beside her dead husband until her brother shall swear that he has no intention of marrying her to another. The question then lies between the two male relatives, let us say the brother and the brother-in-law. If the latter decide to keep her in the family he will bring forth some costly present, such as a camel's-hair abai, or a silk kumbaz, and offer it to the brother for acceptance. If the latter be inclined to view the matter favourably he puts it on, if not, he refuses to notice it. Should the brother-in-law desire her continued care for his brother's children he may go still further, and if the family require it-may pay something towards the amount of the dowry which her own brother would have received on her behalf for a second marriage.

Before proceedings terminate, however, another matter has to be enquired into. If she has prospects of becoming a mother she must state the probable date of the birth of the child, and in such a case she will remain with the family of her husband until her care be no longer necessary.

If she has no such knowledge she will say, "If I am with child it is the child of my husband; if I am not it will soon be known." If all prove satisfactory, her brother proclaims, "I give you to yourself free of all claims from your family. I will not take you from the children of your husband. Go in peace." My informant told me that she knew of several men who had done this and they were much respected for it.

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In illustration of the position of the brother I may mention that during the war some men who came to recruit soldiers in a certain village, said to a woman of our acquaintance, "Now the Turkish Government does not permit us to take from any woman against her will her only protector, but you have three: your husband, your son, and your brother. Which one of the three shall remain with you? 99 She answered at once. " If band should not return from the war I can always get another. If my son should be killed I can always bear another. But if they take my brother and he should not return how shall I replace him? He is more to me than husband or son. We came from the same womb, we were children together. El walad maulood el joz maujood, wa el akh el aziz min wain ya'ood?" (A child can be born, the husband is there, and the brother, the dear one, from whence shall he come ?)

The people say that Eve was created from Adam; had it been otherwise the power of divorce would have been in the hands of women. She was created from an internal portion; had she been made of an external portion of the man they would have their

faces uncovered like the men, and not veil themselves. She came from the left side, for had she been from the right she would have inherited equally with man, and her testimony would have been of equal value with his. The saying is attributed to the Prophet. "It has not very much sense," said the lady who quoted it to me, "but it was an answer to Abdullah ibn Salaam who put over a thousand questions. Shall all the answers to so many questions be good?"

Among the fellaheen a second, and even a third or fourth, wife may be found. The fellah is an agriculturist, and it is the cheapest and most convenient form of labour. I have known few such cases in Palestine, though in Egypt it was not uncommon. I remember a donkey boy at Cairo to whom some American had unfortunately given an unwisely liberal sum of money. "I shall get three donkeys, and a wife to tend them," he said.

Although my town friends chattered gaily of second wives, secure in the improbability of their existence, the subject is often a sore one among the fellaheen, where the women live in close proximity. "The second wife is bitter even if she be but the handle of a jar," they say. "Even if it were honey in the jar I would pour it out." The saying originated in the experience of a fellaha who was so obstinate and tiresome that her husband, who had long threatened her with a doora-a second wifedecided one day to give her a fright. So he took the great jar which stands filled with water in every fellah household, and dressed it up to look like a woman in a blue dress and a white veil. He then placed his creation in a dark corner with her back to the door of entrance. Presently the wife came in, and asked, "Who is the strange woman standing there? Where does she come from?"

"She is the doora I have long promised you. At last I have found one to suit me, who will never dispute my wishes. She is just the wife for me, and with such a one I can always live in peace. The woman was so furious that she threw down the batia-food tray-she was carrying, and broke everything near her, and then, seizing a stick, she began to beat the jar, and broke off the handle. Hold," cried the husband, are you so mad that you will beat even an earthen jar? Then she saw what she had done, and cried, "Ah, but the rival is bitter even if she be but the handle of a jar!

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The women of the villages are, for the most part, strong and independent, but for obvious reasons are more dependent upon

masculine support than some of the women of the west, be the man in question brother or husband or son. The Prophet made it very clear that the man was to be regarded as the breadwinner, and responsible for the family. I am bound to own that I have never met an Arab Muslim woman in the position of having to earn her own living, though among the Turks the war drove the women into banks, and post offices, and telephone offices, and even railway offices. The war had its effect naturally upon the relations of men and women, even among the Arabs. I remember an incident which came under our notice in 1916. A friend of ours owned two adjoining houses in a certain village, the one being let to a man who was away fighting, leaving behind a very handsome wife, the other to a man who acted as watchman of the property, and whose wife was somewhat unattractive. The villagers, in general less censorious than Christians would have been under the same circumstances, were nevertheless much alive to all questions of female morality, and were ill pleased to remark that the grass-widow was frequently in her neighbour's house and often talking with him. The husband being away they considered that she should have shown special reticence, and finally spoke of the matter to the muchtar, the chief of the village affairs, and he promised to pay a professional visit, as one charged with the morals of the community.

