ABBOTTS OPERA HOUSE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9186, 16 October 1888, Page 5

ABBOTTS OPERA HOUSE.

" HOMES AND HAUNTS OF JESUS." Miss Lydia von Finkei.stein delivered last evening at the Opera House the first of a series of costume and tableau lectures on Palestine, illustrative of the habits, customs, and social life of the people, and also of Biblical history and of the parables of Our Saviour. It was entitled "The Homes and Haunts of Jesus." There was a large and representative audience, including the clergy of the various denominations, among them being Bishop Luck. An eminent Frenchman has styled Palestine "The Fifth Gospel," and front .the days of Constantine the Great myriads of Christian souls have been trying to read that gospel, for that land had been hallowed by no common deeds and the subject of no common government. There is no other people whose annals are recorded by inspired historians, and whose deeds are recorded in imperishable history. The lineage of those who boast their " blue blood" from ancestors who came over with the Normans is but of yesterday compared to that of men who can trace theirs back to the patriarchal age. At no period in modern times has so much interest been taken in the Holy Land, as at present, and efforts made to elucidate the real text of this ''fifth Gospel," to show its harmony with the other four, and to bring its plain meaning within the reach of all. It was after Miss von Finkclstein had left the Holy Land and settled in the United States that she was led to devote herself to the work in which she is now engaged. There came under her notice public, attacks upon the Bible, by lecturers of atheistic and sceptical tendencies, who by misrepresentation wore endeavouring to destroy the faith of the. masses in the Old Book. They contended that its description of places and persons, and manners and customs of the East were misleading and erroneous, and that being inaccurate in matters of lesser importance, no dependence could bo placed upon the greater matters—those relating to revelations of moral and spiritual truths. This crusade against the Christian faith led

Miss Von Finkelstein to give to the public those details of Eastern life derived from her own personal experience and knowledge, which wotdd place the Bible in its true light, and thus counteract the distorted impressions of the enemies of Christianity. In order that the mind of the hearer might bo assisted by the eye, she arranged u> give representations of such Eastern customs and domestic surroundings as would make the descriptions more realistic. I'nis was the method adopted by Miss von Finkelsttiiu last evening. On the curtain rising the lecturess appeared dressed in Oriental costume—in the graceful dress of an Arab married woman—the wife of a well-to-do farmer. The stage was fitted up to represent the interior of the Eastern villager's home, and beneath the sacred red, green, and yellow canopy in the background sat or reclined the inmates, who illustrated the various phases ot Oriental life—the sheikh, or village priest, the village maiden, the bride, the " good shepherd" and the hireling, " the wolf in sheep's clothing," of whom the less said the better. There were also the Oriental accessories, the matting and divan on which the occupants squatted or reclined, the hand-mill tor grinding the corn, and tiie little stool with its lamp, as in the days of Old Testament storv. The leoturess explained that the people of the Holy Land were divided into three classes, wnose dross and customs differed to some extent. There were first the Bedouins, who were today pretty much as in the days of the lshinaelitos : tiie fellaheens or villagers, as in the time of lioaz and Ruth, Mary and Martha, and Mary, the mother of jesas; ami lastly, the dwellers in walled cities. The various costumes were described and shown by the characters represented : iirst the married woman with the " ten pieces of silver" round her neck, tokens of her wifehood and marital fidelity, and with raised head-dress ; the maiden with the low-crowned headdress, which indicated her single blessedness, and thus prevented those awkward mistakes which occurred in more civilised communities : the priest in his green turban, the good shepherd with " iiis staff and rod to comfort aim,' his scrip to hold his provender, the sling and stones, and withtlie loose fold in his robe— the " bosom ' in which he carried the lambs, just as of old, said the lecturess, as lived the shepherds ot Bethlehem, when they heard the angelic choir singing, " Glory to Cod in tiie highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." The Fellaheens, the villagers, had clung to the soil under every form of persecution, and endured every yoivc, while they tenaciously cherished the time-honoured customs ol their forefathers, it was by their doing so that so much light was thrown to-day upon the sacred record, and to understand the poetic, theological, and dramatic character of The Book, we must go back to Syria and Palestine. The social life of the people was explained, as throwing a ilood of light upon tiie parables of our Saviour, proving how true those parables were- to nature, and drawn from the home-life of the people among whom He loved to dwell. Perhapsthe best of these illustrations was that of the woman who lost one of her ten pieces of silver, and sought diligently till she found it. The piece of silver was not a paltry coin, as many supposed, but one of the ten coins constituting the marriage sign, and the loss of which involved disgrace. Miss von Finkelstein gave with great dramatic power ami action the woman seeking for the piece, lighting her lamp, sweeping the tloor with her Oriental besom, rinding the piece, and then witli loud outcries of joy calling her neighbours in the narrow street to rejoice witu her. The excellent piece of acting brought down rounds of applause. The grinding of the corn at the handmill was illustrated, anil .some of the songs with which the women beguiled their toil at this occupation wwe given ; the preparing and baking ot bread, and the good shepherd and his tiock "'calling them by name,"were also depicted. The various costumes were fully explained, the "coat of many colours'shown, also a cloak similar in all respects to that worn by the Incarnate, showing the " hem " to which the. suppliants pressed their lips. The ceremonies at the birth of a child, the killing of tile sacrificial lamb, " the sprinkling ol tiie blood,' and the ".swaddling" of the infant were successively referred to. The love idyll of Ruth and LJoaz was narrated and depicted, and the lecturess said it could lie seen repeated to-day in many a rural district in Palestine.

Miss von Finkelstcin said her endeavour was to bring back her hearers to the times ot oili' Saviour, and to represent as nearly as possible a'homescene in one of the rural disstrict!) of I'alestinc, so that they might the better understand " The Land and the Book." The lecture occupied over an hour and a half in delivery, but it was so interesting in its details, and given so effectively, and yet withal in such simple and appropriate language, derived from her great textbook, that the time sped swiftly past, and there was a manifestation of surprise among the audience as it came to a close. The lady fully justified the flattering reports which had preceded her, and proved unquestionably that she possesses large powers of observation, a fund of wit and humour, and considerable oratorical and histrionic ability. The lecture will be repeated this evening. Those who desire to see an entertaining illustration of Oriental life and manners, and to hear the graphic elucidation of many of the incidents and parables in Biblical lore cannot do better than attend.