Chapter I: Preface

Some said, “John, print it,”
Others said, “No;”
Some said, “It might do good,”
Others said, “Not so.”

Whatever weight I might have been inclined to attach to the fluctuating expressions of friendly opinion contained in the above lines, there is at all events one ground on which I have been nearly tempted to allow the “noes to have it,” and that is the length of time which has elapsed since the return of the Mission.

The delay has been a matter of great regret to me; and its cause—viz. the long continuance of a severe fever, contracted either amid the scenes of which I write, or in that valuable but pestilential possession of Her Majesty, the Rock of Gibraltar—must also be my excuse for any imperfection of style or composition which may be found in this volume.

The work itself is merely an elaboration of my diary kept from day to day during my residence in the Sultan’s “happy realms;” and though the interest of the events recorded is not of a sensational or startling character, I think I may safely assert that truth—if nothing else—is to be found in the following pages.

I may mention that Leo Africanus, whose work on Marocco I have several times quoted, was a Moor of Granada, who fled to Fez when that city was besieged in 1492. He was patronised by Mulai Ahmed, founder of the present dynasty, and later in his career was captured by Christian corsairs, and taken to Rome. Here he was well received by Pope Leo X., who is said to have induced him to embrace Christianity, and to have baptized him under his own name. His book was translated into Latin and Italian, and was published in Venice in 1563 by Ramusio in his famous work, “Delle Navigationi e Viaggi.” In this form it found its way to England, and was, in 1600, rendered by Master John Pory into the quaint English of his time.

I obtained the outline of my map by enlarging that of the “Carte de l’Empire de Maroc,” executed in 1848 for the French War Department. The filling in of the interior on either side of the route we followed is from observations of my own, supplemented by information taken from a map by M. Tissot, lately French Minister at Tangier, and now Ambassador at Constantinople, to the extreme accuracy of whose work, as far as I could judge of it, I am able to testify. Upon the latter source, also, I am chiefly dependent for the geography of that part of the country, remote from our route, which I have not visited, but which is doubtless as correct as that which I was able to verify for myself. It is possible that my rendering of Arabic spelling into English may be thought pedantic or incorrect; but allowing for the corrupt form of Arabic spoken in Marocco, I have approached, as nearly as was feasible, to the now authorised Anglo-Oriental system. For the benefit of those who may be unacquainted with the “spelling of the future,” I may mention that

á sounds like a in harm,
ú „ „ oo „ goose.
í „ „ ee „ seed.
î „ „ i „ smile.
a „ „ u „ but.
u „ „ u „ full.
i „ „ i „ bit.

My sincere thanks are due to the Hon. D. Lawless, Rifle Brigade, for placing at my disposal the negatives of photographs he took during our tour. Of the very successful results obtained from them by Mr. Alexander Rivington, Lansdowne Road, Tottenham, readers of this book will judge. The peculiar appearance of the arch opposite page 242 is due to some photographic eccentricity; but as the details of the building are clearly brought out, and the crookedness of the picture does not lessen its architectural value, I have thought it best to retain it among the illustrations.

I am further much indebted to Sir Joseph Hooker, C.B., K.C.S.I., for his kindness in furnishing me with a list of the plants collected for him by Miss Drummond Hay during our wanderings, and which will be found in the Appendix. To others, also, who have tendered their advice or assistance in matters about which I was doubtful, I beg to offer my grateful acknowledgments.

P. D. T.

EDINBURGH, _April 1881_.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Decision of Government to send an Envoy Extraordinary to the
Sultan—Preliminary arrangements—Presents for Sultan—Account of
Tangier—Landing there—Dance at Italian Legation—Departure of
Mission—Market at Hadd el Gharbía—Ad Mercuri—Wild flowers
Pages 1–18

CHAPTER II.

Tomb of Síd Ahmed ben Ali—Megalithic remains at
Mzorah—“Lab-el-barôd”—“Mona”—Extortion by
Europeans—“Matamors”—Sharíf of Wazan—Boar-hunt—Camp servants
19–33

CHAPTER III.

Flat country—Heliographing—Cold nights—Roadside sacrifice—View of El
Araish—Saints and lunatics—Reception at Alcazar—Musicians—Town of
Alcazar—“Kohl”—Sultan el Mansor—Battles of Alarcos and
Alcazar—Compounding a felony
34–43

CHAPTER IV.

Romans and Portuguese—Fording the Wad el Kús—“El Má Bared”—Chess
playing—Land tortoises—Changing escorts—Kaïd of Ben Aouda—Quail
shooting—Entertainment at Habassi—Poison—Kuskussú—Solitude of
plains—Thunder-storm—Irregular protection
44–60

CHAPTER V.

