The Harem forms a part of the palace, and commu nicates with it by a private door, used only by the em peror. The apartments are also on the ground-floor, square, and very lofty ; and four of them enclose a spa cious square area, into which they open by means of large folding doors, which serve the purpose also of windows. These areas, or courts, are floored with blue and white chequered tiling, and have a fountain in the centre, supplied by pipes from a large reservoir on the outside of the palace. Twelve of these courts, commu nicating with each other by narrow passages, form the harem ; and the women whom it contains have free ac cess to every part of it. The apartments are adorned externally with beautifully carved wood-work ; and are generally hung on the inside with red damask, of vari ous colours, and furnished with beautiful carpets on the floors, and mattresses in different places, for the pur poses of sitting and sleeping. At each end is placed, merely by way of ornament, an elegant European ma hogany bedstead, hung with damask, and covered with mattresses of various coloured silks ; and large looking glasses, clocks, and watches in glass cases, are hung around the walls. The sultana is called the mistress of the harem, but without any control over the other fe males; and she has a whole square for her own use, while each of the rest has only one apartment. Each female has a separate daily allowance from the emperor, according to the rank which they hold in his estimation, out of which she is expected to furnish herself with whatever she requires. This allowance, at the time of Lempriere's visit to the emperor of Morocco, was little more than half a crown sterling to the favourite sultana, and less in proportion to the others ; but the emperor makes them occasional presents of money, dress, and trinkets; and they receive considerable sums from those who solicit their influence in obtaining favours from the court. In this way ambassadors, consuls, merchants, native or foreign, are most assured of gaining their object with the sovereign, who rather encourages nego tiations through this channel. These females are never permitted to go out of the harem, unless by an order from the emperor ; and, except an occasional walk within the bounds of the palace, or a journey from one palace to another, they are constantly immured within their prison. Four of these women are considered as wives of the emperor, and the rest as concubines. Many of these are Moorish women, as the Moors consider it an honour to have their daughters in the harem ; some of them European slaves ; several are negresses, and the usual number of the whole is from 60 to 100, be sides their slaves and domestics. Priestesses, who are so far learned as to read and write, are employed to teach the younger part of the harem to repeat their prayers, and to instruct the older females in the prin ciples of their religion. The inhabitants of the harem arc seldom observed at any other employment, except forming themselves into circles for conversation, or hearing stories, bathing, dressing themselves, and per haps working a little at the needle. The sons of the emperor's wives are considered as princes, who have an equal claim to the empire ; and they are generally ap pointed to the government of some of the provinces, as bashaws. But the daughters and the children of the concubines arc generally sent at a proper age to the city of Tafilelt (the inhabitants of which are all sharifs, or supposed descendants of Mahommecl) where they finish their education and intimacy with their kindred in the place. It is the peculiar privilege of the impe rial family, that is, of the emperor himself, his sons, and brothers, to have the benefit of umbrellas ; the shade of which, in a climate like that of Morocco, is one of the greatest luxuries.
The revenue of the emperor consists of a tenth upon every article of consumption, as allowed by the Koran ; an annual tax upon the Jews ; custom-house and excise duties ; tributes exacted from his own subjects, foreign states, and European merchants, in the form of presents ; which last articles form the chief source of his income. The duties and tributes are so frequently changed that it is impossible to estimate their annual amount with any degree of certainty.
The army used to consist principally of black troops, the descendants of negroes imported from Guinea, amounting altogether to above 40,000, and sometimes even 100,000 men ; of whom two-thirds are cavalry ; but every man is considered as a soldier, and obliged to act in that capacity, whenever the emperor shall require his services. The present emperor, Muley
Solyman, has diminished the proportion of black troops; but negrocs are still employed as governors of cities, commanders of the body guard, eunuchs in the harem, and in other offices of state. About 6,000 of the standing army, form the emperor's body guard ; and the rest are quartered in the different towns of the empire, under the bashaws of the provinces. The soldiery are clothed by the emperor, and receive a little pay, but depend chiefly upon plunder. They are dis tinguished from the other Moors only by their accou trements, which consist of a long musket, a sabre, a small red leather box to hold their balls, and a powder horn slung over their shoulders. The army is under the direction of a commander-in-chief, some principal bashaws, and officers of divisions called Alcaides. They have little order and regularity in their manoeu vres, and are more like a rabble than an army.
The Navy consists of about 20 small frigates, a few xebecks, and 30 row galleys. The number of seamen in the service is computed at 6,000 ; the whole com manded by one admiral ; but, being chiefly used in piracy, they are seldom united as a fleet. The naval power of the empire is altogether contemptible ; and the whole maritime department becoming every year less effective, from the filling up of the harbours by sand, and other causes of their demolition.
The sea-port towns of Morocco carry on a very limited commerce with foreign nations. European fac tories have been established in some of them at differ ent times ; but have been often abandoned altogether, on account of the continually varying orders of the emperors, relating to trade and other matters ; and partly on account of the unwillingness of Europeans to transmit merchandise to a country where there is so little security for property. The European merchant has so many difficulties in recovering debts due to him by the natives, that credit is in a great measure anni hilated, and the trade of Morocco is, in a manner, trans formed into barter. The principal commercial place in the empire, is the port of Mogadore ; into which are imported cloths, linens, muslins, damasks, raw silk, copperas, tea, sugar, iron, and iron nails, hardware, pewter, spices, copper, thread, mirrors, earthen-ware, knives, brass pans, glass, Mexico dollars ; and from which are exported almonds, gums, bees-wax, oil of olives, goat-skins, hides, wool, feathers, elephant's teeth, drugs, tallow, leather, raisins. At this place The annual value of imports has been 151,450/.
The annual value of exports 127,679/.
This trade is obviously of a valuable description to Eu rope, as it carries off manufactured goods of all kinds, and furnishes useful raw materials in return ; and might be considerably augmented for the interest of Great Britain, by the establishment of well qualified persons as consuls, to establish friendly treaties, and to serve as the authorized channels of communication with the Moorish government.
There are large weekly markets held in the metropo lis, where all articles of foreign and home manufacture are bought and sold. At these times, samples of the different kinds of merchandize are carried up and down the streets by itinerant auctioneers, who proclaim the price offered, and who apprize the highest bidder of his purchase ; to whom the article is delivered upon his paying the money, and the transaction terminates. A considerable trade is carried on between the principal cities of Morocco and Timbuctoo, by means of large caravans, which cross the great desert ; and which usually complete their journey from Fez to Timbuctoo in the space of 129 days. The principal articles which they carry out, are German and Irish linens, muslins, cambrics, fine cloths, raw-silks, beads, brass nails, tea, sugar, spices, tobacco, salt, red woollen caps, sashes, shawls, and haiks of silk and gold, manufactured in Fez and Tafilelt They bring back gold in dust, rings and bars, elephant's teeth, gums of various kinds, and slaves ; besides ostrich feathers, and ambergris collect ed on the confines of the desert.