May, 1879.
136
THE WEST SHORE.
DtfTtMOl isiii i Visitors, Hon. I'.
,M. Pixley, tlx accomplished eat
tot of the Sin Francisco Argwdi
ami Hon. A. A. Sargent, laic 1 . s.
grantor from California, arc honoring
ii Northwest with visit, Both gen-
lli 1111 11 arrived here on tin- new steam-
.hip "Siaii- 6fCallrbrnia.M
0KE0ON WHKAT WHO AN BEAT IT?
V hereb) ctrtifj thai we recently
ground mmm ninety-day or Centennial
whoalt for David l. Prettyman, 1.,
I Polk countyi urcgon, ami mat tnc
aid wheat made forty six poundi of
ilnur in tin bushel atcettalned hv ac
tual weighing. The Hour whh of the
best quality.
Hi 1 KIMOHAM iV Smiiii, of I'.x-
celaior Mill.
Sai.i w, Ohm. on, May 14, 1S79.
VVIien Disraeli took his scat in the
British Parliament, both the Jewish and
Oeotlle world looked upon the redemp
tion of Palestine as near at hand; and
when, during the darkest days of its
last sore tribulation, tile Sublime l'orte,
11s was said, made definite overtures to
the Kothchilds to sell for ready cash
feruialeoi, and so much of Syria as
would comprise Galilee, Judeu and
Samaria, the long wished-for year of
1 deliverance was thought to be at hand.
Hut so surely as the Turkish power is
waning, so surely will this priest-ridden
and enthralled country, ere long, arise
from 'ts slumber of ages and take its
place among the civilised, if not enlight
ened nations of the earth. As a whole,
its people are civilized already, and a
totype. Between friends and strangers,
the line of demarkation is nicely drawn.
A Syrian, meeting either a fellow-countryman
or a foreigner, salutes him by
touching, with his right hand, his breast,
lips and forehead. Thus signifying
that the person saluted is cherished in
the heart, praised by the lips and es
teemed by the intellect. A greater
deference for fancied or real superi
ority is shown by lowering the right
hand almost or quite to the earth, thus
honoring the ground trodden upon by
the person encountered. The highest
respect of all is shown by kissing the
hands and feet. A stranger entering
the tent of a Bedawy or cottage of a
Fellah, is sure to be respectfully re
ceived, notwithstanding what may aftcr-
1
1 As l l 1. Ill MN SYRIA.
COM ION OIUM tl'OMUl N'( I
is (L-Mni Ak. Nia lit sis, Svnn, 1
Mnh 1 j, 1X79. 1
I 1.1 1. .11 Witl BflOll : If it lakes
aiintliti RuMoTurklsh war to o im
poverish the Ottoman empire that the
Sultan will lime Ml Othei N XJtttM but
to tare ovej tc Hoi) Land to Jewish
hanker, orieitl louiil will nut t .Hi
how m.oii it cunii'i. 1 .mi inclined to I
the Wlirf lhat many of tin mmr intelli
Mil Mohammedan who have valu-l
able MesioHN scattered through ihisc
legions, would gladly exchange tin
htarctt deotmn of thru land fur anv
foi 111 of government that w ould eman
cipate ihcm from ihc abject servitude
that goad them on everj tiek.
few roving bands of Bedouins, too indo
lent to woik and too ignorant for busi-iii-sv,
;ire its only tramps. The cas
anti v of Galilee and Judca are, to-day,
in a far better condition, financially and
socially, than similar classes in there
lined nations of Northwestern Kuropc.
This may sound like a broad assertion.
but my fellow-travelers here, and
unong their number are several Eng
lish gentlemen of high culture, fully
endoisc all I have said on this point.
The common eople of Syria retain
and cherish with almost religious fidel
ity, oty many of the ancient customs
1 and usages. Let us take a single in-
stance. The act of salutation adheres
strictly to its original and beautiful pro-
wards transpire. The population of
Palestine mainly comprises the three
religious denominations, Jews, Chris
tians and Mohammedans. The Jews
i throughout the country would number,
perhaps, from 10,000 to 15,000, and are
mostly of Spanish origin; they reside
almost wholly in the four cities, Jerusa
lem, Hebron, Tilicrius and Safct. The
Christians are generally of the Syrian
race, and In-long, nominally, to the
Greek church. Their "Patriarch" re
sides nt Jerusalem and has ecclesiastic
dominion over the whole of Palestine.
Under thb functionary there arc eight
bishop, whose sees are Nazareth, Acre,
Lydda, Gaza, Scbustc, Nabloos, Phila-
iCoMludol ua pt Mi