CHAPTER XVIII.

THE POPULATION OF SYRIA, CONTINUED.—THE PAGAN INHABITANTS.

Having dwelt at some length upon the several bodies of Christian inhabitants of Syria, I must entreat my readers’ pardon if I endeavour to make my description of the unbelieving portion as brief and condensed as possible. Of course, I need not advert to the Mahommedans, the faithful followers of the Prophet. As I have stated before, they comprise by far the largest proportion of the inhabitants of the towns and lowlands of Syria, and are lords and masters over the rest of the population.

But, besides the orthodox Mahommedans, we have in Syria a very large number of heterodox followers of the Mahommedan faith, who are called Metáwali; and who, though they are certainly less numerous than their orthodox brethren, are an infinitely more interesting people. They are followers of Ali, the other sect adhering to Omar. They may amount, in round numbers, to about 35,000; but as they have selected for their homes some of the most inaccessible parts of the mountainous districts of the country, their numbers cannot be very accurately ascertained. They are said, by many persons, to belong to the same section of the Mahommedan faith as the Persians, who also believe in Ali; but they exhibit some peculiar doctrines and customs, which establish an essential distinction between the two.

Like the former, they expect the advent of the Messiah in the person of the twelfth Imam of his line, whom the Turks allege to have been slain in the battle of Karbela in which he engaged with the Caliph of Bagdad; but whom the Metáwali believe to have been transported to Arabia, by the miraculous interposition of the Divinity, and from whence he is to return in triumph to re-establish the race of the Imams on the throne, and to punish all who opposed him or his followers. When the expected Messiah does appear, they believe that he will assume the government of the whole world—that he will visit with the most dreadful punishments all who shall have denied him—and that he will render unto all true believers eternal happiness.

In expectation of the advent of this Messiah, the Metáwali keep horses, money, and clothing constantly in readiness for his arrival; and whatever is once set apart for this purpose, is held sacred for ever after, and cannot be used by an ordinary mortal. {318}

They believe in the transmigration and gradual purification of the soul, which, according to their belief, eventually becomes a bright star in the heavenly firmament. The first apostle of Ali, in Syria, was Abou-Abdallah-Mohammed, who was most successful in making converts, but, having excited the envy and hatred of some of the chief people in Damascus, he was imprisoned and burned to death as an infidel and blasphemer. From this circumstance he has been styled the first martyr.

Though the first apostle of the new faith was thus summarily extinguished, the light of his doctrines was not smothered with him, and it may be considered certain that the manner of his death was mainly the cause of the rapidity with which they spread over the country immediately afterwards. As is generally the case, persecution lent strength and vitality to the cause, and many sought the honour of a martyrdom similar to that which had befallen Abou-Abdallah-Mohammed. However, the faster the new religion spread, the greater activity did the Orthodox authorities develop in putting it down. Priest after priest was being drawn and quartered, hundreds of men, women, and children were butchered or buried alive, to gratify the atrocious passions of an ignorant people, and still more barbarous government. Nevertheless, the new faith prospered, and the Metáwali began to assume a position of influence and power in the country; but after numerous vicissitudes, the butcher Djezzar, who had been made governor of Syria, succeeded by cunning and treachery in prostrating their power, and destroying their strongholds. Thousands of them were executed by his orders, and even under his eye, and, like Mehemet Ali, who watched the destruction of the Mamelukes, so did Ahmed Djezzar amuse himself by watching the death struggles of hundreds of the Metáwali who had been hurled from the battlements of Nabatieh into the Kasmich.

Under persecutions like these, the strong arm of the authorities, aided by the passions of a fanatical body combining together against them, the Metáwali gradually lessened in numbers, and consequently lost the influential and powerful position they were beginning to acquire. Politically this sect may now be said to be prostrate, but they cherish the memories of those of their forefathers who fell in the defence of their religious independence, and many an evening’s hour is passed by the people listening in rapt attention to the numerous anecdotes of the firmness, the courage, and the devotedness of the martyrs for their faith.

