been my desire to see this celebrated stronghold of the Atlas, which evokes such expressions of astonishment from the natives who pass it; but even my ideas—formed on local descriptions—underrated what I saw, for not only is the building of enormous extent, but is constructed of large blocks of well-squared stone, which give the place at once an appearance of great strength, and render it unlike any other _kasba_ or palace I have seen in Morocco. The castle consists of a group of centre buildings of great height, and not unlike the Tower of London in form, while around it cluster a number of castles and dwellings of every shape and size, but all big, the whole being surrounded by high walls, guarded with towers. Unfortunately I obtained no measurements of the building or its great courtyard within, for though we camped outside I ventured to enter its precincts, for its courts are common to all who care to do so. Evening was fast approaching, and already the sun was hidden behind the mountains that shut in the valley on the west, and a bitter cold wind blew over the little plain of Teluet. Nothing more dreary or majestic could be conceived than the great castle, frowning with its towers and buttresses, seen against a background of torn mountain-peaks and snow. What an awful spot to live in! for the Kaid’s house and the surrounding villages are snowed up in winter, and in summer the heat in the little valley, encircled as it is on all sides by high mountains, is said to be intense. The Kaid himself was absent, but we were entertained by his _khalifa_, or deputy, who came to the tents with a little retinue of men and drank tea with us. Hardy fellows they seemed, these Berber mountaineers, with their tall thin figures and handsome weather-beaten features, and good-natured enough too, one and all ready to laugh when we abused their climate and their mountains. They seemed to feel the cold but little, if at all, and scarcely wore an atom more of clothing than in summer-time, and even then it is scanty enough. The _kasba_ is said to contain some marvellously good Moorish work, one chamber of the Kaid’s, we were told, being particularly beautifully decorated, but owing to his absence we saw none of this. The night was a stormy one, the wind howled and roared down the valley, and though we were a little sheltered by the _kasba_ walls, it found its way in bitter gusts into the tent. At sunset it was freezing hard, and this low temperature, with almost a hurricane as well, at an altitude of only a few feet under 7000 above the level of the sea, was no joke. But we kept our spirits up. Only a slight descent to make, and a stiff climb of 2000 feet, and we would reach the summit of the pass, to descend to civilisation and warmth.