The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-03-15 00:00:00

Tri I JBI3fW 013SFRTF11.

the scribe teaches the boys. The person on the
platform was not only ti scribe, but a pilgrim,
which fact they would know by his green turban;
the only persons who were allowed to wear them
being those who had made a pilgrimage to
Mecca. It very often happened that the school-
masters who were accustomed to teach the boys
could not write themselves. Be related an
anecdote of a woman he knew who went to one
of this class and asked him to read a letter from
her son for her. He looked at itfor some time,
but did not like to confess that he could not
read it. As she saw him contracting his brows
trying to decipher it, she thought it must con-
tain bad news. She accordingly asked hint if
she must weep ; if she must bewail ; and call in
her friends to help her to mourn for her son
whom she supposed was dead. The school-
master, seeiug that this was a way out of the
dilemma, told her she might do so ; and, she
accordingly beat her breast, tore her hair, and
gave way to all the emotions of grief. They would
easily see from this that when the masters were
so deficient the education of those in their care
must be very defective. Ho next introduced
a Pharisee. He wore upon his left arm a tight
cord or ligature; because it said in the Laws of
Moses " Thou shalt hied the Commandments."
They also wear the commandments over their
eyes, as a frontlet ; and also next their hearts.
The only singularity in their dress is that they
wear is black cap in mourning for Jerusalem,
whieh is in the hands of their enemies. In the
beginning he mentioned how narrow their streets
usually were. They have their streets narrow
to keep the sun out of theta in the summer and
the wind and rain in the winter. The streets
are never swept or cleansed, and as no rain never
comes down to wash them there are heaps of
garbage and accumulations of filth which are
anything but pleasant to the sight and smell of
Europeans. It requires great care to walk about
especially at night, for the streets are in such a
condition that they are positively dangerous.
No one over thinks of going eat at night unless
something of an extremely serious nature
happens, and he is compelled to do so. And, as
there are no lamps, when one is forced to go
out he first makes his way to the police-station,
where they supply him with a lamp which is to
this day called " David's Lamp." (The
lecturer here exhibited one to the audience,
which was made of white paper, about a foot
long, something after the manlier of a Chinese
lantern). This, he said, the person who was
carrying it was obliged to hold disc to the
ground as he went along to save him from fall-
ing over obstructions in the way. This was the
In of lamp which was mean: by the Psalmist.
when he said, "Let thy word 1,0 a lamp unto my
feet." The lecturer then produced another
lamp, which, he said, was a household lamp,
and would be similar to the 0110 S carried by the
virgins who went forth to meet the bridegroom.
He theta said there were no pictutee in the East,
as they would think it the greatest profanity to
draw the likeness of anything or have it about
them. They make all sorts of beautiful designs
oa their carpets but they must not put the like-
ness of any living thing on them. The first
picture he over saw was at the Exhibition in
London; and although it was very beautiful he
could not help smiling at how inaccurately the
subject was depicted. The painting represented
that parable of the scripture which spoke of the
woman who had lost a piece of money and who
swept the house and looked for it diligently. In
the picture spoken of the woman is represented
as having a candle in one hand, which shed a
great glow of light over her face, whilst in the
other she hell a large broomstick. They would
be able to appreciate how ridiculous this was
when they saw that lamp sad that broom, which
he held in his hand. The latter was about a
foot long, made of twigs tied together at oue
end, and about two inches in diameter at its
widest part.) He also ridiculed the manner in
which painters generally represent the characters
of Holy Writ. Any man with his legs and other
portions of his body uncovered would do for
either Abraham or Jacob; when if they knew
anything of the country they would know that
it would be impossible to live without having the
whole of their bodies well covered to protect
them from the heat of the sun. He showed
them what was called in the Est the " prayer
carpet," and said that when they prayed they
always turned their faces towards Mecca. He
next Froduced some ladies' shoes, and said that
as in China the lady would soonest gain a hus-
band who had the smallest feet, so amongst them
the lady who had the highest heels to her shoes
would get warned first. Some ladies had the
doles of their slippers half a yard high. A lady's
value in the East was estimated by the number
of the camels which her husband would give for
her hand in marriage. In some casee they would
fetch 500 and in anothers 1,000 camels. Of
course if they see a European in the East they
know he cannot have come to their country with-
out he is possessed of considerable means, and,
consequently they everywhere ask him for
" baksheesh --money. (rho lecturer here said
that as he had told them all about the town he
would now rest for five minutes. During the
interval there was a great number of photo-
graphs of the lecturer sold in the room.) On
resuming, the lecturer said that when an English
gentleman decided upon visiting the desert his
firet care was to call upon the English Consul,
who would send to some Arab Sheik, asking
him to provide camels and horses for, and to
give protection to, the intending traveller. This
was absolutely essential as it would be impossible
for any traveller to go safely through the desert
without having the protection of some Sehik or
other. He described the riding upon a camel's
back as ono of the most unpleasant and painful
modes of travelling that was ever experienced
by Englishmen. lie often wondered why Eng-
lish people always fancied a camel must have two
humps and a dromedary only one; when both
animals had sometimes but one and sometimes
two, the only difference being that the camel
was a slow animal whilst the dromedary was a
swift one. He once saw a Frenchman thrown
off a camel's back, and be (the speaker) thought
he would have been killed ag tin and again. He
was looking all round the camel to see if it had
six feet or eight, when the driver suddenly
ordered it to rise, and the movement threw him
to the ground with great violence. Before they
resumed their journey Ile had better describe the
dress worn lay the Bedouin Arab in the desert.
His robe is uteri° of camel's hair. They alwat 8
wear them all their lives, and when they die
' they leave them to their children. Most people
believed that this was the kind of garment worn
' by Saint John the Baptist in the desert, as it
was the only one that would effectually ward off
the rays of the sun. He also had a hend.dress
which protected his eyes, neck, and face from
the sun. He then showed them the water bottle
which was used in the desert. It was made of
dried goat skin, and was about a foot and a half
in depth. The. Englishman is more careful of
the water bottle than of anything else ; because
the heat is so great in the desert that he cannot
eat food, and water, for his thirst, is his only
nourishment. He showed them the spear, which,
he described as being a real Damascus spear,
made of the best Damascus steel. He believed
that the swords made in Dania:4oas thousands
of years ago were as of good quality as those
made in the present day, and that they could not
he improved upon. It is no good asking the
camel-driver how far off is the tribe for be will
always tell you that the distance is very short;
but if you have sharp eyes and cun see a great
way yon may descry some little black spots in
the distance. Those are the tents of the tribe.
If you area great man you may then send SONO
one forward to announce your approach to the
Sheik. They never come out to meet you, but
when you have got to the tents you have to call
out to them. He would then describe to them
the mode of salutation in the desert. When an
Englishman meets another friend in this country
his first question to him is" How is your wife r
This put him in mind of an anecdote with re-
ference to a question that was asked of a boy in
a Sunday School. The boy was asked what was
the first thing Melchisedec said to Abraham up-
on meeting him. The lad had been a walk
with his father that morning and having heard
nearly everyone ask how Mrs. Fiddledee, or
whatever her name might be, was, he naturally
concluded that would be Melchise.dec's first
question to Abraham. and accordingly replied,
" Why, lie asked him bow Mrs. Abraham was."
But you must never take such a liberty as that
with an Arab. If you were a friend, and wished
to know how his Imlay were, you must ask him
in:a roundabout way,snch as how was his tent. If
it was a slave he niust salute his master by going
on his knees and kissing his hand and bring it
to his eyes to show him that he loved him more
than his sight, and then to place his hand on
his head. Supposing it is an English gentleman
who wishes to pay his reltects to the Sheik they
will each advance towards the other with slow
and dignified steps and having extended Unix'

