GIFT OF 
 
 PROF,C,A;XOFniD 
 
A JOURNEY TO MAROCCO, 
 
B eauclerk pinirit . On. 8 1 
 
 A youSjj -aid, an diitu-J.y Sold ^iona i i 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO, 
 
 IN 18-26. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN G. BEAUCLERK, 
 
 \ V 
 
 TENTH INFANTRY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR POOLE AND EDWARDS, 
 
 12, AVE-MARIA LANE, 
 AND 
 
 WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH, 
 
 2T, OLD BOND STREET. 
 
 1828. 
 
TO THE MOST NOBLE REGIMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 ROYAL WELCH FUSILIERS 
 
 23rd 
 
 Regt. 
 
 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED BY 
 CAPT. G. BEAU CLERK, 
 
 AN ADMIRER, AND LATELY A SHARER, OF ITS 
 LASTING HONOURS. 
 
 IR167646 
 
TO THE OFFICERS OF THE 23 REGIMENT, OR 
 ROYAL WELCH FUSILIERS. 
 
 MY DEAR BROTHER OFFICERS, 
 
 PERMIT me from feelings of personal attachment to you, 
 and of pride at having been bred a soldier beneath the 
 colours of so pre-eminently distinguished a corps as the 
 Royal Welch Fusiliers, to dedicate to your friendly 
 patronage the following pages. 
 
 Convinced as I feel, of the reciprocity of our attachment, 
 I shall, without awaiting your consent, present you with the 
 first-born of my pen, though I do not require you, in your 
 situation as godfathers, to be answerable for its errors, until 
 its merits or demerits are confirmed by the public, or until 
 it has arrived at years of discretion, and is fit to go alone ; 
 an indefinitude of age both in books and men, which would 
 prove very detrimental to the peace of patrons and god- 
 fathers. 
 
 As a soldier and a friend, I am, at all events, more likely 
 to find favour in the eyes of my profession, as I trust your 
 partiality will grant me many indulgencies, which I can 
 hardly hope for from a more severe tribunal. But let my 
 sentence in the court of criticism be what it may, it will be 
 ample compensation for the pains of writing my journal to 
 find that I have succeeded in pleasing you, though but a 
 slight return for the many acts of kindness for which I 
 must ever remain your insolvent, but truly attached and 
 grateful debtor. 
 
 G. BEAUCLEHK. 
 
 Cork, December 1, 1827. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Ix venturing to appear before the Public in the 
 new character I have assumed, in despite of the 
 many alarming predictions of those whose spirit 
 of adventure is guided by grandmama's careful 
 admonitions, to " look well before you leap," and 
 " never to get wet feet," neither of which are 
 very likely to help you over a ditch. I deem it 
 necessary to make an apology, first, to the above 
 mentioned ladies for my neglect of their very dry 
 and wholesome advice ; and secondly to my read- 
 ers, for what may at first sight appear a still 
 bolder adventure, namely, my undertaking to 
 tread in the foot-steps of that correct writer of 
 Travels, Ali Bey, who has not only reaped the 
 harvest before him, but gleaned it too so carefully, 
 that hardly anything remains for me to tell but 
 " The tale of a Straw." 
 
 Induced, however, by a wish to detail what I 
 consider interesting or useful to a country in close 
 alliance of friendship with the States of Marocco, 
 not to say any thing of that feeling of literary 
 vanity all have, \*ut few dare to own, I have deter- 
 mined, as the vulgar expression is, " to put my 
 foot in it," contrary to the above maternal injunc- 
 
PREFACE. Vli 
 
 tions, hoping that if I do alight in the mire, I 
 shall still find a passing friend who will again 
 set me on my legs, knowing however, that there 
 are also some who will not scruple to push me 
 deeper in. Notwithstanding the mysterious in- 
 consistency of Ali Bey's profession of Ishmailism, 
 and his complete exposition of all that a Maho- 
 metan holds sacred and concealed from the eyes 
 of an unbeliever, even to the holy relic,* of 
 which he talks in such veneration, with an excla- 
 mation of wonder, "at the wisdom of divine 
 Providence in thus enriching (by the donations of 
 devotees) one whole family, by a single tuft of 
 hair," the strictest reliance may be placed in 
 the truth of his narrative concerning those parts 
 of Marocco through which I have travelled, where 
 his name is well known. The authenticity of this 
 part of his work is of consequence, more on ac- 
 count of his eastern travels, than those in Ma- 
 rocco. Besides the disadvantages of having to 
 avoid repeating whatever he may have detailed, 
 which I have strictly endeavoured to do, (except 
 indeed where my view of any thing has differed 
 from his) I have also to contend against those of 
 long-suffering from ill-health, during my residence 
 in Barbary, and the want of that finished educa- 
 
 * Mahomet's hair shewn at Constantinople as a relic, Vide 
 Ali Bey's Travels, 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 tion which my errant style of life has prevented 
 my attaining. At the early age of thirteen, I ex- 
 changed the pen, or rather uncut quill, for the 
 sword, and during the last nine years, I have had 
 the honour to serve his Majesty in two different 
 services, in various parts of the globe. Hope not, 
 therefore, reader, to be rocked into an easy slumber 
 by long and learned quotations from profane wri- 
 ters, tending to prove what can alone be interest- 
 ing to dusty book-worms and musty antiquarians ; 
 but, if you are content to accompany me in my 
 vagaries as a citizen of the world, and take the 
 rough and smooth as it may occur, jump up 
 behind me on my mule's back ; his paces are irre- 
 gular, 'tis true, but though he may often stumble, 
 I trust we shall find that he reaches his journey's 
 end without falling to the ground. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Object of the Mission. Arrival at Tangier s. 
 
 THE Sultan of Marocco having, in July 1826, 
 made application to the Lieu tenant- Governor of 
 Gibraltar for medical assistance, Dr. Brown, of 
 the Royal Medical Staff, was appointed to this 
 service. 
 
 As the Sultan had written to Sir George Don, 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, under his own hand, 
 (through Mr. Bennoliel, a Jewish agent, and a 
 man of great wealth and respectability at Gibral- 
 tar,) it was supposed that the urgency of the 
 request was to be attributed, either to some 
 serious illness under which the Sultan himself 
 laboured, or to the fact of his being engaged in 
 some war, which would render medical assistance 
 valuable. Dr. Brown, therefore, prepared to 
 depart with all possible despatch ; and having 
 received Sir George Don's permission for two 
 officers of the garrison to accompany him on his 
 mission, he invited for that purpose Captain 
 Beale, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and Mr. 
 
2 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Murray, of the sixty-fourth regiment. Owing, 
 however, to the shortly-expected departure of 
 another mission from Naples, for Marocco, as 
 well as to some private business which demanded 
 his presence at Gibraltar, Captain Beale chose 
 rather to avail himself of the opportunity of 
 accompanying the latter mission at a later pe- 
 riod. Partly, therefore, to these circumstances, 
 but more, perhaps, to Captain Beale's per- 
 sonal kindness, am I indebted for that cession 
 of his right in my favour, which has enabled me 
 to present the following pages to the Public. The 
 suffering and fatigue which we afterwards under- 
 went, prevent me from feeling regret that my 
 friend's kindness should have been the means of 
 ultimately depriving him of the power of follow- 
 ing us. 
 
 Being supplied with all things necessary for our 
 journey, with that liberality for which the heads of 
 our government departments are so conspicuous, 
 and which, throughout every branch of the state, 
 conduces, in so eminent a degree, to the effectual 
 accomplishment of all British undertakings, we 
 only awaited a westerly breeze to transport us to 
 Tetuan, on the Barbary coast, whence we were to 
 proceed to Marocco. A Levant wind springing 
 up, however, on the morning of our intended de- 
 parture, we resolved to alter our course, and make 
 for Tangiers ; and we embarked on board our 
 felucca, accordingly, on the morning of the 18th 
 of July. We had now to submit to the censur- 
 able delay for which Mediterranean mariners are 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 3 
 
 proverbial ; and it was not until about two o'clock 
 p. m. that two fresh passengers came on board in 
 the persons of two Moors : the one a resident 
 merchant at Gibraltar, El Hadge Hadoud Kis- 
 souse, proceeding to Rabat, his birth-place, on 
 business : and the other, a suitor from Madrid ; 
 where, poor simple soul, he had been vainly en- 
 deavouring to obtain redress from the Spanish 
 government, for an injury done to the Sultan by 
 the capture of one of his Highness's vessels, by 
 a piratically-inclined Guarda Costa, or custom- 
 house vessel. 
 
 We at length got under weigh, but the Levant 
 wind dying away, we were taken aback by a 
 slight south-easter from the Straits, before we 
 had reached Cabrita Point, and to avoid being 
 back-strapped,* we were compelled to stand for 
 the anchorage. Towards the middle of the night, 
 
 * A term used by sailors to express one of the most annoying 
 dilemmas in which our homeward-bound vessels can be placed. 
 Ships sailing from Gibraltar with a light westerly wind, should 
 be cautious to hug well the Spanish coast, until they have 
 cleared the bay ; for if they stand out into the eternal in-running 
 current of the Straits, and then lose the wind^ or get taken 
 aback by a westerly one, their doom is inevitable : away they 
 go ; carried at the mercy of the current behind the rock towards 
 Malaga ; whence they cannot return until a strong Levanter come 
 to their aid. A delay of four or five weeks is the penalty frequently 
 paid by neglectful or presumptuous captains of vessels, who, if 
 unacquainted with the station, are sure to fall victims to their 
 self-sufficiency, and neglect of good advice. The safest plan to 
 follow, is to remain in harbour until the westerly wind is a con- 
 firmed one, as it often comes on for three or four hours only, as 
 though for the purpose of playing the sailors a trick, and enticing 
 them from their anchors. 
 
 B2 
 
4 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 the Levant wind again enticed us from the har- 
 bour, and deserted us again at three o'clock in 
 the morning ; but after making use of our sweeps 
 in shore, we anchored, at four o'clock, within two 
 miles and a half of Tarrifa light-house. 
 
 We had left Gibraltar in full expectation of 
 ending our voyage before daylight the next day, 
 and having, consequently, come away unprovided 
 with the necessary provisions for a longer passage, 
 our boat was hoisted out, and despatched to Tar- 
 rifa for a supply. On approaching the town, we 
 were hailed by a smart gentleman in a pink waist- 
 coat, flourishing a gold-headed rattan, when the 
 following colloquy ensued : " Where are you 
 from?" " Gibraltar : bound to Tangiers; having 
 on board English officers proceeding to the court 
 of Marocco." "What do you want here?" 
 " Fresh provisions for a day, and liberty to land 
 for a few hours." " You cannot do the latter, as 
 there is a quarantine of eight days from Gibraltar, 
 but the provisions shall be supplied you, on 
 promise of payment of two dollars harbour- 
 dues." Against this, however, our captain loudly 
 exclaimed, as an imposition of "Pink Waistcoat's," 
 as his vessel was anchored in the Straits, far from 
 Tarrifa harbour. It happened, fortunately, that 
 Mr. Murray had but lately left Cadiz, where he 
 had become very intimate with the officers of the 
 French garrison, one of whom was Governor of 
 of the garrison of Tarrifa, to whom he sent a note, 
 by a French corporal standing on the beach, 
 requesting permission to land. In a short time 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 5 
 
 our dunning friend of the customs returned with 
 the corporal, and apprised us we had leave to 
 land; accompanying this intimation with sundry 
 hints about the two dollars, to which no one 
 seemed anxious to pay any attention. The French 
 commandant, a tall handsome young man, re- 
 ceived us with great courtesy, and pressed us to 
 stay to dinner, which, however, we declined, as 
 we intended only awaiting the return of the eddy- 
 tide to sweep our felucca farther to windward. 
 After a short conversation, therefore, we took our 
 leave, and the commandant's aid-de-camp, a 
 young officer of most pleasing manners and ap- 
 pearance, attended us to the victualler of the 
 troops, who supplied us, by his order, with the 
 necessary provisions, which were prepared for us 
 whilst we partook of some refreshment with the 
 officers. We then returned to the beach, and, 
 having thanked our kind providers, pushed off in 
 our boat for the felucca. Here I cannot help 
 bearing testimony to that very gentleman-like and 
 ready politeness which so distinguishes a French 
 military man ; and to those at Tarrifa, in particu- 
 lar, I beg leave, in the name of my companions, 
 to offer our sincerest thanks for the kind atten- 
 tions we experienced on this occasion. 
 
 No sooner were we in the boat, than our sailors 
 complained to us that a Spanish Guarda Costa had 
 gone alongside of the felucca in our absence, 
 under pretence of searching her for tobacco, the 
 captain of her declaring that he would not leave 
 her until he had searched our baggage, and in- 
 
6 
 
 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 sisting on one of his own men accompanying our 
 sailors in the boat which had come to convey us 
 to the felucca. Hereupon they pointed to a half- 
 starved ragged-looking fellow sitting in the bow 
 of the boat, whom I asked, if he thought he could 
 swim from the felucca to the shore. The fellow 
 seemed as much alarmed at this question as if I 
 had been in the very act of throwing him over- 
 board ; and when taxed by the Genoese boatmen 
 with piracy, he frankly acknowledged that his 
 companions and he were often obliged to rob 
 vessels, as " the king of Spain was but an indif- 
 ferent paymaster." 
 
 This confession was rather alarming. I there- 
 fore inquired the number and strength of our 
 visitors, which I found to consist of nine men, 
 armed with one six-pounder, and a few rusty 
 old muskets ; and then addressing our Genoese 
 in French, I bade them prepare for resistance in 
 case of need, representing to them that we were 
 thirty in all, having superior arms, and that all 
 we had to fear was the possibility of the vessel 
 pushing off, and making use of herswivel, which 
 a hammer and nail would easily render impracti- 
 cable. Our crew readily acquiesced in the pro- 
 priety of what I said, and indeed seemed anxious 
 to convince us in what slight estimation they 
 held the Spaniards. 
 
 Thus determined, we soon reached the felucca, 
 along side of which lay the Guarda Costa, with 
 two men only in her, the rest being on board our 
 vessel. As I jumped on board, I observed a 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 7 
 
 Spaniard standing near the companion, whom, 
 with no little inclination to throw the fellow over- 
 board first, and then expostulate with him, I thus 
 addressed : " Who are you ?" " Captain of the 
 Guarda Costa, Senor," replied he. " What is 
 your business here, then?" " I thought you were 
 a smuggler, and therefore came on board to search 
 for tobacco." " Well," said I, " you are, I pre- 
 sume, now convinced of your error ; and as to 
 your examining our baggage, look at this red 
 coat, and at the English ensign waving over your 
 head, and then search at your peril." So saying 
 I retired below, and having loaded my pistols, 
 returned on deck, and asked the captain of the 
 Guarda Costa what papers he could exhibit in 
 proof of his not being a pirate. To this he re- 
 plied by producing a bill of health, dated three 
 days back, from the Health Office at Cadiz. 
 " Now," said I, " do you not see that we should 
 be fully justified in looking upon you as a pirate, 
 and as such, in throwing you overboard ?" The 
 captain seemed at length greatly alarmed at the 
 turn which the conversation was taking, and stre- 
 nuously protested his innocence, as a proof of 
 which he pointed to a larger vessel to the east- 
 ward, to hi ch he was attached. I then quietly 
 told him to leave the felucca immediately, and 
 that, as I much questioned his right to board any 
 vessel under English colours, for the purposes 
 which he had avowed, I should take the earliest 
 opportunity of reporting the circumstances to his 
 government through the Spanish consul at Tan- 
 
8 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 giers. He then only begged that our captain 
 would give him a certificate of his not having 
 done him any injury, and this request being ac- 
 ceded to, he jumped on board his own vessel, and 
 pulled away. It was at this time a perfect calm, 
 so that, had we captured the Guarda Costa, the 
 larger vessel in the offing might have come to her 
 assistance : but had there been a good breeze at 
 the time, we might have easily carried her off 
 to Tangiers as a prize, in which I imagine we 
 should have been perfectly justified. The Guarda 
 Costa had no sooner left us, than we observed him 
 of the waistcoat waving to us from the beach, 
 and calling to our boat, for the payment of the 
 two dollars harbour-dues before-mentioned. Our 
 captain seemed, at first, disposed peremptorily 
 to refuse compliance with this exaction ; but ob- 
 serving signals making to the other vessel in the 
 offing, he deemed it more prudent to submit with 
 a good grace. 
 
 Having again weighed anchor, we succeeded, 
 by the help of the eddy-tide and our sweeps, in 
 reaching Tarrifa anchorage, where, as we had 
 now paid the dues, we determined to await the 
 springing up of the night breeze. The evening 
 was one of those delicious specimens of nature's 
 repose, which we often witness in southern climes. 
 All the elements lay hushed in peaceful unison ; 
 the most perfect tranquillity prevailed around ; 
 and the fiery orb of heaven sat enthroned in the 
 blue ethereal, in unclouded majesty of brightness. 
 The glassy mirror of the Straits reflected on 
 
JOUKXEY TO MA HOC CO. 9 
 
 either side the mighty herculean pillars, on whose 
 rugged heads the departing sun was shedding his 
 rosy light, while the deep ravines and valleys 
 below were darkening into purple shades. Near 
 us lay the town of Tarrifa, sloping from the 
 heights to the water's edge, and surrounded by 
 an ancient Moorish wall, turreted at irregular 
 distances ; while groups of young girls were 
 bathing and sporting in the water, in primitive 
 innocence, unheeding the distant gaze of men, 
 whose good breeding in this country prevents 
 their too near approach on these occasions. Mo- 
 desty consists not in mere outward forms, nor the 
 breach of it in the performance of that which in 
 one country is considered indecorous, and in 
 others is naturalized by custom. Throughout the 
 whole of the Mediterranean this natural and 
 healthy amusement is practised without any de- 
 moralizing effect, except, indeed, at Malta, where 
 the promiscuous bathing of the two sexes takes 
 place during the evening, and a greater part of 
 the night, with bands of music attending in the 
 boats. 
 
 The women of Tarrifa are very beautiful, par- 
 taking more than their country-women in general 
 of that mixture of Moorish features so observable 
 in all the inhabitants of the southern provinces 
 of Spain. Following the custom of their semi- 
 ancestors of the Moorish tribes, they still continue 
 to veil their faces from public view when walking, 
 shewing one eye only, which, however, has from 
 habit learned to do very efficient duty for the 
 
10 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 other, as well as for the mouth, though the use 
 of the latter in Spain has become almost super- 
 fluous from the intelligent language of the fan. 
 If then the fan even be eloquent, imagine the 
 power of the rosy abode of speech, giving utterance 
 to a language, the very offspring of romantic love ! 
 The town of Tarrifa presents nothing beyond 
 its female attractions, which can be deemed 
 worthy of notice. It is commanded by the 
 heights around, but fortified towards the sea by 
 a long-tongued battery, stretching out into the 
 Straits on a bed of rocks, at the end of which 
 stands a light-house, supported by an incon- 
 siderable tax levied on all vessels which have 
 occasion to feel its beneficial effects. A light 
 breeze springing up from the eastward at six 
 o'clock, we weighed anchor for the last time, and 
 passed Tarrifa light-house. As the refracted sun 
 sank slowly into the western ocean before us, 
 the wind freshened, and, at about ten o'clock, we 
 cast anchor in Tangiers bay ; but the gates of this 
 town being always closed at sun-set, we were not 
 able to disembark, and we therefore spread an 
 awning on deck, and there laid ourselves down to 
 rest, preferring the open air, to the stench of 
 cockroaches in the cabin below. Early the follow- 
 ing morning we obtained permission to land, and 
 accordingly quitted our felucca, and hastened on 
 shore, where we were kindly received, and en- 
 tertained during our stay, by Mr. Douglass, the 
 Consul-general for Marocco, who extends his 
 hospitality, impartially, to all who visit Tangiers. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Tangier 's and its Vicinity Described. A Visit to 
 the Jews' Houses. Account of the Paschal 
 Dance, and of a National Military Recreation. 
 The Horses of Tangiers. The Moorish Gun. 
 
 TANGIERS, or as the Moors call it Tangha, is 
 but little remarkable from the sea. The similarity 
 of the low, flat-roofed, white-washed houses, 
 stretching one above another, like tombs, up the 
 side of a hill, gives it a very monotonous ap- 
 pearance. It is situated on ground that forms 
 a sort of amphitheatre ; and on the heights to 
 the north, stands the castle, an extensive ruin, 
 inhabited by the Basha and the storks. The town 
 boasts of no other public building worthy of 
 notice, except the large mosque, which has a 
 square minaret or tower, the exterior of which is 
 prettily inlaid with small coloured glazed tiles, 
 disposed in a variety of patterns. 
 
 In the course of the morning we waited on the 
 Basha, who received us very courteously in an 
 arched passage leading to his apartments. He is 
 a tall handsome man, with a very intelligent 
 countenance, and a soft polite address. He in- 
 formed us that the mules which we should require 
 for our journey would not be ready for three days, 
 
12 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 as it would be necessary to send to Tetuan for 
 them, whither they had been despatched for our 
 use, under the idea that we should have disem- 
 barked at that place. He begged that in the 
 meantime we would not scruple to ask for any 
 thing we might require, which he assured us we 
 should be immediately supplied with. The con- 
 versation then turned upon the state of his health, 
 which he expressed hopes might be ameliorated 
 by the doctor's assistance ; but he afterwards con- 
 fessed that he had never taken the pills which 
 were sent him. We then took our leave, and on 
 our arrival at the consulate, we found a Moor 
 bearing us a present of a sheep, some fowls, eggs 
 and wax-candles ; which supply was sent us daily 
 while we remained at Tangiers. On our road from 
 the castle we were joined by our friend Hadge 
 Hadoud Kissouse, with whom we had become 
 very intimate in our passage from Gibraltar, and 
 who, from his knowledge of the Spanish language, 
 was extremely useful to us. He invited us to ac- 
 company him, in the evening of the following day, 
 to the house of a friend of his, for the purpose of 
 hearing some Moorish music ; and it being our 
 wish to see as much as possible of Moorish so- 
 ciety, we promised to avail ourselves of his invi- 
 tation. Meantime, to fill up the remainder of this 
 day, Mr. Douglass having been kind enough to 
 supply us with mules, we accompanied that gen- 
 tleman in a ride which he took daily, and which 
 afforded us the opportunity of seeing a little of 
 the country. The soil in the immediate vicinity 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 13 
 
 of Tangiers, owing to its contiguity with the sea, 
 is formed of a deep white sea-sand, which accu- 
 mulates with great rapidity. It is here the inha- 
 bitants bury their dead, over whom the richer 
 relatives of some of them raise small arched tombs. 
 As we got further into the country, we found a 
 rich, dark-coloured soil, bearing a most abundant 
 crop of Indian wheat. Not a single tree was to 
 be seen for miles, except at a few private gardens ; 
 but the ground rises and falls in soft undulations, 
 and requires the addition of wood only, to make 
 it a beautiful country. To this barrenness, how- 
 ever, there is one exception, about three miles 
 from Tangiers, at a place called Mount Washing- 
 ton, so denominated from the circumstance of its 
 having been tenanted and much improved by the 
 Consul of the United States. This spot we did 
 not at this time visit, but as I have myself seen it 
 on a former occasion, I do not scruple to mention 
 it here. It is a charming seclusion, richly wooded 
 with a great variety of forest and fruit trees. The 
 house has been permitted to fall to decay, but its 
 situation commands a most extensive view of the 
 Straits from end to end, with the bold mountainous 
 shore of Spain in front. Close to the house is a 
 spring of most excellent water, which nourishes a 
 garden abounding with fruit ; and the neighbouring 
 hills are overrun with that beautiful shrub, the large 
 white gum-cistus, which here, as well as in Spain, 
 it is most difficult to eradicate. The Moors have 
 no idea of sylvan scenery ; the Basha might 
 otherwise, at a very trifling expense, make this one 
 
14 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 of the most enchanting places imaginable for sum- 
 mer retirement. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th July, we visited 
 some of the Jews' houses. The interior of them 
 is kept particularly clean, by means of continual 
 white-washing, the dazzling brightness of which 
 is very detrimental to the eye-sight. The floors of 
 these residences are often paved with small 
 coloured tiles, like those made in Holland ; and 
 the houses generally consist of four rooms, one 
 story high only, built long and narrow, and so 
 arranged as to inclose a small square yard. The 
 doors are placed in the middle of the interior 
 walls of the quadrangle, and act in the double 
 capacity of doors and windows. At the ends of 
 the rooms are ranged the beds on a raised wooden 
 platform, and in the centre of the floor are mats 
 made of coloured rushes, whereon sit, with their 
 legs tucked up, the inmates of the houses. The 
 Jews in Tangiers, unlike those in other towns in 
 Barbary, live intermingled with the Moors. They 
 for the most part have the benefit of a regular 
 education, and generally acquire a very competent 
 knowledge of the Spanish langage. Their women 
 are kept under no restraint, and are exceedingly 
 courteous to strangers. They have generally bad 
 figures, but pretty faces ; indeed many of them 
 are very beautiful. Their complexion is high- 
 coloured, but their skin very fair. The com- 
 plexion of the Moorish women is of too dead a 
 white to be pleasing, though their features are 
 regular. They both paint the edges of their eye- 
 
JOURXEV TO MA ROC: CO. 15 
 
 lids with black, which sets off the white of the 
 eye to great advantage, and imparts a rich lan- 
 guid look to those already too bewitching weapons. 
 Mr. Murray and myself were also looked upon 
 as disciples of ^Isculapius, and many was the 
 fair round arm whose throbbing pulsation gene- 
 rally indicated a high state of fever beneath the 
 pressure of our healing hands, whilst the rosy 
 thermometer of the heart seldom failed to exhibit 
 in the crimsoned cheek its sympathy for the im- 
 prisoned wrist. 
 
