rents and
brothers-in-law save by bowing or shaking her head; only if no one else
is present, she may talk to them. In the fourth year she is permitted to
answer by saying "no" or "yes"; after the birth of a child, however,
she may talk to every one. Besides, it is considered unbecoming that in
the presence of her parents-in-law she should sit near her husband or
occupy herself with her children. The only change and pleasure in a
married woman's life are the visits which she exchanges every now and
then with her parents, relations, and friends, as well as the weddings
and religious festivities which she is allowed to attend.

The greatest misfortune in the life of a Mohammedan woman, however, is
the absolute uncertainty of the duration of her marriage, which robs her
of all real happiness. According to Moslem law, every Mohammedan is
entitled to take four legitimate wives. Although Moslem law demands that
a man who has several wives ought to treat them equally, and forbids the
neglect of one by preferring the other, matters are generally different
in reality. The first wife, instead of retaining a certain pre-eminence,
as would be just, gradually becomes the servant of her fellow-wife or
wives; if not, her husband dismisses her at last. It is impossible to
give all the particulars of the misery which needs must result from such
marriages, not only for the wife herself, but very often also for her
children.

The idea, that woman is a subordinate creature, destined only to serve
man, has been so to say numerically expressed in the Mohammedan law of
inheritance, all the particulars of which are founded on the principle:
two parts to man, one part to woman. For instance, after the death of
the wife, the husband inherits a quarter of her fortune, in case there
are children; if there are none, half of it, whereas, the wife inherits
only a quarter or an eighth. If several wives survive their husband,
they inherit these parts together. Accordingly, daughters inherit only
half as much as sons.

Very seldom a Mohammedan widow is married again. She generally stays in
her late husband's house, in order to educate her children, for whom a
tutor is chosen. The tutor administers the children's fortune and gives
the mother as much money as is necessary for their subsistence. When the
children are grown up, the mother generally stays for the rest of her
life at one of her sons', not so often at a daughter's. In poor
families, however