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Tin Hamilton Journal
HAMILTON, GEORGIA.
Malay ProYcrJjg.
The Malays express themselves in neat,
pithy sentences, and clinch an argu¬
ment, with a proverb. Some of their
proverbs resemble those wise saws which
we use to point a moral, while others
are peculiar to them. by sayiug,
A Malay enjoins secrecy
“If you have rice, put it away under the
unhusked grain.”
i m What is the use of the peacock
strutting in the jungle?” is the Malay
equivalent for throwing pearls before
swine.
When a Malay wishes to indicate that
an offer will not be refused, he asks,
“Will the crocodile reject the carcass?”
He apprehends the obstinacy his of heredi¬
tary instincts, for proverb says:
“Though you feed a jungle-fowl out of
a gold plate, it will, nevertheless, make
for the jungle.”
Those who think human nature may
be changed by external influences should
muse over this Malay proverb: “You
may plant the bitter cucumber in a bed
of sago, and manure it with honey, and
water it with molasses, and train it over
sugarcanes, but when it is cooked it will
still be bitter.”
Those who take trouble for and nothing
are said “to fight in a dream,” the
man who is all things to all men is one
who plants sugarcane cn the lips.” while the
“Hand chopping wood
shoulder bears a load” indicates the man
of expedients and enterprise. “Freed
from the mouth of the crocodile only to
fall into the jaws of the tiger,” is the
equivalent for our “Out of the frying
pan into the fire.” “The creel says the
basket is coarsely plaited,” is a more
delicate expression than our proverb
about the pot calling the kettle black.
We say, “It is an ill wind that blows
no one any good;” the Malay says,
“When the junk is wrecked the shark
has his fill.”
“The yam remains still and increases
in bulk; iron lies quiet and wastes away
the more;” is a Malay proverb which in
dicatea that similar circumstances will
not answer for unlike things.
Tlie Eskimo’s Summer Resort.
So short are the Arctic seasons of
spring and fall that some polar travelers
deny their existence, the summer follow
ing the winter with a suddenness that
sweeps the wintry snows from the ground
and starts the hardy Alpine plants into
blossom as if an earthquake or grand
convulsion of nature had thrown the
Arctic regions under the equator as ab
ruptly as those terrestrial forces usually
work; and again the summer is merged
into the winter as quickly as a person
would change, climbing to the top of a
Mexican mountain, from tropical luxuri
ance to snow, ice And glaciers.
As soon as the warm weather is ush
ered in, and the round-domed snow
houses commence showing signs of decay
under the advancing heat, the top of
one or two having, probably, tumbled in
on the inmates, the Eskimo lord of crea
tion closely watches the ridges and hill
tops, especially on the southern slope,
and as soon as they peep through the
winter’s covering of snow, and a spot is
found large euough to pitch his skin
tent and give him a dry floor, that very
day he will abandon his tumbled-in snow
house, and take up his abode for
the summer in the tent.— Lieutenant
Schicatka.
An Epitaph.
The following is the epitaph on the
tombstone of John Davie fir beTng bookbinder fe
Kilmarnock, well known wh
in life, constantly on the trot:
“ Here rests John Davie, sav he m
For faith the body’s tired.
Who never rested night nor day
Till that day he expired.”
Physicians appear t o be verv hard to
satisfy. If their patients get’well they
lose them, and if they die they also lose
them.
Well handled—A pump.
Full of pointers—The porcupine.
An irritable nation—Vaccination.
High time-That kept by a town
clock.
The society for promoting the use ol
Roman letters in place of the German
ii fast extending m Germany.
THE SHAH’S COUNTRY.
Queer Scene* and Customs in Tehe
ran, il»e Capital of Persia.
