Morning journal and courier., 1882-10-18

divan and the men formed the first circles round them. The women draw ln as near as they can with propriety, and are, perhaps, the most intensely delighted at the concert. mans voice declaiming an impassioned love story which they quite at liberty to ap propriate to themselves, in Inauguration at least. Some of the most celebrated singers sing only for ladies, and will not perform unless they are aware that their efforts are not being merely thrown away on mankind
 Of course Mosem women can never be present, but they can and do throng adjacent terraces, courts and windows. An amusing trick was once played on one of these artlsts who was never known to exert himself for males only. Whenever he was invited out all the neighboring posts of vantage were quickly occupied and if he perceived that there were ladies among his outside hearers he always surpassed himself On the day ln question, however, it was raining, and every one was obliged to stay indoors instead of spreading the guest carpets in the court
 The tenor was obstinatelJ silent and evident ly very sulky. At length one of his friends
 who knew his idiosyncrasy went out of the room, and, envelopinR broom handle with
 a white veil and isar, placed 1t in neighbor-
 ing window. Returning to the singers side
 he logged his elbow, and pointed out to him
 that beautiful woman was watching him
 and waiting to hear his voice. He bright
 ened up at once and sang for hours, with
 many side glance at tho mysterious lady.
 When the party broke up the inventor of the
 trick fetch ed in his dummy and presented it to the singer, saying, Behold, my uncle. the maiden to whom you have been singing" It may be imagined that his modification was for long kept alive by the most unmeroiful mockery when the story got abroad. Many of these public singers find themselves over- whelmed with favors to degree which be- comes at last insupportable. The surest way to Arab womans heart appears to be through song, and if the singer be hand some he will have more love affairs than he can manage. There Is now at Damascus one named 'Amr, who was absolutely forced to leave the city from the multitude of the so- 1icitations he received from ladies of the first rank. Having escaped with impunity from one or two intrigues, he thought 1t wiser to keep whole skin while he could, and so set off for Constantinople. There again he gave lessons to two palace ladies, who loaded him ] with gold and jewels, but kept him shut up. The unhappy man shortly perceived that an other week of the existence he was leading would end it, and by bribing negress atten- dant with all the presents he had received he | passed out in her dress and fled. On coming back 10 Damascus he married woman of the lowest class and excessively ugly. but de- ! clares that she pleases him better than all the | hha1aalnpS of high degree with whom he has associated.
 Arab songs are of several kinds. Some l are extremely fine and composed in the best | style but it is not these which are usually ! sung being regarded rather as poems than I songs. The popular ballads are all of love | and wine, and are generally written in the l vulgar dialect Though tho idiom may be 1 Syrian, the pronunciation is almost always l Egyptian. Just as in London Paris there l is some one song which enjoys monopoly of I .very street boys tongue, so in the East the same words have their day of popularity and
 echo from every garden and cafe. These I 14fra into Iir nv nonSf
 famous singers for the time being but are l seldom preserved otherwise than in the mem ory, which makes it very difficult to get
 knowledge of them. The only possible way
 of doing so is to take them down from the ! lips of the sipgers-a proceeding by no 1 means easy. A performer will not often
 deign to dictate his song in cold blood. It ! is only when the spirit is upon him that he
 cares to sing. A good Arabic scholar, with
 some perseverance, might, however, manage to collect recue1 of the ballads of the poo pie, which are widely different from the high ! flown verses hitherto published and transla ted We are confident that this work would ! be of the greatest interest, not only to the ! Oriental student, but also to the general
 reader.
 Besides the man singers there arc a few
 recognized girl artistes, mostly Jewesses
 Of these the majority are little mora thar l courtesans, who use music as an excuse fol ! admitting visitors. There are, nevertheless | @ few whose characters must De SpoLlesS II
 order to be invited to large festivities in thu
 | most respectable houses, and who, conse
 quently, trade on their virtue as successfully
 as their sisters do on vice. The sums de
 manded and received by these women ar
 sometimes considerable, and, besides tn : first price paid by the givsr of the entertain l nsnt, the guests are expected to contribut ! to each song, and nothing but gold is accept
 ed It is worthy of note that while the nal
 singers seem to inspire their hidden lady au alters with admiration and even love, 1t l seldom that dancing girl receives the sam [ court as those do whom we may consider he 3 | representatives in Europe She excites
 certain momentary enthusiasm among he ] audience but they look upon her as poo F sort of plaything after all, and, seeing ths n shey regard their own wives in much tn same light, perhaps it is not to be wondere S at Of the two inferior creatures, the Ara s probably thinks more highly of the dancer e Has not one of his wise men told him that n difficulty he should consult ten of his friend p i or, it he has not ten, to consult five twie D each ? And if he has only one, he shoul
 1 take counsel with him on ten separate occi d sions. But if he has none, he should ask h g wife's opinion and do precisely the contrar 1t to what she advises him. dancer, a wifi n a song, or a mare are idle luxuries to 6 reckoned by tho same standard in the land ( @ Islam.