Curiosity prompted me to inspect a small ruinous town to the east of _Rabat_, named _Shella_, supposed to have been built by the _Carthaginians_: but my approach was rudely prevented by the inhabitants; no Christian, nor even Jew, being suffered to enter, on account of its containing several tombs of their most celebrated saints, while in fact it is only a sacred asylum for malefactors, and all the rogues of the country. To the south, and about eight leagues from _Rabat_, in a sandy and almost desert place, is a castle, in a most dilapidated state, called _Mensooria_, which was erected by _Jacob Al__mansor_, for the accommodation of travellers, and is still resorted to by the trading Moors and Jews, as a refuge at night from the attacks of robbers. Conceiving it rather hazardous to penetrate further in useless researches, I returned to this place, greatly chagrined at having been foiled in my attempts to explore the remains of antiquities in _Shella_, and other places. I assure you, my disappointment was not owing to the want either of perseverance or resolution, but the serjeant of my guard was an ignorant bigot, and a great coward, therefore unwilling and unable to protect, or share any danger with me. On my return here, I dismissed him, and obtained another serjeant, and a new guard, from the Governor, who caused my dismissed serjeant to be seized; and ordered him the _pallo_; but, at my intercession, he was pardoned, upon his promising for the future to evince a more soldierlike conduct, when summoned on duty. The town of _Alcasser-Quiber_ being only three leagues from this place, I also went thither, to see the _Socco_, which is held once a week, and is frequented by a vast number of the inhabitants of the neighbouring mountains, who carry their produce, consisting of cattle, fowls, eggs, butter, soft cheese, and large quantities of wool, hides, and wax. This city lies to the eastward of Larache, on the banks of the river _Luxos_, and is separated from the town of _Arzilla_ by alternate vallies and plains, amongst which some remains of redoubts, apparently, for the protection and defence of camps, are to be seen, and near which that unfortunate battle was fought in 1578, wherein _Don Sebastian_, King of Portugal, lost both his army and his life. _Alcasser-Quiber_ is a place of some note, carrying on an extensive and profitable commerce with Tetuan and other places. The town and its environs suffer greatly by the occasional overflowing of the river Luxos, which might however easily be remedied; but the Moors have no notion of altering things; therefore, without endeavouring to secure themselves from a recurrence of such disasters, they allow their houses to be filled with water, and themselves to be, not unfrequently, washed out of them.