 On our return homewards after this visit, we 
 were astonished at hearing a most uncouthly wild 
 noise, and, on our arriving opposite the consul's 
 house, we discovered a group of black men, 
 dancing in the most fantastic manner, drawing up 
 one leg close to the body, and then sinking quite 
 down to the ground. The dance was accompa- 
 nied by a song, and the music consisted of large 
 double iron castanets, which each man played 
 with his hand, and an earthen jar covered with 
 sheep-skin, which served as a drum. It is im- 
 possible to conceive any thing more discordant to 
 the ear than the din with which these negroes 
 were, apparently, so much delighted. The mo- 
 ment they descried us coming up the street, they 
 rushed up, and surrounding us, they danced away 
 with all their might, and at a particular part of the 
 air, they all sank down to the ground, and held out 
 their hands for money. This application was im- 
 mediately complied with, and, for myself, I was 
 glad to get free of them at so cheap a rate ; for, 
 
16 JOURXEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 to confess the truth, I felt rather nervous at being- 
 thus suddenly encircled by sixteen creatures, 
 who in their appearance and ferocious manners 
 more resembled demons than human beings. I 
 was afterwards informed that it was in honour of 
 the Paschal Feast, which had then just concluded, 
 that these blacks danced about the streets. 
 
 In the evening we walked down to the beach, 
 to witness a national amusement called the Lab 
 el Barode, or the firing of powder. It is practised 
 as follows. Mounted soldiers, in parties of five 
 or six, gallop up and down a space of about two 
 hundred yards, and fire off their long unwieldy 
 guns, loaded with a large quantity of powder, 
 for the purpose of producing a loud discharge. 
 Quitting their hold on the bridle, which they 
 totally disregard, and spurring their horses till 
 their sides are streaming with blood, they set 
 up a sort of yell or war-whoop, and placing the 
 butt of the gun on the middle of the chest, they 
 discharge in the air at random, half turning 
 their heads and shutting their eyes, like Gil 
 Bias in his first expedition with the robbers. 
 Sometimes, however, they fire ,their guns amongst 
 the legs of their neighbours' horses, and it is con- 
 sidered as a great compliment to any stranger who 
 may be looking on, to be fired at as they ride by 
 within a few paces of him. This compliment is 
 frequently conferred with so little discretion, that 
 it is a great chance if the face of the individual 
 so honoured be not blackened with the powder. 
 The game, upon the whole, may be said to present 
 
s f 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 17 
 
 rather an imposing spectacle ; the elegance of the 
 costume, the animation of the riders, and the 
 dexterity with which they whirl their long guns 
 about their heads after they have fired them off, 
 combine to render it a pleasing sight ; though it 
 is difficult to avoid something like a sensation of 
 disgust at seeing old men, with long venerable 
 beards, vying with each other in so childish a 
 pastime. 
 
 The horses of Tangiers are but sorry specimens 
 of the Moorish breed : the ash colour seems to 
 be superior to all others. 
 
 The Moorish gun is of an enormous length, 
 and rather small in the bore. The lock is a very 
 rude piece of mechanism ; but some of the bar- 
 rels are admirably manufactured. At Tetuan 
 there is a manufactory of these, so finely twisted, 
 that they might well compare with the finest that 
 are made in England. The best are bought for 
 eight dollars. This gun is almost the only weapon 
 used by the Moorish cavalry. They have, indeed, 
 a long straight sword, but they seldom meet so 
 close in action as to make use of it. Their mode of 
 fighting is to ride full gallop towards the enemy, 
 discharging their guns at a considerable distance, 
 and then wheeling immediately about to prepare 
 for another charge. As they seem to have little 
 idea of taking aim, and as their guns do not go 
 off above three times in six attempts, the slaughter 
 in an engagement is but very inconsiderable. A 
 few years ago an action took place near Tangiers, 
 
 c 
 
18 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 between the Sultan's troops, and those of Tetuan. 
 On the royal side were upwards of five thousand 
 men, and after a desperate engagement, the 
 Sultan became master of the field, with a loss of 
 fourteen of his warriors only ! 
 
JOURNEY TO MAllOC 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A Moorish Concert. A Visit to a Jew's Wedding, 
 t/ie Dancing described. The Swedish Consul 
 and his Garden. A Repast under an Arbour 
 of Vines, with the Story of a Moor who had 
 been to London. The Interior of a Moor's 
 House, $c. 
 
 AT about seven o'clock in the evening we re- 
 paired, agreeably to the appointment which we 
 had made the day before, to the house of Hadge 
 Ali Barrada, in whom we found a very jolly fel- 
 low. He had been many years in England, 
 and was therefore able to speak our language 
 tolerably well. The rest of the company were, 
 our friend Hadge Hadoud, the Ambassador who 
 had been to Spain, and two masters of music, the 
 one an old, and the other a young man, esteemed 
 the most skilful in the empire. After the usual 
 number of salams, we seated ourselves on mat- 
 trasses covered with sheets, that were placed on 
 the floor, and cigars being brought us, we were 
 regaled with a specimen of Moorish music. The 
 old man played on a guitar with a quill ; the 
 younger one on a sort of two-stringed violin, which 
 had a bow most beautifully inlaid and ornamented 
 with mother-of-pearl and ebony. They soon 
 
 c 2 
 
20 /JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 struck up a song, which was in a high key, and 
 only varied about three notes either way; the 
 instruments played the same notes as the voices, 
 and the whole produced so melancholy a whine, 
 that I would have given something considerable 
 to have been able to quit the spot. We were 
 compelled, however, from politeness, to appear 
 pleased, and our musicians, observing our ap- 
 parent gratification, worked themselves up into 
 a sort of phrensy, and continued singing and 
 playing the same half dozen notes over and over 
 again for a whole hour, shutting their eyes, and 
 rolling their heads about in seeming ecstasy. As 
 to written music, they have no idea of it, but 
 learn by rote, or rather by ear, all that they 
 play. Hacjge Hadoud assured us that the words 
 of the air which we had heard were beautiful, and 
 told of love and war. At length, intimating that 
 they must be very tired, we ventured to beg that 
 they would desist, and having expressed our 
 thanks for their kind entertainment, we took our 
 leave, congratulating ourselves most heartily on 
 our escape from the dreadful squeaking of their 
 vile instruments, and leaving our entertainers 
 impressed with the belief that we had been in 
 reality not merely delighted, but highly amazed. 
 Ott the morning of the 19th, we received an 
 invitation from the Basha to dine with him in the 
 gardefa of the Swedish Consul, which we accept- 
 ed. A visit was in the meantime proposed to the 
 feouse of a Jew, where they were celebrating the 
 last day of the nuptials of one of the daughters 
 
' , 
 
 Prmlivi tiy I' n.HMiniiHu Ch'.xl', Compel V Co 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 21 
 
 of the house. We accordingly repaired to the 
 scene of merriment, where we found the bride, a 
 very handsome young woman, with a pair of coal- 
 black eyes, seated on the nuptial bed, which was 
 adorned with a profusion of silk and tawdry. It 
 is impossible to conceive any thing more splen- 
 did than her dress. Her head was encircled with 
 a very wide flat turban of white muslin and gold, 
 the body of her gown, her jelick, and her slippers 
 of red Marocco leather, were all most tastefully 
 embroidered with gold, and a thin transparent 
 veil of flowered muslin hung negligently about 
 her person. Amongst the company assembled 
 were two other Jewesses, in equally splendid 
 attire. After having shaken hands with the bride, 
 we took our seats, and immediately there came in 
 two musicians, an old man, whose head much re- 
 sembled the busts of Seneca, and an old woman, 
 who in many countries would undoubtedly have 
 suffered as a witch. They both had earthen pots, 
 covered with sheep skins, the one being smaller 
 than the other. A dance was called for, and after 
 much blushing and struggling, the younger of the 
 two Jewesses before mentioned stood up. She 
 was the most beautiful person I have seen in 
 Tangiers ; indeed she might vie with the most 
 lovely in any country. Her figure, though in- 
 clining to stoutness, was not disagreeably so, 
 and if I may judge from her form, her age was 
 about sixteen. The softness of her large black 
 eyes, the vermilion of- her beautiful lips, and the 
 rapid succession of modest blushes that overspread 
 
22 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 her soft full cheek, were charms that require the 
 peculiar style of Titian's pencil to portray. She 
 had, besides, on her upper lip, that soft black 
 down which gives such character to dark beauties. 
 The prejudice in England is, I know, much against 
 this peculiarity, which by the envious is called a 
 mustachio-. The fact is, that in our country it is 
 rare : I know but one family famous for it, and all 
 their handsome faces receive a peculiar grace from 
 this downy addition. But to return to my beauti- 
 ful maid. She stood up to dance with the cheer- 
 fulness of one who considered it her duty to do 
 as she was bid by her parents, though at the 
 expense of her modest feelings. The music, if it 
 may be so called, then commenced, and the 
 cracked voices of the two veteran singers screeched 
 forth in unison, while they struck with all their 
 force their earthen drums. The young girl then 
 took hold of the two corners of a silk handkerchief, 
 and with her eyes cast modestly on the ground, 
 she commenced a sort of voluptuous undulating 
 motion of the whole body, while the feet moved 
 with a very slight sort of shuffle. Every now and 
 then she turned round, and at the same time 
 raised her handkerchief over her head, when her 
 brother, the bridegroom, who stood by, touched 
 her forehead with a pistorine, and threw it to the 
 musicians. The bride then relieved her sister, 
 but did not dance so well, and in her appear- 
 ance and manner, wanted that greatest of all 
 charms modesty. As we were to be at the 
 Swedish Consul's garden at mid-day, we took our 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 23 
 
 leave of the Jews, but not before I had obtained a 
 promise from the young girl, to allow me to return 
 the next day to take a sketch of her in full 
 costume. 
 
 We now repaired to the Swedish garden, which 
 is immediately on the outside of the gate of the 
 town. It is about two acres large, and is the pro- 
 perty of M. le Conte de Herenoff, who bought it of 
 the Sultan. He has laid out a great deal of money 
 on it, with much taste, and as the soil is very rich, 
 it repays his care. There is one spot in it which 
 commands a view of the whole town, and takes 
 in part of the bay. This is the most advantageous 
 position for a view of the town of Tangiers, which 
 from hence is upon the whole rather pleasing, 
 notwithstanding the monotonous appearance of 
 the square tomb -like houses. Near this spot is 
 the grave of a lovely victim of a broken heart. 
 I had been a year previous to this at Tangiers, 
 and had met this unfortunate girl at a ball. It 
 was a masked one, and she had acted a con- 
 spicuous part as a loquacious old woman. In the 
 latter part of the evening we all unmasked, and 
 to my agreeable surprise, this old hump-backed 
 woman turned out, as a beautiful butterfly will 
 from a dingy chrysalis, a lovely girl of seventeen 
 years. With her mask she threw off her assumed 
 manner, and the noisy old woman was trans- 
 formed into a quiet modest girl. I only saw her 
 that night, and as we danced very merrily till a 
 late hour, the remembrance of the scene was as 
 fresh upon my memory as was the light clastic 
 
24 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 form of the charming girl herself; and now I stood 
 beside her grave. There are few lessons on the 
 instability of human life more heart-rending than 
 that which we learn while pondering o'er the 
 untimely end of some lovely female, from whom 
 we have parted in an hour of mirth and gaiety ; 
 but oh ! how doubly painful is the conviction that 
 her tender frame has withered beneath the cold 
 touch of disappointed love. Such was the case of 
 
 Madamoiselle , who was the only daughter of 
 
 the family, and the favourite of every one who 
 knew her. I turned from this interesting spot, 
 and strolled away to meet my companions, who had 
 been joined by the Swedish Consul. He is an old 
 officer of the Swedish guards, with an erect aire 
 militaire, and was excessively civil to us, pointing 
 out, to me in particular, all the improvements he 
 had made since I had last been there. We were 
 soon after joined by Hadge Hadoud and his friends 
 whom we had met the evening before, who invited 
 us to sit down under an arbour of vines, and partake 
 of some refreshment. We walked accordingly to 
 the arbour, where we met an elderly Moor with 
 a very intelligent countenance, who acquainted 
 us that he had been in England, and then told us 
 a long story about his having been captured for 
 breaking the blockade of Marseilles by an English 
 frigate, and of the sale of his vessel and property ; 
 that he was bearing a letter from the Emperor of 
 Marocco to the king of England, and that he had 
 a right to break the blockade ; that he at last got 
 leave to proceed to England, and went straight to 
 
JOURNEY TO IKAROCCO. 25 
 
 Lord Bathurst ; that he spoke to some of the 
 secretaries, who would give him no redress, and that 
 he therefore sat down in the middle of the house, 
 gritando with all his might, upon which there came 
 two soldiers, and each taking an arm, they walked 
 him into a room ; that an interpreter was sent for, 
 and that he was then visited by Lord Bathurst 
 and his secretary, to whom he made his complaint 
 against the captain who had robbed him ; but that 
 the secretary, who was a friend of the captain's, 
 got between Lord Bathurst and la just Ida 9 so that 
 the captain was not punished ; but when he told 
 them that he was bearing a letter from his king to 
 ours, they paid more attention to him, and Lord 
 Bathurst treated him like a prince ; that he not 
 only paid him all his money, but sent him to 
 " Park in coachee" with fine horses, and then to 
 play-house, and that whenever he was going to 
 play -house, they put in the papers " Moor go to 
 play-house; " so that on those nights there was a 
 great deal of money made by the number of 
 people that went to see him. All this was told 
 with great simplicity, in mixed broken English 
 and Spanish, and amused us -amazingly ; but the 
 most absurd part of it was, his thorough convic- 
 tion that it was his determined manner of sitting 
 down to gritar that was the means of his obtain- 
 ing lajusticia. 
 
 By this time black slaves had arrived, bearing 
 on their heads flat round dishes of wood, covered 
 with high conical tops made of straw, resembling 
 Chinese hats. These are for the purpose of keep- 
 
26 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 ing warm the meat, which is placed on an earthen 
 dish in the inside. These dishes were placed 
 before us on a small table, and contained mutton 
 dressed in various ways ; and I must avow that I 
 have never eaten meat in any country which I 
 thought so delicate and well-flavoured. The 
 richness of the fat resembled that of turtle, with- 
 out any appearance of grease or grossness. The 
 mutton was chiefly baked, and garnished with 
 little bits of kidney, rolled up in fat, and most 
 excellent in their favour. We wanted nothing to 
 make our repast complete but a little wine, which, 
 not being a Mahometan drink, they had not pro- 
 cured us ; but even this was supplied us by the 
 ready civility of the Swedish Consul, who im- 
 mediately despatched a messenger to his houj 
 for some most excellent white Malaga wine. 
 Thus provided, we made a most delicious repast, 
 We then took our cigars, and quietly resigned 
 ourselves to undergo a second torturing from our 
 friends the musicians, whose noise, however, was 
 much more tolerable in the open air. The con- 
 cert lasted about half an hour, after which the] 
 begged for an English song, with which Mr. 
 Murray complied. I was anxious to ascertain 
 how much of music our performers really knew, 
 and therefore, requested the one that played on 
 the two-stringed instrument to try if he could fol- 
 low us whilst we sang our national song. W( 
 then sang " God save the King" slowly over once. 
 He fixed his eyes, knitted his brows, and seeme 
 to mark every note ; we then began again, and, 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 27 
 
 to our surprise, he went through the whole air with 
 the greatest accuracy. This convinced us that he 
 was in reality what his friends had called him, an 
 extraordinary genius, and that had he been taught 
 his notes, he would have been an eminent per- 
 former, even according to our acceptation of the 
 term. We sat some time with our friends, smoking, 
 drinking, and laughing, and our easy free manner 
 seemed to please them greatly. Finding, however, 
 that the Beisha did not make his appearance, we 
 thought that waiting any longer would appear too 
 dependent, and therefore prepared to return home. 
 The Moors tried all they could to prevail on us to 
 stay longer, evidently fearful that the Basha should 
 come when we were gone, and accuse them of not 
 having done their best to entertain us ; but as 
 they found us resolved to go, they desisted -from 
 pressing us. Hadge Hamet Hardan, the Moor 
 who had gritard in Downing-street office, then 
 came up to us, and begged that we would go to 
 his house to breakfast the next morning, which 
 invitation we readily accepted, and we agreed to 
 meet at the house of Hadge Ali Barrada, the other 
 Moor who had been in England. Our friend 
 Hadge Hadoud acquainted us of his intention of 
 profiting by our escort, to accompany us as far as 
 Rabat on some business that required his presence 
 at that place. This was a most pleasing piece of 
 information for us, as we had become very intimate 
 with him, and it would be- a great advantage to us 
 to have in our company a man of such respectability 
 in his country as Hadge Hadoud. 
 
28 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 The next morning we repaired to the house of 
 Hadge Ali Barrada, who begged the Doctor's ad- 
 vice concerning one of his black wives who was 
 troubled with indigestion. As we were all looked 
 upon as disciples of ^Esculapius, the whole party 
 was admitted to see the patient, in whom we found 
 a young negro woman far gone in pregnancy, sitting 
 against the wall cross-legged, and surrounded 
 with flat loaves of hot bread, which she seemed 
 anxiously eyeing. She had rather a pleasing 
 modest appearance, her limbs were delicate, and 
 she appeared to t be about seventeen years old. 
 She is one of ten of the same colour that share 
 the love of Ali Barrada. She was particularly 
 anxious that we should inform her of what gender 
 would be the soon-expected offspring of her first 
 love. This, however, was not the only case of the 
 same nature which we met with ; for it was the 
 first question put to us by almost every woman 
 that we saw in the same state, and they always 
 seemed greatly surprised when we declared the 
 impossibility of looking into futurity. The Doctor 
 having prescribed some castor-oil, which he pro- 
 mised to send her, we gave Barrada strict injunc- 
 tions to see that she took it immediately, and then 
 set out for the house of Hadge Hamet Hardan, 
 where we found Hadge Hadoud. The interior of 
 this house was the neatest I have seen at Tangiers, 
 and contained two stories. Tke rooms were neatly 
 painted, and the floors covered with mats, carpets, 
 and beds, over which were spread sheets which 
 keep the sitter cool. The walls were hung with 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 29 
 
 looking-glasses, painted shelves, some fire-arms 
 of Maroqueen manufacture, and two brace of 
 European pistols ; and the whole atmosphere 
 smelt strongly of musk. In the square was 
 placed a small table, which was crowded with 
 tea-cups of broken patterns of china. Hot bread 
 of a very superior quality was then served by a 
 negress ; and our host, who was determined to 
 treat us as much after the English fashion as pos- 
 sible, cut the bread into large slices, and inserted 
 between them a sort of half butter, half lard, or 
 rather butter which had been melted and poured 
 into jars to keep. At first, I must say I found 
 some difficulty in reconciling my palate to such a 
 libel on butter ; bfit necessity and habit have since 
 made me relish it as much as I should the best of 
 its kind. We then sat down regularly to break- 
 fast, and were served with some most excellent 
 tea, sweetened by putting the sugar into the tea- 
 pot, which has the effect of dissolving the sugar 
 more thoroughly, and rendering the tea more 
 agreeable. A pair of boiled fowls wtre then 
 served, and a great variety of small cakes full of 
 carraway and anise seed. With these they often 
 flavour their bread ; but I cannot say that I could 
 ever bring myself to approve of the addition. 
 The old gentleman had provided us with small 
 napkins, which had evidently been bought for the 
 occasion, as they had not even been hemmed or 
 washed. We finished our repast with a glass of 
 orange-flower water, which is a most pleasing 
 beverage in a hot climate. Our friends the mu- 
 
30 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 sicians had come in while we were at breakfast, 
 and were now preparing to give us fresh proofs of 
 their abilities, when some patients arrived to con- 
 sult the Doctor, and, fortunately occupied us until 
 it was time to depart. We then took leave of our 
 host, whom we thanked for his attentions, and 
 assured of our readiness to return his civility if 
 ever it should be his good fortune to re-visit Eng- 
 land. I then went to the house of my pretty 
 Jewess, with my colours, and found her in anxious 
 expectation of my arrival, and dressed for the 
 purpose in the most gorgeous apparel. After 
 about half an hour's sitting, I succeeded in sketch- 
 ing a very tolerable likeness ; but which, being in 
 oils, it was impossible to finish at that time. The 
 picture, however, delighted all assembled amaz- 
 ingly, and the girl made me promise, that if I 
 took it away, I would paint her one for herself. 
 To this I agreed, but I was forced to lay it by 
 until I returned from Marocco. 
 
 Mr. Murray and I then went to visit our pa- 
 tients ; viz. such of the ladies in the vicinity as 
 were afflicted with ailments of so slight a nature, 
 that we deemed ourselves fully competent to pre- 
 scribe for them without the assistance of the 
 Doctor. To one elderly lady in particular we 
 were specially attentive. This old woman, who 
 could hardly see from an old-standing ophthalmia, 
 had a house ifull of pretty girls, and it was asto- 
 nishing with what zeal for the old lady's eyes the 
 daughters would rush to the door when LQ$ 
 Signores Medicos made their appearance. Thither 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 31 
 
 resorted all the pretty girls of the neighbourhood, 
 with a thousand of those little ailings which at- 
 tend the sweet age of fifteen or sixteen. While 
 prescribing for our young patients, there came in 
 a Moor, who requested we would repair to his 
 house to visit his wife ; and as the opportunity 
 was so good for seeing a Moorish woman unveil- 
 ed, we immediately went thither. The lady, 
 however, disappointed our expectations, as she 
 was far from being a beauty, though not alto- 
 gether ill-looking. After this I had opportunities 
 of seeing many of them, but could discover 
 nothing in them to compare with that beautiful 
 mixture of pink and white which so distinguishes 
 the sweet features of the Jewesses. 
 
 In the evening we waited on the Swedish Con- 
 sul, and drank tea with his delightful family. 
 
32 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Departure from Tangier i s. Advice to Travellers. 
 Arrival at Avyela. A Visit from a Saint. Some 
 Account of his Appearance, Manners, and Influ- 
 ence. Departure from Avyela. Arrival at 
 Larash. Crossing the Ferry there. Some Ob- 
 servations on that Town. 
 
 ON the morning of the 21st July we were to 
 have left Tangiers ; but as the Basha had not yet 
 written his letters to the Sultan, and to the go- 
 vernors of the different places through which we 
 were to pass, we were obliged to put off our 
 departure until the next day. In the interval 
 nothing particular occurred. We were employed, 
 chiefly, in administering our last doses to our pa- 
 tients, and in repacking our baggage, which had 
 been put up in such large chests that the mules 
 could not carry them. A mule load is 300 Ibs. 
 for a long journey. Travellers in this country 
 should, therefore, be particular in having their 
 effects packed in boxes of 150 Ibs. weight, and 
 not exceeding three feet long, that being the 
 length which is most convenient. And should it 
 be the misfortune of any one to travel through Ma- 
 rocco in the hot weather, I would recommend one 
 of the large broad-brimmed hats worn chiefly by 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 33 
 
 women, completely lined on the inside with cot- 
 ton to keep out the rays of the sun ; a white 
 fustian jacket, which, while it is light, is at the 
 same time thick enough to exclude the heat, with 
 a pair of white leather shoes ; not forgetting a pair 
 of strong leather gloves, without which a European 
 would be a great sufferer. A pair of spurs, too, 
 is a very necessary accompaniment. 
 
 Thus equipped, at seven o'clock the following 
 morning, I mounted my mule with my compa- 
 nions, and, attended by sixteen other mules bear- 
 ing the baggage, we started from Mr. Douglass's 
 hospitable roof. On the outside of the town we 
 were joined by Hadge Hadoud, and four soldiers, 
 commanded by an alkaid whose name was Susi. 
 We were all provided with our own saddles, which 
 are absolutely necessary in an expedition of the 
 kind, and the head appointments had been sup- 
 plied us by the Basha. They were some old 
 English artillery bridles, and having lain long in 
 store since they had been presented by our govern- 
 ment, they had become perfectly hard and dry 
 from the heat of the sun. To bring them into 
 some sort of shape, they had been ordered to be 
 steeped in warm water, and having been delivered 
 over to the cook for that purpose, he had so boiled 
 them, that the next day, on starting, they broke 
 all to pieces, and it was some time before we 
 could substitute rope in their stead. At length, 
 however, having overcome this difficulty, we set 
 off, and bade adieu to Tangiers. 
 
 At ten o'clock we stopped for a short time near 
 
 D 
 
34 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 a douar, or Arab tent, and rested under a fig-tree, 
 We then passed a large plain, through which ran 
 a stream, which from the great breadth of the 
 bed of the current, must be a very considerable 
 river in the rainy season. Continuing along the 
 sea-coast, and leaving to our right, between us 
 and the sea, large tracts of salt marsh, we soon 
 began to ascend a higher country, which for 
 about eight miles is prettily wooded with the 
 ever-green oak, and a few cork trees. From this, 
 however, we descended into another plain of vast 
 extent from east and westward, and crossed a river 
 which is fordable at low water, but is greatly 
 affected with the tide. The plain lasted about 
 an hour and a half, and we then again entered a 
 higher country, which seemed well cultivated with 
 corn and maze. Here we found a large douar, 
 and a little further on we halted in a garden, at 
 about twelve o'clock, where we took some refresh- 
 ment. At four we arrived at the borders of a 
 river, whose name I could not ascertain : it is in a 
 plain of considerable extent, and very low, the 
 consequence of which was, that it was strongly 
 affected by the sea tide, which was now fast 
 flowing in, so that we found it impracticable to at- 
 tempt fording it. Over-hanging its banks was a 
 small hill covered with olives, and oak, and 
 abounding in wood-pigeons. As we remained here 
 a considerable time, in a state of indecision as 
 to our destination for the night, I was preparing 
 to shoot a few wood-pigeons as a relish for 
 our supper; but on entering the wood, one of 
 the escort came running to me, begging me 
 

 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 35 
 
 not to fire off my gun in that wood, as a saint 
 had been buried there, and all sorts of misfortunes 
 would befal us if I killed one of the pigeons. I 
 smiled at the superstition of the poor fellow, and 
 came back to our party, whom I found loud in 
 debate as to the propriety of waiting to cross the 
 river at the fall of the tide, or returning, to pass 
 the night at a douar which we had left about two 
 miles behind us. At last we agreed upon the 
 latter, and off we set for the douar, on approaching 
 which, we found about thirty horsemen collected 
 for the purpose of a Lab el Barode. Our alkaid then 
 bade us halt, and he proceeded with considerable 
 form towards the douar, where a long communi- 
 cation took place, which ended, however, in all our 
 baggage being taken off the mules. Whilst the 
 muleteers were preparing to pitch our tent, a party 
 of the soldiers rode by us at full gallop, and fired 
 off their long guns so close to cur faces, that I verily 
 believe that had the powder struck us, it would 
 have left its mark for life. This, we were told, 
 was intended as a compliment. Just as we were 
 flattering ourselves that we should soon see our 
 marquee comfortably pitched for the night, one of 
 the Arabs from the douar came up to Susi, with 
 whom he held a long conference ; the purport of 
 which was that, if we encamped there, we were 
 not safe ; that the chief of the douar had had a 
 quarrel with a neighbouring chief, on account of 
 some woman he had married, and should the other 
 take it in his head to attack the douar in the 
 night, they could not be answerable for our safety. 
 
