266 



A R B A It Y. 



Atrbary. houses of Barbary are generally built of tabby or 

 ' v- ' tabia, which may be called an artificial stone, and 

 which seems to be a r.emnant of ancient Moorish art. 

 It is a species of mortar, consisting of lime, sand, and 

 small stones, put into wooden frames, (which are re- 

 moved when the work, is dry,) and beaten together 

 with square rammers. The mosques, palaces, and 

 other public edifices, indeed, are frequently faced with 

 hewn stone, or marble ; and some of these structures 

 are of very great extent, comprehending a number of 

 buildings, surrounded by a wall like a separate town. 

 Their roofs are sometimes of a pyramidal form, and 

 covered with green varnished tiles, which give them 

 at a distance a very lively and agreeable appearance. 

 In the towns and villages the streets are very narrow, 

 seldom paved, never cleaned, and generally heaped 

 Houses. with dust and filth. On each side there is frequent- 

 ly a row of shops, and behind these are the outer walls 

 of the houses, which are, for the most part, of a rude 

 construction, that the owners may not be suspected 

 of being rich. The entrance into these habitations, 

 from the street, has a very mean appearance ; and the 

 first apartment is very commonly a kind of stable, or, 

 at least, a porch or gateway surrounded with benches 

 for the reception of visitors. Through this vestibule 

 is the passage into a square court, which has some- 

 times a fountain of water in the centre, and a porch, 

 supported by pillars, along each of its four sides. 

 This open space, in the houses of the opulent, is pa- 

 ved with marble, or with chequered tiling ; and in 

 eultry weather (especially when employed, as it often 

 ;, for receiving company) is covered by a sheet or 

 .eil, which is expanded upon ropes from one side of 

 the parapet wall to the other. The houses are some- 

 times two, and even three stories high ; and, in these 

 cases, there are galleries for each flat, passing along 

 the whole inside of the court, in the same manner as 

 on the ground floor : But they seldom consist of 

 more than one story, about 16 feet in height. Each 

 side of the court generally forms one long, narrow 

 apartment ; and one of these rooms frequently serves 

 a whole family, as a lodging. The entrance into 

 these chambers is from the inner sides of the court, 

 by means of large, folding doors, which are gener- 

 ally left half own to admit the light and air ; and 

 which are thei^rore furnished with hangings on the 

 inside. These doors are ornamented with chequered 

 pannels or carving ; and are sometimes made alto- 

 gether of stone, moving upon pivots, fitted to sockets 

 in the lintel and the threshold. The ceilings of the 

 apartments are generally of wainscot, neatly painted 

 nr studded with gilded mouldings ; the upper part of 

 the walls is adorned with fret-work or stucco figures ; 

 while the lower space nearest the floor is covered 

 with hangings of coloured cloth, or of the skins of 

 lions and tygers, suipended upon hooks, and thus 

 easily taken down or put up at pleasure. But some- 

 times, instead of these curtains, the sides of the rooms 

 are ornamented with looking-glasses of various sizes, 

 or with watches and clocks m glass cases, or with n. 

 display of muskets and sabres fancifully arranged. 

 There are no fire places in the apartments ; and the 

 victuals are prepared, in a corner of the court, in an 



earthen stone heated by charcoal. The floors are Barbary. 

 laid with painted tiles, or plaister, and covered with * ~Y ' 

 mats or carpets. Along the sides of the walls are 

 ranged mattresses and bolsters, upon which the family 

 sit during the day, and generally sleep during the 

 night. At the same time there is, also, at one end of 

 the chamber a little gallery, raised above the floor to 

 the height of three, four or five feet, in which the 

 beds are frequently placed ; and sometimes instead of 

 these, an European mahogany bedstead may be seen 

 in the houses of the wealthy, but this is intended ra- 

 ther for ornament than use. As the use of chairs 

 and tables are unknown in this country, the remain- 

 ing part of the furniture consists of a clock, a few 

 arms, a tea equipage, and some china vessels. The 

 Moorish houses are very dark and gloomy ; as the 

 windows are extremely small, and all look into the 

 court, except perhaps one lattice or balcony, above 

 the gateway towards the street, which however is 

 very seldom opened, unless on festival days. TL 

 stairs are either in the porch, or in the corners of the 

 court. The roofs are flat, covered with plaister, and 

 surrounded with a parapet : There the female part of 

 the family are accustomed to walk and amuse them- 

 selves in the cool of the evening. To the habitations 

 of the more wealthy, an additional building is fre- 

 quently attached, called the Alee or CHeah ; the 

 apartments of which are used as wardrobes, as places 

 of greater retirement, or as a lodging for strangers. 

 The houses are generally whitened on the out side ; 

 and appear, at a distance, like vaulted tornbs in a 

 church-yard. The villages are always in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the towns ; and are composed of huts of 

 stone, earth, and reeds, surrounded with thick and 

 high hedges. 



The encampments of the Arabs, which are gene- 

 rally at a distance from- the cities, consist of a number 

 of tents, from 3 to 300, and are called Dollars. * Arab tents'. 

 Each of these is under the authority of a Sheik, (or 

 Shaik,) who is appointed usually by the government 

 in whose territories they reside, and who is commonly 

 the man of most property in the tribe : The Bereb- 

 bers, however, assert the privilege of choosing their 

 own chiefs. The coverings of the Arab tents are 

 made of a coarse thick stuff, of woollen, of camels 

 and goats hair, or of palmetto leaves ; and is al- 

 ways dyed of a black or brown colour. Their form 

 is broad and low, about 8 or 10 feet in height, 

 and between 20 or 25 in length, having the appear- 

 ance, according to the description of Sallust, of an 

 inverted boat: " Edificia Xitmidarum, quce mapalea 

 illi vocant, oblonga incurvis lateribus tcctn, quasi na- 

 vittm airinx essent." They**are divided into sepa* 

 rate chambers by means of curtains ; and one of 

 these is always allotted for the calves, foals, and kids, 

 Their furniture is exceedingly simple, consisting only 

 of a little straw, a mat, or coarse carpet for bedding, 

 a few earthen vessels for cooking, a wooden bason to 

 draw water or hold milk, a goat skin to churn the 

 butter, and two portable mill-stones to grind the 

 corn. The poles, which support the roof of the 

 tent, are furnished with a number of hooks or pins, 

 upon which are suspended their clothes, baskets, sad- 



Dm-wars, according to Shaw; itoucrcs, according to Abbi i'oim ; doufiars, according to Lemprierc and Chenier ; and 

 ieuars, according to Jackson. 



