The St. Johns herald., 1894-06-28
4 MIGHTY MOOR.
Appearance and Characteristics of
 the Sultan Of MoroccA
The ETery-Day Life Of 6Iuley Hassan Who Is at Present Engaged in Warfare witn spanish
 CoIonists.

Although Muley Hassan, the sul- tan or chief of Morocco, wields but a nominal authority over the Riff tribes men now at war with the Spanish colonial settlement at Melilla. on the
 northern Mediterranean coast of Ali
 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-five years old His demeanor is grave and majestic, as becomes a man knowing the inpor- tance of his double character, as eIn- peror and pontiff, and a successor to the prophet, of whom he is descend ant. His dark eyes are large and ex- pressive. His Boorish 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 frmness, mixed with . certain shadow of melancholy and las situde.
 He receives foreign ministers and shows himself in public with fastidious solemnity, says the New York Trio une. One of the emperor's serv- ants holds over his head large para SOL to screen him from the rays O. the sun. Others are busy flaming 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 cis, who saw Muley Hassan during q reception of the Italian embassy, de- scribes him as follows:
 "A vestment as white as the snow covers him from head to foot; the tur- ban is covered by 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 vestments gave him a sacerdotal appearance, royal grace fitness and amable majesty, in accord with the very gentle expression of his physiognomy."
 On account of the intolerance. pre- vailing in the Moorish empire, the function of religious chief is the most important of those which belong to the sultan. If he did not show ab- solutc respect for the Mussulman or thodoxy of the doctrines of 1Iohamned, a revolution would soon turn him from the throne or gravaly compromise his sovereignty. Muley Hassan observes, therefore, vigorously all religious prac- tices of the Moslem liturgy. Like all members of his court, he gets up at three o'clock a. m., in winter as well as in summer, to make the first prayers. After that his chaplain reads him some pages in the books of Boilhari, the famous MGssulman 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 a. m., and it is at such matinal hour that he receives Europeans. The nid- dle of the day $ given to orestand sleep, business being resumed only at four or five o'clock P. nn., to stop at the hour of the evening prayer.
 When the sultan getsup in the morn ing and when he has slept during the ''siesta" in the middle of the day his women help him to dress. Their num- Der is very considerable. Some people affirm that there are two thousand of them in each of the three capitals of the empire, which are Fez, Mequinez and 3Ioroceo. 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 fascinat- ing beauty, who is thirty years old~and who has succeeded in dominating Muley Hassan, thanks to her talents, smartDess and high culture. She has q European education, speaks French and Spanish, and aspires to make her son Abdelazis tfe successor of the pres ent emperor.