A TYPICAL ARAB. 
 
 When a boy is born in Arabia there 
 is happiness in the family ; the father 
 goes about with a smiHng- face, receiving 
 the congratulations of his friends. An 
 astrologer is called in, who consults the 
 stars and his books, whereupon he tells 
 the fortune of the infant, and plans are 
 made accordingly for the future. 
 
 When a baby daughter comes it is 
 quite a different thing; there is no re- 
 joicing, no congratulation, and no inter- 
 
est is taken in her development. Indeed, 
 the Arabs do not consider it worth while 
 to attempt to teach a girl anything but 
 a few domestic duties. The majority of 
 the girls are married before they are fully 
 grown, or their minds at all matured, 
 and they are obliged to undertake the 
 rearing of children when they are scarce- 
 ly more than children themselves. Mo- 
 hammed, the Prophet of Arabia, who 
 was born about 570 A. D., made a won- 
 derful book called the Koran, which is 
 full of legends and precepts to guide the 
 conduct of his followers. One of Mo- 
 hammed's wives, the little Ayesha, was 
 betrothed to him when she was but sev- 
 en years old, "and married at nine years. 
 Of this fair girl, it seems the prophet 
 was so jealous that he . made a rule that 
 all married women should be closely veil- 
 ed. The Moslems have ever since then 
 followed his example, both in marrying 
 very young girls, and enforcing the use 
 of the veil, as well as the secluded life. 
 How distressing it is, in this land of 
 sunshine, to see the veiled forms of lit- 
 tle girls and to know that many more are 
 behind closed doors. 
 
 Many children in Arabia belong to 
 the Bedouin tribes, who live in tents. 
 These tents are even now very similar 
 to those used in the time of Abraham. 
 There is nothing in them that we would 
 call furniture, only rugs or mats for 
 sleeping purposes ; no knives, forks or 
 spoons ; and the boys and girls eat with 
 
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their fingers. In the tents there are al- 
 ways men's apartments and separate 
 apartments for the women ; brothers and 
 sisters have not the pleasant companion- 
 ship of Christian lands. 
 
 The food that these children have is 
 very different from that of western 
 lands ; one who has never tasted a fresh 
 date can scarcely imagine how delicious 
 it may be, and in Arabia this fine fruit is 
 abundant. Then the honey is the sweet- 
 est in all the world. But the strange 
 food that is eaten much by the Bedouin 
 is the locust. In Leviticus, eleventh 
 chapter, we read that Moses was told 
 that locusts were permitted for food, and 
 Matthew says of John the Baptist, ''his 
 food was locusts and wild honey." The 
 mind's eye can easily bring up an Orien- 
 tal picture of a Bedouin boy, stealing 
 from his tent in the early morning to 
 gather locusts, for the daily food, while 
 they are benumbed with the cool night 
 air, and the dew on their wings prevents 
 them from flying away. 
 
 Few games and little sport have these 
 Arabian children of the open country. 
 They never go to school or learn to read 
 and write. The. fathers tell the boys 
 something about the stars and the names 
 of the principal ones, for astrology is al- 
 ways a great thing in this land where the 
 stars shine with more brilliancy than any- 
 where else. Boys all learn how to ride 
 and how to herd cattle. But in many 
 ways their ignorance is appalling to our 
 
 3 
 
minds, and they live in constant terror 
 of spirits, or jinns. 
 
 All Arabs are very superstitious ; they 
 believe in angels, devils and all kinds of 
 evil spirits. To keep away evil influences 
 they constantly and universally wear am- 
 ulets and charms. Of these they have a 
 great variety : beads, stones, coins and 
 the like, as well as small copies of parts 
 of the Koran. Every small child is pro- 
 vided by its parents with an amulet to 
 ward off the evil eye. Mothers dread 
 a terrible child- witch, called Um.es-sub- 
 yan. How the poor little children suffer 
 through the ignorance of the mothers. 
 They think it is good for a baby to shed 
 tears, and as very young infants do not 
 usually cry, their eyes are rubbed with 
 onions to force tears. Then the eyes 
 are blackened with antimony to frighten 
 away evil spirits. 
 
