Among other modest or confidential demands which the lady made
on the Imperial benevolence, was that of an advance to her husband of
ten thousand dollars. His Imperial Highness was immediately obliged to
give a formal assent before his court.
She then visited the Harem, and felt herself quite at home. All the
ladies, wives or concubines of the Emperor, waited upon her; and served
her with tea and bread, and butter.
The presentation of bread and butter and cups of tea, is said to be the
highest honour conferred on visitors, but why or wherefore I have not
heard.
Madame Bousac gave us some account of the Morocco harem, which we may
suppose is like that of Fez and Miknas. The number of these ladies was
some two hundred. They are all attired alike, except the four wives, who
dress a little more in the style of Sultanas. I am sorry to be obliged
to disabuse the reader of the romance and oriental colouring attached to
our ideas of the harem, by giving Madame Bousac's simile of those
angelic houries. This lady said, "they are like a string of
charity-school girls going to church on a Sunday morning."
Their penurious lord keeps down their pin-money to the lowest point, and
is not more liberal to his ladies than to his other subjects. Former
sultans were accustomed to allow their ladies half a dollar a day, but
these have but twopence, or at least fourpence. Muley Abd Errahman even
traffics in his beauties, and will now and then make a present of one to
a governor, in consideration of receiving an adequate return of money,
or presents. Sometimes, the Moors pay their Shereefian Sultan a similar
compliment, by presenting him with slaves from their harem. [38]
Madame Bousac is, of course, a perfect lady according to Moorish ideas,
but her fascinations on the mind of the Emperor, arise more from her wit
and ability than her feminine grace and delicacy. She is anything but a
beauty, according to our ideas, being of a dark complexion, of middle
height, of large and powerful muscular proportions, very upright, as if
bending backwards, and with a hoarse and masculine voice. Like most
women in this part of the world, she is married to a man old enough to
be her father, or even grandfather, being even more than double her age.
She herself may be about thirty, at which age the beauty of Barbary
women is gone for ever. Such is the court-dame who has courage enough to
speak to the Emperor of Morocco in public. She conversed with us about
her affairs, telling us the Emperor had not yet advanced to her husband
the loan of 10,000 dollars as promised, nor did she expect it, for she
knew his avarice. "Rather would he sell one of his Sultanas." But he had
sent her a present of four haiks, which she shewed us; they were
extremely fine and white. "These," she observed, "are the ten thousand
dollars paid in private, but which the Sultan could not refuse me in
public."
Another character whom we visited, was the distinguished Rabbi,
Coriante. The priest entertained us with dissertations upon various
subjects. First of slavery. "It is unlawful to steal blacks, the Mosaic
law denouncing such theft with the punishment of death. Nevertheless, if
the Jews of this country had the power, they would enslave the
Mussulman, and well castigate them."
This latter remark, Coriante uttered with an emphasis, denoting the
revenge which his countrymen would inflict upon their Mahometan
oppressors, who had kept them in chains for a series of ages. He
remarked, however, that the Sultan might give way on the question of
negro slavery, after the first shock to his prejudices.
The Rabbi treated us with wine, but one of us, moved by curiosity,
having touched the bottle, he remarked to his daughter in an under-tone;
"It's all gone," (the rest of the wine is spoiled). Among these
extremely superstitious Barbary rabbies, it is a pollution to their wine
if a Christian touch even the bottle containing the juice of the grape,
and they will not drink it afterwards.
We asked the reason of his not being able to drink, and found it was,
first, because women work in the vineyards, and the second, because the
Pope pronounces his blessing upon the vintage. After these Jews have
eaten meat, they are obliged to wait some time before they can eat
butter, or drink milk; in fact, their superstitions are numberless. The
Rabbi read to us portions of the proverbs of Solomon, and told us
Solomon was well acquainted with steam engines and railways, "Only they
were of no use in the Holy Land when God was always with his people." He
then gave us his blessing, and me this solemn warning. "Take care the
Emperor does not cut off your head, as he has cut off the head of our
young Darmon." [39]
END OF VOL. I.
[1] According to Xavier Darrieu.
[2] It has always been the policy of Mahometan States to send their
troublesome subjects, such as were not considered rebel enough to
decapitate or to imprison, on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead of
expiating the sins of a buoyant patriotism at the galleys or the
Bermudas, they are sent to slake their patriotic ardour at the holy
wells of El-Kaaba.
[3] The late Emperor of Morocco.
[4] "Our Lord Jesus," the name by which the Moors, always mention Our
Saviour.
[5] Moors entertain the lowest opinion possible of Spaniards. In an
intercepted correspondence of the Emperor of Morocco, found at the
Battle of Isly, Spaniards are called, "The most degraded of the human
race."
[6] The climate of North Africa is remarkable for rusting everything
which can contract rust.