Mr. S. G. W. Benjamin, United States
Minister to Persia, who was recently re
called to Washington, has been telling a
New York Sun reporter something about
the life of the Persians. He says:
“The great tiling sought in Persia is
seclusion and privacy. In walking
through a street one sees nothing but
these walls of houses, some fifteen or
twenty feet high, with flat roofs, and
with no windows whatever. They are
covered with plaster to keep the brick
from being worn away by the rain, and
if kept in repair last for centuries. The
monotony of the wails is relieved by
moldings and cornices. The entrance
is a small door richly decorated with
Saracenic work. And after going through
a narrow winding passage, you suddenly
step into a courtyard more or less mag¬
nificent, according to the wealth of the
owner. Courtyards of two and three
acres in extent are not uncommon, and
some cover five acres. They are
filled with parterres o t flowers and
trees of the most luxuriant foliage,
Here and there are great tanks, some of
them fifty yards long, with jets of water
playing in them. Every householder in
Teheian has his courtyard and. tang of
water, no matter bow poor he is. J re
quently there are three or four court
yards, and there is one called the anda
room, into which no man ever enters
except the master and his eunuchs. It
is reserved for his wives and concubines.
A wealthy Persian can have four wives
and several concubines. These wpmen
drive out in carriages and visit one an
other, and are watched with the greatest
care. The wives of pooler men go about
on foot, but all alike are covered with a
dark blue mantle, which falls to the feet,
concealing the form. Over the face is a
white veil, witn apertures for the eyes,
The rooms have large windows set in
richly decorated sashes and opening on
the courtyards, and frequently these
windows are studded with colored glass,
giving a cathedral effect to the high
ceil nged rooms. All the rooms have
dirt floors, but they are hardly noticed,
for they are covered with matting and
rich rugs. In one part of the room
there is a mattress covered with rugs,
and on this the Persian sits during the
day and sleeps at night. Some of the
rooms have tanks in their center, giving
them an air of luxury. I often womler
why water is not used more in this way
m other countries. It does not create
dampness as the climate in Persia is very
dry- There is a separate room for the
bath, and its appointments are often
luxurious. Christians are obliged to
have separate baths from the Mohamme
dans.”
“What the ^ daily , .. . habits . . A of . _ 1
are er
sians?”
“Every from the king . .
one aown rises
at 6 o clock in the morning, lhey then
partake of a cup of tea and some bread,
Tea } s a very important article of diet in
Persia, and the tea urn is nearly always
busy. No miik is used, but they sneeten
the tea almost to the consistency of
syrup. Tea over the merchant goes to
hi s shop in the bazaar. iins bazar
consists of a hundred narrow streets
roofed over with brick arches, ^ uc aie
pierced here and there to admit light
and air. The merchant sits in a oo
»n front of his store and awaits custom.
He charges a much highei price tian le
expects to get, after the usual Oriental
style. At noon he makes a substantial
breakfast m the bazar, aud then, as the
middle of the day is very hot, he takes a
nap. About 4 o c.ock he goes home and
takes a ride, ^returns to uinnei, and
then at about . o clock enters his anda
room YV hen once there, he is inaccessi
ble except on the most urgent business.
1S a satKcient excuse for not receiving
a caller t0 say that a man is in his anda
~° n - * e "and soon'afterward
th f. re a b 0aud S °° n aiten ' ard
retires .o , bed.
“Do the wives all occupy one room?”
“That depends on the wealth of the
man. They generally have separate
rooms, and by law lie is compelled to
spend a certain amount of time with each
wife. Of course she can sometimes be
bribed to sacrifice her rights in favor of
another wife. A Persian is rarely seen
walking with his wives, except on the
great holiday of the new year, called
no rooz. It is then the custom for every
Persian to go about with his wives, and
the gardens of the rich are on that day
thrown open to the unmarried public.” live?”
“How do the women
i . There are unmarried women. Every
Kiri is betrothed before she is ten years
of age. A love match is something al-
most out of the question. Marriages are
arranged by third persons, although
sometimes the young man may see the
bride before the wedding, but that is
rare. He first sees her face after the
ceremony, and if he doesn’t like her he
can reject her. Girls go unveiled
until about ten years of age.
