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444 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
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Tlio very Important part which toys may be 
made to play In the education of children is by no 
means a recent discovery, or one that must be 
credited to so-called civilized countries. In Japan 
and China they have for centuries been regarded 
as of the utmost importance, and their literature 
and art teems with the evidence of the high es¬ 
timation in which they are held. Many of the 
most beautiful and Ingenious toys had tbelrorlgln 
In those countries. ■Numerous toys of various 
kinds were disinterred by Gen. m Cksnoi.a from 
the tombs In Cyprus. One, u horso a foot In 
length, rolling on movable wheels, was found In 
a diminutive grave, older probably than Hkctok 
and Anokomacb*. The figure of a man washing 
or kneading dough, with Joints at the hips and 
arms, so that a block In Its hands could be moved 
up and down an inclined plane by means of a 
string attached to the figure, was found In an 
Egyptian tomb. So It seems that in toys, as in 
other things, we are following in the footsteps of 
our predecessors. 
Building blocks have always been a favorite 
form of toy with children, especially boys, one 
reason tor Its popularity In our early days was 
the fact that It cost nothing. Building blocks In 
great variety could be procured at any carpen¬ 
ter's or cabinet -maker’s shop for the mere trouble 
of carrying them away. But the pretty blocks 
now offered for sale in the shops were wholly un¬ 
known then. 
Our cut shows a group of children amusing 
themselves with blocks of the primitive kind, 
such as we were accustomed to In our Infancy. 
We dure say that the enjoyment derived from 
them Is not excelled by that which the favored 
children of the present time get from their more 
elaborately and tastefully fashioned ones, while 
their constructive skill Is put to a far severer t ost,. 
One little follow has apparently given up in de¬ 
spair, and Is receiving encouragement from Ills 
mother and the nurse. 
--. 
MAHOMET, 
BY I,. A. ROBERTS. 
Every age lias Its distinguishing characters, 
who impress Indelibly upon It and futurity their 
mark, and whose lnlluence, whether for good or 
evil, is felt through succeeding generations. The 
doctrines taught by Socrates and Plato still ilnd 
an answering chord m the minds of seekers after 
strange things, and we have even now among us 
those who would build altars with tlio Athenian 
inscription—" To the Unknown God." 
A belief In the marvelous seems to bea predom¬ 
inant trait in the human churacter. Men will 
not wash In Jordan and be healed, but wait until 
commanded to do "some great thing," which 
l hey suppose essential to their recovery. Effects 
of unknown causes, and results of supposed super¬ 
natural agency, produce Impressions even more 
permanent than those wblcli spring from the 
correct understanding of natural laws. 
The religion of the Mahometan Is based upon 
t his credulity. The same blind, unreasoning faith 
that teaches the Hindoo mother to cast her child 
into the "sacred River," or to immolate herself 
upon the funeral pile of her husband, that teaches 
the Thugs that murder Is pleasing In the sight of 
God, and that leads the Jesuit to believe that the 
end always sanctifies the means, actuates the fol¬ 
lower of Mahomet In his devotions. 
What can seem more pitiful to an educated 
mind than this blinded veal, bigotry and super¬ 
stition, or to sum It, In one word—Ignorance (for 
ignorance and superstition always go hand In 
hand), which forms the basis of this system. And 
when these errors once have full possession of the 
soul—when the minds of their subjects are no 
longer open to reason—not oven death itself has 
power to dissolve the Illusion. 
"The lover may 
Pis!rust tho look that steals his soul away, 
The babe inay cease to think that It can play 
With heaven's rainbow; alchemists may doubt 
The shiuinx void their crucibles give out— 
But Fnlth, fanatic Faith, once wedded fast 
To some deur falsehood, hugs it to the last." 
The subject of this sketch was born in Mecca, 
in April, A. D. 609. He was the only son of Ab¬ 
dallah and Amina. The Moslem tradition says: 
" Abdallah was so remarkable for personal beauty 
and tlioso qualities that win the affections of 
women, that on the night of his marriage with 
Amina, two hundred Korlsh virgins died of broken 
hearts;" but we are not Informed whether Ma¬ 
homet inherited any of Ms father’s attractions. 
