The St. Johns herald., 1894-05-10
A MIGHTY MOOR.
Appearance and Characteristics of
 the Sultan of Morocco.
The Every-Day Life of HIuley Hassan Who Is at Present Engaged in Warfare wlth spanish
 Coionists.

Although Muley Hassan, the sul- tan or chief of Morocco. wields but nominal authority over the Riff tribes men now at war with the Spanish colonial settlement at Melilla, on the northern Mediterranean coast of Af- 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 lfassaa is ffty-fve years old. His demeanor is grave and majestic, as becomes a man knowing the impor- tance of his double character, as eTn- peror and po1tiff. and a successor to the prophet, Of whom he is a 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 frmness, mixed with certain shadow of melancholy and las situde
 He receives foreign ministers and shows himself inpublic with fastidious solemnity, says the New York Trib une. One of the emperor's serv ants holds over his head large para SOL to screen him from the rays C. 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 god rather than their sovereign. Edmunde Ami cis, who saw Muley Hassan during 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 amiable 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- solute respect for the Mussulman or thodoxy of the doctrines of Mohammed, a revolution would soon turn him from the throne or gravely 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 BolShari, the famous Mussulman theologian, who is, in the opinion of all Moors, the best l religious authority after Mohammed.
 The sultan and his ministers give audiences between five and six o'clock a. m., and it is at such a matinal hour that he receives Europeans. The mid dle of the day is given to rest and sleep, l business being resumed only at four or five o'clock p. m., to stop at the hour of the evening prayer.
 When the sultan gets up 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 arc Fez, NIequinez ! and Morocco. But among all these wives | the one who is really the favorite and ! the firsti 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, smartness and high culture. She has | a European education, speaks French . and Spanish, and aspires to make her son Abdelazis the successor of the pres ent emperor.