mountains (to judge from the bold sweeps of the rivers and the lakes), is nearly a level to the foot of Atlas. From the Sebu to the Um-r-Rebieh, the country dips considerably towards the west, and still more so from this latter river to the plain of Morocco.

With the exception of two ranges of schistose rocks with quartz, that break the uniformity of this long slope, the soil is mostly a light loam, succeeded by a rich loam, some gravel, then rich dark loam, and finally a sandy loam. "We cannot," says Captain Washington, R.N., the present hydrographer, in his geographical notice of the Empire of Morocco (Journ. of R. G. S., vol. i. p. 123 et seq.), "fail to be struck by the extraordinary capabilities of the soil; from the foot of Atlas to the shores of the Atlantic, one vast even plain. Give but direction to the waters, which are not wanting, and abundance would speedily follow. It is mortifying to see such blessings spurned by a bigoted and fanatic government land covered with weeds that might give food to millions."

This simple configuration is, however, further interrupted here and there by rock formations, which advance down to the water's edge as at Cape Blanco, the ancient Hercules promontorium, and at Cape Cantin, ancient Usadium promontorium. On the Mediterranean and in the province of Er Rif the country is still more diversified.

This fine slope of territory is further marked out by its rivers, which divide it into five great valleys. First, the Wad-al-Kos, the Luccos of our maps, and the ancient Lixus, on which are the towns of Al Kasr Kebir, with a population of eight thousand inhabitants, and Al Araish, "the trellises," with a population of four thousand. Secondly, the Wad Sebu, "the mountain river or torrent," with the cities of Fez and Mekinez on its upper tributaries, and Mehdiyah, vulgo, Mehedia, at its mouth. The ruins of the ancient Mamorah are now some distance inland, testifying to the rapid progress of the alluvium. Thirdly, the Abu Rakrak, "Father Ripple,"* vulgo, Bu Regrek, and the Burugreb of Washington's map; with the important walled towns of Rabat and Sala, or Salee, the ancient Sala, "secure and quiet place," at its mouth, Fourthly, Um-r-Rebieh, the mother of spring plants, the Wad-oom-erBegh of Washington's map, with Al Kalah on its upper tributary; and Azamor, Olive (Berb), a walled town; and Mazighan, vulgo, Mazagan, the abode of the Amazighs, at its mouth. Fifthly, Wad Tensift or Tansift, "the overflowing or central river," with Marakesh or Marakash, vulgo, Marocco and Morocco, on its upper tributary, and Mogador, the European pronunciation of Mugdul or Modogul, a Moorish saint, also called Suweirah, "miniature, a little picture," for a port, but at a considerable distance to the south of the river.

These five lesser valleys may be still more conveniently grouped into two great hydrographical basins, that of the Wad Sebu and that of the Wad Um-r-Rebieh; and these two divisions would correspond to the province of Fez and to that of Morocco. Or, according to Captain Washington, the two great rivers, the Sebu and the Um-r-Rebieh, may be viewed as dividing the country into three partitions, which would cut the said hydrographical basins in half.

Vocabulary of names of places, &c., in "Mogribu-l-Aksa; or the Empire of Marocco." By the Chevalier Count Graberg af Hemso. Journ. of the Roy. Geo. Soc., vol. vii. p. 243.

The inhabitants of Morocco may be divided into five classes-Moors, Arabs, Berbers, Jews, and negroes. Xavier Darrieu estimates the population at about 8,000,000, of which, according to Captain Cave, in his introduction to Richardson's "Morocco," 4,000,000 are Moors and Arabs, 2,000,000 Berbers, 500,000 Jews, and the remainder negroes.

The Moors, degenerate race of noble ancestors, are the descendants of those who were driven out of Spain when the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, and the flight of Boabdil el Chico, put an end to the Moorish dynasty in that country. These chiefly inhabit the towns, fill the high offices under government, and form the military; their language, the Moghrib, or occidental Arabic, intermixed with Spanish. The Moors are generally a fine-looking race of men, of the middle stature, though at first sight their loose, flowing dress gives them the appearance of large men; after middle age they become corpulent, both men and women, owing to their inactive life. The characteristics of the Moor are idleness, apathy, pride, ignorance, and sensuality; though living in the most deplorable state of ignorance, they look with contempt on all others, terming them barbarians. Their bigotry, too, is excessive, and as to their sensuality, it knows no bounds. The day is usually lounged away in idleness, except for the military exercise of Lab-el-Barod (literally, playing powder), which consists in charging at full gallop, firing their guns, and stopping short.* The pride of the Moor is in his horse. With all their vices they possess the usual virtues inculcated by their religion, hospitality, and fortitude under adversity and misfortune.

