerather than male relatives, and either sex may make the first advancestoward a minor. Among all uncivilized peoples, as indeed among many thatare advanced in civilization, the early marriage is one of the mostimportant elements in the backward condition of the people, if notindeed the most serious cause of deterioration. Women are forced intothe arduous duties of motherhood at an age when they are neitherphysically nor in any other sense prepared for such an obligation.Children born of immature mothers can scarcely expect to be robusteither in body or mind.

The Kroomen, one of the native tribes of Liberia, hold marriage to bethe highest ambition of life. They will marry as many wives as they canpay for, often leaving their homes in search of means whereby they mayaccumulate wealth enough to buy another wife. Enjoying for a few monthsthe new relation, the ambitious husband goes off to seek again hisfortune, returns, buys another companion, the marriage is againcelebrated, and so the number of women who perform the drudgeries oflife increases. At about middle life, usually, the Krooman hasaccumulated a sufficient fortune in the form of wives to enable him toretire from active labor. He now settles down to live upon the labor ofhis wives, who willingly support him. He is now known as a "big man,"and enjoys not only the ease, but also the reputation and honor of onewho has come into possession of a well-earned retirement. Anothercharacteristic which marks woman's career among the lower races is thefact of her early and rapid physical deterioration after marriage. Thisis true not only of the women of Polynesia, but of the African tribes,with which they have much in common. At the age when European andAmerican women are at the prime of their vigor and physical beauty,these women have not only seen their best days, but are broken,unsightly, and withered.

This deterioration is chiefly due to two causes; one is the uniformearly marriages among these races, and the other is the hard life whichis early thrust upon the woman. For she not only becomes thechildbearer, but the beast of burden, the farmer, too, it may be, andthe mechanic and the "general utility man."

It is true, especially where polygamy prevails, that there is a divisionof labor, but the labor is divided among the women; the men do only thelighter work. The several wives of the household take their servitude asa matter of course, and usually, especially in Kaffir land, they are sobrought up that they regard a husband as degraded and effeminate if hetakes any part in the ordinary labors of domestic life. The women are,generally, quite reconciled also to the polygamous relation, because ahusband is regarded as possessing dignity and respectability inproportion as he is much or little married.

The less developed a race is, the less specialized is woman's sphere.Among the barbarous and savage peoples woman is the "maid of all work."She is weaver, potter, basketmaker, cook, agriculturist, water bearer,beast of burden, everything. Men hunt and fish, eat and sleep. Ingeneral, it may be said, that among the barbarous races there is agreater relative disparity between the size and attractiveness of menand women. This is doubtless to be accounted for by the fact that veryearly the female is set to hard tasks of menial service and her body isaccordingly abused and stunted.

While the physical and social status of woman is one of acknowledgedinferiority, there are not wanting among the African tribes instances inwhich woman exerts no small influence and exhibits no little power. Thiswe have noted in mentioning the tribes dominated by warlike women. It ismore particularly true of her influence within the precints of herdomestic life, as was seen in the case of the pigmy women of theAndamese Islands. Mothers, and more especially mothers-in-law, exertnoteworthy power, but this is always by virtue of station rather than ofany inherent respect due to the sex itself. There are isolated examplesof a more active power exerted by woman.

As a rule, women of the inferior races have no part in the government oftheir tribes. There are some exceptions, however. In the SandwichIslands, as is well-known, the hereditary right of rule might fall to awoman as well as to a man, and there have been, in these islands, anumber of queens. Our own country took some part, as will be readilyremembered, in deposing the last of them from her throne.

Every student of what has come to be called "woman's sphere,"especially among the uncultivated races, must be led to the conclusionthat the condition of the female sex, the sphere of her activity andinfluence in any race, is one of the very best indexes of thecivilization of that people. The view of Havelock Ellis, in his Man andWoman, is that it is the latter who is leading in the evolution of therace, in the sense not only that the traits that more distinctivelybelong to her are those that characterize the advance of society, butthat she registers more accurately the advances. "What is civilization?"asked Emerson; and answers, "The power of good women."

Among the deplorable traits of women of uncivilized races is that ofinfanticide. Among some of the Pacific islanders and in some parts ofAfrica, the regular and systematic sacrifice of children is among themost remarkable and cruel features of the social life of the people.This is more particularly true of female infants.

