RATIONALE OF WIFE-BEATING. 
23 
rific weapon belaboured his wife over the face, 
striking especially at the mouth, and cutting the 
upper lip in two. The poor woman is now very ill. 
No cause can be discovered for this piece of bru- 
tality. En-Noor has, they pretend, two wives here, 
and one on his estate at Damerghou ; but he has 
only one son and three daughters. No larger family 
has this great man, with all his wealth and slaves, 
been able to bring up. 
Beating a wife is so common in these countries, 
that, only when the act is attended with features of 
unusual atrocity, as in this case of En-Noor, does it 
excite any attention. There cannot be a question of 
the fact, that our friend the Sultan is a great despot 
in every point of view. Perhaps in no other way 
could he maintain any authority amongst these semi- 
barbarian Kailouees. This, nevertheless, cannot 
excuse the atrocity of beating his wife with burning 
fagots. Some say that the exciting cause of his 
brutality was the eternal loquacity of the woman, of 
which his highness began to be afraid. This may be 
true, or be only an excuse invented by his courtiers. 
Supposing, however, the cause to have been her 
infidelity, let us examine what can be reasonably 
expected from these African women. They are 
not allowed scarcely to believe themselves to possess 
souls ; they have no moral motives to be chaste, and 
certainly none of family and honour, being mostly 
slaves. Then the greater part of the young girls of 
consequence are married to old men, who are worn 
