Worcester daily spy., 1860-07-20

The Bruises of Mount I.ebanonJrheir Re
cent Attacks on the Christians.
Until now it has been almost impossible to
tell certainly what the Druses really were, eth
er in their origin or their belief. Mosheim
classifes them with semi Christian sects, who
hold the doctrines of the Manicheans, that
there are two eternal principles, one of good
and the other of evil, at war with each other
and equally powerful. They have, however
always been esteemed branch of the Maron
ties, who, in the seventh century, sprung
from the AIonothelites, under John Marc,
their first patriarch. They were externally
connected with the Maronites until 1841, end
were considered as a sort Of degenerate Uni
tarians. They themselves claimed to be de-
scended from those Franks who, in the elev-
enth century, waged wal against Mohammed,
and who, with their descendants, are known
to have retired to Mount Lebanus, OF Leba-
non, in considerable numbers. 1t is also
known that in the twelfth century, "a. D.
1882 the Alaronites conformed to the Romsh
church, and this may naturally have been at
trbuted to the influence Of the Druses.
Closer investigations, however, show that
while, for political reasons the Druses may
have identified themselves with the Marouites,
and have concealed their faith, and while the
Roman Catholics may have offered them their
protection, hoping thus to gain them over
they are, in fact and ever have been, a sect OF
Persian MOhammedans, sprung from the fol-
lowers of Haken, false Mohammedan proph-
t'who was born at Cairo, A. ID, $50, began
to reign in Egypt 966, and was assassinated
1920. His character and commands to his
followers, together with their oath Of allegience
j to him were published by De Lacy, and full
account of them in Juwett's Christian Re-
rearches in Syria. AT first it would seem that
their hatred to the rest of the MOhammedans
was SO strong as to drive them into a sort of
tact alliance with the crusaders, both being
prosecuted together and driven up into the
mountains of Lebanns. But the initiated
have always kept up a secret organization and
faith of their own, studiousy concealed from
the uniniiated even of their own body. They
acknowledge lawgivers, Adam, Noah, Abra-
ham, Jesus, Mohammed, and Jaid, who is,
perhaps, in their view, the same as Hakem
who is, in point Of fact the embodiment of the
Deity, first appearing about four hundred
years after Mohammed. They openly profess
a sort of Unitarianism but have secretly many
points Of belief and practice known only to
the initiated These initiated ones are as cX-
Cessvely rigid as to their creed as the uninti-
ated are lax and accommodating They live
temperatcly on food peculiar to themselves,
marry only in their own order and never take
an oath, but confirm their declarations with
the words 81 have said it," The Imam OF the
Druses is their ecclesiastical head and is re-
garded with profound veneration by all class
es, initiated and unintiated Matte Brun es-
Inmates their number at one hundred and
twenty thousand, but the missionaries say
they do not number over seventy thousand.
AT this moment they have suddenly attack
ed the Christian villages with great fury, and
destroyed sixty or seventy OF them. The
American flag seems to prove the best protec-
ton That the Turkish Mohammedans have
joined them is more than probable, and the
only conjecture is as to the cause. Not i'm
probably it is the result of some Russian and
perhaps French intrigue, thing Of very easy
and common occurrence, for the sake of de-
monstratng to the world the insecurity of the
Christians under the Turkish rule, and as a
plausible pretext for taking possession Of the
sick mans effects. 1t is asserted that the
French consul at Beirut had declared this to
be the end of Turkish rule over the Christians,
and it is to be observed that Russian trigate
happened to come along the coast just at the
time of this outbreak. All that seems certain
is that matters cannot well be worse than they
are. But England will not like French or
Russian extension in Syria.