 D2 
 
36 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 We now had no alternative but to return to the 
 river, and proceed straight to Arzela. 
 
 By the time we reached the river it was getting 
 dusk : the tide, however, had ebbed considerably, 
 and . we could just ford without wetting our 
 baggage, which we had no sooner accomplished, 
 than we pushed sharply on to Arzela. After 
 riding for about two hours over a dead flat, we 
 arrived on the sea beach, which was of hard sand. 
 The high walls of Arzela now rose before us, and 
 from the darkness of the night appeared close 
 at hand ; but we did not arrive at the gate of 
 that town until nine o'clock at night. It over- 
 hangs the sea, and if we may judge from the 
 enormous height of the wall, and some beautiful 
 remains of cut stone arches where windows have 
 been, it was a place of great strength and splen- 
 dour. We waited some time in the market-place 
 before it was settled where we should be lodged 
 for the night ; but at last a messenger from the 
 governor conducted us to the house of a Jew, 
 where we found a tolerably comfortable room, 
 with clean mats on the floor. Our friend, Hadge 
 Hadoud, then sent to the Governor for the neces- 
 sary provisions, and, much to our satisfaction, we 
 were readily supplied with plenty of milk and 
 delicious butter fresh from the churn, a luxury of 
 which we had not partaken since we had left 
 England. The heat of the climate does not allow 
 of the butter being kept ; it is therefore not 
 churned to the proper degree of consistency, but 
 nevertheless is but little inferior to that of our own 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 37 
 
 country. All now joined in doing honour to our 
 little repast ; but in the midst of our supper, a 
 noise was heard from without, and shortly after a 
 miserably clad, dirty old man entered the apart- 
 ment, supported by two Moors, and followed by a 
 host of ragamuffins. This procession no sooner 
 appeared at the door, than Hadge Hadoud started 
 from his seat, crying Santo I Santo ! and rushing 
 up to the old man, he kissed his shoulders and 
 hands, and seemed ready to drop on his knees in 
 adoration of this perfect monster. After a few 
 compliments we were introduced to him, and he 
 assured us that he was glad to see us, and that 
 good would attend us wherever we went. We 
 then all sat down, while continual fresh arrivals 
 of Moors were kissing the hem of his filthy gar- 
 ment. Our guards came to him also, and putting 
 into his hands two or three pistorines, called on 
 him for his blessing. A sort of pause then ensued ; 
 and the old fellow seemed to be mumbling some- 
 thing to himself, as he counted his beads, and 
 turned his eye-balls towards the heavens. Never 
 was the Oracle of Delphos more intently watched 
 by the heathen worshipper, than was this Saint 
 by the Moors, who had gathered round him, and 
 when he did speak, which was in short broken 
 sentences, they caught at each word with a degree 
 of superstitious avidity that is inconceivable to those 
 who are unacquainted with the gross ignorance of a 
 Moor. After one of these long pauses, which we ex- 
 pected was to produce some artful double entendre, 
 the venerable old rogue turned suddenly towards 
 
38 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Mr. Murray, and begged a pistorine towards the in- 
 crease of his charitable fund. For a moment that 
 gentleman was so astonished at the demand, and so 
 unwilling to subscribe to such disgusting imposi- 
 tion, that he hesitated complying; but Hadge 
 Hadoud, who had been anxiously watching the 
 issue of the scene, begged of him to give the money 
 for him. Seeing the anxiety of our friend, the 
 Hadge, Mr. Murray immediately gave the pisto- 
 rine, which the Saint pocketed with unblushing 
 coolness. After having staid about a quarter of 
 an hour, our unwelcome guest took his leave, fol- 
 lowed by the posse which had attended him to 
 our house. He was a man about five feet eight 
 inches in height, and appeared to be between 
 seventy and eighty years old. His head and features 
 were regular, and his eyes remarkably sharp and 
 brilliant. At first his venerably white beard, and a 
 silly imbecile look that pervaded his countenance, 
 made me imagine that he was half idiotical ; but 
 when he was quietly seated near the light, I looked 
 long and steadfastly at his countenance, and could 
 perceive that it displayed marks of the deepest 
 cunning concealed under a most hypocritical eur- 
 face. When he was gone, Hadge Hadoud told us, 
 with a very grave countenance, that this was one 
 of the greatest saints in the kingdom ; that every 
 one who entered Arzela, repaired to his house, 
 and after having asked permission to proceed on 
 his journey, gave him whatever money he de- 
 sired, which, of course, was regulated by the 
 riches or poverty of the supplicant ; that even 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 30 
 
 the Sultan presented him with a large purse when 
 lie passed that way ; and that accordingly he was 
 considered to have amassed an enormous sum of 
 money, of which, however, he declares he throws 
 a great part into the sea annually. He further 
 told us that the saint was in the habit of doing 
 a great many charitable acts among the poor of 
 Arzela, and that he was served daily with fifty 
 dishes of various sorts ; that at least a hundred 
 persons partook of this feast ; and that his house 
 was a sanctuary for all persecuted persons, from 
 which no authority dared to drag them. I had 
 heard Hadge Hadoud previously mention this 
 saint ; but I had no idea that a man of generally 
 liberal notions, who had lived among enlight- 
 ened people so long as he had, could be so 
 blindly bigoted as to believe in the sanctity of 
 such a disgusting old hypocrite as our visitor. At 
 first, indeed, I thought that he merely followed 
 the stream ; which it would have been folly to have 
 stemmed, but I soon found that he swam rather 
 than floated with the current ; for before we left 
 Arzela he repaired to the saint, and having ob- 
 tained his permission to proceed on his journey, 
 he also begged for his protection, which the other 
 granted, telling him that nothing but good awaited 
 him, and then asked him for some money for 
 charity. The Hadge then proceeded to lay down 
 one pistoiine after another, while the saint con- 
 tinued saying more, more, until thirty-two of them 
 hud found their way into the old fellow's pocket. 
 A saint in Barbary is either a natural idiot, or an 
 
40 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 hereditary saint, there being saint families in 
 abundance. They are treated with the greatest 
 respect ; every one gives them money, and when 
 they die, they are entombed with some other saint, 
 generally on the border of a lake or river. I 
 know of no greater, or more striking proof of the 
 lamentable ignorance of this nation, than their 
 belief in the sanctity of these rogues and idiots, 
 the lucrativeness of whose profession excites hun- 
 dreds to assume the maniac ; and they are conse- 
 quently to be found in abundance in every town 
 in the kingdom. 
 
 On the 23d of July we left Arzela, at six 
 o'clock in the morning, having had some part of 
 our saddlery stolen by the Jews, who carrying on 
 but little trade, are miserably poor. Arzela is 
 a small town, containing perhaps two hundred 
 houses, and ruled by a military governor : it has 
 some excellent gardens on the outside of the walls. 
 After about three hours ride over a barren country 
 of easy hill and dale, we struck off to the sea 
 shore, and continued until about mid-day to ride 
 on a fine smooth sandy beach. The country along 
 the shore had a more pleasing appearance than 
 any we had seen on our journey, being composed 
 of uneven ground, prettily covered with wood. 
 Here we left the last place at which I observed 
 any rocky cliffs on the sea shore. At ten o'clock 
 we rested at a spring of water, under the shade 
 of some mulberry-trees, whose fruit was hardly 
 ripe, and very small. Having passed an hour 
 here, we proceeded on our journey, and arrived 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 41 
 
 on the banks of the river Leocouse at three 
 o'clock. This river is about two hundred and 
 fifty yards across, and has rather a rapid current. 
 It runs from the eastward, and overflows a plain 
 of great extent, which, during the summer, gives 
 pasturage to heards of fine cattle. On the slope 
 of the opposite bank stands Laraish, a small sea- 
 port town, containing about four hundred houses. 
 There we resolved to rest for the night, as we had 
 a long day's journey to perform on the following 
 day. A large boat ferried us over the river, after 
 the usual delay of urging the mules to leap into 
 it at the risk of breaking their legs, and we were 
 landed on a little wharf something in the European 
 style. Here I could not help remarking the dead 
 halt which common-sense seems to have made 
 among these self-conceited people. Here was an 
 instance of a river over which there is a continual 
 thoroughfare ; and all the traffic of the country 
 being carried on by horse-carriage, or that of 
 camels, and it being inevitable that these animals 
 should continually pass over the river with their 
 burthens ; one would have imagined that, in the 
 course of time, some great mechanic would have 
 risen up among the people, and at least taught 
 them to construct a flat-bottomed ferry-boat, with 
 a falling platform at the side, on which laden 
 animals, and even cavalry horses, might pass into 
 the boat, without breaking their knees. But, 
 alas ! no such Archimedes has appeared among 
 them, and instead of such a simple invention, 
 they make use of sharp-bottomed launches, with 
 
42 JOURNEY TO MAltOCCO. 
 
 high gunwales ; so that in crossing a small stream 
 of this kind, travellers are detained an hour at 
 least, it being necessary, first to unload the mules, 
 and then to compel the unhappy creatures by dint 
 of furious beating, to leap into the boat. Leaping 
 out again, and re-loading, completes the delay. 
 This was the case on every one of the rivers over 
 which we passed. In the stream were lying two 
 vessels, both belonging to Gibraltar ; the largest 
 of which might be about fifty tons. I was told 
 that vessels of larger dimensions could not cross 
 the bar, over which, at low tide, there is not 
 above three feet of water, except at one narrow 
 channel, through which small vessels may go. 
 At the entrance of the town I observed, as also 
 in several other places, that the wall had been 
 violently rent and thrown half out of its founda- 
 tion, which, as it is to be seen in many different 
 parts, I ascribe to some heavy shock of an earth- 
 quake ; and I am surprised that Ali Bey should 
 have taken no notice of it, particularly as the 
 first thing that strikes the eye from the opposite 
 side of the river, is the remarkable appearance 
 and situation of a large mass of detached building 
 near a square castle, overhanging the entrance of 
 the port, and from the small Moorish tower on the 
 top of this ruin, the whole appears to have formed 
 one corner of a large Moorish castle. The foun- 
 dation of the present one is about thirty feet above 
 the bottom of the mass above-mentioned, the 
 whole of which leans several feet without its base, 
 and is about fifty feet high, and as many in cir- 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 43 
 
 cumference. From its resemblance to a neigh- 
 bouring corner of the present castle, one is at first 
 tempted to imagine that it has been part of a 
 building similar in form to the present one, and 
 occupying the same site, and that some violent 
 commotion has caused it, at the destruction of the 
 old building, to slip from its original basis to its 
 present ; but when one considers its great size, and 
 the descent of the bank down which it seems to 
 have slid, one is obliged to abandon the idea, and 
 conclude that the original castle stood lower down 
 near the river, and the present corner is all that 
 remains of it. I made some inquiries as to the 
 date of this earthquake ; but was told no one knew 
 when it had happened, it being beyond the me- 
 mory of man, to use the Jew's expression, of whom 
 I asked the question. We were taken to the 
 house of a Moor who kept a sort of inn for tra- 
 vellers. He was a fine fat cherry-looking fellow, 
 who had been seventeen years in England, and 
 yet hardly spoke a word of English, which is 
 rather uncommon ; for generally the Moors, and 
 also the Turks, learn and pronounce our language 
 with wonderful celerity and correctness. Our 
 host, as he told us himself, was a merchant, and 
 owned the little wharf on which we landed. The 
 exports about this part of the country consist 
 chiefly in bullock's hides, wax, and gums. Not- 
 withstanding that Laraish is a sea-port town, it 
 is reckoned unwholesome by the inhabitants of the 
 place, who say that there is continually fever 
 
44 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 going about, but that they are never attacked by 
 any severe mortality. The neighbourhood of the 
 extensive marsh to the eastward, will account for 
 the former part of what they told us, and the 
 vicinity of the sea to the westward, for the latter ; 
 the one in a measure counter-balancing the other. 
 After we had refreshed ourselves a little, we 
 strolled out, and made a round of the town. On 
 the top of the hill we found a large oblong square, 
 surrounded by small shops or bazaars, with a pro- 
 jecting colonnade of low Moorish arches, sup- 
 ported by pillars of about six feet high. The 
 whole is neatly built of stone, and is the only range 
 of buildings I have seen in Barbary worthy re- 
 marking. Ali Bey believes them to be Christian 
 works, but from their similarity to other bazaars, 
 which I have seen down the Mediterranean, I 
 should be inclined to look upon them as Moorish. 
 The Christians would have built them larger; 
 whereas a Moor's bazaar is j ust big enough for his 
 fat personage to sit cross-legged in, and so low 
 that he has all his shop at his command, without 
 the necessity of rising to serve a customer. 
 
 Laraish was originally a Portuguese town, and 
 was ceded to, or taken by, Muley Ismael. All, 
 however, that remains of the Christian's labour, 
 are the fortifications, which consist of some broken 
 down guns, mounted on a bastion, and a few 
 straight walls, sufficiently calculated to defend the 
 place at the period at which they were constructed, 
 but now quite useless. At the mouth of the har- 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 45 
 
 hour, there is a half-moon battery, looking sea- 
 ward, and containing some pieces of ordnance to 
 the amount of about twelve in number, but of 
 what calibre, or in what state of repair, I cannot 
 say, as we did not see the interior of the battery. 
 Indeed on this head the Moors are ridiculously 
 jealous : whether it arises from ignorance, or 
 the fear of shewing their weakness to strangers, is 
 difficult to decide : but certain it is, that any ap- 
 plication to be allowed to visit their places of de- 
 fence, not only meets with refusal, but excites 
 great suspicions of your intentions. I remember, 
 at Tangiers, having strolled accidentally into a 
 battery defending, or rather supposed to defend, 
 the harbour or anchorage, and I had only just time 
 to find myself standing amongst a row of honey- 
 combed guns, of every age and nation, when I 
 was hurried out by the Caid in charge of those 
 valuable pieces of ordnance. I had, however, 
 time enough to observe, that out of about twenty 
 of these rusty implements of -ye/f-destruction, there 
 was not one that could be fired twice, either 
 from not having any carriage, from wanting an 
 odd wheel to the same, or from being long past 
 the age of shot-bearing. The governor of Laraish 
 is a tributary of the Basha, who commands all 
 the province of Ebherbe, and he was at this time 
 paying him his devoirs in the celebration of some 
 feast near Laraish. In the evening we were enter- 
 tained by the feats of some soldiers, who played 
 at single-stick under our windows, one of whom 
 
46 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 displayed wonderful dexterity in the equally skil- 
 ful management of two sticks, one in each hand, 
 accompanying each stroke with the exclamation 
 hah ! hah I strongly aspirated, which is used on 
 all occasions when they are animated in any 
 game. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Departure from Laraish. Ludicrous Adventure 
 in passing a Ford. Story of the Don Juan of 
 Bar bar y. 
 
 ON the morning of the 24th, at seven o'clock, 
 we left Laraish, and at ten at noon we passed 
 through a wood of cork and silex, abounding in 
 wood-pigeons and doves. At eleven we passed 
 numbers of wild pear trees, and then entered upon 
 an open sandy country, thickly covered with an 
 umbelliferous plant* growing to the height of 
 twelve or thirteen feet, with a stem of great thick- 
 ness and strength. This monstrous weed covers 
 
 * The name of this plant I have not been able to ascertain. 
 It was perfectly dried up when I saw it, and I can therefore only 
 describe it as an umbelliferous plant of a straight hollow stalk, 
 with stoppages at intervals of a foot, decreasing at the head, ami 
 from whence proceeded other straight shoots, at an acute angle 
 from the stem, bearing at the end a large head of seed, much 
 resembling those of the larger species of umbelliferous plants, 
 which I have seen plates of. It grows so thickly over the face 
 of the country (whose sandy soil seemed incapable of bearing 
 any other vegetation), and to such a height as to conceal, and in 
 many places hinder, the progress of cavalry. The stalk is made 
 use of as rafters for the support of plastering in houses, and in 
 a thousand other ways, wherein the want of small wood makes 
 it useful. 
 
48 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 the whole country hence to Rabat, and as at this 
 season of the year it was completely dried up, the 
 face of the country presented a most sun-burnt 
 appearance. 
 
 At about mid-day we came to an extensive val- 
 ley, where the sand seemed to be more mixed 
 with soil. In the bottom of this valley was a large 
 douar, and a well of water. The surrounding 
 slopes were sowed with millet, a seed much used 
 by the Moors in making couscousou, and by the 
 poorer Arabs in making bread. It is sown on 
 ground that is too poor to bear corn. The Arabs 
 were at this time gathering in a most plentiful crop. 
 At one o'clock we stopped under a look-out house 
 of a neighbouring douar, and procured some fresh 
 butter and milk. Again we fell into the same 
 miserable country as before. As far as the eye 
 could reach, the same sand hills covered with the 
 same weed, kept rising before us. As we arrived 
 at each succeeding height, we anxiously expected 
 a more agreeable prospect ; but every fresh rising 
 produced fresh disappointment. Towards two 
 o'clock we came to the out-let of an extensive lake 
 which ran into the sea. Here we found a steep 
 bank of sand descending to the narrow channel 
 which connects the lake with the ocean. This 
 bank was crowned with five or six saints' tombs, 
 some of which were buried in the sand, which 
 keeps accumulating from the seashore ; while 
 others were tenanted by some ill-looking rascals, 
 who seemed to have taken up their abodes in these 
 strong holds of sanctity for the double purpose 
 
JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 49 
 
 of playing saint or highway-man as the occasion 
 might suit. 
 
 The tide was running in from the sea, and every 
 moment made the channel deeper ; but, after some 
 discussion between our guards and the muleteer as 
 to the possibility of our passing the stream, we 
 attempted the best ford we could find ; and luckily, 
 we were just able to pass over without wetting our 
 baggage. Here the tedium of this day's journey 
 was, in a measure, broken through by the ludi- 
 crous adventure of our cook, an Italian, who had 
 set out on the journey accompanied by a white 
 linen bag, or pillow-case, containing his slender 
 wardrobe, and a blue paper band-box, containing 
 a new hat. Thus provided, and mounted on a 
 laden mule, surrounded by kettles, frying-pans, 
 and gridirons, this man of the spit little dreamt 
 what difficulties and hardships he was doomed 
 to encounter. The dilapidated state of the blue 
 band-box, and the extreme anxiety of its owner 
 to protect it from surrounding danger, had been 
 sources of great merriment to us on the road ; but 
 all the poor cook's endeavours had been in vain, 
 and the gradual dismemberment of this fragile 
 object of his tender solicitude was announced by 
 the increasing number of blue-and-red chequered 
 handkerchiefs with which it was enveloped. This 
 was the state in which the pasteboard band-box 
 and the pastry-cook arrived at the banks of the 
 ford. The poor man, frightened at the depth of 
 the water, had deferred the evil moment of pass- 
 
 E 
 
50 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 ing over, until the last mule had proceeded half 
 way across. By this folly, he had increased his 
 difficulty ; for the tide, which was making most 
 rapidly, had considerably deepened the channel 
 by the time he had mustered sufficient courage to 
 attempt the ford. Imagine him, then, perched 
 aloft upon a pile of baggage, sitting in an agony of 
 fear, with his band-box in one hand, and his linen 
 bag in the other, looking down with trembling 
 anxiety on the surrounding waters. The mule had 
 scarcely reached the deepest part of the channel, 
 when the strength of the current below, and the 
 towering weight above, caused it to roll from 
 side to side, threatening momentary downfal to 
 his rider. All now became anxious for the fate 
 of the baggage, while the dilemma of the unhappy 
 cook caused roars of laughter. It was in vain 
 that we called out to him to guide his mule to th< 
 shallowest part of the ford ; for, in his solicitud< 
 for his worldly effects, he left the animal to il 
 own direction. The mule, thus abandoned to il 
 own guidance, took its way into the deepest water. 
 The poor affrighted cook, who, like Obadiah, hac 
 lost his presence of mind, now lost his seat also, 
 from the stumbling of the mule ; and, slipping 
 from his seat, hung clinging to the edge of th< 
 baggage, still holding with a tenacious gripe th< 
 companions of his journey. For a few second* 
 he vainly endeavoured to recover his seat, but not 
 having the free use of his hands, he was on the point 
 of being plunged into the stream, when a piece of 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 51 
 
 iron, projecting from the pack-saddle, arrested his 
 descent; and the next moment found him sus- 
 pended in the air by the waistband of his trow- 
 sers, amongst his own kettles and pots, his feet 
 trailing in the water, and his hands still grasping 
 the authors of his misfortune. In this ridiculous 
 position he was conveyed on shore, amidst the 
 unbridled merriment of the whole party. 
 
 On the opposite bank of the channel, we found 
 more saints' tombs : and leaving the sea shore to 
 our right, we pursued our course along the edge 
 of the lake, which appeared to be about four miles 
 broad at the widest part, which is at the northern 
 end. The water of this lake is brackish, of 
 course, on account of the sea tide flowing into it 
 at high water ; but, otherwise, the lake might be 
 called fresh, being supplied by the streams of 
 water that run from the country. We followed 
 the edge of the lake until we came to the end 
 of it ; and shortly afterwards we pitched our 
 tent, at seven o'clock, near a douar, situated in 
 a low swampy ground, covered with the richest 
 herbage. Whilst the soldiers were preparing 
 our tent, I took my gun, and strolled to the 
 water's edge to try to shoot some water fowl, 
 which are seen in abundance all about these lakes 
 I found, however, that they were* very wild, and 
 I failed in my endeavour to kill a species of curlew, 
 (as I supposed it) which I had never before, nor have 
 I since that time, seen any of. The height of theso 
 birds is nearly that of the white heron, a number 
 of which were at that time in company with them. 
 
 i. 2 
 
52 JOURNEY TO\ MAROCCO. 
 
 The plumage appeared to me to be quite black,* 
 and the bill of an immense length, slightly 
 curved downwards, like that of a curlew. I also 
 disturbed numbers of quail, which are found 
 in abundance along the shores of the lake ; and 
 having killed a common adder, such as are found 
 in all parts of England, but of a very large breed, 
 I returned to the tent to partake of some refresh- 
 ment before we retired to rest. But here I found 
 that we were most dreadfully annoyed by a species 
 of grasshopper of a most monstrous size. The 
 plague of the locusts in Egypt could scarcely 
 have been more disagreeable than the swarms of 
 these disgusting insects. The shape of this crea- 
 ture resembles greatly that of a flea, about the 
 body, while the legs are those of a grasshopper. 
 The length of it is near an inch and a half, and 
 its colour is a bright green. The body is covered 
 with a hard scale armour ; and the motion of the 
 insect is a slow crawl. I have never seen them 
 jump, and they have no wings. 
 
 My readers will easily imagine how great a nui- 
 sance they must have been, when I say, that the 
 grass was so covered with them, that it was not 
 possible to walk about without destroying six or 
 seven at a step ; and they have so little idea of 
 fear, that they came into our tent by hundreds,, 
 crawled up our coats, our beds, tables, chairs ; 
 and in fact, it was impossible to stand still 
 three minutes without having five or six of 
 
 * As it was after sunset, I may have mistaken the dark colour 
 of that bird called the Wattled Heron by Buffon,. for black. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 53 
 
 them crawling over you. But what disgusted me 
 most, was, to see the ferocious greediness with 
 which the living part of their community attacked 
 the dead, and not only the dead, but even those 
 which had been only half crushed by our feet. I 
 watched them several times at this employment, 
 and saw five or six tearing away and devouring 
 the entrails of their struggling victim. It is so rare 
 to find creatures devouring their own species, and 
 more particularly before the extinction of life, that 
 the seeing it naturally excites disgust; and I 
 must say, that I never experienced more uneasi- 
 ness in any situation than that in which we were 
 placed during the night. But this was not the 
 only evil which we had to encounter ; for the mo- 
 ment the candles were lighted in the tent, we 
 were assailed by swarms of mosquitos, and another 
 smaller species of them, which bit us in the most 
 merciless manner. To exclude them was impossi- 
 ble, as the heat of the night prevented us from 
 closing the door of the tent ; and it was in vain 
 that we endeavoured to obtain rest even after so 
 long a day's ride. The hours passed heavily away 
 in useless exclamations against our tormenting 
 enemies ; and at four o'clock, we rose from our 
 sleepless beds, fatigued, heated, and bitten almost 
 to distraction. We soon mounted our mules, and 
 /ode with eager precipitation from this nest of 
 reptiles. We questioned our guard as to the 
 means of defence used by the Arabs in their tents 
 against the attacks of these insects, and they in- 
 formed us, that they slept in sacks up to their 
 
54 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 necks, their faces being too tough to receive 
 injury. 
 
 Our road still lay along the borders of another 
 lake, almost joining the former one ; but not ac- 
 tually connected with it. This piece of water 
 seemed to be a mile broad, and fifteen miles long. 
 The country still wore the same uncultivated ap- 
 pearance, and was devoid of a single tree. Along 
 the borders of the lake we passed several douars 
 surrounded by beds of water-melon and millet. At 
 one of these we stopped about mid-day to take 
 some refreshment. At about four we passed the 
 ruins of a saint's tomb, shaded by a fig-tree. It 
 seemed to be tenanted, or rather haunted, by an 
 ill-looking fellow, in most ragged attire. On the 
 outside of the tomb, two human skeletons lay 
 extended, on one of which there were still the 
 remains of flesh. At first sight, the appearance of 
 so ill-looking a fellow, and these remains of mor- 
 tality, combined to excite, the most unfavourable 
 ideas in our minds ; but we afterwards found that 
 our suspicions were unjust. At half-past one we 
 rested under a grove of fig-trees for a short time. 
 Here Dr. Brown killed a common adder, similar 
 to the one I had destroyed the evening before. It 
 was sleeping on a bough close to the spot where 
 Mr. Murray had lain himself down to rest. At 
 about half-past five we encamped near a douar in 
 a low situation, with a small rivulet of clear water 
 running by it, and two large groves of fig-trees. 
 Here the country began to assume a more culti- 
 tivated appearance, and to be better inhabited. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 55 
 
 Though we had reason to fear a return of our last 
 night's torments from the dampness of our en- 
 campment, we were happy in finding that we had 
 entirely taken leave of them. Near this douar I 
 shot a species of jay, whose plumage of blue 
 nearly excelled that of the king-fisher, seen all 
 over England. During supper, at which we found 
 ourselves very merry at our release from annoy- 
 ance, and the prospect of a good night's rest, we 
 were amused by our friend Hadoud, who related 
 several stories of Moorish adventures, amongst 
 which was the following one, of the Don Juan of 
 Barbary, an imaginary character, whose existence 
 even amongst the grave Mussulmen, they do not 
 scruple to assert. 
 
