Show THE JJRUSES CnrloiiH Cuwtomji o1n Curious Tribe c In tlielloiy Land 1 Ofiall the Various races which at present inhabit the Holy Land there are none more distinctive asfl interesting interest-ing than the Druses gjThe interest attaching at-taching to them islue to several causes In the first place they are one of the most exclusive races upon earth They ep religiously and rigorously rig-orously to tht Selves never Intermarrying Intermar-rying with outsiders never interfering with the relous opinions of others and never allowing others to interfere with theifi It would be equally impossible to convert a Druse to any other religion as it would be to become a Druse one3 self They have one great saying with reference to their religion The door is shut none can enter in and none canpass out They would on no ac cqint admit a proselyte into the mysteries mys-teries bf their faith nor accept a convert con-vert from any other religion It Is equally out of the question to attempt toVpervert any of the Druses to another an-other Creed It Is true that in many parts of the Lebanon and especially in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of Eeyrout many Druse children chil-dren may be found In the missionary schools of the Roman Catholics Greeks and Protestants They are allowed to be instructed in the catechisms of the various schools where they may be placed and not unfreauently the teachers teach-ers and pastors of the mission have fondly imagined that they have secured se-cured promising lambs for their folds from among the children of Druses But as soon as ever they arrive at the age for leaving school when the girls are marriageable and the boys ready to assist their fathers in the labor of the field they are taken back to their Druse village and home and become1 as strict and exclusive in their religion as if they had never heard of any other One could fearlessly challenge any missionary to produce a genuine case of a convert from Drusedom who has arrived at years of maturity |