February 11Th.
We have had a delightful ramble along the aqueduct and through the vast fruit orchards, and my respect for old Sidon has decidedly risen by the excursion.
Population
What may be the present population of the city and her gardens it is not possible to arive at perfect accuracy, as there are no statistics kept by the government. The number of inhabitants is said to be about 9000. Of these, 6800 are Moslems, including the Metāwelies, 850 Greek Catholics, 750 Maronites, 150 Greeks, and 300 Jews. These are ecclesiastical returns, and they are always under-stated, in order to diminish the taxation, which is assessed according to the people's ecclesiastical relations. The entire population is therefore not far from 10,000. This is a small figure for a city called “great” even by Joshua. Nor is she increasing, or likely to increase much for years to come. Beirût is too near, and draws everything into her all-absorbing vortex.
Sidon exports tobacco, oil, fruit, and silk, but the amount is small, except in tobacco, which is, in fact, the main dependence of her merchants. It is all sent to Egypt.
Are there no antiquities about Sidon?
Antiquities
Not many, and none very striking. She is too old. Her decline commenced “before antiquity began.” There are a few things, however, besides the tombs, in which her greatness was buried thousands of years ago, which are worthy of attention. The immense stones which form the northwest angle of the inner harbor, each one being some ten feet square, were no doubt put there in the days of Sidon's early prosperity; but it is surprising that the ancient inhabitants allowed the ledge of rocks on the seaward side to be quarried away for building-stone. This invaluable barrier has thus been so much lowered that the sea breaks over into the harbor in every storm, not only endangering the ships and boats, but causing a strong current to set eastward under the arches of the causeway which leads to the castle. These arches will, ere long, give way, as others have before, and thus the castle will be cut off from communication with the city.
Castle
This castle itself, though mostly in ruins, has something to interest the antiquary. The oldest part is built nearly solid, with a large number of granite columns placed at regular intervals in the wall;—this shows, of course, that it was not erected until after the columns had become part of Sidon's ancient ruins; nevertheless, it is built of very heavy stones, having the Phoenician bevel, and probably dates back to the beginning of our era. The slightly-pointed arch in the most ancient part does not prove it to be modern, for I have seen this kind of arch in buildings undoubtedly older than the Saracens; nor do I believe that these barbarians ever invented any arch. They found one to their taste, which they modified and appropriated to their own structures.
Old Wall
I called your attention to the old wall which extended along the shore northeast to the little brook Kumly; from thence southward it is not easy to trace it for some distance, but it kept along the terrace which rises above the general level of the plain, and bent round west to the sea, about twenty rods to the south of the present upper castle. The Tell on which this castle stands is artificial, and, what is more remarkable, is made up, in a great measure, of old pottery, rubbish of houses, and thick beds of broken purpura, thrown out from Sidon's ancient manufactories of purple dye. The bluff facing the sea shows this conglomeration at least twenty feet thick. Southeast of the upper castle is a mazar, frequented mostly by Jews, and called Sidōne. The people do not know who he was; and if it were a shrine dedicated to old Sidon himself, there would be nothing strange in the fact that the Jews frequent it. So they do Neby Seijûd yonder, on the top of Jebel Rihān, and many other places of the same character, although they are held by Moslems. Columns, sarcophagi, broken statuary, and other evidences of a great city, are found everywhere in these gardens, with the oldest trees growing in fertile soil many feet thick above them. These are the most remarkable remnants of Sidon's original greatness which the tooth of Time has left us. They do not contradict her ancient renown, though they throw very little light upon her history.
If the city was anciently so large, what has become of the vast amount of stone? I see nothing of it on all the plain.
Disappearance of the Stone
You do well to commence your study of ruined cities with this inquiry. The thing puzzled me greatly at first, but the disappearance of the stone can easily be accounted for in all cases. In fact, a large part of many old cities was built of sun-burnt brick, and these, of course, need not be sought for. In many cities the building material was a soft cretaceous stone, which crumbled back to soil almost as rapidly as sun-burnt brick. Most of the towns along the Syrian coast, however, are built of an argillaceous sandstone, mixed with comminuted shell; which, though porous and easily cut, will yet, if protected from the weather, last for ages; but, when exposed, it disintegrates rapidly, and soon melts away to dust. This process is hastened every time the ruins are worked over for new buildings. The stones must always be re-cut before they are put into a wall, and, after being thus reduced two or three times, they become too small for use, are thrown out into the fields, and quickly dissolve. A ruined city of this kind along the coast, or in any position from which the stone can be easily transported, is quarried over and over again until nothing remains but shapeless heaps of rubbish. Thus the stones of Sarepta. Athlîte, Cæsarea, and even of Tyre and Sidon, have recently been carried to Acre, Beira, and Joppa, by boat, in immense quantities, and, after being cut afresh, and much reduced in size, are placed in buildings, which, in turn, will fall to ruin in a hundred years, when the same process will be repeated, until they are found no more. In other places, where the material is compact limestone, and not subject to these causes of destruction, it is broken up and burnt to lime. We saw how the sarcophagi at Khŭldeh are thus destroyed.
Marble Columns Burnt for Lime
At Kedes, the Lake of Hums, I found the peasants breaking up beautiful marble columns with sledge-hammers for the same purpose. When I remonstrated with them, they replied that they had no other use for these columns, and that this had been the lime-quarry for all the region time out of mind. The whole country about that lake is volcanic, and these marble columns had been brought there from a great distance for their special accommodation. Need we wonder, therefore, at the disappearance of ruins, after the long lapse of twenty centuries of such Vandalism? I once saw the fragments of a beautiful marble statue which had been broken up for the lime-kiln! And if a sarcophagus is discovered, no matter how admirable the workmanship, you must be very expeditious if you hope to rescue it from their destructive hands. Such a one was lately uncovered here at Sidon, adorned with beautiful devices, wrought with exquisite skill. One of our friends heard of it, and went the very next morning to secure it, but too late. The owner of the ground had broken it to fragments to build into his garden wall! You need not hesitate, therefore, about the identity of an ancient site, merely from the fact that the existing ruins do not correspond to the demands of its history.
