05. CHAPTER V DOMESTIC LIFE AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

CHAPTER V DOMESTIC LIFE AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS The owner of a house knows what is in it.
The garment of peace never fades.
Birth is the messenger of death. — Syrian Proverbs.

Having seen the shepherd with his sheep, the farmer in his fields, and the tradesmen at their different labours, we shall now notice the family life for the sake of which those occupations exist.

We shall first inspect the house and its arrangements, the preparation of food and the table customs, the different articles and styles of dress, and so pass to the chief relationships and incidents of family life. We shall then be prepared in a concluding chapter to observe how the conditions and customs we have been studying are repeated and expanded in public affairs, giving its peculiar character to the social, political, and religious life of the East.

1. The House. — As in other lands, the house is a place of privacy and protection against cold, but in the East it is very specially a place of shelter from the heat.

There are traces here and there of the caves in which prehistoric man dwelt, and shepherds take their sheep to similar caves; they were the retreats of fugitives in times of oppression in Israel, and at the present day the deserted stone dens of Bashan and the rock-cut cells of Christian monks show this primitive cave-type of architecture.

(1) The tent. — This is the simplest form of dwelling in general use, and is characteristic of the Bedawin class or wandering shepherds. It is a low covering of black goat’s hair, with its open front kept up by two poles. This opening may be regarded as the original of all doors, and reached its largest and most beautiful form in the gates of the cities, and of the temple at Jerusalem. The tent is held in position by ropes of the same material tied

SHEPHERD’S TENT. to rough oak pegs driven into the ground by a mallet (Judges 4:21; Judges 5:26). A curtain hangs down in the middle, separating the women’s apartment from the public room. While thus screened from view the women can easily hear what is being said in the public room or at the door of the tent (Genesis 18:10), and can look out through the cane-lattice. The tent remained in use after Israel had largely settled down to agriculture It was the emblem of a simple, unlettered life, and when any national measure was to be rejected, the cry was raised, “To your tents, O Israel “ (2 Samuel 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16). The dignity of ancestral associations gave the tent a place above the stone-built house in the language of poetry and prophecy (Psalms 84:1-10; Song of Solomon 1:5; Jeremiah 4:20). At the present day those who are brought up in the tent are very reluctant to leave it. It is socially a degradation in their eyes, and personally a sacrifice of preference. A few years ago the young wife of a Bedawi sheikh in Damascus died of longing for the life she had left behind her. Her husband had been previously married to an English lady of aristocratic family, who used to live part of the year with him in the desert, and the rest of the year he lived with her in Damascus, where she had adorned the house with many articles of taste and beauty, and laid out the garden with a choice variety of plants and flowering shrubs. When she died the sheikh married a young princess of his own people and took her to his city house. In a very short time she began to lose health and spirits, and though her husband bought for her beautiful dresses and jewellery, and Oriental ladies visited her and invited her to their houses, she drooped and died. Her heart was with the gatherings around the well, the camels and kids about the tent, and all the simple free life of the wilderness. In Jeremiah 35:2-7 the obedience of the Rechabites to a family vow is contrasted with the unfaithfulness of Israel in departing from the commandments of God.

(2) Houses of the village and town. — The ordinary house of the peasant often consists of one room. The Arabic word for a house also means a room, and doubtless it was so among the ancient Hebrews. In the middle of the room a wooden or stone pillar supports the large cross beam of the flat roof, and on this pillar there is usually a small shelf for the oil lamp, which thus gives light to all in the room or house (Matt. 5:15).

If the house is to contain two rooms they are not built {91} side by side, but with the breadth of a room left between them. Between the ends a wall is built connecting the two rooms, and the house has thus its open court. If the house is to have three rooms, a room takes the place of the wall at the end of the court. If more than three rooms are needed, additions are made to those at the side, thus increasing the length of the court. For a large family of the wealthy class, where the grand-parents have

ORIENTAL HOUSE. several married sons staying with them, there may be several courts leading into one another with rooms around each, set apart for the several households. The rooms do not usually communicate with each other, but have their doors opening into the court. As a protection against sun and rain a roofed colonnade often runs round the area, or a verandah projects from the wall. In a small house of one or two rooms an awning of leaves and brushwood or of old boarding casts its shade over the door, or partly covers the court to protect the entrance to the room at the end of it. This must have been the part of the roof removed when the sick of the palsy was lowered and laid at the feet of Christ (Mark 2:4).

(3) The roof. — This is composed of one or more large logs laid across, with small pieces resting upon them. The whole is covered with a layer of broom, heath, and reeds, and upon this earth is spread to a thickness of several inches. When this has been trodden, rolled, and pressed down, the surface of the flat roof is finally made waterproof with a coating of lime or cement, with openings in the low parapet wall by which the rain may flow off.

(4) This battlement-wall (Deuteronomy 22:8) is not so carefully attended to as it used to be, and the want of this precaution is a frequent cause of accident. Corner pieces are built about six feet high, and clothes-lines are stretched between them. In Moslem houses the spaces between these corner pillars are often filled in with boards or perforated brick-work, so that the roof may be resorted to by the family without their being seen by their neighbours.

It is regarded as unneighbourly for men to walk about on the roof, as they might look down into the open courts of other houses. Among the peasantry one of the chief uses of the roof is for the drying of grain, summer fruits, and fuel for winter use (Joshua 2:6). Village proclamations are made from the roof, and at marriages it is often a place of assemblage, where the guests sing songs and keep up a rhythmic stamping and clapping of hands (Judges 16:27).

(5) The upper room (2 Kings 2:1; 2 Kings 23:12; Mark 14:15; Acts 1:13; Acts 9:37; Acts 20:8). — This is a familiar feature of Oriental houses. It is an adaptation to the climate. In summer, booths or arbours of leaves and branches are put up as sleeping-places for greater coolness at night. The upper room is the same in a permanent form. Where several rooms were thus built on the roof it became what the Bible calls the summer house as contrasted with the winter house downstairs (Judges 3:20; Jeremiah 36:22; Amos 3:15). A similar change is effected in large houses by occupying the eastern side in winter and the western in summer. The roof is reached by a rough wooden ladder, or flight of stone steps, passing up the outside wall of the house, or along one of the walls of the court. The upper room, as a place of quiet retreat and refreshing coolness, is usually better built and furnished than the ordinary rooms, and a guest spending the night, as distinguished from a mere visitor, is accommodated there. The room on the wall built for the man of God (2 Kings 4:10) was meant to be a place of retirement in keeping with his sacred office and habits of prayer.