Kaïd of Habassi—Passage of Wad el Sebú—Arab women—Pigs and evil
spirits—Beni Hassan—Curiosity of villagers—Sick and blind—Sentries
at night—Illness or accident—Rain—Missing the road—Quitting the
plains—Síd Búbakr—Geographical difficulties—“Kúbbe”—Nomenclature of
villages—Famine—Foreign tyranny
61–82

CHAPTER VI.

Leaky tents—Beni Aamer—Hospitality of villagers—Sea of mud—Storm—Camp
attacked by robbers—Perils of darkness—Curious rocks—First view of
Fez
83–95

CHAPTER VII.

Entry into Fez—Compulsory welcome—Grandees of Fez—Kaïd Maclean—Violence
of soldiers—Merchants of Fez—Jews—Our garden in Fez—Kaïd El
Meshwa—Moorish etiquette—Grand Vizier—Streets and shops—Sanctity of
mosques
96–109

CHAPTER VIII.

Visit to the Chamberlain—Our host’s sons—French officers at
dinner—Reception of Mission by Sultan—Kilts and equestrianism—Palace
enclosure—Homage of soldiers—Dialogue between Sultan and
Envoy—Delivery of the Queen’s letter—Presentation of Mission
110–122

CHAPTER IX.

Position of Fez—Water supply—Breakfast at Grand Vizier’s—Hidden
treasure—Sultan’s garden—Laying down telephone—Royal stud—Dinner at
Kaïd Hadj Hamed’s—Surgery
123–138

CHAPTER X.

Exhibition of heliographs, &c.—Breach of etiquette—Sultan Mulai
Hassan—Refusal to be photographed—Phonograph—Ancestry of
Sultan—Breakfast at the Kaïd el Meshwa’s—Moorish architecture—Dinner
with Bashaw of Fez—His harem—The Prophet on women
139–157

CHAPTER XI.

Breakfast at the “Eyebrow’s”—The late Síd Músa—Second sight—Death of
Grand Vizier—Moorish customs—Marocco at Chatham—Cursed by a
saint—Professional story-teller—Shallow
graves—Slave-market—Treatment of slaves
158–170

CHAPTER XII.

Silver ornaments—Mosques—Market—Snake-charmers—Jews—Police
arrangements—Frequency of murders—Army reform—Good intentions of
Sultan—Unpaid officials—_Lex talionis_—Mock Sultan—Two remarkable
events
171–189

CHAPTER XIII.

Visit to the palace—Failure to photograph Sultan—Setting up
telephone—Panthers—Beauty of palace—Sultan’s
entertainment—Jugglers—Native drama—Dance of the Aissowieh—Saint of
Fez—Visit to the “Melha”—Inspection of infantry—Inns of
Fez—Treatment of lunatics
190–211

CHAPTER XIV.

Farewell audience—The Sultan’s thanks—Discourtesy of Vizier—Claiming
protection—Designing foreigners—Precautions against them—Artillery
practice—Presents from Sultan—News from home—Books in Fez—Political
results of Mission
212–225

CHAPTER XV.

In camp again—Departure from Fez—Consular agents—Infantry drill—Closing
of gates—Source of Wad el Fas—Defences of Marocco—Chances of
Invasion
226–234

CHAPTER XVI.

Heavy rain—Hill of Kanúfa—Telegraph v. heliograph—Ladies of Mequinez—Selection of heliograph station—Bokhári—Final instruction in heliography—Sultan Mulai Ismael—His cruelties and sanctity—Visit to prison 235–245

CHAPTER XVII.

Departure from Mequinez—Volubilis and Zarhún—Mulai Ismael and the
devil—Q. Cæcilius Domitianus—Description of
ruins—Horse-stealers—Hondius his map—Ptolemy—Failure to enter Mulai
Edris—Fate of impostor—Arab tents—Dangerous route—Berbers and Jews
246–260

CHAPTER XVIII.

Threatened attack by Zemmúr—Direction of march changed—Fight with
Zemmúr—Sport spoiled—Forest of Mamora—View of Rabât—Camp at
Sla—Sallee rovers—Ruins of Shella—Female saints—Tower of
Hassan—Auction of rugs
261–270

CHAPTER XIX.

Return of Síd Búbakr—His house in Marocco—Precautions when from
home—Mehdía—Portuguese defeat—Râs ed Dúra—Whited sepulchres—Arab
girl—Chamomile and borage—Cork woods—El Araish—Well-to-do
Jews—Passage of Wad el Kús—Remains of Moorish fleet—Insect
life—Azîla—Irregular protection of Jews—Fording tidal rivers—An
avenger of blood
271–286

CHAPTER XX.

Return to Tangier—Difficult task of English representative—Obstacles to
collecting information—Photographs—Ethnology—Berbers and
Arabs—Bokhári—Moors—Further results of Mission—Conclusion
287–294