At the moment of Ms birth (so goes the tradi¬ 
tion) a celestial light Illuminated tho Surrounding 
country, and he, raising his eyes to heaven, ex¬ 
claimed, *• God Is groat, there is no god but God, 
and I am bis prophet”—and many other mar¬ 
velous things took place at the same time. Ills 
•father dted while he was yet an Infant, leaving 
his family in poor circumstances—flve camels and 
one Ethiopian female slave being all their posses¬ 
sions. In consequence of thetr poverty, the edu¬ 
cation of Mahomet was neglected m his youth, 
and he was taught neither to read nor write. He 
was a thoughtful child—quick to observe, prone 
to meditate on all he saw, and possessed of a fer¬ 
tile Imagination. When he was twelve years old, 
ho went, with a caravan to .Syria, taking then Ills 
flrst, lesson In merchandizing. At sixteen years 
of age, he went as armor-bearer to his uncle In a 
warlike expedition. This Is cited as his nrst; essay 
lu arms. After that, no events or importance oc¬ 
curred to Interrupt the even touor of his way for 
several years, and nothing was apparent which 
would give us any idea that be was more particu¬ 
larly under the protecting care of heaven than 
any other mortal. He mingled with other men, 
and busied himself in transacting worldly busi¬ 
ness ; be bought, sold, and got gain. 
Through the Influence of friends, he obtained 
the situation of factor for a rich widow named 
Khadtjah, u» whose service he gave such satis¬ 
faction as Induced her to make him her husband, 
by doing wMeh she at once raised him to an 
equality with the richer families In Mecca, Ma¬ 
homet, was at this time about twenty-live, and 
his wife nearly forty. In consequence of this ad¬ 
vantageous matrimonial alliance, he was enabled 
to live athls ease, and Ills ever active mind sought 
for something on which Lo occupy Itself. He soon 
formed the scheme of establishing a new religious 
faith, or, as he chose to term It, to cleanse the 
reltglon of Adam, Moses, Abraham, tho Prophets 
and Jesus from the errors wliich had been con¬ 
nected with It by Idolatrous worshipers, and rein¬ 
state It In its original purity, which was, as lie 
said, the worship of the one true God. 
At first lie chose very wisely to coniine the pro¬ 
mulgation of Ills doctrines to ills own household. 
The different members of his family soon ac¬ 
knowledged belief in Ms assertions that he was 
the prophet of God and received visits from the 
same angel that appeared to Moses. The first 
announcement, of his prophetic character was 
made when he was about forty years old, and is 
known by Mahometans as the first year of the 
mission. His servant having professed the ralth, 
received Ms liberty, and his followers still follow 
his example by emancipating their slaves upon 
their declaring themselves believers of the Koran. 
During the subsequent three years, lie succeeded 
in enrolling among his followers some of the prin¬ 
cipal and most Influential men in Mecca. 
Having now, as he hoped, a sufficient, Interest to 
support Ms cause, he called a public meeting of 
hls relatives and friends on a hillside in the vicin¬ 
ity of Mecca. But all was not as favorable for 
him as he could have wished, and the assembly 
dispersed In confusion. A second meeting was 
called at hls own house, where he addressed the 
assembly upon the revelation be had received 
from heaven, but was not warmly received by Ms 
kindred although Ms words found favor among 
the people at large. He did not claim to establish 
a new creed, but to restore the old, which was de¬ 
rived from God Mmself. " We follow," says the 
Koran, " the religion of Abraham the orthodox, 
who was no ldolator.” 
It may be well before proceeding further, to ex¬ 
amine briefly the condition of the country at this 
period. 'The Arabs say that their country was 
peopled soon after the flood by the progeny of 
Shem, forming tribes, the most noted of which 
are the Adltes and Thamudltes. But little re¬ 
mains concerning these tribes, tho permanent 
population being ascribed to Katan or Joetan, a 
descendant in the rourth generation from Shem. 
Yarab, one or tils sons, founded tho ldngdom of 
Ystnen. The kingdom of Araba was so called in 
honor of him, from whence the Arabs derive their 
name. Jurham, another son, founded the king¬ 
dom of Hcdja, over which hls descendants bore 
sway for many generations. 
Among this people Hagar and her son Islunael 
were kindly received when exiled by Abraham. 
Isbmaol married t he daughter of Modad. a reign¬ 
ing prince In the line of Jurham, and thus a He¬ 
brew became grafted on the Arabian stock, ish- 
raael had twelve sons who formed twelve tribes, 
obtained dominion over tho country, and finally 
obliterated the primitive stock of Jocton. Christ¬ 
ian writers cite the above as a fulrtlmcnt of the 
covenant In Genesis xvil., 20. 