(6) The guest-room. — Orientals do not usually set apart a room for a guest, as this would be considered discourtesy almost amounting to dismissal. Orientals dislike being left alone, and at night prefer to have a small light in the room. As they sleep with their clothes on there is not the same need for privacy, and if the bed for a guest be spread in the upper room, some of the sons of the family usually have theirs spread beside his for the sake of companionship. An Oriental feels himself deserted when made at home in a European family, and conversely, a European finds himself oppressed by the constant presence and attentions of his Oriental host. The ordinary guest-room for the reception of casual visitors in small houses is the room at the end of the court. It is usually more open than the other family rooms of the house. It corresponds to the raised divan at the end of the one-roomed house as the place of honour to which guests are conducted. In larger houses a specially large and well-furnished room is assigned for this purpose conveniently near the door, so that visitors may not be kept waiting, and that the family may be disturbed as little as possible. As refreshment is usually offered to guests, the guest-room is also the banqueting-hall.

(7) The floor. — Wooden floors are rarely seen. In villages the usual floor is of mud pressed down by wooden stamps, and rubbed smooth by a large flat pebble; a more cleanly and durable form is that of cement composed of lime and small pebbles stamped down in the same way; the best floor is of square slabs of limestone. In good town houses the public rooms are paved with white marble relieved by bands of black slate, or designs in marble of different colours. Large open courts are often paved in this way, with an ornamental marble fountain in the centre, and spaces are left in the pavement for orange, lemon, and other fragrant evergreen trees and shrubs.

(8) Furnishing and ornament. — The walls are usually of plaster coated with a wash of lime, but in the houses of the rich, especially in Damascus, the walls of the more public rooms are adorned with beautiful mosaic of wood, marble, mother-of-pearl, crystal, and ivory. The decoration is usually in the form of intricate geometrical designs, but flowers and animals are occasionally introduced. Swords, daggers, and guns often adorn the walls. There is no attempt at wall-paper, or desire for the small busy patterns stamped upon them. The warm climate, with its relaxing influence, creates a demand for the restfulness of blank spaces. In the richly adorned reception-rooms there is little to suggest the harmonious surroundings of a cultivated mind. The impression is not of something needed and naturally enjoyed by the owner in his beautiful home, but of something that a rich man wants to announce to his visitors. Beautiful carpets of wool, camel-hair, and silk lie on the marble floor; a divan runs round three sides of the room, the cushions having coverings of cotton, wool, silk, and gold thread from the native looms. These, with a large mirror at one end of the room, a glass candelabrum suspended from the roof, and a marble fountain sometimes placed below it, with a few small inlaid tables here and there, are the usual ornaments of the Eastern drawing-room.

(9) Doors. — The door is a place of peculiar sanctity and importance. The difference between the outside and inside is that of two different worlds. In large houses the door-keeper sits at the entrance to answer inquiries and conduct visitors within, and at night he sleeps in a small room within the entrance at the side of the door, keeping guard over the premises. He corresponds to the watchman of ’the city-gate and the vineyards. He is charged with the protection of the family without being included in its membership, and after conducting guests to the door retires to his post of duty. This menial and external position of the door-keeper is alluded to in Psalms 84:10. In smaller houses that have no door-keeper, a servant or member of the family looks over the balcony, or calls out “Who?” If the visitor be one of the family, he answers “ Open! “ If he be a well-known friend he exclaims “I! “ The recognised tone of the voice is sufficient (Acts 12:13).

(10) Windows. — Window-panes of glass are a recent introduction. The usual Oriental window has wooden bars for protection against intrusion and theft, while a frame of lattice screens the lower half of the window, so that those within may look out without being seen. At night windows are closed with wooden shutters, chiefly for privacy and safety, and partly to ward off the light and heat of the sun in the early morning. Hence the allusion to the opening of the windows in Malachi 3:10. In upper rooms the bars are not needed, as they are above the reach of passers-by; hence the possibility of such incidents as those alluded to in Joshua 2:15; 1 Samuel 19:12; Acts 20:9. In the houses of the city windows do not usually look out upon the street, but in the upper stories balconies often project over the street, with windows commanding a view, and receiving a current of air from either side. In these the lattice -work is frequently of a highly ornamental character. Pitchers of water for drinking are placed beside such windows to be kept cool by the draught

LATTICED WINDOW. of air. From this circumstance such ornamental latticework is called mashrahiyeh, from the Arabic mashrab, a place for drinking. It is sometimes seen in English drawing-rooms as an artistic screen, without any connection with its original use. The mother of Sisera is described as looking anxiously from such a window waiting for the son who never returned (Judges 5:28). Over city gates, and the entrance to fortresses, a small window is placed in the wall or the watch-turret from which any one approaching could be seen without danger to the observer.

(11) Sleeping arrangements. — Orientals assemble rather than retire to rest. Thus the father in the parable (Luke 11:7) pleads that his children are with him, sleeping on their mattresses on the floor around him. When the time for sleep arrives the bedding materials are taken out of the wardrobe, box, or recess in the wall where they have been lying rolled up during the day. Each mattress is stuffed with cotton or wool, and has belonging to it a thick quilt covered with coloured calico or silk, and sewn in longitudinal or diagonal stripes. During sleep an Oriental covers the head as well as the rest of the body with the quilt. It belongs to the sanctities of Oriental life not to disturb sleep or interrupt a meal. It is with the greatest difficulty that a Syrian servant can be got to awake his master at an early hour. When a Moslem has to arouse a fellow-believer from sleep he does so by calling to him, “ God is one I “ The statement of this supreme truth is always in season to the believer, and only an infidel could object to its utterance!

2. Food.

1. Bread. — The chief article of food is bread, and the chief work of the house among the peasantry and working classes of the towns is its preparation.

(i.) Cleansing. — When brought from the threshing-floor the wheat is carefully and skilfully sifted (Isaiah 30:28; Amos 9:9; Luke 22:31), in order to remove small stones and particles of clay, and especially to shake out the small poisonous seeds, translated cockle, darnel, and tares, which abound in thorny, neglected fields (Matthew 13:7). The prayer for Peter was that his faith might not be tossed aside among the refuse. The wheat is then washed to purify it from any dust clinging to it, and is dried on sheets spread upon the house-top. It is then stored for family use in the Louse in large churn-like barrels made of wicker-work and clay, with an opening near the foot by which the quantity required at a time may be taken out. Larger quantities, to be kept for flour or next season’s sowing, are stored in underground cisterns or dry wells with narrow openings, which are carefully covered over so that only the owners may know where the cistern is.