The localities they live in entails habits and customs which naturally tend to rear a hardy and courageous race. Their method of living is simple in the extreme; but, though the stranger who may visit their mountain-villages is sure of the greatest hospitality, it is nevertheless, of a peculiar character. They never admit within their dwellings any person who does not belong to their own persuasion, nor do they allow any one but a Metáwali to use their furniture or domestic utensils. Should a Frank or a Jew by accident touch a mat or a pot belonging to them, it is instantly cast away as defiled and unclean. To receive the wandering stranger there is erected in every village, a house for the purpose, in which the visitor is ever most bountifully provided for. Strange to say, however, their dislike to contact with others, extends no further than their own dwellings. In the open air, or in a house belonging to a person of a different persuasion, they are alike indifferent to the presence of Christian or Jew, conversing and associating with them as freely as they zealously avoid permitting them to enter their own dwellings. They are an exceedingly clean people, never sitting down to a meal without having performed their ablutions.

It is owing, perhaps to the paucity of their numbers, but still more, I think, to the gradual decline of the power of the Maronite, that the Metáwali exist untroubled in their mountain fastnesses. But should any attempt be made by any government, or by any other religious body in the East, to wrong or subjugate them, I am convinced that they would not submit without a very severe struggle, in which their native ferocity would once more appear on the surface, to their own disadvantage, perhaps, but still more to that of their enemy.

A good deal has been written respecting the Druses, who are the most curious, and least known section of the population of Syria. The cause of the ignorance which prevails concerning them, and which I am unable to dispel will be seen in the following account of this interesting and courageous people.

I have been told that several learned men have, at different times, diligently endeavoured to acquire a thorough insight into the religious theories possessed by the Druses, but I have never yet met with any author who has given an explanation or description of them, satisfactorily to his readers. Where others, whom I have been taught to respect and revere, have failed, I hesitate to make the attempt, knowing that I shall be unsuccessful. In point of fact, the great mystery which surrounds the religion of the Druses is, I fear, a mystery even to themselves, a shadowy outline, which the initiated are told they understand, and which the uninitiated worship in the depth of their ignorance.

The Druses inhabit the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, or rather the southern portions of the mountain, in which they possess a great deal of land and villages; but they are also mixed up with the Maronite and other Christian populations of more than two hundred other villages. They are divided into two classes; the initiated into the mysteries of their religion are called Akkals, and the uninitiated are called Djahils. Both sexes are alike eligible for initiation among the Akkals; in this respect there is that perfect equality for the female sex, which I so often hear some of my fair friends in England sighing for. But the woman who is a Akkaliah may not marry a Djahil. There is an easy remedy for this, however, since I am told that initiation may be effected on very short notice and without expense or examinations. Every Thursday the Akkals meet in Khalueh, a temple, or building, erected expressly for the purpose, and in which their religious books, their war trophies, and standards are kept. Here they sit talking of politics, or reading religious books, and when the general discussions are concluded, the majority go away, leaving only the highest in social rank to discuss the interests of the tribe with the priests. The chief priest, or as I take the liberty of calling him, their great mystery-man, lives at Bakleen, whence he rules over the whole body. As I have said previously, the nature of their religious belief is a mystery. It is neither Christian nor Jewish, nor Mahommedan nor Pagan. They believe in the unity of God, and in the transmigration of souls, but while they themselves profess to be Mahommedans, they exhibit in their social customs as well as in their features, many points of resemblance with the Jews, and they have no hesitation whatever in denouncing Mahommed as a false prophet, and in disregarding the most sacred festivals of the Moslem faith.

