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The Koran enjoins marriage on all and calls bachelors the worst of mankind. Consequently there are few spinsters or bachelors in any Moslem land, and a woman who is divorced or widowed must have another husband found for her as soon as possible.

Although Mohammed believed that all men should be married, there were four classes of women against whom he warned his fellows:—

A Yearner—that is, a woman who has children by a former husband and wishes to get everything possible for them from her present husband.

A Deplorer.—One who is constantly deploring the loss of her first husband and stating his virtues to the disparagement of the present incumbent.

A Backbiter.—One who is kind to her husband’s face and behind his back accuses him of cruelty, miserliness, and ill-treatment.

A Toadstool.—A beauty who is lazy and tyrannical and uses all the substance of her husband to buy silks, jewels, and perfumes with which to adorn herself.