respects to him. All the
bashaws of provinces, south of the river Morbeya, which divides the
northern part of his dominions from the southern, as well as all
the alkaids or governors of towns and districts under the authority
of the bashaws of the provinces, are expected to show their
loyalty, by obtaining permission to present themselves to the
imperial presence; when they give an account of the state of the
87 district which they respectively govern. The bashaw of each
province communicates with the emperor, and determines which of the
alkaids[105] shall have the honour of presenting themselves. On
these occasions, that is, when the emperor comes to Marocco, it is
customary for the merchants of Mogodor to perform the journey to
the metropolis[106] of the south, and to present his imperial
majesty with a present; indeed, it is not the etiquette of this
court for any one to demand an audience (which the lowest subject
in the realm may claim) without being prepared to present
something; so that the poor may have an audience by presenting half
a dozen eggs, or any similar trifle, such as some fruit or flowers;
but no one enters the imperial presence (_khawie_, as they term it,
_i. e._) empty-handed. The routine is this: The European merchants,
together with the house of Guedalla and Co., who are native Jews,
are called _el commercio;_ the commercio, therefore, solicit the
honour of presenting themselves to the emperor, to offer their
congratulations on his arrival; this is acceded to, and the
minister, who is denominated the _talb cadus_, a term designating a
man who disperses orders and communications to every one, writes a
88 letter to the commercio, expressive of the emperor's disposition to
see them, and requesting them to repair to his presence: a guard is
given by the alkaid of Mogodor, and a present _ought_ to be
selected of such articles as are not to be bought at the markets of
the country. A present consisting of such articles, previously
ordered from Europe, and judiciously selected, is better calculated
to gratify the emperor, than ten times the value injudiciously
collected. The merchants accordingly prepared themselves to proceed
to Marocco; some rode mules, some horses, for there are no
carriages in this country; and every individual had his t