Life in Morocco and Glimpses Beyond | Page 2

Budgett Meakin
Liverpool by the Papayanni Line, or indirectly via Gibraltar, subsequent movements being decided by weather and local sailings. British consular officials, missionaries, and merchants will be found at the various ports, who always welcome considerate strangers.
Comparatively few, even of the ever-increasing number of visitors who year after year bring this only remaining independent Barbary State within the scope of their pilgrimage, are aware of the interest with which it teems for the scientist, the explorer, the historian, and students of human nature in general. One needs to dive beneath the surface, to live on the spot in touch with the people, to fathom the real Morocco, and in this it is doubtful whether any foreigners not connected by ties of creed or marriage ever completely succeed. What can be done short of this the writer attempted to do, mingling with the people as one of themselves whenever this was possible. Inspired by the example of Lane in his description of the "Modern Egyptians," he essayed to do as much for the Moors, and during eighteen years he laboured to that end.
The present volume gathers together from many quarters sketches drawn under those circumstances, supplemented by a resum�� of recent events and the political outlook, together with three chapters--viii., xi., and xiv.--contributed by his wife, whose assistance throughout its preparation he has once more to acknowledge with pleasure. To many correspondents in Morocco he is also indebted for much valuable up-to-date information on current affairs, but as most for various reasons prefer to remain unmentioned, it would be invidious to name any. For most of the illustrations, too, he desires to express his hearty thanks to the gentlemen who have permitted him to reproduce their photographs.
Much of the material used has already appeared in more fugitive form in the Times of Morocco, the London Quarterly Review, the Forum, the Westminster Review, Harper's Magazine, the Humanitarian, the Gentleman's Magazine, the Independent (New York), the Modern Church, the Jewish Chronicle, Good Health, the Medical Missionary, the Pall Mall Gazette, the Westminster Gazette, the Outlook, etc., while Chapters ix., xix., and xxv. to xxix. have been extracted from a still unpublished picture of Moorish country life, "Sons of Ishmael."
B.M.
HAMPSTEAD, November 1905.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
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PART I
CHAPTER PAGE
I. RETROSPECTIVE 1
II. THE PRESENT DAY 14
III. BEHIND THE SCENES 36
IV. THE BERBER RACE 47
V. THE WANDERING ARAB 57
VI. CITY LIFE 63
VII. THE WOMEN-FOLK 71
VIII. SOCIAL VISITS 82
IX. A COUNTRY WEDDING 88
X. THE BAIRNS 94
XI. "DINING OUT" 102
XII. DOMESTIC ECONOMY 107
XIII. THE NATIVE "MERCHANT" 113
XIV. SHOPPING 118
XV. A SUNDAY MARKET 125
XVI. PLAY-TIME 133
XVII. THE STORY-TELLER 138
XVIII. SNAKE-CHARMING 151
XIX. IN A MOORISH CAF�� 159
XX. THE MEDICINE-MAN 166
XXI. THE HUMAN MART 179
XXII. A SLAVE-GIRL'S STORY 185
XXIII. THE PILGRIM CAMP 191
XXIV. RETURNING HOME 201

PART II
XXV. DIPLOMACY IN MOROCCO 205
XXVI. PRISONERS AND CAPTIVES 233
XXVII. THE PROTECTION SYSTEM 242
XXVIII. JUSTICE FOR THE JEW 252
XXIX. CIVIL WAR IN MOROCCO 261
XXX. THE POLITICAL SITUATION 267
XXXI. FRANCE IN MOROCCO 292

PART III
XXXII. ALGERIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO 307
XXXIII. TUNISIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO 318
XXXIV. TRIPOLI VIEWED FROM MOROCCO 326
XXXV. FOOT-PRINTS OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN 332
APPENDIX
"MOROCCO NEWS" 381
INDEX 395

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
A MOORISH THOROUGHFARE Frontispiece
GATE OF THE SEVEN VIRGINS, SALLI 1
CROSSING A MOROCCO RIVER 26
A BERBER VILLAGE IN THE ATLAS 47
AN ARAB TENT IN MOROCCO 57
ROOFS OF TANGIER FROM THE BRITISH CONSULATE 71
A MOORISH CARAVAN 91
FRUIT-SELLERS 107
A TUNISIAN SHOPKEEPER 118
THE SUNDAY MARKET, TANGIER 128
GROUP AROUND PERFORMERS, MARR��KESH 141
A MOROCCO FANDAK (CARAVANSARAI) 159
RABHAH, NARRATOR OF THE SLAVE-GIRL'S STORY 185
WAITING FOR THE STEAMER 201
A CITY GATEWAY IN MOROCCO 211
CENTRAL MOROCCO HOMESTEAD 242
JEWESSES OF THE ATLAS 256
A MOORISH KA?D AND ATTENDANTS 275
TUNISIA UNDER THE FRENCH--AN EXECUTION 299
TENT OF AN ALGERIAN SHE?KH 313
A TUNISIAN JEWESS IN STREET DRESS 325
OUTSIDE TRIPOLI 330
A SHRINE IN CORDOVA MOSQUE 340
THE MARKET-PLACE, TETUAN 375

NOTE.--The system of transliterating Arabic adopted by the Author in his previous works has here been followed only so far as it is likely to be adopted by others than specialists, all signs being omitted which are not essential to approximate pronunciation.

=LIFE IN MOROCCO=

PART I
I
RETROSPECTIVE
"The firmament turns, and times are changing."
Moorish Proverb.
By the western gate of the Mediterranean, where the narrowed sea has so often tempted invaders, the decrepit Moorish Empire has become itself a bait for those who once feared it. Yet so far Morocco remains untouched, save where a fringe of Europeans on the coast purvey the luxuries from other lands that Moorish tastes demand, and in exchange take produce that would otherwise be hardly worth the raising. Even here the foreign influence is purely superficial, failing to affect the lives of the people; while the towns in which Europeans reside are so few in number that whatever influence they do possess is limited in area. Moreover, Morocco has never known foreign dominion, not even that of the Turks, who have left their impress on the neighbouring Algeria and Tunisia. None but the Arabs have
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