CHAP. III. 
MORZOUK. 
99 
tremely well dressed. They are guarded by five eunuchs, who keep 
up their authority by occasionally beating them. The Sultan has 
three sons and two daughters, who live with him in this cage, the 
doors of which are locked at night, and the keys brought to him, 
so that he remains free from any fear of attack. The castle is en- 
tered by a long winding passage in the wall, quite dark and very 
steep. At the door is a large shed, looking on a square space, 
capable of containing three or four hundred men closely huddled 
together. Under this shed is a great chair of state (once finely gilt 
and ornamented), with a patchwork quilt thrown over it ; and be- 
hind it are the remains of two large looking-glasses. In this chair 
the Sultan receives homage every Friday, before he ascends the 
castle, after returning from the Mosque. This place is the Mejlees, 
ij^yi^, and was the scene of all the cruelties practised by Mukni 
when he first took possession of the country. 
There are several pools of stagnant salt water in the town, 
which, I conceive, in a great measure, promote the advance of the 
summer fevers and agues. The burying-places are outside the 
walls, and are of considerable extent. In lieu of stones, small mud 
embankments are formed round the graves, which are ornamented 
with shreds of cloth tied to small sticks, with broken pots, and some- 
times ostrich eggs. One of the burying-places is for slaves, who are 
laid very little below the surface ; and in some parts the sand has 
been so carried away by the wind, as to expose their skeletons 
to viewv Owing to the want of wood, no coffins are used ; the 
bodies are merely wrapped in a mat, or linen cloth, and covered 
with palm branches, over which the earth is thrown. When the 
branches decay, the earth falls in ; and the graves are easily known 
by being concave instead of convex. The place where the former 
Sultans are buried is a plain near the town ; their graves are 
only distinguished from those of other people by having a larger 
o 2 