Tho name Cush Is sometimes given to the Arabs 
and their country In Scripture. The descendants 
of Cush, the son of llam, Inhabited the banks or 
the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, and is prob¬ 
ably the race whose descendants now roam ovor 
Abyssinia, and are sometimes called Syria Ara¬ 
bians, 
The religion of tho Arabs, In what they call days 
of Ignorance, partook largely of two faiths, the 
Sablan and the Magtan. ’The origin of the former 
Is uncertaln. In Its original state it was pure and 
spiritual, Inculcating a belief In the unity of God, 
the certainty of future rewards and punishments, 
and the necessity of a virtuous and holy life to 
ontaln a happy immortality. They supposed the 
heavenly bodies to he inhabited and Lumlnatcd by 
angels, and such was their reverence for the Su¬ 
preme Being, they dared not approach him save 
through their Intermediation. But by degrees 
their faith lost Its simplicity, and became mingled 
with wild superstition and blind Idolatry. 
The Maglan8, or Gucbres, (Are worshippers) 
originated In Persia, where their doctrines were 
reduced to writing by its great prophet and teach¬ 
er, Zoroaster. Their creed was also originally 
simple, Inculcating a belief In one Supreme Eter¬ 
nal God, In whom and by whom the universe 
exists. That lie created two principles, one of 
lighter good—the oilier of darkness or evu. These 
formed the world out of a mixture of their oppos¬ 
ing elements, and were engaged In a perpetual 
contest, In the regulation of Us affairs. Ilence the 
vicissitudes of good or evil, as one or the other 
elements obtained tho ascendancy. The contest 
they supposed would continue until the end of 
the world, when there would be a general resur¬ 
rection and judgment. The angel of darkness and 
Ms disciples would be banished to an abode of 
woful gloom, and their opponents would enter the 
blissful realms of everlasting light. They believed 
the abode of the Deity to be on the sun, and re¬ 
vered It as hls residence, and also as the source 
of light and heat. They had no temples, altars, 
or religious symbols of any kind, but addressed 
their prayers directly lo the Deity. But the sect 
In Dine lost sight of the divine principles In the 
symbol, and came to worship lire as the real Dei¬ 
ty ; and lu their frantic zeal would seize upon un¬ 
believers and offer them upon the name as sacri¬ 
fices. Judaism and Christianity had their adher¬ 
ents among the Arabs. 
Such was the state of reltglon when Mahomet 
appeared, and by deceit, persuasion, and force, 
joined all classes and tribes In one sect, and with 
the Koran for their guide, and " There Is no God 
but God, and Mahomet la Ills prophet," Tor their 
watchword, they went forth to establish the most 
numerous and powerful religious denomination 
the world lias ever known. 
Ah a guide-book in all matters, both spiritual 
and temporal, Mahomet gave hls disciples the 
Koran. The word Is from the Arabic, and signifies 
to read nr teach. The Mahomedan Is taught to 
believe that the law of Moses was formerly the 
guide for human conduct—that It was superseded 
by the Gospels, which In thetr turn gave way to 
the Koran—that being the completion of the law. 
It teaches the unity of God, a belief In angels or 
ministering spirits, M the last Judgment, in pre¬ 
destination, and In future rewards and punish¬ 
ments. Much of the Koran may be traced to the 
Bible, the Mlslmu and the Talmud of the Jews. 
This innovation upon old customs and belief 
was met with strong opposition, and Mahomet 
and hls followers were obliged to take refuge In 
the castle of hls uncle, Abu Taleb, one of the 
chlefest among hls proselytes. Abu Taleb was 
so far discouraged that he endeavored to dissuade 
.Mahomet from pursuing the affair further, repre¬ 
senting the great danger la which both himself 
and friends were placed; but he was not to be In¬ 
timidated, and said: 
“ if they put the sun against me on my right 
hand, and the moon on my left, still will 1 perse¬ 
vere 
For three years they were obliged to remain In 
the castle, during which time the sect, as Is usu¬ 
ally the case. Increased under persecution. The 
same year as their exodus from the castle, Kha- 
dijah died. Although when married to Mahomet 
she was past the bloom of years, yet. he remained 
true to her, and never availed Mmself during her 
life of a plurality of wives, according to the Ara¬ 
bian custom. Ho permitted hls followers four 
wives, and after the death of Kbadljah did not 
confine himself lo that Dumber. Hls flrst choice 
was made within a month after the death of 
Khadljah, and fell upon Ayesha, daughter of Ahu 
Beku, one of hls followers, as she was but seven 
years of age, he was merely betrothed to her at 
this time, the nuptials being postponed for two 
years. During these two years he married a 
widow named Sewda. 
