M R 



721 



M R 



When a person sneezes in company, the conversation is 

 stopped, and all present pronounce benedictions on 

 him, at the same time crossing themselves. They 

 wear ring* as spells ; observe all manner of lucky and 

 unlucky day* ; spk into their own bosoms upon any 

 adden emergency ; shew a peculiar veneration for 

 aak, and practise a multitude of divining ceremonies on 

 all occasions. 



The funerals of the Greeks, like those of their an- 

 cestor*, are celebrated as occasions for various enter- 

 tainments, and in some respects bear a considerable re- 

 esnblance to those of the lower Irish. On the death 

 of any person of dignity, the body is dressed in a rich 

 garment, and the litter covered with flowers. The 

 meads and domestics, with the priests, walk in pro- 

 ceasiMi before the body, and a few old women, on each 

 aide of the bier, continue howling and lamenting, enu- 

 merating the l'iU*M of the deceased, and dwelling on 

 the many reiaoo* which should have made him remain 

 longer in life. Behind the body come the female rela- 

 tion* and friends, maBed up in mourning habit*. At 

 the place of interment a funeral service is read, and the 

 body, rolled in a winding sheet, ss deposited in the 

 gravt with some of the amei* that had adorned the 

 bier. About the ninth day after the rkneral, a feast is 

 prepared by the near** relation, who nuke* presents 

 to the priest*, and entertain* the guests with music, 

 Unctng, and every kind of merriment. The burying 

 ground* are at a distance from the towns, ami the 

 churches are generally near the high road. Their 

 grove* of cypress or yew tree* generally surround the 

 tomb* ; and these spots are frequented on certain days 

 by the relatives of the recent dead, who, after shedding 

 a few tear*, awl depositing a garland, or lock of hair, 

 in the grave, spend the remainder of the day in danc- 

 ing and singing. 



Chvacttr. The character of the modern Greeks is variously re- 

 presented ; but the greater ncmber of travellers concur 

 in tbe principal features of the following portrait. 

 Their manner* are very engaging, but have rather too 

 Mich the appearance of obeeqoioasne** and insinceri- 

 ty. They are extremely courteous towards inferiors, 

 MM even *erva*it* ; and iwttw very little distinction in 

 their behaviour to each other on account of rank. The 

 rich are versatile and intriguing ; the lower classes fall 

 of merriment, doing nothing at certain seasons but pipe 

 and dance. There is still abundance of native genius 

 among them ; but in the substantial part* of character 

 they are sfagmded nation. They perform the rite* 

 of hospitality with good humour and politeness, but will 

 take the meanest *hifts to gain some pecuniary remu- 

 neration, and will do any thing for the sake of money. 

 Thaugh avariciout, they ore not sordid, but fond of 

 i asul shew, ami profne in their ostentation of ge- 

 Weahh b the only object of their admiration ; 

 they are almost universally engaged in trade 

 in Mne form or other. The cultivation of the soil is left 

 to Albanian* or colonists ; and every Greek his a re- 

 tail shop, or i* caoctrxd in tame wholesale dealings. 

 Even their princes and nobles who reside at Constanti- 

 nople, ant engaged in merchandize. They are little to 

 be trusted ; but are light, inconstant, trenclierous, sol- 

 Isk, and subtle, mall their transactions, always awake 

 to every opportunity t/f gaining an advantage ; ready 

 to practwe the Marie* artifice*, and to utter the grott- 

 * ntratbs ; ragafdfcs* of character, and more bare. 

 *o*d in their inrpMition* than even the Jews. They 



mined courage, and seem scarcely capable of any pro- Morisoa. 



Morocco. 