 A young Moor, of poor and mean origin, but 
 possessing all the advantages of youth and beauty, 
 fell violently in love with a Cadi's* daughter, and 
 finding that there was no chance of obtaining the 
 lair object of his adoration in marriage, he resolved 
 to run all risks in procuring an interview with her. 
 Love is not very slow of invention, as every 
 one knows who has tried it, and the young 
 Juan of Barbary was not less ingenious than he 
 of Spain. He procured female attire, and when 
 wrapped in the ample folds of the haik, his slen- 
 der figure, and fair face of beardless beauty, 
 passed easily off for those of a lovely girl. In 
 this disguise he proceeded to the house of the 
 judge, whom he found standing at the door, and 
 approaching him with reverence, asked chanty of 
 
 * Cadi. ;i 
 
56 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 him in trembling accents. The Cadi, touched 
 with pity at the distress of one whose half-veiled 
 countenance appeared so engaging, kindly ques- 
 tioned our hero as to his history, to which he 
 replied, that he was an orphan girl, who was in 
 search of a situation as a servant maid to support 
 her existence. Now it so happened that the 
 judge was in want of a female, to act in the 
 capacity of a body attendant and companion to 
 his daughter, who, having lost her mother, was 
 very lonely ; and being pleased with the modest 
 deportment of the fair orphan, he resolved to take 
 her under his protection, as bed-fellow to his 
 daughter. The proposal, as might be supposed, 
 was joyfully accepted, and the orphan girl was 
 conducted by the negresses of the harem to 
 the presence of the Mooress, for her approval. 
 The first glance at the features of the muffled 
 figure which stood before her, reminded her of one 
 who she little thought was so near her, and she 
 decided upon accepting her father's choice, and 
 ordering her slaves to prepare her apartment, she 
 bade her new attendant follow her to her dressing- 
 room, to disrobe her of her gorgeous apparel. 
 The awkwardness of her new servant was good- 
 naturedly excused, under the head of over-anxiety 
 to please, and when her beautiful mistress retired 
 to rest, she desired her awkward maid to follow 
 her to her bed-room. It may be supposed that 
 our ardent Juan was not long in obeying these 
 commands. He cast off' his female attire, and 
 extinguishing the light, crept softly to the bed of 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 57 
 
 nconscious mistress. The curtain having 
 been drawn, it would be presumptuous to attempt 
 to describe the denouement which took place ; 
 suffice it to say, that the young lady assured her 
 father the next morning, that his paternal choice 
 completely met her approbation, and that in his 
 new protegee she found a most agreeable com- 
 panion. 
 
 Just at this juncture, a young man of conse- 
 quence, hearing of the far-famed beauty of the 
 Cadi's daughter, paid a formal visit to the father, 
 to satisfy himself of the young lady's merit ; but 
 happening to surprise her unawares in company 
 with her new attendant, he was so struck with 
 the beauty of the latter, that, transferring his ad- 
 miration from the mistress to the maid, he became 
 at first sight deeply enamoured, so that upon 
 taking his leave, he questioned the Cadi as to the 
 history of his daughter's companion, at the same 
 time declaring his wish to obtain his consent to 
 marry her. The benevolent judge, who really 
 had the young orphan's welfare greatly at heart, 
 immediately gave his consent ; but at the same 
 time added, that he was afraid that, when he had 
 heard the meanness of her lineage, he would 
 withdraw his offer. The young man, on the con- 
 trary, declared his determined resolution of mar- 
 rying the girl, whatever might be her origin. The 
 agreement being thus far settled, the judge an- 
 nounced his intention to the new attendant of 
 bestowing her in marriage to a young man of 
 great fortune, and bade her prepare herself for 
 
58 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 the wedding, which would shortly take place. 
 The terror of the young Moor and his guilty com- 
 panion, may easily be imagined. The prospect 
 of a cruel watery death presented itself in full 
 force to the affrighted pair. As soon as the first 
 feeling of fear had in a measure subsided, the 
 youth began to revolve in his mind a thousand 
 different expedients for avoiding the impending 
 danger, and at last determined upon carrying 
 on the deception he had begun, and trusting to 
 his invention to escape from the house of the 
 bridegroom. 
 
 The day soon arrived, when our young adven- 
 turer was to resign his charming mistress for ever ; 
 and it would be difficult to determine whether 
 grief at parting, or fearful anxiety for the future, 
 were most predominant in the minds of the afflict- 
 ed lovers. The parting between mistress and 
 maid was long and painful, which of course ex- 
 cited no suspicion in the minds of the spectators, 
 as being nothing more than what would naturally 
 take place between a fond, indulgent mistress, and 
 a grateful servant. The enraptured bridegroom, 
 mounted on a superb milk-white steed of the 
 Abda breed, with his face covered up, and sur- 
 rounded by his friends and relations, now pro- 
 ceeded slowly to the house of the judge, whilst 
 the surrounding horsemen rode backwards and 
 forwards by the road side, uttering shrieks of joy 
 and animation as they discharged their long guns 
 at the bridegroom's muffled face. The arrival of 
 the bridegroom was announced by the din of 
 
JOURNEY TO MOROCCO. 59 
 
 drums and flutes from without, and the shrill cries 
 of the female slaves within. The bride summoning 
 up all her courage, modestly veiled her face with 
 her beautiful transparent haik, and was then led 
 to the door, where a camel, bearing a litter of rose- 
 leaf cushions, overhung by a gilded canopy, with 
 embroidered curtains of crimson and gold, stood 
 ready to convey her to the house of her intended ; 
 again the procession was put in motion, and again 
 the honours of the Lab el Barode were discharged 
 at the person of the bridegroom. 
 
 Arrived at the house, and the marriage cere- 
 mony performed, the bride was conducted to her 
 splendid apartments, where the softest carpets 
 and the richest embroidery shewed the liberal 
 taste of the master of the house. The evening now 
 wore fast away with the banqueting of the com- 
 pany, and the bridegroom being obliged to do the 
 honours to his guests, it was late before the break- 
 ing up of the party, some of whom lingered over 
 the good cheer, allowed of his retiring to his wife, 
 whom he found already in bed. The bride having 
 determined upon the course she should pursue as 
 to the discovery of her sex to the disappointed 
 bridegroom, had taken into her bed a large knife, 
 which she had secreted about her dress previous 
 to her departure from the Cadi's house, and was 
 now prepared to play a desperate game to obtain 
 her liberty. With very different feelings did the 
 amorous husband, having extinguished the light, 
 iv pair to the bed of expected bliss; but no sooner 
 hud he entered it, than the liberty which marriage 
 
(JO JOUHNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 allows a man over the fair person of his choice, 
 soon caused some suspicions as to the reality of 
 his wife's pretensions to the attributes of the sex, 
 and jumping up in his bed, he exclaimed, "By 
 Alia, they have given me a man for a wife!" His 
 bed-fellow in an instant seized him by the throat, 
 telling him to be quiet, or he would sever his 
 head from his body, at the same time drawing the 
 back of the knife across his neck to convince him 
 of his power to carry his threat into execution if 
 he persisted in making a noise. Juan then told 
 him all his history, omitting only that part of it 
 which related to his love for the Cadi's daughter, 
 and assigning in lieu, (in vindication of the decep- 
 tion he had practised towards the Cadi) extreme 
 poverty. He then assured the affrighted bride- 
 groom of his good will towards him if he would lie 
 still and make no noise until he had left the 
 house, which being readily agreed to, he pro- 
 ceeded to dress himself in the other's clothes, 
 and leaving the room, he turned the key in 
 the door, and made the best of his way to the 
 stable, where finding the white horse, which the 
 bridegroom had ridden in the morning, already 
 saddled, he led him out, and mounting him, rode 
 off as fast as the horse could gallop, knowing 
 well that there was not another swift enough to 
 overtake him. In the meantime the disappointed 
 bridegroom lay quietly in bed, dreading the return 
 of day, which would bring all his congratulatory 
 friends and relations to hear a story, in the telling 
 of which he would cut but a sorry figure. The 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 61 
 
 next morning he repaired early to the house of the 
 Cadi, and related to him how he had in one night 
 lost the two things which a Moor values most a 
 beautiful wife and a swift horse. The Cadi went 
 immediately to the apartment of his daughter, 
 whom he acquainted with the tidings of the bride's 
 transformation and escape. The penitent girl 
 fell upon her knees before her afflicted father, 
 and frankly confessed her crime. The Cadi, who 
 was one of those men who can allow for others' 
 faults and failings, saw that there was little use in 
 railing at his daughter's frailty, however distressed 
 he might be at the event, and he returned to the 
 late bridegroom, who, after lamenting the transac- 
 tion which would bring upon him the ridicule of 
 all the young men in the town, begged of the Cadi 
 to allow him his daughter's hand in marriage, the 
 honour of which would in a great measure silence 
 ridicule, and at the same time make amends for 
 his disappointment. The Cadi, who knew that to 
 refuse him would be giving a handle to the mali- 
 cious to report ill fame of his daughter, whereas 
 her marriage would silence all scandal, resolved to 
 comply. He therefore told his friend he should 
 consult his daughter, and that if she agreed, he 
 had no objection. The fair Mooress had too lately 
 felt the danger of her situation, to refuse her assent 
 to such a proposal as not only secured her reputa- 
 tion for life, but placed her in a situation as honour- 
 able as it was advantageous. Again did the gaily 
 caparisoned camel appear at the Cadi's door, and 
 bear away, amidst the firing of guns and the noise 
 
62 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 of the women, another bride to the house of the 
 accommodating bridegroom. The Cadi being an 
 opulent man, settled all his property on his daugh- 
 ter, and four camels laden with clothes and jewels 
 attended the procession. Again did the friends of 
 both parties assemble at the feast, which was given 
 by the united wealth of two fortunes. As for the 
 new bride, a slight sigh escaped her once or twice, 
 as she observed sundry little articles of female at- 
 tire in the corner of her dressing-room, which were 
 familiar to her eye, and for a moment she seemed 
 to hesitate entering the beautiful bed. This re- 
 luctance was ascribed by the female slaves to her 
 youth and modesty. Left alone at length in the 
 very bed which had been decked out to receive 
 her Juan, she could not help wishing that he still 
 were there, but the recollection of the danger they 
 had both run by their indiscretion, soon convinced 
 her of the necessity of banishing him from her 
 thoughts, and as time and absence had already 
 slightly cooled the first infatuation by which she 
 had been overcome, she the more easily reconciled 
 herself to her situation, which found her in a few 
 minutes more in the arms of her handsome hus- 
 band. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 63 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Superstitious Custom of Knotting the Broom. The 
 Veneration in which the Moors hold Storks. The 
 Travellers witness, between Mendia and Sallee, 
 the horrible Effects of a previous Famine.- Ar- 
 rival at Salee Its Aqueduct, Walls, 8$c. de- 
 scribed. Arrival at Rabat. Agreeable Reception 
 at that Tmvn. 
 
 WE left our encampment on the morning of the 
 26th, at half-past six o'clock, and at about eleven 
 we came to the banks of a beautiful river, called 
 the Seboo. The ground on each side of the river, 
 near its mouth, is very high, and the approach to 
 the water's edge, steep and dangerous. As we 
 proceeded down the declivity, I observed the 
 bank was covered with broom, the branches of 
 which were tied in a thousand knots, for which I 
 was trying to ascribe some motive, when I ob- 
 served the soldiers of our guard, and Hadge 
 Hadoud, busily employed in knotting the slender 
 branches of this beautiful shrub. I immedi- 
 ately inquired of him the reason for so doing. 
 Hadoud, who is too sensible a man to have any 
 faith in all the little follies of religious supersti- 
 tion, and yet too much a man of the world to 
 scorn the performance of them before his own 
 countrymen, seemed confused at my question, and 
 
64 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 answered that it was an old custom, evidently 
 avoiding explanation ; but as I have seen the same 
 ceremony repeated at another river's side, I have 
 no doubt that it is meant as an invocation of Divine 
 protection while crossing the river, in the same 
 manner as the Catholics make the sign of the 
 cross on entering or crossing over the water.* 
 On reaching the bed of the river, we picked up a 
 very fine-looking fish, which had been left by the 
 
 * I have seen this practice carried to such a ridiculous length 
 at Malta, that the fishermen, who dive for oysters and other 
 things which are thrown overboard from the shipping, never leap 
 from their boats, without first crossing themselves, though they 
 are in and out of them every five minutes. These religious am- 
 phibious gentlemen are peculiarly expert in the art of thieving : 
 they have little boats just big enough to contain one person, 
 which they propel with two little sculls or oars, and sometimes 
 even a sail : in these they approach unperceived the bows of ves- 
 sels lying at anchor, and cut away whatever they find hanging 
 from the ship. They remain completely naked all day, always 
 ready to dive for any thing that is thrown overboard. So expert 
 are they in this practice, that I have seen a thin silver coin thrown 
 into the water, and caught by one of them before it reached the 
 bottom. The children at this place learn to swim at a very early 
 age. As you row about the harbour you may see ten or a dozen 
 of these little urchins, all head and belly, sitting on the wharfs 
 along the shore, quite naked, sunning themselves. I used fre- 
 quently to amuse myself by throwing chips and bits of rope-yarn 
 overboard to them, to see the scramble that ensued. One who 
 has disturbed, in the course of his rambles by the side of a 
 stream, a family of frogs squatting in council on a stone, will 
 remember with what headlong precipitation they have taken to 
 the water. So, in an instant, do these tadpole urchins shoot 
 from their sunning place, and the next moment finds the^water 
 covered with their pumpkin heads, uttering all kinds of noises, 
 as they dive or swim in boisterous contention for a rope-yarn. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. G') 
 
 tide. It was about the size of a salmon, but has 
 a larger head, and is called a shebbel. 'They are 
 taken in great quantities in this river, and being 
 dried, are sent up to Fez. The river Seboo is a 
 fine stream, about as wide at the mouth as the 
 Thames at Vauxhall Bridge. The entrance to the 
 river, which was about a hundred yards distant, 
 appeared shallow, having a bar of sand. On ap- 
 proaching the spot of embarkation, our Italian 
 cook espied a stork sitting on some loose straw by 
 the river side, and seeing that the bird did not 
 endeavour to escape, he was rushing up to it to 
 catch it, when an Arab camel-driver laid his hand 
 on his dagger, and gave the poor Italian such a 
 look as effectually checked him in his pursuit. 
 The stork, who was maimed or old, not being 
 able to fly, took to the water when chased, but 
 the same camel-driver waded into the stream, and 
 taking the bird in his arms, carried it back to the 
 straw. On a low sandy point at the mouth of the 
 river was a vast concourse of these birds, which 
 were assembling at this time, as the Moors told 
 us, for the purpose of convoy to other regions, 
 whither they annually emigrate ; but to what 
 particular part of the world, zoologists have not 
 decided. Numberless are the stories recorded by 
 the Moors of the sagacity of these birds, for which 
 they entertain great veneration. It is said, that, 
 when a stork becomes maimed or old, some of his 
 nearest relations take upon themselves the charge 
 of carrying him away when the general emigration 
 takes place. If this should be really true, lean 
 
 F 
 

 66 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 only say that storks, like men, are too apt to 
 shun their friends in sickness, and that the stork 
 in question had to lament his want of " one 
 friend in the world," whilst his wife, or his daugh- 
 ter, was most probably walking off with a new 
 gallant to a foreign land. It is lucky indeed for 
 the male sex of the human species, that they are 
 not dependant on their wives to carry them on 
 their backs in an emigration, or how few young 
 women but would decline the task of bearing so 
 useless a burthen on their shoulders. 
 
 Our friend Hadoud related to us a story, which 
 will serve to shew the veneration of the Moors 
 for these birds. A Cadi was applied to at Fez 
 by a Moor to be put in possession of the house 
 of another who had lately died intestate, and 
 to whom he was next heir. A stork, however, 
 the head no doubt of his tribe, put his veto 
 against the Moor's demand,* by telling the 
 Cadi that the deceased had made over to the 
 storks his house as a hospital for their sick and 
 maimed. The case was so clear as to admit 
 of no doubt, and the Chancellor therefore pro- 
 ceeded to give judgment in favour of the birds. 
 But had the Mbor been able to adduce stronger 
 evidence in his own defence, judgment would in 
 all probability have been deferred until the house, 
 like many others in chancery, had become a very 
 
 * The Moors universally believe that some people are gifted 
 with the power of conversing with birds, a superstition which has 
 most likely come from the East, from the story of-Selim. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 67 
 
 fit residence for the storks. This most probably 
 is the same hospital of which AH Bey makes 
 mention, as seen at Fez. 
 
 The same scene now ensued as at Laraish with, 
 regard to urging the reluctant mules to leap into 
 the boats, and after two hours and a half's labour, 
 we succeeded in disembarking on the opposite 
 shore, close under the lofty walls of the town of 
 Mendia, founded by the Portuguese, who for- 
 merly carried on considerable trade at this place ; 
 but commerce has deserted it, and its walls now 
 contain about two hundred miserabfe Moorish 
 houses. As our road did not lie through the 
 town, we did not enter it, but passed along the 
 bank of the river close under the northern wall, 
 which, though in ruins, still displays the remains 
 of its former grandeur. It is compactly built of a 
 reddish sand-stone, which seemed the species of 
 rock most prevalent in this country. Having lost 
 sight of Mendia, we suddenly entered on a more 
 varied style of scenery than we had been accus- 
 tomed to during the previous days' journies. In- 
 deed, the valley into which we descended upon 
 leaving the river's bed, only wanted wood to make 
 it exceedingly beautiful. In the bottom of the 
 ravine was a lake of fresh water, with two or three 
 palm trees at the near end, waving their elegant 
 heads in solitary grandeur. The ground rose 
 rather suddenly on both sides of us. It was 
 nearly two hours before we left this valley, and 
 we then entered a more open sandy country. Our 
 guides here told us that the neighbourhood con- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 tained Mala Genie, but they never offered to un- 
 cover their long guns, which, upon all occasions of 
 escort, except where there is an almost certainty 
 of danger, is the case, so that should you really be 
 attacked by an unexpected force while escorted 
 by Moorish soldiers, it is probable that you would 
 be robbed and murdered before they could uncover 
 their guns. The name, however, of a Moorish 
 soldier goes farther to protect travellers than his 
 long gun. Here we were able to account for the 
 appearance of the two skeletons near the tomb of 
 the Saint, by the famine which had raged all over 
 the country the winter before. Numberless were 
 the skulls, bones, entire skeletons, and half-rotten 
 corpses of human beings, which we passed on the 
 road between Mendia and Sallee. Some indeed 
 were not even stripped of their clothes, and others 
 but half devoured by the hyaena and the vulture, 
 lay scattered over the plain. Here, two or 
 three had dropped together and witnessed each 
 other's sufferings there the wretched victim of 
 famine had crept beneath a bush to die in solitary 
 anguish. Hundreds, nay even thousands, were 
 said to have perished during the previous winter 
 of absolute hunger.* The road now ran through 
 a more cultivated country, abounding in water- 
 melons and gourds. Previous, however, to reach- 
 ing Sallee, we observed vast numbers of old walls, 
 
 * At Tangiers I remarked the great scarcity of dogs, which in 
 general infest Moorish and Turkish towns, and was informed that 
 they had been eaten during the famine almost to a dog. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 69 
 
 , and a great many reservoirs for water, built with 
 red sand-stone, and of most superior workman- 
 ship. I inquired of our guards and Hadge Hadoud 
 as to the period when these had been constructed, 
 when the latter told me that they had belonged to 
 the negroes of former times, by which I should 
 imagine that they were built by Muley Ishmael 
 for the use of part of his numerous black army, 
 which, most likely, he kept encamped on this side 
 of the river. At least, I have never heard any 
 thing of a black colony in this part of the country.* 
 The first indication of our arrival at the town 
 of Sallee, was the view of a very handsome 
 aqueduct, which conveys a continual stream of 
 water to the town from the distance of about three 
 quarters of a mile to the eastward. This is at 
 least as far as the eye can perceive as you ap- 
 proach it. To the eastward the depth of it con- 
 tinues to lessen until it is lost on high ground ; 
 to the westward it runs to the height of about fifty 
 feet, and then turns and takes its course south- 
 ward to the town. It is built of lofty Moorish 
 arches in red sand-stone, but the appearance of it 
 has been greatly injured by some succeeding 
 blockhead, who has caused the interior of the 
 arches to be built up, and with such paltry inate- 
 
 * I find that this is mentioned in Mr. Jackson's account of 
 Sallee, but the above-mentioned opinion was formed by myself 
 in observing the large reservoirs for water, whose number seemed 
 to ar^ue that they had been built for the consumption of horses 
 as well as men, and thence arose the idea that the place in 
 question had been occupied by Ishmael's black arrn^, consisting 
 < Iiirllv of cavalrv. 
 
70 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 rials, that this part of it has, from many of the 
 arches, fallen out. The object of this piece of 
 folly has evidently been to render that a defensive 
 wall and aqueduct, which before only answered 
 the latter purpose ; and by this means did this 
 wise engineer propose to risk the safety of a pub-Bi 
 lie work, which must have cost an infinite deal of 
 labour and an immense expense, by exposing it 
 as an object of resistance to an invading enemy, 
 whose cannon would in ten minutes render una- 
 vailing the work of years. We soon arrived at the 
 passage under the aqueduct, which is one of the 
 arches which has been left open for the purpose 
 of a gate. On the right hand is a small stone 
 reservoir, which is supplied by water from above, 
 for the use of cattle arriving at the arch. Here 
 we stopped to water our mules, and allow our 
 baggage time to come up to us. Along the road- 
 side lay an ancient quarry, from whence the sand- 
 stone for the building of the aqueduct must have 
 been hewn. It forms a ditch of about fifty feet 
 deep, both sides of which are of solid stone, per- 
 pendicularly upright, and so neatly cut, that the 
 whole work bears the appearance of a military 
 fosse. At the bottom of this quarry, which con- 
 tinues southward about three hundred yards, are 
 gardens, producing an abundance of fruit and 
 vegetables, and kept in the highest order. 
 
 We now proceeded onwards a short distance, 
 with fine gardens on each side of the road, until 
 we arrived at the walls of Bailee, covered with 
 storks, which here are to be found in greater num- 
 
JOURNEY TO MAliOCCO. 71 
 
 bers than at almost any other place I remember to 
 have seen. They build their huge nests, formed 
 of branches rather than sticks, between the nu- 
 merous buttresses which ornament the top of a 
 Moorish wall ; and while the female sits hatching 
 in her nest exposed to view, the male bird stands 
 balancing on one leg by the side of his dame in a 
 brown study. They seem generally to prefer the 
 walls and fortifications of large towns, which 
 arises in this country, I imagine, from the dilapi- 
 dation, in which they are generally found, being 
 favourable to the increase of those reptiles which 
 are their principal food ; and, indeed, to this 
 benefit which they render the Moors, and thetf 
 consequent protection from harm, may be ascribed 
 the origin of all the superstitions concerning them. 
 The quantity of the rubbish daily thrown over the 
 walls of the town has made them assailable in 
 many parts. 
 
 As we approached the river side on which 
 Sallee stands, we passed one of the old gates of 
 the town, which has since been built into the 
 modern walls. The arch, however, which is 
 built of red sand-stone, is the most beautiful, as 
 well as the largest, specimen of the Moorish style 
 I have ever seen. The face of the stone, from the 
 ground to the centre part of the arch, is richly 
 carved in arabesque, and edged with well cut 
 mouldings. It must have been raised at a period 
 when Moorish architecture was pre-eminent. We 
 soon found ourselves at the edge of the river 
 which divides Sallee from Rabat, and to which the 
 
72 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 inhabitants give the name of Elmguz. It is not 
 quite so broad as the Seboo, but is a more tran- 
 quil stream, and consequently better adapted for 
 trade. This river, like all those I have seen on 
 the western coast of Barbary, has also a bar of 
 sand at its mouth, through which there is a nar- 
 row channel forced by the current of the river, by 
 which vessels may enter when partly unladen. 
 The scene which now presented itself to us was 
 very agreeable. 
 
 On the opposite side of the river stands Rabat, 
 on the ascent of rather a sharp hill, which is 
 crowned with some very picturesque buildings, of 
 considerable size, finely built with sand stone, of 
 an Indian red colour, forming a pleasing con- 
 trast and variety to the eternal flat white-washed 
 roofs, which so constantly offend the eye in all 
 Moorish towns. The lofty walls of these build- 
 ings, whose dark sombre appearance is well suited 
 to their purpose, comprise the castle, and public 
 " prison, and were built at the time when Sallee 
 rovers required a strong place of confinement, to 
 restrain their numerous Christian captives. The 
 river, after meandering from the eastward, be- 
 tween banks whose rapid descent must greatly 
 increase the force of its current in rainy seasons, 
 has deeply undermined the Rabat side, so as to 
 form a lofty over-hanging cliff, and a small har- 
 bour of deep water, close under the walls of the 
 castle, where vessels of no great tonnage may lie 
 in security. On the top of the cliff, a little to the 
 left of the ferry, the eye is arrested by the sight 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 73 
 
 of a most magnificent square tower, of a pro- 
 digious height,* whose surface is formed of ex- 
 quisitely carved sand stone, and is deservedly 
 reckoned one of the grandest and most highly 
 worked specimens of Moorish architecture in the 
 world ; the top of it is in ruins. 
 
