These merchants seem to pass hours and even days wrapped in reverie, or mechanically touching a chaplet of beads, as they utter the words of the Koran.
A curious feature of Tangier and other cities of Morocco may often be witnessed by night. Upon the stillness of a slumbering city breaks a sound as of a distant bombardment. This soon brings to the doors and windows a crowd of people, who are at first startled, but who quickly become expectant of what is to follow.
The sound draws nearer and nearer; a surging crowd appears surrounding something shaped like a casket upon end. This is borne upon the back of a horse or camel. The flare of innumerable torches lights up the novel scene. As the procession advances slowly, a droning, plaintive sound of music is heard, accompanying a dismal, nasal chant. Shrill cries, the barking of dogs, and the sound of guns but add to the general confusion.
The curiosity of a stranger makes him keen to know the meaning of this strange scene. The explanation is simple. It is but the wedding procession of a young bride as she is being conducted to the house of her bridegroom; and the upright coffer, or casket, is but the conveyance in which she is being carried to her future home.
Many of the inhabitants use no wine, since they are followers of the Prophet Mohammed, and their faith forbids its use. In some homes this custom is not so rigidly enforced, and at the time of feasts wine is used quite freely.
The master of a Moorish house usually meets his guests in a square courtyard, found in the center of his mansion. Two large chambers open out from this, which have no windows, but are entered through a large, arched doorway closed by a portiere or a heavy, massive curtain.
The outside walls are generally of dazzling white, the arches of the doorway are not bare of ornament, and the pavement is of beautiful mosaic work.
At intervals in the inner walls are small niches for the slippers which custom demands shall be used by all who enter a Moorish house. The tiles of the floor are often covered with beautiful Moorish rugs and carpets. On each side of the doorway are large chandeliers. These are brilliant with numerous lighted candles of various colorings. On the tables are beautiful mirrors, and masses of brilliant flowers, to add enchantment to the scene.
A stranger, upon entering one of these houses for the first time, might fancy himself looking at the interior decoration of a theatre, the ornamentation of a church, the gilded trimmings of a ballroom, or the luxuriance of a regal palace.
The grace and elegance of the appointments, the brilliant lights and coloring, add novelty and enchantment to a scene that might have been taken from the "Arabian Nights."