MOROCCO. 
whofe parents are in better circumftances, are fometimes 
tent to f’chcol; and thole who are intended for the church 
ufually continue their ftudies till they have nearly learnt 
the Koran by rote. In that cafe they are enrolled among 
the talbes, or learned men of the law; and upon leaving 
Ichool are paraded round the ftreets on a horfe, accom¬ 
panied by nnific and a large concourfe of people. 
At their funerals, a certain number of women are hired 
for the purpofe of lamentation; in the performance of 
which, nothing can be more, grating- to the ear, or more 
unpleafant, than their frightful moans, or rather bowl¬ 
ings! at the fame time, thel'e mercenary mourners beat 
their heads and breafts, and tear their cheeks with their 
nails. The bodies are ufually buried a few hours after 
death. Previous to interment, the corpfe is walhcd very 
clean, and lewed up in a lhroud, with the right hand 
under the head, which is pointed towards Mecca : it is 
carried on a bier fupported upon men’s fhoulders, to the 
burying-place, which is always, with great propriety, on 
the outlide of the town ; for they never bury their dead in 
the mofques, or within the bounds of an inhabited place. 
The people of this empire, being born fubjebts of an 
arbitrary defpot, may be faid to have no eftablilhed laws. 
They know no other than the will of the prince ; and, if 
this Ihould deviate, as it fometimes does, from the moral 
principles laid dowm in the Koran, it nnd be obeyed. 
Where the emperor refides, he admihifters juftice, in perfon, 
generally twice, and fometimes four times, a-vveek, in the 
mrjhoire, or place of audience, whither all complaints are 
carried. Here accefs is eafy ; he liftens to every one, fo¬ 
reigners or fubjebts, men or women, rich or poor. There 
is no diftinbtion; every one has a right to appear before 
him, and boldly to explain the nature of his cafe; and, 
although his perfon is conlidered as facred, and eftablilhed 
cuftom obliges the fubjebt to proftrate himfelf, and to pay 
him rather adoration than relpebt, yet every complainant 
may tell his ltory without the lead lieiitation or timidity. 
Indeed, if any one is abalhed, or appears diffident, his 
caufe is weakened in proportion. Judgment is always 
prompt, deciiive, plaulible, and generally correbt. In 
places remote from the emperor’s court, the caliph, vice- 
regent, or balhaw, has his meffioire, where he adminifters 
juitice, fometimes according to the law's of the Koran, 
and, at others, as his caprice dictates ; for the fame im¬ 
perious defpotifm which the emperor too frequently ex- 
ercifes over his balhaw's and alcaids, is exerciled by them 
over thofewho fall under their government; and the fame 
is done again by their fubalterns, when they have it in 
their power. Thus tyranny proceeds progreffively from 
the prince to the lowed of his officers. Thefe petty ty¬ 
rants are difperfed over the whole empire, and often give 
fanbtion to their extortions, by effecting them in the name 
of their mader. The accumulation of wealth is the grand 
cbjebt of all their deiires. When they learn from their 
emiffaries or fpies that an individual has acquired confi- 
derable property, they contrive to find out lome caufe of 
accufation againd him, and by that means extort money 
from him. It often happens, however, that thofe w'ho 
amals the greated fums in this way enjoy them but a very 
ihcrt time. Some unexpected order from the emperor, 
accuiing them of crimes or mildemeanors, is made a pre¬ 
text for depriving them, in their turn, of their ill-gotten 
wealth, which his majedy never Tails to inform them can 
be of no ufe to them, being more than fufficient to pro¬ 
cure the neceflaries of life, and ought therefore to belong 
to the Mahometan treafury, into which it is accordingly 
delivered, never more to return to its former poflelfor ! 
The influence of this mode of government upon the peo¬ 
ple, is fuch as might naturally be expected. They arc 
fufpicious, deceitful, and cruel. They have no refpebt 
for their neighbours, but will plunderone another, when¬ 
ever it is in their power. They are drangers to every 
focial tie and aft’ebtion ; for their hearts are fcarcely fuf- 
Ltptible of one tender impreffion. The father fears the 
ViA, XVI. No. 1088, 
fon, the fon the father; and this lamentable midrud and 
want of confidence diffufes itfelf throughout the whole 
community." 
