ld always come out and look on when there was one of these
"field days" at Tetuan: his figure was not adapted to his participation
therein, being perfectly in keeping with his walk in life, and that walk
consisted in his sitting from six o'clock to ten o'clock in the morning,
and from three o'clock to six o'clock in the afternoon, in a small open
room off the street opposite his house, in a reclining position upon
cushions, before him an excited group (as often as not), contradicting,
swearing, gesticulating, abusing, all at the same moment--one of whom is
carried off by the soldiers to be flogged, another is sent to prison, or,
if the seekers after justice wax more troublesome than ordinary, they may
all be thrown into prison by the heels together to calm them. At the same
time the basha absorbs bribes, and sweeps loaves of sugar, packets of
candles, and pounds of tea into his net. These are the ordinary bribes.

When he was appointed basha, a royal letter from the Sultan was sent to
Tetuan and read aloud in the mosque: then he entered upon his duties. He
must needs go warily from day to day; and even then luck may desert him
at any moment, and a summons may arrive from the Sultan--he is to go to
Court at once. I recollect in what abject terror, one basha, who was sent
for at a day's notice, set out upon his journey, only to find, when he
got to Court, that he was to have a more lucrative billet and a higher
post of honour. Many who have departed in terror, all unknowing of the
future, have found, when they reached Fez or Morocco City, where-ever the
Sultan might be, that their worst fears were realized. Either placed
under arrest, tortured, imprisoned, or bastinadoed, the little wealth
they had accumulated is extorted from them, under the pretext of there
being arrears in taxes or other dues, which must be made good. The
wooden jellab is used for the purpose of extorting confession in the case
of imaginary wealth supposed to be hidden (and much often is hidden): it
is made of wood, resembling in shape a long cloak, and placed in an
upright position; the inside is lined with iron points, which prevent the
body from resting against it without suffering. Inside this "jellab" the
basha is squeezed, standing up, and he remains there on a sparse diet of
bread and water till he divulges.

Both the Prime Minister and the Minister of War were sent to the prison
in Tetuan soon after the accession of the present Sultan; but that