right hands they will only touch them together,
bring them to their lips, and kiss the tips of
their fingers. After a short acquaintance, how-
ever, they will shake hands vigorously and em-
brace each other. Ile then gave a vivid descrip-
tion of life in the desert, and said the sight of
an evening to a stranger was novel and pleasing
in the extreme. He would see the maidens re-
turning from the well with the pitchers on their
heads, like Rebecca of old, the old women pre-
paring the eveniti; meal, and the shepherds lead-
Mg their sheep and very often carrying one or
two of the lambs like the shepherd spoken of in
the gospel. He never heard of a shepherd
having a dog before he came to England. In the
East the shepherds will stand and talk and
smoke together and their flocks which are often
I oom
composed of thousands of sheep will get mingled
together in such a way that an English shepherd
would think it impossible to separate them but
when evening comes the shepherd will call them
by making a peculiar noise and his sheep, know-
ing his voice will all follow him home. In the
evening they relate stories to each other, some-
times of their own, and at others tales from the
" Arabian Nights." During the recital of the
story the hearers will beat their breasts if it is
melancholy and cry "Al, Ai," if it is pleasing to
them. When the speaker first addressed an
English audience and saw their grave stern looks
ha was afraid he was not pleasing them ; but he
had since found out they were listening intently
alien they looked in that manner. He exhibited
the stones with which they grind the flour, and
said they were identical with those spoken of in
the Bible, where it said two women shall be at
the grindstone together, and one shall be taken
and the other left. He also gave a practical
illustration of the punishment which they inflict
for theft. It consisted in throwing the thief on
his back and beating the soles of his naked feet,
until frequeutly the flesh came off in pieces. lie
attributed the fact that there was very little
thieving done in the East to the severity of the
punishment inflicted ; for frequently it would be
a month or more before those who had been
punished could walk. He concluded by thank-
ing the audience for the patient hearing they
had given him, and Mr. Williams for his kind-
ness to him, and the young men for personating
the different characters.
The Rev. B. Sherrard moved a vote of thanks
to the lecturer for the lucid description he had
given of the lives and habits of the Arabs, and
said he had wade much more plain to him several
portions of the Scripture.
Mr .t. Freer seconded the proposition, and
announced that the lecturer was a Christian,and
that he was stud) lug at the University with the
object of obtaining a medical degree, and he
sincerely hoped that he would return to his own
country and be the IllellllB of doiug a great deal
of good.
The Rev. J. J. Welch said he did not think it
necessary to put the proposition to the meeting;
as he tliougut it would be beat to consider it
carried by acclamation.
After the close of the lecture several more
photographs of the lecturer were sold.