it entirely depends upon his purse. His women are
his luxury, and an expensive one. A concubine may be sold at any moment,
and the position is thus precarious and varied: it has one saving clause,
which I have already explained--the woman who bears a son to her master
is free, and at his death his property will be divided between the sons
of concubines equally with the sons of his wife and wives. Mussulman
raids still continue against the negroes of Central Africa, against
tribes in Persia, in Afghanistan, and other parts of the world; indeed,
as long as Mohammedanism lasts, there is very little chance of the
abolition of slavery.

[Illustration: _Photo by A. Cavilla, Tangier._]

THE WAD-EL-AZELL.

[_To face p. 334._]

One afternoon we went over the garden belonging to the late basha of
Marrakesh--Ben Dowd--almost the only garden I have ever seen in Morocco
which had in it flowers; and these were roses from Spain, valuable and
beautiful, the pride of the basha. There was a charming summer-house half
built, and a conservatory nearly finished, in different parts of the
garden. In the midst of his prosperity, only eight months before, Ben
Dowd had been arrested and put into prison. It was the old tale of
jealousy. The Grand Wazeer was afraid of the basha, and in order to
secure himself from harm succeeded in having Ben Dowd deposed and put
entirely out of harm's way. Though an explanation is always forthcoming
for violent proceedings such as the above, it would be unwise to assume
in Morocco that the explanation had a grain of truth in it. Wheels within
wheels; intrigue after intrigue; lie, topped by lie, make up the sum of
Moorish diplomacy, and render the coil of politics in that country an
absolutely fascinating study, not because it is so surreptitious, but
because it is clever as well as cunning, and all the time involves bigger
interests than ever appear on the tapis--interests which concern France,
Austria, England, Germany, and other Powers, all of whom struggle for a
finger in the seething pie.

To return to Ben Dowd. He was "detained" in a house--not ignominiously
committed to the common gaol, an unusual respite--allowed twelve
shillings a day, and his wife's company. He was in Fez with these
restrictions at the time we were looking over his gardens; and half of
his wives were left behind at his own house, costing him a pound a day,
we were told, in the face of which his allowance seemed inadequate.

When