Nouses of ]Vorshiji. — The churches, which are only intended for the use of tlie priests and their assistants, the laymen remaining in the entry, are so s^maW that only two persons can stand in them at the same time. They are built from west to east, and are distinguished by gable-roofs. 'J"hey have no altar and no ornaments, oidv a few boards in the corners to put things on when
MENDELSSOHN"
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needed, but they must be provided witli flowing water for baptism.
Religious Worshp, Practices, and Observances. — Their year is the solar j'ear of 3G5 days, divided into twelve months of tliirty days each ; the remaining five days do not belong to any month. Their months are generally named after the signs of the zodiac ; they have also re- tained for them the Jewish appellation, with a few alter- ations. They observe the Sabbath, and have besides four ecclesiastical festivals : 1, on New-year's-day, at the beginning of the "Waterman;" 2, on the 18th day of " Taurus ;" 3, between the Virgin and the Balance ; 4, on the first day of the Capricorn. Their greatest festi- val is the Pantesha, the five days of baptism : it is the third in the above list. On this occasion all iMendseans are baptized again; the most pious among them are baptized every Sunday. The Lord's Supper is always connected by them with baptism ; for it they use paste, prepared in the church by the priest, instead of bread, and water in the place of wine. It is only on the occa- sion of marriage, which is always preceded by baptism, that the laymen commune with wine, prepared also in the church by the priest. The priests, on the contrary, always commune with wine.
Nuniher. — In the 17th century the Mendaeans still counted some 20,000 families ; they have since consider- ably decreased in number. They are located, some on the Euphrates and Tigris, south of Bagdad, or between the two rivers ; some in various cities of Kurdistan, where they carry on the trades of je^vellers, blacksmiths, ship- builders, carpenters, or joiners. The statement of Ger- manus Conti, that there are persons of the same creed in Lebanon, appears to have originated in a mistake be- tween them and the Nosairians. The Mendreans do not outwardly distinguish themselves from the Mohamme- dans among whom they reside. They should, however, according to their law, dress entirely in white ; but, as the Mohammedans claim the exclusive use of that col- or, the Mendffians wear mostly brown, or brown and white garments. They must avoid dark colors, as be- longing to the kingdom of darkness, yet this rule can- not always be observed. Polygamy is not only per- mitted, but advised, as their " great book" repeatedly recommends them to diligenth^ increase the race. It is a very general practice with them, although, according to the statement of the priests, they do not usually have more than two wives. — Herzog, Real-Eiicyklop. ix, 318 sq. See also Farrar, Eccles. Diet. s. v. ; Deutsche Zeit- schriftf. christl. WissenschaJ't u. christl. Leben, 1854, No. 23 ; 1856, No. 42, 43, 46, 49 ; Burckhardt, Les Nazorees ou Mandai-Jahja appeles ordinairement Zabiens et Chre- tiens de St. Jean Baptiste (Strasb. 1840) ; Chwolsohn, Die Szabier (Petersb. 1856) ; Petermann, Reisen im Orient, (18G1), vol. ii. ■
Mendelssohn, Bartholdy-Felix, the first mu- sical comiiDser of eminence who. since Bach and Handel bequeathed to tlio wurld their sacred harmonies, devoted his best efforts and great talents chiefly to sacred music. Felix was the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn, the phi- losopher; his father was the eminent Jewish banker, Abraham Mendelssohn - Bartholdy, who embraced the Christian religion and became a member of the Lutheran Church. Felix was born Feb. 3, 1809, at Hamburg. As a boy he displayed a wonderful talent for music, which attracted the attention of the-poet Goethe, who warmly interested himself in Felix, and greatly encouraged him to develop that talent with which the Creator had so largely endowed him. Upon the removal of his parents to Berlin in 1812, his instruction in music was intrusted to Zelter and Berger, both masters in the art : the former a profound musical theorist, and the latter a renowned pianist and teacher. It is not to be wondered at that, under the care and guidance of such masters, the progress of Felix in his musical studies more than ful- filled their expectations. At the age of nine we find him giving his first concert- in Berlin, delighting the audience by his graceful performance on the piano. He
now commenced to write musical compositions of every form. At the early age of sixteen, he composed his first opera, the music of which is not only charming, but full of dramatic element. This composition shows what Mendelssohn might have accomplished in operatic mu- sic had he not left this field for a higher and nobler one — that of sacred music. Another proof of his dramatic power is in his music to Shakespeare's Midsummer Ni(jhCs Dream, which is regarded as one of his best ef- forts in dramatic music. In 1821 he composed his sec- ond opera, and finished one half of a third one, besides writing six symphonies, one quartette for the piano and stringed instruments, a cantata, six fugues, and a num- ber of etudes, sonatas, and songs. At the age of twenty Mendelssohn visited England for the first time, and was there deeply influenced for the whole course of his after- life. He arrived in London in 1829, and, being known by reputation to the most eminent musicians, was most cordially received. At the first concert with the Phil- harmonic Society, his overture to Midsummer Night's Dream was most enthusiastically received by those who had not even heard his name. In the same year Men- delssohn visited Scotland, and was warmlj' welcomed by literary and musical societies fully able to appreciate his genius. He made an extended tour through (he Highlands, being deeply impressed with the wild and romantic beauty of the old Caledonian music, which some years after gave rise to his celebrated Scotch sym- phony in A minor. His music to the Isles of Fingal also owes its origin to the impression made upon his mind by the wUd and stormj' shores of the Hebricies. In the following year he visited Italy, and two years after- wards Paris. Later he revisited London, and from that time to the end of his life was a frequent sojourner there. He began to be even more appreciated in England than in his native country, and it became to him, as it were, the land of his adoption. Benedict, in his life of Men- delssohn, says: "The mean cabals which were always at work against him in Berlin increased his dislike to that city, so much so as to induce him to leave it, as he then thought, Ibrever." At Leipsic he accepted the conductorship of the celebrated Gewandhaus concerts, and remained there until 1844, when, induced by the invitation of the king of Prussia, he returned to Berlin.