The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-11-08
Modes Of Salvation.

gard 1t as an act OF positive lrreverence
to remove the hat or cap in entering
house of prayer. The Japanese take off
their slippers, and in other parts of the
East, they remove one of their sandals
if they meet friend out of doors, and one
of their stockings if he calls upon them
at home. These customs must date back
to very remote antiquity, as wesmay
refer from the direction given to Moses:
"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the
place wherein thou standest is holy
ground" 1t is rather beautiful way
that they have in New Guinea of greet
ing an acquaintance by the placing of
green leaves, which are the symbol of
life, on the top of their heads.
The sight presented in New Zealand,
when two persons meet who have not
seen each other for some time, must be
rather ludicrous to bystander, however
touching it may be to those Immediately
concerned. As soon as they come to-
gether each of the parties envelopes him
self in his mat and covers his face all but
one eye. They then squat down on the
ground opposite to each other, and begin
to weep with all their might, the fountain
of tears on both sides seeming to be al
most inexhaustible. After they have
wept as long as the occasion requires,
they approach and press their noses to-
gether for some time, closing the per-
Torrance with series of short and Wig
orous grunts; after which they are ready
to enter upon general conversation. One
mode of salutation which prevails in Ger
tain of the Pacific islands must call into &C,
4: otso Ii o<os
raising the left foot, passing it lightly over
the right leg, and then rubbing the foot on
the face. In certain quarters gentlemen
of fashion salute each other in the street
BY striking the knobs of their canes to-
gether, which they carry with them for
this purpose, instead of lifting their hats
as we do. The absence of any head-cov-
ering may have driven them to this
nobby substitute.
There are certain forms of religious
salutation that have a peculiar dignity
and impressiveness, like that which ex-
lists in the Eastern church, where, on
Easter morning, the greeting is on this
wise-"The Lord is risen !"-with the re-
sponse-"He is risen indeed!" Several
phrases are also used by the Arabs and
Turks which have the same characters
tics, such as-"If God will, thou art
we'll" The Persian sslutation-"May
thy shadow never be less"-would not be
so appropriate in countries where the
people incline to obesity. The Quaker
style of address-"How art thou2"--is q
little formal, but is certainly better than
the vulgar - "How d'ye9" sometimes
heard in certain parts of the land.
AS compared with the elaborate and
complicated style of the Africans, our
modes Of bodily salutatiOn are few and
meagre. A nod or a bow, q wave of the
arm, touching the 5rim of the hat, or
perhaps lifting it slightly from the head,
and our perpetual Misunderstanding, cover
about the whole ground of formal ges-
ticulation in American society. On this
aforementioned form of greeting desire
to say few plain words. l presume
thatin proportion to the population there
is greater amount of hand shaking done
in this country than in any other region
of the globe. The extent to which this
thing is carried may be regarded
as u serious objection to accepting any
high position in the State. A distin-
guished army officer who once received
0uu oNoIiou IA tuC ViSy VI AcW AOEAs
when he had to stand for several hours
on a platform and extend his hand to
every body, washed and unwashed, who
desired the honor of grasping it, told me
that his sufferings were intense after this
absurd process had gone on for certain
length of time, and that for several days
his hand was so swollen that he could
hardly use it. There are people whose
grip is like that Of an iron wise, and they
seem to take friendly delight in crush
ing ones fingers and grinding the bones.
A movement has recently been made in
France to regulate this style Of saluta-
ton, and reduce it within proper bounds.
l wish that it might extend to this coun-
try. If one offers you his hand it is
awkward to refuse it, even though you
might reasonably object on sanitary
grounds. 1t is worth noting that the
words salutary and salusosion are both
from the same root, which means health.
In general it may be remarked that We
ought not to salute all persons alike. Our
best greeting should be reserved for those
who deserve it most. As long ago as the
time of the ancient Greeks, we are told
that 1.-THE most common salutation was
by the conjunction Of their right hands,
the right hand being accounted pledge
of fidelity and friendship; whence Pythag-
oras advised that the right hand should
not be given to every man, meaning that
all persons were not fit to be made our
friends" Pythagorss was sensible old
ilOsopher.-Bishop Clark, RI.