(ii.) Grinding. — When wheat or barley is ground for

HAND-MILL. the market it is sent to the mill, which in some places works all the year round, but usually only in winter, when there is a sufficient supply of water to turn the wheel. The hand-mill consists of two circular stones about a foot and a half in diameter, the lower often with a slightly convex surface, and the upper hollowed out to fit it. The lower is made of limestone or basalt, and being thicker is the heavier of the two; the upper is made of porous lavastone, so that the surface may not become polished by the friction. On one side, near the circumference, it has a wooden peg which the two women hold each with a hand upon it as they sit on opposite sides and grind the wheat. A pivot rises from the centre of the lower stone, and is inserted in an opening in the centre of the upper one, thus keeping it in its place. The turning of the hand-mill is referred to in Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21; Lamentations 5:13; Matthew 24:41. It was forbidden to keep it as a pledge (Deuteronomy 24:6), and to do so is still considered disgraceful. The hardness of the lower stone is alluded to in Job 41:24. The removal of the millstone is one of the forfeitures of captive Israel (Jeremiah 25:10); the cessation of the cheerful sound is one of the vanished pleasures in Ecclesiastes 12:3-4.

Oriental bread resembles our morning roUs, oat-cakes, and pancakes. It is not made in large loaves to be cut with a knife, but is torn or broken by the hand (Matthew 26:26; 1 Corinthians 11:24).

(iii.) Baking in the family is chiefly done in three ways.

(a) Cakes of dough are laid on hot ashes or heated stones (Genesis 18:16; Exodus 12:39; 1 Kings 17:12; 1 Kings 19:6; John 21:9). This is the most primitive way, and comes nearest to the singed or parched corn in the ear, eaten at harvest time before the grain is hard (Joshua 5:11; Rth 2:14). Wheat, after being steeped in water, is sometimes put in cauldrons over a fire until it is thoroughly dried. It is then loosely ground like very coarse oatmeal, or what is called cracked-wheat. A kind of porridge is made of it, and it is often cooked along with lentils. As it is mentioned along with lentils in 2 Samuel 17:28, it was probably one of the parched preparations in Barzillai’s gifts to David. When finely ground it is the familiar home grocery called semolina, which is also used in most Oriental cakes and sweetmeats.

(b) A simple oven is made by putting fuel, generally grass, thorns, and small twigs, into a large earthenware jar, and when the jar is sufficiently heated thin cakes are laid on the outside of it. More frequently a hole is made in the ground and plastered round, and into it the same kind of fuel is put, along with a few large pebbles to retain the heat. When the smoke and flame have left a glow of hot embers, large thin cakes are slapped upon the sides, and are fired in a minute or two.

(c) A convex griddle, such as is used for oatcakes, is put over an open-air fire between two stones, and thin cakes are baked on it.

(iv.) Cakes. — Various kinds of bread and cakes are made by these simple contrivances, and in the baker’s oven already described. Many of them resemble those of the Egyptian monuments, and are suggested by some of the descriptive terms in the Bible. There are crisp network discs covered with sesame seed, paste-buns filled with pounded nuts and folded in triangular shape; threads of vermicelli are twisted together to the thickness of a rope, steeped in a sauce of honey and nuts, and arranged in a flat coil to make a large cake on a flat tray; thin wafers are coated with grape-syrup and powdered with pungent or fragrant seeds and leaf dust; common loaves before being sent to the oven sometimes have the surface rubbed with oil and covered with aromatic seeds, and cakes are occasionally soaked or fried in boiling oil. Thin cakes of unleavened bread, often prepared with whimsical precautions against any contact with leaven, are eaten by the Jews during passover-week (Exodus 16:31; Leviticus 6:21; Leviticus 7:12; 1 Chronicles 23:29).

2. Water. — This is next in importance to bread. Orientals drink a great deal of water both at meals and at other times. When sitting at food the small hand-pitcher is constantly passed round. They are able to drink from the mouth or small spout of the jar without touching it with their lips. It belongs to the etiquette of Oriental water-drinking to be careful, in this matter, of the feelings of others. A. Persian Moslem regards a pitcher touched by the lips of a Christian as defiled, and instantly throws it to the ground. Orientals distinguish between different kinds of water to an extent unknown in the West. In a town with several public fountains, they can tell very decisively from which the water in the pitcher has been taken. The water-carrier does not attempt to impose upon those whom he serves. Beggars at the door often ask for water. The demand of the Israelites for water would be a specially imperative one. The pitcher is set within reach at the bedside at night, and Saul’s cruse would be missed in the morning as much as his spear (1 Samuel 26:11). When David longed for the water of the well of Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:15), it was not only because of its association with happy untroubled days, but because he had a distinct remembrance of its peculiar taste. Thus an Arabic proverb sums up the comforts of the prosperous and contented man by saying, “ His bread is baked, and his jar is full.” Israel’s double condemnation is stated in terms of the vital need and refreshing effect of water (Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 2:18). See also Numbers 23:5; 1 Kings 13:8; 1 Kings 17:10; 1 Kings 19:6; Proverbs 25:25; Isaiah 30:16; Amos 8:11; Matthew 5:6;Matthew 10:42.

3. Meat, fish, milk, and fruits. — One of the commonest family dishes is made of cut pieces of meat stewed with vegetables, such as beans, tomatoes, vegetable marrow, and many others. It is put into a dish, and each one helps himself by making a spoon or small scoop out of a piece of bread freshly torn from the thin loaf at his side By practice this is done with much cleanliness and expertness. When one prepares such a mouthful and hands it to another at table, it is an assurance of friendly regard (John 13:26). A lamb or kid is sometimes stewed in milk. The dish is called by the Arabs mother’s milk, and when it is eaten some apologetic allusion is generally made to the ancient rule against it (Exodus 23:19). At an Oriental feast a lamb or kid is frequently roasted entire, with the head and legs drawn together and the inside stuffed with rice and seasoning, the whole being served on a large tray. The meat is so thoroughly cooked that it separates easily from the bone, and is lifted off by the fingers in such portions as each one wants to eat. As with the sop, so with this dish, the sheikh or head of the house occasionally lifts off a choice morsel and presents it to one of his guests as a token of affectionate interest and regard. The Hebrew word for food is teref, something snatched or plucked, and evidently originating in this custom of eating with the fingers. The national dish of Syria is a compound of minced meat and roughly-ground wheat, pounded together in a mortar along with suitable seasoning, until all is reduced to a uniform consistency. It is then spread about an inch thick in a shallow pan, marked off by a knife into diamond-shaped sections, covered with the native cooking butter, and sent to the oven to be baked. Something of this kind seems to be referred to in Proverbs 27:22, when it is said that a man of coarse, defiant selfishness will not lose his individuality even after he has been wrought upon in this way by trial and adversity.

Another of the most savoury dishes of the East is that which had such fatal influence upon Esau (Genesis 25:34). Lentils are soaked and boiled in as much water as they will absorb. Small parings of onion are fried in oil till they are slightly singed, and added. Cracked - wheat or rice is often cooked along with the lentils. When it is being cooked the smell is very demonstrative, and its appetising relish always makes a very strong appeal to’ the hungry. Orientals are not accustomed to make soups: when meat is boiled the water is reduced to a strong sauce to be eaten with the meat. Such were the seething and boiling referred to in Scripture.

