Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/470

 pilgrims, who come to kiss the hem of his garment. The Sultan is not fully recognised until he has received the homage of the saint of Wezzan, who is also a "refuge of sinners," and whose native place is a general sanctuary for culprits. The authorities themselves would not dare to seize a suppliant at the tomb of Mulai Tayeb, even were he pursued by the personal wrath of the Emperor. The mosque attached to this shrine contains, amongst other treasures, a collection of nearly a thousand Arabic manuscripts. Recent events have somewhat impaired the religious influence of the Sherif. who is reproached for keeping a bodyguard of

Spanish renegades, his friendship for Europeans, his marriage with a Christian lady, his palace in the Italian style, and his costume modelled on that of the detested Rumi. In 1876 his application for the favour of being made a French citizen was refused.

Although the Sebu is the most populous and richest basin in the empire, the mouth of the river is occupied by no large seaport, the ancient Mamora being replaced by Mehdiya, a mere village standing on a cliff 500 feet above the right bank of the estuary. Leo Africanus was present when in 1515 the Mohammedan army surprised and put to the sword the six or seven thousand Portuguese