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Show ON A VISIT TO A HAREM IN MOROCCO I have returned from a long visit to Morocco, in a largo but harborldss seaport at which my brothers trade. I was introduced to tho governor. I am over 20 and he was courteously amazed that I was still unmarried. lie told mo that the Indies of his harem would be pleased to sco mo. So 1 went upstairs to tho women's apartments. My guide was a little black slave with big black eyes. His idea of conducting a visitor was to seize her dress and drag her violently after him. Breathless, we reached the top, and I was literally rushed into the presence of four Moorish ladies, dark-faced, dark-faced, gorgeously attired and decked with many .jewels. Two of them were handsome one of these was too fat to move but two were, to put it mildly, mild-ly, quito plain. But thej- were all kind, and took me in a troop to tho governor's gover-nor's own room. It was a charming apartment, but after the Moorish fashion it had no furniture, except a magnificent carpet, numberless cushions and silkou wall hangings. As 1 was a guest I wns specially spe-cially allowed to walk on the carpel in my shoes. I was presented to tho governor's littlp son, a boy of about 7. He was bright; and precocious rather than intelligent. in-telligent. He informed mo that he had two mothers, tho two handsome women above montioned. The real mothor tho thin beauty told mo in confldonco that she and the "older mother" wero leagued together against tho governor's remaining wives. The poor creatures have no other oc cupation than to quarrel. I found that they could neither read nor sew, they had scarcely an" visitors, and never wont out. They were not even allowed tho luxury lux-ury of peeping into tho world through a window. In fact, there wcro no windows to peep through.- The house, like all Moorish abodes, was built round a courtyard; into this leads a long passage from the street, and all the doors and lattices open into a gal lery which runs round tho courtyard. TVnon the governor goes out he locks his wives in. Wo had green tea flavored with herbs; our cups, according to Moorish etiquette, being thrice filled. The little boy's mother was ombarrassing in her attention. She seemed to. tako a special spe-cial fane' to me. She said she wanted me to bo always there, and suggested the only means by which that result could bo achieved. She quito seriously proposed that T should marry tho governor gov-ernor and join the harem. In tho meantime mean-time she overwhelmed me with caresses and with paint. Moorish women simply daub themselves with pigment. I found itt impossible to escape either attention without promising to call again. Accordingly I visited tho house again the following week. To my astonishment astonish-ment I was now 'weloomod by eight hostesses! The governor had in the interval in-terval doubled his harem. ' All tho" wives wero sitting round tno room whon we entered. They were seated seat-ed on tho floor, of course. The little son of tho houso, for our benefit, made a tour of tho apartment, exhibiting the newcomers and making explanatory remarks. re-marks. "This pretty one is from "Sins, this ugly ono from Fez." Of tho latter he said: "She talks so funnily we can't understand her." "A. C," in Philadelphia Record. |