Though so little is known of their present religion, it has been tolerably well ascertained that it was founded by one Darazi, who about the middle of the eleventh century traversed Syria, preaching the doctrine that the real Caliph Hakeem was the incarnation of God, and the most perfect manifestation of the Deity. Name and strength was, however, first given to the new creed by one Hamza, who denounced Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahommed as impostors, and declared himself to be the incarnation of the spirit of universal intelligence. In his creed, he either forgot or wilfully omitted all notice of a future state of existence. Since that period, this peculiar faith has gained many proselytes; and the Druses are now, next to the Maronites, the most numerous religious body in Lebanon who are not Mahommedans.

Leaving their mysterious creed, to deal with the people themselves, I may state, that they are easily distinguished by their features, being, generally speaking, muscular, well-made men, active and middle-sized, and enabled to undergo great fatigue. Their courage is not to be daunted. The women are generally very handsome, with tall, slim figures, black hair, and beautiful blue eyes. The disposition of the men is a strange mixture of open-hearted hospitality and morose vindictiveness; but they are strictly honourable, and have never been known to break a promise. In all their transactions they deal uprightly with one another; but this cannot be said to be the case when they transact business with others: their creed admits of their practising imposition upon infidels to their own faith.

I have already observed, that there exists a great resemblance between the ancient Scottish clans and the mountaineers of the Lebanon. In support of this, I cannot do better than to quote what Volney says, when speaking of the Druses:—“As soon as the emir and sheikhs had determined on war at Deyr al Kamar, criers went up at night to the summit of the cliffs, and cried aloud, ‘To war, to war! Take your guns, take your pistols! Noble sheikhs, mount your horses; arm yourselves with the lance and the sabre: meet to-morrow at Deyr al Kamar. Zeal of God! zeal of combat!’ This summons, heard in the neighbouring villages,” continues the same author, “was repeated there; and as the whole country is nothing but a chain of lofty mountains and deep valleys, the proclamation passed through its length and breadth in a few hours. These cries, from the stillness of the night, the long-resounding echoes, and the nature of the subject, had something awful and terrible in their effect. Three days after, fifteen thousand men were assembled at Deyr al Kamar, and operations might have been immediately commenced.”

To strengthen their respective clans, is the Druses’ main object through life; and to effect this, they almost invariably marry amongst themselves—preferring their own relations with poverty, to the richest dowry with a foreigner. Their creed admits of but one wife; but they allow of divorces. If a Druse says to his wife, “Go to your father’s house,” and does not say to her, “Come back,” it is considered a divorce. Their jealousy far outstrips the Mussulman’s: any conjugal infidelity is certain of being requited by death: no intercession, however powerful, can avail aught in these cases; even where fathers have made intercession, brothers have become the executioners of their own sisters. Any man can divorce his wife upon paying a certain sum; but divorces are of very rare occurrence.

The every-day life of the Druse is monotonous in the extreme; even their children at an early age inherit their insipid manner of life, and leave the healthful recreation of a good game at _damah_, to sit down in a circle, and ape their parents in discussing politics. The Druse, like most of the natives of Syria, is an early riser; and the first thing he does after he has gone through his morning ablutions, is to command his wife to set before him a large bowl of freshly-drawn goat’s milk, or _dibs_. In this he sops his bread; and making a hearty and wholesome breakfast, shoulders his gun, sticks his kanjur in his girdle, lights his pipe, and then goes forth to attend to his daily occupations till mid-day. If it be the season to plough, he harnesses his oxen, and treads heavily after the furrows till nigh upon mid-day, at which time his wife or one of the family brings him out his substantial mid-day repast. In this interval he has perhaps rested himself half a dozen times, to sit and smoke a pipe: or, if a fellow-creedsman passed, he has stopped to exchange a few words—complain of the heat, ask the news, the lowest price quoted for wheat, and so on; but you seldom hear them laughing or joking with one another, and never by any chance singing or whistling; they have no idea of a tune, no taste for music, unless it be the music of money rattling in their pockets; and this has greater charms for them than the pipe of Tityrus had over the sylvan woods. At this mid-day meal there is another fresh bowl of _laban_ milk in addition to a goodly supply of _borghol_, and, in summer, cucumber and some chillies, or the batingan stuffed with hashed mutton and rice.

