Cohen
pleaded ignorance, God had not given him the wit; he could do nothing
for the patient of his Imperial Highness. This was very politic of
Cohen, for another quack, a Moor, had just been consulted, and had had
his head taken off, for not being successful in the remedies he
prescribed. There would not be quite so much medicine administered among
us, weak, cracky, crazy mortals, in this cold damp clime, if such an
alternative was proposed to our practitioners.
CHAPTER II.
The Maroquine dynasties. - Family of the Shereefian Monarchs. - Personal
appearances and character of Muley Abd Errahman. - Refutation of the
charge of human sacrifices against the Moorish Princes. - Genealogy of
the reigning dynasty of Morocco. - The tyraufc Yezeed, (half
Irish). - Muley Suleiman, the "The Shereeff of Shereefs." - Diplomatic
relations of the Emperor of Morocco with European Powers. - Muley Ismael
enamoured with the French Princess de Conti. - Rival diplomacy of France
and England near the Maroquine Court. - Mr. Hay's correspondence with
this Court on the Slave-trade. - Treaties between Great Britain and
Morocco; how defective and requiring amendment. - Unwritten engagements.
Morocco, an immense and unwieldly remnant of the monarchies formed by
the Saracens, or first Arabian conquerors of Africa, has had a series of
dynasties terminating in that of the Shereefs.
1st. The Edristees (pure Saracens,) their capital was Fez, founded by
their great progenitor, Edrio. The dynasty began in A.D. 789, and
continued to 908.
2nd. The Fatamites (also Saracens.) These conquered Egypt, and were the
faction of or lineal descendants of the daughter of the Prophet, the
beautiful pearl-like Fatima, succeeding to the above: this dynasty
continued to 972.
3rd. The Zuheirites (Zeirities, or Zereids) were usurpers of the former
conquerors; their dynasty terminated in 1070.
4th. Moravedi (or Marabouteen,) that is to say, Marabouts, [2] who rose
into consequence about 1050, and their first prince was Aberbekr Omer El
Lamethounx, a native of Sous. Their dynasty terminated in 1149.
5th. The Almohades. These are supposed to be sprung from the Berber
tribes. They conquered all North Western Morocco, and reigned about one
hundred years, the dynasty terminated in 1269.
6th. The Merinites. These in 1250 subjugated the kingdoms of Fez and
Morocco; and in 1480 their dynasty terminated with the Shereef.
7th. The Oatagi (or Ouatasi) [3] were a tribe of obscure origin. In
their time, the Portuguese established themselves on the coast of
Morocco; their dynasty ended in 1550.
8th. The Shereefs (Oulad Ali) of the present dynasty, whose founder was
Hasein, have now occupied the Imperial throne more than three centuries.
This family of Shereefs came from the neighbourhood of Medina in Arabia,
and succeeded to the empire of Morocco by a series of usurpations.
