the cavalcade which escorts with jealous eye the wives
and concubines of the potentate on a march or journey is also charged
with the care of his _zammins_, the unfortunate youths who administer to
his fouler passions. Such is the moral, and the political state of
Morocco! Such are the fruits of a religion which is not that of the
Bible.

The state of the Jews in this country is in every respect pitiable. It
is one of great thraldom, yet is nevertheless far superior to what it was
previous to the accession of the present monarch Muley Abd al Rahman to
the throne; before that period they enjoyed scarcely any of the rights of
human beings, and were plundered, beaten, and maimed by the Moslems at
pleasure. As the Moors of Barbary are the most fanatic amongst the
Mahometans, so are the Barbary Jews the most superstitious of their race,
observing in the strictest manner the precepts of the Talmud and the
sages. A great many singular ceremonies and usages are to be found
amongst them which are not observed by the Hebrews in any other part of
the world, more especially at their wedding festivals which are carried
on during a period of eleven days, during which the house which is open
to all comers exhibits a continual scene of dancing, feasting, and
revelry of every description. There is much at these marriages which has
served to remind me of those of the Gitanos of Spain at which I have been
frequently present, especially the riot and waste practised; for like the
Gitano, the Barbary Jew frequently spends during the days of his wedding
not only all that he is possessed of, but becomes an embarrassed man for
the rest of his life by the sums which he is compelled to borrow in order
not to incur the opprobrium of appearing mean on so solemn an occasion.
The books current among them are the Bible with the commentaries of the
rabbins, parts of the Mischna, and the prayers for all the year;
likewise, but more rare, the Zohar, which all speak of with unbounded
veneration, though few pretend to understand it. I have not unfrequently
seen at their synagogues the Bible Society's edition of the Psalms, and
they appeared to prize it highly.

A market is held on every Thursday and Sunday morning beyond the walls of
Tangiers in a place called the _Soc de Barra_ or outward market-place.
Thither repair the Moors from the country, bringing with them corn, fruit
and other articles, the productions of their fields and gardens for the