on his horse, and as
he proceeds, hundreds of horsemen and thousands of men on foot follow
him shouting and showing all the signs of joy. He always carries a large
spear, and is little different from other riders. These latter do not
march quietly behind, but continually dash forward in groups of four and
eight, their spears poised to strike, then suddenly pull up and re-enter
the ranks; this "fantasia" delights the mob, who shout the most violent
applause.

During these excursions the Khalifa observes carefully all that is going
on around him and what the people are doing. On one occasion, when he
rode to the beit el mal and was surveying the mighty river, a woman
wearing man's clothes was brought to him from a ship close by. In reply
to the Khalifa's question what she was doing, she said she was preparing
the crew's food; he then asked if she was married, and she said no,
thereupon he began joking and presented her to Wad Adlan; but the
latter, seeing that she was neither young nor pretty, readily answered
that he was already possessor of the four lawful wives. The Khalifa
could not of course violate the law, so he summoned the captain of the
ship and insisted on him marrying this old creature on the spot; he also
casually remarked that the sailors had a noggara (copper drum) on board,
and he immediately gave a general order that no drums were to be allowed
on board boats.

On another occasion he noticed a very thick cloud of smoke, and on
inquiry he found that it came from a soap manufactory; he therefore
immediately issued orders that the soap monopoly rested with the beit el
mal, and that any other manufactory was prohibited. In this way he
deprived numbers of people of a means of livelihood.

One day he remarked a large heap of sewage in the centre of the town,
which spread a most foul odour all around; this was the cause of the
Khalifa himself stating in the mosque that if, when he inspected the
town three days hence, he found any refuse, the trespassers should be
very severely punished.

Everyone now became directly responsible for the cleanliness of his own
dwelling and its vicinity, and this order had a most excellent effect;
it was further enforced by the presence of horsemen, who took good care
to see that the instructions were carefully carried out. The Khalifa
also went so far as to order that if any impurity should be found in the
public streets, the owner of the defiled place should carry it away
h