TOPOGRAPHY, EACES, KELIGIONS, LANGUAGES AND CUSTOMS. 45- 



tamia. Thev have, as other semi-pag-an sects, borrowed 

 many rites and ceremonies from the Christians and Moslems, 

 but they are supposed to worship the heavenly bodies as their 

 forefathers did. This kind of idolatry prevailed formerly 

 in Mesopotamia. Avhence it spread all over the East, and 

 found its Avay ultimately into Greece. The sun, the moon, 

 and the stars were believed to possess divine intelligence,, 

 and exercised constant influence for good or evil upon 

 the desthiy of man. Even now sup.erstition prevails in 

 different parts of Biblical lands amongst all classes and 

 sects at the appearance of a new moon, and those who 

 see it at its birth are particular as to what face or object 

 they behold immediately afterwards. On this account, there- 

 fore, if a person meets with bad luck or is visited with any 

 misfortune during that lunar month he exclaims, " I must 

 have seen the new moon on an ill-omened face." Probably the 

 influence of the moon on the sea tides and persons afflicted 

 with epileptic fits, may have in a great measure contributed 

 to the belief of those who are more or less superstitious as to 

 the heavenly bodies possessing a mysterious power over the 

 fate of the human race. 



It is said that there is a small sect in Syria mixed with 

 the Maronites and Droozes called " Galdeans," who, like 

 the Sabeaus, claim St. John the Baptist as their prophet and 

 founder of their faith. They hold a middle course belief 

 between Judaism and Christianity and adhere strictly to the 

 sacrament of baptism. They celebrate their Eucharist with 

 honey and locusts alternately, which are distributed as 

 consecrated elements to the worshippers present, and sent 

 to the absent members of their sect as a religious rite. The 

 term " Galdean " may be a corruption of " Chaldean " as. 

 applied to a part of those whom the King of Assyria trans- 

 ferred from Babylonia to Samaria. 



The present Chaldeans of Mesopotamia and Assyria, of 

 whose nationality I am, are doubtless the offspring of the 

 ancients, as I shall try to prove by what to my mind is 

 incontestable evidence, though some travellers and self- 

 opinionated writers have insisted on irrelevant arguments to 

 the contrary. I will quote what they have adduced in defence 

 of their theories, and will leave to painstaking critics to draw 

 their conclusions therefrom. I myself will base my proofs on 

 three undeniable data, namely, — language, homestead, and 

 history, which I think ought to be infallible tests in demon- 

 strating the nationality of the natives of any country. 