Fowls are served roasted and stewed. An Arabic proverb follows the thought of Proverbs 15:17 in saying, “ Better to have bread and an onion with peace than stuffed fowl with strife.’’ In the East the pig is heard rather than seen. The name is constantly on the lips as a term of contempt and abuse, but the flesh is only eaten occasionally by Christians. Unless its food be specially attended to, the scavenger habits of the animal, and the careless ways of the people with regard to refuse, make pig’s -flesh an article of food to be prohibited and avoided in this warm country. Even in connection with the flesh of the wild boar fatal outbreaks of trichinosis or pig-worm sometimes occur.

Native Christians occasionally eat the raw flesh of sheep and goats. On the other hand, from a scrupulous desire to remove all the blood, the Jews rub salt into meat before it is cooked. Fish is abundant in the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, but the Government tax on its sale is prohibitive, and the permissive use of it on Friday among the Oriental Christians causes it to be regarded as inferior and suggestive of penance.

Milk, besides being used in its fresh state, is generally made into a curd -and -whey form either by rennet or by a similar fermentation that gives it a taste of cool sourness. Most likely it was in this last form that Jael gave refreshment to Sisera (Judges 4:19; Judges 5:25).

Cream is rocked in skins until butter is formed, and this on being boiled is made into cooking-butter, which is stored in jars and used for cooking purposes throughout the year. It is mentioned in books of Arabic travel as saman or samani, and in India is called ghee. Cheese in its different stages of preparation is constantly used. (1 Samuel 17:18).

Salads and relishes are made of cress, lettuce, endive, mallows, mint, cucumber, and many other things. Vegetables of all kinds are largely used, and Orientals have much skill and economical resource in preparing sour, pungent, and aromatic sauces. At the Passover feast the Jews have a sauce that resembles thin lime or liquid chalk in appearance. They dip their bitter leaves of wild endive or dandelion into it as a memorial of the Egyptian bondage.

Fresh fruits are eaten in their season, grapes and oranges lasting longest; eaten with bread they make the meal of a labouring man. Figs, raisins, walnuts, almonds, and pistachio nuts, are the commonest dried fruits (Genesis 43:11; 1 Samuel 25:18). Locusts are mentioned as the food of John the Baptist; they are used as a poor kind of food by the Arabs of the southern desert, the hind legs of the locust being plucked off and pickled.

4. The chief meal-time is a little after sunset. Rest of mind and body are regarded by Orientals as necessary to the enjoyment of food, and the condition of being refreshed and strengthened by it. This means that the duties of the day must be over. Farmers work in fields at some distance from the village, and tradesmen live on the outskirts of the city, and these cannot well come home to a meal at mid -day. Also as the warmth of the climate seldom allows of meat being kept for any time in the house, each day brings its own marketing, so that for men and women the evening meal is the time of family reunion and refreshment. Cushions are taken from the divan and placed around the tray that rests on a small low table.

Bread is eaten with everything, at all stages of the meal. Each guest or member of the family has a few thin loaves laid beside him, three being a’ common number. For the reason mentioned, all the cooked food is usually eaten at the evening dinner. A proverb says, “ The evening guest gets no supper.” He may claim shelter and rest at all times, but coming unannounced after supper-time he has no claim on the law of hospitality for food. But Oriental courtesy always considers it better to disturb a neighbour than to disappoint a stranger (Luke 11:5). When at a large feast all cannot be accommodated at one time, they seat themselves round the table in relays, each party rising when finished with a salaam bf thanks to the host and making room for another. At family meals the women of the household are the usual attendants; among the wealthier classes servants wait upon the family and its guests. Ordinary domestic servants are chiefly found among Europeans or those Orientals who have adopted their ways.

Originally such service in the higher families of the land was rendered by poor relatives, who received in return occasional gratuities, or by slaves obtained in war or purchased in thfe market. The taint of such old associations is seen in the reluctance of parents to let their daughters enter service, and in the frequent nonpayment of the servant’s wages. When a company of Orientals are to enter a room one by one, or take their seats on a divan or at table, considerable attention has to be given to the competing claims of seniority, family dignity, and official position. Some little time is usually spent in protests of self-abasement, each esteeming the other better than himself. Among the Jews a man instructed in the law, although poor in worldly goods, is considered superior to a rich man who has little religious position. It is the reverence of heart towards God’s service which the Pharisees accepted and abused when they claimed for themselves the place of honour at social and religious assemblies. An Arabic proverb expresses the thought of Luke 14:10, by saying, “Never sit in the place of the man who can say to you, ’Rise.’ “ As an act of respect the master of the house sometimes attends personally on his guest.

After the meal the hands are washed in the usual

ORIENTAL EWER AND BASIN.

Oriental way, by having water poured over them by one holding a brass ewer. Servants render this office to guests and, at ordinary times, the members of the family do it for each other. The custom is alluded to in 1 Kings 3:11.

3. Dress. — Oriental dress differs from ours with regard to material, shape, and colour. The commonest material is cotton, either white or dyed indigo-blue; silk, however, being largely used for the outer cloak of women, and wool for that of men. Orientals prefer a long continuous robe covering the body to a costume made up of several smaller articles. Men and women also wear brighter colours than we are accustomed at the present day to see at home. The warmth of the climate is the chief explanation of this preference for light, unconfined, and brightly - coloured costume. The love of ornament also plays an important part in Oriental dress. The long flowing robes give a heightened appearance to the stature, and the different articles, especially the various styles of the outer cloak, indicate distinctions of social rank.

These are forfeited when the European form of dress is adopted, but, on the other hand, a connection with higher culture and civilisation is thus implied. It is considered that, owing to the recent introduction of European customs and manufactures, a greater change has come over the dress of the people of Syria during the present generation than during the previous thousand years. The transition stage is sometimes trying to both Eastern and Western good taste. A lady has her dress made in the latest European style, but the colour chosen is of Oriental brightness: in the same way a man wearing a European overcoat thinks it more decorative to throw it loosely over the shoulders like an Oriental cloak, leaving the empty sleeves dangling at each side. The original articles of Oriental dress are the under-shirt and the outer cloak. These two garments are still the ordinary outfit of the Bedawin. Modifications of these and additions to them were due to the more civilised life of the villages and towns and to contact with other nations. A short description of these as at present worn in Syria will help us to understand the literal and figurative references to clothing in the Bible.

