them; for not more than one-sixth part of the land is now in the hands of Egyptian farmers, which was owned by them before the armed Christians came to save them, and thousands of natives are now employed at ten cents per day on the lands of which they then were masters. Through the terrible taxation, limited only by production, and the forced military service, limited only by death, the condition of the women and children has become yet more hopelessly degraded. Wherever there has been a reduction of public or charitable appropriations, the needed economy has at once been applied to the women's share; many schools for girls have been closed to eke out the scrimped allowance for the boys. The Khedive Ismaël established at Cairo a school for the daughters of noble families in a noble building surrounded by handsome grounds. It is now occupied by the English Minister of Public Works.

The evidences and testimony that I had while in Egypt of the deplorable condition of the women in religion, in the family, and under the law, the inadequate means that are being employed to remove the causes of their degradation compel me to present to you for this hour a sombre picture, one not at all in keeping with the marvelous coloring of Egyptian nature and the wonderful picturesqueness of the women, as they take their place in the unique and facinating panorama that unrolls itself before the delighted voyager on the Nile. But I have no choice; I must paint the portrait as I saw it, and it may be, in the discussion that will follow my paper, that other testimony may lighten my dark shading, and promise good result from the benevolent enterprises already organized to upraise our wretched sisterhood.

WOMEN IN RELIGION.

From the earliest recorded time, the Egyptians have had a formal religion, which established a sensual heaven for believers. But while they yet worshipped their sectional Gods, they recognized women as worthy of high and sacred offices. Hieroglyphic inscriptions register that in the early dynasties women were Goddesses, Queens, Priestesses, upholders of the gods, guardians of portions of the temples and sacred places, and that they were respected and revered equally with gods, priests, scribes, architects, and warriors. Women of the families of kings, nobles and chiefs, have honorable mention, and their portraits and cartouches are everywhere, on the temple wall and pillar, on stele and obelisk. It seems moreover, quite certain that ordinary women

joined in the temple service and paid religious tribute. An inscription found but four years ago, on a pillar of a vanished temple, records the taxes paid by women on entering the temple after marriage and child-birth, and so small are the amounts, that Egyptologists think it sure all women had access to the temples and rendered tribute according to their means. The worship of Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amon-ra, Maut, Khonsoo, under many different local names, but always Father, Mother, Son, was performed and perpetuated by men and woman bearing like titles and rendering equally sacred and important service. All this is now changed; the pendulum of the religious clock swings far away to the other side.

In Egypt there are two religious sects, Copts and Muslims. At Alexandria and Cairo there are congregations of the Greek and Armenian Church, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and it may be others; these are the churches of the foreigners, and are scarcely found out of the two great cities. The number of Copts is estimated by themselves at 700,000, by others at 300,000. Claiming to be the oldest Christian church, established by the Evangelist Mark himself, whose body was enshrined in Alexandria, until translated by the Venetians, they refused to accept the doctrine of the double nature of Christ, and were condemned as heretics by the Council of Chalcedon. Thus the persecutions they had suffered under Decius and Valerianus, culminating in the destruction of their beautiful cities, and the massacre of thousands by Diocletian, whose cruel edict was even more destructive than his fire and sword, were continued by the Christian Emperors of Constantinople. Under Mahommedan rule they were long encouraged to embrace Islam by degradation and the branding-iron, but during the present century they have for the most part been relieved from civil, if not from social oppression. These ages of persecution, and wicked hatred have left their impress on Coptic character. They are tenacious, timid, cowardly, suspicious, deceitful and sullen, with remarkable individual exceptions.

COPTIC WOMEN.

The officers of the Coptic Church are a patriarch, bishops, priests, and deacons. These offices women may not ll. There are orders of monks, and there have been sisterhoods of celibates. The officers may not marry after entering upon the office, and must have married

a maiden. The Coptic language is not now written or spoken, and is understood by very few of those who recite, or attend the service of the church. Coptic women attend church, confess, and receive the sacrament, but they are not expected to pray as often as the men. Their style of dress and their customs are the same as those of Muslim women, and they generally wear black in the street. Baby-girls are baptized eighty days after birth, boys after forty only. The churches are divided; the women's part is the lower, separated from the men's by a high lattice. Women should not be present when the prayers are said for a male invalid of the family over ten years old, or when he receives the sacrament, except by special request.

As among the Muslim women, much piety is unbecoming and quite ridiculous out of the cloister. I have often remarked the little respect Coptic women show for the service of the church. At intervals they repeat short prayers, but during the larger part of the ceremony they chat and laugh with their friends. There is not either order or decorum required of men or women during the service. The women stare through the half-open veil, whisper or talk audibly, crowd the strangers, and conduct themselves much as they do in the shops and bazaars.

