Show ler LETTER FROM PALISTINE the great event of the day here te the conversion of a young lawyer from the greek persuasion to islam the gentleman in question is of a good family well educated and as afta his friends can see no motive for his embracing islam that he dom doce so from honest persuasion peo afe do not believe there seems however ever to be a little romance at the bottom of it A woman who has baa already bad several husbands hall ha captured his heart and as she dm ABU him to embrace the doctrines of the oriental prophet and suffer him self to be circumcised as the price of her chums charms he has agreed to do it lad the prophet has secured one nore laore follower that his friends view tew the matter with suspicion need not be add I 1 was told the other ky y that the young gentleman has undergone quite a change since his hia conversion conver rion through his eyes somo some think sunk they can perceive the other ride peeping have arrived tithe conclusion that the conver non in question has been produced ny Y witchcraft the young man mey oy bay y has been bewitched and hill sweetheart ewt be a sorce sorceress rew it U la Is fortunate that she does not uve live in in that bygone time when witches were erb routed roasted alive for the entertainment of sit fat monks monka and superstitious to me it seems no surprise QUA man can leave that form ot of christianity ora I 1 which is re represented presented by the greek church and prefer evert even islam for with all that can be said against this oriental religion one good side it certainly has it teaches men to worship one god and to hate idolatry in this respect islam Is ie far ahead of catholicism at least it seems to he be the fashion of visitors to the orient and also occidental settlers here to represent the natives ot of the orient and the arabian tribes in particular in very dark colors as to their morality they are said to be cunning covetous and unscrupulous in their modes of acquiring means and so on now after several months stay in palestine I 1 do not feel to join in this common hue and cry it is true that individuals are found who may properly be described as cunning unscrupulous and so on but on this globe of ours are such individuals not ot to be found in england in in germany Germa nv in america in the whole Chi christian world I 1 think not net travelers who have an opportunity of testing the kindness the generosity the virtues of the dregs of christian countries will I 1 hope admit that the shady sons of the sunny east are not worse than their pale ragged brethren in the west I 1 suppose it will be admitted too that a people is not to be d judged budged from the exceptional cases of villainy that may be picked up As far as my experience goes I 1 can say that although I 1 have seen traits of character that are very bad I 1 have also found men and women of the arabian population who for kindness trustworthiness and intelligence telli gence compare very favorably with any set of people I 1 ever met with many of the arabs are really thirsting for progress they want to go forward on the road of civilization and they have proved their faithfulness by adhering to the christian doctrines for centuries often neglected and subjected to hard trials and persecutions people who like the arabian christians are able to remain faithful to such doctrines as they have been ta taught ht and this under a long dark aft night of oppression must have metal within them of high value to the latter day saints who by revelation know that they descend from israel the arabian population in syria should be of special interest firof for of these although called arabs many must be shall I 1 say real our nearest relatives our real bro brothers hers and sisters for there can be no doubt that many of the natives here are ard direct descendants from one or the other of the ten tribes anyone who will reflect a moment on the history of those ten tribes will understand that if genealogies were not lost some of the natives here would no doubt be able to prove that their lathers fathers had dwelt here from the time joshua entered canaan this relationship of the saints and this thia people must somehow or other even be visible on the surface for it was only the other day that a jew with whom I 1 conversed told me that from my appearance he took me to be a Galiz Gail iau jew to which compliment I 1 was able to say that although I 1 was no galician Gali jew yet I 1 claimed to be a descendant of lame israel which claim he did not contradict as it was supported he thought by my features well I 1 thank god for the relationship but taking it for granted does it not involve responsibilities have the latter day saints got a greater light greater privileges wider prospects of an eternal glory should they not dot then hasten to reach a helping hand to their brethren wherever found in order that the promised day of glory might come the sooner through the courtesy of a young friend here I 1 had bad the pleasure or of being present at an oriental wedding an opportunity not always I 1 believe accorded to visitors As the ceremonies now in vogue are in the main features very much the same as they were here at the time of christ such a wedding will be found to be the best illustration of the parable of our lord relating to the ten virgins who went to meet the bridegroom accompanied by my friend I 1 proceeded about three in the afternoon to the house of the bridegroom I 1 here I 1 ere we found several guests already gathered all dressed in beautiful oriental costumes the bridegroom however was not there he had gone to fetch his bride three musicians one playing st many stringed cither like instrument one playing two little drums and one playing the tam bobrine bo urine did their best to entertain the guests with songs and music and let me say that the jouve ve music here although abry j different from european com compositions sitione sit ions and although ru running aning in minor or keys to a great extent has a sweetness of its own which can be appreciated when understood there is an air of melancholy about it expressing in lovely language the present t condition of country coun and people as compared to former greatness while the music was playing all the guests were liberally treated with various refreshments nuts confectionery fresh pure water coffee cigarettes etc at last the whole company broke up in order to go out and meet the bridegroom outside the house a procession was arranged care being taken that the rules of oriental etiquette were not broken the ladies close the aeu or procession and all the way filled the streets with sounds these sounds seem to be an essential part of the wedding festivities they are not exactly singing and not really shouting they resemble the thrills of the lark blended with the singing of the nightingale it is something indescribable I 1 think it comes as near expressing in sounds the emotion of joy as anything I 1 ever heard some of the ladies here havo hav also very pure clear voices which our professional singers might envy them As soon as the procession had met the bridegroom he joined the crowd and they all went back to his house where the ties of wedlock were knit and where bride and bridegroom will spend a happy time together hearty congratulations to the bride and the groom on this occasion there were no foolish virgins as in the case of the parable of our lord nor was there need of any lamps or oil as the whole was the work of the day yet the various incidents were all to me loudly speaking warnings of the coming wedding of the lamb and the necessity of having oil enough so as to be prepared to enter with the bridegroom not only to meet him for then when the festivities commence the door will be shut one of my amusements here and a very innocent one I 1 should think when the cool of the evening comes and I 1 am tired from the heat of the day and from my aftem attempts at mastering the difficulties 0 of the arabic language is to sit down outside my room and look toward the western horizon where the sun sets in order to rise in glory upon dear utah and many a silent greeting I 1 send with the sinking fireball fire ball as it vanishes before my eyes lu in a contemplative mood then I 1 see lots of things even the clouds assume shapes for at this time the nile is flowing 0 over and masses of clouds ascend from egypt and float over our horizon here influenced by currents of air and illuminated by the last rays of the ann or of the moon these clouds are sometimes very fantastical and pretty too one evening I 1 was sitting and watching the sky I 1 saw a lion ascending out of the sea and in a moment there came a bear against it A struggle followed the mouths of the two gigantic beasts beads gaped aped and the bear locked the lion in tn its fearful jaws A few minutes the two animals were or maw mass but finally the bear was dissolved and out of the remnant a weasel shaped animal jumped 11 lightly atly over the back of the lion which W tich had gained the victory over the bear A few minutes more and the lion had vanished too the outlines of this monster panorama in the baky were very striking as I 1 have here described them although the minor details height have been improved and it was certainly very entertaining I 1 n suppose the lion to represent england and the bear to represent russia which is the weasel J M S JAFFA july 17 1889 |