View From Neby Yahyeh
February 12Th.
We have had another charming walk through the gardens up to Neby Yahyeh, and certainly the prospect from the Neby is exceedingly beautiful.
It is; but that from the high point two miles further south, called El Mŭnterah, is much more striking and extensive. Take your stand on the ruins of the temple which once crowned that promontory, and gaze down on plain, sea, and city, six hundred feet below, and if you are not charmed, I shall despair of satisfying your fastidious taste. But we need not lavish all our admiration an Sidon's surroundings, lovely as they certainly are. Many other spots will challenge equal admiration.
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It may be so; but can anything of the kind be more rich and ravishing than those orange and lemon trees, loaded with golden fruit, single or in compact clusters, garnished with leaves of liveliest green, and spangled all over with snow white flowers of sweetest fragrance? With a little distance to lend enchantment, Sidon's fair daughters gliding through these verdant bowers might pass for “ladies of the Hesperides,” as Milton has it, set to watch these golden apples. Then those bananas, with their extraordinary leaves a dozen feet long, and drooping like great pendent ears, strike my fancy exceedingly. I cannot say that I am yet reconciled to the fruit. When green it looks like our paw-paw of Ohio, and when ripe has a sickish-sweet taste, and a doughy feel in the mouth. Miss Bremer says she thought she was biting into soap!
Fruits of the Bible
Yes; but she soon became extravagantly fond of them, and so will you. Did it ever occur to you to compare the list of modern fruits with those mentioned in the Bible? The result will probably surprise you. In numberless places we read of grapes and figs, pomegranates, olives, dates, apples, and almonds, and these cover almost the entire list. But here, in Sidon, we have all these, and, in addition, oranges, lemons, citrons, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, quinces, bananas, prickly pears, and many smaller berries and fruits, none of which are once named in the Bible. The same superiority characterizes the modern Flora. There is no allusion to our glorious oleanders, which adorn every water-course in the land.
Flowers of Sidon
It is doubtful whether even the rose is mentioned. The word khŭbbāzleh, translated “rose” in the Song of Solomon (Song of Sol. 2:11I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Song of Solomon 2:1)) and in Isaiah (Isa. 35:11The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. (Isaiah 35:1)), is so like our Arabic name of the malva, khubbazy, as to suggest the inquiry whether a beautifully flowering variety of this plant was not the “rose” of the Hebrew poets. We have them very large, double, and richly variegated. Some are perennial, and grow into a prettily shaped bush. Again, there is no mention of pinks, or geraniums, or the clematis, the ivy, the honeysuckle, or of scores of other flowers which add so much to the beauty of the hedges, and forests, and fields of Palestine. What a pity that Solomon's botany is lost, in which “he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon, to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall!” (1 Kings 4:3333And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. (1 Kings 4:33)). The cedar we know, but what is the hyssop of the royal botanist? Mr. B—, French consul of this city, and an enthusiastic botanist, exhibited to me two varieties of hyssop; one, called z'atar by the Arabs, having the fragrance of thyme, with a hot, pungent taste, and long, slender stems. A bunch of these would answer very well for sprinkling the paschal and sacrificial blood on the lintel and posts of the doors (Ex. 12:2222And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. (Exodus 12:22)), and over the persons and houses cleansed from the leprosy. Mr. B—, however, thinks that a very small green plant, like a moss which covers old walls in damp places, is the hyssop of Solomon. This I doubt. The other kind also springs out of walls, those of the gardens especially, and was much more likely to attract the attention of the royal student.
Native Reunions
I begin to understand your “reunions,” and have been highly entertained by them. I am amused with that ceremonious politeness kept up between these intimate friends. When one enters the room, all rise to their feet, and stand steadfast and straight as a palm-tree to receive him.
Visiting Customs
The formal salam is given and taken all round the room, with the dignity of a prince and the gravity of a court; and when the new-comer reaches his seat, the ceremony is repeated in precisely the same words. In one of your full divans, therefore, a man gives and receives about fifty salams before he is fairly settled and at his ease. Then comes the solemnity of coffee and smoking, with a great variety of apparatus. Some use the extemporaneous cigarette, obviously a modern innovation. Others have pipes with long sterns of cherry or other wood, ornamented with amber mouth-pieces. The argeleh, however, with its flexible tube of various-colored leather, seems to be the greatest favorite. Some of these are very elegant. The tube of the one brought to
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me the other evening was at least sixteen feet long, of bright green leather, corded with silver wire; the bottle, or kuzzazeh, as you call it, was very large, of thick cut glass, inlaid with gold, really rich and beautiful. I, however, could produce no effect upon the water in the bottle. One needs a chest deep as a whale, and powers of suction like another maelstrom, to entice the smoke down the tube, through the water, and along the coiled sinuosities of the snake, or nabridj; and yet I saw a lady make the kuzzazeh bubble like a boiling caldron without any apparent effort. The black coffee, in tiny cup, set in holders of china, brass, or silver filigree, I like well enough, but not this dreadful fumigation.
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A cloud soon fills the room so dense that we can scarcely see each other and I am driven to the open court to escape suffocation. Another thing which surprises me is the vehemence of the speakers.
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Loud Speaking
When fairly roused, all talk together at the top of their voices, and a great way above anything of the kind I have ever heard. Noticing my surprise, one said to me, “You Americans talk as if you were afraid to be heard, and we as if we feared we should not be.” Indeed, it is an incessant tempest of grating gutturals, which sets one's teeth on edge; and, in addition, head and shoulders, hands and feet, the whole body, in fact, is wrought up into violent action to enforce the orator's meaning. I wonder how you comprehend a single sentence.
We are used to it and, unless a stranger calls attention to that which has confounded you, we never notice it. I wish you could have understood the discussions, for they embraced some of those grand and solemn themes which can and ought to stir the deepest fountains of feeling in the human breast. The Arabs delight in such questions.
