138 OUE HOME IN MAEOCCO. ch. vi. 



men, including our own attendants, were hard at work 

 carrying up large vessels of water from the irrigation 

 stream in the adjoining garden, and armed with rough 

 brooms, with which to complete the work of cleaning the 

 premises. Water was turned on in such abundance as to 

 stand ankle deep in most of the rooms, and pom- in a 

 copious stream down the staircases and other openings. 

 When all was done the blazing sun soon dried all up, and 

 during our stay we suffered no inconvenience, and scarcely 

 saw any insects, except a few harmless beetles. When the 

 rooms had been thus cleansed and dried, we proceeded to 

 instal ourselves in our new quarters. There was a large 

 central room, open to the sky in the middle, with roofed 

 bays or recesses around, and several adjoining, which served 

 as bedrooms. The terrace roof, overlooking the trees of 

 our garden and the city wall, commanded a magnificent 

 view of the Great Atlas range, and in the early morning, 

 and towards sunset, afforded an unfailing attraction. 



During this and the following days much time was 

 consumed in long discussions respecting our future plans 

 and arrangements. During the remainder of his stay in 

 Marocco Mr. Hunot was kind enough to devote most of 

 his time to us, and in his visits he was generally accom- 

 panied by Si Mohammed Hassanowe and Si Boubikir, who 

 sat gravely by, rarely taking any part in the conversation. 

 One of the subjects requiring mature consideration related 

 to the manner in which the objects of our journey might 

 best be made intelligible and satisfactory to the Moorish 

 authorities. The matter had already been under discus- 

 sion at Mogador and during our journey, but its import- 

 ance was now much more obvious when it was clear that 

 our farther progress would depend on the view that El 

 Graoui might take of our character and intentions. We 

 were well aware that anything so simple as the statement 

 that the object was to gratify our curiosity as to the vege- 

 tation of the Grreat Atlas, would at once be set aside as a 

 false pretext, intended to cover some sinister design. That 