The Arabs, like the Moors, originally from the East, overspread the plains, living in tents usually pitched in a circle, hence called duwars, or douars, by the French, and following a nomadic, pastoral, and predatory life. When the soil is unproductive, the herbage scanty, or their tents so full of fleas and vermin that they can no longer rest in quiet, they decamp and seek another spot, a spring of water or a saint's tomb generally influencing the selection. The Arabs are, by virtue of their faith, hospitable, and when they promise may be trusted; but they are great thieves, and always bent on mischief. It is they who, by the excesses they have committed on the French frontier and at Ceuta, and which the Moorish government have been unable to repress, involved the latter in war with France and Spain at the same time. The Arabs are a fine hardy race, slightly made and under the middle size; the girls, when young, are pretty, but lose all attractions as age advances, as all the domestic duties fall on them. Their language is the Korash, or Arabic of the Koran, but much corrupted.

The Amazigh and Shuluhs inhabit the mountain range of Atlas; the former the north-eastern part, as far as to the province of Tedla, the latter thence to the south-west. They live chiefly in villages of houses built of stones and mud, with slate roofs, occasionally in tents, and even in caves their chief occupation is that of huntsmen, yet they cultivate

* The ancient Numidians used to practise the same exercise, only they rode without saddle or bridle.

"Numidæ infræni."-Eneid, iv. 41.

the ground and rear many bees. Their mode of life renders them more robust and active than their neighbours of the plains. They are apparently the aborigines of the country driven to the mountains by the incursions of the Moors and Arabs. It has long been a disputed point whether the Amazigh and Shuluh speak the same language or a dialect of the same language. Jackson, who resided many years in Morocco, and spoke the occidental Arabic, or Moghrib, fluently, declares that they are not; but Captain Washington was satisfied by further inquiry that they were dialects of the same language. Count Graberg also speaks of the Shilah, plural Shuluh, as a branch of the Amazighs, having a dialect of their own. What Captain Washington suspected, Barth has since also established as a great ethnological fact, that the Berber is the language spoken among the Kabayil, or tribes dwelling the whole length of the mighty range of Atlas, and is, indeed, the native idiom of all Northern Africa.

The Jews of Morocco are a very numerous and serviceable body; they are the chief mechanics and tradesmen, and the medium through which all commercial business is carried on with Europeans; they are also obliged to submit to the most menial offices, as servants, porters, and scavengers. They are obliged to live in a particular quarter of a town, and they are despised and insulted by the Moors, whom they cheat in return on all occasions. They have no redress, but must submit to be abused, struck, nay, to be stoned by a Mussulman child, against whom, if a Jew lift up his hand, he will infallibly lose it; if passing a mosque, he must take off his slippers; if he meet any of the emperor's household, even the old negresses, the late imperial concubines, the Jew must doff his slippers, and stand close to the wall till they pass. Yet such persons are, or were, our official interpreters-nay, more, our consular agents; as for repeating a message on terms of equality to an emperor, or a spirited remonstrance, if necessary, they dare not for their lives.

The negroes, who are not very numerous, are slaves, and here, as in more civilised countries, are articles of traffic; yet they sometimes reach stations of great importance, and gain their freedom. The negro's character stands high for fidelity, and, as is well known, the sultan's bodyguard, the only standing army, is chiefly composed of these. This bodyguard, which is said to have reached 100,000 under Mulai Ishmael, was not above 5000 strong when Captain Washington visited Morocco in 1829-30. These soldiers all carry long muskets, which they use with great dexterity, firing at full gallop. They are hardy, sleeping usually on the ground, without any extra covering, even in cold wet nights.

Mr. Richardson describes the Moorish cavalry, or spahis, as being indifferently composed of Moors, Arabs, and Berbers. They are, he says, usually plainly dressed, but, beneath the burnus, many of them wear the Moorish dress, embroidered in the richest style.

But (adds Mr. Richardson) the defeat of the emperor's eldest son, Sidi Mahomed, at the battle of Isly, who commanded upwards of forty thousand of these cavaliers, has thrown a shade over the ancient celebrity of this Moorish corps, and these proud horsemen have since become discouraged. On that fatal day, however, none of the black body-guard of the emperor was brought into action. These muster some thirty thousand strong. This corps, or the Abeed-Sidi

Bokhari, are soldiers who possess the most cool and undaunted courage; retreat with them is never thought of. Unlike the Janissaries of old, their sole ambition is to obey, and not to rule their sovereign. This fidelity to the Shereefs remains unshaken through all the shocks of the empire, and to the person of the emperor they are completely devoted. In a country like Morocco, of widely distinct races and hostile tribes, all naturally detesting each other, the emperor finds in them his only safety. I cannot withhold the remark, that this body-guard places before us the character of the negro in a very favourable light. He is at once brave and faithful, the two essential ingredients in the formation and development of heroic natures.

There exists, also, a kind of militia system, by which the sultan's subjects are liable to be called out under certain circumstances, when they are supposed to be provided with a horse; but naturally, in case of invasion, this could not be expected to obtain in all cases, the supply being very limited.

