t a very favorable
one!

Divorce is easy, inexpensive, and very prevalent; and it is no uncommon
thing to hear that a man has had ten or eleven wives and that a woman
has had eight or nine husbands. For an angry man to say the words, "I
divorce you," and to repeat them three times, swearing an oath by the
Prophet, is enough to oblige the object of his wrath to leave his house;
carrying with her a bed, a pillow, a coverlet, and a saucepan, together
with the clothes which she had from her own family at her marriage. She
returns to her father's house, or to the nearest relation she has,
should he be dead, until another marriage is arranged for her.

Among the richer classes divorce seldom occurs; and, if the wife has
children and devotes herself to the comfort of her husband, she may feel
her position tolerably secure. Should she fall ill, however, it is rare
that a husband permits her to remain in his house, for he has not
promised to cherish her in sickness and in health. He will send her to
her own family till he sees how the illness will turn; and, more than
probably, she will be told in less than a month that she is divorced,
and that her husband has married another. How often in our Palestine
hospitals do we try to comfort and soothe the poor sick women in their
feverish anxiety to get well, for fear of this dreaded Damocles' sword
falling on their unhappy heads!

Among the poorer classes divorce is extremely prevalent. If a woman has
no child, she is immediately divorced, and is returned to her own
family, who arrange for a second marriage, generally in about ten days
from the time she is divorced. Should she again have no child, her lot
will indeed be a sad one. She must then be content to be the wife of
some blind or crippled man, who, perhaps, will also exact a sum of money
from her relations for his charity in marrying her. If a woman be
divorced after she has had children, she must leave them with the
husband, to be probably harshly treated by her successor or successors.
If the father dies, the children are supported by his brothers or
relations, while the widow marries again. It is seldom that a widow is
permitted to take a child, or children, to her new home. There is no
difficulty in providing for orphan girls; they are much sought after in
marriage, for the law excuses a young man from foreign military service
if he can prove that his wife is an orphan. This means that he would not
be able to leave her