The Ladies' Dress Is Yet More Magnificent And Expensive; Their Robes
Are As Large As Those Of The Religious, Of
The order of St. Bernard.
They have various ways of dressing their heads, and spare no expense
in ear-rings,
Necklaces, or anything that may contribute to set them
off to advantage. They are not much reserved or confined, and have
so much liberty in visiting one another that their husbands often
suffer by it; but for this evil there is no remedy, especially when
a man marries a princess, or one of the royal family. Besides their
clothes, the Abyssins have no movables or furniture of much value,
or doth their manner of living admit of them.
One custom of this country deserves to be remarked: when a stranger
comes to a village, or to the camp, the people are obliged to
entertain him and his company according to his rank. As soon as he
enters a house (for they have no inns in this nation), the master
informs his neighbours that he hath a guest; immediately they bring
in bread and all kinds of provisions; and there is great care taken
to provide enough, because, if the guest complains, the town is
obliged to pay double the value of what they ought to have
furnished. This practice is so well established that a stranger
goes into a house of one he never saw with the same familiarity and
assurance of welcome as into that of an intimate friend or near
relation; a custom very convenient, but which gives encouragement to
great numbers of vagabonds throughout the kingdom.
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