My two young friends, who speak English, kept me aware of the leading topics as they came up; but it was a great annoyance not to be able to appreciate the remarks which so interested the company.
Eastern and Western Manners
We finally took a corner to ourselves, and fell into an extended comparison between Oriental and Western manners and customs. They maintained that we had invented and shaped ours on purpose to contradict theirs—theirs, the original; ours, copies reversed or caricatured. Of course, the weighty questions about beards, and mustaches, and shaved heads, were duly discussed, with respect to beauty, convenience, cleanliness, and health. Escaping from this tangle of the beard, we fell into another about long garments, and short, tight, and loose; and here they were confident of victory. Our clothes seem to them uncomfortable and immodest; and this is about the truth, if we must sit “asquat” on our heels, as the Orientals do; but with chairs and sofas, their objection has but little force, while for active life our fashion is far the best. Long, loose clothes are ever in the way, working, walking, or riding; and I suspect that they aid materially in producing that comparative inactivity which distinguishes Orientals from Occidentals. As to the mere matter of comeliness, we may admit their claim to some apparent superiority. The lords of the easel and the chisel with the sons of song in every age and country, have so decreed, and it is vain to resist.
Dress and Costume
These matters of dress and costume have a certain Biblical interest, and therefore form a necessary part of our study. The first garments were manufactured by God himself, and, in addition to their primary intention, had, as I believe, a typical significance. The skins with which the two first sinners, penitent and reconciled, were clothed, were those of the lambs offered in sacrifice, and not obscurely symbolized the robes of righteousness purchased for penitent believers by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on Calvary. And in many subsequent incidents and institutions, garments are invested with a religious and typical signification. Such facts elevate the subject far above the category of mere trivialities. But, indeed, that cannot be a matter of indifference to the Christian student and philosopher in which all men, all women, all children, of every age and country, have, do, and will, to the end of time, feel a deep solicitude, and upon which is expended an infinite amount of time, money, and labor. It would be a curious exercise of ingenuity to trace out the very gradual development of human costume, from the first fig-leaves and coats of skins, to the complicated toilets of a highly-civilized society. We, however, must restrict ourselves to the Bible.
The list is not extensive until the times of the later prophets.
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Aprons of fig-leaves, man's first vain invention to hide the nakedness of sin — coats of skin, given in mercy by our heavenly Father — cloaks, mantles, shirts, breeches, girdles, bonnets, and sandals, invented at various dates, and most of them consecrated to religious purposes by Moses in the garments of the Hebrew priesthood — these constitute almost the entire wardrobe for the first three thousand years of man's history. The fact is, that the whole subject is much more doubtful and obscure than most people suppose. The ancient Hebrew costume is thought to have resembled, more or less closely, the Oriental dress of our day. But which? I would like to know. It differs more than that of Western nations. We shall select that of the Syrian Arab, which in all probability does actually approach nearest to that of the patriarchs; and with the aid of engravings, accompanied by explanations, the size and shape of the various articles, as well as the ordinary mode of wearing them, will be sufficiently apparent. You need not attempt to remember, or even pronounce the Arabic names; but it is difficult to talk about nameless things, and therefore we cannot dispense with these hard words.
LIST OF GARMENTS, WITH THEIR ARABIC NAMES EXPLAINED
Articles of Modern Costume
Kumîs, inner shirt, of cotton, linen, or silk. Those of the Bedawîn are long, loose, and made of strong cotton cloth,—the most important item in their wardrobe.
Libās, inner drawers of cotton cloth.
Shintiān, drawers, very full.
Sherwāl, very large, loose pantaloons.
Dikky, a cord or sash with which the pantaloons are gathered and tied round the waist.
Sudeîyeh, an inner waistcoat, without sleeves, buttoned up to the neck.
Mintiān, an inner jacket, worn over the suderîyeh, overlapping in front,—has pockets for purse, handkerchief, &c.
Gumbāz or Kūftān, long open gown of cotton or silk, overlapping in front, girded tightly above the loins by the zŭnnār.
Zŭnnār, girdle of leather, camels' hair, cotton, silk, or woolen shawls.
Sŭlta, an outer jacket worn over the gŭmbaz.
Kŭbrān, a stout, heavy jacket, with open sleeves fastened on at the shoulder by buttons.
Jibbeh, Jûkh, Benîsk, a long loose robe or mantle, with short sleeves, very full, used in full dress.
'Aba, 'Abaiyeh, Meshleh, a strong, coarse cloak, of various forms and materials. The 'abaiyeh is often short, and richly ornamented with gold and silver thread in-woven with the cloth. The most common are made of black sackcloth, of goats' or camels' hair, very large, so that the owner wraps himself in it to sleep.
Bûrnûs, long loose cloak of white wool, with a hood to cover the head. It is sometimes called mŭgrabin,
from the Algeria Arabs.
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For the head there is, first, the—
'Arŭkîyeh or Takîyeh, a cotton cap fitting closely to the head, whether shaven or not. If the head is shaved, a soft felt cap is often worn under the takîyeh.
Tarbush, or Fez, a thick red felt cap. The best come from Algiers.
Turban, a shawl of wool, silk, or cotton, wound round the tarbush. The Turks now wear nothing but the fez, and many Arabs nothing but the tarbush, with its long tassel. Others have a small colored handkerchief (mandeel) tied round the tar-bush. The Bedawin have a heavier article, woven with golden tissue, thrown over the tarbush, and confined there by a twisted rope of goats' or camels' hair, called Akal. This is a picturesque and very distinctive article in the costume of a genuine Arab of the Desert.
For the feet there is, first,—
Jerabāt or Kalsāt, socks or stockings of every variety.
Kalshîn, inner slippers of soft leather, yellow or black.
Sŭrmaiyeh, shoes, commonly of red morocco.
Bābûje, a kind of half slipper, answering in part to the ancient sandal, which is not now used.
Jezmeh, boots of red morocco, very stout and clumsy.
