ESS OF THE EMPEROR'S LADIES. 367

Over this is a caftan, in form like a loose greatcoat without sleeves, reaching nearly to the feet, and made of cotton, silk, or gold tissue. A sash of fine linen or cotton, folded, is tied round the waist, the ends hanging down to the knee, and over this is a broad band of silk. The hair is plaited in different braids, which are fastened together at the bottom. A long piece of silk is tied round the head, the ends reaching nearly to the ground behind; and a silk handkerchief is tied close over the head, and formed into a full bow at the back. They wear ear-rings of gold and jewels at the top, and at the bottom, of the ears; rings, set with jewels, on the fingers; broad bracelets of solid gold, which are sometimes set with precious stones, on the wrists; bead and pearl necklaces, with a gold chain, from which is suspended a gold ornament, on the neck; and a large solid gold ring above the ancle. Their slippers are embroidered with gold, but they take them off when they enter

a room.

The sons of the Emperor's wives are considered as princes, and have each a claim to the empire. If they have not offended their father, they are generally appointed to the government of some of the provinces, where their principal object is the accumulation of riches. The daughters of the wives, and the sons and daughters of the concubines, are usually sent to Tafilelt, where they intermarry with the descendants of their ancestors; and contribute to people this extraordinary city.

The chain of Atlas runs from south-west to north-east, and afterwards inclining more to the east, it passes to the south of Algiers and Tunis, to the vicinity of Tripoli. The magnitude of

these mountains, to the east of Marocco, makes them appear not more than five miles from the city; but it is in reality, a day's journey to their foot. They are covered with continual snow the fourth part of their height; and the highest part is computed at about 13,000 feet above the level of the sea.

At the foot of the Atlas, opposite Mequinas, lie the magnificent ruins of Farawan, or the city of Pharaoh. One European traveller* has seen them. He found the country, for miles around covered with broken and massive columns of white marble; and two porticoes, about thirty feet high, and twelve wide, the top of each of a single stone, were standing. It is much to be regretted that the traveller was interrupted by a detachment of saints from a neighbouring sanctuary, and prevented from advancing to these ruins; as a nearer examination would have at once decided whether they were Egyptian, as the name imports.

At the distance of half an hour from Farawan, and on the declivity of the Atlas, is the sanctuary of Muley Dris, who first planted the standard of Muhamed in these countries. The sanctuary is surrounded by a town containing about 5,000 inhabitants.

The ascent of the Atlas, in the way to Tafilelt, is so gradual, that it takes two days to reach the snow; the third day brings the traveller into the plain on the eastern side, and five days journey on the plain bring him to Tafilelt. I know of no European, however, who has performed these jour

neys.

The Atlas north of the city of Marocco is inha* Mr. Jackson.

bited by a people called Berebbers, who are supposed to be the aborigines of the country, and to have been driven from the plains like the Shelluhs of the south: they have never been conquered. There are more than twenty different kabyles, or tribes of Berebbers. Those of the upper regions of the Atlas live, during the months of November, December, January, February, and part of March, in excavations in the mountains ; and when the snow disappears near their dwellings, they begin to cultivate the earth. The Berebbers hunt lions and leopards; and the mothers decorate the heads of their children, with a tiger's claw, or a remnant of a lion's skin, believing that, from these, they derive courage and strength. A French ambassador to Marocco has declared that he knew one of these inhabitants of the mountains, of no uncommon strength, who had himself killed twenty-one lions.

The Berebbers are restless and turbulent, robust and muscular, and many have the old Roman physiognomy: their language is peculiar to themselves, and has been thought to be a dialect of the ancient Carthaginian. Their dress consists of drawers and a large cloak of woollen cloth. The dress of the women is nearly the same. The latter conceal their hair with a black silk handkerchief, over which they wear a shawl, or a handkerchief of various gay colours. Their ornaments are bracelets on the wrist and above the elbow; ear-rings of gold, about the thickness of a goose quill, and about six inches in circumference; a number of necklaces; a variety of rings on the fingers; and massive silver rings on the ancles.

They are fond of striped silks, and cottons of large and peculiar patterns.

The French ambassador relates that two of these mountaineers came to the house in which he lodged at Saffi, and that curiosity led them to ex amine the apartments of a European. After they had been over the house, these men, to whom the descent of rocks and mountains was habitual, were at a loss how to descend the stairs they had come up; and, after some consideration, they sat down on the first step, and, supporting themselves by their hands and feet, shuffled from one to another.

The plain in which Tafilelt is situated is a part of the Bled el Jereed, or dry country, and little is known of the country to the eastward of this city. The soil of the plain is a whitish clay, on which rain never falls; but water is every where found at the depth of three feet and a half; though so salt as to be palatable only to those who have been long accustomed to it. A river, which rises in Atlas, passes through this plain; and at Tafilelt it is about the width of the Thames at Putney. It contracts a brackish taste by passing through the saline earth; and, after a course of 415 miles, it is absorbed in the loose sands of the Desert of Angad, on the east.

A smaller river rises in the plains north of Tafilelt, and flowing in a southerly direction, it is swallowed up in the Sahara. The water appears as if it were mixed with chalk, and is so salt as to be totally unfit for culinary purposes. If put in a vessel it becomes clear, but its saline property remains.

Wheat and barley are cultivated near the river of Tafilelt; but the chief produce of the country

is dates. In the last day's journey from the Atlas to the city, the plain is seen covered with magnificent forests of the date tree; and, as there is no underwood, a horseman may gallop through them at his pleasure.

The imperial palace of Tafilelt is very extensive and magnificent. It is built of marble, collected, for the most part, from the ruins of Farawan, and transported over the Atlas on the backs of camels; a journey, for these animals, of fifteen days. The palace is inhabited by the descendants of the Emperors of Marocco, who are princes in consequence of this descent, and shereefs from their more remote ancestor Muhamed.

The faith and honour of the Filelly [the inhabitants of Tafilelt] is proverbial, and locks and keys are unknown among them. Power then,

and the love of power, are the grand incentives to crime. On one side of the Atlas, dominion may be acquired by slaughter, and we see brother fighting against brother; thousands of men slain in the contest, and the victor satiating his revenge on the vanquished, and practising wanton cruelty on the innocent. On the other side of the Atlas, the Desert presents no object of competition; and we see the brothers of the same family simple, just, and at peace among themselves. How delightful to turn our weary eyes from the despot, and fix them on the man.

The princes of Marocco, besides the city, inhabit castles, with walls formed of terras, on the banks of the river. It is said that Muley Ismael had 300 children in Tafilelt; and in 1790 the princes and their descendants were supposed to amount to 9,000. Their dress is a loose shirt of blue cotton, with a shawl or belt round the waist; a hayk is