The regular army of which the sovereign of Morocco disposes is variously estimated at from 40,000 to 50,000 men, including the Black Guard, the Moorish cavalry, the artillery, which has cannon and howitzers on the new model, and some battalions of riflemen armed with new rifles. In case of the proclamation of a holy war, as in the present instance, the Berber tribes, including the Amazigh, the Shuluh, as well as all the other Kabayil of the distant Atlas, and even the warlike Tuwarik of the desert, swell the numbers of the enemy by some hundreds of thousands of sober, intrepid, and enduring fanatics. The Arabs naturally take the side of their faith, and, although the Angads, or Anjads, and the Majers, or Maias, have been subjugated by the French, the Anjerah and other formidable tribes still hold the mountains of the Rif, which are only accessible by sea at a single point near Cape Tres Forcas, and the Moors of the kingdom of Fez, descendants of the same Mauretanians whom the Romans could never perfectly subject, may be well expected to manifest some of their traditional spirit, should the Spaniards ever venture beyond the line of coast-a movement which we feel assured never will be attempted.†

The Berbers are all hunters and practised shots, being especially handy with their guns, upon which they expend large sums of money, and which they twirl and throw into the air, catching them again with great dexterity. Troops of this description, although easily routed in the field, might offer serious obstacles to quick progress by operating in large numbers on the flanks of an enemy, especially when favoured by the country ravines, rocks, villages, woods, and other cover.

The programme of the Spanish forces, as given in their official or semi-official announcements, indicate the following movements and their approximative duration. Conveyance of the expedition to Ceuta, and landing and organisation of the columns, 6 days: march from Ceuta to Tangiers by the Kasr, 2; attack on Tangiers by sea and land, capture of

* These trained bands of negroes call themselves Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari, from the patron saint whom they adopted on settling in Morocco, the celebrated SidiBokhari, commentator on the Koran, and a native of Bokhara, as his name implies. His commentary is almost as much venerated as the Koran itself.

We do not mean not beyond Ceuta or Tetuan and on to Tangiers, &c., but not to Mekinez and Fez.

the place, and stay in it, leaving troops behind on departure, 2; march from Tangiers to Al Araish by the Madrones and Arzilla (Asila), 8; attack of Al Araish, or Larache, by sea and land, taking of the place, and stay there, 6; march from Al Araish to Mehdiyah (Mehedia) by Mamorah, 3; attack of Mehdiyah by sea and land, taking of the place, and stay there, 6; march from Mehdiyah to Rabat, 1; attack of Rabat by sea and land, capture of the place, and stay there, 5; march from Rabat to Mekinez, 3; attack and capture of Mekinez, 3; march from Mekinez to Fez, 2; attack of Fez, capture of the place, and conclusion of a treaty of peace between the two countries, 8; return to Rabat, the point of definitive occupation, 6. Each of the above places is to have a contribution levied on it, according to its wealth, and which is estimated as follows: Tangiers, 10 millions of francs; Al Araish, 2 millions; Mehdiyah, 2 millions; Rabat, 2 millions; Mekinez, 4 millions; Fez, 40 millions; being in all 60 millions.

It is to be observed that part of this amusing programme, penned as if war was reduced to the certainty of a series of military promenades, is dependent upon contingent circumstances, viz. that a treaty shall not be signed previously; but as the emperor appeals to Europe and America to arbitrate in his favour, and as, under any circumstances, he would prefer any humiliation to the subjection of the holy cities, there is not much probability of operations extending beyond Tangiers, or at the utmost Rabat, and of their being carried any distance into the interior, where the Spanish forces would also be exposed to far greater dangers than during the prosecution of their grand military excursus along the

sea-coast.

When the Spanish army-the programme further indicates shall have proceeded along the coast and penetrated to Fez, the holy city of the empire, Spain would have nothing to gain by a prolonged occupation; but it would be an immense advantage for her to occupy Rabat definitively, and in a strong manner, by converting it into a free port, like Gibraltar. And, further, all this not being sufficient indemnification for the fatigues and expense of the said African campaign, the Sultan of Morocco is for the future to be a vassal of Spain, and to pay an annual tribute of ten millions!

It will be well, before discussing this programme at greater length in connexion with the obstacles that present themselves to its punctual fulfilment, or its being carried out to the letter, to advert to the first causes of the war. These, as far as can be gathered from the published despatches of M. Blanco del Valle, the Spanish envoy, and Sidi Muhammad el Katib, the minister of foreign affairs to the Sultan of Morocco, and from the protest made by the Moorish government in the name of the emperor, against the conduct of the Spanish government in declaring war, are simple enough.

The Spaniards, it is to be observed, have held possession of Ceuta, a fortified port on the Mediterranean-the Sebtah of the Moors-on the Bahru-i-Rumi, or "Sea of the Romans," and at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, ever since 1641. Ceuta, built on a small peninsula, about three miles in length, which juts out in a north-north-east direction, exactly opposite Gibraltar, is washed on three sides by the