There are many variations and additions to this list in different parts of the vast regions inhabited by the Arab race; they are, however, only slight departures from the general types and patterns given above, and need not be described.
MamlŭK Dress
The Mamlŭk dress is considered very graceful by Europeans. It is the official costume of the army and navy of Egypt, or was in the days of Mohammed Ali.
Different Garments Referred to in Bible
To the Biblical student, these matters are specially interesting so far only as they throw light on the sacred Scriptures; but this they do in very many passages. For example, it was the 'aba or meshleh, I suppose, with which Shem and Japheth covered the nakedness of their father (Gen. 9:2323And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. (Genesis 9:23)). It was the Jibbeh that Joseph left in the hands of that shameless wife of Potiphar, called Zuleîka, according to Moslem tradition (Gen. 39:1212And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. (Genesis 39:12)). This jibbeh may answer to the mantle which fell from Elijah, and was taken up by Elisha (2 Kings 2:8,138And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. (2 Kings 2:8)
13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; (2 Kings 2:13)); to the cloak in the precept, “If a man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also” (Matt. 5:4040And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. (Matthew 5:40)). The coat is probably the stilts. It was this jibbeh that our Savior laid aside when he washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:44He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. (John 13:4)). It can be so worn, or taken off, or torn in grief or rage, as to answer every mention of it in the Bible. The same remark applies to the zŭnnār or girdle, to the sŭrmaiyeh and bābûj—the shoes and sandals—and, in fact, to all other articles of dress which we have described.
By the time of Moses, the costume, I presume, had attained to about its present state among tribes purely Oriental; I mean as to pattern, not as to the number, nature, and quality of the materials. These have greatly multiplied and improved, both in variety and fineness of fabrics.
The toilet of the ladies corresponds in most respects to that of the men, with, of course, certain additions. As was to be expected, it developed faster than the other. Even during the life of Jacob there were habits appropriate to maids, others to married women, and others again for widows; such, too, as distinguished those who were honest, and another habit for those who were otherwise. This implies a great variety in female attire; and thus it went on enlarging, until their toilets became as complicated and mysterious in Jerusalem as they now are in Paris or New York. In the 3rd chapter of Isaiah we have a catalog, about as intelligible to the English reader as the Hebrew seems to have been to our translators: Cawls, round tires like the moon, sweet balls, mufflers or spangled ornaments, tablets or houses of the soul (Isa. 3:18-2318In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21The rings, and nose jewels, 22The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. (Isaiah 3:18‑23)), and so on, and so on, and so on. It would require half a volume to discuss these names, and then they would be about as unintelligible as when we began.
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I cannot muster sufficient courage to enter minutely into the female costume, nor is it necessary. It varies from that of the men mostly in the veils, which are very various, and in the head-dress, which with the tarbush for the basis, is complicated by an endless variety of jewels and other ornamental appendages; these, however, appear in the engravings, and can be better studied there than on the persons who wear them. You will not easily get permission to inspect them there.
To ask it would be, in most cases, a serious insult.
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It is a remarkable fact, that after the first mention of coats in Genesis 3:2121Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21), we hear no more about garments of any kind for sixteen or eighteen hundred years. Shem and Japheth, after the Deluge, had a garment so large that they laid it on each of their shoulders, in order to cover the nakedness of their drunken father without beholding his shame. Several hundred years later—in Abraham's day—we read of shoes, and of raiment presented to Rebekah; and she covered herself with a veil when Isaac met her. Later in life, she had goodly raiment of her son Esau with her in the house. Then comes the coat of many colors, the occasion of sad calamities to Joseph; Reuben, not finding the lad in the pit, rent his clothes — the first time this action is mentioned. Jacob also rent his; and in after ages this expression of grief becomes common, as the fabrics out of which the garments were made became of a finer texture, and more easily torn.
The Materials – Linen, Woolen, Cotton
The materials first used were skins of animals, and many people are clothed with them at this day. Afterward linen and woolen fabrics were invented, and coarse cloth woven from the hair of camels and goats. Silk is mentioned in Proverbs 31:2222She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. (Proverbs 31:22) and in Ezekiel 16:10,1310I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. (Ezekiel 16:10)
13Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. (Ezekiel 16:13), but I suppose hemp is meant. There is no reason to suppose that Solomon's “virtuous wife” was acquainted with silk; nor was cotton known to the Jews until after the captivity. Possibly the mils or math of Ezekiel was cotton. The Egyptians, and of course the Hebrews, were early skilled in embroidery with tissue of silver and gold; and Orientals are still extravagantly fond of embroidered garments. As to fine-twined linen, so celebrated among the Israelites in the wilderness and elsewhere, we must understand the term relatively. All Egyptian linen is coarse, and always was to judge from the wrappings of ancient mummies, even of kings. The favorite colors, as every reader of the Bible knows, were blue, and purple, and scarlet; and the same taste prevails in Syria, and in the East generally, to this day.
Philosophy of Dress
Let us turn philosophers in a small way while we look further into these Oriental manners, customs, and costumes. Search deep enough, and I believe you will generally find that the customs of every people are the joint result of many causes acting together—a great network of necessity and compensation. The Oriental costume, for example, is light and loose, because the climate is warm. They do not sit on chairs, because they are hard, perpendicular, and uncomfortable, and the relaxed system in this country requires an easier and more recumbent posture to insure rest and refreshment. Under these circumstances tight garments are very inconvenient and incongruous.
Then, as you observe, they scrupulously drop their slippers, shoes, or boots at the door when they enter a room, and keep on their head-dress. This seems strange to us, but it is necessary. As they sit on the mat, rug, or divan, with their feet under them, shoes would soil both couch and clothes, and, besides, would make a very uncomfortable seat.
