The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-10-17
MOSLEM SCHOOLS.
THE NOISY SYSTEM OF MOHAM-
MEDAN EDUCATION.
The Young Pagans Sit All Day
on q Mat and Yell at
the Top of Their
Shrill Voices.

Shrill Voices.
If the stranger IN Moslem country in
passing through the streets is attracted
by noise, for which he cannot satisfac-
torily account, toward the building in
which the school is held, he will, on
looking in, probably see long and mar
row room, at one end of which is seated
a man with long beard (schoolmasters
retain their boards even when whiskers
only are sanctioned by general usage,
the sides are lined with little boys of
various ages souatted upon their heels on
the floor, which is generally covered
with thick mat, in addition to which
those parents who can afford it provide
their sons with bit of carpet or felt I'M
Persia, or with a cushion in Turkey, to
place between them and the mat. Some
Of the older boys go so far as to obtain
cushion to introduce between their
backs and the wall, but this luxury is
rather discountenanced by the masters:
as an encroachment on their own Pc.
culiar dignities. All the boys have their
heads covered, but they are without
their, shoes, which are left near the door,
so mingled and so similar in shape and
color that it would seem difficult for each
to find his own: but on the breaking up
every one seems to slip his feet into his
own shoes without any of that individual
hesitation or general confusion which
might be expected.
When the boys are learning their les
sons, or repeating them to their master,
they do so all at once with loud voice,
and with continual seesaw of the body,
without which movement they seem to
conceive it impossible that anything can
be learned. The scene which this affords
is extremely ludicrous to a European,
particularly as the zeal of the learner is
estimated by the loudness of his voice
and the violence of his seesaw; and
hence, when conscious of the approach of
a person whom the master or pupils wish
to impress with a favorable opinion of
their application and progress the noise
in the schoolroom, which may previously
have sunk to low hum, rises abruptly
to the clamorous uproar of many voices.
1t seems that in reading all at once to the
master the elder boys, in the school at
large, are expected to give some atten-
tion to the others near them. The mas
ter cannot, in such a noise, distinguish
the individual accuracy Of each reader,
and his attention is therefore directed to-
observe that time is as nearly as may be
kept by the voices, and, in some measure,
in the motions also of the pupils. This
object seems but poorly attained. This
style of reading is most unnatural. tits
a drawing chant, uttered in a very loud
voice.
In the East generally the tone of the
voice is very high, even in common con-
versation, but in readingit is raised to
screaming. Some Arabs desired friend
of mine to let them hear him read, writes
a correspondent of the London Standard.
He complied, on which they exclaimed: ::
"Y-ou are not reading, you are talking!"
The fact is, however, is that except
among those of the learned professions,
few of those who have professedly
learned to read in the schools can or do
exercise the requirement IN after life;
and the few who do remain actually quail
lied to read with facility rarely do so
without some stimulus incomparably
stronger than would be required in this
or, perhaps, any European country. After
q residence Of several years among Mo-
hammedan people, l do not recollect
more than three instances in which l
have seen persons quietly engaged in
reading a book to themselves, although
all the actions OF their ordinary life are
much more exposed to public notice than
can we'll be imagined in this country.
These facts are easily explained.
Books are expensive articles of luxury in
Mohammedan countries, and this is
alone sufficient to account for much that
we have stated. Before the introduc-
tion of the art of printing the state of
knowledge among the people was not
more favorable in this country than it Is
in Persia now. There is also another
less obvious circumstance, which would
have great influence even were the manu-
script books much more common and
cheap than they are. This is the diff
Guilty of reading manuscript.
An Oriental manuscript is sort OF
shorthand which many more persons are
aDlc 10 WTlIc Clldu Tcdu. l. uc "oAos oiS
abbreviated, as in shorthand, by the
omission of vowels, and when the words
are deciphered the want of punctuation
renders it often difficult to discover at
once the meaning of the phrases. A
stranger is very liable to be deceived in
estimating the competency of Moham-
medan to read. A very large part of
common education consists in learning
BIZ heart very considerable portion of
the current literature. particularly of the
Koran. He, is, therefore, able to repeat
by rote the most striking passages of al.
most any of the very limited number of
books which are likely to be placed be-
fore him. He will turn over its leaves
until he can find some passages with
which he is acquainted, and will repeat
it correctly as if from the book: but, if
suddenly interrupted, he is afterward
quite unable to indicate the part OF the
page at which the interruption took
place.
A Chinese Parable.
Joaquin Miller has been translating