upon every Muslim as a religious duty, and, if able to afford it, he
usually takes to himself his first wife before he is out of his teens.
He is relieved of the choice of a partner which troubles some of us so
much, for the ladies of his family undertake this for him: if they do
not happen to know of a likely individual they employ a professional
go-between, a woman who follows also the callings of pedlar and
scandal-monger. It is the duty of this personage, on receipt of a
present from his friends, to sing his praises and those of his family
in the house of some beautiful girl, whose friends are thereby induced
to give her a present to go and do likewise on their behalf in the
house of so promising a youth. Personal negotiations will then
probably take place between the lady friends, and all things proving
satisfactory, the fathers or brothers of the might-be pair discuss the
dowry and marriage-settlement from a strictly business point of view.

At this stage the bride-elect will perhaps be thought not fat enough,
and will have to submit to a course of stuffing. This consists in
swallowing after each full meal a few small sausage-shaped boluses
of flour, honey and butter, flavoured with anise-seed or something
similar. A few months of this treatment give a marvellous rotundity to
the figure, thus greatly increasing her charms in the native eye. But
of these the bridegroom will see nothing, if not surreptitiously, till
after the wedding, when she is brought to his house.

By that time formal documents of marriage will have been drawn up,
and signed by notaries before the kádi or judge, setting forth the
contract--with nothing in it about love or honour,--detailing every
article which the wife brings with her, including in many instances a
considerable portion of the household utensils. Notwithstanding all
this, she may be divorced by her husband simply saying, "I divorce