As the sun sinks behind the conical tops of the western hills, the Druse unyokes his cattle and drives them homeward, himself shouldering the plough. Now it is that, if ever he enjoys himself, the Druse indulges in a little relaxation. If he be fortunate enough to be possessed of a supply of powder and shot, he deviates from his right path, leaving the oxen to find their way home untended, and shouts and throws stones into every bush and down every glade he passes. Sometimes a hare starts up, sometimes a covey of partridges, or, may be, a jackal; but, whatever the game chance to be, he fires, and that with so steady and correct an aim, as to be almost certain of securing the victim. Even jackals’ skins are valuable, and will fetch their price.

Of an evening they assemble at one anothers’ houses, and there, with pipe in hand, seated in such an attitude that their knees are on a level with their nose, they talk politics by the hour. They are generally a dissatisfied, gloomy, and grumbling people; and their usual topic of conversation is exactly what John Bull is so much laughed at for, viz., the hardness of the times. They pull to pieces the pasha, the emir, the effendis—lament over the prospects of a bad silk crop, or a worse wheat harvest, speaking feelingly of the general lack of money—foretell that things will be certain to go on from bad to worse—predict a famine—prophesy a murrain amongst the cattle—see in the yellow tinge of the western atmosphere the cholera—smell out of the heavy night-dew an interminable catalogue of maladies, as absurd and unknown as any of the foregoing calamities; and having worked themselves up to an extreme pitch of wretchedness, they disperse for the night, and retrace their steps to their respective homes, croaking the while, or hooting gloomily to one another just as a parcel of ravens would croak or owls hoot as they wing their way to roost, when the distant growl of thunder foretells the coming storm.

The Druses are great hypocrites in religious matters. One of their religious books gives them this liberty, for it says:—“_Embrace the religion of those who have power over you_; _for such is the pleasure of our_ MAOULA, _till he_, _to whom the best times are known_, _shall unsheathe the sword_, _and display the power of his unity_.” Hence with the Turks, they pretend to be devout Moslems—fast when they fast, and feast when they feast. With the Christians they are equally devoted to the Adrah Mariam—the Virgin Mary; and in private they despise and detest both: but I believe that the Druses have really great faith and confidence in the English, whom they suppose to be all Protestants; and their idea of a Protestant is that their religion is a species of freemasonry, which very much resembles their own. Of late years political struggles on the mountains have served rather to strengthen this belief; for the Druses were invariably supported by the English, and the native attachés, agents, and other people, not only of the Consulates in the neighbouring towns, but also English travellers, lost no opportunity of impressing this fact upon the minds of the Druses’ who were already predisposed to such a belief from the fact of a tradition long existent amongst them, that many of their noblest families were descended from some of the princes amongst the Crusaders.

The Druses never introduce the subject of their religion before others; that is to say, never in such a form as to hold it forth as an argument, or an inducement for others to become proselytes, or to inform strangers of their doctrines, but they confidently affirm that a great number of their co-religionists inhabit the vast continent of India, and declare that they are to be met with even in China, from which they believe they themselves came.

They suppose, that in England there are to this day many of the Akkals, or initiated, but of later years their confidence has been much shaken; and _apropos_ of this, I quote an extract of a letter from one of the Akkals of the Druses, sent to me from Lebanon in 1845:—

“There are many English travellers, and some men apparently of much wisdom, who have visited us and conversed on subjects of religion; and they endeavour to persuade us that in their country there are many people who profess a creed similar to our own: this was particularly mentioned by a tall English emir. I wish you would enquire into this matter, and write us your opinion clearly; and should the report be verified, the existence of such co-religionists would at once entitle us to proclaim the protection of the English upon the same grounds as the Maronites are protected by France.”

