New-York tribune., 1906-05-26

aftsg E p Dutton & Co. "a
tong experience as missionary in Palestine
-. qualified Mr. Wilson TO make this interest
- - contribution TO a fuller knowledge of the
Hs -ors and customs. the language and the
I-TErore Of the present people of the Holy Land,
.Fb the object Of gaining clearer understand
- - the ancient inhabitants their habits and
sbsr point Of view, as set forth in the pages
!, che scriptures 1t is to the peasants, or Eel
,.h,n that we must go for this information.
.tor tban TO the Jews, the author claims. since
-. latter are. for the most part. strangers In
80 own land immigrants from Europe or
-. Continents who bring with them the
.-,,e earb and ideas Of the countries where
80 have been so long domiciled." The Fella-
-, on the contrary, he believes with Professor
c.,ce 10 be TO a large extent the descendants
s.be early Gentle tribes who were found there
- the Israelites, and who were never exter-
-,,sted but became the serfs in turn Of the
,,ru and Of the other conquerlng races. Bend
-, 70 the storm, they were lost sight OF for
lille. but reappeared as the country settled
sovn after each Invasion But, while ancient
-,orners and customs have persisted in Pales-
,,ne for so many centuries, Mr.. Wilson sees in
-. march Of modern progress, in the greater
S.,f.ies Of communication and in the intro
s,o,,on of Western products a breaking down
- the barriers which have kept the people OF
dpgerent sections isolated from one another and
t,,r, the outside world and tendency to the
obliteration Of the characteristics which are
,,nf,I n a COMPREHENSION Of the illusions to
local customs which abound In the Bible In
.tss threatened assimilation Of twentieth cen
,urv ideas and inventions. the author found an
ir,neIIing. reason for setting down al this time
,be results Of his many years Of observation.
7 is indeed. rather as a close observer tha'
1,a+ Wilson writes
ris views i'm regard 10 ethnology. etymology'
s-chaoCgv and kindred subjects appear - be
.brep,d gresses rather than careful deductions
tsse5 upon scientific investigation; vet his book
has al The more human an interest from THIS
very circumstance The data he has gathered
together are valuable not only for the informa-
ton they convey Of a living people, but for the
light they throw upon a people Cf the past They
form q storehouse Of facts entertaining 10 the
general reader and useful to the student. who,
without M Wilson's facilities for intimate OBJ
servation. may he better qualified to interpret
what he saw. The Fellahin are for the most
pa-t Hahometans but there are many sects
Of Christians and q few Druses. Religious lines
ere very strongly drawn, the religion itself, Of
whatever designation. being generally OF very
formal and superficial character. and permeated
with slperstition-where the barriers are less
strictly deflned-AIahometans and Christians
o<ten borrowing one ancthers beliefs in evil
spirits. omeas. spells and incantations In many
cases both Christians and Noslens are intensely
ignorant Of their own faith. A Greek Christian,
speaking Of the people Of his own village, said
70 the author. We are very ignorant; the only
difference between our women and those of the
Mosens Is that the latter swear by the Prophet
and ours by the Virgin" Ritual actions are
counted Of greater importance than the keeping
r--,
L i. considered an 'urlavful'' Il e. sinfuD act 70
lem dealer, whose every other sentence would lie
cheating customer most sorupllo lollsv pick up
from The foor OF a railway carriage few minute
fragments of bread VII. .-h a European traveller had
dropped lest he should inadvertently step on them
On the tenets and practices Of the Druses the
author is able to throw little light. 50 carefully
% they preserve its esoteric character. He
ventures The suggestion. however, that II is a
survival of The Izrael.t:sh calf cult. Both with
noderns and Christians the saints have closer
II not higher standing than the Godhead. one
Christian woman voiced her belief in the Saviour
by saving that it would he His function Ito
tel lies for me on the day of judgment"
considerable portion of the volume is given
- to interesting details Of village and domestic
lie 20 descriptions Of the houses and to the way
the people live in them. The roofs of the houses
s-e IN many parts dome shaped and made Of
stone. Tie method Of construction. where the
house IS not too large, IS simple if laborious.
After the walls have been raised TO a certain
height earth is shovelled in and pounded down
On top 10 the required curve. upon which the
stones for the roof are laid and cemented to-
eether. When the mortar has set. the dirt is
shovelled out again. owing TO the habit the
Fel-ahin have Of throwing ashes and sweepings
into the narrow lanes, the roadway gradually
flses. Il6il II is sometimes on a level with the
Foofs Of the houses For water The people are
largely dependent on the rain that falls upon the
1901 and is stored in cisterns. and in dry sea-
toAs Il IS not an uncommon practice for house
hoioers 70 guard their diminishing supply by
Spreading their mattresses over the mouth Of the
cs'ern and sleeping there at night A char
se'eFlste feature Of village life is the sahrah,
"a'ehlng, which takes place whenever a stranger
'-sHs the town. The villagers drop in by ones
sho t~os, greet the sbetllh and his guest and
ts1at down each in his due place according to
s'clal precedence. The visitor is expected to re-
-@e The news Of the outside world and in re-
.-'h Is regaled with the local gossip. "Extraor-
oI-sTy news one hears sometimes" Mr.. Wilson
declares.
vss35 es3 5a1 King Edward succeeded 70 the throne the
= . he part the sultan had played in securing
Ssss p he power Of the SUBLIME Porte In ae the
- -g..s q Europe one version ] heard was, that
ee,-Lgish did not wish the Prince OF Wales TO
sceed Queen Victoria but that the Sultan put his
r., ao~n and insisted his being accepted as
:, ara that the British nation of course gave
tors,. -e s another version WAS that on Queen Vic
eise--ss oesth the crowned heads Of Europe met to
oss ic Tho should succeed her qust as IN the case
o. soeath Il one Of their Village sheikhs), and
Va. aeL4Ierence Of opinion arising among them il
n stGs4leo n refer the matter the Sultan and
King r. oy his decision and that he decided for
osS1Ss Ea"srd, who therefore chosen by the
SoNereigns as the King Of Great Britain,
4HeFe are many gypsies in Palestine who as