(1) The shirt, sheet, linen garment (Judges 14:12; Proverbs 30:24 (R.V.); Isaiah 3:23; Mark 14:51).— The people of Palestine, and still more their neighbours in the warmer climate of Egypt, sometimes cover the body quite effectively and picturesquely by means of a large cotton sheet or woollen blanket. It is wound round the figure with an end thrown loosely over the shoulder. It is very characteristic of Oriental preference in matters of dress: they dislike knots, pins, and brooches, in fact, anything by which their clothing would be firmly and finally fixed. In a warm climate anything close-fitting and immovable causes perspiration and discomfort. The under-shirt is commonly made in a very simple manner. A long width of cotton is folded into two equal parts; the sides are sewn up, with the exception of two holes at the top corner for the arms; an opening for the head and neck completes the dress. When sleeves are worn they reach nearly to the wrist, with long points hanging down a little lower than the knee. These apparent impediments are really conveniences, because when men are engaged in fighting or active employment, and when the women are busy milking, sweeping, or grinding, the sleeves are drawn up and kept up by having the long points tied behind the neck. This became emblematic of activity, as when the prophet says, “The Lord hath made bare His holy arm (Isaiah 52:10).

Sometimes the neck-opening and the lower parts of the front are ornamented with coloured needlework of black, yellow, green, and red silk, as this part is visible when the only garment over it is the large shepherd cloak. When another garment is worn between these two the under-shirt is of plain cotton. It is usually fastened with a belt when only the cloak is worn over it. When men are engaged in summer in such work as sawing timber, fishing, or treading clay for the potter, the under dress is merely a cloth fastened round the waist and reaching to the knees. In any case, whether the under garment be large or small, a man wearing this only is said to be naked or undressed (John 21:7).

(2) Cloak. — This is the outside garment proper, and is not usually bound with a girdle. It is the outer coat of

CLOAK AND EMBROIDERED SHIRT. the Eastern traveller and shepherd. The broad black and white stripes are constantly seen in pictures of Oriental life. From its size, usefulness, and value it came to represent clothing in general. It is made by taking two lengths of cloth, usually thick woollen stuff, each about seven feet long and two or two and a half feet wide.

These are sewn together, and about a foot and a half is folded back at each end, making the piece about four feet square. The doubled part is then over-edged along the top, and an opening is made at each corner for the hand to pass through. The cloak is sometimes made out of one broad width, with no seam running across the back. Such, most likely, was the garment without seam (John 19:23). When made as a light cloak for protection against dust and heat, it is called a burnous; as worn by important sheikhs, of black wool with needlework in colours on the front and back, it is called a mashlach; in its commonest form it is made of wool, goat-hair, or camel-hair, and woven in broad alternate bands of black and white. This is the abaa of the shepherd and peasant, the cloak worn by night and day, and not to be kept as a pledge (Exodus 22:26). The peasants also have a somewhat smaller and more convenient form of cloak woven in stripes of white and red, and made of wool or cotton of the thickness of sail-cloth. This is fitted with short sleeves, and is often fastened with a girdle during active farm -work. The cloak is referred to in Genesis 25:25; Joshua 7:21; 2 Kings 2:14; Matthew 3:4; Matthew 5:40.

(3) Coat. — This is worn over the shirt, resembling it in length, but with the front cut open. Though still light, it is of better material than the garment under it. The overlapping fronts are clasped by the girdle, and form a recess or pouch in which articles are carried with safety.

It resembles a clergyman’s cassock or tightly-drawn dressing-gown, and is the most frequently seen dress in the Oriental street. A man wearing this is clothed, but not in the fullest sense dressed. It is all that is needed for the house, the shop, and for working people moving about in the town. The coat and cloak are contrasted in Matt. 5:40; Luke 6:29. In Oriental dress this long tunic-coat is very commonly divided at the girdle into two parts, the upper being a short jacket or vest of richer and heavier material, often {111} highly ornamented after the manner of the priestly ephod, and the lower part is changed into skirt-trousers. For this a very wide sack is made with an opening at each corner through which the feet are passed, and it is gathered at the waist by a cord passing through the hem along the top. It is referred to in Exodus 28:42, and Daniel 3:21, hosen R.V.

ORIENTAL MALE COSTUMES.

(4) Robe. — In addition to the coat worn over the under dress there is another worn over the coat, like it in shape, except that it is ampler and worn loose without a belt or sash. It is, however, superior to the ordinary gown-coat in material, being generally of woollen cloth, and often lined with fur. It may be classed as a cloak, for in towns, among those who wear it, it is as much a public garment and completion of the costume as the large square cloak is in the country and villages. It is the professional dress of Government officials and religious dignitaries among the Moslems, and is worn by priests of the Oriental Church. In Egypt it is generally a large black gown, not open down the front, in shape like a surplice, and thus resembling the original under-dress of shepherd life. With its opening for the head and neck protected by a cord, its long folds and dignified appearance, it is suggestive of the robe of the ephod worn by the high priest (Exodus 28:31-32). Joseph’s “coat” (Genesis 37:3) may have been the shepherd’s under-dress adorned with embroidery, or it may have been a robe to be worn over the gown, instead of the ordinary broad cloak of the shepherds. For Bible references see 1 Samuel 2:19; 1 Samuel 15:27; 1 Samuel 18:4; 1 Samuel 24:4; Isaiah 3:22; Zechariah 3:4; Luke 20:46; Revelation 7:13. Its Arabic name means “a suit of exchange,” and it is always suggestive of public life, official dignity, and special occasions.

(5) Girdle (1 Samuel 18:4; Exodus 28:4; Isaiah 3:24). — The girdle is worn as a plain leather belt by Bedawin and the religious orders, and by the people of the villages and towns in the form of a woven band like a saddle-girth, or a large beautiful sash of striped silk. Money, bread, and various small articles may be carried in the folds of the sash, in the belt it is customary to have the material doubled for a foot and a half from the buckle, thus forming a deep and safe pocket. It is the girdle-pocket of Matthew 10:9. The chief uses of the waist-band or girdle are to clasp the gown and make a breast-pocket, to hold the drawn-up part of the skirt in front, behind, or at the sides, when the loins are girt for exercise; to make the purse just now alluded to, and to hold the ink-horn of the writer.

(6) Head-dress. — This is translated bonnet, R.V. headtires in Exodus 28:40; Exodus 39:28; turban, Daniel 3:21, R.V. marg. The sash and head-dress are the most ornamental articles of Eastern dress. The latter is chiefly used as a protection against the sun and a finish to the costume, “for glory and beauty” (Exodus 28:40; Isaiah 61:10). To make it, a square yard of coloured cotton or silk with tassels is folded diagonally and arranged over the head and shoulders. It is held in position by several thick coils of soft woollen twist, or a smaller ornamental cord. The cloth thus worn on the head by Bedawin and travellers generally is the napkin or handkerchief of Luke 19:20; John 11:44, John 20:7; Acts 19:12. In villages this cloth is folded in a long strip, and wound round a small cotton or woollen cap to form a turban. Orientals do not remove

SHOES AND SANDALS. the turban when entering a room; when for any purpose it is taken off it is laid down carefully and in as high a place as possible, as if in some way it represented their allegiance to their sovereign. The turban is carved in marble at the top of Moslem tombstones.

