Jenks' Portland Gazette

MOCHA.

The customs of nations in a state of comparative barbarism have long been a copious subject for the descriptive ingenuity of travellers, and the avidity with which they are perused proves, that they are among the most amusing branches of literature in uniform of narrative. Those of Mocha are but little known: and since the time of D'Arvieux and Niebuhr, they have undergone so material a change as to give interest to the following account, which we derive from an Officer in the India Company's service, recently from thence:—

The town of Mocha is wretchedly built; the fortifications are contemptible; and the artillery is in the same state of rudeness as their military tactics. It contains the remains of the commerce of the formerly opulent town of Aden, and its trade is principally in coffee, which is amongst the best kinds, and is sold in this country at a very high price. As this commerce attracts thither a considerable number of European vessels, there are certain regulations observed on their arrival, of which the following are the most curious: On the landing of a captain the principal officers of the Customhouse, preceded by factors of the nation to which he belongs, meet and conduct him before the Emir-Bahar, who places him by his side, and lays his right hand upon his heart as a token of salutation. The stranger is then perfumed with incense of benzoin and oil of roses, and afterwards, with a sort of aloes wood, the smell of which is exquisitely sweet, and which is so scarce, that it is purchased by its weight in gold. After this ceremony, he is entertained with coffee, which, if an Englishman, he generally finds it impossible to drink; for the Arabs neither roast their coffee, nor make the liquor from the grain, but use only the pulp, which we throw away; though they make of it a light infusion like tea. He then undergoes a second perfuming, and is conducted to the house of the Governor, on an Arabian charger, elegantly caparisoned, accompanied by a mob, who made the most hideous shouts and yelling. On arriving at the audience chamber of the Governor, he is obliged to deliver up his sword; but this concession has of late been granted by the British and French Officers. When the Governor points to an arm chair, to direct them to be seated, they not unfrequently consider the motion an offering of his hand, and some of them seize and give it a hearty squeeze, which produces strong marks of disgust in the troops by which they are surrounded. After a second fumigation, he is at length dismissed, and sent to the factory of his nation. The British factory pre-dominates in this town, as in every other quarter of the globe. Their lodge is a superb building capable of accommodating the Officers of a number of vessels; while that of the French, who are despised by the inhabitants, is a miserable structure, with only a few warehouses attached to it.

The women wear a long veil, through which they see without being seen; the better class never appear in the streets in the day-time, and when they meet any men in the way they stand up close against the wall to let them pass. This latter custom is prevalent amongst the women of the Crimea also.—Lon. Pap.