It is said that, in the official report of M. Desméloises, then a French Consul in Syria, this belief of the Druses that they were allied to, and descended from, noble European families, was found serviceable to the French agents, when the allied forces appeared off the coast of Syria, for the purpose of expelling Ibrahim Pasha and the Egyptian troops; and they acted upon the imagination of the Druses so powerfully, that little or no inducement was requisite to cause them to side with the Europeans.

There is one thing to which the Druses are much addicted, and which sadly deteriorates from their general character for civilization—this is, their fondness for raw meat. Whenever a gazelle is shot, or a kid killed, the raw kidneys and heart are luxuries for which the Druse epicure will contend with angry words; and such is the force of example, that even Christians in the neighbourhood have adopted this system of cannibalism, washing down every mouthful with a glass of strong _arakey_. European authors accuse the Christians of the plains, and especially the women, of being guilty of a like atrocity, saying that they eat meat in their _kubbas_, but the fact is what meat they use in these is first so finely sliced up, and then so unmercifully thumped, that it becomes a perfect paste, and the very friction and heat more than half cook it; besides which, this meat is mixed with chillies, onions, and borghol, and the proportion of meat to wheat is one to ten.

Outwardly the Druses keep up the appearance of friendship with their neighbours, but the intrigues of political agents, and the wary cunning of Roman priests, have of late years tended sadly to interrupt the harmony that existed between the Druses and the Maronites.

The Yezidees, of whom there are some thousands in the country next claim attention. They are most numerous in Koordistan, where they are all comprised in one general body. In Syria, however, we are accustomed to divide them into three tribes—the worshippers of the sun, the Shemisees; the worshippers of the devil, the Sheytanees; and the cut-throats. I do not mean to say that the latter portion are greater cut-throats than their co-religionists of the other two sections, for like the Mahommedans, with whom they come chiefly into collision, the whole of the three divisions are equally distinguished by the same murderous inclinations. Like the religion of the Druses, that of the Yezidees is an indescribable mixture of nearly all the religious creeds of the East and West. They respect Christ and the Christian saints; but they do not disavow Mahommed and Moses. They baptize their children, but they conform also to the Hebrew practice of circumcision. They commemorate the birth of the Saviour, but they also celebrate the feast of the Passover with all the forms and solemnities customary among the Jews; and they also abstain from all the food which is considered unclean by the Israelite. While worshipping but one God, they profess profound veneration for Ahriman, the prince of darkness, and they also adore the fiery element, bowing before the rising sun. In praying, they are careful to kneel with their faces towards the East. Indeed, it would seem as if, doubtful of salvation under a simple faith of their own, the presiding minds of the Yezidees had collected the principal points from all religions in the world, in order to make sure of the right one. Some of them even do not hesitate to make an avowal of this kind. The most peculiar feature of their religion, is the extreme respect which they pay to the devil, who is never mentioned by his right name, but is always mysteriously spoken of _as the great incognito_, _the bird of Paradise_, and whose worship is always carried on after sunset. I am assured too, that his Satanic eminence is always present on these sacred occasions, and is accustomed to acknowledge the honours paid to him by his credulous worshippers by a yell or scream of a most unearthly kind, its effect being to prostrate on their faces the whole of the parties present. Their head-priest possesses an extraordinary amount of influence over the whole body.

The Yezidees are a brave, open, confiding, honest, industrious, civil race, combining with these good qualities, however, an inordinate passion for warfare, civil and national, and a great proneness to robbery and pillage on a large scale. They are actuated by their intense contempt and hatred towards the Mahommedans to the committal of many excesses against the followers of the Prophet. Indeed, they are firmly convinced that they cannot perform a more meritorious action—an action more advantageous to themselves, both in this and the next life, and they absolutely take pleasure in ridding the world of a Mahommedan. This spirit of hatred is fully returned by its objects, who detest the Yezidees, and who consider the very name to be synonymous with all that is evil and treacherous.

It has been stated of late years, that the traditions which exist among this people, and which tend to establish their descent from the ancient Hebrews, are founded on fact, that they are in reality a remnant of the lost tribes of Israel. I am not sufficiently learned on this subject to trace the links of the connection, but I may unhesitatingly state, that the conviction of its truth is rapidly spreading among the people themselves.

