Foreign Items [pp. 558-559]

FOREIGNV ITEMS.
[NOVEMBER 11,
sort of vision that has to see them. In an age
like the present, where painting concerns itself
with very small matters, and rarely -never
successfully-with matters not open to every body's inspection, women do compete, and in
two or three instances very creditably. But
where the highest intellectual faculty rules
most absolutely, there women cut the least and
the poorest figure, indeed, hardly any figure at
all as compared with men; and, though every
qualification that occurs to us has been fully
made in the above body of fact and argument,
we scarcely think that it is open to any one to
deny that its central proposition has been established. For it amounts to this: that in
sculpture, architecture, and music, women have
done absolutely nothing; and, in painting,
have done something, but not very much, and
that only in an age in which the very highest
achievements of painters are second rate, and
the ordinary achievements beneath contempt.
Faith of the Druses.
It is only within the last few years that the
mysteries of the faith of the Druses have been
partially unveiled; but now, several of their
sacred books having been deposited in European libraries, considerable advance has been
made toward comprehending their theological
system.
They believe, according to these books,
that El-Hakim, sixth of the Fatimite dynasty,
was an incarnation of the Deity. He asserted
his divinity, which was maintained by several
writers, who collected his sayings, incorporated
them with various tenets of Asiatic origin, and
thereby originated a dogmatic creed. These
tenets were derived from certain sects of mystics who, two centuries after Mohammed,
flourished in Persia and on the eastern confines of Irak. Others can be traced to the ancient system of Zoroaster, and more by an
amalgamation with those Christian legends, in
distorted forms, which gave rise to so many
strange heresies.
The religious writings of the Druses consist of one hundred and eleven treatises. None
are allowed to possess or read them but the
class of Ukkal, or the initiated. This class is
subdivided into two sections, viz., those who
are simply initiated, and those who have the
additional title of Swdyid, indicating that they
aim at a peculiar degree of sanctity, and are
distinguished by the simplest attire.
The Druses appear to hold a qualified Manicheism in the doctrine of Ormuzd and Ahriman, the antagonism of the good and evil
principle. They have a strong belief in the
transmigration of the soul, and affirm that
they have had instances among them where
persons have been conscious of their former
position in life, and that such have made statements and professions which, on being tested,
have proved to be true. Secret on every other
point of their religious creed, they are open
and unreserved on this.
They have seven commandments, all of
which tend to inculcate veracity and love of
the brotherhood. They believe in a day of
judgment, when El-Hakim shall come to inaugurate a system of rule, based upon retributive justice for believers and unbelievers. The
rewards and punishments are thoroughly sensual and material. The believer~ are to be
rich, and the unbelievers poor. The former,
according to their deserts, are to obtain all
their dreams of wealth, rank, and indulgence.
Infidels are to live in a state of subjection,
poverty, and servitude. A still heavier fate is
reserved for those Druses who have neglected
to observe the precepts of their religion. They
are to wear ear-rings of black glass, conical
caps made of swine's leather, and pay a tax of
five gold-pieces.
The mystic origin of the Druses' faith is
conclusively shown in the settled belief they
hold that people of their creed-wearing the
guise of an assumed religion-are to be found
in every nation of the world. China they believe to be inhabited entirely by persons of
the same faith, and, when their best men die,
their souls are supposed to reappear there.
They formerly supposed that the whole of
the inhabitants of Great Britain were Druses;
but now they are partially disabused of this
idea, yet still cling to the notion that large
numbers of their co-believers exist in Scotland.
Jewish Customrns.
The extent to which Judaism dominates the
daily life of those of its followers who are faithful to its precepts, can hardly be realized by
the Gentile world. In the kitchen, especially,
Rabbinical Judaism is supreme. All butcher's
meat must be soaked before it is cooked, to
extract what remains of the blood. Three
times does the Pentateuch declare that a kid
must not be boiled in its own mother's milk,
and therefore milk and its products must not
form part of the same meal with meat and
even poultry. This results in the employment
of a double set of utensils for cooking and
bringing the food to table, and is a source of
endless trouble and expense. The unfortunate
contre-temnps which, according to the thirtysecond chapter of Genesis, happened to Jacob,
has had the curious effect of inducing his descendants to practically abstain from eating
the hind-quarters of the few beasts left to them
by the fifteenth chapter of Leviticus. Neither
is this all. No meat whatever is permitted to
be eaten, save such as is killed and sold by
persons licensed by the Rabbinical authorities.