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Putting off Shoes
The demands of decency and the calls of comfort introduced and enforced the custom of dropping the shoe at the entrance into the sitting-room, and it was thence extended to every place entitled to respect. From this to the idea of defilement from the shoe was but a step, and certain to be taken. Hence the strict requisition to put it off on entering temples and sacred places of every kind. Mohammedans have preserved this idea in all its force, and you cannot enter any of their mosques or holy shrines with your shoes on. This custom was probably established in Egypt before Moses was born, and he was trained up to regard it as obligatory.
Moses at the Burning Bush
When, therefore, God appeared to him in the burning bush, he needed only to be reminded that the place whereon he stood was holy ground, to make the direction to put off his shoe at once intelligible and reasonable. And, so long as the Oriental custom of sitting on the mat or rug is kept up, so long will it be necessary to drop the shoe at the door; and being necessary in private, domestic life, it would be disrespectful and contemptuous to enter holy places with them on. The custom is reasonable and right, and we should not hesitate to conform to it. Then the people keep their head-dress on, both because the shaven and naked rotundity requires to be concealed, and also for the sake of health. Always covered and closely shaved, the head becomes tender, and liable to colds on the least exposure.
Head Dress
The shaving of the head, I suppose, had reference originally to cleanliness, and to avoid scab and other cutaneous diseases, which are extremely prevalent, and difficult to subdue.
Ours, no doubt, is the highest style and the better way. It is better to keep the head clean and cool, and accustomed to bear change of temperature, with only the beautiful covering which God has spread over it. It is also best and most becoming to keep the feet covered and warm. But in this climate people do not often suffer from cold feet; and the demands of decency are secured by strictly covering them under their loose garments. The ablutions which Mohammed required before public worship have as much reference to propriety as to spiritual or ceremonial purity.
Washing the Feet
With soiled shoes or filthy feet, the performance of Mohammedan prayer, with its genuflections and prostrations, would be an exhibition of positive indecency; and, without washing, the odor from hundreds of naked feet would be intolerable. Becomingly dressed in loose, flowing robes, and thoroughly cleansed hands, feet, and face, their prayers are not only decent, but striking and solemn. The dress of Oriental ladies is not so easily defended. It is not so full as ours,—shows more the shape of the person; and, while the face is veiled, the bosom is exposed in a way not at all in accordance with our ideas of propriety. But a general remark will help to explain the origin or basis of this seeming inconsistency. Those who set the female fashions of the East are not expected or allowed to mix in society with men, nor even to be seen by them. When they go abroad, they are closely veiled from head to foot. Their in-door dress is not contrived to meet the demands of a public exhibition.
Veils of Ladies
The reasons (and such there are) for thus confining the women very much to their homes, and of closely veiling them when abroad, are found in the character of Oriental people from remote ages; and the veils can never be safely abolished, nor these domestic regulations relaxed, until a pure and enlightened Christianity has prepared the way. If I had the power to remove them at once, I would not. They are a necessary compensation for true modesty in both sexes. When, therefore, you find no ladies to welcome and entertain you in your calls, and never see them in our evening gatherings, you may moderate your regret by the reflection that this is the result of a great moral necessity.
Separation From Males
The same necessity forbids a gentleman to walk arm in arm with a lady. She has no arm at liberty; and if she had, the proprieties of life would be shocked by such an action. Neither can a man in many families eat with his wife and daughters, because the meal is in the public room, and often before strange men. So, also, the ladies are accommodated in church with a part railed off, and latticed to shield them from public gaze. Moslem women never join in the prayers at the mosques.
These customs are often carried out into exaggerations and extremes by pride and jealousy, and then they are not only absurd, but barbarous. For example, a Druse sheikh, or wealthy Moslem, when he calls a physician for any of his harem, makes a great mystery of the matter.
A Doctors’ Visit
The poor creature is closely veiled, and if the doctor insists upon seeing her tongue, there is much cautious maneuvering to avoid exposure. I have even known cases where the tongue was thrust through a rent in the veil made for the purpose! This is sufficiently absurd, and yet I am acquainted with a sheikh who carries these jealous precautions to a still more ridiculous extreme. He never allows his women to go out of the harem (women's apartments) except at night, and not then until servants are sent ahead to clear the roads.
The reluctance of even enlightened Christian men to speak of the females of their families is amusing to us, and certainly not very complimentary to the ladies. For example, according to the genuine old regime, a man, when absent from home, never writes to his wife, but to his son, if he have one, though not a month old; and often he addresses his letter to a fictitious son, whom for the time he imagines he has, or ought to have; and if he meets any one direct from home, he will inquire after everybody but his wife. She must not be mentioned, even though she is known to be sick. At such customs we can afford to smile, but there are others which admit of no excuse or apology. They are infamous, and degrading to the sex.
Degradation of Females
The Arabs have a word “ajellack”—by which they preface the mention of anything indelicate or unclean. Thus, ajellack a donkey, or a dog, or my shoes; so, when compelled to speak of their women, they say, “Ajellack my woman,” or simply “The woman is so and so.” This is abominable, and springs from thoughts still more so. These and similar customs enable us to understand why it is that acquaintance before marriage is ordinarily out of the question. It could not be secured without revolutionizing an extended system of domestic regulations and compensations; and, if attempted rashly, would open the door to immorality and corruption. Therefore, the present plan of arranging matters matrimonial through the intervention of friends and relatives, as it was in times most remote, must be continued, with all its evils, until a wide and general change is brought about in the condition of the women. This must be gradual, and can only be safely effected by a truly Christian education, and by a great purification and elevation of the marriage institution.
It is considered quite immodest for an unmarried lady to manifest any special regard for her future husband. The first thought seems to be that of pollution. This is a great and fatal error, fruitful in evils of many kinds. But we need not pursue this subject any further. Our object is to notice manners and customs which reveal the interior economy of Oriental society, and which, in one way or another, serve to elucidate the numerous allusions to such matters in the Bible.
