They constantly even before men use the most indelicate expressions, and this exists even among the higher orders. When we consider the tenor of their lives, we cannot be much surprised at this behaviour, for a woman in the east is generally little better than a slave. In fact a woman in the east is looked upon as a most degraded being; a Hindu may beat his wife as often as he chooses, and they are much accustomed to this barbarous treatment. "The object," says the Abbé Dubois, "for which a Hindu marries, is not to gain a companion to aid him in enduring the evils of life, but a slave to bear children, and be subservient to his rule." This is also applicable to other eastern nations. Of all the women in the east, those of Hindustan, are by all accounts in the most wretched condition. "Nothing can exceed," says the historian, "the habitual contempt which the Hindus entertain for their women. Hardly are they ever mentioned in their laws, or other books, but as wretches of the most base and vicious inclinations, on whose nature no virtues or useful qualities can be engrafted.” Even in their laws they ascribe every wickedness, that can possibly be conceived, to women, and the barbarians imagine it is almost impossible to find a woman without the bad qualities stated in their institutes. Is not this a shocking state of things? does it not prove what a poisonous darkness has surrounded Hindustan ? the absurd religion of the natives, that disgraceful priestly influence, has caused an absolute prostration of every intellectual as well as moral good; how in such a country could the character of woman be expected to arrive at any state of perfection? The lascivious dispositions of the Indian rulers, I should suppose, has partly been the reason of the continued state of the low condition of women, and their filling their harems from such emporiums of beauty as Persia and Cashmere, and neglecting the darker beauties. Formerly at the Court of the Great Mogul nearly every individual, when first admitted to the Royal presence, selected beautiful girls with fair complexions, that their children might pass for genuine Moguls. The celebrated Runjeet Singh was famous for his collection of beauties. Sir Alexander Burnes, in his interesting Travels into Bokhara, mentions one of the Maharajah's regiments composed entirely of Amazons. "When the chiefs (the Seiks) had withdrawn, the Maharajah gave a signal, which brought a detachment of his regiment of Amazons, about seventy in number, richly attired in yellow silk, and uniformly dressed: they drew up in front of the Governor-General (Lord William Bentinck,) under the orders of a favourite Commandant, who controlled the division with a long cane. Some of the ladies were very beautiful; nor did they seem to regret that on such an occasion so many eyes were turned towards them. Many of them had stained their lips with roseate red; and by accident some had called in the aid of colour to increase the brilliancy of their complexions. The ladies succeeded in making an impression, and were desired to withdraw after chanting a few Persian odes on love and beauty." I should imagine one of the chief reasons for the effeminacy of the men of eastern nations is early marriage; what would they think in England to hear a rich Oriental eight-and-forty years old talking of his " Asherut Khanum," or as Conolly translates it, his "Lady of delight," that he had long wooed and at length won her, then but 13 years of age. It is a custom in the east among the moormen and others to marry while the wife is quite a child; frequently not more than 6 or 7 years old. The unfortunate victim is then kept in close confinement until she suits the fancy of her husband. In India it has always been the custom for parents to seek wives for their son: those who leave their homes in search of employment, always marry their children in their country, and among their acquaintance at home; never among the people with whom they reside. This, then, brings this slight sketch of women in the east to a conclusion; if it has not given much information, it will show on the whole, what a degraded being woman is, in lands where nature has poured forth her all, but where beauty and virtue have seldom gone hand in hand together." We cannot now do better, in drawing our somewhat rambling and discursive remarks to a close, than gravely admonish all who have entered the married state, to cherish in lively remembrance one of the true secrets of happiness,—and that is, to manifest an habitual readiness to please, and an habitual disposition to be pleased-studiously to avoid occasions of offence and as studiously to repress the aptitude to be offended-carefully to cultivate the habit of proving oneself to be above trifles and of putting the mildest construction on all domestic occurrences, whether of a trivial or momentous character. "Do not expect," said Johnson, 66 more from life than life will afford. You may often find yourself out of humour, and you may often think wife not studious enough to please you; and yet, you may have reason to consider yourself as, upon the whole, very happily married.” "Two persons," remarks the Spectator, "who have chosen each other out of all the species, with design to be each other's mutual comfort and entertainment, have, in that action, bound themselves to be good humoured, affable, discreet, forgiving, patient, joyful, with respect to each other's frailties and imperfections, to the end of their lives." Or, if the substance of our admonition win its way more effectually to the conscience and the heart, when "wedded to immortal verse," let us listen to the soft sweet strain of the poet of Olney : your "The kindest and the happiest pair ART. VI.-1. Controversial Tracts on Christianity and Mahommedanism, &c. by the Rev. S. Lee, A. M. Cambridge, 1824. 2. Mahommedanism unveiled, by the Rev. Charles Forster, B. D. 2 vols. London, 1829. 3. Mizan-ul-Haqq, or a resolution of the controversy between Christians and Mahommedans; in Persian. By the Rev. C. G. Pfander. Shushy, 1835. Ditto translated into Urdu, Mirzapúr, 1843. 4. Miftah-ul-Asrár: a Treatise on the Divinity of Christ, and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, in Persian, by the same author. Calcutta, 1839. Ditto in Urdu. Agra, 1843. 5. Tarik-ul-Hyát; a Treatise on Sin and Redemption, in Persian; by the same author. Calcutta, 1840. 6. Controversial Epistles between the Rev. C. G. Pfander and Syud Rehmat Ali and Mahommed Kazim Ali: Urdu manuscript. 7. Controversy between the Rev. C. G. Pfander and Moulavi Syud Ali Hassun, in Urdu: published in the "Khair Khah Hind," papers, from January to August, 1845. 