 The surface of the river presents rather a busy 
 scene from the number of small boats that are 
 continually conveying passengers from the one 
 town to the other ; and the ear of a European is 
 unexpectedly gratified by the pleasing sound of 
 the Spanish tongue, which is talked by all the 
 boatmen, as they scramble and fight to get you 
 into their boats, each of which is just large enough 
 to carry two mules, and is rowed by one man. 
 The alacrity of these watermen, and the skill 
 they display in the management of their oars, do 
 honour to their ancestors, those far-famed rovers 
 of ballad notoriety, who so long pirated on the 
 African seas. Whilst our baggage was being fer- 
 ried over the river, we waited under the above- 
 mentioned cliffs, which I found to consist of solid 
 sand stone, and so completely undermined by the 
 swelling of the waters in the rainy season, that 
 the whole appeared as if scooped into caves for the 
 shelter of boats and spars. Hadge Hadoud, who 
 had been into the town to acquaint the governor 
 of our arrival, soon returned to us, in company 
 with Mr. Sinbal, a good-natured looking Jew, who 
 is the British Vice-consul at Rabat. He asked 
 us in French to accompany him to his house ; but 
 
 * Mr. Jackson says 180 feet high. 
 
74 .JOUHNKY TtO ALAHUCCO. 
 
 as the Governor had sent to say that one would 
 be assigned us immediately for our lodging, 
 we declined, at present, Mr. Sinbal's offer, and 
 set off to meet the governor's people, who shortly 
 appeared, headed by one of the king's black 
 eunuchs, who came up to us, and bade us welcome 
 in his master's name, by shaking hands with us 
 all. He then bade us follow him, and away he 
 trudged with a light elastic step, sending the 
 crowd to the right and left with the most absolute 
 authority. He at first led us to a European-built 
 house, but the key not being forth-coming, we 
 were taken to a Moorish one, amidst a great con- 
 course of people, whom the soldiers kept off, by 
 beating them indiscriminately over the heads with 
 their sticks. At last we found ourselves in a 
 spacious Moorish building, containing four large 
 rooms, and a square in the centre with a fountain 
 spout in the middle. Nothing could exceed the 
 attention of the governor and Mr. Sinbal, who did 
 all in their power to render us every possible at- 
 tention. Large mats were spread on the floors, 
 over which were laid soft coloured carpets, manu- 
 factured from wool, in imitation of those of 
 Turkey. Each minute brought a fresh messenger, 
 carrying every luxury the place could command. 
 We soon changed our dirty clothes and dusty 
 faces, and seating ourselves cross-legged on our 
 pretty carpets, we did ample justice to the many 
 good things which the governor's servants kept 
 bringing in to us. Pickled fish, couscousou, baked 
 meat, and a profusion of fine fruit, were presented 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 75 
 
 to us by slaves, who afterwards carried them to 
 our hungry guards. In the evening, fresh supplies 
 arrived of tea, sugar, butter, milk, and wax-can- 
 dles. We now felt ourselves very merry; our 
 fatigue gave a relish to our repast, and the pros- 
 pect of a comfortable night's rest, when compared 
 with those of the preceding ones, heightened the 
 pleasure. 
 
 Just as we were preparing to take our tea, 
 Hadge Hadoud returned in company with another 
 friend, who could boast of the most beautiful black 
 beard I ever beheld, and another young Moor, 
 Hadoud 's adopted son, whom we had formerly 
 seen at Gibraltar. The mother of this young man 
 was a sergeant's daughter in that garrison, and 
 married a Moor, a most intimate friend of Hadoud's. 
 The wife, however, soon took to drinking, and 
 died in consequence. The husband was doatingly 
 fond of his wife, whom Hadoud describes as 
 having been very beautiful, and took her death so 
 much to heart, that he fell dangerously ill, and 
 having called Hadoud to his bed-side, he conjured 
 him by all the sacred ties of friendship, never to 
 desert his children, a boy and two girls, whom he 
 committed to his care. Hadoud, having no fa- 
 mily of his own, promised his dying friend to 
 adopt the children, and rear them with kindness 
 and attention. The sequel does great honour to 
 our friend's heart, who finding that the children 
 had imbibed more of their mother's faith than 
 their father's, had them smuggled away from 
 Gibraltar to Tangiers, where they were educated 
 
76 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 in the Mahommedan religion. The boy afterwards 
 returned to Gibraltar, where he was put to school, 
 and having received a good education, he again 
 left the rock, and came to Rabat, shortly before 
 our arrival there. Hadoud intends settling part 
 of his property on him at his death, and to marry 
 one of his young sisters, whom he pronounces 
 angelic, and if she resemble her brother, she well 
 may be so, for he combines all the fairness of an 
 Englishman with the fine outlines of a Moorish 
 countenance. His adopted father was in rather 
 low spirits at finding him in a weak state of 
 health ; but the doctor assured him that the com- 
 plaint was not of any consequence, and thereby 
 restored him to his wonted spirits. We all now 
 sat down, and the conversation turned on our past 
 journey, over which we had many a hearty laugh. 
 Hadoud informed us that the Governor begged to 
 have the pleasure of seeing us the next morning, 
 and we promised to be in readiness to wait upon 
 him. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A Visit to the Governor of Rabat. Hadoud** 
 Partner described. A Visit to the Royal Gar- 
 dens, and, on the road, to the House of a Female 
 Saint. The Royal Gardens described. An In- 
 terview with a Jew there, 8$c. 
 
 WE rose rather late the following morning, and 
 found the Governor's people ready to conduct us 
 to their master's presence ; we therefore took a 
 hasty breakfast, and walked to the Governor's 
 house. We found the old man, who appears to be 
 about seventy years of age, and bears some marks 
 of having seen service as a soldier, seated in a 
 dark narrow passage the entrance of his house, 
 into which, I suppose, his religious scruples pre- 
 vented his admitting us, and after the usual cere- 
 mony of civil speeches and protestations of friend- 
 ship, he begged the doctor's advice as to his health, 
 which was suffering under that universal com- 
 plaint, old age. The doctor promised him some 
 relief for his respiration, which was rather diffi- 
 cult, and we then took our departure. 
 
 On our return to our house, we found that the 
 interpreter, a little English Jew, had arrived from 
 Tetuan, where he had travelled in great haste to 
 
78 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 overtake us. Hadoud now joined us, and we 
 went to his house, to see his son who had passed 
 rather a bad night. Here we found a bluff-looking 
 old Moor, with a beard that might have been 
 called blue rather than grey. Hadoud introduced 
 him as his friend and partner in business. Our 
 English Vice-consul having begged we would 
 visit him this morning, we took Hadoud with us, 
 and proceeded to the Jew's house. Here we were 
 treated with tea, which is served up at all hours 
 of the day in this country, and afterwards with 
 wine, spirits and sweetmeats, which in their turn, 
 were superseded by cigars. The host now intro- 
 duced his wife, whose case, which was no other 
 than want of children, he hoped the doctor would 
 take under his consideration. The poor woman, 
 who had a very fine pair of black eyes, and a rosy 
 complexion, looked like any thing but the picture 
 of sterility, and the husband cut but a bad 
 figure among the jokes which were lavished at his 
 expense.* 
 
 After many excellent remedies prescribed for 
 the benefit of the Sinbal line, we returned home. 
 After dinner, the Sultan's black eunuch came to 
 ask us if we chose to accompany him to the 
 royal gardens, and, as the evening was fine, we 
 agreed to the proposal ; and we set off with two of 
 our guard, and him of the neuter gender. In pas- 
 
 * Mr. Sinbal was arrested at Rabat, about two months after 
 this, by the governor, for endeavouring to smuggle silver out of 
 the country ; and being thrown into prison, was fined 8000 dol- 
 lars, as the price of his freedom. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 71) 
 
 sing through a narrow street, we inquired if a 
 light could be procured for our cigars, upon 
 which the black eunuch ran into a house and ob- 
 tained us one, when one of the soldiers told me 
 that this was the house of a female Saint, where- 
 upon I immediately inquired if we might be al- 
 lowed to see her. The eunuch being informed of 
 my desire, went into the house again, and pre- 
 sently returned with permission for us to enter, 
 and we were immediately ushered into the pre- 
 sence of the Saint. She was seated cross-legged 
 upon a carpet, and rested her back against the 
 wall. Her person, which was fat, was en- 
 tirely enveloped, from the neck downwards, in 
 a dark green cloak ; her head was small and 
 round, her eyes brown and possessing great bril- 
 liancy, and a small mouth and good teeth added 
 expression to a countenance not regularly pretty, 
 but very pleasing and good-humoured. She had 
 however seen her best days, although she appeared 
 to be only about five-and-twenty years old. Her 
 greatest charm was her hair, which fell down 
 upon her shoulders in natural silken ringlets of 
 the most brilliant jet. Never do I remember 
 to have seen so beautiful a head of hair. We 
 made our salams, and she pointed to her car- 
 pet, desiring we would be seated. Our guards fell 
 down, and touching the hem of her garment with 
 the most profound- veneration, kissed their hands, 
 and then seated themselves around her. She 
 opened the conversation by wishing us joy of 
 our safe arrival at Rabat, and promising us a 
 
80 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 speedy termination of our journey, and a most fa- 
 vourable reception by the Sultan. She then asked 
 which was the doctor, and upon his being pointed 
 out to her, she held out her hand for him to feel 
 her pulse. She complained of cold and sore 
 throat, for which he promised to send her some 
 physic. She then turned suddenly to me, and 
 said that " the two I had left at Gibraltar were 
 very well, and that I should find the young one on 
 my return as I left her ;" then addressing Mr. 
 Murray, she promised him happiness of the same 
 sort. All this was said without the least appear- 
 ance of premeditation ; on the contrary, from the 
 suddenness with which she turned from one sub- 
 ject to another, and the wild abstracted look of 
 her countenance, she seemed incapable of dwel- 
 ling long on any subject. It was ludicrous to 
 observe with what intense interest her audience 
 listened to the loose incoherent sentences which 
 at intervals she uttered. At times her mind ap- 
 peared so abstracted, that she did not seem aware 
 of our presence, and frequently shook back her 
 long dark tresses, and drew her hand across her 
 forehead, as if endeavouring to meet her absent 
 thoughts. 
 
 At last she assured us, that every good would 
 attend us during our stay at Marocco, and the 
 scene ended by a short prayer which she mum- 
 bled to herself, followed by another in which she 
 was joined by all the company present. They 
 then all knelt down, and bowing their heads to the 
 ground, kissed the hem of her garment, and took 
 
JOURNKV TO MAROCCO* 81 
 
 their leave. Just, however, as we were going away, 
 she begged the Doctor to look at a relation of her's, 
 who was then in the house, and troubled with weak 
 eyes. She then pointed to a door which was just 
 enough open to allow of our seeing a pair of bright 
 and dangerous-looking orbs, which appeared to me 
 to have no reason to be called weak. A round snowy 
 arm, decorated with a huge silver bracelet, was 
 thrust out through the opening for the Doctor's 
 inspection ; for these people imagine that every 
 disease of the body is to be judged of by the pulse. 
 We were not aware, until we left the female 
 Saint, how great an honour had been conferred on 
 us by our admission to her presence. She is, as 
 Hadoud told us, one of the most celebrated Saints 
 in the kingdom. He added that the Sultan sends 
 her, every now and then, a hundred dollars, and 
 waits upon her in person ; and that every one 
 who comes to Rabat makes her some present ; 
 that she had very great powers of prophecy ; and 
 that we should find how every thing would come 
 to pass as she had predicted. We asked Hadoud 
 why he had not been to see her ; he replied, that 
 her eyes were so touching, that he was afraid of 
 committing so great an impiety as that of being 
 more pleased with the sight of her charms as a 
 woman, than her presence as a Saint. This deli- 
 cacy of our friend reminded me of that feeling, 
 the reverse of which actuated Don Juan in his de- 
 votions, when, as Lord Byron says, 
 
 " He turn'd from grisly Saints, and martyrs hairy, 
 To the fair portrnit of tho Virgin Mai v." 
 
82 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 The Sultan's garden is just outside of the town- 
 wall, and is nothing more than a plantation of 
 olives and pomegranates. Opposite the gate, as 
 you enter it, the Sultan is building a small dwell- 
 ing-house, and behind this, at the further extre- 
 mity of the garden, against a wall, there stands a 
 little bijoux of a summer-house, about ten feet 
 square, used in this country by great men as their 
 receiving or audience-room. The interior of this 
 little apartment was beautifully paved with co- 
 loured tiles, an inch square, and the roof and back 
 part neatly and curiously painted in a thousand 
 elegant patterns. In the centre was a fountain, 
 and the front, and part of the sides, were formed 
 of glass sashes, so as to admit of the Sultan's see- 
 ing those who approached him. As there was 
 little else in the garden to excite our curiosity, or 
 raise our admiration, we were preparing to return, 
 when we observed a Jew gathering a species of 
 plant bearing a small yellow flower ; and upon 
 inquiring the use of it, the Jew came up to 
 us, and asked the Doctor if he could render him 
 any help in quieting a degree of nervousness of 
 mind that was weighing him down; and upon 
 being questioned as to the origin of this nervous- 
 ness, he replied, that about five months ago he 
 had been arrested with a number of other rich 
 Jews by the Sultan's command ; some of whom 
 were bastinadoed until they surrendered their 
 money, and one had died of the infliction ; that 
 all this passed before his eyes, so that he was in 
 momentary expectation of undergoing the same 
 
JOUHNKV TO MAROCCO. OO 
 
 severity of discipline ; and that it so frightened 
 him, that he had never recovered the steadiness 
 of his nerves since, and was wasting gradually 
 away without experiencing any pain or illness : 
 that upon stating his case to another Jew, he had 
 recommended him to try the use of the above- 
 mentioned flower, which he had obtained leave of 
 the eunuch to pick in these gardens, and was now 
 come to procure some for the first time, and wished 
 to know the Doctor's opinion on the virtue of the 
 plant. Dr. Brown looked at the flower, and then 
 told the Jew that he had better be cautious how 
 he used it, as he believed it possessed poisonous 
 qualities. I then turned to the Jew, and asked 
 him if it was his heir that had prescribed for him, 
 to which he instantly replied, looking half fear- 
 fully at the eunuch, who was roaring with laugh- 
 ter, that God knew he would not be a rich man 
 that was his heir. The idea of the heir prescrib- 
 ing for the Jew so tickled the black fellow, that 
 for half an hour afterwards he kept bursting out 
 into fits of laughter. I certainly never saw so 
 melancholy an example of the effects of fear as the 
 emaciated figure before us. But this is not the 
 only case I have seen in Barbary of people dying 
 from the effects of their own imaginations. There 
 is a superstition very current among the Moors, 
 that some people, particularly old or ugly ones, 
 have a power of what they call " Fixing the 
 evil eye upon you. 1 ' The eye of the serpent is 
 not more dreaded by the bird than is this evil eye 
 by the Moors. When I was at Tangiers, I was 
 
 o2 
 
84 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 shewn a Moor, a servant of Mr. Douglass, the 
 Consul, who was suffering from the withering 
 effects of this spell. He had fallen in love with 
 an old woman's daughter ; but meeting another IB 
 whom more charms were centered, he was in- 
 duced to forsake his first love, and marry his se- 
 cond ; since which time the old woman has, he 
 says, fixed the evil eye on him, and the poor man 
 is gradually pining away, a prey to his own fear. 
 
 There is also another superstition concerning 
 the administering of dead men's bones, which is 
 very common in this country. A young Moorish 
 woman came to our house at Maroeco to beg the 
 Doctor's advice concerning her health, which she 
 described as suffering from the revenge of a female 
 acquaintance, who had administered to her some 
 powder of dead men's bones in cakes, which she 
 had from time to time sent her as a present. 
 The unhappy woman was wan and thin, and yet 
 complained of nothing but general debility and 
 lowness of spirits. 
 
 We left the garden, and passing through the 
 market-place, an immense space inside of the 
 walls of the town, surrounded by small bazaars for 
 the vendors, we went out of the south-western 
 gate of the town, which is finely built and arched 
 in red sand-stone. Continuing along the outside 
 of the wall, we passed a number of gardens to our 
 left, until we came to another gate, through which 
 we passed into the town. The wall of Rabat is 
 lofty and well built, the work, I believe, of Chris- 
 tian slaves. 
 
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JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 85 
 
 In returning to our house, we passed the Sul- 
 tan's harem, which was pointed out to us by the 
 black eunuch. It is a large square building, 
 neatly painted on the outside. Our conductor, I 
 found, was the Cerberus of this mansion, and he 
 informed me that the Sultan had at present fifty 
 women there, over whom he, the eunuch, ruled 
 with despotic sway. As I had a desire to see the 
 domestic economy of a harem, I tried to persuade 
 him to take me into one of the apartments of the 
 women, while he sent them into another part of 
 the house; but as I had to make my offer 
 through the medium of a Jew, he was afraid to 
 grant it. Had I been able to ask the favour 
 myself, I have no doubt but I had that in my 
 pocket which would instantly have procured me 
 my request ; for I believe that money would admit 
 one into any harem in the country. 
 
 After tea, Hadoud came to acquaint us, that 
 the Basha of Sallee, who is a great friend of his, 
 had sent for him, and asked him how he could 
 think of passing under his very walls, with English 
 officers, without paying him a visit. He had ex- 
 cused himself by pleading his anxiety to see his 
 son, and by stating that the Englishmen had pre- 
 ferred staying at Rabat, for the greater conveni- 
 ence of not having the river to pass when they 
 were ready to proceed to Marocco ; but that he 
 was sure they would not leave Rabat without 
 waiting upon him. He then told us that the 
 Basha had named the day following for the visit, 
 and begged we would come to his house to din- 
 
86 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 ner. We were much gratified by the civility of 
 this invitation, and we promised Hadoud to be in 
 readiness the next morning at eight o'clock, to 
 accompany him to Bailee. Shortly after this the 
 governor of Rabat's son came in, attended by two 
 or three Moors of distinction, who all had some 
 little ailment for which they begged medicine. The 
 governor's son having inquired if we were supplied 
 with every thing we wished, and being answered 
 in the affirmative, produced a small bottle, which 
 Hadoud took from his hand, and asked the doctor 
 if he could inform him what medicine it contained, 
 saying that it had been given to the governor by 
 the captain of a vessel, as a remedy, and that he 
 had never taken it because he thought it was not 
 good for his complaint. By the extreme anxiety 
 displayed by the Moors present, it was easy to 
 perceive that they looked upon it as poison ; but 
 their fears were soon dispelled by the doctor's 
 applying it to his lips to ascertain the ingredients, 
 and assuring them as well of its innocence, as of 
 its inefficacy as a remedy for the governor's com- 
 plaint. From this suspicion of administering' 
 poison, even Doctor Brown himself did not escape, 
 as will be seen in my account of Marocco. Our 
 party soon after broke up ; but I must not omit to 
 mention, that the female Saint of whom I have be- 
 fore spoken, sent her servant for the physic which 
 had been promised her, with her best compliments, 
 and she should feel much obliged if we would send 
 her a little tea and sugar. With this demand we 
 were forced to comply, rather than shock the feel- 
 
JOUENY TO MAROCCO. 87 
 
 ings of our friends, who would have looked upon 
 the refusal as nothing short of impiety. In fact 
 it was our easy compliance with their prejudices 
 and manners, that procured us much good will 
 during our stay in Barbary. 
 
88 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Travellers are introduced to Hadoud's Partner. 
 Visit the Basha of Saline. Their Interview 
 and Entertainment. The Basha' s Person and 
 Manners described. Mode of feeding among 
 the Moors. The House of the Sultan of Rabat 
 described. The Harem spoken of, 8$c. 
 
 WE rose early the next morning, and, having 
 breakfasted lightly, we set off with Hadoud to 
 see his son, who had leeches applied by the doc- 
 tor's advice. I could not help being much amused 
 at the sober dignified deportment which our friend, 
 the Hadge, had assumed since our arrival at Rabat: 
 here every one was kissing the shoulder of him 
 who had been to the prophet's shrine, while the 
 sainted Hadge laid his hand upon their heads and 
 returned them his blessing. I rallied him on his 
 sudden transformation from the easy companion 
 of the bottle, to the grave dignified Hadge, when 
 he replied, good-humou redly, Aqui, soy santo, and 
 suiting the action to the word, the quick-silver of 
 his countenance fell suddenly, from the jovial, to 
 the freezing point. 
 
 We found his son rather relieved by the leeches, 
 and therefore better than he had been the evening 
 before. Hadoud's partner in business shortly after 
 
JOUKNLY TO MAHOCCU. 89 
 
 came in, and welcomed us to his house. He had a 
 large bushy beard, of a blueish grey, approaching 
 nearer to the colour of that of the memorable 
 Blue Beard, of wife-killing notoriety, than any I 
 have ever seen. His figure was short, square, 
 and pursy, and his head swathed in the contents 
 of a whole linen warehouse, by way of a turban ; 
 while a pair of bright yellow breeches, which for 
 size would have gained a prize at a Dutch fair, 
 and large yellow slippers, with pointed up-turned 
 toes, and thick soles, combined to throw into his 
 whole appearance more of the ludicrous than the 
 terrible, notwithstanding the tint of his beard, 
 which had recalled to my memory my nurse's 
 blue-bearded bugbear. Some excellent tea and 
 muffins were then brought in, of which we were 
 obliged to partake, notwithstanding our recent 
 repast, lest old Blue Beard should imagine we 
 scorned his hospitality. After we had finished 
 our tea, we proceeded to the river, accompanied 
 by Hadoud and his partner, which we crossed, 
 and then walked towards the far-famed Bailee, of 
 ballad celebrity. It is situate about four hundred 
 yards from the side of the river, and lies on a 
 dead flat. It is not by any means so considerable 
 a place as Rabat, and has fewer remains of former 
 grandeur ; but it has the advantage of containing 
 numbers of beautiful gardens within its walls, and 
 is the seat of government to the province in which 
 it stands. The Basha, Hadoud informed us, is 
 sprung from an hereditary family, which has 
 always possessed the Bashalick, from which it 
 
90 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 may naturally be inferred that it is a powerful 
 and independant province. 
 
 When at Marocco, we heard several vague re- 
 ports concerning a misunderstanding between the 
 Sultan and this Basha ; and we found, from the 
 cool manner in which our conversation about the 
 latter was met, that he evidently was in the black 
 books at court. There was a rumour soon after 
 of his having been driven from Sallee by the royal 
 troops, and when we came to Mogadore we in- 
 quired of a friend of Hadoud's, whom we had seen 
 at Rabat, whether the reports we had heard were 
 true; when he replied, that the Basha had been 
 away from Sallee for some time, but was now again 
 settled at that place. It is more than probable 
 that this hereditary Basha looks upon the Em- 
 peror as an intruder on legitimacy, though he is 
 not powerful enough to dispute the Sultan's right 
 to the succession. 
 
 After passing the southern gate of the town we 
 entered a road running through inclosures of beau- 
 tiful gardens abounding in fine orange and pome- 
 granate trees. Upon arriving at the house of the 
 Basha, we were received by a black eunuch of a 
 remarkably handsome person and dress. He in- 
 formed us that his master was going to his garden, 
 where he would meet us. We therefore turned 
 back, followed by an immense crowd of half-wild 
 mountaineers and townsmen, who, eager to satisfy 
 their curiosity by gaping at our handsome uni- 
 forms, kept crowding round us, uttering shouts of 
 delight. Just as we reached the garden gate, the 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 91 
 
 rabble had pressed so close upon our heels, that 
 I began to entertain some fears for the safety of 
 my wings and coat tails ; when the eunuch, who 
 perceived our situation, loosed from his shoulder 
 a red thong of twisted leather,* and springing for- 
 ward at the mob with the activity and fierceness 
 of a tiger, he laid on the lash so wholesomely that 
 the crowd rushed back in wild confusion. One 
 fellow, however, more bold than the rest, still 
 lingered near us, scornfully eyeing the black 
 minion of despotism, who no sooner observed him, 
 than he gathered himself up to give more force to 
 his blow, and darting forward at the man like a 
 coiled snake, gave a swing to his thong, and struck 
 the Moor in his face, over the nose and eyes, with 
 such force, that I verily believe he must have 
 peeled off some of the flesh. I did not, however, 
 see that such was the case ; for the savage lictor 
 repeated his blow with such rapidity, that I could 
 not observe the countenance of the unlucky wight, 
 who turned suddenly round with stifled rage, and 
 mixed with the crowd. We then entered a door, 
 and passing through the lower rooms of a house, 
 found ourselves in the garden. The building 
 through which we passed is a sort of retirement, 
 or summer-house. On the ground floor there is 
 an apartment open towards the garden, and 
 immediately in front was a square tesselated 
 
 *This is called the Asfel. It is made of red Taffilet goat- 
 skin, tightly twisted into a cord of three strands, with knots, and 
 worn by all the soldiers for the purpose of administering the 
 bastinado, the instant the order is given to do so. 
 
92 JOURNEY TO MAROGCO. 
 
 pavement of black and white marble, in the mid- 
 dle of which was a fountain, whose single spout 
 of water, proceeding from the centre of a white 
 marble base, supported an orange at its top. 
 The upper story of the house represented a long 
 open gallery, or verandah, supported by small 
 wooden pillars and arches, and inclosed at the 
 bottom by a low rail or palisade of wood, neatly 
 carved and turned. At the back of this was ano- 
 ther open apartment, running parallel with the 
 gallery, and having in the middle of the hall, a 
 small recess or receiving place of the Basha's.* 
 Here were spread rich carpets over finely wove 
 mats, which with a French mantle-piece clock, 
 and two telescopes, formed the furniture of this 
 favoured resting-place of royalty. The interior 
 of this gallery and the inner room, exhibit some 
 of the finest specimens of Moorish house-painting, 
 which for the vast variety of fantastically elegant 
 patterns, and the brilliancy of the colours, I have 
 never seen equalled in any country.^ 
 
 The gallery commands a view of the garden, 
 which was well stocked with fruit and vegetables. 
 Here Hadoud introduced us to several of the 
 
 * These recesses are to be found in all the houses of Bashas 
 and great men ; they are made just large enough for two people 
 to sit in, so as to prevent assassination from behind. 
 
 t The artist was at this very time painting a door for a room 
 below, and displayed wonderful ingenuity in devising patterns, 
 and blending a variety of colours with great harmony. The 
 patterns are first penciled out, and then painted and varnished. 
 Some of the colours possess a brilliancy surpassing any I have 
 ever seen. This art, however, is fast decaying. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 93 
 
 Basha's great men, who joined us at intervals in 
 the verandah. It was some time before the Basha 
 himself made his appearance ; at last, however, a 
 sudden exclamation of seedna ! seedna ! announced 
 his approach, and a tall elegant figure, enveloped 
 in a sky-blue bornouse* was seen advancing to- 
 wards us, from a gate at the farther end of the 
 garden. Every one now made room, and the 
 Basha, attended by his son, a boy of about ten 
 years of age, entered the gallery, and bowing his 
 head gracefully in return to our salutations, 
 passed on and seated himself in the little recess 
 before mentioned. He then motioned us to seat 
 ourselves on some chairs that had been procured 
 for us, and calling Hadoud to him, he bade him 
 place himself in the recess by his side, a piece of 
 confidence which, while it bestowed honour on 
 Hadoud, also shewed the Basha's good sense and 
 breeding. The whole divan being now squatted 
 about the room, the usual complimentary speeches 
 concerning health, &c. commenced on both sides, 
 during which I had time to observe the person of 
 the Basha. 
 