The birth of a son is always a joyful event in a family, but that of a daughter is often looked upon as a calamity. The husband and father refuses to see his child, or speak to the mother; and the friends and relatives, particularly the females, upbraid the innocent sufferer, and condole with the unkind husband, as if he were very badly treated. Worse than this, in those communities where divorce is permitted, this is often the only reason assigned by the brutal husband for sending away his wife. This accounts for the intense desire which many of these poor creatures manifest to become the mother of sons,—not a whit less vehement than that of Rachel, who said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die” (Gen. 30:11And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. (Genesis 30:1)). They also employ the same kind of means to compass their object that were used thousands of years ago. Not only do they resort to all sorts of quacks and medical empirics for relief, but make vows, as did Samuel's mother in Shiloh, when she was in bitterness of soul, and wept sore, and vowed a vow unto the Lord (1 Sam. 1:10-1110And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 11And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (1 Samuel 1:10‑11)). They also make numerous pilgrimages to such shrines as have obtained a reputation in these matters.
Polygamy
Among Moslems, where polygamy is tolerated, and particularly in Egypt, as Lane informs us, instances are not wanting in which wives have acted as Sarah did to Abraham, and Leah and Rachel to Jacob. But these devices, which produced such great irregularities and heart-burnings in the families of the patriarchs, are equally mischievous at the present day. The circumstance mentioned in Genesis 16:44And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:4), which made Hagar insolent toward her mistress, has the same effect now. If the first wife has no children, the husband marries another or takes a slave; and it not unfrequently happens that the fortunate slave, when the mother of a son, is promoted to the post of honor and authority,—which she, of course, uses with insolence toward her former mistress. The whole system is productive of evil, and that only, to the individual, the family, and the community.
Many singular customs grow out of this high appreciation of children. One is the frequency and want of modesty in talking about a subject which is banished from the list of conversable topics with us. In this country, it is now discussed just as it was in Bible days, and in exactly the same terms.
Assumption of Son’s Name
Another odd custom is, that the father assumes the name of his firstborn son. Tannûs, the father of the infant Besharah, for example, is no longer Tannûs, but Abu Besharah, and this not merely in common parlance, but in legal documents and on all occasions. It is, in fact, no longer respectful to call him 'anus. So, also, the mother is ever afterward called Em Besharah, “mother of Besharah.” And still more absurd, when a man is married and has no son, the world gives him one by a courtesy peculiarly Oriental, and then calls him by his supposed son's name. Even unmarried men are often dignified by the honorable title of Abu somebody or other, the name bestowed being decided by that which he previously bore. Thus Elias becomes Abu Nasîf, Butrus is called Abu Salim, and so on, according to the established custom of naming firstborn sons.
13th.
I noticed that the friend at whose house we dined last evening sent a servant to call us when dinner was ready. Is this custom generally observed?
Not very strictly among the common people, nor in cities, where Western manners have greatly modified the Oriental; but in Lebanon it still prevails. If a sheikh, beg, or emeer invites, he always sends a servant to call you at the proper time.
Calling to a Feast
This servant often repeats the very formula mentioned in Luke 14:1717And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (Luke 14:17): “Tefŭddŭlû, el 'asha hâder”—”Come, for the supper is ready.”The fact that this custom is mainly confined to the wealthy and to the nobility is in strict agreement with the parable, where the certain man who made the great supper, and bade many, is supposed to be of this class. It is true now, as then, that to refuse is a high insult to the maker of the feast, nor would such excuses as those in the parable be more acceptable to a Druse emeer than they were to the lord of this” great supper”; but, however angry, very few would manifest their displeasure by sending the servants into the highways and hedges after the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind. All these characters are found in abundance in our streets, and I have known rich men who filled out the costume of the parable even in these particulars; it was, however, as matter of ostentation, to show the extent of their benevolence, and the depth of their humility and condescension. Nevertheless, it is pleasant to find enough of the drapery of this parable still practiced to show that originally it was, in all its details, in close conformity to the customs of this country.
Bible Names
The discussion the other evening about names interested me not a little, as illustrating ancient customs in this matter. Nearly all Bible names were significant, and were conferred with reference to some circumstance connected with the birth of the child. Such things carry one back to the households of the patriarchs. Leah called her firstborn Reuben, for she said, “The Lord hath looked upon my affliction” (Gen. 29:3232And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. (Genesis 29:32)); the second was named Simeon — hearing, for the Lord had heard her prayer; and thus it was to the end of the list.
Arabian
The customs are identical, and so are many of the names; but the Arabs have others to which they are very partial. The non-Christian sects often give some derivative of Hamed—praise; now generally in honor of Mohammed, their prophet, but not so originally. All sects join the name of God to one of his attributes, or to some other word, in order to make agreeable names for their children. Thus, Fudle Allah—God's bounty; 'Abd Allah—servant of God. So the word deen—religion—enters into many favorite names; as Hasn ed Deen—beauty of religion; Ameen ed Deen—faithful in religion; Fukhr ed Deen—glory of religion; Sŭlah ed Deen-goodness of religion, contracted by us into Saladin, the antagonist of England's lion-hearted Richard, and the terror of Crusaders.
Poetical Names of Daughters
For daughters, the Arabs are fond of flowery and poetic names. We have all about us, among servants, washerwomen, and beggars, suns, and stars, and full moons, and roses, and lilies, and jessamines, and diamonds, and pearls, and every other beautiful epithet you can think of. And, as the parents assume the names of their children, we hear these poor creatures addressed continually as The-father-of-God’s-bounty (Abu Fudle Allah), and the Mother-of-the-Full-Moon, and so forth, and so forth, through the whole list of poetic fancies.
Families Sleeping Together
There are many minor matters in which the East and the West are as far apart socially as they are geographically. For example, a whole family, parents, children, and servants, sleep in the same room, and with slight change of garments, or none at all. Both these customs are alluded to in the Bible. The first in the plea of the lazy man in the parable about importunity: “My children are with me in bed; I cannot arise and give thee” (Luke 11:5-85And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11:5‑8)); and the second is implied in the reason assigned by Moses for the return of a garment taken in pledge from a poor man before the sun goes down: “It is his covering of his flesh; wherein shall he sleep?” (Exod 22:27). The long, loose garments worn by this people remove, or at least mitigate, the impropriety of this practice; but with all that, it is objectionable. So, also, a whole family continue to reside under the same roof, father, sons, and grandsons, in one common household. This also is ancient; but it is very repugnant to our ideas, and has many disadvantages. Nor does the fact that they can live cheaper by such a common-stock arrangement compensate for the confusion and want of family government occasioned by the system. There never can be well-regulated households until this custom is broken up, or so modified as to call forth greater personal responsibility and independence in the younger branches of the family.
