Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/222

206 one quite ordinary and almost shabby and speaking only Arabic, while the younger was an elegant, well-dressed, good-looking youth of marked intelligence. He spoke excellent French and was at the time studying scientific agriculture. He was evidently the favorite of his father. Such a difference is often to be found among brothers in Morocco and is more than probably due to the custom of plural wives.

"We began our visit by going through the garden and the palace, which are the pride of the wealthy native owners and on which they count for making an impression on foreigners. We were consequently shown through every part of them, including the harem, where we saw many pretty and agreeable women. The younger son had rather advanced ideas, leaning strongly toward the French life and conventions. With some irony he explained to us many of the traditions and customs of his family, which was said to be a very ancient one. One must add that Arabs and Berbers, besides their innumerable Moslem and national traditions, possess customs and morals quite special to each particular family of recognized position, so that the result is a labyrinth of forms in which one can quite easily be lost.

"The palace was beautiful but rather neglected. The large hall that was used only for weddings and holiday receptions gave us the greatest pleasure. Under the beautifully carved ceiling were here and there alcoves with their masses of rugs and silk cushions, while in the center a fountain sang constantly its cadenced song, as it played in its marble basin. Waiting to receive us, the women of the harem were seated on the customary cushions,