Sentence:  ‘To-morrow, after the midday prayer, mount an ass and make for the Habbānīyah quarter and there enquire for the house of the <WSD>syndic</WSD> Barakah, known as Abū Shāmah.' 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A government official, a magistrate, especially one of the Chief Magistrates of Geneva.