Serving Dinner
Orientals are also far behind the day in almost every branch of domestic economy, especially in table furniture and their mode of eating. The general custom, even of the better classes, is to bring a polygonal stool, about fourteen inches high, into the common sitting-room. On this is placed a tray of basketwork or of metal, generally copper, upon which the food is arranged. The bread lies on the mat beneath the tray, and a cruse of water stands near by, from which all drink as they have need.
ILLUSTRATION
On formal occasions, this is held in the hand by a servant, who waits upon the guests. Around this stool and tray the guests gather, sitting on the floor. The dishes are most generally stews of rice, beans, burgul (cracked wheat),with soups or sauces as the case may be, in deep dishes or bowls. Some use wooden or metal spoons for their stews and thick soups, but the most common mode is to double up bits of their thin bread, spoon fashion, and dip them into the dish. There is frequent reference to this custom in some of the most interesting and some of the most solemn scenes of the Bible.
Spoons. No Knives or Forks
The richer sort use silver spoons; but they have neither knives nor forks, nor do they know how to use them. This is a very meager set-out certainly; but they will tell you that it is all they want, and is every way more convenient than our custom, and immeasurably less expensive. High tables and chairs would not only be out of place at the time, but in the way at all times. They do not have a separate dining-room, and hence they want an apparatus that can be easily brought in and removed, and this they have. They all eat out of the same dish, and why not? It is within reach, and it gives a better relish to dip their thin bread into the general hot mess, than to take out a portion on separate plates and use spoons. As their meat is always cut up into stews, or else cooked until it is ready to fall to pieces, knives and forks are useless; and when they have chickens, they are easily torn to pieces with their fingers. Nor do they see any vulgarity in this. The very polite la mode Oriental will tear up the best bits, and either lay them next to you, or insist on putting them into your mouth. I have had this done for me by digits not particularly fair, or even clean.
ILLUSTRATION
Economy of Labor
You observe that things correspond with one another. And there is this great economic advantage in their way, that it demands much less labor than ours. If our system were introduced at once, and the females of the family (who do all the work) were required to carry it out correctly and decently, their labor would be increased tenfold. Not only must an entirely new apparatus be procured, and kept clean and bright, but also the table, table-linen, and chairs, and the separate room must be provided. Indeed, an entirely new and foreign department must be instituted and maintained under every disadvantage. Where this has been attempted in the families of native consuls, and others aping European manners, it has generally proved a miserable failure.
Imitation of the West
The knives, forks, and spoons are rusty; the plates, dishes, and glasses ill-assorted, dirty, badly arranged, and not in sufficient quantity; the chairs are rickety, and the table stands on legs spasmodic and perilous. The whole thing, in short, is an uncomfortable burlesque or a provoking caricature. Then the cookery must be Frank as well as the furniture, which is worst of all. I have stood in terror before some of these compounds of dyspepsia and nightmare. No, no; let the Arabs retain their own commissary and dietetic regulations, at least until things are better prepared for a change than at present. In their own way their cooking is good, and their set-out respectable.
Washing Hands
Of course, after such a meal as we have described, washing the hands and mouth is indispensable (it ought to be before, but is not), and the ibr̂iek and tûsht—their pitcher and ewer—are always brought, and the servant, with a napkin over his shoulder, pours on your hands.
Servant to Pour Water
If there is no servant, they perform this office for each other. Great men have those about them whose special business is to pour water on their hands.
It was an apparatus somewhat like this tûsht and ibrîek that our Lord used at the close of his last supper with his disciples, when he girded himself with a napkin, and washed, not their hands, but their feet, and thus gave the most affecting lesson on humility the world has ever seen or heard.
There are many minor contrasts, some of which are rather amusing. When friends meet, they do not shake hands, but strike the tips of the fingers together, and sometimes grasp tightly the whole hand. If it is a priest, emeer, or high officer of any kind, the back of the hand must be kissed.
ILLUSTRATION
This is strictly enforced, and the neglect or refusal is a great offense. The clergy are particularly stringent in claiming this mark of respect. The more common mode of salutation is to raise the hand to the breast, or to the lips and forehead. Friends who have been long separated embrace, and kiss either one or both cheeks and generally each shoulder. This kissing among men strikes us as very odd, but there are numberless references to it in the Bible. The “brethren” are often enjoined by the apostles to salute one another with the kiss of brotherly love and holy charity. The women kiss each other on all occasions, and ad nauseam; but the different sexes are very reserved in their mutual salutations, and do not even touch each other's hands.
Ornaments. Singular Use of Piasters
Arab ladies, particularly the married, are extravagantly fond of silver and gold ornaments; and they have an endless variety of chains, bracelets, anklets, necklaces, and rings. It is also quite common to see thousands of piasters, in various coins around the forehead, suspended from the neck, and covering a
ILLUSTRATION
system of net-work, called sŭffa, attached to the back of the head-dress, which spreads over the shoulders, and falls down to the waist. These jewels cannot be taken for the husband's debts. A poor man often goes to prison for a few piasters, while thousands glitter and jingle on the dress of his wife. This is very provoking to the creditor, who knows that his money has been purposely attached to these inviolable ornaments, so that he may not get hold of it.
Fondness of Married Women for Ornaments
Married women are much more eager after ornaments than unmarried. The former also adorn themselves more elaborately, and endeavor to add to their beauty by wearing gay flowers, by painting their cheeks, putting kahl around their eyes, and arching their eyebrows with the same, and by staining their hands and feet with henna. It is considered indelicate for the unmarried thus to deck themselves, and conveys an impression highly injurious to the girl's moral character.
