The Xeriffes Are The Descendants Of Their
Monarchs, And Their Titles Are Hereditary:
But the title of _Sheik_ is
temporary; so that the respect paid to the Sheiks on account of their
high situations expires with them.
Coaches, carriages, and palanquins are used only by the Emperor. I
have seen some, both here and at Fez, which are really elegant; they
are for the use of his ladies when they go to spend the day in any of
the Imperial gardens. The Emperor has several very handsome chariots,
in one of which he usually rides, drawn by six mules. The Moors ride
on horseback, attended by a number of slaves or soldiers, according to
their rank and wealth.
The princes of the blood and Xeriffes are not allowed to interfere in
any political or public business, and are never consulted in state
affairs. They are generally provided for, with sinecure places to
support their rank, but many of these are too small to enable them to
do so. The several Governors of provinces have each a large tract of
land; and the tax collected from the venders and buyers in the weekly
markets in their districts is also appropriated by them to defray the
charges of their retinue and troops. From the vast crown lands in this
country, the Emperor obtains sufficient for the expenses of the court,
household, and great officers of state; from which circumstance, and
what I have before said of his revenues, it is evident that his
coffers must be most abundantly supplied, and his annual saving in
ordinary cases very great. A detachment of troops from each province
is sent every three months to collect the tributes, which are levied
with the most unrelenting rigour. There are some vestiges of the
Caliphate government still remaining; for in places where no military
officer resides, the Mufti, or high-priest, is the fountain of all
justice; he collects the tributes, and under him the Cadis or civil
officers act in the same manner as our justices of the peace.
The general language of the country is Arabic; but in the inland
countries, in the provinces of Suz, Tafilet, and Gessula, the ancient
African language is still spoken. Those remote districts are now under
the sovereignty of the Emperor of Morocco; but I am told they contain
nothing particularly curious, except an immense number of pelicans and
ostriches, the latter so strong as to be able to carry a man upon
their backs. I one day saw a Moor riding in a court here upon one,
which he had got from those parts, and tamed for. show.
The Moors write in the manner of the Hebrew language, from right to
left; they are wonderfully expeditious in it, and their seals are very
neat. Public schools have lately been established in all the towns and
villages of these states; but, as the children are taught by their
priests, a set of superstitious and fanatic people, no great benefit,
to change or improve their manners, can accrue from such an
institution.
I believe, in a former letter I told you that the peasantry reside in
tents; I have however observed a few huts built of clay, but very
few. In the centre of both the huts and tents, there is a hole dug in
the ground, where they make a fire, with an outlet in the roof to vent
the smoke. They generally burn wood, or a species of charcoal, in the
preparation of which they contrive to deprive it of the baneful
effects usually experienced from the use of it in England. They have
mats spread round the fire, upon which they sit in the day, and sleep
at night. They are so parsimonious, that they live the greater part of
the year on fruit, vegetables, and fish, though they supply the
markets with abundance of fowls (of which they rear immense numbers),
butter, &c. &c. Their chief defence at night is their dogs; each tent
is provided with one, and they are so vigilant, that they give instant
notice of the approach of intruders; and when the alarm is
communicated to the whole of them, it is scarcely possible to conceive
the effect. The habit of the peasantry is the same both winter and
summer, and consists of a thick garment (frequently old and tattered),
a short capote, a greasy turban, and a pair of yellow slippers. They
sometimes throw round them a coarse white _haik_, which also serves
for a bed and covering in the night, as many of them lie upon the bare
ground in the open air before their tents.
In my next I shall give you a short sketch of the produce of this
fertile country.
LETTER XIX.
_Face and Produce of the Empire, natural and artificial_.
Mequinez.
The mountains (the principal of which are Mount Diur, Mount Cotta,
near the city of Larache, the mountain commonly called _Ape's Hill_,
between Tangiers and Ceuta, and that remarkable ridge called Mount
Atlas) contain mines of gold, silver, copper, and tin.
The chief capes or promontories of these states are, Cape Cottes or
Ampelusia, known to our seafaring people by the name of Cape Spartel,
the _Promontorium Herculis_, and the _Promontorium Oleastrum_, so
called from the prodigious number of wild olives growing upon it.
All the bays round the coast furnish an abundance of the most
delicious fish of every kind; and the several rivers are equally
productive. The occasional overflow of the rivers greatly enriches
and fertilizes the soil, to which, more than to their own industry
(for they never manure their grounds, and are absolute strangers to
the art of husbandry), are the Moors indebted for their plentiful
crops of wheat, Turkey corn, rye, rice, oats, barley, and grain of all
kinds.
I have before told you that this country abounds in fine fruits. The
most esteemed are, oranges, grapes, pomegranates, lemons, citrons,
figs, almonds, and dates. The Moors also grow great quantities of
excellent hemp and flax.
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