In the tenth year of hls mission, Mahomet vls- 
isted Medina, where he had many friends and 
converts, but so strong was public opinion against 
him that hl3 life was endangered, and he was 
obliged to seek safety lu flight, ills followers, 
however, rapidly increased, and he was soon en¬ 
abled to return with Impunity. From this year, 
the / rnjira , or flight of the Prophet, which corre¬ 
sponds with A. D. 622, tho Moslems calculate 
their time, on hls return to Medina, he built, a 
tc-mplo or mosque, on the site of which one still 
exists, and Is called the Mosque of the Prophet. 
At, this time ho wa3 very abstemious In Ms diet 
and frugal In hls expenditures. Ills food con¬ 
sisted chiefly of fruits and barley-bread, with 
raffle and honey, lie swept hls own room, mend¬ 
ed hls own clothes, lighted hls tire, and was, lu 
short, hls own servant. 
in the twelfth year of Ms mission, he told hls 
followers that on one night he made a Journey 
from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, 
where he conversed with God. This story seemed 
so very Improbable that many of hls followers 
left him, but some of the most Influential In Ms 
ranks came forward and testified to their belief 
of it,, which not only convinced others of Its troth, 
but gave Mahomet assurance that whatever he 
might say would now be received without ques¬ 
tion. 
Until the thirteenth year of Ms mission, he used 
no means but argument and persuasion to In¬ 
crease hls numbers. Previously he seemed to 
have disclaimed all power or working miracles; 
but during the thirteenth year he announced that 
other prophets had been sent by God to Illustrate 
hls different attributes: Moses, Ills gentleness 
and providence; Solomon, hls wisdom; Jesus, bis 
righteousness and power; but none of them all 
had been able to enforce conviction, and even 
their miracles had been treated with unbelief. 
He, therefore, the last of the prophets, was sent 
with the sword which was the key to heaven and 
to hell. All who fell fighting for the true faith 
would be transported to Paradise, there to revel 
In 
" Bowers of love arid streams of vvino, 
And palaces of purest adamant, 
Where dark-eyed liouris, with their young white arms, 
The ever virgin, woo pud welcome ye." 
Predestination was here brought to hls aid. 
According to the Koran, every ovent was predes¬ 
tinated from eternity, and could not be avoided. 
No man could die sooner or later than Ms allotted 
hour, and It would be the same whether upon the 
Held of battle or his bed. No violence was yet 
authorized upon unbelievers who would pay trib¬ 
ute. Here appears to be the flrst dawn of worldly 
ambition, which afterward seemed to be the prin¬ 
cipal motive by which he was actuated. In a 
short time, by tho combined force of arms and 
eloquence, he had acquired dominion over a great 
number of Arabian tribes. Many thousands of 
warriors joined Ms standard—children of the des¬ 
ert, by long practice Inured to withstand for a 
considerable time severe hunger and thirst, as 
well as the scorching rays of the tropical suu. 
He taught them temperance, disciplined them in 
military tactics, ftersuaded them to valorous feel¬ 
ings, and subjected them to authority. He now 
commenced laying plans for conquest, and select¬ 
ing about ten thousand of hls best troops, marched 
toward Mecca. So secret had been Ms proceed¬ 
ings that the Inhabitants of that city were not 
aware of hls designs until he was encamped un¬ 
der their very walls. The city was surrendered 
without resistance, the inhabitants deeming It 
lolly to contend with so large a force. 
Mahomet was now in possession of hls native 
city, and consequently of the Caaba or temple, 
which he Immediately cleared of all Idols and 
Images of Idolatrous worship, ills followers, 
particularly those of Medina, began to say among 
themselves, "Now he Is possessed of the city of 
hls birth, Medina will be forgotten,” which com¬ 
ing to hls ears, caused him to make a public an¬ 
nouncement, that, should he in tho days of pros¬ 
perity forget those who had befriended him in 
adversity, be should be unwort uy the favor of 
that God whose prophet he claimed to be. He 
consequently returned to Medina, where he con¬ 
tinued to reside until hls death. 
From the first dawnlngs of success, Ms course 
was one of continual conquest. With the Koran 
in one hand and the Sword m the other, hls fol¬ 
lowers marched against every place of Importance 
In the country, presenting their countrymen t he 
choice between embracing the faith of their leader 
or death. The faith soon beeamo jiopular, and 
thousands rushed to hl3 standard from policy. 
