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On the borders of a trout stream, close to a farm, I know a spot well where a vixen littered that was well tended by Master Reynard. Very soon after the cubs had done sucking, twenty-five ducks were missing from the farm. They had gone down to the stream, and never returned again. So close was the earth to a public footpath, that persons out for a stroll used to stop and watch the vixen and her cubs at play.

One morning one of the cubs was found dead, close to the earth. From certain signs on the ground round about him, there could not be the least doubt that some person or persons unknown had committed the awful crime of foxmurder. It might have been done by way of a gentle hint to Master Reynard and his family that it would be well to leave the remainder of the ducks alone.

Although the fox has grace of sanctuary allowed him by some for their own purposes, yet he has ever been a bone of contention : he has had many a curse heaped on his head, and has been the cause of more bickerings and ill

feeling among certain classes than any other of our wild creatures.

If only the same protection had been awarded to the badger, it would be well for our farmers, large and small. May he long have his home on our Surrey hillsides. I confess to a great weakness for this frolicsome bearlike little creature.

One morning last summer (1890), I was out for a stroll through the woods, when a man hailed me from the door of a cottage that stood just on the outskirts of one of them. He told me he had got a queer critter that had come to his garden, and to his mind it was very like a little pig-in fact, "fust off he reckoned it was one o' his young snorkers hed got out. He's gone to his home now," he added; "it's close handy to my garden. About seven of an evenin' he cums up reg'lar; I be mortal cur'ous about it

-can ye tell us what it is?"

At about seven o'clock I made my way gently up to the edge of the man's garden, and it was not long before the "snorker-like critter made its appearance.

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seemed to have no fear he had evidently never been disturbed since he first made his home close to; and had he not been attracted by the grunts of the cottager's young snorkers, his proximity would never have been suspected. As it was, he gambolled about among the fern in the full joy of. his nature, perfectly fearlessly—a strange combination of the bear and the pig in all his movements. If you have only seen the badger in a zoological collection, you have no idea what the creature is when he enjoys perfect liberty. After eating something he had rooted up, our friend dashed down into the open meadow adjoining the wood.

"What in the name o' wonder be it?" asked the man.

"A badger, and a fine fellow too."

"Will he du any mischief to the crap in the garden?"

"Not he," I replied.

"Then I shan't meddle with un. I likes to see un cut his capers. Now what do he live on?"

"Mice, beetles, snails, and wasps' nests that he digs out."

"What-wapses! he's a good un. Cuss them things! they du work my fruit. Anything else do he eat?"

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'Yes, mushrooms."

the roots of a clump of firs, on a sandy knoll, within one minute's walk of our friend's back-door. The children had noticed it first, and told their father about a little strange pig they had run after. This proves that it is only when driven by persecution that wild creatures fear man.

Polecats, stoats, and weasels are now anything but common among us. They do certainly exist in remote spots, but not in the numbers I can remember they did years ago. The capture or killing of the largest member of the tribe-the marten excepted-is a very rare circumstance now. If the present

exportation of stoats and weasels to the colonies continues-7s. 6d.

"Do he he wunt hev 'em all, then, ef he stops here till they cums out." "He will kill and eat hedge- and 5s. are offered for each live hogs too."

"Then he's a right good un. I shan't meddle with he."

For reasons of my own I did not tell our friend that the creature would also eat rabbits. I knew the man had the privilege of catching all that visited his ground. Nor did I warn him that his pullets might fare badly if one of them happened to stray near the badger's quarters when he was hungry. In my pursuit of natural history studies, I have found it often best not to enter into any subject too minutely with the unlearned. One is apt to be the loser by so doing. "Live and let live" is my motto. After interviewing the badger I inspected his home it was a very pleasant and secure one, under

specimen for the purpose of exterminating the rabbits that were foolishly introduced there, we shall suffer from a plague of rats and mice. Stoats and weasels kill enormous numbers of these, only for the sake of their blood.

To return to the point we left, near the valley mill-pond. As you pass over Box Hill you come to Headley Walton and Epsom heaths or downs, the crest of these hills. From this line of country you begin to near the great metropolis: you see now far too much brickwork about to call it wild scenery, although the hills are still near. Primitive nature in her luxuriance must be sought farther afield, in the region I have tried faintly to indicate.

A SON OF THE MARSHES.

THE PROTÉGÉ SYSTEM IN MOROCCO.

WHILE enterprising travellers have penetrated into almost every corner of the globe, it seems remarkable that Morocco, which is situated within sight of Gibraltar and only five days' steam from England, should have remained, until within the last few years, an unknown land. This corner of northwestern Africa is one of the most important and interesting portions of that great continent. It formed at one time, under the title of Mauritania, a powerful division of the Carthaginian and Roman empires. In the eleventh century the Moors, under Arab rule, became conquerors of Spain, and held dominion over that country for four hundred years; but since their expulsion from Europe they have sunk into their present savage condition. Several travellers, who have within recent years made journeys into the interior of Morocco, have called attention to the deplorable condition of the inhabitants of that country, who are groaning under the most corrupt government in the world, and under the evils arising out of the system of protection established by foreign Powers over some of the natives of Morocco. It was with a view to make full inquiry into these important questions that I undertook a journey to Morocco in company with my friend, Mr Henry Gurney. We left London on the 6th of March, and after staying at Gibraltar a few days we crossed over to Tangier, a distance of thirty-five miles. We took up our quarters in the Villa de France Hotel, which is situated on high ground outside the town, commanding splendid view of Tangier Bay, the coast

of Spain, and all the surrounding country.

