_En revanche_, the men systematically plunder and rob the wretched inhabitants of every village passed through on the march.

The passage of troops is sometimes so dreaded that commanders of regiments are bribed with heavy sums by the villagers to encamp outside their walls.

Troops are not the only source of anxiety to the poor fellaheen.

Princes and Government officials also travel with an enormous following, mainly composed of hangers-on and riff-raff, who plunder and devastate as ruthlessly as a band of Kurd or Turkoman robbers.

They are even worse than the soldiery, for the latter usually leave the women alone.