New-York Street Names.
Chrystie Street, New York, was so called
in honor of Lieutenant-Colonel John Chrystie,
who fell in battle on the frontier, July 22,
1813. Forsyth, in remembrance of LieutenantColonel Forsyth, killed in Lower Canada, June
28, 1813. Eldridge, in honor of Lieutenant Eldridge, tomahawked in Upper Canadaby Indian
allies and the British, July 17, 1813. Allen
Street was named for Lieutenant William H.
Allen, of the navy, who was killed aboard the
Argus in an engagement with the British
sloop-of-war Pelican, August 12, 1813. Ludlow Street was called after Lieutenant Ludlow,
who fell in the engagement between the Chesapeake and Shannon, June 1,1813. He was but
twenty-one years of age. It was to young
Ludlow, second in command, that the dying
Lawrence left the immortal injunction," Don't
give up the ship!" The remains of Lawrence
and Ludlow were deposited in Trinity burialground, and their common grave is marked by
a beautiful monument.
HET HER King Ludwig, of Bavaria, will
ever marry, is still a matter of speculation for the gossip-monigers in the German
newspapers. It is now related that the young
king, a few years ago, had fallen so desperately
in love with Miss Mallinger, the fascinating
prima-donna at the Royal Theatre of Munich,
that he resolved to offer her his hand. The
prima-donna was well aware of the king's
affection toward her; but the king's relatives
brought to bear upon her certain influences,
which caused her to treat her royal lover with
considerable coldness. This exasperated King
Ludwig so much that he resolved never to see
her again. She was dismissed firom the Munich
theatre, and had to seek an engagement else where.
It is not generally known that the Duke
de Reichstadt was in love with Fanny Ellsler,
the celebrated danseuse, and that Louis Napo leon, six or seven years after the duke's death,
intended to marry her in London. Fanny
Ellsler promptly rejected his proposals. She
had been secretly married a year or two previ ously. Her younger sister-, also an eminent
danseuse, is the morganatic wife of Prince
Albert of Prussia.
The Sultan of Morocco is described as a
morose man, of by no means commanding
presence. He is said to be addicted to the im moderate use of strong drink, and cruel in his
proclivities, but his indolence is so great that
he frequently fails to perpetrate deeds of vio lence upon which he has already resolved. He
is illiterate, and unable to write his own name.
Another horrible execution took place at
Kiev, in Russia, a few weeks since. Four
highway robbers were executed. The hang man first gave each of them one hundred lashes,
branded them on the forehead, and then hanged
them. An immense crowd, cheering on the
executioner, and drowning the screams of the
tortured wretches for mercy, was present.
It turns out that the estate of Schwartzenbeck, in Lauenlstein, which the Emperor William presented some time ago to Prince Bisinarck, is not near as profitable as was originally
believed. The prince will have to invest at
least one hundred thousand dollars in it before he will be able to derive any revenue therefrom.
The present Prime-Minister of Greece was
formerly a commission-merchant at Trieste, in
Austria. He failed in business, and removed
to Athens, where he found employment in the
department of Foreign Affairs. He was rapidly
promoted, owing to his fluency as a parliamentary speaker, and is now considered the most
popular statesman in Greece.
Italy seems to suffer at the present time
from a mania to erect monuments, not only to
her distinguished sons, but also to men who
have played a very questionable part mn her
history. No fewer than seventy monuments
and statues of this description are now in
course of construction for various cities and
towns on the peninsula.
The number of Alsatians who emigrated
after the annexation of the province to Germany, is, as officially announced, five thousand
three hundred and eighty-nine. The assertions of the French papers that over thirty
thousand Alsatians had emigrated, were unfounded.
Dr. Strousberg, the Prussian Israelite, who
gained such an unenviable notoriety by his connection with the Roumanian railroad frauds,
lives at home in strict seclusion, being afraid
that some of his dupes might treat him very
roughly in case he should show himself in public.
Erckmann - Chatrian's new book, " The
Sub-Commissioner," has been Frohibited in
Germany, because, as the official decree says,
"it abounds in libellous misrepresentations,
and was evidently written to pander to the
prejudices of the French Chauvins."
Prince Napoleon is noted for his economical
558
fotRign,ftms.