 Seldom, if ever, have I seen in any country so 
 handsome a man. His eyes, which were coal 
 black, and of an extraordinary size, were rendered 
 even more beautiful by having the eyelids black- 
 ened. His nose was prominent and aquiline ; his 
 mouth small and expressive ; his teeth large and 
 white ; and his noble features thrown into fine 
 
 * The use of the skv-blue bornouse is a royal privilege. 
 
94 JOURNET TO MAROCCO. 
 
 relief by a jetty beard of most prodigious growth. 
 His well-shaped head was encircled by a low tur- 
 ban of white muslin, tastefully arranged, and par- 
 tially covered by a transparent haik of delicate 
 workmanship. The rest of his person was con- 
 cealed by his cloth bornouse down to his ancles, 
 which were naked, and on his small well-made feet 
 were thin slippers of yellow Marocco leather. His 
 manners and deportment were gracious and digni- 
 fied ; his conversation was shared between us and 
 his friends ; and, in short, he possessed all those 
 advantages which nothing but hereditary rank, 
 and consciousness of high birth, can bestow. He 
 seemed much pleased by the intimacy that sub- 
 sisted between his old friend fiadoud and our- 
 selves. A tame antelope, with which his son was 
 playing, and which he from time to time caressed, 
 brought on the subject of hunting, of which he 
 seemed to be very fond. He then told us that he 
 had had great sport the day before with a wild 
 boar, sow and young ones, which had been caught 
 on the mountains, and turned loose before a num- 
 ber of dogs. He invited us to come ajid spend a 
 few days with him, and he would shew us some 
 excellent sport in the way of boar-huiiting in the 
 neighbouring country. We thanked him, and ex- 
 pressed our regret at not being able to stay long- 
 enough at Rabat to accept of his kind offer ; and 
 he then begged we would promise to visit him on 
 our return from Marocco. 
 
 The black eunuch was then ordered to bring in 
 tea, which the Basha desired Hadoud to prepare 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 95 
 
 for us. An English tea-board then made its re- 
 spectable appearance, attended by a tea-kettle 
 of steam-engine dimensions, and covered with 
 mutilated coffee-cups of all ages, shapes, and 
 sizes ; and two large bowls of curious Fezzan 
 earthenware, full of rich milk, formed the advance- 
 guard of the motley Chinese corps drawn up behind 
 them. Almond-paste cakes and sweetmeats were 
 then handed round, the making of which is the 
 business of the harem ladies; and here I may 
 mention, that I have seen such a vast variety of 
 finely-made pastry at weddings in this country as 
 would have caused a Parisian pastry-cook to die 
 of envy. We had scarcely finished our tea when 
 a huge baking-dish was set before us, containing 
 nearly half a sheep, and so exquisitely dressed 
 and so finely flavoured, as to surpass any dish I 
 have ever partaken of. My companions fully 
 agree<d with me, and we were preparing to do jus- 
 tice to its merits, when we missed the knives and 
 forks. The Basha, seeing what we stood in need 
 of, sent immediately for what in Barbary are con- 
 sidered superfluous articles of luxury, where the 
 use of knives and forks has not yet superseded 
 that of the fingers ; but Hadoud, seizing on the 
 joint before him, began to pull it to pieces with 
 his fingers, and culling the choicest and fattest 
 parts, he offered them to us ; at first we hesitated, 
 from the force of cleanly habit, in receiving these 
 delicate morsels from the hands of the Hadge ; 
 but on his giving us a hint in Spanish, " not to 
 offend the company by our fantasia," but to do 
 
96 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 as others did, we gave up all our scruples of deli- 
 cacy, and fell to with so good a grace upon the 
 baked mutton, that we soon convinced the Moors 
 that we knew the way to our mouths without the 
 help of knives and forks. Bunches of delicious 
 grapes were handed round to us to eat with our 
 meat, a custom well worthy the notice of those 
 qui vivent pour manger; and to please the Moors 
 you must adopt this maxim. It was in vain that 
 I declared to Hadoud that I had amply satisfied 
 my appetite ; he kept groping about the dish, ex- 
 claiming Mir a, mira, as he held up between his 
 thumb and fingers the fat parts of the meat,* 
 which I was forced to accept. He declared that 
 we had not eaten half a dinner ; and he told us 
 that when the Moors had eaten so much as to 
 make it uncomfortable to themselves, they rubbed 
 their stomachs against the wall, by which they 
 were enabled to continue their feast, and that by 
 taking large draughts of water at intervals, they 
 re-animated their appetites and prevented reple- 
 tion. Basins of cold water were then brought to 
 us, and we washed our hands, whilst the black 
 slaves carried away the mangled remains of the 
 meat, and placed them before the Basha and his 
 Ministers, who all huddled round the dish, and 
 gave us a very fair specimen of what a Moor can 
 eat. I shall never forget the amusement afforded 
 
 * The Moors eat the entire fat in preference to the lean ; but 
 the manner of baking their meat is so superior, that the fat seems 
 to lose its usual grossness, and becomes not only palatable, but 
 as desirable as the fat of turtle. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 97 
 
 us by the contrast between our friend Blue Beard 
 and an old, lean-faced, spare-ribbed Secretary, 
 who sat opposite to him, and seemed to be his 
 partner in the royal game of eating ; and well 
 they played it too, for their hands were in long 
 after those of the rest of the party were out. For 
 some time the longitude of the quill-driver seemed 
 well calculated to compete with the latitude of 
 Blue Beard's belt, and they would probably have 
 shared the food between them, but that the latter 
 was supplied with a most invincible set of masti- 
 cators, of four-jaw power, which continued, for 
 some time, like the stones of a stopped mill, to 
 grind without grist, from their own momentum, 
 while the efforts of the Secretary had long ceased 
 from weakness. Coffee was now served, and 
 we lighted our cigars and walked out into the 
 garden, whilst the Doctor remained with the 
 Basha, who wished to consult him concerning his 
 health. There being nothing to interest us in the 
 garden, we returned to the Basha, of whom we 
 took leave, after expressing our gratification at 
 having been so kindly treated. He again made 
 us promise that we would stay a few days with 
 him on our return from Marocco, and then wished 
 us a pleasant journey. 
 
 We returned to Rabat greatly pleased at the 
 disinterested hospitality and elegant manners of 
 the handsome Basha of Sallee. On arriving at 
 our house, we found that the civility of Mr. Sinbal 
 had furnished us with a very plentiful and excel- 
 lent dinner, but having done justice to the Basha's 
 
 u 
 
98 , JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 feast, we agreed to accompany the black eunuch 
 to the Sultan's-country house. It is situated 
 about a mile from the town, and we were much 
 disappointed in finding it almost unworthy the 
 trouble. The situation is healthy, and the house 
 stands on a cliff overhanging the sea. The interior 
 contains four long narrow rooms, very much out of 
 repair ; masons were, however, then at work to 
 prepare it against the future arrival of the Sultan. 
 The harem apartments consist of about twenty 
 rooms or cells, eight feet by six, just large enough 
 to hold a bed. The whole put me more in mind 
 of a dog-kennel than a residence for the fair sex. 
 Each door was furnished with a huge cross-bolt 
 of iron, and a lock, the safeguard of chastity in 
 Moorish women. In these solitary cells, the 
 eunuch told us, the ladies were nightly secured, 
 and let out in the morning to wash themselves in a 
 small bath supplied with water by a fountain in the 
 centre of the court-yard, round which the rooms 
 are placed. Such are the Moorish notions of 
 female society, that they look upon women in no 
 other light than as instruments of pleasure and 
 sensuality. A Mussulman is allowed three wives 
 by the law of his religion, and as many concubines 
 as he chooses. The former of these are white 
 women the latter are young black girls brought 
 from the interior, or taken as captives by the Sul- 
 tan's troops. The offspring of the latter, if the 
 birth be not hastened, are the slaves of the father, 
 over whom he has power of life and death. It is 
 through the use of these female slaves that the 
 
fc 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 99 
 
 Moorish blood has become mixed with that of the 
 negro race, and thus produced a half caste, which 
 in number far exceeds the white population in 
 Marocco. 
 
 The Moors have a great dislike to the children 
 of their slaves, who being bred with a lively .sense 
 of their dependant state, of course take every 
 opportunity of robbing their father. Numberless 
 are the means made use of to procure abortion ; 
 to prevent the necessity of which, they purchase 
 young girls of eleven and twelve years old, who 
 are thus early initiated into the acts of servile lust, 
 without the fear of fecundity. 
 
 On our return home we found the brother of the 
 female Saint waiting for us, who had some com- 
 plaint for which he wished the Doctor to pre- 
 scribe. Seeing him very thankful for the Doctor's 
 advice, and inspired by the same feeling of earthly 
 admiration for the Saintess which Hadoud had so 
 devoutly combated, I thought it not an unfit 
 opportunity to beg a lock of his sister's divine 
 head of hair, as a memento or relic of so great 
 a personage ; and he promised to ask it of her, 
 and to let me know the result the next day. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO> 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Preparations for departing from Rabat. A Mes- 
 sage and Present from the female Saint. The 
 Travellers take leave of their friend Hadoud 
 Kissouse and proceed on their Journey. Account 
 of their Escort. The Aversion of the Moors 
 and Jews to Swine. Arrival at Dar el Beda, 
 and Description of that Place. 
 
 As we had decided upon leaving Rabat on the 
 30th of July, we passed the 29th in preparing for 
 our departure. During the course of the day 
 supplies of every thing we could desire were 
 munificently supplied by the Governor. After 
 breakfast we were visited by a musician, who 
 played on a sort of clarionet made of thin wood. 
 It had a reed mouth-piece, such as is used by us 
 with that instrument, over which was passed a flat 
 circular piece of mother-of-pearl about the size of 
 a dollar ; against this the player strongly pressed 
 his lips, while he blew through the mouth-piece, 
 and his cheeks being inflated by this means, he 
 continued to supply the instrument with wind, as 
 from the bag of a Highland pipe, and produced 
 a very high-toned sound as much like the higher 
 notes of that instrument as possible. I was in the 
 act of purchasing it from the man, when the 
 black eunuch came in, and walked him off to the 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 101 
 
 Governor's house to play there. The fellow had 
 no idea of notes, but played from ear, and in seve- 
 ral wild tunes managed his instrument with great 
 skill. 
 
 In the evening I was much amused by a mes- 
 senger from the female Saint, who came with his 
 mistress's compliments, and begged I would ex- 
 cuse her for not having sent her hair, but that she 
 had sent me what would be much more valuable 
 to me ; and as she had blessed it, it would act 
 like a charm upon me, and would be the means of 
 my being very well received by the Sultan. My 
 reader will imagine that this valuable talisman 
 was a ring with precious stones, or a gold orna- 
 ment ; but will be as much surprised, as I was 
 amused, when he hears that it was a piece of her 
 green cloak ; for which she begged in return, 
 that, if I went to Fez, I would bring her a small 
 gold ring. The absurdity of the lady's asking such 
 a boon in return for a dirty bit of green cloth, 
 tempted me greatly to burst into laughter in the 
 face of the messenger ; but prudence bade me 
 keep my countenance ; so folding up the cloth, I 
 put it into my bosom, and with a grave face I de- 
 sired the man to tell his mistress I should remem- 
 ber her if I went to Fez ; and having dismissed 
 him, we enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of 
 the silly woman, who had imagined that she could 
 gull iis as she did those around her. 
 
 Hadoud Kissouse had given us hopes that he 
 should find it necessary :. to; accompany us to 
 Marocco, as he had some difference with the 
 
102 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 Governor of Rabat concerning his mercantile 
 affairs, which he had not been able to settle, and 
 therefore was going to lay his case before the 
 Sultan : but on the morning of the 30th, he came 
 to tell us that he had abandoned his intention. 
 Though we were glad to find that his dispute with 
 the Governor was at an end, we were very sensi- 
 ble of the loss of his agreeable society. On our 
 journey thus far he had acted in the several capa- 
 cities of friend, companion, interpreter, and pay- 
 master, in each of which he had exerted himself 
 to the utmost to please us ; and we all concurred 
 in lamenting the necessity of parting from so good 
 a creature. It may be said of the Moors, that 
 though they are an uneducated people, there are 
 among them many of a very superior order, who 
 are possessed of a delicate sense of politeness, and 
 a suavity of manners, rarely equalled even in the 
 polished circles of Europe. Their ideas of friend- 
 ship are firm and constant, and their honour un- 
 questionable. Such is the character of our friend 
 Hadoud, of whom we took an affectionate farewell, 
 and left Rabat at ten o'clock. 
 
 We now proceeded along the sea-coast until we 
 came to the river Sharat, a narrow stream, which 
 we forded, and then entered an extensive plain 
 partially covered with stunted shrubs. A few 
 sharp rocks, about twenty feet high, rising sud- 
 denly out of the dead flat plain, were all that we 
 passed worthy remarking. Here our guards told 
 us that the people were Mala Gcnte, and shortly 
 after one of our men rode off to a douar on our 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 103 
 
 left, and returned accompanied by four mounted 
 soldiers, who had been ordered by the Governor 
 of Rabat to be in readiness to strengthen our 
 escort and see us safe through the province under 
 his command. These fellows were the finest men 
 I had seen any where ; they rode with spirit, and 
 seemed, indeed, anxious to encounter danger in 
 the discharge of their duty. 
 
 At mid-day we met two or three parties of 
 horsemen, of about forty in number, who were re- 
 turning from Marocco to Tangiers, Tetuan, and 
 other provinces ; it being, it seems, the practice for 
 all the Caids and soldiers to repair to the royal 
 standard during the Paschal Feasts, which had 
 then just terminated. These people were well 
 dressed and armed, but their horses were very 
 small and poor. Shortly after this, we seated our- 
 selves under a fig-tree, and partook of some re- 
 freshment, but we were tormented by the dis- 
 gusting grasshopper tribe which I have mentioned 
 before, and I was again able to confirm what I 
 formerly observed of the cannibal character of 
 this scourge of the country. At four o'clock we 
 came to a small stream which divides the province 
 of Rabat from that of Bar el Beda,or " The White 
 House." Here our additional escort left us, and 
 crossing the stream, we continued onwards on 
 our route to Dar el Beda. 
 
 We had hardly proceeded a mile, when a horse- 
 man was seen riding over a neighbouring hill. As 
 soon as he observed us he rode back, and again 
 immediately returned in company with two more 
 
104 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 horsemen with long guns. Having been told that 
 this country was much infested with robbers, I 
 thought it would be prudent to be prepared in case 
 of an attack. I therefore, on seeing these fellows, 
 immediately loaded my double-barrelled gun with 
 ball, and waited the issue of the scene. Our 
 guards, upon descrying the men on the hill, stopt 
 short, and drawing up in a line in front of us, they 
 proceeded slowly on, with their long guns erect, 
 towards the opposite party, who were now strength- 
 ened to the number of seven or eight, by others 
 who came riding over the hill, one after the other, 
 and falling into line, as our soldiers had done. In 
 this manner the two parties approached each other 
 with silence, and more order than I should have 
 given them credit for being able to preserve. The 
 opposite party soon came near enough to make us 
 entertain considerable doubts as to the honesty 
 of their calling. They appeared to be strong and 
 hardy, and the few garments that graced their 
 persons, fluttered in party-coloured rags about 
 them. Their heads were bare, as well as their 
 feet, and they sat with ease, and even gracefulness 
 on the bare backs of their thin, but active horses, 
 which they managed with great skill. The ap- 
 pearance of such men in a country of ill-fame, 
 was well calculated to excite the most unfavour- 
 able impressions. The two parties had approached 
 within about pistol-shot of one another, when they 
 mutually drew up their horses, and the two com- 
 manders walked their horses forward until they 
 met half-way. Here salaams were exchanged, 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 105 
 
 and, after a long conversation, the two parties rode 
 up to each other, and shook hands. We were 
 then told that these were soldiers of the Dar el 
 Beda province, stationed at this place as guards, 
 and we therefore dismissed our apprehensions, 
 and proceeded onwards, escorted by this ragged 
 troop. Shortly after this, one of the Arabs rode 
 away, and in a few minutes the neighbouring 
 bushes were peopled, as it were by magic, with a 
 still more ill-looking race of men on foot. These 
 were seen running amongst the brushwood, which 
 covered the plain, and joining us in parties of two 
 and three, armed with guns and daggers. As soon 
 as this straggling party had collected, our horse- 
 men again drew up on both sides, and after some 
 compliments, we were consigned over to the care 
 of our new escort, and the horsemen rode off to 
 their station on the heights. Our party now moved 
 on, attended by the infantry of the province, who 
 are said to be good soldiers ; but I do not hesitate 
 to say that one regiment of regular European 
 troops would put ten thousand of them to the 
 rout with ease. 
 
 At five o'clock we arrived at a very large douar 
 of sixty tents, pitched in a circle, in the centre of 
 an extensive plain, in the middle of which was 
 a tent for the cavalry, ten in number, who were 
 stationed amongst the Arabs to preserve order and 
 discipline. This douar had, they told us, been 
 lately placed there for the purpose of supplying 
 those guards which we had met, and who are 
 daily dispersed over the country to protect travel- 
 
106 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 lers. We pitched our tents within the circle of 
 the doiiar, and our animals were piqueted around 
 us. The people of this horde seemed a hardy active 
 race of men, many having little or no covering for 
 their bodies, and others only a haik. Soon after 
 our arrival, a Caid of Tetuan and four soldiers, 
 on their return from Marocco, pitched their tent 
 near ours. The old Caid appeared a man of some 
 consequence, and rode one of the handsomest 
 horses we had seen in the country. It was milk 
 white, the head and shoulders perfect symmetry, 
 and the tail and mane of great length, and pos- 
 sessing that silky quality which we know not of 
 in England. 
 
 At six the next morning we broke up our en- 
 campment, and found the cavalry of the douar 
 ready to attend us, as also a party of infantry. The 
 former, however, left us on the road soon after, 
 and struck off to another part of the plain, leaving 
 us in charge of the latter. The country about 
 here became thickly covered with bushes and 
 stunted trees, offering most advantageous hiding 
 places for robbers. This part of the road seems to be 
 looked upon as very dangerous ; for our wild Arabs 
 dispersed about us, and running from bush to 
 bush, left no suspicious place unsearched. At 
 about eight o'clock we approached a large douar, 
 to which one of our horsemen rode up, and calling- 
 out in the name of the Sultan, the whole douar 
 turned out with great alacrity, to the number of 
 about a hundred, who fell into line with shouldered 
 arms, and remained in this position until we had 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 107 
 
 passed. Many of these men had old European 
 bayonets, fixed on their long guns, weapons which 
 they hold in great estimation, though they are 
 unacquainted with the proper management of 
 them. We soon passed these thickets, and en- 
 tering a more open country, we came in sight 
 of Monseria, a turreted enclosure of high walls, 
 within which, is a small mosque and minaret. 
 Here our reinforcement left us. 
 
 On arriving at the gate of this fortress we found 
 it to contain a number of Arab tents within its 
 walls, tenanted by that wandering race, who seem 
 to despise the use of stone walls for their dwell- 
 ings, and prefer living under their camel-hair 
 tents in an atmosphere of smoke. Here we again 
 entered a thickly-enclosed country of high broom 
 and long grass, and soon after found ourselves at 
 the mouth of the N-nfTee, a small river about two 
 hundred yards broad. Our baggage having been 
 left a little behind, we awaited its coming up, to 
 cross the stream by fording. The tide was just 
 setting in from the sea, and the bed of the river 
 being low, the water was rapidly deepening ; and 
 though we much doubted whether this delay 
 would not prevent us from passing over, we still 
 could not attempt it until our baggage came up, 
 as we might in that case be cut off from it until the 
 next ebb. Our old muleteer, who knew the 
 country, soon came up to us, and called out that 
 we must ford immediately ; and indeed he spoke 
 just in time, for each minute considerably deep- 
 ened the stream, and it was with the greatest 
 
108 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 difficulty that some of the heavily-laden mules 
 could resist the strength of the current, which 
 swept with great force into the channel of the river. 
 Had we delayed three minutes more, all our bag- 
 gage and provisions would have been either lost 
 or spoiled ; as it was, we luckily escaped without 
 any other mishap than what befel our servant, 
 Abenshaloom,* a young Jewish lout of tender 
 nerves, whose mule stumbling in the water, pre- 
 cipitated the affrighted son of a ladder into the 
 stream, to the infinite amusement of the whole 
 party. Our road ran through a low, flat country, 
 covered with small bushes and monkey-dates, 
 and from the uprooted state of the ground for many 
 miles, there must be prodigious herds of wild 
 boars through the whole country. The Moors 
 make no use of this animal, the touching of which 
 their religion prohibits ; and as they are not worth 
 killing, they increase amazingly. In well-popu- 
 lated parts of the country they are kept down by 
 annual batteux, in which the whole population 
 joins, but when shot, they are left untouched on 
 the ground. It is most ridiculous to observe the 
 aversion of the Moors and Jews to the pig tribe, 
 which extends even to the touch and smell of 
 these animals. A European cannot keep one 
 from want of some one to feed it, for no considera- 
 tion will induce a servant in this country to ad- 
 minister to poor piggy's comforts. It now and then 
 happens that a rough mountaineer, for the love of 
 gain, overcomes his less delicate feelings, and brings 
 
 * Abenshaloom, or Son of a Ladder. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 1() ( J 
 
 one of the mountain-pigs* to a port to sell to a mer- 
 chant-captain ; but if by any chance the pig get 
 loose in the market, the greatest confusion ensues 
 by the animal's running amongst the legs of 
 the crowd, who fly from him with as much horror 
 as if he were a lion ; the touch of this animal be- 
 ing reckoned so great a pollution as to cause the 
 person to cast away that part of his dress which is 
 so defiled by the unclean beast. We used fre- 
 quently to amuse ourselves at Hadoud's expense, 
 on our road to Rabat, by placing the ham on the 
 table near his plate, which invariably called forth 
 his bitterest invectives against this object of his 
 disgust. He would neither eat meat boiled in the 
 same pot which had once cooked a ham, nor 
 touch a knife and fork lest they should have been 
 used in the same service ; and would frequently 
 draw his chair at a distance from the table with so 
 unhappy a countenance that it was impossible to 
 resist laughing. 
 
 At twelve o'clock we passed F-dalla, a small wall- 
 ed town, about two miles from the sea-shore, with a 
 mosque and minaret, which Ali Bey describes as 
 being handsome. As we wished to reach Dar 
 el Beda that evening, we did not enter F-dalla, 
 but passed on to the bed of a torrent, four 
 miles from the town. Here we found the ruins 
 of an arched stone bridge. There was but lit- 
 tle water in the bed of the torrent at this time ; 
 
 * This is a very small animal, about the si/e of an English 
 sm king-pig, striped brown and white from the head towards the 
 tail. I have seen the same species at the island of Madeira. 
 
110 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 but it was easy to judge of the quantity, in rainy 
 weather, by the huge masses of solid stone and 
 mortar, fifteen feet square, which have been car- 
 ried away from the bridge to the distance of two 
 hundred yards down the stream. On the opposite 
 side of this torrent we seated ourselves under a fig- 
 tree, and took some refreshment. The country 
 between this and Dar el Beda is a sterile, sandy 
 soil, covered only with the umbelliferous weed 
 which I have mentioned before. Here it would 
 seem that the whole country was allotted to the 
 exclusive use of the snails, which adhere in such 
 quantities to the dry stalks of the above-mentioned 
 plant, as to appear to be the production of it, 
 hanging in huge clusters of thousands on the ends 
 of the boughs, and completely hiding the whole 
 plant. It is impossible to give any adequate idea 
 of the number and appearance of these snails, 
 which are much esteemed by the natives, who 
 boil them in salt water, and eat them with a pin, 
 as we do in England the periwinckle or sea-snail. 
 Dar el Beda, or " The White House," a name de- 
 rived from its vicinity to Cape Blanco, of the Portu- 
 guese, is situated on the northern shore of a pro- 
 montory, which, running out into the ocean, forms 
 a sort of bay, where shipping can lie protected 
 from the south-westerly winds, but are exposed 
 to the north and north-westerly gales. The 
 town is walled in, according to the Moorish 
 ideas of fortification, whose artillery is a mere 
 name which has hardly a sound. It is supplied 
 from without by a stream of water, and appears 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. Ill 
 
 ,to have once been a place of some consideration ; 
 but is now a heap of miserable ruins fitter for 
 the abode of hyaenas than men. We were taken 
 to a miserable house, near that of the Governor, 
 in front of which was a small mosque and minaret. 
 The people of Dar el Beda are a poor half-starved 
 agueish- looking people. The Governor was very 
 attentive to us, and immediately supplied us with 
 all sorts of provisions and fruit. In the evening 
 he sent to the Doctor to ask his advice concerning 
 his health, upon which Dr. Brown repaired to his 
 house, and found him suffering from the gout, for 
 which he gave him a remedy, and the old gen- 
 tleman in return made the Doctor a present of a 
 small carpet. This is the only great man in the 
 country, out of hundreds who consulted the Doc- 
 tor, that ever made him the smallest return. 
 
112 JOURNEY TO MARQCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Travellers, leaving Dar el Beda, proceed on their 
 Route. Occurrences on the Road. Arrival at 
 Azamoor. Departure from that Place. Jour- 
 ney from Azamoor to Zoivir, with its Incidents. 
 