They receive no education except
in needlework and embroidery.
They know nothing except of what is
going on immediately around them, but
Mrs. Benjamin, who has had unusually
favorable opportunities of meeting them,
says that they are clever and piquant.
Like the Persian men, they are generally
handsome. I have been able to observe
his for myself when veils fell off in the
street, and by seeing the peasant women
who wear no veils. My wife tells me
that their figures are very good, The
children arc handsome with warm
brown skins and dark hair.”
“Are the Persians attached to their
wives?”
“No, divorces are exceedingly corn
m0D> it j g very easy to be divorced. It
j s on ] y necessary to write out a paper
stating the reasons, and the thing is
done, or to say to the woman three suc
cessive times, “I divorce you,” but the
husband must have a pretext for his ac
t ion, however fl ira8y . A man some -
times divorces all four wives and be
gjns over again. The women have
rare i y any difficulty in securing new
husbands. It is no disgrace to be di¬
vorced. There is an extraordinary law
abo ut marriage outside of the ordinary
cer emony. which permits a man and
a woman to marry for any specified
length 0 f time, from five minutes up to
gixty years The couple g0 before and a
priest and state the time settled on,
tbe man then pays an agreed sum of
money to the woman. If he leaves her
a t the end of the fixed time she cannot
marry again for four months, and any
child born is the legitimate offspring of
tbe ma n, and he cares for it. Many
women of ran k prefer this kind of mar
riage ma king the term fifty or sixtv
years i 0 «g, a3 by doing so they secure
their jointure beforehand, and the hus
hand cannot divorce them until the time
is expired. There are some highly edu
cate d and intellectual women in Persia,
bu t thev are very rare. In taking evi
dence tbe testimony of one man equals
that of two WO men. The civil law or
tbe Urf ig baged on the religious law,
w h 0 se expounders are the Mollahs or
p-j es te
A common punis hment is the bastin
ad ’ wbicb is rarely f ata i unless 700 or
800 blows are inflicted. A man recov
ers f r<)m it in a few days. All below
t he princes of the royal blood are subject
to this punishment, but it is rarely in
dicted upon men 0 f high rank. In the
southern provinces murderers and adul
terers are s flu sometimes built into a
solid stone wall, sometimes only up to
t heir mouths, and there they may linger
for davg unt *j t h ey starve to dea'h. It
has been said that the prompt execution
Qf cr j m j nab5 \ s cruel, but the only way
g 0vern Orientals is by hope of oer
gona j adva ntage or fear of quick punish
ment> The bin{T obb g ed to do it in
order to maintain himself. As soon as a
maEl j s f ound guilty of treason, murder,
Qr adulterv> he is condemned to death,
and w jthin ten minutes his throat is cut
like a sheep’s. There would be no ob
j £ ec t j a imprisoning him longer, as there
re afe n( / courts of appeal. "But nearly
every \ cr j me C ati be expiated bv a money
inde nnity aud a certain price is fixed
u j many J things, such as the loss of an
e e or a le If the f r i ends 0 f a mur
dered mau wlU accept blood-money, even
a raurderer may escape death. There is
a -well-organized police force formed on
European models. The policemen wear
j? uropean c i 0 thes and carries a short cut
j asg> The streets around the palace, the
cbamps de ]\i arS) and a few principal
gtreets ^ are lighted with gas, but all else
is da Th * is
lanterns at night, and his rank is indi
cated bv the number and size of his lan
*
.
*
s P°^ e °f , shah , , sitting .... on his
beelsj “Yes, ’ that the ay a Persian sits .
is
down. It won id oe almost impossible
for any one else to do it for any length
°f ptae, but they are trained to it f rom
boynood. In some houses they have
European furniture but when the Per
piau sl f s la a cfi alr E e generally and manages then he
t0 S et one foot under him,
is c ° uten f
“Are there many poor people?’ . It
“There are almost no abject poor.
