ied,
which are supposed to attach miraculous meanings to the most ordinary
events. Dreams, riddles, and the like--all are there. The one strange
personification is the Dew. The Dew is a monster, half demon, half
human; sometimes harmless, sometimes malevolent; mortal, indeed, but
reaching a good or, shall we say, an evil old age. The Dew figures in
nearly all Armenian fairy-tales.

The Armenian proverbs exhibit the persistent capacity of the Armenians
during a time of _Sturm und Drang_ to embody, in pithy, wise, and
sometimes cynical form, the wisdom drawn from their own experience and
from that of the ages. It is possible that the cynical vein discernible
in some of these proverbs is a result of the intense and continued
national trials. Take, for instance, this proverb, "If a brother were a
good thing, God would have provided himself with one." Can anything be
more cynical?

The poems are of later origin. Since the twelfth century, when
literature burst the bonds imposed upon it by ecclesiastical domination,
the poetic spirit of the Armenians has found expression. It is rich in
oriental passion and imagery, brilliant in expression, and intensely
musical. But through all the poems we are reminded of the melancholy
strain that pervaded the exiles of Jerusalem when "by the waters of
Babylon" they "sat down and wept." The apostrophe to Araxes reminds us
of the trials of Armenia, of her exiled sons, of her wasted land, and of
the perpetual fast she ever keeps in mourning for her children.

The comedy of "The Ruined Family" and the pathetic story of "The Vacant
Yard" are also of the post-monastic era. In the comedy we gain an
insight into the jealousy and the pride of life that pervaded then as
now the middle walks of life. Its Ibsenesque quality is very striking.
The persistent and human struggle of the mother to gain a high position
in life for her daughter through marriage, and the agonizing of the
father to get together a suitable dower for his daughter, together with
the worldly-wise comments and advice of the old aunt, are so true to
modern life that one realizes anew the sameness of human nature in all
climes and ages.

"The Vacant Yard" gives us a charming picture of Armenian life. The
people are depicted with an impartial pen, subject to the minor crosses
and humors of fate, having their ups and downs just as we do to-day, but
the intense local color that pervades the story holds one to the closing
line.

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