Crier (Hastings' Dictionary)

In this form the word is not found in the Bible, but the verb from which it is derived (•<^i!> ^odu) is sometimes used in the sense of cry- ing aloud, or proclaiming. Of Wisdom it is said that she ' crieth in the chief place of concourse,' Pr I' ; and in answer to the (jucstion of the Jews, ' Who art thou ? ' the Baptist calls himself ' the voice of one crying in the wilderness,' Jn 1*.

In ancient times, when men were illiterate, and could not read written mandates, public criers proclaimed the orders of the king or men of authority. In the Middle Ages heralds, preceded by trumpeters who announced their mission, made public proclama- tions. This custom is still carried out in the E. In every town and village a public crier, distin- guished for his loud voice, is appointed to give notice on the part of governors or other authorities of some fresh order.

Or, going through the streets, or standing on some height, he announces the loss of some article, — sometimes the straying of a young child, — giving a description of the lost object, ottering sometimes a reward, and always concluding with a reminder of the divine promise of a 'reward in heaven.'

Of this class of public criers is the muezzin among Moslems, who at the five appointed times of prayer mounts the minaret, and, after proclaiming the unity and greatness of God, calls men to 'prayer and eternal happiness.' In the quiet watches of the night this cry, heard from many a minaret, is often very impressive. J. WOKTABET.