The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1910-03-31


divides it into two parts, one for the
men and one for women. The church
is arranged q good deal like the one
at home. Here should appear q
sketch of the church. But the sketch
has disappeared. Ed. Union.] The
men and boys sit in the large
division, the women in the other.
There are more men and boys at the
services, but not twice as many, as
the space would indicate, but if any
body is crowded, of course it must be
the women. So the women fill up the
seats first, then the corner where the
dots are sitting on the floor, then on
the floor in the aisle. The men always
fill up all the seats on their side, and
occasionally some of them have to sit
on the floor. Our school girls and
Miss Bushnell and I sit on the men s.
side, in the corner with the seats
going the other way. There is little
wheezy organ in front of the pulpit,
and the young man who does the
playing in really good musician.
He is a graduate of Marsovan col
lege. He can play very nicely on the
violin, too, and be trains the special
music for Christmas and Easter time.
The rest of the time there is no choir.
These people sing more than those at
home-I mean that they all try to
sing-and the congregation makes six
times as much noise as one of the
same size at home. Every man and
boy sings, as we'll as the women and
girls. At least half of the hymns in
their hymn-books are translations
of familiar English hymns, but they
have some truly Armenian music.
Most of these are set to weird, rather
plaintive tunes, none Of them have the
joyous or triumphant note so common
in our hymns. suppose that their
music reflects the oppression they
have endured for hundreds of years.
We have a very good pastor, a man
who was Gregorian, and has been
a Protestant some Is years. His
sermons are fine, they all say so, and
1 can understand enough of them to
wish I could understand more, or to
make me wish could hear just one
OF Mr.. Cutters once in while.
Do you people realize that every
man and boy here wears a red fez?
[ didnt't until l really reached
Turkey. And about half of them
keep them on in church. It makes
one realize more than anything else,
that one is in a foreign country, as
one looks over the congregation.
And the women all wear shawls over
their heads, it is a shame for them to
60 to church without-that being the
way they interpret St. Paul's in
junction to the women to "remain
covered in church, "though 1 think
myself that it is rather result of
their living with the Turks, who re-
quire their women to cover the head
and face both.
A poor woman here will sell any,
thing else, even her shoes and
stockings, before she will her shawl.
Beggar women often have hardly any
clothing, even in the winter, but they
always have some good sized rag on
their heads. Often all their clothing
is made of kind of gunny sack.
Since freedom came last summer,
many of the women, the younger ones,
at least the girls, have begun wear
ing just a scarf, like an automobile
veil, over their heads, and two of
them have actally adopted little
black turban, but they say that every
body talks of them as "bold."
EPILOGUE.
Now I hope that this will really
make the rounds, in time, but that
you will not feel that you must rush to
send it along. I keep thinking of
more all the time, that I would like to
have read it, and if any of you know
OF others who you think. would like to
read it, you may add their names to
the list. [ suppose it will be year
before it will get around, but no
matter, [ only wish L could tell things
so that they would be as interesting to
read as they are to see. lovingly.
Eunice M. Atkins.
Erzroom, Turkey, Feb. -, 1909.