I now recalled the incidents which, in early life, fixed my attention first upon such subjects. Sir Sydney Smith had taken the trouble to detail to me his plan for counteracting Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt. It was to occupy Morocco. He described it as a country of inexhaustible resources, once the granary of the world; it had lost nothing of its fertility, and contained vast accumulated treasures. The people had been long oppressed, and would gladly hail an invader. England with ten thousand men, might make herself mistress of it, and gain in it more than India, and save India by frustrating Napoleon in the rear. We had begun a great mistake, by driving the French out of Egypt. By Morocco we should have restored the balance in Europe, prevented a great war, and have joined France in introducing civilization and Christianity into Africa. Well do I recollect the perplexity into which I was thrown by these ideas: fortunately, it was not to a European that I had recourse to discriminate between right and wrong, but to an African--Hassam d’ Ghieo. He told me to make the case my own, and see what I should think of France invading England, because Russia had invaded Turkey. He showed me, that if England had so involved herself, it would have been left open for France to establish herself in Egypt, and thence act against India; that England had triumphed in that war, because France had unjustly attacked other states, and England had espoused the just side. _Rabat, Dec. 2nd._--This morning the bar was comparatively quiet, and seemed passable; there was also a light wind from the westward. The day was lovely, the ledges of the rock and fortresses were crowded with Moors in their haïks squatting down, and they looked like rows of large gulls. A little after one P.M., it being high tide, a large row-boat appeared behind the bar; presently it came dancing over the surf. We had in company an English and a Portuguese schooner. The English took the lead; we followed. It was like going into action, and in presence of an audience: every horizontal piece of rock, wall, and ground, was covered with the strange squatting figures assembled to witness our prowess, or mischance. There was great outcry and confusion, and we might have thought there was more noise than danger, had our two companions fared as well as ourselves. They both got on shore inside, but the wind falling, and the tide ebbing, they were cleared of their cargoes, and got off at full tide during the night. The English consular agent came off to give us _pratique_. It was the first time he had performed his functions as quarantine master. His commission was not from the Moorish Government, but from the consular body at Tangier. After receiving in his hand the health patent, he hastily transferred it to a pair of kitchen tongs, prepared for its unexpected office by having the knobs painted red. On the shore we saw a new building, with arches, in process of erection: it was a _custom-house_.