whose lungs were affected, was to
192 accompany his Royal Highness; and, as I had nothing to detain me in
Tangier, and was going to Rabat, I engaged to accompany the doctor,
and offered to officiate as interpreter between him and the prince
till our arrival at Rabat; after which I should leave him, and
proceed to Mogodor. The Doctor readily assented to my proposition,
because it is considered more respectable in this country, where
the Jews are reprobated and despised, to have for an interpreter a
Christian; the prince also, when he heard that I had thus offered
my services, expressed himself much gratified, and I received a
very polite message from him. The next day we started from Tangier,
in the morning at ten o'clock. The army halted east of Arzilla, in
the plains: the prince sat down under the shade of a tree to
dinner, Dr. Bell and myself under another tree, about 100 yards
distant. The Prince sent us a capon stewed _a-la-mauresque_ with
saffron, the exquisite flavour of which proved that he had an
excellent cook with him. We departed in half an hour; and the tents
were pitched at sunset, in a campaign country, between Arzilla and
L'Araich. The Ait-Amor or Amorites who formed a part of this army,
a wild, uncontrolled race of Berebbers, saw the attention that was
paid by the shereef to the doctor, and after dinner they were
determined to see what sort of a fellow this doctor was, whom the
shereef treated so familiarly. They galloped their high-mettled
horses up to the doctor; and stopping short to examine him, made a
193 reflection on him and returned. The doctor observed the wild and
tattered appearance of these excellent horsemen. There was nothing
evil-minded in them; but their observations were remarkable. The
Doctor wore powder, a custom unknown in this country: one party
would say, "He has got lime in his head to kill the vermin;"
another would observe that "He was old or grey-headed." The Doctor
was fond of his bottle, and some said _skurren bel akkaran_, i.e.
"The[142] son of a cuckold is drunk." Others would bawl out, _Wa
Tebeeb washka't dowie elmoot_, i.e. "O, doctor, canst thou cure
death?" To which he replied, "No."--"Then," returned they, "thou
art no doctor!" On the following morning at sun-rise we proceeded,
and reached L'Araich at twelve