EVENTFUL CAREER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1336, 13 January 1912, Page 11

EVENTFUL CAREER.

m THE LAND OP THE MOOES. Thirty-eight years ago a young and attractive English girl, then twenty years old, in spite of tho opposition and feaTS of hor family, married a Moorish gentleman of high and sacred t rank. A lineal descendant of tho Prophet Mohammod, her husband, tho Grand Shareef of , Wazan, had divorced his Mohammedan wives in order to marry her. From tho point of view of her relatives such a union naturally perhaps seemed likely to ptovo disastrous. But after many years of married life tho Shareofa of Wazan in "My Life Story" writes: "I may say ; n all sincerity that I have nevjr regretted tho step I took in spite of many sad times in latter yeaTs." This book is tho record of a remarkable life. "No one can know tho Shareefa of Wazan and fail to bo impressed by her," writes Mr. K. B. CunninghamoGraliam in his prefaco. Hor story will certainly be read with interest and sym- . pathy. At the outset her romantic adventure certainly did not seem likely to promise happy results. "She found herseli among a people who, when they hate, kill i if they can; of women who,' when they quarrel,- poison each other if they g«t a chance. . . . , Her Perilous Position. "A European woman,'say in Wazan, or even 1 in ' hor own house in Tangier, crammed full with native women and with slaves, what would havo been more' easy than to murder her, and throw her body down a well? Wo must remember that she entered into Oriental life having made three determined enemies of the ladies tier-husband-had divorced." , Still; by degrees sho made friends of them all, and .of their families, though in a measure her children enjoyed most of tho father's love. - "Ought we to visit her?" was a question mooted in Tangier aftoT her marriage, and many held back, but her life, full of vivid anl strange experiences, would appear to have been very happy. The\ShaTeef, a kind, of temporal Pope in the estimation of the Moors, but a broadminded man, respected her religion, even upon occasion accompanying her to a British church. The Moorish people, too, respected hor, and she could travel with safety among them'. . At Home in a Sanctuary, . In a glimpso of her first home she indicates something of its unusual character. A Shareef's house is a Sanctuary, , and to it, "rich aiid poor flock to bo assisted in their different troubles. These rei'ugeees and suitors would remain for' varying periods,; from a few hours to some months, according to the time their affairs took to arrange. "A mother or wile might be pleading for, a son or husband in prison, another might bo seeking redress for cruelty from aorne member of the family, another might have been unjustly imprisoned by Government officials. / "There we saw the litigant, the deserted wife, the sick, all seeking consolation by blessings. Once the suppliants havo taken Sanctuary, all those matters have to bo taken in hand by tho head of the house, and inquiries must bo made as to the authenticity of the several clients' demands. Letters to tho Sultan for intercession seldom failed to ameliorate the condition of the person concerned. "Food and lodging had to bo supplied to all those who sought Sanctuary pending the solution of their grievances." Naturally the young English wife soon desired a residence apart from the Sanctuary, and was able to obtain one. Why Hor Husband was Venerated. During tho repeated journeys she made through the country with her husband she obtained some idea of the veneration in which he. was held in virtue of his , descent from the Prophet. '"Tho people worked themselves np into a perfect frenzy of delight at his arrival among them, and tho hotel proprietor was put quite beside himself by the overwhelming crowds that invaded his'premises. "The scenes I witnessed were extra, ordinary ; strong men ivith "tears 'rolling down their cheeks came for tho Shareef's blessing. Some carried mysterious little bundles, at tho oontents of which I made wondering guesses; soino of these contained a little Hour, others wheat. "This person would have a handkerchief, that some garment, and what for? To be touched by the Shareof and thereby convey a blessing to the owner, who perhaps was prevented from coming personally. The, flour might bo to mix in tho soup of a sick person, the wheat to be mixed with seed bo that a good crop might be expected at tho next sowing. ."With something akin to fascination I watched from a window this motley crowd—all was • so new, all so different from anything I, had over 6cem or read of. Soon it was known that the Shareef's wife and little son were also in the hotel, and I had to lock my door, for the peo-. plo poured in without any ceremony, in spite of the doorkeeper. They were respectful to a degree, but I knew not a word they said. . . Money and other presents were thrust upon us, and there was no chance of refusing or returning the gifts, which were thrown into my lap or anywhere." • His offering made, tho donor hurried off. The Moorish Dinner, The Moorish meals at first were somewhat of a trial to the young English-

