San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-09-10
MOHAMMEDAN SCHOOLS.
A SCENE WHICH Is VERY LuDi-
CIRCUS TO A EUROPEAN.
How Reading Is Taught the Young Mos
lem-Tone Of the Voice in the East
Tedivusness of Reading Manuscript Vol
umes-A Trick.

lem-SXono OF tne NoAco IL IAio AS~Ss'
Tediyusness of Reading Manuscript Vol
umes-A Trick.
If the stranger in Moslem country in pass
ing through the streets is attracted by noise
for which he cannot satisfactorily account
towards the building in which the school is
held, he will, on looking in, probably see
LONG and narrow room, at one end Of which is
seated man with a long beard School
masters retain their boards even when whisk-
ers only are sanctioned by general USAGE,
while the sides are lined with little boys of
various ages squatted 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 in Persia, or with cushion in
Turkey, to place between them and the mat
Some of the elder boys 60 so far as to obtain
a cushion to introduce between their backs
and the wall, but this luxury is rather dis
countenanced by the masters as an encroach-
ment on their own peculiar 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 hesita-
ton or general confusion which might be ex-
pected.
When the boys are learning their lessons,
or repeating them to their master, they do so
all at once with loud voice, and with con-
tinual 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 favorable opinion of their
application and progress the noise in the
school room, which may previously have
sunk into q 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 attention to the others near
them. The master cannot, in such 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 1t is drawing
chant, uttered in very loud voice.
In the east generally the tone of voice is
very high, even in common conversation,
but in reading it is raised to screaming.
Some Arabs desired friend Of mine to let
them hear him read He complied, on which
they exclaimed, "You are not reading, you
are talking!" The fact, however, is that e1-
cept 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 qualified to read with
facility, rarely do SO without some stimulus
incomparably stronger than would be re-
quired in this, or perhaps, any European
country. After residence Of several years
among Mohammedan people, do not recol-
lect more than three instances in which
have seen persons quietly engaged in reading
a book to themselves, although all the &C
tions Of their ordinary life are much more
exposed to public notice than can well be
imagined in this country.
These facts are easily explained Books
are expensive articles of luxury in Moham-
to account for much that we have stated.
Before the introduction of the art of printing
the state of knowledge among the people was
not more favorable in this country than it is
III Persia now. There is also another less
obvious circumstance, which would have
great influence even were manuscript books
much more common and cheap than they
are. Tbs is the difficulty of reading manu-
script This difficulty should not be under
rated Even in this country most educated
persons would require considerable stimulus
to induce them to go through a manuscript
volume. Those only whose duty it is to ex-
anime manuscripts and to prepare them for
the press can describe the tediousness of the
operation. 1t is not one Of the least advant-
ages of printing that it has tended to simplify
the character employed in Incorporation of
books and to render it uniform. This COM
parison very imperfectly illustrates our
meaning, for our manuscripts are far more
legible to Us than those of the east are to an
Oriental.
Among ourselves many persons who can
write shorthand with facility are unable to
read it with ease; an Oriental manuscript is
a sort of shorthand which many more per-
SONS are able to write than to read. The
words are abbreviated, as in shorthand, by
the omission of vowels, and when the words
are deciphered the want Of punctuation rem
ders it often difficult to discover at once the
meaning Of the phrases. When to this it is