102 MOORISH BNTEETAIKMENT. ch. v. 



plants collected during the day, and retire to rest ; but 

 that would have been nowise suitable to the dignity of a 

 party travelling under the especial protection of the 

 Sultan, and whose importance had doubtless been exag- 

 gerated to the utmost by the inventive talents of our 

 interpreter. In the absence of the Governor, his son, a 

 stout overfed man of forty, welcomed us on our arrival, 

 and invited us to dine in the kasbah, and of course 

 courtesy required us to accept the invitation. After a 

 brief toilet, we proceeded to enter the castle, and were 

 led through open spaces to the inner building, which 

 forms the dwelling of the Grovemor, and then through a 

 court, with flower-plots in the centre, to a large and hand- 

 some hall, where we were to be entertained. As usual, 

 there was little furniture, save several showy Eabat car- 

 pets, but we noticed three or four ornamental French 

 timepieces in a recess where it would appear that the 

 Governor or his son were used to sleep. Besides our 

 host, there was present a grave man whose features dif- 

 fered much from the ordinary Moorish type. He turned 

 out to be a Turk who had already passed several months 

 as a guest in the Governor's castle. We never understood 

 accurately what had brought him so far from Istamboul ; 

 but we were led to believe that he had come on some 

 informal mission, and that its traditional jealousy of 

 foreigners, nowise confined to Christians, had led the 

 Moorish Court to interpose obstacles in the way of his 

 advance into the country. 



After a quarter of an hour's interchange of civil 

 speeches, conversation began to flag ; but the Governor's 

 cook, who perhaps wished to display his professional skill 

 on the occasion, was yet far from completing his opera- 

 tions. Quite an hour passed, we were tired and sleepy, 

 and our fat host showed no talent for conversation, so 

 that the time hung heavily enough until the usual pre- 

 face to dinner, green tea, was introduced. Doubtless the 

 entertainment was everything that a Moorish connoisseur 