 WITH very little regret did we take our depar- 
 ture, at an early hour in the morning of the 1st of 
 August, from Dar el Beda. As we passed the 
 gate of the town, our guards pointed out to us a 
 man's head nailed over the archway, which ap- 
 peared to be that of a man recently decapitated. 
 We inquired the cause of his death, and were told 
 his principal fault had been his great riches, for 
 which he had paid too dearly. The country through 
 which we now passed became more covered with 
 underwood, and here and there a few palm trees. 
 At about ten o'clock, we passed an Arab woman 
 and her daughter, who were walking very fast in 
 hopes of benefiting by our escort. Shortly after 
 we halted ; and the old lady came trudging along 
 over the stones, apparently without the smallest 
 consideration for the girl, whose small naked feet 
 seemed ill suited to the stony plain over which we 
 were travelling ; and the distance she had already 
 
-JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 113 
 
 walked had so fatigued her young limbs, that she 
 could with difficulty keep pace with her Amazo- 
 nian mother. As I passed her she looked up at 
 me with such an appealing look, that I could 
 not find it in my heart to allow her to con- 
 tinue her exertions, and calling to her, I bade her 
 jump up behind me on my mule's back. The 
 poor little girl, with eyes full of astonishment and 
 gratitude, immediately placed her hand in mine, 
 and sprang like an antelope on the back of the 
 mule. By the aid of a carpet which I lent her, 
 she soon arranged a little pad behind the saddle, 
 and to the entire exposure of a pretty pair of 
 brown legs she threw one on each side of the 
 animal, and passed her arms round my waist, 
 not a little delighted at finding herself so com- 
 fortably situated. She was rather pretty for an 
 Arab girl, who in general are most repulsively 
 ugly. She was very small, and well made, but 
 like all her tribe, had high cheek bones, a flattish 
 nose, and a large mouth ornamented with a most 
 brilliant set of teeth. Her dress was composed 
 of a thin cotton covering, a mere apology for a 
 gown, which was passed at random round her 
 person, which it sufficed but partially to conceal. 
 She was about eleven years old, and the buddings 
 of maturity were sufficiently observable to give 
 a charm to that part of her person, which in Arab 
 women, after child-bearing, assumes the most 
 disgusting appearance. In fact, an elderly Arab 
 woman is, to my eye, the most disgusting object 
 in nature. In this state I journeyed on with my 
 
114 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 little companion, who kept laughing and talking 
 Arabic to me, not the least aware, apparently, that 
 I scarcely understood a word she said, though I 
 kept answering her narma, lawah* The guards 
 were much amused at what they considered my 
 condescension, in rendering personal aid to an 
 Arab ; but the girl herself, with the prerogative of 
 her sex, thought me amply repaid by the frequent 
 kisses she lavished upon me, from time to time, 
 when she wanted to coax me out of some grapes 
 to appease her thirst ; for the sun was very hot 
 during this day's journey. The pace of our mules 
 soon became too fast for the girl's mother, who 
 gradually dropped behind, until we entirely lost 
 sight of her. In the evening, at about seven 
 o'clock we encamped at a douar, near the sea- 
 side, where, however, we found we were unable 
 to procure provisions of any sort, all the cattle 
 of the douar having died the year previous during 
 the great famine. Here I set down my little 
 charge, and she was joined during the night by 
 her mother, whose fears for her daughter's safety 
 had made her quicken her step on the road. 
 
 As we could get no refreshment over night, we 
 struck our tents at six o'clock the next morning, 
 and set off in pursuit of a douar, and at eight 
 o'clock we stopped at one which lay a little way 
 out of our road, and here we found almost the 
 same degree of poverty as prevailed at the douar 
 we had left. We, however, succeeded in procur- 
 ing some fresh milk, and then continued our road 
 along the borders of the sea-shore, over sand hills 
 * The Yes and No, of the Arabic. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 115 
 
 covered with the before-noticed umbelliferous weed . 
 All along the shore we passed numbers of Saints' 
 tombs, and opposite one of these, the plain assumed 
 a singular appearance, from the innumerable piles 
 of stones, placed one upon another, to the height 
 of three or four feet ; the simple offering of tra- 
 vellers to the manes of some celebrated saint or 
 rogue, whose body had been interred in one of the 
 above-mentioned sepulchres. At ten we stopped 
 at a well of excellent water, and a small farm for 
 the cultivation of henna, a plant much resembling- 
 trefoil, and used as a dye by the Moors. The 
 colour superinduced by it, is that of a dingy 
 orange, though I have no doubt that it was origi- 
 nally used as a method of producing a roseate tint 
 to the end of the nails, by mixing it with a ver- 
 milion, which would render the effect pleasing ; 
 in its present manner of use, it is far from being 
 so. By mid-day we found ourselves at the 
 side of the river Moorbeh, on the opposite side 
 of which, on the crown of a hill and overhang- 
 ing the river, stands Azamoor, formerly a Portu- 
 guese colony. The river Moorbeh is about two 
 hundred yards wide at low water, at which time 
 we passed over. It is a sluggish, and thence I 
 suppose, a deep stream. It has all the appearance 
 in colour of the Thames, whose muddy surface 
 our bards have been pleased to term silvery. In 
 rainy seasons it swells to a considerable size, and 
 deposits a fine alluvial soil on the surrounding 
 shores. This river, like all the others we passed, 
 has become choaked up at the mouth with sand- 
 
 T 2 
 
116 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 banks, so as to render it unsafe even for small 
 boats, and from its Nilous qualities, this bank or 
 bar must naturally increase. 
 
 On reaching the opposite side we despatched a 
 soldier to the Governor announcing our arrival, in 
 answer to which he sent to say that a house was 
 in readiness for our reception ; to this place we 
 therefore repaired, and were introduced to the 
 most filthy little closet we had seen in the country. 
 We expostulated, but were told that the Governor 
 was gone into his harem, and they dared not dis- 
 turb him. We therefore made up our minds to 
 pursue our journey the next morning. While we 
 were awaiting on the shore the return of the mes- 
 sengers we sent to the Governor on our arrival, a 
 dirty-looking fellow in the European costume came 
 up to us, and introduced himself as a Jew merchant 
 of Tetuan. He had just left Mazagan, he said, and 
 was then boating his merchandise across the river 
 to return to his own country. He then told the 
 Doctor he was very glad he had arrived, for, being 
 a bit of a doctor himself, he was much in want of 
 medicine. This cool demand upon the Doctor's 
 medicine chest was followed by an offer of some 
 grog, which he had in a bottle, from which he 
 ever and anon drew long draughts of lethe ; and 
 to complete our disgust he pulled out of his pocket 
 a small paper, telling us he had something vastly 
 curious to show us. From the fold of the papers, 
 and the continued succession of coverings, I im- 
 mediately concluded that this rare curiosity was 
 .some antique coin of value; but to my suprise as the 
 
JOUHNKY TO MAROCCO. 117 
 
 last bit of paper was opened, I discovered a num- 
 ber of little living insects, in shape and size much 
 resembling bugs, but of awhitish colour, and longer 
 in the legs. These, our officious friend informed 
 us, had been his bed-fellows at Mazagan for some 
 time, and had bitten him most severely, and that 
 of all sorts of vermin, the bite of these was the 
 worst. The fellow looked, indeed, as if he spoke 
 from experience; and, had we done right, we 
 should have given him a note to the Bash a of 
 Tetuan, recommending the bastinado to the rascal 
 for importing a new species of vermin into his own 
 country, to be the constant torment of future gene- 
 rations. 
 
 We were hardly settled in our house, before our 
 back-biting bug-bearing friend came to visit us, 
 and without further apology, sat himself down on 
 a mat, saying how happy he felt at seeing us. I 
 was in no humour at the moment to participate in 
 his happiness, or to put up with impertinence from 
 a Jew ; and so without ceremony, I ordered him 
 to walk out of the room, which he did instinctively, 
 seeming greatly surprised, but by no means 
 anxious to incur further displeasure by staying. 
 
 In the course of the evening we sent to the 
 Governor for our usual supplies, but as they did 
 not appear to be forth-coming, the Caid of our 
 guard purchased the necessary provisions for us, 
 and it was well lie did so, for we heard nothing- 
 more about our supplies that day. In the evening 
 a Sheriffc of some distinction waited upon the 
 Doctor for medical advice, and took him to see 
 
118 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO, 
 
 his wife, who was ill. Mr. Murray and I amused 
 ourselves by administering medicine to an old 
 Moor who lived over the way, and had rather a 
 pretty fat daughter, with a head of hair of a most 
 curious colour a claret red. This is not uncom- 
 mon in Barbary, though I do not remember to 
 have seen it in any other country. The effect is 
 very pleasing, and the hair, when of this colour, 
 generally possesses a natural curl, and is very 
 silky. 
 
 Azamoor is like all other Moorish towns, and 
 beggars, of course, all description. It is sur- 
 rounded on the land side by very high walls, 
 rising out of deep fosses, and a few half-mounted 
 cannon, are here and there seen straggling along 
 the summit of these fortifications. 
 
 Early the next morning the Governor sent his 
 father to the Doctor, to consult him concerning 
 his eyes ; and at the same time begged to present 
 us with an old ram which the Governor had sent 
 us by way of supply. I loudly exclaimed against 
 receiving the present ; Mr. Murray was also of my 
 opinion ; and the Doctor, who was for more mo- 
 derate measures, at last yielded to our suggestions 
 to send back the ram, with our compliments, saying 
 that, as the present had come so late, we could 
 not think of receiving it, having already provided 
 ourselves with meat for our day's march. It is 
 difficult to express the astonishment of the guards 
 at what appeared to them our audacity in refusing 
 the Governor's present. The Caid at first posi- 
 tively refused to bear back such a message ; upon 
 
IRNKV TO MA ROC CO. 119 
 
 which \ve pretended to be much offended with the 
 Governor, and we declared we would leave the 
 ram behind. A long discussion then took place 
 as to the propriety of sending back the gift of so 
 great a person, and as to what might be the con- 
 sequences. I gave it as my opinion, that if we let 
 ourselves down among the people, the consequence 
 would be much more detrimental to us in future ; 
 and that on the contrary, by acting a spirited part 
 on this occasion, and shewing them that we were 
 not to be treated with indifference, we should im- 
 press them with the idea that we were as haughty 
 as themselves. This, therefore, was decided upon ; 
 and the Caid was told to return the ram ; though 
 I strongly suspect that, from the fear of the basti- 
 nado, he divided the spoil amongst our attendants ; 
 but as the affair took place before other Moors, it 
 must very soon have reached the Governor's ears, 
 especially as the Doctor refused to administer to 
 the father, alleging as an excuse, that the medi- 
 cine was all packed up. To this independent 
 manner of behaviour, we owed a great deal of the 
 the respect paid us while we remained in the 
 country. 
 
 We now prepared to leave Azamoor and its 
 inhospitable ruler. It was near eight o'clock, 
 however, before we got on our mules, owing to a 
 great altercation which took place between one of 
 our guards, Hamet Sharkee, and our bluff old 
 muleteer. The former having placed a bag of 
 corn for his horse on one of the baggage mules, 
 the old fellow declared il should not remain ; tb 
 
120 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 other that it should. At last the old man threw 
 it out of the pannier, and Hamet, who was a pow- 
 erful fellow, struggled to replace it, and ended by 
 collaring his antagonist. It is difficult to describe 
 the indignation of the old Hadge, who struggling 
 to disengage himself from the iron grasp of Shar- 
 kee, and sputtering with rage, poured upon him 
 such a volley of abuse, that I thought they would 
 have drawn their swords upon each other, when 
 Susee our Caid ordered Sharkee to quit his hold 
 and told him that he was in the wrong. The 
 old muleteer was no sooner free than he began 
 again, and seizing his own beard, swore by the 
 Prophet, that not even that, grey as it was, should 
 prevent him from fighting his antagonist. Order 
 being in a measure restored through the Caid's 
 interference, we left Azamoor at eight o'clock. 
 Poor Sharkee, who was a great favourite with us 
 all, and had been a Caid of a hundred men in the 
 late Sultan's time, whose family he had endea- 
 voured to support in their struggle to regain the 
 throne, and thus lost his command, was very much 
 hurt at being now forced to submit to the orders of 
 Susee, and lagged behind us at some distance 
 during the two following days. 
 
 On leaving the town, a Saint of the most ragged 
 order accosted one of our guards, and picking up 
 a bit of cane, he looked up to heaven, and, 
 blessing it, presented it to the soldier, who 
 received it with the greatest reverence, and paid 
 the Saint in return a silver piece. I just overtook 
 the latter, as he was pocketing his gains, and per- 
 
JOURNEY TO MARCH/CO. I '21 
 
 ceiving that he had in his hands a crimson rosary 
 of large polished beads, I asked him, through our 
 interpreter, if he would sell it to me. He replied 
 that he could not do so, as it would be a sin to 
 part with it, it having come from the Holy Shrine. 
 Here the above-mentioned soldier endeavoured to 
 dissuade me from purchasing it, saying that I 
 could get much finer ones at Marocco. I replied 
 with a methodistical face, " that might be, but I 
 particularly wished the rosary, as belonging to a 
 Saint" The fellow, who did not know that I had 
 seen his late purchase, and who was alarmed at 
 the idea of a Nazarine possessing a Saint's rosary, 
 assured me that he was not a Saint of any qua- 
 lity, and begged me not to take the rosary. I 
 laughed heartily at the fears which made the man 
 deny his patron, and pulling out the real philoso- 
 pher's stone of Barbary, a dollar, I held it up to 
 the ragged minister of Mahomet, knowing well 
 its talismanic powers; nor was I mistaken; for the 
 first sight of the silver immediately overcame his 
 religious scruples, and he greedily seized the 
 money in return for the beads. They were made 
 of date-stones, of a superior growth to any I have 
 ever seen, and being dyed crimson, and well po- 
 lished by years of counting in the hands of the 
 owner, they were a very handsome ornament. 
 
 The country over which we now passed, bore 
 the same un pleasing appearance as the day be- 
 fore. The heat of the climate began to be much 
 more oppressive ; and from the rocky nature of the 
 soil, the vegetation consisted chiefly of the monkey 
 
122 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 date. Up to this period we had withstood the cli- 
 mate with great success ; but we now began to 
 find riding under so powerful a sun very over- 
 coming. Shortly after we left Azamoor I caught 
 several camelions, which seem to abound in this 
 part of the country. Numbers of snakes' skins 
 were also lying about on the ground, and one 
 of these, which I picked up, must have measured 
 six feet in length. A vast variety of coloured 
 grass-hoppers continued to rise in flights as we 
 passed along the road. 
 
 It was late in the evening before we reached 
 our resting place, at a spot called Zowir, an as- 
 semblage of dirty huts and mud-built houses, on a 
 situation which once had boasted of a town. Dark- 
 ness came on before we were encamped, and we 
 had considerable trouble in pitching our tents, 
 from the rocky nature of the soil, which broke all 
 our tent-pegs. By the help, however, of some large 
 stones, to which we fastened the tent cords, we at 
 last succeeded in housing ourselves, and received 
 a visit from a Sheriffe who governed the place, 
 who behaved very kindly to us, and supplied us 
 with all that we needed. We had ridden ten 
 hours this day, without intermission, in the heat 
 of the sun. All felt very much knocked up, 
 and I began to fear that this was but a prelude 
 to the difficulties which we might expect to 
 encounter. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Travellers continue their Journey. Incidents 
 and Occurrences on the Road. 
 
 EARLY on the morning- of the 4th of August 
 we were visited by the SherifFe, who asked us to 
 go and eat some figs in his garden. This fellow 
 reminded me greatly of friar Tuck ; tall, athletic, 
 and fitter for arms than sanctity, his eyes glistened 
 with pleasure as he examined with astonishment 
 our superior fire-arms. He led us to his garden, 
 where we found a few ripe green figs, and then 
 we went to see his house, where, instead of pal- 
 mer's staff or alkoran, he had a number of guns, 
 pistols, and an American riile, with which he said 
 he now and then amused himself; though if he 
 had said "with which he vasscd his time," I should 
 think he would have spoken more truly. At seven 
 o'clock we took our leave of the good-humoured 
 Sheriffe, and gave him a small supply of good 
 powder and shot, with which he seemed much 
 pleased. Towards nine o'clock we entered an 
 extensive plain, bounded to the south by a range 
 
124 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 of hills, of no great dimensions. In two hours 
 we passed a number of Saints' tombs, near which 
 we found an extensive open space, with wells of 
 water, and large caverns or pits, which are used 
 in Barbary as corn stores. Here a number of roads 
 from all points of the compass, came to a centre. 
 Upon inquiring the reason of this, we were in- 
 formed that this place was the general rendezvous 
 or fair of the neighbouring lands of the province 
 of Ducalla. This fair is held every Tuesday, and 
 from the extreme richness of the soil of the pro- 
 vince, it is the greatest held in the kingdom. The 
 plains of Ducalla are said to grow more corn in a 
 productive season, than all the remainder of the 
 empire. I here shot an owl of diminutive size, 
 measuring about four inches high, and having most 
 beautiful eyes. The plumage is the same as our 
 common brown owl in England, but the head of this 
 grave little gentleman is flatter than that of the owl 
 species generally, and more approaching to the 
 shape of the vulture's head ; he has also the power 
 of seeing during the day, and of withstanding the 
 glare of the hottest sun. Numbers of them were 
 to be seen sitting basking in the heat on the old 
 stone walls which are scattered about the market- 
 place. I also caught a curious yellow spider of 
 the tarantula species, its body and legs covered 
 with thick yellow hair. I confined it in a pill- 
 box, and by the time we reached Marocco, the 
 heat of the weather had completely baked it, so 
 as to render it very brittle.* 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKCCTO. 125 
 
 At one o'clock we rested for an hour under a 
 fig-tree, growing by the side of a dry torrent's 
 bed. This stream takes its rise in the above- 
 mentioned hills to the southward, and pursues its 
 course westward ; at this time there was not a 
 drop of water in the bed. We soon after leaving 
 this spot, entered the hills before us ; they were 
 covered with long grass, and here and there a fig 
 plantation might be discerned. The soil was of 
 a deep red colour, producing a finely coloured 
 fiint, of the same tint, and in hue almost as fine 
 as crimson jasper. We here again crossed the 
 torrent-bed, near which were a number of wells 
 and a few date trees. Having watered our ani- 
 mals, we continued our journey in search of a 
 douar for our encampment, and meeting soon after 
 some camel-drivers, they told us that we should 
 find one about an hour's ride off, by leaving the 
 direct path ; and after hunting for a long time, we 
 at last arrived at an extensive encampment of Arab 
 tents, on the top of a hill, where the same diffi- 
 culty with regard to tent-pitching took place as 
 the evening previous. Whilst this operation was 
 going on, I wandered about the douar, and near 
 the door of the Governor's tent, I found his horse 
 fetlocked. It was milk-white, with the most 
 beautiful head that the imagination can figure 
 to itself, and a profusion of white mane of great 
 length and silky softness. As he was already 
 saddled, the Arabs asked me to mount him, 
 which I did immediately. I found his paces 
 niggling, but the graceful carriage of his head, and 
 
126 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 the intelligence of his countenance, surpassed any 
 thing I have ever seen. 
 
 The douar at which we were now accommodated 
 we found was commanded by a very powerful 
 Caid, who was then absent with a large force, on 
 a visit to the Sultan, and had left in his place his 
 brother, who came immediately to tender us all 
 the civilities in his power. In the evening he 
 drank tea with us, and seemed much pleased 
 at our conviviality. We were making ourselves 
 very comfortable, being delighted to find that we 
 had proceeded on our way so far with unin- 
 jured health, when our fat companion,* the state 
 prisoner, came in to consult the Doctor con- 
 cerning his health, with the most woe-begone 
 countenance that can be imagined. He com- 
 plained of dreadful gripings in the stomach, and 
 a degree of inflation that made him fear lest 
 he should burst. Dr. Brown immediately inquired 
 into his diet, and he confessed that during the heat 
 of the day, he had eaten two large water-melons, 
 and afterwards had drank proportionably of water 
 of the wells. We all laughed heartily at the dis- 
 mal countenance of this water-melon glutton, and 
 offered him some brandy, which he said he dared 
 not touch, being a sheriffe. We then explained 
 to him that Mahomet allowed the use of that 
 
 * This man was on his route to the court to kiss the dust be- 
 fore the Sultan's feet for his late emancipation from a purgation 
 of sixteen years imprisonment; long confinement had made his 
 complexion so delicate, that he suffered greatly from the heat of 
 the sun. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 127 
 
 liquor as a medicine. To this he seemed anxious 
 to agree, and seizing hold of a tumbler nearly 
 full, he swallowed off its contents with all the 
 ease imaginable, but making most dreadful gri- 
 maces afterwards, as he smacked his lips with 
 inward delight. The liquor soon began to act on 
 his head, and while the juice of the water-melon 
 seemed oozing out of his inflamed eyes, he kept 
 laying his hand on his fat belly, exclaiming Bono, 
 tibib, bono.* At last sleepiness began to overcome 
 him, and he reeled out of the tent, to the great 
 amusement of our guards, praying Allah to forgive 
 him for using so cursed a liquor as medicine.')' 
 
 We were disturbed early the next morning, by 
 the cries of all the women and children in the 
 douar, which were so violent that one would have 
 thought that Bedlam had been let loose. I hastily 
 dressed myself, and on going outside of the tent, 
 I found the whole douar turned out to receive and 
 welcome, after their abominable fashion of scream- 
 ing, the Chief of the province, who had returned 
 from the Sultan. The sight was novel, and, indeed, 
 very pleasing. The women, in groups of five 
 and six, had gathered to shriek, and to long canes 
 had tied their smartest handkerchiefs of every 
 colour, in silk and cotton, which fluttering in the 
 breeze, gave a gaiety to the scene. On the opposite 
 hill was seen descending a troop of about sixty 
 
 * Good, Doctor, good ! 
 
 f This is sufficient proof that Musselmen are aware of the 
 true spirit of Mahomet's prohibition of wine-drinking, though 
 they generally support the argument that brandy is not wine. 
 
128 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO 
 
 horsemen, and in the distance some two hundred 
 more were following, in parties of twenty or thirty 
 at intervals, some on one hill, some on another. 
 The first body soon halted at the foot of the op* 
 posite hill, and the straggling parties brought up 
 the rear, with camels and baggage-mules ; the 
 whole forming a lively mixture of colour. Dr. 
 Brown and Mr. Murray immediately waited on 
 the Chief, who received them very civilly, and 
 acquainted them that he had orders from the 
 Sultan to detain us four days at his douar, and 
 to entertain us in the kindest manner, his Highness 
 being fearful of our health's suffering from fatigue. 
 Though this was the reason assigned, I almost 
 doubt its reality ; for on arriving at Marocco, we 
 found a Spanish doctor in attendance on the Sul- 
 tan, who no doubt entertained some idea of sending 
 us back, for fear of double fees. These surmises 
 increased our desire to reach Marocco as soon as 
 possible, as we did not greatly relish the idea of 
 a long journey back to Gibraltar without having 
 seen the capital. We therefore begged the Chief 
 of the douar to allow us to continue our journey, 
 as we felt quite equal to the undertaking, and that 
 we would take the responsibility upon ourselves. 
 To this he at last consented ; we prepared im- 
 mediately to break up our encampment; and, after 
 mutual presents, we took leave of our host, and 
 continued our march over a hard stony country of 
 rising ground, abounding in lizards of various 
 descriptions. I killed two of them : the one was 
 of a slate colour, and measured eighteen inches, 
 
JOURN'EY TO IMA HOC CO. 129 
 
 covered with polished scales ; the other was of an 
 orange colour, with a sky-blue back and head, and 
 measuring eight inches. The former of these was 
 of a sluggish nature ; the latter exceedingly active, 
 holding its tail erect as it ran along the ground. 
 The~ whole road was covered with grass-hoppers of 
 various colours. One species I more particularly 
 observed for its beauty. It was a small brown or 
 chocolate coloured one; the under part of the 
 wings being of a bright pink, which is only 
 observable when it flies. 
 
 At twelve o'clock we entered an extensive plain, 
 partially covered with a beautiful thorny shrub, 
 growing to the height of fifteen feet, the leaf of 
 which is of an exceeding bright green. Here we 
 found the travelling very painful to the mules, on 
 account of a quantity of petrifactions and spars, 
 which were strewed over the face of the plain : I 
 picked up several specimens of these, which I 
 afterwards found to be agate. 
 
