Moorish Nuptials 



came of the calf and rams we did not see ; they probably were 

 wedding gifts, not sacrifices, and destined to figure in the 

 capacity of veal and mutton at some subsequent ceremony. 



Waiting for the muezzins call to prayer, with many of 

 the faithful around us in the market-place, a shoemaker over 

 the way invited us all to his stall to drink verbena tea, 

 which, he assured us, along with a pipe of keef^ would have 

 the same effect upon us as brandy. The yerba buena 

 (Arabice, luisa) makes a pleasant infusion, but does not 

 possess any intoxicating qualities ; at least, we departed as 

 sober as we came. 



To-day I have gone about in the Moorish costume, but 

 have not been less stared at from dressing like any other 

 Pagan, — a crimson skull-cap with a blue silk tassel ; a loose 

 blue and white striped shirt-like robe of woollen ; with a 

 long cowl, either drooping behind the shoulders, or pulled 

 up over the head. I call the cowl long, because it goes back 

 in a long peak like the tail of a fishing-net, and has a tassel 

 at the end. A pair of bare ankles and yellow slippers com- 

 plete the costume as far as visible to the world at large. 



It is night. We have just come in from a most awful 

 scene. Rolling clouds of smoke, lit by the red flash, and 

 rent and shaken by the explosion of musketry ; parties of 

 Arabs charging about here and there beneath the sulphurous 

 canopy, shouting as well as shooting. What do you think 

 it was ? An insurrection ? No — a wedding ! The red 

 heifer and the rams had only been preparatory, and to-night 

 the bride was to be conducted to the house of the bride- 

 groom. These skirmishers were merely making ready an 

 atmosphere with the smoke of their feux de joie for the 

 procession to pass through. 



At last it appeared. Around the howdah (a sort of sedan- 

 chair, in which the bride is carried) the Arab soldiers 



185 



