‘Cavalry were dispatched in pursuit, but the robber had escaped.
‘Suspicion then fell on the Kaid and men of the Berber regiment, for words had been let drop which marked their glee at the disgrace of the Arab Kaid.
‘One of the Berber soldiers was therefore seized and cruelly bastinadoed until he offered to tell how the robbery of the horse had been planned and carried out. His story was found to be true. The unfortunate Kaid Meno was brought before the Uzir. Undaunted, he denied the charge, in an insulting manner. The Uzir reported his language to the Sultan, who ordered Meno to be disgraced and reduced to the ranks. His horses and all his property were confiscated. It was not until after I had left the Court that I learnt that the horse I had received as a gift from the Sultan, a bright dun or “snabi,” had been the property of Kaid Meno, the colonel of the Berber regiment. In my reminiscences of boar hunting I tell how gallant a hunter Snabi proved himself. His poor master must have been attached to him, for Snabi was gentle with man and faithful as a dog.
‘The unfortunate Kaid Meno was, after a year, sent prisoner to Tetuan, where he remained incarcerated until 1886, when, through my intercession, he was released and the Sultan placed him once more in command of a Berber regiment.’
During the stay of the Mission in Fas, the Sultan invited its members to be present at a grand ‘lab-el-barod’ in which he personally intended taking part; this function to be preceded by a picnic breakfast provided for his guests in one of the royal gardens about two miles from the town; and in accordance with this invitation the members of the Mission and two of the ladies were present at the ‘lab-el-barod’ conducted by the Sultan in person.
The morning had been spent by the party in one of the beautiful royal gardens in the environs of Fas, where the Sultan had ordered luncheon to be served. As this picnic and the subsequent ‘lab-el-barod’ were regarded in a semi-official light, the Mission was escorted by the Arab Kaid and cavalry who, as described in the story of Kaid Meno, had supplanted that Berber officer and his men.
A message arrived, soon after luncheon, requesting Sir John and his party to proceed to a palace situated about two miles from Fas. Here, in a large court—or rather square—the performance took place. The Sultan, who appeared much pleased to see his English visitors, saluted them, after every charge in which he joined, by rising in his stirrups and raising his gun, held horizontally to the level of his turban, as he passed the spot were they were grouped.
When the ‘fraja’ (sight) was over, we rode back to Fas, through a gay and wild scene. The whole plain was crowded with various tribes, grouped separately, and each dancing their own form of gun-dance. There was one tribe of Shloh, wearing white, with red leather belts and white turbans; another, in brown; and another, all dressed in blue. Troops of Sus jugglers and Aisawa snake-charmers mingled with these, whilst crowds of women took advantage of every mound or ruined wall whence they could watch their male relatives.
We were about half a mile on our way home, when one of our Arab escort cursed a Shloh. Immediately, from the crowd, a stone was thrown at the offender, and this was followed by another. The escort, who had been riding in open order, at once closed up in expectation of a row. The three Tangier guards present, pushed forward; the four English gentlemen surrounded Lady Hay, who rode a mule near Sir John; and Hadj Alarbi, the chief of the Tangier beaters—a gallant little man—hurried his mule to Miss Hay’s side, uncovering, at the same time, Sir John’s breechloader, which he was carrying, as the gentlemen had been shooting in the Sultan’s garden in the morning. Seeing him cock the gun, Miss Hay said, ‘Why are you doing that? You know it is not loaded and you have no cartridges.’ ‘No,’ said the Hadj, ‘but it looks well!’
The escort and the rest of the party, having now drawn closely together, were preparing to press forward; when Sir John, who was as usual riding in front, checked them, giving orders to proceed as slowly as possible; progress therefore became almost funereal. The crowd thickened about the party, curses were showered on the Arab cavalry by the constantly increasing numbers of Shloh, joined by all the idle folk and boys of the town, who united in the abuse. Presently a bullet struck the ground near the Arab Kaid, and a soldier of the escort was injured by one of the stones flung from the crowd, but these missiles were well aimed, as—though members of the escort were frequently struck—not one touched any of the English party. Bullets now whizzed over our heads, or struck the sand in front of us, sending it flying up in our horses’ faces, but no one was injured. It was not a pleasant half-hour, as the road was full of holes, and the horses fidgetty from the noise and crush. On reaching the gates of Fas, it was found that some of the miscreants had closed them, but the townspeople behaved well, and, after a short pause, re-opened the gates to admit us, closing them again immediately to exclude the mob; but after we had entered the town, boys and other scamps ran along the high wall, still taunting and insulting the soldiers.