142 TOWER OF THE KOUTOUBIA. ch. vr. 



the only building within our view was the great tower of 

 the Koutoubia. Some idea of the effect as seen through 

 one of our windows is given in the accompanying woodcut. 

 It is very similar in design and dimensions to the Griralda 

 at Seville and the great tower at Rabat, and like these is 

 said to have been built by Christian captives. Including 

 the lanthorn at the top, the height is about 270 feet. It 

 is a singular proof of the deficiency of the Moors in con- 

 structive faculty, that the only stone structures in this, the 

 ancient capital of the country, once the abode of wealth 

 and barbaric luxury, should be this tower, and the great 

 arch forming the entrance to the Sultan's palace, of which 

 the carved stones were transported piece by piece from 

 Spain. 



The morning of May 5 presented the unusual appear- 

 ance of heavy clouds covering the sky and concealing from 

 view the range of the Grreat Atlas. This did not last 

 long. The sun soon reasserted his dominion over the 

 plain, though the clouds still hung round the higher peaks. 

 The direct heat of the sun was already great at this sea- 

 son, but the air was always relatively cool. In the shade 

 of our rooms the thermometer marked about 80° Fahr. 

 during the warmer hours of the day, and fell to about 70° 

 at night. 



It was a matter of some interest to us to study the 

 spontaneous vegetation of the gardens of Marocco. We 

 could without difficulty have obtained permission to visit 

 the very extensive gardens that occupy the larger part of 

 the enclosed space surrounding the palace of the Sultan ; 

 but we decided that we should be able to work more 

 effectually, and without risk of exciting the suspicions of 

 the natives, by confining ourselves to the rather large space 

 surrounding our own dwelling. To the English reader it 

 may be well to remark that, in Marocco, as in most Eastern 

 countries, a garden means something very different from 

 what we understand by it at home. So far as any idea of 

 enjoyment is connected with it the paramount object is 