I shall close this account of these sects in Syria with a brief mention of the Ansyreeh or Nosairiyeh and I am more inclined to say a few words about them, from the fact that a systematic effort is likely to be made for their conversion. These tribes also inhabit the mountain districts; but they live in much greater isolation than the other religious bodies, and in consequence, their numbers are not to be ascertained with anything approaching to precision. They do not inhabit any particular province, but I am perfectly well aware, as has been stated by one writer on this subject, that there are several hundred Nosairiyeh resident in the small village of Salahiyeh, about one mile from Damascus. They are most numerous in the range of mountains north of Mount Lebanon; where I can assure my readers that it is a task of no slight difficulty, and even great danger to penetrate, and it has very rarely indeed been successfully accomplished. In illustration of this fact, I may narrate here the experience of a friend of mine, who desired personally to obtain all the information concerning this people, which a trip into the most northern parts of the Lebanon could procure. Having made all his arrangements for the purpose, he departed, provided with a passport, or firman from the Turkish authorities, addressed to all the sheikhs of the mountain tribes, ordering them to show the bearer every civility, and to afford him every protection during his journey. Armed with this document, he proceeded on his journey without much apprehension. During the first day’s travel among the hills, he found the firman most effective, the sheikhs lending him every aid to get on. But he had no sooner left the immediate limits within which the people came into direct and frequent contact with the authorities, than he found the case was very different; argument and entreaty became necessary, where the mere sight of the firman had been formerly sufficient to procure the gratification of his wishes. Having succeeded in obtaining quarters for the night in the abode of a small sheikh, who condescended to be hospitable to the stranger, my friend soon got into conversation with his entertainer, and ultimately explained the whole object of his journey. The Sheikh listened in silence, twisting his moustachios with Eastern solemnity, and displaying some astonishment in his features at what he evidently considered the very hazardous course which my friend seemed bent on pursuing. After supper, the sheikh returned to the subject, and laboured seriously to impress upon his guest’s mind the nature of the numerous dangers which he must encounter if he continued his journey. To the sheikh’s argument respecting the want of all roads, the ruggedness of the mountain paths, sudden precipices, and dangerous fords, the former laughingly rejoined, that he relied on a stout pair of legs, a firm hand, and a steady eye, and that he would not shrink from his object deterred by such difficulties, which a strong and bold man might readily vanquish; and in reply to the sheikh’s still more serious sketch of the dangerous character of the tribes through whose territories he must pass, my friend, still laughing, flourished what he considered his all-powerful firman. The sheikh asked permission to read it; it was granted, and having perused it, returned it to the owner. After some moments’ silence he rose from his mat, and approaching my friend, said to him, in an under tone: “Friend, your firman certainly may procure you protection and assistance on your outward journey, but it says nothing concerning your return; be advised, retrace your steps and get your firman amended, if you must inquire into our condition and habits, but you would do much better to remain among your friends. We Nosairiyeh do not like strangers.” My friend stared at this address, which many of my readers may consider most lawyer-like, and worthy the nice distinctions between words which I am told the English lawyers delight to make; but it had its effect, for we are yet without the full account of these people which my friend would have furnished us with. On the following morning he retraced his steps; and on his arrival he appears to have forgotten to apply for any alteration or addition to his firman, and to have preferred the inglorious ease of home to the dangerous search after knowledge among unexplored mountains, inhabited by barbarous infidels.

