e--
named Sidi Hamet. Now, Hamet was the Aga or commander-in-chief of the
cavalry. He was an ambitious man, and a rival of Sidi Omar in this
respect. Of course he hated Omar, and so did his wife Hanyfa, hence her
objection to him as her sister's husband. But neither she nor Hamet
could stay the marriage; they therefore made up their minds to endure
it.

One thing that struck and surprised Mrs Langley was the extreme
fairness of many of the Moorish ladies; some of whom were quite as fair
as Europeans, and very beautiful, with much finer eyes than those of the
more northern belles.

Having laid aside the shroud-like veils which Moorish ladies wear when
exposed to the slightest chance of meeting the gaze of man, they now
stood confessed in all the magnificence of Oriental taste. It is
impossible to describe the dazzling splendour of the jewels with which
their costumes absolutely blazed; especially those in the little golden
caps, or salmas, which some of them wore. There were bouquets of roses,
jessamine, peacock's-feathers, and butterflies, formed of diamonds,
rubies, emeralds, and other precious gems. We do not draw on our
imagination here, good reader. It is probable that if a comparison had
been instituted, these pirates could have far outshone any court of
Europe in the matter of jewellery.

Of course no gentlemen were present. It is one of the drawbacks of
Mohammedan female life that the ladies can never enjoy the satisfaction
of displaying themselves to male admirers, with the exception of
husbands, fathers, and brothers. How far the display of themselves to
each other is attended with pleasure remains a doubtful point--
especially when we consider that jealousy has not yet been quite
eradicated from the female human breast.

However, on the occasion of which we write, most of the assembled ladies
appeared to be highly delighted with each other. They were all very
merry too, and, being little better than children as regards
intellectual training, they were particularly childlike in their
merriment.

As the wife of the British consul was a lady of some importance just
then, (the consul being high in favour with the Dey), she was received
with becoming ceremony, and conducted to a seat next the bride. This
seat, like the seats of Orientals in general, was simply a cushion laid
on the marble floor. Seating herself with some difficulty in the
Moorish fashion, she proceeded to pay some compliments to