Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-22
Algerian and Tunisian Gar
ments Which Cost 5000
aPair-Heavily Draped
Figures on Streets.
Copyright, 1907, by Frank G. Carpenter)

Copyright, 1907 by Frank u carpenter
TUNIS.
| According to the Koran, the Mohammedan
has the right to four wives upon earth, anu
when he goes to heaven, he Will receive IN
addition seventy-two black-eyed hours,
ever beautiful and ever young. When there
he will have children or not, according to
his WISH and the offspring will grow IN an
hour to the stature of their Parents. Mo
hammed himself is said to have had about
twenty wives while on EARTH and, when he
died he left nine, each CT whom had her
own house not far from the mosque at
Medina Mohammed started out by mar
rying a widow Her name was Cadijah, and
il was her money which gave him his first
boost into prominence. He was about
twenty-five years old at the time and
was one of the finest looking young beauX
of Arabia Cadijah was forty, and, 1t is
alleged, that it was she who popped the
question. He lived with her for twenty-five
years, and, during that time, took no other
wife A month after she died, however, he
became betrothed to a girl Of seven, and
he married her two or three years later.
This second wife was the beautiful Ayesha,
whom he preferred, above all others, to the
day of his death.
Mohammedan Women.
These facts form the basis of the Mo-
hammedans idea of marriage. He believes
that the prophet had the right to more
wives than his followers, because he was
| favored of Cod and there was a chance
| that he raight generate a race of prophets
| to succeed him. This chance failed; butt
| nevertheless he still sticks to the limit of
| only four wives; and the Arab judges of
| Tunisia and Algeria will not recognize as
I layq mo a
| Indeed, in Algeria, the French are now
| trying to cut down the size of the harem
| and they will not allow such the Arabs
| as become naturaliZed to have more than
| one legal helpmate. l heard of a young
| man in Oran, the son of sheik who
| thought that it would be fine to be
| French citizen. He took out his papers
| and shortly thereafter wanted to marry.
| He had already one wife. and the license
was therefore refused Upon TINS, he was
| Disguised and said he wanted to be pure
Arab once more
Down In Figuig. on the edge of Morocco
I was told that it is the custom for the
| Moor of that region to marry at eighteen
| or twenty years of age. taking a wife of
| he adds another young maiden of the same
age to his household. When he gets to be
| forty he takes third. and at fifty fourth ,
so that he has always one young wife to
wait upon him throughout his earthly
reer. AS the new wives come on, the older
ones step back to the rear and ;-ct as their
servants
Plural Marriage Dying Out.
At the present time. owing to the ad
vancement of modern civilization, these
plural marriages are steadily decreasing in
| number. This IS the rule in all Mohamme
dan cities. Here in Tunis most of the
natives now have but one wife; and such
is the case in all the cities of Algeria. The
cost of living Is steadily increasing, and
the women demand more and more. They
are patteTning after the French ladies In
their tastes. and it is only the rich who
keep up more than one household.
Moreover. where several wives are herded
together under the same roof and in the
same quarters. there is sure to be discord,
and ii means both peace and economy to
have only one. The Arab women of the
better classes are dead load on their huS-
bands. for they are seldom more than chill
dren in character. They have no educa ton
TO speak of, and they must have servants or
slaves to wait upon them. The husband is
expected to furnish a dover for each wife
and II he is rich, he must give from So. 900
to s1OO00 to get her. This money goes to
the girls family, and a quartet of wives
so paid for. requires a large sum. With
people less rich. the dowries are less; but
every husband must pay something for his
wife even down to the porter. although the
latter may get a bride for s. or $40
In the Women's Quarters.
AS a rule, the Mohammedan husband
makes his matrimonial iaves .ments after
the old fashion OF buying a pig in a
noke. He seldom sees his bride before he
is engaged to her; and, If he is young, the
parents make all the contracts. There Is
no place upon earth where the women