In connection with this subject I may mention, that several travellers have been induced to state, that there exists a peculiar religious sect in Syria who are called Womb-worshippers, but I am sure that the only persons who deserve that name are the Nosairiyeh. The occasions on which this peculiar part of their religion is developed are extremely limited; indeed, I believe that it takes place but once a year, when the majority of the whole people assemble together in a cave, which is set apart for the purpose, and which is known only to themselves. I can add, moreover, that no one is admitted to these rites, who is not acquainted with the distinguishing sign or token by which they recognise each other. When they are assembled, a variety of prayers adapted expressly to the occasion are recited; and after what I may term the religious portion of the service is concluded, the men and women present have recourse to the most indelicate proceedings, which are the peculiar forms of the worship of the womb. By some, however, the Nosairiyeh are considered to be an aboriginal tribe, which has survived the many changes that have swept over the country, and have preserved such peculiar traits as distinguish them from all its other inhabitants. From what I have heard, I am inclined to believe that this is the case; and I also feel disposed to regard them as probably a sect of heretical Christians, who having originally retired among the mountains to secure the free exercise of their opinions, thus became isolated; and that their early faith became more and more corrupted by the influence of time, and the circumstances and changes going on around them, since like some other similar sects they still preserve a vague idea of some of the leading facts of Christianity, though mixed with notions not only false but absurd.

They speak of the incarnation and crucifixion of our Lord as of one among many others. They have, I understand, also a custom of celebrating the sacrament by giving to the communicants a portion of meat and wine; added to this, they have mystical ceremonies and prayers. They believe in the transmigration of souls, and also in astrology and magic, also observing, it is said, many of the religious seasons and festivals peculiar to the Jews; nor are they at all reluctant, when any object is to be attained, to profess the doctrines and carry out the practice of Mahommedanism. But whatever may be the essential doctrines of their religion, there is no doubt that their morality is of the very lowest character; passionate and violent, their hatred of their rulers is only equalled by that which the different factions among them bear to each other, the most sanguinary feuds breaking out every now and then among them, carried on with the deadliest animosity, and accompanied by fearful acts of murder and revenge.

About a year since, I happened to be at a convent about two days’ journey from Tripoli; and while there, I had an opportunity of seeing a number of these curious people. Some days previous to my arrival, a young woman belonging to them had been brought to the convent in a state of mental aberration. I ought to say that the convent is consecrated to Saint George, who is believed to possess especial power for the cure of madness, and for whom the Nosairiyeh, as well as most of the mountain tribes, profess great respect and veneration—carrying out their professions practically, by the payment of an annual donation of oil, corn, and fruits, for the use of the convent. The young woman in question, having been confined in chains during her whole stay in one of the cells behind the altar, and kept on very low diet indeed, was restored to reason. I will not say what part of the treatment had been most efficacious in curing her, but the devout believers in the power of the saint, declared that he had visited her during the night, and by his presence driven out the evil spirit. Her friends, being made acquainted with her miraculous recovery, came to reclaim her just after my arrival. Contrary to the general Eastern custom, there was a large number of women mixed up with the men, moving apparently on a footing of perfect equality with the ruder sex. While they remained within sight of the convent, before and after reclaiming their recovered companion, they appeared to care for nothing besides dancing and singing. One of their dances was very much like an English country dance, with a great deal of shaking hands. I found them to be a powerfully-built, muscular race, with open honest countenances; they were all thoroughly equipped and armed. In their dress, the women differed from the general costume of the country, inasmuch as they wore very long and very flowing garments, of a kind usually only worn by men.

Nothing, however, can exceed the degradation in which the female sex are held among the Nosairiyeh. They are regarded in the same light as their horses and other domestic animals; and to the practice of polygamy among them, and the drudgery and ill-usage to which their wives are condemned, may be traced the origin of the darkest and most repulsive portions of the picture they present. The untiring perseverance and praiseworthy zeal of missionary labourers may yet succeed in leading them to a knowledge of better things. I could repeat here what I have always stated in respect to such endeavours, that schools must be the first step towards such an end; and that even before the subject of religion is touched upon, they must be taught such a course of secular studies as will, by expanding their mind and strengthening their reasoning faculties, prepare them to receive that priceless seed, which it would be unwise to cast beforehand in such a weedy soil, among the thorns and the thistles that would choke its growth and cause it to perish.