1 POWER AND INFLUENCE OF THE MOOLLAH& 217
2 xmawn ooiitnct» and beat them off with Iom, to tiie great joy of tber
3 neighbonihood. Thoag|i>tieet6d with great respect m thia p«t of
4 the oountry* I bdieve they are more feared than loved. In the
5 woatt their power is nmch more limited, and their character much
6 mere reapeotaUe. The^ aire^ m oonaeqitefioe, generaUy popular,
7 paortaSsnlaily in (he ooimtiy : liiit» evan there» they are complahied of
8 fat the vioea of their otder,- and fer theb intniaive tad inmtiable de-
9 manda on the hnapitalSty of the inhabitanta*« Even in dieWeat,
10 their power has aometimes been felt in the townH, paiticQlaily dairing
11 the reign of Timoor Shauli, whose Prime Minister was a Moollah.'
12 At that time, they carried tiieir insolence to such a pitch at Candahar,
13 that a band of them attacked Kefauyet Khaun, (a Sheah nobteman of
14 Persian descent, who had held some of the hi^est offices in the state)i
15 and rushed into liis haram, insisting on a present, and protesting
16 against the injustice of his eating rich pilaws, while they had only
17 dry bread. It was with difficulty, and by the Kinf^'s interposition
18 alone, that the tumult was appeased. Tlieir peculiar vices are h^-po-
19 crisy, bigotry, and avari'^e. Their lives are sanctimonimis in pul)lic,
20 but .some of tliem practise all ^oiU oi lie ( n( i< lusness that can be en-
21 joyed willuuit scaTulal ; and many are notorious for the practice of
22 usury. Lending money on interest is expressly prohibited by the
23 Koraim ; and few decent Mussulmans openlv infringe a prohibition
24 which iL is so easy to evade. Most men content themselves with lend-
25 il^ their money to merchants, stipulating for a share of the profit
26 derived from the use of it, or with placing it in the hnda* of haadcersi
27 who pvofem to employ it in ooaimeroe» and to aecure the owner »
28 certain gain ; bat» many Mooibha lend aivDwedly on compound inte-
29 zeat and with good aecority, by which they nniltiply their wealth to
30 an incredible extent* and have got posaeaaionof k conaidetable ahare
31 * It u curious to oh^fTVf the similarity of mnnner' conntrics in the same «t«j»e of
32 civilizatioii, Uiough tur removed Iruxu eacii oUier boili iu place and liuie. Chaucer't-
33 gfliBpimiiii tdt, tBotOj AtaaSm iniportuiii^ cf dw awwdfeiai MooMJm, and A*
34 ? F
35 I
36 Digitized by Google