(7) Sandals, shoes. — These are associated with degradation (Psalms 108:9; Joshua 5:15; Luke 9:5; John 1:27). In walking, Syrians from time to time pause to shake out the dust from their shoes, either by removing the shoe altogether, and slapping it on a stone or on the wall, or by letting it hang from the toe of the naked foot while the dust is shaken out. The original form consisted of a sole with straps, by which, it was tied to the foot, but a partial leather upper must soon have been found more convenient. The sandal is now seldom worn except by monks. Shepherds wear rough simple shoes, with leather gaiters covering the calf of the leg, on account of the rocks and thorns among which they climb. Shoes are seen in the Egyptian and Persian monuments.

SACRED FRINGE. A very common kind of shoe is made of a piece of wood with a strap of leather over the instep. Those for brides are especially high and ornamental.

(8) Border, fringe, skirt. — Fringes made of the loose threads of the web are often seen at the end of Oriental cloth. It is the same with carpets, the threads being gathered and knotted into tassels. The most interesting survival is seen in the Jewish prayer-cloth, a covering of white cotton or wool with black stripes for throwing over the head and figure during prayer, and called a tallith.

It has small fringes along the sides, and a larger one at each corner inserted in a little square of coloured silk, and so arranged that its knots and threads, along with the numerical value of the Hebrew word for tassels, amount’ to 613, the number of commandments according to Rabbinical explanations. This tassel is put to the lips at certain times during the synagogue service to express obedience to the entire law (Mark 7:6).

(9) Female dress. — The under-dress and gown-coat of women resembled those of men, and their upper robe corresponded to the suits of apparel or festival robes of men. These are referred to in 2 Samuel 13:18; Isaiah 3:22-23; Song of Solomon 5:3. There is still this resemblance in costume, the women’s garments being, however, generally longer in proportion to the figure. The turbans are made of deep bands of folded cloth, sometimes of ornamental silk, but usually of white cotton (Isaiah 3:23). Until recently the head veil of the women of Mount Lebanon was drooped from a silver horn or upright funnel that was fixed securely on the head, and worn night and day. It was about a foot in height. The most characteristic features of female attire are the different veils. The women of the Moslem religion are very particular as to the screening of the face from view. Druze women expose one eye unveiled, and Christian and Jewish women merely veil the head and shoulders, but leave the face uncovered. The face veil is made of flowered gauze muslin (Isaiah 3:19); there is also a larger and more ornamental lace veil for the head and shoulders. The cauls of Isaiah 3:18 may refer to this latter class of veil.

It is worn by women when making visits, and on their arrival it is the first duty of their entertainer to come forward and remove these veils as quickly as she can. The same in its stronger original form is the head-dress of Bedawin women. It is a shawl of stout, tough muslin wrapped round the head and neck and greater part of the figure (Isaiah 3:22; Rth 3:15). The largest of all is the sheet -veil, called in Arabic izar, enveloping the whole body. The simplest form is a white sheet, but they are often made of rich^ beautiful silk stuffs of native work-

FEMALE COSTUMES. manship. A large square is folded in the middle and tied round the waist with a cord. The lower half thus forms a skirt, the upper being lifted over the shoulders and head to form a mantle-veil. Such are the wimples or shawls of Isaiah 3:23. It is worn by Moslem women, and sometimes by others, when walking from place to place in the town. (10) Eye-paint, consisting of a paste of brown antimony powder, is in common use. Applied to the eyes of children it is supposed to strengthen and protect them. When used by women it is for the purpose of giving an enlarged appearance and increased brilliancy to the eyes by means of the gleaming black stain. It is kept in small ornamented vases having a rod attached to the stopper by which the paint is applied to the eye-lashes. One of Job’s daughters was called Keren-happftch, horn of eye-paint (Job 42:14). The practice is alluded to in 2 Kings 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30; Revelation 3:18.

4. The Family. — In every land the home is the nursery of all that is best and most beautiful in human life. In Syria and Palestine there is no drink curse to deaden and destroy natural feelings, and the parental devotion of the poorest is as happy and self-denying as that of the rich and refined. Nothing bewilders and shocks the Oriental mind more than the paragraphs of police news sometimes copied from English into Arabic newspapers about the desertion and ill-treatment of children by their parents. Occasionally an infant is laid by night at the door of a convent or boarding-school, but almost universally a child born into the poorest homes is welcomed as a gift from God. Matters socially connected with the family, such as neighbourhood, hospitality, and inheritance, will be touched upon in the next chapter: we shall here confine ourselves to the three chief events of family life, namely. Birth, Marriage, and Death.

(1) Birth. — The leading and distinguishing feature of Oriental family life is its preference of sons to daughters. This of course is a result of social life rather than of domestic affection. The want of public law and justice makes the family a guild or union of common interests, not merely for the cultivation of truth, obedience, and loving selfsacrifice, but for marriage alliances, mercantile enterprises, and social advancement generally. When a son marries, he usually brings his young wife into the home of his parents, to be for a time at least under his mother’s instruction. A daughter goes forth to be the purchased or bargained possession of another family, and gradually becomes identified with its interests. Her origin is not forgotten, however, and she is protected by her family influence. Often a wife who would be dismissed because of some petty provocation, is treated with respect and forbearance because any affront put upon her would alienate all her relatives. The union of all within the house under its recognised head against all that exists outside, is one of the leading ideas of Oriental life. An often quoted proverb says, “ Better a thousand enemies outside the house than one inside.’’ When an Oriental suspects that he is being over-reached, he can politely decline the proposal that seems injurious to his interests by saying, “ Good-morning, neighbour, you are in your court and I am in mine.” In Arabic the word family means “those who are cared for.’’ Another proverb says, “In social matters act as kinsmen, in business matters be strangers.” The moment the Oriental passes beyond his own door and the circle of his immediate neighbours, he encounters officials who have paid for their appointment, in whose election he has no vote, and over whose conduct he has no control. The home is not a training-place for noble service in the State, but a bulwark against its tyranny. Any family may grow into a clan the head of which may have sufficient means and influence to obtain a Government appointment, and then he can help and favour those who recognise his leadership. On account of this struggle for wealth and worldly promotion, and the importance of having an heir to succeed to it and use it, the birth of a male child brings joy to a family, and that of an infant daughter sorrow and disappointment (Jeremiah 20:15; John 16:21). When a child is born, two or three local musicians are usually waiting outside to know if the new arrival be a boy or girl. If the former, they immediately beat the drum, and play upon whatever instruments they have, accompanying the din with improvised rhymes complimentary to the dignity of the family, and prophetic of the career lying before the son and heir. But the moment they learn from the silence and sad looks of the visitors that a daughter has been thrust upon the family, the drum is shouldered, and the musicians walk away. Music at such a time would be an unpaid affront. The grandmother sometimes refuses to visit a daughter who has thus brought discredit on the family. When natural affection and financial interest pull in opposite directions, victory too often goes to the latter. But God’s ink does not lose colour although it is applied to such poor paper, and in spite of this disappointment at the beginning, the little daughter’s claims to family love are soon more fully recognised. This idea of the Oriental family as a business syndicate, quite as much as a sanctuary of affection, is expressed in the Koran, where it says, “Wealth and sons are the ornaments of life.” Thus also in Psalms 127:1-5. the family circle is compared to a quiver, and the sons are the arrows ready for service. Their father can command attention in the council of the elders at the city gate. The new-born infant has its arms laid by its side and is wrapped in swaddling clothes. Among some of the peasantry the custom still prevails of rubbing the child’s body with a powder of salt (Ezekiel 16:4), but washing with water is usually avoided until after forty days. The little figure wrapped tightly in folds of cotton, and with its black eyes intensified by the eye-paint on the lashes, looks more like a mummy than a happy human child, and it is sometimes difficult to find the words of praise that the mother is expecting to hear. The names of Oriental children, after the familiar Bible custom, usually express the parents’ gratitude to God, or something connected with the personal appearance of the child or the circumstances under which it was born. Very frequently the name is given in remembrance of some relative. These names are thus personal registers of the happiness and hopes of their parents. Those of Jacob’s family will be recalled as instances of this custom, and such names as Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Ichabod, Samuel.