 The lives of children in the villages or 
 towns of course differ much from those 
 of the Bedouins of the desert. Yet, in 
 comparison with the lives of American 
 children, there is a sad contrast. There 
 is so much that Christianity can give to 
 the boy, and much more to the girl, 
 whose destiny has brought them into 
 the world under Moslem rule. As yet 
 Arabia well deserves the name, "the 
 great closed land." Mecca, the capital 
 of Islam, and birthplace of Mohammed, 
 IS only eight hundred miles from Jerusa- 
 lem. Travelers are constantly passing 
 along the shores of Arabia, on the way 
 
 4 
 
TEACHING SCHOOL. 
 
 to and from the Far East, but there are 
 only a few mission stations and none of 
 tliese in the interior, in this land where 
 sin and shame shape the lives of the peo- 
 ple, and ignorance holds the young 
 in chains. When the Christian schools 
 are so few, how can the children be 
 taught or brought to the knowledge 
 of Jesus Christ? And in no country can 
 one find children of more wistful expres- 
 sions or more appealing countenances. 
 
 Some travelers have found in the 
 young people of the principal cities of 
 Arabia, an eagerness to learn something 
 of the outside world, and a great desire 
 to travel. This spirit always indicates a 
 
 5 
 
mentality that is keen for growth and 
 development. European enterprise and 
 modern inventions are bound to invade 
 this closed land ; and just now a rail- 
 way is being built that will do much to 
 open up a future of new opportuniti.es to 
 these yearning young people. Let us 
 pray that the Christians will go with 
 their message as swiftly as the specula- 
 tors with their modern inventions. 
 
 Deep in the hearts of the Arabs is a 
 great love for the poetic, and the pic- 
 turesque ; the love of nature is inherent 
 in the young people ; they will lie on 
 their backs and gaze into the sky, or 
 spend their time enjoying the glorious 
 sunsets of their land. In the souls of 
 even the very young there seems to be 
 a racial longing that has never been grat- 
 fied 'and that never can be satisfied 
 under the cruel yoke of Islam. It 
 is for Christians to raise this yoke from 
 their necks, to send them the pure gos- 
 pel of Jesus Christ. These young people 
 will have some excellent and beautiful 
 contributions to make to the great world 
 when the way is opened. There is no 
 language more forcible, or more rich 
 and beautiful in poetic expression than 
 the Arabic ; but much of the literature 
 is not fit for any one, much less for boys 
 and girls, to read. A glance into a school 
 for Arab boys is enough to excite pity 
 for the place is so dull and uninviting. 
 There are no desks, no maps or pic- 
 t'jres ; in fact there is nothing to make 
 
 6 
 
the school comfortable or attractive in 
 any way. The children sit on the floor ; 
 the larger ones have books, but the lit- 
 tle fellows have only a piece of board, 
 or the shoulder blade of a camel, on 
 which is written the lesson from the Ko- 
 ran. The lessons are read and recited 
 aloud in a sing-song, monotonous voice ; 
 and as the boys study they keep up a 
 continual swaying motion of the body. 
 An Arab school is indeed an unusual 
 sight to the visitor from America. The 
 school masters are most ignorant men, 
 the majority of them, think that the earth 
 is flat. They are also superstitious and 
 no more enlightened with regard to evil 
 spirits than the poor, untaught and ig- 
 norant women. When the older boys 
 learn to write they use a pen made of 
 a piece of wood like a quill, and the ink 
 is carried in a sponge at the end of the 
 penholder. In writing, the vowels are 
 left out and only the consonants put 
 down ; as there are often various words 
 with the same arrangement of conso- 
 nants, it is easily understood that there 
 are difficulties in the way. The Arab's 
 book begins at the page which we would 
 call the last, and he reads from right to 
 left. 
 
 Some of the proverbs that are taught 
 the Arab children are very excellent. 
 Gentleness is one of the qualities that 
 stress is laid upon, and they say "Gentle- 
 ness stops anger as water extinguishes 
 fire." A good precept of theirs is, "Con- 
 
 7 
 
tentment is an inexhaustable treasure." 
 Another, "Envy consumes a man as rust 
 corrodes iron." From these precepts one 
 can see how wise they are, and philo- 
 sophical. 
 
 In spite of the unfortunate conditions 
 in Arabia, the children are of superior 
 strength and intelligence. Their senses 
 are keen and capable. They are well 
 worth the bravest, strongest efforts of 
 Christian missionaries. And if the chil- 
 dren of America will send them the mes- 
 sage of the Christ Child "They shall 
 bring gold and incense, and they shall 
 show forth the praises of the Lord ;" for 
 this is the promise concerning them. 
 
 Boarb of Jforptgtt MteaxanB 
 IBitformeb Qlljurrli in tiff llnttfii States 
 JffiftPftttlf anb W^att S>trtttB 
 
 Oriental Children Series 3 
 
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