He approached the subject as best he might, and in oriental fashion, with the utterance of a parable. "A man," he said, " is like a horse, when the mare is at hand he runs after her; but he is also like a dog. If you say whisht' he runs away, but if you say 'ps ps' (it is thus animals are called in the East) and beckon to him, he runs back again. Why can't women let a man alone?

The woman was angry and said, "What has a man got a beard and strength for if not to help a woman? If I want the taboon (oven) heated, whom shall I go to if not my neighbour, and if I want advice, why not to the man who is nearest at hand?" The muchtar properly felt ashamed and went off, but when the husband returned he carried the matter to him, for the people had blamed the muchtar for want of courage, and called him a poor creature. The husband, he argued, was the proper person to reprove her. This, however, he declined to do, seeing there was no evidence of any misconduct. "What shall I say to her? Blame the beards and moustaches and leave the woman in peace."

The honour of the Muslim woman is so highly esteemed that

the scandal was not quieted so easily. The people appealed to the owner of the houses, and said that one tenant or the other ought to be turned out, to put an end to a bad example. "Shall I send away my watchman in times such as these?" answer, "just when extra care is needed, or shall I cast a woman adrift whose husband is fighting the enemies of his country? Which? "

was the

I asked Alia, of whom more later, what she thought about it. I wanted to hear the fellaha point of view. "When tongues begin to be busy with a woman's name," she said, "it is time that they who have wings should go. It is told that when Tekoah, which is now desolate, began to fall into ruins, the Shech advised the people to go, before the danger should become greater, but they would not listen to him. So when he had said enough he ceased from talking, and one night went off quietly with his family, and left his house shut up. When, in the morning, no one opened, the village was perplexed, and at length someone climbed on to the roof, and looked down to the court from above. 'It is empty,' he said. All has been removed except a batia which stands in the middle of the floor, covered with a tabak' (straw tray). They then broke in the door and entered, and uncovered the batia. A dove immediately flew out, escaped by the door, and was no more seen; but there was another dove which remained, for its wings were clipped, and it was caught and killed. So, for the last time, the Shech delivered his message. There is a time when those who have wings should fly away.' I have spoken," said Alia.

The women have their gathering places in the village where they meet in the evening to discuss events, just as do the men, and this evening hour is very dear to them. They rise at earliest dawn and do not like to work after sunset. They say shoogl el nasr ibtikharr il insa, the work of the evening annoys the women. They do not like even to receive orders for work late in the day, they like to have the mind free. They say that work seems harder at night; shoogl el lail maswaret il nehar, the work of night is the play of the morning, that is, it seems as nothing.

They say, however, that much is said in the evening talk which cannot be depended upon. They talk and talk and promise all kinds of things which are never accomplished. Hence the saying: kallam el massa machloutan el zibde. They say of those who make promises which are not fulfilled: biwan el ward ou bachtouna il defla. They promise the rose and they give the

oleander, which resembles the rose at a distance, but is poisonous and has little scent.

The men and their ways come much under discussion. The women have a story of a sparrow and his wife who lived in a hole in the wall, which was very snug at night but a little narrow in the day time. Therefore, when the cock-sparrow wished to remain in shelter in the winter, he used to say, My dear, I am afraid that some scorpion or insect should sting you, you had better step outside," and in the summer, when he wished for fresh air, "My dear, I fear that some passing bird should peck at you, pray let me sit at the door."

It is not true, though often alleged, that marriage has no religious signification. It is true, however, that guests are seldom invited to witness the ceremony, which is conducted in private and even, in many cases, by proxy. The bride appoints her nearest relative to act on her behalf, and he and the bridegroom, prompted by the village khatib, religious teacher, repeat the legal formulæ, three times over. This done, the ceremony is complete, and the marriage contract has next to be written, giving the name and parentage of both parties. The sum settled upon the bride is also written, as that reverts to her in case of divorce. The reason for secrecy in this case is the same as that for the hour when the two actually become man and wife—the fear that an enemy may do them a mischief by the working of spells or the utterance of maledictions. The most dangerous are those which are accompanied by the strewing of flour on the ground, or the throwing of a knotted string into a well, as the first cannot be gathered up, nor the second recovered. The fantasia, bridal procession, and reception of guests may take place at any date subsequent to the religious ceremony.

A woman who is a good manager is always respected. The girls of certain villages, which I refrain from mentioning, are lightly spoken of as "bad managers," and but small dowries are offered for them, whereas, before the war, the women of the village of Silwan Siloam, for example, who grew vegetables and salads in the old gardens of Solomon where the soil is still rich, and water in those days was abundant, were so much valued that they were much sought after. One, whom we knew well, divorced her husband but was later persuaded to take him back, which she refused to do until a second dowry was paid for her. When Adam was sent out of Paradise he asked Allah what he was to do next. The Almighty replied that most of His best