It is not usual to call a son after his own father. The father’s name is added as a kind of surname, as David, son-of-Jesse, Simon, son-of-Jonah. A name given after a member of the family in a former generation is a memorial of one who though still living is absent, and so might be forgotten. This seems to be the meaning of the question, “Why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29). To be named after some honoured relative implies a promise and hope that one child will inherit the character of the departed. According to this meaning, many of the ecclesiastical teachings connected with the rite in Christian baptism would float away with the other bubbles, and little would remain but the simple supreme purpose to live the very life of Christ. A certain class of names is expressive of family anxiety and sorrow. Such are Dibb (bear), Nimr (leopard), and Saba (lion), given when one child after another has died in infancy, and it is hoped that the name of a common wild animal may take off the evil eye, and put a stop to such misfortune. This may have been the trouble when Caleb (dog) was born. Students of Oriental folk-lore find deeper meaning in such customs, but at the present day it is simply a form of humiliation to deliver a family from its dark fate, and in a dim superstitious way recognises the fact that a new life requires a new spirit. The names of female children are usually taken from beautiful objects in nature, or pleasant graces of character. Thus Astronomy gives Shems (sun), Kaukab and Nejmeh (star), Kumr (moon). Favourite flower-names are Zambak (lily), Yasmtn (jessamine), and Wurdeh. (rose). Jewellery is of course very popular: the school register is always richly ornamented with such names as Lulu (pearl), Almaz (diamond), Zumurrud (emerald). Many again are suggestive of the pleasant appearance or kindly dispositions of their owners. Such are Selma (peace), Simha (joy), Farideh (special), Latifeh (gracious), Sultaneh (princess), Jamileh (pleasant).

Bible examples are Jemima (dove), Tabitha or Dorcas (gazelle), Rhoda (rose), Rachel (lamb), Salome (peace), Deborah (bee), Esther (star). A quaintly sad name is Kafah (enough), an implied remonstrance, meaning that after the birth of several daughters the parents would have reverently preferred to have had at least one son. In the East there is very little of the child-life with which we are familiar in our Western homes. Great allowance is made for the impulsive ways of children, but parents never attempt to draw them into companionship, and there is no literature for young people. Thus in the Arabian Nights the interval between birth and marriage is usually a blank. Dolls are greatly enjoyed by the little girls, but Moslems, Jews, and Druzes find a taint of idolatry in them. Boys play with marbles, tops, and balls, and both boys and girls imitate in their games, the things that occupy the serious attention of their elders.

Thus juvenile bands form into a marriage procession with sword-play, music, and shouting. They dramatise funerals and make lamentation in the same way. Bedawin robbers attacking travellers and law courts are also popular. The selling of Joseph, the sorrows of Job, and the raising of Lazarus are described in poetry, which is learnt by many, and passes down unchanged from generation to generation like our nursery rhymes. The account of Job’s misfortunes, for example, tells how his wife cut her hair and her husband’s to sell it for food, and such graphic touches come to be regarded as part of the original story. It is easy to conceive how a scribe copying one of the books of Scripture might introduce an explanatory comment from such floating traditions. The references to the book of Jashar are perhaps instances of this (Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18). The children in Christ’s time evidently played at marriage and funeral processions as they do at the present time. The lack of response to His appeal and the impossibility of His complying with Jewish expectations could be compared to children playing in the open market-place, until, wearied with their sport or distracted by other things, they paid no attention either to the marriage music or funeral wail (Matthew 11:17). Among the little girls of the East the chief entertainment is to play at bride. One of their number is selected and dressed up with contributions from the others, and sits with downcast eyes and folded hands to be admired by her young companions.

2. The chief event in Oriental family life is Marriage. This is usually planned by parents in the infancy of their children. The formal betrothal may take place some years before the marriage. The bridegroom-elect sends a present to the girl, the dowry is settled, and if sometime afterwards the engagement be broken off, the young woman, if a Jewess, cannot be married to any one else without receiving first a paper of divorce from the rabbi. The marriage is a great occasion of festivity, sometimes prolonged over several days. To be omitted in the invitations is a grave offence. A proverb says: “ He who does not invite me to his marriage will not have me at his funeral.” The wedding customs of to-day strongly resemble those mentioned in Scripture, but do not exactly repeat them. The Jews introduce European elements, the Christians have new traditions belonging to the Christian Church, and the. Moslems who usually preserve most of the ancient practices are here affected by the severe seclusion of women. At a Jewish wedding the most interesting feature is the canopy under which the bridegroom and bride sit or stand during the ceremony. It is erected in the court or large room of the house where the guests are assembled, and is made of palm-branches and embroidered cloth. It is suggestive of the dome sometimes seen above pulpits, and gives to the wedding the appearance of a coronation. In Isaiah 61:10 the bridegroom is described, R.V. marg, as decked like a priest, and he still wears at such a time the prayer -cloak of public worship called the tallith. The Jews say “the bridegroom is a king.” The husband is priest and king in his own household. Amid all the countries in which the Jews are scattered, and the different languages that they learn to speak, the canopy is called by its Hebrew name, the Huppah. The sight of the robed bridegroom issuing from the canopy (tabernacle) and receiving with smiles the congratulations of his friends suggested the simile of the sunrise in Psalms 19:6. At a Jewish marriage one item of sad significance is never omitted. The glass that holds the wine of marriage consecration is dropped on the floor and broken to pieces. This is explained as a memorial of the destroyed temple, and teaches the Jew that in the moment of his own supreme happiness he must not forget the deep sorrows of his nation. The thought recalls Psalms 137:6. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the reader of Scripture naturally wishes to know where the maidens were when they slumbered and slept, and where and why the bridegroom tarried. The following description will throw some light on those difficulties: — Oriental marriages usually take place in the evening. Among Jews and Christians the ceremony is usually performed in the house of the bride’s parents, though among the Christians frequently in the church; among the Moslems always in the house of the bridegroom. The whole attention is turned to the public arrival of the bridegroom to receive the bride prepared for him and waiting in the house among her female attendants.