woman. "A Moorish luncheon or dinner is a roal trial to one's digostivo organs, and if four or five families are visited in tho course of a day it becomes an ordeal. Ten to fifteen courses aro the number prepared. You must touch a dish when placed on tho table, even if you don't partake of it. "It offends the host to sco tho untouched, so I soon learned tho trick: take a piece of broad and dip into tho gravy, breaking the symmetry of tjio food, and then request tho dish to lx> removed. It is quickly replaced by another. "From our table the courses go to other guests. No ono but tho Shareef's family eat at his table, and tho host becomes ono of tho waiters for the time being, in conjunction with his brothers or relations, as the caso may bo. Then the host's family partako of tho dishos, and they go from one set to another until tho remains are distributed (o those assomblcd at the street door, when a regular scramble takes place to get a mouthful, if only of bread. The food is oonsiderod as blessed from the fact of tho Shareef's having eaten in tho house." Among the Wild Riffs. 1 She nover appears to have been molested in the wilder parts of the country. She went through the Riff country with her husband for the purpose of "blessing the crops"—not an unauveuturous journey: "There being no law recognised throughout tho Riff, but the will of a head of a tribe, courts of.justico are consequently unknown. Their place is supplied by tho observance of a species of vendetta or blood feud. "Thus, should one man kill another, ' even by accident, some relation, usually the next of kin, is bound to murder the one who occasioned the death; but this man's relations are in their turn bound to exact vengeance, and so a feud is perpetuated for generations. ... "I asked a littlo boy onco if he would like to bo a soldier. 'Perhaps, he replied, 'after my mother'has bought mo a gun with which to kill my uncle, as he killed

my father last year.' Tho age of this child could not have been more than seven years." ' Towards the close of her husband's life she had many troubles. He changed towards her, though apparently unwillingly. Ho tecamo morbid and fanciful. Once it was announced to her that she was divorced. "I often wonder if certain .secret and deleterious ■ remedies had been applied to him without his knowledge, or whether ho was addicted to tho use of any unknown to me. Unfortunately, here in Morocco men run great risks at times, and are often fatally injured in mind by pernicious drugs and herbs. "It is always tho mental balanoe that becomes affected; in fact, the whole nervous system, more or less, becomes grada-

ally involved in decay. I'rom being a high and liberal-minded man, tho soul of honour, gifted, in fact, with all the attributes necessary to a just and honourable career, ho began to decline -while yet in tho prime of life." An Attempted Murder, An attempt to poison hor was once made. "I received warning too late from a great friend of my husband's, n. Moor; his words were, Don't accept an egg or a walnut from your husband's house during his absence,' "Whatever poison I took was in a cup of coffee _wlien I went to ndministor some medicine to a sick servant." In spilo of his changed attitude lime, de Wazan nursed her husband unremittingly during his apparently unaccountable illnesses, and went to him when ho was dying. "I called him by his pet name of years ago, 'Macduff, Macduff, I liavo-'conio.' His hand seemed to seek something.. I placed mine in his, which closed with a convulsive clasp, and ha opened his eyes and murmured, 'Jitzi el aini?' ('Hnvo you como, darling?') These wcro the last words ho spoke; the end came, and Mu'ey Mohammed's secretary released my hand from tho dead man's clasp." At tho end of his life she could say that while "I do not advise anyone to follow in my foot-stops, at the same time I have not a anglo rcjret."