ILLUSTRATION
They do not even wash their faces, or at least not openly. It is one of the strange anomalies of Oriental society that the tailors make the ladies' dresses; but, as their garments are infinitely large, and never designed to fit, there is no measuring needed, nor trying on of garments under the hand and eye of the tailor. This, in some degree, removes the objections on the score of delicacy, but not on that of propriety and economy.
Inequality of Women
Oriental women are never regarded or treated as equals by the men. This is seen on all occasions; and it requires some firmness to secure to our own ladies proper respect, especially from men-servants. They pronounce women to be weak and inferior in the most absolute terms; and in accordance with this idea is their deportment toward them. Even in polite company the gentlemen must be served first. So the husband and brothers sit down and eat, and the wife, mother, and sisters wait and take what is left. If the husband or the brothers accompany their female relatives anywhere, they walk before, and the women follow at a respectful distance. It is very common to see small boys lord it over both mother and sisters in a most insolent manner, and they are encouraged to do so by the father. The evils resulting from this are incalculable. The men, however, attempt to justify their treatment of the women by the tyrant's plea of necessity. They are obliged to govern the wives with the utmost strictness, or they would not only ruin their husbands, but themselves also.
The Rod
Hence they literally use the rod upon them, especially when they have, or imagine they have, cause to doubt the wife's fidelity. Instances are not rare in which the husband kills the wife outright for this cause, and no legal notice is taken of the murder; and, in general, the man relies on fear to keep the wife in subjection, and to restrain her from vice. She is confined closely, watched with jealousy, and everything valuable is kept under lock and key; necessarily so, they say, for the wife will not hesitate to rob her husband if she gets an opportunity. There are many pleasing exceptions, especially among the younger Christian families. But, on the whole, the cases are rare where the husband has not, at some time or other, resorted to the lash to enforce obedience in his rebellious household.
Neglect of Education. Improvement
Most sensible men readily admit that this whole system is a miserable compensation to mitigate evils flowing from the very great crime of neglecting the education of females; and, during the last few years, a change has taken place in public sentiment on this subject among the intelligent Christians in Lebanon and the cities along the coast, and a strong desire to educate the females is fast spreading among them.
Writing Apparatus
Among these minor manners and matters, we are always struck with their writing materials, and their mode of using them. They do not carry inkhorns now, as the prophets and scribes of old did, but have an apparatus consisting of a metal or ebony tube for their reed pens, with a cup or bulb of the same material, attached to the upper end, for the ink. This they thrust through the girdle, and carry with them at all times. When they are to write a letter, for example, they open the lid of the ink-bulb, draw out a long reed pen from the tube, double over the paper, and begin from the right side of the page, holding the paper in the hand without any other support. They have a stereotyped introduction, overloaded with flowers and compliments, and richly seasoned with love, no matter to whom they are writing, friend or enemy.
ILLUSTRATION
After this rigmarole, which, if it have any meaning, is an egregious lie, they make a formal epitome of the letter which they are to answer, repeating it, word for word, as is so often done in the Bible. They date at the bottom, but rarely mention the place; and I have often been at a loss to discover who the writer was, and where to address my reply. Young men of business in the cities are adopting our mode of dating. Nearly everybody wears a seal-ring, on the finger, suspended from his watch-chain, or attached to his purse, having his name engraven upon it; and this he affixes to all important letters and papers—another Biblical custom preserved in all its extent. If you wish to be very respectful, you must take a large sheet, and the lines should incline upward toward the left corner of the paper. It must be folded long, like documents on file, placed within a nicely-cut envelope made for the occasion, and the address written across the letter. It must be sealed.
An Open Letter
The open letter, therefore, or paper sent by Sanballat to Nehemiah (6:5) was an insult. Arabic books, both manuscript and printed, begin where ours end, their first page being our last.
Sandals of Females
The females in many places wear only sandals, which they easily drop whenever they step on a mat or rug. In other places they walk on “kŭbkobs,” a wooden sandal, elevated on upright bits of board, sometimes, as in Damascus, afoot high, which make a great clattering and stamping on the pavement. These are dropped at the door of the room, and the lady descends from what seems rather a perilous elevation. The Damascus kŭbkobs are very prettily ornamented with mother-of-pearl, and the band which passes over the foot is often worked with pearls and other rich ornaments.
Sitting at Work
The people of this country sit at all kinds of work. The carpenter saws, planes, and hews with his hand-adze sitting on the ground or upon the plank he is planning. The washer-woman sits by the tub; and, in a word, no one stands where it is possible to sit. Shopkeepers always sit; and Levi sitting at the receipt of custom is the exact way to state the case (Matt. 9:99And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)). There are no ladies' saddles in Syria, and the women ride just as do the men,—which appears to us not only ungraceful, but not even modest.
Knocking
Though Orientals are very jealous of their privacy, yet they never knock when about to enter your room, but walk in without warning or ceremony. It is nearly impossible to teach an Arab servant to knock at your door. They give warning at the enter gate, or entrance, either by calling or knocking.
Standing
To stand and call is a very common and very respectful mode; and thus it was in Bible times, and to it there are many very interesting allusions. Moses commanded the holder of a pledge to stand without, and call to the owner thereof to come forth (Deut. 24:10-1110When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. (Deuteronomy 24:10‑11)). This was to avoid the insolent intrusion of cruel creditors. Peter stood knocking at the outer door (Acts 12:13,1613And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. (Acts 12:13)
16But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. (Acts 12:16)), and so did the three men sent to Joppa by Cornelius (Acts 10:17-1817Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, 18And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. (Acts 10:17‑18)). The idea is that the guard over your privacy is to be placed at the entrance to your premises. But this discussion of manners and customs has taken a very wide ranger and grows heavy on our hands. It is a topic, however, which will be constantly suggested by what passes before our eyes, and it is well to become familiar with it at the outset.