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Tangier, although only about five days distant from England, presents an aspect so entirely different from anything that can be seen in Europe, that the traveller may fancy himself carried away to the land of the 'Thousand and One Nights,' or to the days of the ancient patriarchs. Modern civilisation, which has brought such marked changes in almost every part of the world, has not as yet penetrated the outside crust of Moroccan life. Here the fashions remain the same as they were in the days of Abraham: we meet and women everywhere dressed in similar robes to those worn by their remote ancestors; the very antiquity of the customs seems to have a special charm for them. In fact, all Morocco from time immemorial has been the land of jalabias and slippers. It is true that many Jews have assumed Christian clothing as an outward sign of honesty and respectability; but the Mohammedans stick to their fashions with the same tenacity as they do to the Koran. We can hardly imagine, as we pass them in the street robed in their loose garments, that these are the descendants of the Moors who conquered and carried a measure of civilisation into Spain, and who left behind them magnificent monuments of their former greatness. They seem to have once more gone back to barbarism, and turned their face against any kind of progress.

The houses of Tangier are white and flat-roofed, and the streets, which are all unpaved, are so nar

row in some parts that two persons can scarcely pass each other. The streets are without names, and the houses without numbers. The postman would have a hard time of it to find out the owners of letters. As a rule, every one goes for his own.

The Arab shop is a mere box in the wall without windows, neither does it bear any name or number. The shop-door is raised some distance higher than the street, and when this is open in the morning, the merchant jumps in and squats down on a cushion within easy distance of his goods. Here he attends to his customers, who stand outside in the street to examine his wares.

The notary and scribe sit in an open place, and their clients are attended to in public. We have never heard what a lawyer's fees are for a consultation in this country; but we know a charge is made for drawing up public documents, such sum depending upon the character of the work required to be done. Justice is delivered by the governor in the gate, as it was in olden times. We do not mean by this that justice is administered as we understand it in England. No; it is carried out after the Moorish fashion, bribery forming the chief feature. Tangier is the nearest town to Europe of all the Moorish ports, and certainly the most important. It

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sport and as a health resort. Hotels of good accommodation have sprung up for travellers all round, and the suburban part has now a decidedly European appearance, being studded with pretty villas enclosed in nice gardens. Even the speculative builder has commenced his operations, in this corner of Morocco. Missionaries are at work endeavouring to turn Moslem hearts to Christianity, while others have opened educational establishments for instructing the Moors. Newspapers in several languages have been established-all devoted to ameliorating the condition of the Moors. these various agencies which are now at work are conducted honestly and sincerely, they must eventually help very materially to regenerate this portion of Africa.

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To Europeans, Tangier is the most important and interesting of the towns of Morocco, on account of its being the residence of the representatives of all the foreign Powers, and the place where every kind of diplomatic intrigue is hatched, with a view to thwart each other in the relations with the Moorish officials.

Having introduced our readers to the first town of the Moorish empire, we think it best, before proceeding further in relating the narrative of our journey, to briefly explain the nature of the abuses under protection about which we came to inquire. But, in order that the subject may be clearly understood, we find it necessary to give a short sketch of the Shereefian Government of the Moorish empire, also of its relation to the protégé system question which has been a bone of contention between the Powers and the Sultan for many years past. The local and the foreign

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press have discussed it on various occasions, and pointed out the crimes and abuses which are carried on under it. Mr Allen, the able secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society, and Mr Crawford, a member of the same excellent institution, made a very valuable report on this subject, and I wrote one dealing with the same question four years ago, but still the evil continues.

Morocco, with all its abundant wealth and immense natural resources, possesses one of the most despotic and corrupt governments in the world. The Sultan is lord and master of the lands, fortunes, and lives of his subjects: he is not only absolute as a temporal sovereign, but in his spiritual capacity he is the prince of believers or the followers of Mohammed-in a word, he is the State or the Shereefian Government as well as the Church, so that good or bad government depends on the character and disposition of one man. He has a Council of State, consisting of a Grand Vizier who attends to home affairs, a Chamberlain and two Viziers for foreign affairs-one at the Moorish Court, the other at Tangier, who acts as a buffer between the Sultan and the foreign representatives. These state officials are mere instruments for carrying out his Majesty's will, and have no voice in the affairs of the nation. These men subsist by corruption and oppression : every post is sold by them to the highest bidder, the proceeds being divided between themselves and the Sultan. The whole country is divided into many provinces ruled by governors, who, having to purchase their position, obtain full liberty to grind and squeeze the poor unfortunate inhabitants of Morocco out of their last penny. While these heartless governors are able to pour money

into the coffers of the Sultan and his minions, the cry of the oppressed is never listened to. The large sum which a governor has to pay for his appointment is often borrowed from Jews at 50 per cent interest. So soon as he gains his coveted position, he commences his career by imprisoning all the friends and relations of his predecessor, putting them to the torture, so as to compel them to reveal where the late governor's treasure is hidden. Their property is meanwhile plundered by the new authority. After this formality is gone through, the governor appoints his chiefs of villages, who are exempt from all taxation, and supposed to follow him in war with as many of the tribe as possible. It is through these subordinates that he finds the means to satisfy the court officials. He orders them to bring him about twice the amount he had to pay for his post. They in their turn make a requisition of double the amount demanded, which the poor farmer has to pay. Before the year closes a new governor may be appointed, when the poor Moors are again subjected to similar treatment. There is no regular system of taxation. It is collected in such sums as the Sultan and his Ministers may determine. The amount is always increased to meet the demands of officials. It is given on authority that not more than one-third of the taxes collected ever reaches the Sultan; two-thirds pass into the pockets of unpaid and corrupt Moorish officials. a native appears in a new garment he is suspected at once of being rich, and is sent to prison to be squeezed out of all his money. It therefore happens that rich men, in order to conceal their wealth, go about in rags and filth, like beggars of the street. When the Sultan is displeased with a governor, it be

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