90 
rope, but the thermometer of Reaumur did not fall be* 
low 4° above nought. The average height of the bar- 
ometer was about 27 inches. The abundance of water 
keeps the atmosphere in a high state of humidity, and 
almost always with so much mist, that astronomical ob- 
servations were hardly practicable even in the serenest 
days. 
On the 13th of January the same earthquake was felt 
at Fez, which caused so many disasters at Motril on 
the Spanish coast, and which also was felt at Madrid. 
It began at 39 min. after 5 in the evening, lasted 20 
seconds, and made 30 oscillations, of which the first 
four or six were very strong; the others weaker: it see- 
med to take its direction from east to west. I presume 
that its focus was at the Streights of Gibraltar, extending 
perhaps four degrees latitude to the north and south, 
Every day before and after this meteor the barome- 
ter, thermometer, and hygrometer marked but trifling 
variations, and the atmosphere was just the same as 
usual, without any apparent change. 
The weights, measures, and coins of Fez, are the 
same as in the other places of the Empire, and such as 
I have described them under the article of Tangier, 
CHAPTER IX. 
Heligiou. — History of the Prophet. — His Successes. — Their Worship. — Ablu- 
tions. — Prayers. 
The Mahometan religion and the history of its 
prophet have been often described, both in a proper 
and in a very improper manner, by writers of all nations. 
The good and bad sources from which former authors 
