Lippincotts Magazine, Vol. 22, September, 1878 | Page 8

ever allowed to gaze upon them. They do not even take their meals
with their husbands and sons, this being contrary to Arab ideas of
propriety. Thus, while they have no outdoor life, they have no indoor
social life either. There is nothing for them but to be drudges and
mothers, to bear and to bring up children. It is therefore not surprising
that the first question Arab women ask is, "Have you any children?" or
that they should entertain the profoundest pity for those of their
sisterhood who are not thus blessed. To them motherhood is the one
thing worth living for: all else is denied to them by the barbarous
customs of their country.
In the course of our travels we have met with one educated Arab lady,
and, singular to say, both she and her husband objected to educating
their daughters. Probably she felt that in the life to which she was by
Arab custom condemned education did not add to her own
happiness--that it was fitted, indeed, only to raise aspirations and
desires which could never be realized.
The house of the caid was clean and airy, and characterized by a certain
barbaric taste. There were arms suspended upon the walls, Persian rugs
laid upon the floors and divans placed around the rooms. The large
garden was pleasant, being beautifully shaded by palms and orange and
lemon trees. In it there was a summer-house, where it was the custom
of the gentlemen of the family to dine and take their coffee.
Everywhere there was an air of wealth and comfort, but yet to an
English eye there was a want of neatness and trimness in all the
arrangements, both of house and garden.
I saw only one of the ladies, the wife of the caid, the last survivor out of
some five or six. She was elderly and not beautiful, her dress gay rather
than tasteful, and upon the whole less rich than I expected, considering

the immense wealth of her husband. We were assured he possessed
four thousand camels, besides boundless wealth in date-palms, etc.
Through my young Arab friend, who acted as interpreter, she told me I
was welcome, and then as soon as we were seated she began an
examination of my dress and ornaments. She seemed, indeed, in mind a
perfect child, incapable of taking an interest in anything higher than
dress and trinkets. To her, the great world without was a complete
blank, a sealed book: the field of her observations was bounded by the
four walls of her own abode, while books and society were alike
forbidden. Certainly, if the fruit of the tree of knowledge be evil, then
Arab women should be virtuous indeed, from them it is so well guarded.
Taking my cue from my hostess, and supposing it Arab politeness, I
also made an inspection of her dress, and especially of her earrings,
which had at once attracted my attention on account of their great size.
They were gold hoops of from two to three inches in diameter, thick
and heavy, and set with a mass of stones and pearls. It seemed
marvellous how any human ears could support such pendants. In effect,
I found that they did not do so. The earrings were only sham, for in
reality they were fixed to her head-dress, and were only so arranged as
to appear suspended from the ears.
As a contrast to this visit, Madame Bourguignon asked me if I should
like to see an Arab mènage of the humbler order. The family to whose
house she conducted me were neighbors and protégés of hers. From the
outside, this house, like most Arab houses, presented a dead wall
broken only by a doorway. Through this we entered into an unpaved
court, where the family was assembled. The owner or master of the
establishment was squatted upon the dry sandy ground, with three or
four young children sprawling round him, while his four wives were
occupied with their respective duties. Two were suckling babies, one
was weaving a kind of coarse striped material in a primitive loom,
while the fourth was apparently attending to the business of
housekeeping. In addition to these, there were several older children
playing among the sand: the grown-up members of the family were out,
I was informed, begging, working, or perhaps stealing, as they might
happen to find opportunity.

The man was not bad-looking, and one or two of the children were
almost pretty, notwithstanding the dirt and swarms of flies that half
concealed their features; but the women! Well, most men would have
thought one such wife enough. I certainly marvelled at any one
choosing four, and also that a man in such circumstances should be
able to support so many. On expressing my surprise