_ ftm*r> in di*tr*w, and a M<xxlv fero- 

 city in fKiwrr, bt rartly duplay the coomess of deter* 



rot- ziv. r.\Rr 11. 



longed struggle to regain their national freedom. See 

 Chateaubriand's Travels; Clarke's Travels; Dalla- 

 way's Tour in the Levant; Savary's Letters on Greece ; 

 Hobhonse's TOUT in Album*, &c. ; Jackson's Rejections 

 OH the Commerce of the Mediterrtate** ; and the Works 

 mentioned in the historical sketch of the Morea in this 

 article, (q.) 



MORISON, ROBERT. See BOTANY, vol. iv. p. 8. 



MORLACHIA. See DALMATIA, vol. vii. p. 56S. 



MOROCCO, or MAROCCO, frequently called West Situation 

 Barbary, is bounded on the north by the Mediterra- a"" 1 extent, 

 nean Sea ; on the west by the Atlantic Ocean ; on the 

 south by the Sahara, or die great desert ; and on the 

 east by Tremecen, Sigelmessa, and Biledulgerid, or 

 (according to modern and more correct orthography) 

 Tlemsen, Segin Messa, and Bled-el-jerrede. The whole 

 extent of this empire, including Tafilelt, is contained 

 between 27 40' and S5 4O' of N. Lat. and between V* 

 and 10 of W. Long, from London. It is divided into 

 four great divisions : 1 . The northern, containing the 

 provinces of Erreef, El Grb, Benihassen, Temsena, 

 Shawia, Tedla, and the district of Fez or Fas ; 2. The 

 central, containing the provinces of Dnquella, Abda, 

 Shedrna, Haha, and the district of Morocco; 3. The 

 southern, containing the provinces of Draha and Suse; 

 and 4. The eastern, lying to the east of the Atlas 

 .Mountains, called Tafileh, was formerly a separate king- 

 dom, but became subjected to Hie princes -of Morocco. 



The principal mountains of Morocco are the Atlas Mountains 

 Mountains, calted in Arabic, Jibbel Attils, " The 

 Mountains of Snow," the different branches of which 

 have distinct names, according to the provinces in 

 which they are situated. The great chain of these 

 mountains runs through the whete extent of the em- 

 pire, from Ape's Hill to Shtuka in lower Suse, passing 

 within thirty miles of the city of Morocco, where they 

 are of great height, mid covered with snow through- 

 out the whole year. They are visible at sea several 

 leagues from the coast ; and in a clear day m*y be seen 

 at Mogadore, a distance of ! 40 miles. The highest 

 peak is 1?,000 feet above the level of the sea. 



The rivers which rise to the east of the Atlas Moun- Ri*eri. 

 tains are the Draha, which flows through the province 

 of the same name, from north-east to south, and dis- 

 appears in the sands of the Sahara ; and the Muluwra, 

 which separates the empire of Morocco from Treme- 

 cen, flows to the north-east into the Mediterranean : 

 Both these rivers are deep and impetuous in the depth 

 of winter, but small, and often quite dry, in summer. 

 The other rivers, which all flow into the Atlantic 

 Ocean, are the El kose, or Liiccos, at El Araiche, 

 which may be entered at high water by ships of 100 

 or 150 tons ; the Balit, which partly loses itself in the 

 lakes of the province El Garb, and partly falls into the 

 Seboo ; the Seboo, the largest river in the empire, rises 

 to the vast of the city of Fez, and falls into the sea at 

 Meheduma or Mamora, where it is a large, deep, and 

 navigable river; the Bu Regreg-, which traverses the 

 province of Benihassen, and discharges itself into the 

 ocean between the towns of Salee and llabat ; the 

 Morbeya, whfch rises in the Atlas Mountains, and falls 

 into the Atlantic at rtt port of AJiamor ; the Temift, 

 which passes about five miles north of the city of Mo- 

 rocco, and reaches the ocean sixteen miles south of the 

 town of Safly, is chiefly remarkable tor the salubrious 

 qoality of its water ; the Tid*i, which falls into the sea 

 a little smith of Cape Ossem; the Sose, a fine majestic 

 n ver, which joins the ocean six miles south of Santa 

 4 Y 



