Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-12

husband In the case referred to the
man had quarrel with his wife. and
angrily muttered the words of divorce.
Immediately she had gone he repented,
and thereupon brought about her mar
riage with an alleged friend, upon the
understanding that a divorce was to fol-
low the ceremony. The friend, however,
refused to utter the words of divorce,
saying, Il like the woman and will keep
her myself and SO 1t is at this writing.
Such divorces are always on the part
of the husband. AS for the women, they
have more difficulty in getting rid OF the
marriage tie. although they can do so,
provided the husband does not perform
his duty to them or give them an equal
amount OF attention with the other
wives Of the family. According to Mo-
manned every man had the right to four
wives, but the, Koran provides that he
must spend an equal time with each of
them, and in some places he is required
to give each a separate establishment
During my travels in the Holy Land !
fiave picked up some interesting stories
of marriage and divorce. Every sect has
its own customs. The Jews can divorce
easily, and after that they can marry
again. The orthodox Greeks can only
marry three times, and some of the
Christians are not allowed a divorce
without cause
IN all of the Jewish weddings the girl
brings dowry, the amount of the dot
pelng mentioned in the contract Of mar
rage. This contract is always signed in
the presence of the rabbi and the we'd
ding ceremony takes place under a tent
IN the court of the synagogue. Before
marriage the bride is shaved from her
head to her feet, and after that her head
is always kept covered At the cere-
mony and after it they have music, with
drums. cymbals and harps, and many of
tne oid-fashIoned customs OF Bible times
are preserved The Jews marry young,
ana slrl Is an old maid at twenty
The MohammedanS of the villages
'ually take wives when they are en-
ing their teens, and marriages at
. Twelve years are not uncommon. The
man is usually older, and it is custom
airy for matured men to marry young
girls and TO add them to their harems as
the nrst wives grow older. In such
cases the groom pays money to the IA
tner OF the bride This Is the reverse
or the Jewish marriages, where the
money goes 10 the groom. The price
for Mohammedan wife ranges accord
ing 10 the financial condition of the con-
tracing parties. The contracts are made
by the elder people of the family. If
there is a father he decides upon the
marriage. II the father is dead the eld-
est brother may act, or in some cases
the mother.
The customs as to the right Of the
rigid. The other day a peasant living
near Jerusalem had a sister who ran
away with her lover and married him.
This was after the family had objected
TO any union of the two. The peasant
took revolver and went after the bridal
couple. He met his brother-in-law in
Jerusalem and shot him dead on the
street. When arrested he justified the
crime and he is now imprisoned awaiting
trial. | am told he will get off with a
slight punishment, as he has acted with
in his rights according to the Koran.
Among the city Mahommedans the
bridegroom makes present Of dowry
sufficient to enable his bride to pur-
chase her trousseau and household fur
niture. He may give her six or eight
hundred dollars, and the greater part Of
this will go to her nearest male relative.
being paid before the wedding takes
place. On the other hand, he and that
relative may buy the outfit together.
making items OF the various things and