File:The passing of the Shereefian empire (1910) (14777704794).jpg

Identifier: passingofshereef00ashm (find matches)
Title: The passing of the Shereefian empire
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Ashmead-Bartlett, Ellis, 1881-1931
Subjects: Morocco -- History Morocco -- Foreign relations
Publisher: Edinburgh and London : W. Blackwood and sons
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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with a sense oftheir military efficiency, and as there was no onethere to gainsay them, they were appointed byHafid, who imagined that by doing so he waspleasing the British Government and sowing theseeds of discord amongst the nations. He nowgreatly regrets his precipitate action. As theinstructors do not understand Arabic and thetroops do not understand English, it is impossiblefor them to drill, and the mornings work consistsin marching this disorganised rabble round andround the square to the opening bars of TheBritish Grenadiers, The Cock o the North,and The Marseillaise. Nevertheless, what theMoorish Army lacks in efficiency it certainly gainsin picturesqueness. Ranged alongside one of the walls of the court-yard is the artillery of the Moorish Army, whichconsists of some old mountain-guns dating fromthe time of Moulai Hassan, and a few of a moremodern type which have been added since. Almostevery morning a semi - comedy is played roundthese guns. From the waiting crowd near the
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•s^ SANCTUARY OF THE GUNS. 353 gate a ragged figure, sometimes only clad in apiece of sackcloth, will dash madly for the guns.He is immediately pursued by the palace attend-ants, who will try and overtake him or head him off,and if they succeed in catching him before hereaches the guns he is pummelled, kicked, andsummarily ejected from the courtyard. But shouldthe fugitive reach the guns before being caughtand fling his arms round the muzzle, or seat him-self on the carriage, all the mahazni (palaceattendants) in the Maghzen are powerless to touchhim, and he is as safe from molestation as werethose who fled to the altars of sanctuary in theMiddle Ages. The guns are symbolical of thesupreme power of the Sultan, and those who grasptheir muzzles are under the Sultans special pro-tection and cannot be touched. This is how thepoor approach the Sultan and present their peti-tions or ask for the redress of their grievances.They often have difficulty in attracting his atten-tion, so through

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