army had not been
defeated, as only a small body had been despatched to quell the
disturbance; the "rebels" were not besieging Fez, as they had no army,
and only the guns captured by the clever midnight surprise of sleeping
troops, of which the "battle"--really a panic--consisted; they had not
cut the "aqueduct," as Fez is built on the banks of a river from which
it drinks; the Sultan's palace was his normal abode; the Europeans
had not fled, seeing no danger, but that _on account of the alarming
telegrams from Europe_, their Ministers in Tangier had advised them to
withdraw, much against their will.

So sweeping a contradiction of statements receiving daily confirmation
from Tangier, heightened colour from Oran, and intensification from
Madrid, must have been regarded as the ravings of a madman, for
the interview was held over for a week for confirmation. Had not
thirty-four correspondents descended on Tangier alone, each with
expenses to meet? Something had to be said, though the correspondent
nearest to the scene, in Fez, was two days' journey from it, and six
from Tangier, the nearest telegraph station. It is true that some
years ago an American boldly did the journey "From Fez to Fleet Street
in Eight Days," by forgetting most of the journey to Tangier, but this
was quite out-done now. Meanwhile every rumour was remodelled in Oran
or Madrid, and served up afresh with confirmatory _sauce piquante_, _a
la francaise_ or _a l'espagnol_, as the case might be. It was not till
Reuter had obtained an independent, common-sense report, that the
interview was published, my statements having been all confirmed,
but by that time interest had flagged, and the British public still
believes that a tremendous upheaval took place in Morocco just then.

Yet, notwithstanding the detailed accounts of battles and reverses--a
collation of which shows the "Father of the She-ass" fighting in
several places at once, captured or slain to-day and fighting
to-morrow, and so on--the Government of Morocco was never in real
danger from the "Rogi's" rising, and the ultimate issue was never in
doubt. The late Sultan, El Hasan, more than once suffered in person
at the hands of the same tribes, defeats more serious than those
experienced by the inadequate forces sent by his son.

The moral of all this is that any news from Morocco, save that
concerning Europeans or events on the coast, must be received with
caution, and confirmation awaited. The m