The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-12-19
A MIGHTY MOOR.
and Cbaracteristics Of
the Sultan of Morocco
The Everyday Life Of Muley HAssaA
Who Is at Present Engaged In
. War faRs with Spanish
CcIOniStS.

Although Muley. Hassan, the sui
tan or chief of Morocco. wields but .
nominal authority over the Kin tribes
men now at war with the Spanish
colonial settlement at MeliIla, on the
northern Mediterranean coast OF AT
rica, he is nevertheless the sovereign
of that region, and he will be held by
Spain responsible for the consequences
Of the present warfare
Muley Hassan is ffty-fve years old.
His demeanor is grave and majestic, as
becomes man knowing the impor-
tance Of his double character, as en-
peror and pontiff. and successor to
the prophet, of whom he IS descend
ant. His dark eyes are large and ex-
pressive. His Moorish physiognomy,
adorned with flowing black beard, in
which are seen some white hairs. re-
veals that in his veins runs the blood
of the negro race united to that of the
Arabs He shows at the same time in
his physical traits the evidence of an
extraordinary firmness, mixed with a
certain shadow of melancholy and las
situde.
He receives foreign ministers and
shows himself in public with fastidious
solemnity, SAYS the New York Trib-
une. One of the emperor's scrv-
ants holds over his head a large para
so! to screen him from the rays of the
sun. Others are busy tanning him. in
order to chase away the flies so abun-
dant in that hot climate, and all look
at their lord as if he were a god rather
than their sovereign. Edmunde Ami
els, who saw Muley Hassan during q
reception of the Italian embassy, de-
scribes him as follows:
"a vestment as whito as The snow
covers him from head to foot; tho tur-
ban is covered by a high hood; the
feet are bare and inclosed in yellow
slippers. His horse is Of high stature
and very white, with green reins and
gold stirrups. All this whiteness and
the wide, floating vestmcnts gave him
sacerdotal appearance, royal grace
fulness and amiable majesty, in accord
with the very gentle expression OF his
physiognomy."
On account Of the intolerance pre-
vaiiing in the Moorish empire, the
function of a religious chief is the
most important of those which belong
to the sultan. If he did not show alb
solute respect for the Mussulman or
thodo1y of the doctrines Of Mohammed.
a revolution would soon turn HIM from
tho throne or gravely eompromiae his
sovereignty. Muley Hassan observes.
therefore. vigorously all religious prac-
tices of the Moslem liturgy. Like oil
members of his court, he gets up at
three o'clock a. M. in winter IS well as
in summer, to make the first prayers
After that his chaplain reads him some
pages in the books Of Bokh.ri, the
famous Mussulman theologian, who
is, in the opinion Of all Moors. the best
religious authority after Mohammed.
The sultan and his ministers give
audiences between five and six O'Clock
q. m, and it is at such a u1Atinal hour
that he receives Europeans The mid
die Of the day is given to rest and sleep.
business being resumed only at four or
five o'clock p. H., to stop at the hour
of the evening prnyer.
When the sultan getsup in the morn
ing and when he has slept during the
''siesta" in the middle of tho day his
women help him to dress. Their NUM-
ber In very considerable. Some people
affirm that there are two Thousand of
them in each of the three capitals of
the empire, which are Eez, Mequfnel
and Morocco. But among all these wives
the one who is really the favorite and
the first in the heart Of the emperor is
a Circassian of marvellous and fasciuat-
ing beauty, who is thirty years old and
who has succeeded in dominating
Muley Hassan, thanks to her talents,
smartness and high culture. She has
+ e European education. speaks French
and Spanish, and aspires to make her
son Abdelazis the successor of the pres
ent emperor.