EH. XIII. A LESSON IN PUNCTUALITY. 335 



from 81. to lOl. for a serviceable beast. But in the present 

 state of the neighbouring country the roads were con- 

 sidered unsafe, and traffic with the interior was almost 

 completely stopped. We were therefore considered rather 

 fortunate in selling our team of mules at about 5/. apiece. 



In the course of the day we had a fresh illustration of 

 native manners that somewhat amused us, for we were no 

 longer in the frame of mind in which a slight abuse of 

 authority could shock our European ideas. The Mogador 

 brass-workers have a high reputation throughout Marocco, 

 and during our first stay in the town we had ordered a 

 variety of articles from the man who was considered the 

 most skilful in his craft. The time fixed for delivering the 

 goods was fully a week before the actual date of our return. 

 When Mr. Carstensen heard that the order had not been 

 executed at the appointed time, he f;ent a message inform- 

 ing the Grovernor of the fact ; and the latter forthwith had 

 the man thrown into prison, and appointed a soldier to 

 keep guard, and see that lie did no other work than that 

 promised to us. After two or three days the prisoner got 

 some friend to intercede with Mr. Carstensen for his re- 

 lease, and rt the instance of the latter the Governor 

 relented. To-day the articles were all duly brought to 

 the Consulate, and the maker seemed well content with 

 the very moderate payment agreed upon. 



We shoidd have gladly made our return voyage in the 

 comfortable steamer VeriU, that had carried us from 

 Tangier, but the date of her arrival on her return from 

 the Canary Islands to Marseilles was uncertain. Mean- 

 while the Lady Havelock steamer, plying between the 

 Marocco coast and London, had reached Mogador, and we 

 resolved to take our passage by that conveyance to Tangier. 



Farewell visits and the packing of our collections oc- 

 cupied the greater part of the day on June 6. At the wharf 

 the port labourers were busy in shipping large bales of 

 esparto grass, which chiefly comes from the adjoining pro- 

 vince of Haha. This is now largely consumed by paper- 



