‘It is a general custom among the _Soozees_[17], both men and women, to choose some holy man to be their guide and instructor, (not dissimilar to the office of a confessor,) whom they call their _peer_;[18] designating themselves his _mooreed_, or disciple. When a lady of rank has fixed on this holy personage for her _peer_, he is invited to the house, where the following ceremony ensues. Standing on the outside of the _purdah_, or curtain, he holds one end of a handkerchief, the other end of which is held by his intended _mooreed_ within the _purdah_. In this position he reads aloud select passages from the _Koran_, allusive to the subject, and finishes with a lecture on morality. Thus adopted, he is thenceforward to her as her God and the prophet. In all difficult situations, she looks to him for relief, calling on his name in danger; and the death of the _peer_ does not even dissolve the contract. After the first ceremony, the _peer_ seldom visits his _mooreed_; indeed, as thousands may choose the same spiritual guide, such duty would prove too much even for his _spirit_ to bear. However, there are instances of a _peer_ being chosen from motives very different from what may be supposed in general to operate; hence, we sometimes discover, that, under the cover of a _peer_, the lady indulges herself with a private lecture from a young _lover_. Indeed, the _Sheeaus_ give this as a reason for their discontinuance of the practice. ----- Footnote 17: A particular sect. Footnote 18: _Peer_ literally means a prophet. -----