and asking for their prayers, and after the audience had been worked up to the proper pitch of excitement, the Berber pulled several snakes out of a bag and gave the usual exhibition of wrapping them about his arms and neck. He then drew out a snake that was over two feet in length and after allowing it to lick his eye-balls with its long, forked tongue, the man held the reptile's mouth against his own, whereupon the snake fastened its jaws over the native's lips and squeezed them flat. A deep groan of horror came from the crowd; then the victim flicked the snake on the head and it released its hold, and, after a few seconds, blood began to ooze from the charmer's lips. This marked the climax and a hasty collection was taken by two followers before the crowd could disperse.

There is a deep ravine outside the eastern wall of Meknes, and on the heights beyond is situated the hotel. One evening we sat on the terrace, watching the sun sink into the city, and, while the mooddine were calling the faithful to prayer, we counted twenty minarets in the sky line. Gradually the magnificent after-glow turned the dull-brown walls into deep red. Through a glass we could see the women come out onto the housetops for their evening gossip, and then, as the scene slowly faded, the full moon changed the old city from dull red to gray.

The great Hassanian Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672-1727) made Meknes his capital, using thousands of slaves, many of them European, to build mosques, palaces, granaries, stables, aqueducts and twenty-five miles of walls, with several fine gateways. Some of the buildings are used at present for military purposes.

Several miles to the north of Meknes is a long mountain known as the Zerhoun; in a narrow valley on its western slope is an isolated hill, upon which is situated the town of Moulay Idriss, the most picturesque place in Morocco. It bears the name of the greatest of Moroccan saints, a descendant of the Prophet, who, in the latter part of the eighth century, converted the inhabitants of this region to Islam and became their first sultan. Moulay Ismail built a fine mosque over the tomb and we were permitted to peep into the court for a moment.

It is but a short distance to the ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis, beautifully situated on the western slope of the Zerhoun. Several severe earthquakes have occurred here and the ruins were extensively quarried by Moulay Ismail, but the site is most interesting and has been well excavated and a number of columns re-erected.

A few mosaic pavements have come to light and in the museum are several statues, most of them without particular merit; there are three very fine works of art here, however, a bronze dog, the small statue of a Greek warrior and a marble head.

Fez is one of the sacred cities of Islam and by far the most interesting city in Morocco; its population is about 110,000. It is built in two parts, Fez El Bali (The Old) and Fez Djedid (The New). The latter is entered by several fine gateways and contains the Sultan's palace, the Mellah, some European shops and a rather uninteresting native quarter. Fez El Bali was founded in the beginning of the ninth century by Moulay Idriss II, son of the Saint; it is very large and hilly, and considerable endurance is required to see it thoroughly. While the streets are very narrow, some of them being mere alleys, it is possible to go about on muleback, but this is not a satisfactory way in which to study an Oriental city. When on foot, it is necessary to be on the alert for the shout of "BallekBallek," for this is a warning that an animal is approaching and it may be laden with charcoal, cans of oil or goatskins filled with water. We found that it required much skill to avoid having our clothes smeared.

The morning after our arrival in Fez, we motored around the outside of the city and up the heights to the old North Fort. From the ruined tombs of some of the Merinid sultans nearby, we obtained an unrivaled view of this Moslem city. It is impossible to forget the marvelous panorama of Cairo from the citadel, or the wonderful view of Kairouan from the top of the minaret of the Great Mosque, but nothing can equal the scene that unfolded itself below us as we stood here by the side of these old broken walls.

Fez is a fascinating place in which to drift about; one morning, while waiting in front of the Bank of Morocco, on a side street in a busy part of town, we saw these events happen in less than five minutes: A girl, carrying a basket of vegetables, decides to rest her load on a step of the bank; along comes a boy who wants some of the green tops of a large beet, but the girl objects and swings. the beet in front of her, then after a good-natured argument, the lad disappears in the crowd. An Arab bank runner now comes lightly down the steps; he is dressed in a new khaki suit with knickerbockers and is quite dignified from the knees up, but his socks are supported by pink garters clasped over his brown legs. It is a remarkable costume and we wonder if the bank official who

selected this uniform was a humorist. All this moment a finelooking young man comes up the street; he wears a spotless white burnous of fine texture and, as he passes, his face suddenly lights up. We turn to see a stout old man mounted on a small gray mule. Evidently this is a very distinguished person, but his pudgy, expressionless face is most amusing; he is wrapped to the chin in a voluminous white robe that pushes the end of his short white beard straight out in front. The youth approaches, takes the other's fat hand in his and kisses it; then he presess his cheek against the old man's knee, and after much salaaming, passes on. But what is all this noise at our feet? A little boy is squatting beside a tray, cutting some pieces from a large meal cake; three other youngsters are wrangling and have dropped coppers into the tray, but the portions offered are not sufficient so the coins are grabbed up. Then the lad at the tray protests and cuts some additional pieces, which prove satisfactory and the bargain is made. Our friend now comes from the bank and we are ready for shopping in the souks.

The souks of Fez were famous long before the country was opened, and we never tired of wandering about in them, watching the crowds and examining all sorts of products of Moroccan workmanship. The streets are covered with a framework of reeds, over which grape vines grow. The trunks of these vines are six inches to a foot in diameter and must be of great age.

The Oued Fez rushes through the city and some of its waters are carried in tile conduits between the walls of houses and under streets, the sound of running water is everywhere. The numerous fountains are beautifully decorated with colored tiles and brown, blue and green tile mosaics.

The Moslems have always taken pride in their university system, and Mohammedan religion and higher education are closely related. The center of learning is the medersa, a building resembling a mosque, with arcaded court, prayer niche and ablution pool. Here the students live and prepare their lessons; the classes are held either in the medersa or in an adjoining mosque.

There are seven medersas in Fez, six of which date from the Almohad and Merinid periods. In order to visit them it is necessary to obtain a permit from the French municipal authorities. The largest and finest of these buildings is the Bou Anania, with its beautiful room of prayer and extensive court, paved with onyx and marble. In two of the medersas which we visited, the splendid tiles