St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-11

As, with the exception of the Japanese, the
Druses are the politest and most courteous
people have ever met, great part of our
time is taken up with salutations and COM
pliments. First we press our hands to our
hearts and lips and foreheads with great
eifusion. No sooner had we seated than we
repeat this process as if we had not done it
just before. Then, in howery language, we
ask each other repeatedly after our respective
heaths and are profuse in our thanks to
God that we are well, that they are well, that
our families are well, and that we are per-
mitted TO enjoy the great privilege of meet
ing one another Then coffee is brought in,
and after drinking it we go through the same
process of saluting each other all around.
Then / request permission to light cigar
ettee, which is necessary, as the Druses never
indulge in tobacco; indeed, the more rigid
eschew coffee.
AS I look around at the twenty or thirty
sheiks, solemnly seated with their backs to
the wall, am much struck with the dignity
of their bearing, the intelligence of their
| countenances, and their superior physique
generally. As rule, there is a religious
and secular sheik to each Village, so that
about half of my entertainers exercise
| spiritual functions and half temporal. There
was nothing, however, in their dress to dis
tiuguish them. They all were white turbans,
black or striped abbas or wide-sleeved cloaks
reaching to the knee, beneath which was the
usual flowing garment Of the Oriental, and
their feet were bare. Many of the Druses,
both men and women, have brown hair and
| blue eyes, and compilations as light as our
| own, and some OF both sexes are singualarly
handsome.
AS all the shieks had not yet assembled,
we had not been long in conclave, indeed,
had hardly exhausted our stock of compli-
ments, before the singing of men and the
| firing of guns announced a distinguished ar
rival. Then we all went out to meet him,
and ] was interested in the method of greet
! ing. | soon perceived that the forms of eti-
quette are most rigidly adhered to among
them. When two of equal rank meet they
clasp hands, and there appears slight strug-
| ge-as they both bow their heads and lift
their clasped hands towards their lips-as to
who shall kiss the back of the others hand
first. This involves Il curious twisting move
ment of the hands and heads which pro-
duces somewhat comic effect. Let any of
my readers make the experiment, and,
| grasping each others hands, try and kiss the
respective backs of each without unclaspiug
them, and the effort as to which shall succeed
| first makes quite little game. My servant,
who is a Moslem from Egypt, declared that
! they each kissed their own hands, and the
! and the argument waxed so hot between us
! that we had to refer the matter to a Druse
to know which was right, so difficult was it
to perceive exactly what really happened.
| If one felt himself inferior in rank to the
other, he always succeeded in kissing the
others hand first, and snatching his own
away before the other had time to kiss it.
| But If the difference in rank was still more
marked, the superior made no pretense Of
wanting to kiss the interiors hand after his
had deem kissed.
Next came great struggle as to who
should take the lowest place. The place of
honor was particular corner, which, had |
| been better versed in their etiquette, should
have insisted on declining; but | innocently
| accepted it, and then the invariable struggle
came as to who should be forced to sit next
! to me. | observed that in most instances
the refusals were of that formal kind which
young ladies indulge in when they have
made up their minds to sing, but decline to
do so until after they have been sufficiently
| pressed. | suppose there were envyings,
iealoLsies, pride, and other base passions
among my hosts as among other men, but
| IL 81 bueN COuCctlctA IuelI ldllllS5
with marvellous skill. One could not but be
struck by the air of genuine harmony and
affectonate cordiality which seemed to pre-
vail among them.
The respect they showed to the head sheik
of all and the warm terms in which they
! spoke of him to me in private could not
have been but sincere, and indeed he seem
ed to deserve it. Though only young man
of about 80, he inherited his honors, coming
! as he did of one of the most honorable
| Druse families yet his distinguishing char
acteristic was marked humility and consd
! Grafton for others. His wife was certainly
the most charming and ladylike person |
have yet seen among Druse women. She
was not more than % or "a, with fair com
| pleXion, magnificent eyes, and an elegant
fgure grace natural to her characterzing
all her movements. Indeed, had she been
dressed in the latest Partisan fashion,
she would have been a strikingly at
| tractive peraon in any society, nor
would it have been possible by her features
or complexion to distinguish her from any
pretty American woman. AS it was, her
dress was exceedingly becoming. On her
head was long white vcil a loose tunic-
shaped jacket with full sleeves, covered an
embroidered sort of chemisette, and her
short-howing skirts partially concealed full
trousers, tight around the ankle. On her
wrists were pair of heavy gold bracelets, and
she was the only woman of the party in
dulged in the luxury of shoes and stockings.
The shoes, however, were always slipped off
before entering a room.
The Druse women of Galilee do not, like
| these of the Lebanon, cover their faces; and
indeed they are allowed freedom which
! ~ from fr1t -,t-itl ha IF
Moslem sisters This wife of-the head sheik
enjoyed privilege denied to any of the
other women who had accompanied their
lords to the shrine. for she frequently sat in
the mems council, taking part in the CONVEX
sation, though modestly and with great re-
serve In talking to me, which she did
freely, found that she was bright and in
| telligept aud full of inquiries as to the man
| ners and customs of the females of civiliza-
| ton, in regard to whom she had au intense
! curiosity. do not know, however, whether,
! if it had been fully gratifed it
would have tended very much to
her moral and intellectual Improvement
She had brought her baby with her, and was
| generally surrounded by some of the more
prominent of the other ladies, who, however,
! treated her with marked Difference. l
watched her mode of greeting the different
ladies as they arrived even with more inter
est than that had in the men. We read in
the bible of people falling upon each others
necks; this was exactly what the Druse wo-
men did, and very prettily and gracefully
they did it, while they recognized the men
/ by u distant, modest, and deferential saluta-
ton But as | spent two days in this most
Interesting and original society, shall post
pone to my next letter the continuation of
/ my experience.
4 Par,siam Bird Charmer's Singular Po,r-
crS.
Pail Mall Gazette.
Paris has found new sensation in bird