PLATE XXIV.
A B E R V I S E .
T he enthusiasm, wMrwfiich Mahoiriet' SQ w e ll knew htJW to m-
sirirehikdisciples; gave rise,.: among the believers hf-the Koran, to a
great number of different sects, each-pf winch, in the ey e s'o f a c re dulous
people, seemai absolutely’detached from the world by the
austerity o f their way \<#
. The different orders o f D emses originated in the two sects of
Ebu Bekir, and of All; and they wereati probably founded by men
ef the most enthusiastic or ambitious minds. ■! Each- gave* his! own
name to the'sect he formed, adding'at ’the-time the appellation of
P ir or Schefki Their followers took the name of Ifervises, a Per*-
t t t w ord,. which means'the'sill or .threshold o£ a door, and thence
inferred a mind filled y ith humility,;- desirous, of retreat, and persevering
in-practice;! a character'far Which these anchorets , are ceiei
brated. ■ The number o f these spei&t&s,far at least ofthemostcoar*.
siderable, isnow aboatthirty.two; and the difference in the variohs
eiders extends even tb their dress. The Xtervises usc chaplets^
which they hold as sacred. Bath o f these is composed of thirty-
three, sixty-six, and ninety-nine beads, which/as th e number o f
attributes they ascribe-ts* th e Deity. ; Some orders always carry
them in their hands; others attach them to the ir girdles, b a t all are
obliged to use them many times a day witbstfae particular prayers