The Koran continued to Increase In volume, new 
chapters and verses being added as necessity re¬ 
quired; but It was not till some time after his 
death, that the different parts of It were collect¬ 
ed, They before existed only In the forms In which 
they were put at tho time of delivery—some sen¬ 
tences on parchment—some out on stone—some 
on palm leaves, and in every conceivable place of 
record; while much only remained In the mem¬ 
ory of hls followers. 
Under the name of alma, contributions were lev¬ 
ied for che support of the Prophet, In the collec¬ 
tion of which some difficulty was at flrst experi¬ 
enced; but by means of his all-powerful argu¬ 
ment—the sword—all opposition was soon over¬ 
come. ms followers continued to increase until 
his death, which occurred at Medina In the elev¬ 
enth year of the Hegira, at the close or hls sixty- 
third year, A. I)., 632. 
• ■ - •» ♦ ♦ 
SOMETHING IN THE BED. 
Judge Pitman has a habit of slipping hls watch 
under hls pillow when he goes to bed. The other 
night somehow It slipped down, and as the Judge 
was restless, It gradually worked lta way down¬ 
ward toward the foot of tho bed. After a bit, 
while he was lying awake, hls foot touched It, and 
as It. felt, very cold, he was surprised and scared, 
and Jumping from Ms bed, he said: 
"By gracious, Marla! there’s a toad or a snake 
or something under the covers. 1 touched It with 
my loot.” 
Mrs. Pitman gave a loud scream, and was out 
on the floor In an Instant, 
"Now, don’t go to hollering and waking up the 
neighbors," said the Judge. “ You go and get the 
broom or something, and we’ll flx this tMng 
mighty quick." 
Mrs. Pitman got the broom and gave it to the 
Judge, with the remark that she felt as If snakes 
were creeping all up and down her legs and hack. 
“ O, nonsense, Marla! Now you turn down the 
covers slowly, while I hold the broom and bang 
It. Put a bucket of water alongside the bed, too, 
so s we aan shove it in and drown It.” 
Mrs. Pitman tlxed the bucket and gently re¬ 
moved the covers. The Judge held the broom 
uplifted and, as soon as the black ribbon of the 
watch was revealed, he cracked away three or 
tour times with hls broom, Then he pushed the 
thing off Into the bucket. Then they took the 
bucket to the light to Investigate tho matter 
When the Judge saw what it was, he said: 
" 1 might have known that I Just like you wo¬ 
men, to go screeching and rnaklug a fuss about 
nothing! Who’s going to pay me for that watch ? 
It’s utterly ruined.” 
“ it was you made the fuss, not me," said Mrs. 
Pitman. " You needn’t try to put the blame off 
on me." 
“ O, hush up and go to bed! I’m tired of hear¬ 
ing your blather. ’Pears to me you can’t keep 
your tongue still a minute. Blame me If I ain’t 
going to get a divorce and emigrate!” 
And the Judge turned In and growled at Marla 
until he fell asleep.—.V. r. Weekly. 
-♦♦♦- 
SOME TRIUMPHS OF POOR MEN. 
It Is not a little remarkable that most of the 
mighty works ot the world have been accom¬ 
plished by poor men, but men so thoroughly ab¬ 
sorbed In their labor as to ultimately exorcise tho 
most widespread lnlluence. David Livingstone, 
for Instance, and Smith the Assyrian explorer, 
have recently shown that It Is not wealth which 
makes a man famous. Livingstone, who opened 
up the interior of Africa, and whose memory Is so 
fresh that it need not be dilated upon, was a fac¬ 
tory boy. Sir William Uorsehel, who made so 
many discoveries In astronomy, actually went to 
England when a youtb from Germany as a street 
musician. It was a great step when he became 
organist to the Octagon Chapel at Bath. Unable 
to buy a telescope, ho made one, and while In 
these humble circumstances discovered a new 
planet, then called the Georglum Sldus. From 
that moment ho became famous; hut It Is certain 
that it was not the hope of public applause that 
sustained him previously, hut pure love of science. 
Jenner, again, the Inventor of vaccination, which 
Is being so carefully enforced In London, worked 
for twenty years In the obscurity of a country 
village before Ms theory was accepted, and In ad¬ 
dition was bitterly satirised and scorned. Sir 
Humphrey Davy was an apothecary’s apprentice, 
and at first worked at hls Ideas with no better 
