A single word is necessary regarding Moslem teaching on legitimacy. According to the Koran a child born six months from the date of marriage has a claim to legitimacy. The general consensus of Moslem doctors points to ten months as the longest period of pregnancy recognized by any court of justice. In this they follow the old Roman law. According to Sunni law, an invalid marriage does not affect the legitimacy of children born from it. In this connection it is interesting to note the rights of children according to Moslem law. These are mentioned in books of jurisprudence under the heading of Hidhana, or the care of infant children.

In case of separation by divorce between parents, the child belongs to the mother, but the father is responsible for its maintenance. There is no compulsion on the mother, as she may not be able to take charge of the infant. After the mother the order of the right of maintenance is the mother's grandmother; then the father's grandmother; the sister; the mother's aunt, etc. Full blood is preferred to half, and maternal to paternal relations. The term of Hidhana lasts in the case of a male child till he is able to shift for himself, that is, eat, drink, etc. Then the child passes to the care of the father or other paternal relations. One authority says that with respect to a boy this care ceases at the end of seven years,

but in the case of a girl it lasts until puberty. It is recorded from Mohammed that the care of a female child devolves upon the father as soon as she begins to feel the carnal appetite, as she then requires superintendence over her conduct. (Hamilton's "Hedaya," 1: 388.)

All these regulations regarding the legal status of a child are based upon the practice of Mohammed and his companions in the early days of Islam. In regard to marriage the same book of law tells us that an infant has the right to require her guardian to marry her to any person, being her equal, for whom she has a liking, and he must comply. In the chapter on the maintenance of wives, Moslem law lays down that if a man's wife be still a child he is not legally required to maintain her, but can give back her dower and dismiss her again. (P. 394.)

In connection with birth and earliest infancy there are many curious customs observed among Mohammedans, which, although they differ in different lands, are most of them based upon Moslem tradition, and many of them are universally practised. In no part of the world does the newborn child meet less preparation for its reception than among the Bedouin. A land bare of many blessings, general poverty, and the law of the survival of the fittest, has made the desert mother stern of heart. In the open desert under

the shade of an acacia tree or behind a camel, the Arab baby first sees the daylight. As soon as it is born the mother herself rubs and cleans the child with sand, places it in her handkerchief and carries it home. She suckles the child for a short period, and at the age of four months it already drinks profusely of camel's milk. A name is given to the infant immediately; generally from some trifling incident connected with its birth, or from some object which attracts the mother's fancy. Moslem names such as Hassan, Ali, or Fatimah, are extremely uncommon among the true Bedouins, although Mohammed is sometimes given. Beside his own peculiar name every Bedouin boy is called by the name of his father and tribe. And what is more remarkable, boys are often called after their sisters, e.g., Akhu Noorah, the brother of Noorah. Girls' names are taken from the constellations, birds, or desert animals like Gazelle. Mrs. Edwin E. Calverley, of Kuweit, Arabia, writes: "Bedouin parents delight in calling their children by queer names. A favourite name for girls is 'Little Rag,' and 'Little Dog' is a frequent one among boys. If a mother thinks her family sufficiently large, she does not hesitate to name the last child 'Enough' or even "Too Much.' The town Arabs tease the Bedouins about their funny names, but these children of the desert only smile good-naturedly and