War plays a very large part in the life of uncivilized races, and thepresence of women is a source of weakness rather than strength, sinceusually they are not bearers of arms, and are among the most enviedprizes for which war is waged.

Ellis, in his Polynesian Researches, draws this gloomy picture ofunnatural motherhood among peoples of the Pacific islands: "In Tahiti,human victims were frequently immolated. Yet the amount of all these andother murders did not equal that of infanticide alone. No sense ofirresolution or horror appeared to exist in the bosoms of those parents,who deliberately resolved on the deed before the child was born. Theyoften visited the dwellings of the foreigners, and spoke with perfectcomplacency of their cruel purpose. On these occasions the missionariesemployed every inducement to dissuade them from executing theirintention, warning them in the name of the living God, urging them byevery consideration of maternal tenderness, and always offering toprovide the little stranger with a home, and the means of education. Theonly answer they generally received was, that it was the custom of thecountry; and the only result of their efforts was the distressingconviction of the inefficacy of their humane endeavors. The murderousparents often came to their houses almost before their hands werecleansed from their children's blood, and spoke of the deed with worsethan brutal insensibility, or with vaunting satisfaction at the triumphof their customs over the persuasions of their teachers." It is thoughtthat not less than two-thirds of all the children born were murdered bytheir own parents.

"The first three infants," says Ellis, "were frequently killed; and inthe event of twins being born, both were rarely permitted to live. Inthe largest families, more than two or three children were seldomspared, while the numbers that were killed were incredible. The verycircumstance of their destroying, instead of nursing, their offspringrendered their offspring more numerous than it would otherwise havebeen. We have been acquainted with a number of parents, who, accordingto their own confessions, or the united testimony of their friends andneighbors, had inhumanly consigned to an untimely grave, four, or six,or eight, or ten children, and some even a greater number."

But changes have taken place since the writing of these lines; it seemscertain that a generation ago nearly if not quite two-thirds of thechildren were slain by their mothers, and few mothers were guiltless ofthe blood of their own offspring. The explanation of the prevalence ofthis species of massacre is readily discernible in the followingparagraph from Ellis's Researches: "During the whole of their livesthe females were subject to the most abasing degradation; and their sexwas often, at their birth, the cause of their destruction. If thepurpose of the unnatural parents had not been fully matured before, thecircumstance of its being a female child was often sufficient to fixtheir determination on its death. Whenever we have asked them what couldinduce them to make a distinction so invidious, they have generallyanswered,--that the fisheries, the service of the temple, and especiallywar, were the only purposes for which they thought it desirable to rearchildren; that in these pursuits women were comparatively useless; andtherefore female children were frequently not suffered to live. Factsfully confirm these statements."

Dense superstition, too, has sometimes played a part in this murder ofchildren. In Central Africa, for example, it is held with religiousscrupulosity that twin children should never be allowed to live. Whenchildren are born with a deformity, they are despatched as a matter ofcourse. And yet, notwithstanding all these horrors, the instinct, evenof the most debased mothers, is toward the love and preservation oftheir offspring. From the earliest days, this care for the infant, thehelpless, and the weak has been the most powerful counterpoise toabnormal self-seeking. These two characteristics, self-giving andself-seeking, are among the most potent factors in the development ofall the races of mankind.

The Filipino woman has lately had for us fresh interest. Indeed, thewomen of the Philippine Islands are among the most interesting in theworld. In the mountains of Luzon and in the other out-of-the-way placesare the negritos, or little negroes, of whom we have written in anearlier portion of this chapter. These little people are shoved awayinto the mountain regions, where the resources of life are as meagre asthey can be if existence is to endure. In the lower parts of thearchipelago, which are more accessible to the coast, will be found thedescendants of an old Malayo-Polynesian race; these are characterized bytheir primitive industrial life. A later immigration of the same stockbrought people to the island who have developed alphabets, metallurgicarts carried on by the men, and weaving and needlework done by thewomen. Closely following these, and because there were opportunities forcommerce, came the more cultivated races of Eastern Asia, Chinese,Japanese, Siamese, and even Hindoos, to mingle their blood with thesemore primitive stocks. In the twelfth century of our era, MohammedanizedMalays took possession of the southern part of the archipelago. Thesepeople are called Moros, or Moors. Leaving out the negritos, who areonly a little mixed with the other races, the other peoples we havementioned have mingled their blood with the modern population, theSpanish and Portuguese, who have come in since the sixteenth century.The commingling of blood has been favorable to the modern Filipinos, andmany regard their women as worthy of being admired for their grace andbeauty. Notwithstanding their great variety of racial stocks, the womenof Manila have a certain common physiognomy, the Malay type being thestrongest element in their composite face. Features that mark the yellowraces are also quite prominent in many of the Filipino women.