The w'retched condition of thefe people does not pre¬ 
vent them from being proud and infolent beyond ail other 
nations. The people ofancient Greece did not more pro¬ 
foundly contemn all foreigners, than the Moors do the 
mod enlightened Europeans. The word, indeed, which 
fignifies European, Agein, is fynonymous with Barbarian. 
Neverthelefs, they delpife renegadoes more than even the 
unconverted. A change of religion, whether to or from 
Hlamifm, is, in their eyes, beyond everything contempti¬ 
ble. It is lingular to find fo confiderable a degree of to¬ 
leration among fuch a people. The emperor of Morocco, 
it feems, will allow any left not worfhipping a plurality of 
gods, to have in his dominions places of public worlhip. 
There are, in confequence of this permiffion, Romau- 
catholic eftablilhments at Morocco, Mequinez, Tangiers, 
and Mogador. The maxim even of the mod ignorant and 
bigotted of the people is, that every man diould be allowed 
to worlhip God according to his own confcience, or agree¬ 
ably to the religion of his ancedors. Certainly thefe 
Muffulmans have a good right, in one particular at lead, 
to confider fome Europeans, fome followers of the religion 
of peace, nay, fome of the mod enlightened among them, 
as barbarians. 
Mr. Jackfon, though far from being partial to the 
Moors, allows that they have one noble trait of character, 
fortitude under misfortune. “ This, fays he, “ the 
Moor poffeffes in an eminent degree: he never defpairs ; 
no bodily buffering, no calamity, however great, will make 
him complain : he is refigned in all things to the will of 
God, and waits in patient hope for an amelioration of 
his condition. In illuftration of this, I will take the li¬ 
berty to relate the following anecdote, as it will alfo tend 
to fhow the great rifks to which merchants are expofed in 
traverfing this country. A Fez merchant (with whom I 
had confiderable tranfaftions).went with all his property, 
on a commercial fpeculation, from Fez to Tombubtoo j 
and, after remaining at the latter place a fufficient time to 
difpofe of and barter his effebts for gold dud and gum of 
Soudan, he fet out on his return to Fez. After paffing 
the Defert, he began to congratulate himfelf on his good 
fortune and great fuccefs, when fuddenly a party of Arabs 
attacked the caravan, and plundered all who belonged to 
it, leaving the merchant deftitute of every thing but the 
clothes he had on his back. During the interregnum, 
between the death of the fultan Yezzid and the procla¬ 
mation of the prefent fultan Soliman, this man was plun¬ 
dered again on his w'ay to Mogador, whither he was going 
to dilcharge fome debts, and to difpofe of gum and other 
Soudanic produce. Four wives and a numerous family of 
children rendered his cafe peculiarly diftreffing; yet, when 
condoling with him a few days after his misfortunes had 
happened, he very patiently obferved ; What remedy is 
there? God willed it fo, and there is none but God. 
This man afterwards collected together what merchan- 
dife he could procure on credit, and proceeded again to 
Tombubtoo, where he realized much property; and, tra¬ 
velling therewith through Wangaraand Houffato Egypt, 
he \vas plundered a third time of all he poffelfed, near 
Cairo, and reduced to the greateft diftrefs: this laft milk 
fortune he bore with the fame fortitude as the former. 
He is now, however, one of the principal merchants efta- 
blilhed at Tombubtoo." 
We have already noticed the ftate of the government; 
and may now add, that the Moors are all equal by birth, 
knowing no diftinbtions of rank, except fuch as office 
beftows ; and all office flows from the emperor, and is held 
at his will. His pleafure may thus raifea perfon from the 
duff to the higheft rank in the ftate: and, in a moment,., 
fink the firft man in the country to the lowed level. Mr. 
Jackfon mentions a peculiar etiquette of the emperor’s 
court, which we do not remember to have met with in 
v -D the 
