164 Etiquette o f the Court. when an ill disposed husband becomes jealous or discontented with his wife, he has too many opportunities o f treating her c ru e lly ; he may tyrannize over her without control; no one can go to her assistance, for no one is authorised to enter his Horem without permission. Jealousy or hatred rises so high in the breast o f a Moor, that death is often the consequence to the wretched female who has excited (perhaps innocently) the anger o f her husband. T he fate o f those women who are not so fortunate as to bear a male child is too often to be lamented; those who do, are treated with extraordinary respect, the father being careful not to ill-treat the mother o f his son or heir. A father, however fond o f his daughter, cannot assist her, even if informed o f the ill-treatment she suffers; the husband alone is lord paramount *. if, however, he should be convicted of murdering his wife, he would suffer death, but this is difficult to ascertain, even should she bear on her the marks o f his cruelty, or dastardly conduct, for who is to detect it ? Instances have been known where the woman has been c ru e lly beaten and put to death, and the parents have been informed o f her decease as if it had been occasioned by sickness, and she has been buried accordingly ; but this difficulty o f bringing the men to justice holds only among the powerful bashaws and persons in the highest stations; and these, to avoid a retaliation of similar practices on their children, sometimes prefer giving their daughters in marriage to men o f an inferior station in life, who are more amenable to justice. T he etiquette o f the court o f Marocco does not allow any man to mention the word Death to the Emperor; so that when it be necessary to communicate to him the news of the decease o f any Mohammedan, the courtiers thus express themselves: (Ufah Ameruh) he has completed his destiny or his period ; to which the reply is (A llah ee erhammoh) God be merciful to him. When a Jew dies, the Moors express it b y (Maat bel Karan), the son o f a cuckold is dead. On the death o f a Christian, i f he bore a good character, they say (Maat Mesquin), the inoffensive man is dead ; but i f he was unpopular, or disliked, (Maat el Kaffer) the infidel is dead. A ll persons at this court who have no faith in Mohammed being considered as infidels, a stigma is attached to their names when uttered before the Emperor; accordingly they say (Lihudi ashawk asseedi. El Kaffer ashawk asseedi.) He is a ] aw, ashawk, Master. He is an Infidel, ashawk, Master. T h is term ashawk is an Arabic idiom, and signifies, “ I beg pardon for mentioning so degraded or contemptible a name in my master s presence. T he re is a ridiculous prejudice throughout this country, which extends as far as the Nile El A b e ed e ,o r Nile o f Soudan, in considering the word five as indecorous; it is therefore never mentioned in the Emperor’s presence, nor even to any prince, bashaw, or powerful man : the speaker expressing himse lf thus (Arbat u Wahud) i. e. Four and one. T h e number 5 is emblematical o f the hand o f power or tyrann y ; so that the poor Jews, who are treated in this counlry somewhat worse than dogs in Christian countries, have a hand with the fingers spread out, painted on their doors or houses, as an amulet to charm away oppression. A ccord in gly (Khumsa alik), “ F ive be upon thee, or the hand o f power be upon thee, is a curse or malediction frequently conferred b y the Moors on the oppressed Jews. T h e imperial "revenue consists o f the following imposts:
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