As in other races of the same grade of culture, the marriage tie is apart of the social system. Clan relationship, by whatever name it may becalled, governs the selection of a spouse. The bond has been a veryloose one in the islands, and it has not been an uncommon thing for menand women to break up their relationships unceremoniously and form newones. Among a people composed of so many elements, wide differences maybe expected in the matter of marriage. The Igorrotes, or wildinhabitants of Luzon, though primitive in development, are monogamous.The clan system is broken down and a young man is allowed to take thewoman of his choice with little ceremony, and they become man and wife.Many astonishing customs are, of course, found among these people. Forexample, Alfred Marche calls attention to a form of voluntary slavery.

It is that of a young man who wants to marry. In many places, he isbound to work for two or three years as a simple domestic in the houseof the father of his fiancée. During this time he is fed, but nevertakes his place at the same table with the young girl. He is allowed towalk with her and to sleep under the same roof, but he may not eat withher.

When the young man has passed this stage, he must, before the ceremonyof marriage, build a house and make certain indispensable purchases. Hemust also pay all the expenses of the marriage. The affair does notalways terminate as regularly as one could wish. The father sometimesseeks a quarrel with his future son-in-law at the moment when theceremony is about to take place, and admits a new aspirant for hisdaughter's hand. The newcomer undertakes to work for him without anyscruples. The house, which is of little value, is all that remains tothe late fiancé as a consolation.

De Morgan, who travelled in the Philippine Islands for the Spanishgovernment and published his account, in the City of Mexico, in 1609,gives an account of the native women three hundred years ago.

The women of Luzon are described as wearing sleeves of all colors whichthey call baros. White cotton stuffs were wrapped or folded from thewaist downward to the feet, and over these sometimes was a thin cloakfolded gracefully. The people of the highest rank substituted silk orfine native fabrics for the cotton, and added gold chains, bracelets,and earrings, and rings on their fingers. Their hair, which isexceedingly black, was tied gracefully in a knot on the back of theirhead. Many of these characteristics noted by De Morgan may still be seenamong the women of the islands. The closer contact of the PhilippineIslands with the mainland and more particularly with western commerceand civilization is destined to work many and possibly rapid changeseven in the customs and ideals of the women whose native conservatismhas held them for many centuries very much in the same groove of lifeand daily routine.

The women of Luzon have always been cleanly and elegant in theirpersons, and they are attractive and graceful. Much time is spent ontheir hair, which is frequently washed and anointed with the oil ofsesame prepared with musk. They spend much time on their teeth, andformerly began at a tender age to file them into the shape demanded bythe customs of the country. They also dyed their teeth black. Like theMoorish women, the Filipinos are fond of the bath; they frequent therivers and creeks and bathe throughout the entire year, the genialclimate allowing such pastime.

As in other countries below the grade of civilization, the industrialemployments of the Philippines are largely for the women. To them is thetask of spinning and weaving the exceptionally delicate fabric of thearchipelago into the finest cloth. They also are the food purveyors,assisting in gathering food material, pounding it in their simple millsand serving it. In their cuisine are such vegetables as sweet potatoes,beans, plantains, guavas, pineapples, and oranges. The women rear fowlsand domestic animals, and take upon themselves the entire care of thefamily and household.

While the women of all countries have always been the natural and mostpersistent conservers of ancient ideals and racial customs, yet it maybe predicted that the throwing of the Filipino tribes into contact withNew World politics, trade, and customs will, at length, bring aboutmarked social changes. These must eventually give to the women of theFilipinos a wider outlook upon life and a new power to carry itsburdens.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATION

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