The Penn's Grove record., 1884-05-31
Life In a Far away Place.

Far up that ancient river Hays, on
| either side, is many a village where
almost every house has a man at work
/ at work in COnstantinople, for the farm
ing of these villages is just about as
ancient as the river, and needs outside
help to hold It's own year by year. And
as there is no bank in Anatolia and no
system Of postal notes, sometimes from
5 TO 10 per cent. of the hamal's earnings
is consumed by the sharp polltzadji for
transferring the remainder from Con-
stantinople to the old home.
These Armenian women and girls,
which they left behind them, are usually
| robust. as well as the men. Indeed,
any one born there with frail COnstitu.
ton dies before long running this gaunt-
let of infantile disease and exposure; so
that only the strong are left. Ahd the
| two. pence worth a day on which they
live, of coarse bread and curds, or hulled
wheat and simple soups, helps to develop
beautlfulteet and bones, good digestion
| and iron muscles. Some years ago an
American doctor %practicing IN Sivas,
told me IL was not at all uncommon for
a village woman to take her child, one
or two days old, on her back and walk
three miles to town to inquire of him if
everything was all right with them. But
| when tile doctor asked one of them.
"Why don't You learn how to ready' she
answered with that peculiar shrug other
magnificent shoulder, "Ughl You get
out. What can a COW learn2' And
some of them are about as awkward-In
handling a needle, too, as a COW would
be.
When a hamal, or custom-hOuse por-
ter, returns after years at STEAMBOAT, he
naturally brings with him new ideas.
| know one who presented his wife with
a full set of civilized spoons, knives and
forks; but she promptly traded them off
and turned again to rely solely on the
great wooden spoon of her ancients aud
on fingers. Another steadily refused
to sell his daughter till the villagers
made him pay SIS for a girl his boy
wanted. Others discourse learnedly on
custom-house tricks and on the differ
ent European linguas. Some of them
are quite eager for the mental improve.
ment of their women and children, |
visited a small village neal Slvas,
which has a good school for both sexes,
supported entirely by the interest on
money contributed by the citizens work
ing in STEAMBOAT. Some time ago, stroll
| ing into an Armenian village church,
| took a secluded corner, and heard senti-
| ments in the address of the Bishop there
which ten years ago would have been
considered rank hereSy, worthy only an
| American missionary. Among other
excellent things the Bishop said: "Edu-
| cate every one of your girls, and simpli-
fly your weddings. Here's one of our
| young men with elastic step and beam
| ing face. He has a future of vast pos
sibilities. Rumors of a wedding rise.
That young man goes to town. AT eve
he returns, walking heavily. You look
intohis face It'sno face at all. What's
the matter, man? Got a t%oOthache?
Your girl dead?' 20, nothing, nothing,
he SAYS, but 1 know he has to-day run
5000 piastras (S240) into debt for the
extragances of one of our village we'd
dings A few months later for that
| debt he goes to Constantinople to be a
slave for years, and leaves his young
wife to be another here. Beloved, by
your own voluntary slavery to evil Gus
tom we are becoming poorer and fewer
every year in this progressive century. "