If we make allowance for some changes in detail caused by their rules as to the seclusion of women, the Moslem customs are those which help us most in trying to understand how marriages took place in Bible times. During the day the bride is conducted to the house of her future husband, and she is there assisted by her attendants in putting on the marriage robes and jewellery.

During the evening, the women who have been invited congregate in the room where the bride sits in silence, and spend the time commenting on her appearance, complimenting the relatives, discussing various family matters, and partaking of sweetmeats and similar refreshments. As the hours drag on their topics of conversation become exhausted, and some of them grow tired and fall asleep. There is nothing more to be done, and everything is in readiness for the reception of the bridegroom, when the cry is heard outside announcing his approach. The bridegroom meanwhile is absent spending the day at the house of one of his relatives. There, soon after sunset, that is between seven and eight o’clock, his male friends begin to assemble. Their work for the day is over; they have taken a hasty supper, and dressed themselves, and have come to spend the evening with the bridegroom and then escort him home. The time is occupied with light refreshments, general conversation and the recitation of poetry in praise of the two families chiefly concerned and of the bridegroom in particular.

After all have been courteously welcomed and their congratulations received, the bridegroom, about eleven o’clock, intimates his wish to set out. Flaming torches are then held aloft by special bearers, lit candles are handed at the door to each visit of as he goes out, and the procession sweeps slowly along towards the house where the bride and her female attendants are waiting. A great crowd has meanwhile assembled on the balconies, garden-walls, and fiat roofs of the houses on each side of the road. It is always an impressive spectacle to watch the passage of such a brilliant retinue under the starry stillness of an Oriental night. The illumination of the torches and candles not only makes the procession itself a long winding array of moving lights, but throws into sharp relief the white dresses and thronging faces of the spectators seen against the sombre walls and dark sky. The bridegroom is the centre of interest. Voices are heard whispering, “ There he is! there he is 1 “ From time to time women raise their voices in the peculiar shrill, wavering shriek by which joy is expressed at marriages and other times of family and public rejoicing. The sound is heard at a great distance, and is repeated by other voices in advance of the procession, and thus intimation is given of the approach half an hour or more before the marriage escort arrives. It was during this interval that the foolish vir’gins hurried out in quest of oil for their lamps. Along the route the throng becomes more dense, and begins to move with the retinue bearing the lights. As the house is approached the excitement increases, the bridegroom’s pace is quickened, and the alarm is raised in louder tones and more repeatedly, “ He is coming, he is coming! “

Before he arrives, the maidens in waiting come forth with lamps and candles a short distance to light up the entrance, and do honour to the bridegroom and the group of relatives and intimate friends around him. These pass into the final rejoicing and the marriage supper; the others who have discharged their duty in accompanying him to the door, immediately disperse, and the door is shut.

Such is the simple incident in the earthly home that has found such wonderful correspondences in the heavenly life. The bridal procession has been taken into the house of Parable, and there robed with beautiful vesture of spiritual truth. If we are careful to interpret the latter by the former, we shall learn: (1) from the bride’s adorning what varied and skilful attendance the Church, the Bride of Christ, needs, in order to wear properly the Bridegroom’s gifts; (2) from the bright, forwardmoving procession, that every servant of Christ should be a light-bearer and never stand still; and (3) from the turning of all eyes upon the bridegroom, how great is the trespass when any Church official or creed-banner displaces or obscures the great central personality, the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Funerals. — When a death occurs in an Oriental home, a wail is immediately raised that announces the sad event to those living in the neighbourhood. It is customary and expected at such times of sorrow that the relatives should tear their hair and clothes, beat the breast, weep and cry aloud until sheer physical exhaustion brings on a necessary reaction of dulness and depression.

Orientals are unsurpassed in the quiet, unmurmuring acceptance of the will of God; but, in giving social proof and manifestation of their felt loss, the expression of grief becomes the chief burden of grief. The wail at the moment of death, and the lamentation around the corpse during the short interval before interment, are referred to Genesis 12:30 (sic); Mark 5:38; John 11:31; and Acts 9:39. The tears of Christ at the grave of Lazarus have been a comfort in many a darkened home, allowing the heart to feel and tell its bitterness, even while faith in God remains sure and strong. Some of the common language of Oriental lamentation is preserved in Jeremiah 22:18.

Weeping relatives lean over the cold form of him who was so recently interested in the smallest affairs of the family and the chief object of its ministry, and with words of loving endearment they plead for a response from the lips that never move and the face that makes no sign. Other names, the names of those in the family who have died lately, are mentioned and make the tears gush forth afresh. The women who attend professionally to assist at such lamentation, are skilful in interweaving family references and in improvising poetry in praise of the departed. When a new band of mourners arrives from a neighbouring village, they lift up their arms and exclaim, “ Hope is cut off! “ (Job 8:13; Isaiah 57:10; Ezekiel 37:11). When a young person dies unmarried, the funeral lamentation is made more pathetic by first going through some of the forms of a wedding ceremony. That which is is thus contrasted with what might have been. Thus Jephthah’s daughter bewailed her virginity in the presence of the fate that awaited her (Judges 11:37). In the warm climate of the East the interval between death and interment has to be very brief, the funeral generally taking place the same day, or on the day following. The formulated frenzy that to some extent displaces true grief in the house of mourning often turns into pious selfishness on the way to the grave. Among modern Orientals, accompanying a funeral procession is called attending the merit, an act that will secure a reward from God.

Thus when the letter of useful form is killed by slavish obedience, religious hypocrisy, its next of kin, comes as the avenger of blood and takes away the last remnants of natural feeling.

Among the Jews a cemetery is solemnly called the House of Eternity (Ecclesiastes 12:5), and sometimes the House of the Living.