The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-01-10
woman In Barbarous Nations.

Inc following extract from an article on
the Nassar Female College" IN the last
New-Eaglander, reviews the condition and
sufferings of Woman in the ages or nations
of barbarism
An abstract of the codes of nations"
says Emerson, would be transcript of
the common conscience The Moham-
medau law forbids pigs, dogs, women, and
otner impure animals, to enter a mosque
and according to its prohibition. the hour
OF prayer may never be proclaimed by
female, madman, a drunkard or a de-
crepit person. 1t Is stated by the stated
German traveller, Kohl, that Turk
bushes and apologies when he mentions
his wife, as If he had been guilty of
needless impertineuce. Penetrating far
ther into Asia, listen to the revelations OF
Nishnu Sarma: Women al all times have
been incOnstant, even among the Cele.-
tlais. w oman Uirtne is founded upon
. modest countenance, precise behaviour,
rectitude, and deficiency Of smtors" In
| fidelity, violence, deceit envy, extreme
avarice. total want of good qualities,
| with impunity, are the innate faults of
woman kiad And since, IN those TEEN
ing lands, the married woman. according
to an old writer, Is TO be but " an echo in
| the house during the lifetime of her lord
| spouse, is II not possible that after his d.
cease sne will possess the privilege at
F.. least, of or5giH0! uocajzatton7 Absurd -
| for what satin the Hindoo scripture? 1t
! is proper for every woman after husha nd :
| death, TO burn herself in the fire with his
corpse" The code of the Persians es.i-
mates the testimony Of four women as
! equal to that OF two men. but the BrahmiE
regards the testimony of women as worth
just nothing at all. Wherefore, very lo-
gical'y. it is never admitted. The Cochin
Chinese proverb says: A woman has nine
lives and hears q great deal of killing
The Chinese woman, with babe upon
her back, and another in her womb, drags
the plow in the rice field, while her gal
lant husband holds the handle and wields
the whip. The Tartars say: Women
were sent into the world to be useful and
convenient to the men In Siberia, the
morning after the wedding, the bride :
father delivers to the young husband the
emblem OF his authority-a uhip. Amoug
the Morduans, the bride is presented to
the groom with these words: There
wolf, take thy lamb In Australia, when
| a female child is born, the natives break
her finger-ionts. Wnen the New Hol-
landers are displeased with their wives,
they have very expeditions method of
divorce; they simply spear them or knock
them on the head. Even the legislature
of Indiana must yield the palm to the
common law of that remote Pacific Isle
Moorish gentlemen, it may inferred, lead
an easy life. They lie upon their mat.
whole days smoking and sleeping, the
work meanwhile. being done 10y their
wives, who, for the slightest offence. are
beaten most cruelty, but who, so far from
regarding this conjugal pounding As a mis-
fortune, are rather disposed to be proud
Of it, as a tokon that their lords and mas
ters consider them of some Importance
The condition OF woman in ancient Greece
was eery abject. She kept her husband s
house, slept in his bed, aud brought him
children; but in the sight Of the law she
was only thing She could not appea
from her husband to the courts; and
after bis death, the eldest son became hel
guardian. A female captive was subjected
to peculiar indignities thus Hecuba com
plains that she was chained like dog al
the gates Of Agamcmnon. The practice
of exposing infants revealed a gloomy dis
tinction: for Posidippus says:
| "A man. though poor, will not expose his son:
But, he's rich, will scarce preserve his daughter
Among the Romans, woman was treated
with far more Difference; yet her civi
rights were extremely frail She could
neither inherit property nor transact busi
ness without the concurrence of parents
husband, or guardian; and she could b.
divorced for the most trivial offence
When Paulus 1Emilius repndiated Papiria
his friends said to him, Is she not wise
Is she not chaste? Is she not fair7 Is sh'
not the mother of fine children In re
ply, he pointed to his shoe, aud said, Il
it not fine? Is it not we'll made? Ye
none of you know where it pinches me !?