966 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



rest, six per cent per month being 

 often paid for it. It is in this 

 manner that tlie subjects of a great 

 maritime power have been neglect- 

 ed in a country where, by adopt- 

 ing a few political regulations, all 

 the hardships of bondage might be 

 prevented." 



'* Whilst the Europeans remain 

 in the hands of the Arabs and 

 Jews, they are employed in various 

 domestic services, such as bringing 

 water, possibly the distance of 

 nine or ten miles, to the habitation, 

 and in collecting firewood. In 

 performing these offices, their feet, 

 being bare, and treading on the 

 heated sand, become blistered and 

 inflamed ; the sandy parades pe- 

 netrate into these blisters when 

 broken, and irritate in such a man- 

 ner as sometimes to cause mortifi- 

 cation and death. The young lads, 

 of which there are generally two 

 or three in every sliip's crew, are 

 often seduced by the Arabs to be- 

 come Mohammedans ; in this case 

 the sheick, or chief of the duar, 

 adopts him, and initiates him in the 

 Koran, by sending him to the 

 (Mdursa) seminary, where he 

 learns to read the sacred volume, 

 and is instructed in the pronuncia- 

 tion of the Arabic language ; he is 

 named after the sheick who adopts 

 him, after which an Arabian wo- 

 man is offered to liim as a wife ; 

 he marries, has a family, and be- 

 comes one of the clan, thus aban- 

 doning for ever his native country 

 and connexions. 



The state of domestic comfort 

 enjoyed by Christians in West 

 Barbary or Marocco, is far from 

 being impeded by those degrading 

 distinctions practised in Egypt and 

 other Mohammedan countries, 

 where they are not allowed to ride 



on horses (the prophet's beast), to 

 wear green (the prophet's colour), 

 &c. &c. ; here they may do either : 

 they may exen enter towns on 

 horseback, a privilege, however, 

 which was not granted till of late 

 years : Mr. Chenier, the French 

 consul, first broke through the de- 

 grading custom, for, being opposed 

 by the gate-keepers at S.iffy, he 

 drew his sword, and forced his en- 

 trance, adding, that no one should 

 stop the representative of the kimg 

 of France ; and when I went to 

 Agadeer, by order of the sultan 

 Muley Yezzid, on my arriving at 

 the gate, the bashaw's son ob- 

 jected to my entering on horse- 

 back, alleging, that it was near a 

 sanctuary, and that Christians had 

 never been allowed to enter the 

 gate on horseback ; I immediately 

 turned my liorse, ordered the bag- 

 gage to be put on board the ship 

 from which 1 had just landed, and 

 declared, that I would not reside 

 in any town, where I was not on a 

 footing with the Mooselmin ; but 

 the old bashaw, El Hayanie, a man 

 of ninety years of age, sent out 

 two of his sons to request me 

 to come back : ' Old customs,' 

 said he, when I afterwards met hira 

 at the gate, ' are done away ; we 

 wish to see the place flourish with 

 commerce, as in its former estab- 

 lishment ; enter and go out on 

 horseback whenever you please;* 

 accordingly, ever since this cir- 

 cumstance. Christians (but not 

 Jews) have been allowed to enter 

 the town on horseback; they may 

 ride about the country in safety, 

 and amuse themselves in the sports 

 of the field ; they are not obliged 

 to stop at the approach of a ba- 

 shaw or his family, or to alight till 

 the great man has passed; it is 

 expected that he salute him in 



his 