. *° make
» a
™ are very generous. They consider
11 » P wus >° Provide a free meal of
rice to whoever wants it. There is very
littie suffering, except in winter, when
there is much snow. Servants are paid
about one-fourth of what they get here,
but it is necessary to employ four times
as many, for each has his particular kind
of work and does no other. The majority
of the eunuchs are colored, although
many are white. A merchant is never
without a roll of paper and an ink horn,
and if wealthy he has his private secre¬
tary with him continually, who writes
down anything desired. They write
hand.” holding the roll of paper in the left
“How do you travel in Persia?”
There “On horses, donkeys, and camels.
are no railroads and no hotels, ex¬
cepting a small one at Teheran, and one
good one at Casbus. In traveling one
takes his cook along, and puts up at va¬
cant public houses built for the They* purpose
and called ‘chappah bane.’ are
very dirty and full of vermin, and your
servants have to clean them out before
they are habitable.”
The Sun is Blue.
Professor C. P. Langley said in Pitts¬
burg recently: “My observations have
convinced me that we have a mistaken
conception of the color of the sunlight.
Many suppose it to be white, while in
reality it is blue. The delusion is owing
to our senses, because we have never
been able to see the true color of the
sun. from infancy Suppose a man who had lived
under the roof of a cavern,
where the light outside was inferred
only by its shadows, was brought for the
first time into the full splendors of the
sun, what would be his conception of
the color? If that cave had been lit by
sunshine coming through a reddish glass
in the roof would the perpetual dweller
ever have had an idea but that the sun
was red? How is he to know the glass
is colored if he has never had anything in
his life to compare it with? How can
we have any idea but that this
is the sum of all the sun’s radi¬
ation? corresponding to our idea
of white o r colorless light ?
Will not th ct> habit of his life
confirm his idea that the sun is red, and
will he not think there is no color in
the glass so long as he cannot go out¬
side to see? Habit is equally strong
with us, whether we dwell in a cave or
under the sky.
“All men, educated or ignorant, ap¬
pear to have the evidences in their senses
that the air is colorless, and that pure
sunlight is white; so that if I venture
to show that the sunlight is blue, and
the air really acts like an orange-colored
veil, or a seive, which picks out the blue
and leaves the white, I do so in the con
fid enee that I am able to prove the
sertion, as it has been a study of mine
for a number of years. I do not mean
to say that the original sun is a pure
monochromatic blue by any means, but
that though its rays contain red, orange,
blue and all the other spectral colors,
the blue, the violet allied tints were
originally there in disproportionate
amounts.”
The results of the professor’s observa¬
tions will be published by the signal
service department in book form.
Growth of the Postal System.
In the year 1792 there were only 264
postoffices in the United States, and so
light were the duties of postmaster-gen¬
eral regarded that President Washington
was opposed to giving him a seat in the
cabinet. Now there are nearly 50,000
postoffices, and the annual revenues have
swelled from $25,000 to $45,000,000.
Ninety years ago the department looked
with unconcealed disfavor on the project
of admitting newspapers to the mails,
and not until the introduction of rail¬
roads did the opposition entirely relax.
Nowadays hundreds of tons of printed
matter are handled and transported daily.
When Thomas Jefferson and Timothy
Pickering endeavored to expedite the
service between New York and Washing¬
ton so as to attain a speed of 100 miles in
twenty-four hours, they came into colli¬
sion with a State riglits pretension which
temporarily defeated the enterprise, for
New Jersey insisted on exacting her
“stage and tavern” tax of $400 from the
Federal mail coaches. The world has
moved a great deal since the beginning
of the century.— Xetc York Graphic.
The pyramid of Cholula, not far from
the city of Mexico, is the most massive
monument ever raised in America. Its
base covers forty-five acres, it is 150 feet
high, in terraces composed of stone and
brick and natural roil heaped up in l*y
ers.