[74] John Law of Lauriston.
[75] Light chestnut in Spanish is “ruano”; the proverb says “Caballo ruano para las putas.” Query: Does that hold good of a mare?
[78] A tall peaked fez in Morocco is the outward visible sign of a soldier or man of the Mahksen, Government. From the Arabic word Mahksen, which is not used in other Arab-speaking countries in the sense of the Government, but simply as signifying a “Store,” comes the Spanish word “Almacen,” a store, and some say also our word, “magazine.” The inward spiritual grace is a swaggering demeanour to show the soundness of his faith, an insolence of manner not quite unknown among soldiers of other powers; and a firm determination to obtain for nothing, everything that the wretched “Pekin” has to pay for in the debased copper currency of the realm.
[80a] Tabieh, the “tapia” of the Spaniards and the “pisé” of the French, is merely mud run into frames till it hardens, and then left to dry in the sun. It figures in the saying “Sordo como una tapia,” deaf as a wall, and seems to be at variance with the northern proverb, “Walls have ears.”
[80b] Sheikh is a most indefinite word, and is generally held to mean a chief, but often only means gentleman. Scribes, especially if Easterns, i.e., from Syria, Damascus, or Bagdad, often use the title. Lutaif upon our journey figured as Sheikh Abdul Latif el Shami (the Syrian), and, when convenient, I was styled Sheikh Mohammed el Fasi, at other times simply “el Tabib” (the Doctor), sometimes “Sherif,” anything, in fact, to distract attention from my white face and extremely small knowledge of Arabic.
[81a] The usual system of storing grain is either in earthen jars buried in the ground, or in funnel-shaped pits known as “Metmoras,” from which word the Spanish word “Mazmora” has been taken, and from which we again took our old-fashioned word “Massymore,” used for a dungeon.
[81b] This tripod is used all over Spain, and called, in Andalusia, “Anafe,” from the Moorish words “En Nar fi,” the fire is in it.
[82] A Shegedef is a kind of long pannier in which the richer pilgrims lie or sit one on each side of a camel. There is an awning over all, and pilgrims have assured me that the pleasantest part of the whole journey is the portion which is performed in this manner.
[84] It is actually sold cheaper in Morocco than in Marseilles.
[86a] “The Madhna” may be a relic of phallic worship, many relics of which have lingered even at Mecca, as Burton, in his chapter on Mecca in his celebrated “Pilgrimage to Medinah and Mecca,” relates.