The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-02
CHILDREN IN EGYPT.
they Are very numerous and HAYS
Many Pleasant characteristics

out upon the WoFlu Win So .tnv
are painted with kola. making tnsn thay
faces appear t~op-heavyf SO iarse ~ chill
seem. As in all Oriental countries cm
dren in Egypt are welcomed. the moIe
tho rerrier. The wife is not even Gun
sidered a true wife until she becomes =
mother. The estimation in Whlch snS
held. not only by her husband, put 70
bv her friends. depends, in a great degree
upon her f~ruitfulnes5 and upon the ples sa
walton OF her children; for, by men ~
women, rich and poor. b~arrenness 10
sldered a curse and q reproach. -
GO highly are babies esteemed In that
strange country of the Nile, that IN inc
davs before slavery was abolished a slave
who contributed a child to her MASTER ,
family circle and which he cknoWleuseu
as his own thereby earned her Ireeuoni
according to the law; and In the mHJoitey
of instances she was further honoreu W
being taken as her masters wife, OF oue
of them. and becoming entitled 70 me
Iuxurles of the h rem. so frequently ~
babies come, ana so numerous are tneii
deaths. that the Egyptian government mas
never been able TO procure a census tha'
was at all satisfactory, and even the re-
cent attempt made this year cannon DC
accepted as an official statement Oh Tue
oountrv's population. In Egypt births ana
deaths are not recorded except IN the
memories of those Immediately cohcerne'.
Three characteristics of Egyptian babies
impress themselves upon the tourist luz
first is their beauty; for, although MANY
OF them are blind, or nearly So ITO" ~ a.,
cleanliness and ophthalmia, they are an
ro,nd-faced and exclusively modelled, their
Features are classically beautiful, ana
their color is exactly like bronze. ser
control is the next most impressive tea-
tire about these little folk, for 1t is a
most unusual thing to hear an egyptian
baby cry. .,
Noticeable. also, is these little folks
ueafnlness. II would take a very lnoii-
ferent person indeed to fall TO hotce ~
infant toilers in Egypt. Not so mucn IA
cairo or In other large settlements, put IN
the stretches of country tive FROM
the boat on the Nile or the railroad ono
will see babies of 2z and 3 years tenolis
1ocks of goats, n tots that are -
small to make known their wants In IN
toIIlo,hIe language seem to be puttering
about, assisting, in their small way III
vvhatever task their elder relatives are
engaged.
In Cairo little boys of 10 and Il years
are seen in the weaving mills working tue
old-fashioned hand looms, which require
considerable strength as well as skill. ArSo
in the furniture or turner's shops are smali
boys. using, like their fathers, both hanos
and feet in the chiseling and turning OF
table and chair legs, all of which Is done
In the most primitive manner, altnougn
the articles look like the result Oh skilled
workmanship.
with all their earnestness and solemnity
the young toilers are happy to a degree,
and they apparently enjoy themselves as
much as do the children who do nothing
but play. In Luxor children ranging in
age from 7 to u years are employed IN
carrying baskets Of rubbish from the
temples in Karnac, which are being cleared
of the accumulation of sand and broken
rock burying some of the pillars, and
these children sing at the top OF their
voices as they trudge to and fro with their
burdens tilted upon their heads. One
would be incl ned to feel sorry for them
were 1t not for the fact that the honor of
being so employed is greatly coveted by
the children. These children in Luxor earn
from ten to fifteen cents a day, and out
of this trihing amount some of them have
saved up quite a sum-, which they bury In
sand where no one but themselves knows
where to find 1t.
Another thing which attracts the eye
of the stranger in Egypt is the manner in
which Egyptian babies are "toted," as a
Southerner expressed it. They are not
Graded in their mothers arms as are the
babies of this country, but they are hoist
ed upon the shoulders of those carrying
them. where they sit astride and cling
for lear life. Tiny youngsters scarcely
old enough to sit up straight are carried
about the streets in this novel manner
and they maintain their seemingly peril
Gus position with absolute fearlessness and
a whimper. Like the children of
many of the little Egyptians are
entirely naked. and only the scantiest
clothing is worn by any of them. Al
though Egyptian parents of the poorer
and middle classes believe in their chill
dren being useful, they are still extrava-
gantly indulgent to them in every way.
But however much children are caressed
and fondled. they feel and manifest the
most profound respect for their parents.
Disobedience to parents is considered by
the Moslem as ore of the greatest Of sins.
and classed with the six other greatest
sins. which are-idolatry, murder, falsely
accusing modest women of adultery, vast
ing the property OF orphans, taking usury
and desertion in an expedition against in
fcels.
While ignorance is more in evidence
than learning with both the adults and
the children. there are, nevertheless, many
schools in all of the large cities and the
mdlOrlty oI lne small ones. Inc most I'M
~portant branch of education is that of
religion. The first lesson, that of the
"wudoo." or how to perform the additions
previous to prayer ard the prayers, or one
of them. is generally ta-ight by the father
to his son. The girls are seldom taught
anything unless they belong to a wealthy
or an unusually enlightened family. when
a prayer or two and a bit of needlework
Is considered enough education for them.
An Arab school is one of the most inter-
esting places In Cairo to visit. The chill
dren, with the schoolmaster. sit upon the
floor or the ground-in n semicircle, and
each has a tablet of wood which is painted
white and upon which the lessons are writ
ten. When the latter are learned they are
washed out and replaced by other lessons.
During study hour the Arab schools re-
min one of the Chinese. for the children
all study aloud, and as they chant they
rock back and forth like trees in a storm,
ana this is continued for an
nour or more at a time. The schoolmaster
rocks back and forth also, and altogether
the scnool presents a most novel appear
ance' as wei as sound. Worshipers in the
MOSQUES always move about while reeit-
,ns tne Koran, as this movement is be-
heved to assist the memory.
me desks Of the Arab schools are odd
contrlVances OF plain sticks, upon which
~ piaceo the Koran, OF one of the thirty
sections OF It. After learning the alphabet
lhe Doys a up the study Of the Koran
memori1ing entire chapters Of It until tho
seereu DOCK is entirely familiar. A pecu-
mar method is followed in learning the
Aoran. The study begins with the onen-
| ing Clanfar and fp@~. ~ -