Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/234

218 that in one Andalusian family an old sword is preserved, on which is engraved a Latin inscription: Unsheathe me not without cause; Replace me not without honor. Rabat and Sali, these two towns which are always competing for honors and gain, made a strong impression on me. The inhabitants of Sali look with disdain upon the people from the opposite bank and have a common saying that runs:

"If you want a liar, look for him in Rabat."

Sali is a concentrated, mysterious town of narrow streets, lined with the vaults and stores of the ancient pirates, who are succeeded today by bold and energetic merchants. We took tea with one of the inhabitants of the town, Si Jafar Naciri, living in the Maanna Street in a house built after the old model with much storage room for goods and able to withstand a long siege. Today it is renovated and, in place of chained slaves, chests of loot and firearms, it contains the beautiful library of the hospitable Monsieur Naciri and the other appointments of a modern house of culture.

On the other bank of the river Rabat is more and more losing the appearance of a Moroccan town with the new European buildings already elbowing their way among the old structures of the Medina and the Mellah and with the palace of the Resident General and the buildings of the military and civilian offices dominating the European quarter, that presses itself right up to the lines of the Medina. When one visits this beautiful modern city with its unusual architecture, the crenelated walls of the old