The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1895-01-04
SCHOOLS IN TURKEY,
How Young Moslems Are Taught
to Acquire Knowledge;
They SIT an nay on a Mat and Vel at the
Tops Of Their Voices Committing
Whole Books to Memory
Peculiar Customs.

beard (schoolmasters retain their beara
even when whiskers only are sanctioned b
general usagel, while the sides are linet
with little boys at various ages squattet
upon their heels on the floor, which Is gen
orally covered with a thick mat, in addition
10 which those parents who can afford j
provide their sons with a bit Of carpet o.
felt IN 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 L
cushion to introduce between their backs
and the wall, but this luxury is rather dis
c~ountenanced by the masters as an en-
croachment on tANr own peculiar dignities.
All the boys have their heads covered, hui
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 break
ing up every one seems to slip his feet into
his own shoes without n of that individual
hesitation or general confusion which might
be expected.
When the boys are learning their lessons.
or repeating them to their master, they 60
so all at once with a loud voice, and with d
continual see-saw of the body, without
which movement they seem to conceive O. it
impossible that any thing can be learned.
The scene which this affords is extreme-
ly ludicrous to a European, partcu-
larry 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 mas
ter or pupils wish to impress with a favor
able opinion of their application and prog
ress the noise in the schoolroom, which
may previously have sunk into a low hum,
rises abruptly to the clamorous uproar OF
many voices. 1t seems that in reading ali
at once to the master the elder boys, il the
school at large, are expected to give some
attention to the others near them. The
master can not, in such a noise, distinguish
the individual accuracy of each reader, and
his attention is therefore directed to OBJ
serve hat 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 a drawing
chant, uttered in a very loud voice.
In the East generally the tone Of the
voice is very high, even in common CONVEX
sation, but in reading it is raised to scream
ing. Some Arabs desired a friend of mine
to let them hear him read, writes a cor
respondent of the London Standard. He
complied, on which they exclaimed: 'You
are not reading, you are talkingm The fact,
however, is that except among those Of
the learned professions, few Of those
who have professedly learned to road
in the schools can or do exercise the ac-
quirement in after life; and The few who DO
remain actually qualified TO read With fuci
lty rarely do SO without som stimulus il
comparably stronger than would be ~
CURED in this or, perhaps, any Euro
country. After a residence of several
among Mohammedan people, / do not rJy
lect more than three instances in wh.C.I
have seen persons quietly engaged in rcll
ing a book to themselves, all tie actions
their ordinary life are much more expose
to pubic notice than Gun well be imaaiu0U
In this country.
These facts are easily explained. Boolis
are expensive articles Of luxury in Mo,ru
medan countries, and this is alone su1lct-
to account for much that we have sl..ea
Before the introduction Of the art OF pliu
ing the state of knowledge among the pc
pic Wdo u hAOlO liNOl GBAD III Jtllo GULL
than it is in Persia now. There is a
another less obvious circumstance, viii
would have great influence even wero G
manuscript books much moro common I'M
cheap than they are. This is the uLicgl
of reading manuscript. This difficult
should not be moderated. Even in Ill.
country most educated persons would re
Quire considerable stimulus to induce thcr
to go through a manuscript volume. Thoe
only whose duty it is to examine man,
scripts and to prepare them for the pres.
can describe the tcdiousness of the opera
ton. 1t is not one of the least ADVANTAGE.
Of printing chat it has tended to siIppli
the character employed in the prepardtie
Of books and to renucr it uniform. Tni
comparison very imperfectly illustrates oui
meaning, for our manuscripts are far NOR,
legible to us than those of the East are tc
an Oriental.
Among ourselves many persons who car
write shorthand with facility are unable tC
read it with ease; an Oriental manuscript is
a sort of shorthand which many more per
sons are able to write than read. TN
words are abbreviated, as in shorthand, by
the omission Of vowels, and when the words
are d%eciphered the want of punctuatlol
renders it often difficult to discover at once
the meaning of the phrases. When to thi,
it is added that there are several differenf
styles Of writing, besides the difference oc
casioned in the several manuscripts by the
variety Of individual hands and 1ourishes
it will be perceived that a person can no
read with facility without more practice
than the state Of literature and knowlcdg,
encourages any considerable number 0
students to seek or enables them to obtain
A stranger is very liable to be deceived il
estimating the competency Of q Monamma
dan to read. A very large par5 OF coGmoi
education consists in learning by heart
considerable portion OF current literature
particularly of the Koran. He is, therefore
able to repeat by rote the most striking pas
sages of almost any of the very limitet
number of books which are likely to b
placed before him.. He will turn over it,
leaves until he can find some passage viii