in a village the family room was given up to him for the night, and
in the morning he found a little son had been born in the stable. He
supposed that he had been the unwitting cause of such an event
occurring there; but longer acquaintance with the people shows that
woman almost invariably resorts to that place in her hour of sorrow,
and there she often dies. The number who meet death in this form is
very large.

In Persia, as in other unevangelized countries, women spend their
days in out-door labor. They weed the cotton, and assist in pruning
the vines and gathering the grapes. They go forth in the morning,
bearing not only their implements of husbandry, but also their babes
in the cradle; and returning in the evening, they prepare their
husband's supper, and set it before him, but never think of eating
themselves till after he is done. One of the early objections the
Nestorians made to the Female Seminary was, that it would disqualify
their daughters for their accustomed toil. In after years, woman
might be seen carrying her spelling-book to the field, along with
her Persian hoe, little dreaming that she was thus taking the first
step towards the substitution of the new implement for the old.

Nestorian parents used to consider the birth of a daughter a great
calamity. When asked the number of their children, they would count
up their sons, and make no mention of their daughters. The birth of
a son was an occasion for great joy and giving of gifts. Neighbors
hastened to congratulate the happy father, but days might elapse
before the neighborhood knew of the birth of a daughter. It was
deemed highly improper to inquire after the health of a wife, and
the nearest approach to it was to ask after the welfare of the house
or household. Formerly, a man never called his wife by name, but in