8. Khulása-i-Saulat-uz-Zaigham; an Urdu Tract in refutation of Christianity. Lucknow, 1258 Hegiri. 9. Answer to the above; in Urdu. Allahabad, 1845. MAHOMMEDANISM is perhaps the only undisguised and formidable antagonist of Christianity. Popery on the one hand, and Socinianism on the other, may pervert or neutralize her principles, but they alike professedly bend to her sole authority. From all the varieties of Heathen religions, Christianity has to fear no aggression, for they are but the passive exhibitions of gross darkness, which must vanish before the light of the Gospel. But in the doctrines of Islam we have an active and powerful enemy;-a subtle usurper, who has climbed into the throne under pretence of legitimate succession, and who has seized upon the forces of the lawful sovereign to make war against him. It is just because Mahommedanism acknowledges the divine original, and has borrowed many of the weapons of Christianity, that it is so dangerous an adversary. The length too, of its reign, the rapidity of its early conquests, and the iron grasp with which it has retained and extended them, the wonderful tenacity and permanent character of its creed,-all combine to add strength to its claims, and authority to its arguments. When the first tide of Mahommedan invasion set in towards the west, its irresistible flood seemed about to overwhelm the whole of Europe, and extinguish every trace of Christianity, just as its proud waves were repelled by the Pyrenees; but though different portions of Europe successfully resisted the attack, yet Mahommedan settlements continued for centuries to exist upon it. Again, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when Europe poured her millions into the East, the invaders established, for a length of time, and in the midst of their foes, a succession of posts, which were gradually rolled back by the Turkish arms. And, finally, in the 15th century, the closing conquest of Constantinople and European Turkey, and the extended frontier towards Hungary and Italy, confirmed and perpetuated the last and most intimate connection which has taken place between Christian Europe and the Eastern infidels. Here then we have a long period of twelve centuries, during which Christianity has been in contact with her mortal foe; and upon three marked occasions, that foe was the grand object of her hopes and fears. It would be natural, therefore, to expect that Christian Europe would have entered the lists not merely with the sword and with the shield, we might have anticipated that her learned divines and casuists would have advanced to the combat clad in the celestial armour of the Gospel ;-that the Popes, besides pouring forth the martial bands of their subjects, would have strenuously and unremittingly applied themselves and their hosts of learned monks and ecclesiastics, to overcome the adversary with those spiritual weapons which would better have suited their sacred character. The banners of Islam approached close to the Papal see, and the crescent, almost within sight of Imperial Rome, shone brightly upon Spain, Turkey and Sicily. Might we then have hoped that its inauspicious rays would have become dim and waned before the transcendent glory of the Sun of Righteousness? How fallacious were such expectations! We learn, indeed, that "in later times, when in the vicissitudes of military adventure, the arms of the Mahommedan were found to preponderate, some faint attempts were made, or meditated, to convince those whom it proved impossible to subdue;"-and still farther, that, "in 1285, Honorius IV. in order to convert the Saracens strove to establish at Paris, schools for Arabic and other oriental languages. The council of Vienna, in 1312, recommended the same method; and Oxford, Salamanca, Bologna, as well as Paris, were places selected for the establishment of the Professorships. But the decree appears to have remained without effect until Francis I. called it into life."* And where are the marks and effects of this feeble resolution so tardily executed? -as far as practical controversy is concerned, they are buried in obscurity: learned works upon the Arabic tongue, translations from its authors,—or at best, notes and commentaries, which too often fight with the air, and sometimes betray gross ignorance of the real views and tenets of Mahommedans, are all that remain. The dominion of the False Prophet needed to fear but little from such contemptible efforts, which even had they been known to his followers, would most probably have served only to confirm them in their belief. In truth, the spirit of the age was adverse to any spiritual success. Clogged and obscured by the errors of Popery, Christianity had abandoned her vantage ground, and what but defeat and dishonour were to be looked for? We are not prepared, indeed, to say that the entire labours of the Christian world, from the time of Mahommed to the Reformation, were of this futile character. On the contrary, we believe that devoted Christians, during this interval, frequently and with zeal attempted the conversion of the Mussulmans; but it is a melancholy reflection, that we have not a single account of their success, or of any beneficial effects resulting from their efforts. We find, it is true, in the twelfth century, the eastern Emperor erasing from his creed the anathema against the God of Mahommed, as likely to offend those Mahommedans who had embraced, or were disposed to embrace, Christianity; but, except for such transient hints, we should hardly be aware that the controversy was going on;-no fruits at least give token of its vitality. How, then, are we to account for the want of success which characterized this period, in which neither party gained ground in this grand and momentous struggle? There are four causes to which it may be attributed. And chief among these we place the errors among Christians, which, before the development of Mahommedanism, had already gained much ground in the time of Gregory, and which afterwards so rapidly increased, and sprang up so thickly; these crippled its exertions and stifled its efforts. The poison of tradition and superstition stagnated the circulation, and the blight of monachism and legality froze the current, which should have flowed unceasingly, diffusing to the nations around the genial and healing streams of Christianity. Again, the want of any communication or interchange of sentiment, or even of the usual offices of courtesy, between the * Waddington's History of the Church. |