all but impassable gulf disappears, as it does when
Orientals, coming to England, lay aside their picturesque
garb and, to us, uncouth manners, conforming as best they,
can to our dress and usages. We then feel that we
can meet them socially, whereas otherwise they would
move among us only as curiosities.*
But such a course is not to be recommended to those
who do not hope to feel at home with the natives, or
who are not prepared for real hardship. Two
Hardships.
of the entries in Davidson s Journal are here
worth quoting:
“ To-day I have parted with all my hair, the last remains but one of Christian
appearance, and taken up the tasbih (rosary). . . on Wednesday. . .
we are to put on the turban and start. . . ” 1
“ I never expect to become white again. My beard is very long, my
hair is cut close to the head, leaving one. long tuft over the left ear, my
bare legs and arms are covered with the bites of vermin; my cheek
bones are very prominent, and teeth very sharp from having little or
nothing to do.” 2
A knowledge o f the language is indispensable, preferably
a colloquial knowledge, picked up without effort*
but by a determined mind, in residence among
The Language. people, f Such a knowledge, with all its
errors, goes much farther, and arouses less suspicion than
the best o f classical styles without the local idioms and
expressions. Rohlfs has truly remarked that the first
obstacles passed, it is not difficult to converse in Ara-
* See chapter xxii.— Some ten years ago, when in Morocco, I offered,
with a most capable friend, to undertake at my own expense, the exploration
of some of the unknown parts of the Central Atlas, provided that
either the English or the Scottish Geographical Societies would lend the
necessary instruments for observation, loss or damage to be made good
by me, but as they did not see their way to accept the offer, the idea
was abandoned. We had planned to travel as natives.
f It was with this conviction, and to meet this need, that I compiled
and published my “ Introduction to Morocco Arabic,” now, to my great
satisfaction, the text-book of travellers and missionaries in Morocco,
* pet. 7. ? £iov.
bic, as “ no great vocabulary is required, some four or
five hundred words, with practice in their use, that
is all.” 1
“ The great thing,” he shrewdly adds, “ is always to have the words
‘Allah1 and ‘ Prophet’ in one’s mouth, to talk o f Paradise and Hell, not
to forget the Devil; and devoutly to murmur over the rosary as it slips
through the fingers. Should it happen that one is doubtful about a sentence,
or forgets a word, and says instead of it ‘ Allah is the greatest,’ or
‘ Mohammed is the fayourite of Allah,’ o r ‘ Allah confound the Christians,'
no Moroccan would notice it, even though the exclamation had no reference
at all to what had preceded it, and would finish the sentence or
find the word himself.”
It is also necessary that the traveller, whether in
European or native guise, should have some knowledge
of Oriental ways, especially of official etiquette
and obstruction. Detailed hints on this point intercourse
1 with Natives.
for the present day would here be out of
place, but it may be worth while to recall the quaint
advice given by Mouette, quoted by James and others,
to show what was considered politic two centuries ago.
Those who know Morocco now will observe how much
applies still, notwithstanding its antique flavour.
“ First visit the Governor,” says the ex-slave, “ and make a handsome
present; afterwards pay him frequent visits, and consult him in cases of
the least difference with Moors or Jews, that he may gain by fining them,
and that we may not be despised, as no one dares to interfere with the
Governor’s friends. When summoned by any Governor, not to fail to
appear before him and to make friends of his kindred and friends, who
may obtain favours: not to revile or give offensive answers to the Moors
before witnesses, much less tp lift the hand to strike them; not to spit in
their faces, nor even in their, presence when in a passion— it is much
better to complain to the Governor: not to rely too much on Governors,
who are all dogs that bite as well as fawn, promising what they do not
need to fulfil, eager in receiving, and sure to do no good: never to go from
one town to another without the Governor’s leave, or he Would become
an implacable enemy: never to trust goods to Moors or Jews without
three or four sureties, as they have no real estate besides houses and
gardens, of small value. Take no goods on credit, and keep no book
accounts, for they always write down a fourth part more than they deliver.”
1 p. 27O,