DERVISHES AND THEIR CUSTOMS.

81

guished by their dress. They have property set apart for their use, and some of the societies are very wealthy; the most numerous, and at the same time the richest, are the Mevlevies, who can be recognized by their tall caps of gray felt, with jackets and robes of the same color. The lower part of the robe is like a lady's skirt, as it is made in folds, and will spread out into a large circle when the wearer whirls rapidly. They are the most respectable of all the orders of dervishes, and some of them are men of education and former high position.

"There are many independent dervishes who are simply religious beggars, belonging to no sect or order: they go around soliciting charity, or sit at the street corners or in

public places, dressed in a way to attract attention. We passed one yesterday who had the saw of a saw-fish in one hand and an instrument resembling a child's rattle in the other; a cocoa-nut shell hung on his breast, to hold the donations of the charitable, and he sat on a box that resembled a rude bird-cage. He was extremely dirty in appearance, his legs were bare, and his hair was long and uncombed; he stared at us, and shouted something we did not understand, and when we passed by without giving him anything, he shook his rattle in an angry way. The guide says these men often go

A BEGGING DERVISH.

into the houses of rich people, and the latter are afraid to turn them out because of their so-called holy character. They are the most impudent beggars you can find anywhere, and many of them are said to be thieves and murderers, who disguise their true character under the cloak of religion.

"We went to see the Mevlevies, and on the way to their temple the Doctor told us that the whirling was.a part of their religious observance, like the dancing of the Shakers in America, and the practices of other sects, whose fervor is often followed by insensibility. The dizziness that results from whirling is considered a state of religious devotion, and the

most suited to the contemplation of heavenly things, and hence their ef forts to throw themselves into this ecstatic condition.

"When we entered their mosque we removed our shoes, or rather exchanged them for the slippers we had brought along, as we knew beforehand that we would need them. The building was circular, with a railed space in the centre; outside of the rail the floor was covered with matting, but inside it was polished like the floor of a dancing-hall.

"Some of the dervishes were already seated in the ring when we entered, and others came in soon after. When all was ready the sheik or chief of the party rose and stood in the centre of the floor; the others bowed to him one after another, and then stood near the railing, with their arms folded and their heads bent slightly forward. All were barefoot, having left their shoes at the door.

A WHIRLING DERVISH.

"Half a dozen dervishes were in a little balcony overlooking the floor, and when the chief gave the signal that all was ready three of them began to play upon flutes, such as we have already described, and three upon tambourines. Then the dervishes on the floor began to whirl; the music, at first slow, soon quickened, and the dancers or whirlers quickened their movements with it.

"Before getting into motion each man extended his arms, holding the palm of the right hand upward while he turned down that of the left. We asked the reason of this peculiar position of the hands, but the guide could not tell us. He simply said that they always did so, and he did not know why.

"As they whirled, their skirts spread out so that they resembled wheels, or rather cones four or five feet in diameter. They kept their hands always in the same position, and as they whirled they moved slowly around the floor; it was a wonder that they didn't run against each other, but they didn't. The music went on, and so did the dancers, and they kept up their whirl for half an hour or more. We looked for some of them to fall down; but they were accustomed to this kind of

work, and wouldn't oblige us. Nobody fell; and finally, at a signal from their sheik, one after another stopped, made a low bow to him, and retired to the edge of the circle. We had seen

enough, and so came away.

"Another day we went to see a sect called the howling dervishes; they are much like the Mevlevies, except that they how instead of whirl. They sat on the floor in a circle, and began to pronounce the names of Deity ninety times each, and as there are ninety-nine different names for God in the Arabic language, you can readily see that there were a great many words altogether. They bow each time they pronounce a word, and very soon after commencing they rose to their feet, joined hands together, and became greatly excited. They bent their bodies nearly double at every utterance, their turbans fell off, their hair flew wildly about, they stripped off their upper garments, perspired freely, and some of them, after a time, actually frothed at the mouth like mad dogs. We did not stay to see the end of the performance, but were told that it continued till the fanatics were exhausted, and one after another fell insensible to the floor.

A WHIRLER IN FULL ACTION.

"Let us turn to something more agreeable.

"Frequently while going around the city we have passed near schoolrooms, where boys were studying their lessons under direction of their teachers, and once we went inside and saw a school in operation. It reminded us of the one we saw at Allahabad, in India,* as the boys were seated on the floor in front of their teacher, and were studying their lessons aloud. Each boy had a wooden tablet like a large slate, with some sentences on it in Arabic, which he was to commit to memory. They rock back and forward as they study, as the motion is thought to assist the memory. When a dozen boys are repeating their lessons all at once you can imagine what a din they keep up. The sentences they learn are from the Koran, and as soon as they can repeat the first chapter of the sacred book they learn the last but one, and then the one preceding; the second chapter of the book is the one learned last of all, and when they

can repeat the whole of the Koran their education is considered complete, unless they are intended for occupations where they must know how to write. For instruction in writing they go to another school, or have special teachers at home. The teacher receives a small sum of money from the parents of each boy at the end of every week, and the room where he keeps his school is generally the property of a mosque, and costs nothing for rent.

"Mr. Lane tells of a teacher who could not read or write, but managed to keep a school for some years without being found out. He could repeat the Koran from memory, and under pretence that his eyes were weak he used to have the lessons written by the head boy or monitor. When people brought letters for him to read he made the same excuse, or gave some other reason for avoiding an exposure of his ignorance.

مبلغ فراوری بر وجه بشه القيه اتحد ونزل مركورك اقتصا ايدن تعمرات صاحب محلك طرفتند نه حرف اولنوب و مد تاب مترجم او تون اوع ماه ابوطه بر ي ليرين صبي ومرما اورن مقاوله او لمر او طفله

"Doctor Bronson says girls are rarely taught to read, except among the wealthy inhabitants, and not always even them. One of us asked him if there were no schools at all for girls.

"Yes,' he answered, but there are not many, and it is only within a few years that they have been established. One of the wives of Ismail Pacha took hold of the matter, and opened a school in an unoccupied palace of the Khedive. Invitations were given for parents to send their daughters to be educated, but for three weeks not a pupil came. Gradually the prejudice was overcome, and in a few months there were three hundred pupils hard at work, while a great many who wished to come were unable to obtain admission for want of room. There are now several schools for girls in Cairo, and there is hardly a large town in Egypt. without one or more.'