Neither are the churches nor the women cleanly. The oldest churches have small openings in the lattice, looking toward the chancel, where lamps may be placed during evening service, and these have left there greasy black signatures for unmolested ages. Not seldom you may see worn out utensils of the church service lying about in the corners. Above Cairo it is often unhealthful to attend church among these untidy and disorderly women and children; the rancid buffalo butter and the castor oil with which they moisten their hair, are not the agreeable perfume one would choose for the confined air. They never change their clothing or make preparation in any way for the sabbath or the church. The wives and families of wealthy, educated Copts seldom attend church except during fasts and festivals ; they are agreeable in dress and manner. I am told that their prayers are mere forms recited, but that the real prayer of the woman is to be wife of a rich man and the mother of sons. They do not understand the creed of their church, and feel no moral responsibility; and, again with their Muslim sisters, do not count any wrong-doing sin, if it be not discovered. They have no education of the conscience, and are reputed to be too often ingenious in intrigue and falsehood.

A very intelligent Coptic gentlemen of Cairo, who gave us much opportunity to meet the better class of his people, and witness some of their important ceremonies, said to us, that he wished to enter the priesthood in order that he might use the influence of the office for the advancement of women in morality and cleanliness, and, he added with sad voice, most of our priests are too indifferent to this. A few days after in speaking of a Coptic lady we had known in Paris, he remarked with much severity of tone, that she was the only Coptic woman that had been taken to Paris by her husband, and allowed to wear the European dress in the street. We did not further grieve him by telling him that the sister of the lady had also seen the wicked city in the same dress. The incident revealed that even he was scarcely prepared for the important work he coveted.

LEVANTINE WOMEN.

The Levantine women are mostly Christians and claimed by the Catholics. They have many of the superstitions of the Muslim women, but they have a favourable recognition in the Church and its service. They attend mass, pray for the dead, and confess to the priest. They are somewhat educated and are naturally intelligent and shrewd in their own affairs. The widow who does not desire the aid of the priest in disposing and arranging her affairs, after the death of her husband, omits confession. They believe in the magical effects of lying to turn away evil influences. They are indolent and early become very fat; many in Cairo and Alexandria have never seen the city gates or the port. They too are reputed to indulge in serious intrigues, and social crimes. They have not the faith in destiny which enervates the best Muslims, but are courageous in danger. They are not frank in their hatreds or dislikes. They associate with the Copts far more than with Muslims, and are over-fond of festivities.

MUSLIM WOMEN.

I have never seen a Muslim woman praying in a mosque except at the Howling Dervishes, when three women in an upper balcony accompanied the brethren in a part of the exercises, by pantomime, and they were insane and put there to be cured by the devotions. Nor have I seen a Muslim woman or girl praying anywhere. But there are mosques in Cairo that are named for women and some that have been built by them, or for them with their money. I knew at least

six bearing women's names; that of Sitt Zeyneb, the grand-daughter of the Prophet, has a clock tower and much decorations, and none but women can enter the bronze enclosure which contains the brocadedraped tomb. The mosque of Sitt Sofeeya, built by her eunuch, has a fine minaret and decorations; those of Ayesha and Fatmeh, are of peculiar sanctity.

Our wise and instructive Alee, a tall, gaunt Nubian, a rigid Muslim, crammed with histories, legends and much experience, the best authority on our dahabeeyeh, and whom we mercilessly question on the social and domestic life of the women, related to us with many particulars, that his wife and other Muslim women, went twice a year, after a bath, to a side room in the mosque of Fatmeh and Ayesha, to pray, and be advised by a khateeb. This exhortation was praise to Allah, injunction to serve the husband, warning against evil spirits and infidelity, exhortation to teach the sons the things they should know while in the hareem, rhapsodical expressions of God, and blessing asked for the pilgrims and the family of the Prophet. Nothing for daily use is contained in the prayers and not anything for special afflictions, sickness or calamity. They turn to reputed living saints for their miracles, incantations and blessing, rather than to physician or to prayer. They believe in medicine, if one of their wonder-workers give it to them, but are afraid of the doctor and refuse to show their faces when he is called, which may be one cause of there being so few physicians above Cairo. The women believe in Ginns, beings not mortal, who seek mortal mates. Charms and talismans and the envious eye are also part of their religion, and the Koran has special directions upon all these, how to be used and how to be avoided.

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The Prophet did not forbid women to attend the prayers in a Mosque, but said it was better that they pray in private. In Cairo women and boys under seven years are not allowed to pray with the congregation in the Mosque, or be present in time of prayer, for the Prophet has said:- Sitting an hour with the distaff is better for women than a year of worship," and "for every piece of cloth woven of the thread spun by women, she shall receive the reward of the martyr." Nevertheless he did assign to her a place in the rear of the Mosque where she may pray looking from afar over the men in front, toward the niche of Mecca. Ancient and modern Mahommedans agree that "the presence of women inspires another devotion than that appropriate to a place set apart for the worship of God." Very