The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1885-07-10
THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.
A MONTH AMONG UHURCH1iS AND RE
LYGfOUS WORKERS..

THE RELIGIOUS WOkLD'
MONTH AMONG UHuRCHEs AND RE
LIGfOUS WORKERS.
The MussuIman's Terrible Month OF FAST
Snr.-Tbe Latest Claim of the AfEhams.-
The Religious Beliefs of the FHiahs:-
Tho Chinese in New York and their ssoos'
Notes and Gleanin9s'
colony of Jews called Dagh Tchoufont live
in the mountains OF the northern CaaIas ,',s
vThe Dagh Tchoufont live IN several small pilt
distinct communities nVhe provinces OF Dagh.
estan. Terek, aud KOuban. They say mat
thew are the descendants of Persian Jews VINO
arrived in Daghestan tn the fifteenth century,
and who established themselves some cine later
among the Koumyka, whose Prlnces Sro ~;
valued their commercial aptitude and cher skill
in the cultivation Ofnadder, rice, and the VINE
Considerably before the Russian conquest OF
the Caucasus these Jews were established ~ the
aoul of AndreievskY, on the plateau OF Aouni-
XIV, and it was after this that they came lht0
the Terek, where they settea IN plaee ., S"he,.
Portych, between the present stanltzas OF ocnel-
kazayodskaia aBlE tchedrinskaia. With theyrew
of more successfully resisting the attacks OF tie
mountaineers they were then installed In the
aouls OF Andreievsky, Taschketchi, kazil-Hu rt
and Others, which they occupy att present
day. They number about 800 families. Fhey
speak different dialects ofthe Ctrcasaian noun
talnecIs but they prefer writing and talking me
language of Farsistan, which they brought with
them from Persia. Their Talmud is translated
into that language. They have nothing IN
common with Russian Jews except their rellg.
ion, which, howsFe1 possesses some disth,es ,h
features Their rabbs are subordinate TO the
Chief Rabbi of Derband. The Dagh Tchouiont
are engaged both in commerce and agriculture
They were the first mountaineers OF The Terek
to visit the towns and distant fairs OF Russia
and their example thas much contributed sethe
- fhn a
They now enjoy the same rights as the other
Crcassians, they can pr ssess lands, and pay
equal taxes with the est.-[London Times.
The Constantinople correspondent Of the San
Francisco Chronicle writes of the terrible month
Ramazan the Mohammedan fast: "For thirty
days between sunrise and sunset no good MUG
sulman allows a mOuthful OF food or drink TO
pass his lips. From the firing OF the gun that
announces the first direct beam OF the rising
sun to the report that signifies its going down,
the fast is still rightly observed. But then it
sdoes not discommode the Turk at all, for DUR
ing that time he is asleep. He simply reverses
the order Of things and sleeps day times instead
of nights. There is no law against his eating
at night. He rises from his couch at sunset
and takes his breakfast before going to the mos
que to pray. At midnight he has dinner, and
partakes of supper just before sunrise in the
moraing, when he again cetires to ted. Inc
night not being good for work, he gives his
whole waking hours to pleasure; and the en-
tire month from sunrise to sunset becomes
vast carnival in all countries under Mohamme-
dan ruls, Thus the form is peIpstuated, while
the substance goes to waste. This fast month |
comes a certain number of days-fOurteen l |
think-later every year. When IL occurs IN |
cool weather it is not SO bad, and when it falls
in the hot season it works great suffering to one
class at least
DIR A Van Camp for four years s consul
ILL fo11D ,c 4 ba ra
igion of the Fiiians: "There have been mis-
'ionslies there for many years, but do not
hink they have succeeded very well in chang.
ng the habits or general character of the ma
ives. They never had any well defined relig-
Gus belief. They used to. have their gods. OF
he storm, and gods of the sea, and gods for
verythiDg. A singular thing among them is
hey had their native medicine men. When a
,atient died the medieiae man was killed. They
AVE lost their faith in the medicine man and
ome now to the drug stores to get drugs. They
xpect to get large supply of valuable drugs
or yam or two. They have no idea Of the
so that they have to pay to have tooth pull
d. The natives, however, are becoming very
auch dissatisfied with their condition Of slay
re- to the chiefs. and that may be sign of
rogress. They will never have their rights
ntil the islands are annexed to New Zealand
r Australia.
The Pail Nall Gazette prints hitherto I'M
ublished proclamation of the Amer of At
hanistan to his subjects issued in 1882. 1t re-
Jews the history Of ;he Afghans, claiming that
1ey are descended from the lost ten tribes OF
,rael. It traces their descent from Adam
trough Jacob, their suhiectioa in Egypt, their
slivcrance therefrom by Noes, their Wanoer.
gs in the desert and their SETTLE nent "a oyl ~
ider the Ameershp OF Saul and solomon 70 .
eir Babylonian captivity, their relesss, tnsli
on the hills of Ghour and the hnai
,ttlement in Afghanistan. 1t concludes ~ tx,
orting the Afghans to trust in God, who WI g
reserve them from their terrible enemy, Rus
"a, who is waiting to devcur them. P
Pere Hyacinth lectured in Paris Friday eve =
ing on the secularization of the Pantheon. He y
rotested against abolition Of the cross and the !
tempt to create antagonsm between the spir- =
of revolution and the spirit Of religion. The :
uilding itself formed a cross, and it was use !.
,ss to try to alter it by removing the cross =
rom the summit He advised the government :
} follow the English example in regard to !,
abbey, not to inquire into the ,
rthodoXy of the great men buried there. In :
rte of all efforts the Pantheon would remain
be consecrated sanctuary of Frances greatness.
he address was splendid oratorial effort.
ERE Hyacnth was continually interrupted by
be wildly excited audience. ;;
Rev E P Powell, liberal preacher, in dis
curse at Utica, N Y, lately spread the mantle
charity over Ingersoll. "Robert Ingersoll," /
e said, "is no more an atheist that Dr. Ial-
lage He has many gods--that is. ideals-as
be rest, and is stout defender of them. The
.cret of his terrible lectures is that he is defend
lg his gods. And he believes, as l believe,
hat his gods are better than those he tumbles
own. He is to be, above all, pitied
tho knows no saints less than 500 years dead,
nd no God but one that he never sees, and
those voice is heard only in the conflict of war.
ing preachers.
Representatives of missionary organizations
DING work in Turkey called on Minister Cox
lst week before he sailed fer the Orient They
eminded him that large part of the Ameri-
ans In that country are missionaries aud that
he missionary societies have at least a million
ollars there invested in educational insttu-
ions, If Robert college also be included and tie
Bible society $4,000 more in its own peculiar
work at Constantinople and Beirut. They also