 The sun had greatly increased the heat of the 
 atmosphere, and the dead flat by which we were 
 surrounded for many miles, over which the heated 
 air hung undisturbed by a breath of wind, caused 
 us much pain. Added to which, the stony nature 
 of the soil caused so violent a reflection that our 
 faces were completely pealed with the heat. The 
 guards, who had hitherto used no precaution against 
 the direct rays of the sun, now covered their faces 
 with their turbans, leaving only a space for 
 the eyes. This is a very necessary precaution, 
 which, however, I found myself unable to bear, 
 
130 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 for it was only changing from the heat of an 
 oven to that of a vapour bath. It was here 
 that I first felt the ill effects of the sun, which 
 soon after caused me to dismount from my mule, 
 overcome by a sudden sick fainting-fit. I crept 
 under cover of a bush, and hid my head from the 
 darting rays of the fiery sun. Mr. Murray and I 
 had lingered behind the foremost of our party, 
 and having drank our flasks of water, there was 
 not a drop left to moisten my parched tongue, 
 which was as dry as a piece of wood. Luckily, 
 however, our baggage was in the rear, and in a 
 short time, to my infinite delight, I saw the water 
 mule arrive ; when Mr. Murray, who had kindly 
 waited behind with me, procured me a draught of 
 comparatively cold water, which acted like the 
 elixir of life upon my parched frame. It is im- 
 possible for those who have never been placed in 
 a similar situation to conceive the luxury of a 
 draught of cold water, when the very saliva has 
 taken leave of the mouth. I soon felt my re- 
 turning vigour, and after frequently repeating the 
 draught, I again proceeded on my journey. At 
 two o'clock we arrived at a walled douar, opposite 
 which was the dry bed of a stream, and near it 
 a well, supplied by a living spring of clear cool 
 water. Here every one dismounted, and almost 
 struggled for the nectar of the desart, huddling 
 round the well like hard drinkers round a punch 
 bowl, swallowing draught after draught, which 
 requires to be repeated five or six times before the 
 thirst is at all abated when the throat is in this 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 131 
 
 state. We then retired to the shade of a spread- 
 ing tree, to partake of some refreshments from our 
 wallets, and stretching ourselves at full length, 
 made great havoc upon the water melon. Here 
 we met another party going to Marocco, consisting 
 of a black SherifFe, attended by four or five of his 
 own colour, travelling on foot ; the SherifFe was 
 the most ludicrous picture of despair I ever saw; 
 he was leaning against the trunk of a tree with 
 his hands drooping on each side of him, his tongue 
 hanging out of his mouth, and the tears which 
 were falling from him (for he was crying like a 
 child,) seemed to have found as ready a vent by 
 his mouth as his eyes. His companions were 
 lying round him, either administering consolation, 
 or offering up prayers for his recovery. We im- 
 mediately asked the old fellow what was his com- 
 plaint, when he replied, in a most melancholy 
 tone, that he had eaten of the prickly pear, until 
 he could neither eat nor walk any longer, and that, 
 from the pains he was enduring, he verily believed 
 he should shortly burst. One of our guard ad- 
 vised him to eat some water-melon as a remedy, 
 and handed him a large slice of this highly-prized 
 fruit. I shall never forget the mixture of distress 
 and greediness displayed in the countenance of 
 this hedge-glutton as he seized on the proffered 
 fruit, and was preparing, full as he was, to add to 
 his repletion and pains, when the Doctor told him 
 he would inevitably make himself worse, and 
 begged him not to eat it. It was easy to perceive 
 that this advice but ill suited his inclinations, for 
 
 K 2 
 
132 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 he continued to hold the tempting slice in his 
 hand, alternately looking at the Doctor and the 
 fruit, and uttering long moans of despair, more 
 from regret at not being allowed to eat more, than 
 from the pain he was suffering from having already 
 eaten too much ; but he was at last prevailed on 
 to relinquish the prize, in lieu of which we gave 
 him a glass of cherry brandy, which soon restored 
 him to ease. By this time our baggage had come 
 up, and we were discussing the propriety of con- 
 tinuing our journey through the intense heat, which 
 was now rendered quite suffocating by a hot 
 desart wind which had lately sprung up, when 
 the case was suddenly decided by the determi- 
 nation of our muleteer to halt, who without fur- 
 ther ceremony proceeded to unload the mules, to 
 the great annoyance of the Caid, who had given 
 his advice to the contrary. The latter was, no 
 doubt, in the right, for his animals had suffered 
 great fatigue from this day's journey. Finding 
 that we were not likely to prevail upon the mule- 
 teer to proceed on his road, we retired to the 
 interior of the douar, where we pitched our tents, 
 and sought in vain for shelter from the heat of the 
 shirocco wind. Towards evening, however, this 
 curse of the desart greatly subsided, and I lounged 
 along the bed of the river with my gun, and pro- 
 cured a supply of doves for supper. These birds 
 abound here, as well as in most other parts of 
 Barbary, and are very tame. 
 
 At six the next morning we left the douar, and 
 after passing along a flattish country for two hours, 
 
JOUUXKV TO MAHOCCO. 133 
 
 we suddenly ascended a height, from the top of 
 which we were unexpectedly gratified by the 
 sight of the Atlas mountains. From the hill on 
 which we stood, the eye-sight, shooting over an 
 extensive plain below, partially covered with a 
 green shrub, was first met by the lower range of 
 the Atlas mountains, crossing the plain from east 
 to west, and finally arrested by the dark blue out- 
 line of that range, which well deserves the credit 
 of supporting the heavens to which its lofty head 
 aspires. Then indeed, and not till then, did I 
 feel myself repaid for my arduous journey. As 
 we were admiring this magnificent prospect, an 
 antelope bounded across our road, and disappeared 
 again with great swiftness. No sooner had we 
 descended into the plains below than the heat 
 became intensely severe. At twelve, the usual 
 hour of our rest, Mr. Murray and myself found 
 it so very oppressive, that we halted and laid 
 ourselves down under the shade of a tree, to the 
 great annoyance of our Caid and some of his men, 
 who wished to push on after Dr. Brown, who, 
 regardless of the danger of riding during the 
 great heat of the mid-day sun, had imprudently 
 continued his route, attended only by Hamet 
 Sharked, who, poor fellow, paid but too dearly 
 afterwards, for his faithful services this day. Susee, 
 our Caid, did all that lay in his power to persuade 
 by fair means Mr. Murray and myself to continue 
 our journey, and when he found us deaf to remon- 
 strance, his anxiety for the Doctor's safety induced 
 him to try to work upon our fears, by telling us 
 
134 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 he would go on and leave us to be robbed by the 
 inhabitants of the country ; to which we replied 
 that we were armed, and did not care for robbers, 
 and that he might go when he pleased. The 
 choleric little fellow was greatly nettled to find 
 himself treated so coolly, and swearing in many 
 Arabic oaths, turned his horse's head round, and 
 moved off : he had not gone twenty paces, how- 
 ever, before he again wheeled about, and with 
 silent half-smothered rage returned to the tree, 
 and remained sitting on his horse, while Mr. 
 Murray and I were reposing ourselves, and laugh- 
 ing at the indignation of the Caid, whose astonish- 
 ment at being made the subject of ridicule seemed 
 only balanced by our decided manner of thinking 
 and acting for ourselves, without losing our 
 tempers. To this behaviour, from which Mr. 
 Murray and myself never departed, I attribute 
 much of the respect shewn us during our stay in 
 Barbary. The smallest deviation from a haughty 
 and dignified bearing, is apt to lower you in the 
 eyes of these people, while a contrary manner 
 never fails to inspire respect. After having rested 
 ourselves for about three quarters of an hour, we 
 again mounted our mules, attended by Susee and 
 his men, who kept at a considerable distance, 
 much offended by our late difference. The shi- 
 rocco wind again commenced, but with greater 
 violence and increased heat, and we were not a 
 little delighted to be able to take refuge from it, 
 in about two hours more, in the interior of a cara- 
 vansera, a walled enclosure containing a few 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 135 
 
 covered-in sleeping places. Here we found the 
 Doctor, who had arrived some time before with 
 Hamet Sharkee. The hot wind increasing, we 
 were forced to creep into the sleeping-rooms, and 
 hide ourselves behind the walls to avoid its scorch- 
 ing effects, from which our faces and hands suf- 
 fered greatly. The thermometer stood during 
 this evening in the shade at 961. Our encamp- 
 ment (for we pitched our tent in the interior of 
 this Casa del Re, as the Moors termed it,) was 
 situate at the southern extremity of the extensive 
 plain over which we had travelled this day, and 
 which was bounded on the south by the small 
 chain of the Atlas, running towards the north- 
 east, and said to be the same which is seen from 
 Gibraltar, among which is to be found the town 
 of Tetuan. The shirocco wind, as usual, died 
 away in the evening, and we retired to rest, but 
 not without some symptoms of having over- worked 
 ourselves. Dr. Brown complained of pains in 
 the head, and one of our muleteers had dropped 
 from faintness during the heat of the day, but had 
 recovered by being given some water and allowed 
 to ride on one of the baggage-mules. All our 
 animals, indeed, were greatly exhausted, and how 
 could it be otherwise, when we had performed a 
 journey in fifteen days, which is generally per- 
 formed by the Moors themselves in twenty or 
 twenty-five days ; and it will be wondered at by 
 those who hear it, that a man who, like Dr. Brown, 
 possesses pre-eminent abilities, should so greatly 
 err against common-sense as to disregard all the 
 
136 
 
 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 prudential advice which we had received from the 
 inhabitants of the country, concerning rapidity of 
 travelling, and "exposing ourselves to the mid-day 
 sun. In my opinion a traveller should never totally 
 disregard the advice and customs of the people 
 amongst whom he is travelling, however ignorant 
 they may happen to be. Experience, a severe 
 master, must have taught them the best method 
 of combating the evils of their climate. An 
 Englishman, however, is too apt to consider all 
 prudence as effeminate, and all advice as humbug. 
 With this head-strong notion he goes forth to 
 travel, and runs 'his head into any folly, trusting 
 to his own personal exertions to retrieve himself. 
 Thus, whenever it has been my lot to meet 
 Englishmen in foreign countries, I have invariably 
 found them suffering from the bad effects of the 
 climate, and enjoying but few of its advantages. 
 Their houses are badly built, after their own 
 opinionated fashion, and badly adapted to the cli- 
 mate. They wear the same cloathing as if they 
 were in their native country ; take the same ex- 
 ercise at all hours as they have been accustomed 
 to ; follow the same diet ; and keep the same 
 hours ; not only avoiding all those customs and 
 habits which experience has shewn necessary, but 
 also abusing and ridiculing them ; and why ? 
 Because they are not English.* 
 
 * " Uso ridicule, que nace de una preocupaeion en favor de 
 nosotros mismos," Viage de la Razon. Vide Appendix, B, 
 
JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 137 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Arrival at Marocco. Reception at that Place. 
 
 AT seven o'clock in the morning of the 7th of 
 August, we started, with more spirit than strength, 
 to complete our journey. At eleven we had 
 passed the small chain of the Atlas ; the soil was 
 of a reddish hue, covered with quartz, and per- 
 pendicular strata of slate-stone formed the rock of 
 these heights, which are partially covered with 
 shrubs and pasture for sheep. The view that pre- 
 sented itself to us on passing the minor range of the 
 Atlas was truly magnificent. The great city of Ma- 
 rocco lay in the centre of a vast plain, covered with 
 olive and date trees, from whose feathering heads 
 arose many a lofty mosque and minaret. To the 
 right of the city there grew, as it were, suddenly 
 from out the dead flat, a mountain, in the centre of 
 which is a deep indent or valley, resembling the 
 crater of an exhausted volcano. To the east and 
 west the plain was unbounded ; but to the south 
 arose before the astonished si^ht that stupendous 
 
138 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 mountain-range the Atlas, seeming to mock the 
 efforts of man to pass it, and dividing the mind of 
 the beholder between the thoughts of his own 
 insignificance, and the sublime grandeur of his 
 Creator. 
 
 Having descended into the plain, we entered 
 the most beautiful groves of palm trees, beneath 
 the shade of whose lofty heads, herds of cattle 
 were reposing, or browsing, on smooth lawns of 
 an eternal verdure, nourished by a thousand 
 streams of clear mountain-water, intersecting the 
 ground in all directions. The sleepy sound of 
 the shirocco wind,* as it sighed through the fringed 
 branches of these elegant trees, and the low soft 
 cooing of the amorous dove to the partner of his 
 joy, bestowed on this enchanting scene a bewitch- 
 ing softness, which contrasted finely with the 
 unfinished magnificence of the harsh outline of 
 mountains before us, lying scattered, as if by 
 the Divine wrath, in chaotic confusion. 
 
 A well-built bridge of three arches crosses the 
 bed of the mountain river, from which the various 
 streams emanate. At this time the water was 
 rather shallow, but it contains, in the deeper parts, 
 abundance of grey mullet. Here we rested until 
 our baggage came up, sheltering ourselves under 
 the arches from the burning rays of the sun. The 
 bed of this stream is composed of small round 
 pebbles much resembling the verde antique, found 
 among the ruins of ancient Rome.-(" 
 
 * This wind may be instantly recognized by a peculiar sighing 
 noise, the effect of its unsteady gusty nature, 
 t Vide Appendix, C. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 130 
 
 Pursuing our route, the scene soon changed, 
 and the road continued to run through extensive 
 gardens of the olive and pomegranate, and was 
 bordered on either side with magazines for corn, 
 excavated in the earth, and lined with hard plaster, 
 like the interior of a gigantic oval jar. At two 
 o'clock we came in sight of the walls of Marocco, 
 around which the plain appears very uneven from 
 the numerous mines from which salt-petre is dug. 
 It is difficult to imagine, and still more so to 
 describe, the scene which presented itself to us 
 upon passing the arched gate of the town, built of 
 red sand-stone, and carved and painted in the 
 Arabesque. The crowds of wild handsome coun- 
 tenances ; the muscular forms of the half-naked 
 mountaineers, as they pressed forward with eager 
 curiosity to gaze at the Nazarenes ; the astonish- 
 ment depicted on some countenances ; the scorn 
 or indifference on others ; the listless apathy of 
 the well-dressed sitters ;* and the crafty look of 
 the tawny Arab ; were objects that conspired to 
 render the whole a most amusing study. It was 
 with considerable difficulty that the crowd could 
 be kept off ; for their curiosity was so great that 
 they risked the severest blows to obtain the plea- 
 sure of touching our cloathes, and more particu- 
 larly our arms, which seemed to excite their utmost 
 cupidity. Half choaked with dust, and parched 
 with a sun that made us wonder how the human 
 frame could endure it, we continued to thread the 
 
 * It is the custom of the best-dressed and most respectable 
 classes, to sit cross-legged, doing nothing. 
 
140 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 streets, attended by a mob. We passed the exe- 
 cution ground, where we saw three headsmen 
 seated beneath little wigwams, reposing in the 
 heat of the day, like blood hounds tired of inaction, 
 and longing for their prey ; and after traversing 
 extensive wastes, covered with ruins, and inter- 
 sected with mud walls, we arrived at the grand 
 mosque, a fine specimen of the ancient Moorish 
 style, in form and size nearly resembling the 
 one I have already described at Rabat, and sup- 
 posed to have been built by the same architect. 
 Here we again entered the habitable part of the 
 town, the houses of which are generally low and 
 small, and the streets so choaked up with an accu- 
 mulation of annual filth which is never removed, 
 that in many places the floors of the houses are 
 some feet below the street, and the inmates are 
 obliged rather to crawl than walk into what more 
 resembles a burrow than a house. After about 
 four miles journeying through this enormous half- 
 ruined city, we descried the green-tiled* roofs of 
 the royal abode, amidst extensively walled gar- 
 dens of the dark olive and the orange ; and sud- 
 denly entering an extensive walled square court- 
 yard, we found ourselves in the precincts of the 
 Sultan's harem. Scattered over the square were 
 numbers of blue-striped bell-tents, beneath whose 
 shade were sleeping or dozing in Moorish apathy, 
 the Sultan's guards, while their patient horses 
 stood fetlocked to a rope around the tents, exposed 
 to the burning rays of the sun. The heat had 
 
 * Green tiles are a royal prerogative. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 141 
 
 now become so insufferable from the scorching 
 of the shirocco wind, that existence actually be- 
 came burthensome, and with great pleasure did 
 we at last alight, at four o'clock, under a lofty 
 gateway, or guard-house, supported by pillars and 
 arches, and tenanted by Caids of the troops, 
 eating their couscassou, playing at cards, or 
 counting their beads. Here we stretched our- 
 selves on the earthen floor, and gave loose to our 
 insatiable thirst. It was vain, however, that we 
 tried to quench it by draught after draught of 
 cold water, and slices of water melon ; for these 
 had no sooner passed the throat, than the mouth 
 again became as dry as parchment, and the moist- 
 less tongue rattled as it essayed to speak. Never 
 shall I forget what I suffered this evening, as we 
 lay stretched on the ground cursing the odious 
 servility of the court, which prevented the minis- 
 ters from disturbing the Sultan to announce our 
 arrival . The fact was, that we had arrived at an 
 unlucky hour ; it being the custom of the Sultan 
 to retire from public business at ten o'clock, and 
 solace himself in the society of his women until 
 the hour of four, no one being allowed to enter 
 the harem during these hours of royal recreation. 
 Thus no one dared approach his Highness 
 to apprise him of our arrival, and preparations 
 not having been made for our reception, no one 
 knew to what house we were to be taken. All 
 affairs, of whatever importance they may be, are 
 at a stand-still, during these hours of royal re- 
 tirement, during which we continued to drink cold 
 
142 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 water and execrate despotism ; and in this manner 
 contrived to pass away five or six of the most 
 painful hours of our lives. At last the long soft 
 tones of the Muczier's voice from the tower of the 
 royal mosque announced the hour of evening 
 prayer, which the Sultan regularly attends when 
 he leaves the women's apartments, and after- 
 wards transacts public business, or v/alks in his 
 garden. 
 
 A favourite black eunuch, Gaid Feradge, a fol- 
 lower of the late Sultan's, now came to us, and 
 expressed his master's welcome, begging us to 
 follow him to a house in a neighbouring garden 
 of the palace. Conceive then our disappointment 
 and rage, after anticipating the pleasure of a com- 
 fortable night's rest in a good airy dwelling, when 
 we found ourselves introduced to a summer-house 
 or virandah, built against a wall, and entirely open 
 on one side, without even a screen to protect us 
 from the scorching wind! In front of this was 
 a grass plot, on which we pitched our tent, and 
 at each extremity of the virandah was a small 
 dirty room, resembling a gardener's tool-house, 
 but having neither doors nor windows. In one of 
 these Dr. Brown resolved to pass the night, but 
 Mr. Murray and myself preferred sleeping in the 
 tent. We then bade our interpreter declare our 
 wants, and a succession of servants continued to 
 bring us a profusion of every thing we demanded. 
 A sheep was killed, and hung up to a neighbouring 
 tree ; chickens were fluttering about with their 
 legs tied ; and as much of vegetables and fruit 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 143 
 
 lay scattered around as would have given the rot 
 to a herd of cows. During this vegetable display 
 of his Highness's magnificence, Mr. Murray and 
 myself continued to utter in Spanish, which our 
 guards partially understood, our most bitter in- 
 vectives against the Sultan, for placing us in such 
 a situation, and our determination not to put up 
 with such scandalous treatment. All this we well 
 knew would not fail to reach the Sultan's ears, 
 and so it afterwards proved by our change. Dr. 
 Brown, who complained greatly of head-ache,, 
 retired to rest, and Mr. Murray and I sat 
 down to our tea, and talked over our journey. 
 The prospect before us at another time might have 
 pleased us. The summer-house was placed, as I 
 said before, against the wall of an extensive gar- 
 den, planted with the olive and pomegranate, 
 through which ran two large walks, intersecting 
 each other at right angles from end to end of the 
 garden, flanked on either side by small rills of 
 running water, while the boughs of the picturesque 
 and peaceful olive, intermingling their graceful 
 foliage, formed the most beautiful avenues ima- 
 ginable. At the end of one of these stood our 
 tent, and in the centre of the walk our guards 
 and a party of soldiers were regaling themselves 
 with the offals of the newly-slaughtered sheep, 
 while a charcoal fire, over which they cooked their 
 meat, shed its red glare upon the expression of 
 their half-savage bearded faces, as they whiled 
 away their watch in singing and playing at cards. 
 Many, I dare say, were the good things that 
 
144 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 passed round, for roars of wild laughter continued 
 to break the stillness of the night. The shirocco 
 had in a measure subsided, and " up rose the yel- 
 low moon," not with a pale and virgin light, but 
 roseate and inflamed, she rose from a vapoury 
 bank of Eastern Malavia, looking agueish and 
 fevered. 
 
 Tempted by the warmth of the night, and the 
 coolness of the running stream at hand, I stole 
 into the water, endeavouring to cool my heated 
 frame before I retired to rest, and disturbed a 
 consultation of deep-mouthed orators, who swam 
 off with as much precipitation as if I had been the 
 crane sent by Jove in answer to their petition. I 
 must confess that this was indulging very impru- 
 dently, and I afterwards suffered for it. 
 
.101 ItM-.V TO MAKOCCO. 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIIT. 
 Residence at Marocco. 
 
 THE heat of the sun disturbed us at an early 
 hour the next morning from our feverish slumbers, 
 and it would have been difficult to decide who 
 seemed most exhausted by our journey, for all 
 complained of some illness except myself. 
 Though I had passed but a troubled night, I 
 felt no illness on rising. Shortly after our 
 breakfast, the heat of the day increased so sud- 
 denly, that the rays of the sun darted through 
 the thin planking of our virandah, making us, 
 like the man in jEsop's fable, cast off our gar- 
 ments one after the other ; but this caused us 
 more uneasiness, for the effect of the shirocco 
 wind proved so painful to the naked skin, that we 
 were obliged to resume our cloathing. To re- 
 medy this breath of hell, we nailed up the walls 
 of our tent against the open side of the virandah, 
 and continued to throw cold water over it, and to 
 sprinkle the floor ; but all was in vain; and we at 
 last desisted from endeavours to cool ourselves by 
 
146 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 which we only became more heated, and resigning 
 ourselves to our fate, sat cursing the barbarity 
 of the Sultan in not having better provided for 
 our reception, and expressing the bitterest in- 
 vectives against his Highness for such neglect. 
 All this had its effect, for several Moors from the 
 court calling upon us, heard our complaints, and 
 no doubt bore them back, giving the Sultan a more 
 exalted idea, than he had first entertained, of the 
 rank and condition of his European visitors. 
 Dr. Brown now complained of great heaviness 
 of the head, and found it necessary to let a con- 
 siderable quantity of blood, which greatly relieved 
 him. During this operation a Jewish Renegade, 
 who had lately arrived from Mogadore, came to see 
 us. This fellow talked Spanish fluently, and had 
 evidently been sent expressly to sound us, and to 
 ascertain our views beyond that of the avowed 
 one of having come for the benefit of the Sultan's 
 health. To this man, then, we explained, how 
 Mr. Murray and myself had attended the Doctor 
 for the pleasure of travelling in a foreign country, 
 and that being great people in our own, we felt 
 much hurt at being left at the mercy of the cli- 
 mate in a place in which we should have scorned 
 to house our dogs. I further assured him that I 
 should try to prevail upon the Doctor to return to 
 Gibraltar, and represent in the strongest manner 
 the indignity of the treatment we had experi- 
 enced. All this I delivered with a haughty and 
 indignant air, and gave the Renegade to understand 
 that he was listening to one who was determined 
 never to part with one iota of his dignity. I then 
 
TO MAKOCCO. 147 
 
 pointed to the blood which the Doctor had just 
 taken from his arm, and endeavoured to impress 
 upon his mind the extreme danger of our situation, 
 in being left exposed to the sun in this summer- 
 house. He seemed much surprised that we did 
 not like the situation, affording, as it did, the ad- 
 vantages of a fine garden and streams of \vater, 
 and added that this was the place to which all 
 foreign ambassadors and great men were con- 
 ducted when they arrived at Marocco. He left 
 us soon after this, and promised to make a faith- 
 ful report of our situation and our wants. Mr. 
 Murray soon complained of pains in the head and 
 fever, and Dr. Brown shortly after took to his 
 bed with a galloping pulse. Poor Hamet Sharkee 
 wore the most dismal but resigned countenance I 
 ever beheld, and it was but too evident that he 
 had suffered under the previous day's journey 
 from the exposure to the heat of the mid-day sun. 
 The two servants were also taken ill, the Genoese 
 in particular, with a violent cholera morbus, which 
 the Doctor declared might prove fatal to him in a 
 few hours unless he were bled. I therefore 
 despatched a soldier for a Jewish woman who was 
 reckoned cunning in the art of phlebotomy, and 
 in the meantime I mixed up doses of physic for 
 the whole party, as the Doctor dictated from his 
 bed. Two muleteers now followed the general 
 example. To all these sick people I was forced 
 to attend. The Doctor often begged me not to 
 expose myself so much to the sun ; but what could 
 1 do? On every side lay stretched, beneath llu: 
 
 i U 
 
148 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 trees, our guards and attendants, suffering for 
 want of aid ; an aid which I could not find it in 
 my heart to refuse them, though I well knew the 
 risk I ran in administering to their wants. I shall 
 never forget, however, the face of gratitude of poor 
 Sharkee as he looked his silent thanks when I 
 gave him some salts, and then mixed him a cup of 
 tea to take after them. The poor fellow, who had 
 seen better life, was pleased to be so kindly no- 
 ticed while in a situation that precluded him from 
 soliciting a favour. His good heart was too full to 
 express what he felt, but the thankful look of his 
 noble countenance well repaid me for the risk I 
 was running in his behalf. I was soon hurried 
 away by a messenger, who came to inform me that 
 another of the guards had been suddenly attacked 
 by the cholera morbus. I repaired to a distant part 
 of the garden, and there found the unhappy man 
 half naked rolling on the ground in the most excru- 
 ciating pain, and groaning piteously. I imme- 
 diately ran for some medicine which I made him 
 swallow. The Jewish woman came soon after- 
 wards, and having bled the Genoese servant, 
 which she did by making a gash in his arm that 
 made the man faint with fear from the size of it, 
 I bade her perform the same operation on the sol- 
 dier. By this timely precaution they both re- 
 covered. Mr. Murray's illness seemed to increase 
 rapidly. In the evening the Sultan sent his 
 physician, an old man with a most venerably white 
 beard, (whose knowledge consisted chiefly in the 
 art of burning with hot irons, and giving sentences 
 of the Koran as charms,) to beg a bit of plaster 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 149 
 
 for a wound of his Majesty's sublime toe y and 
 further to ascertain from the Doctor for what pur- 
 ppse the two great Caids attending him had come 
 to Marocco, on which he seemed to entertain 
 much jealousy and suspicion. The Doctor told 
 me that he had assured him our intentions were 
 honourable, and our motives mere curiosity, and 
 for the object of being companions to him ; but 
 though I ought not to doubt Dr. Brown's best in- 
 tentions, I much fear that he neglected explaining 
 our situation as I had begged he would do, namely, 
 to say that these officers had come with him as 
 his companions, without whom he could never 
 have himself been tempted to undertake the ex- 
 pedition ; that as he came of his own free will, it 
 could not be expected that he would do so without 
 the society of a friend, in a country witji whose 
 language and manners he was unacquainted ; and 
 that he had accordingly chosen us as being men 
 of the same style of life as himself. This would 
 have effectually put a stop to many future in- 
 quiries concerning us, and much suspicion. To 
 this man the Doctor again expressed our desire to 
 be provided with a comfortable house for the 
 benefit of our health, which was suffering greatly 
 from our present exposure to the direful effects of 
 the climate. Late in the evening the Sultan sent 
 to say that a house should be prepared for us the 
 next day. In the mean time Dr. Brown's 
 fever had increased alarmingly ; violent vomitings 
 took place; and I felt much concerned at the 
 dreary prospect around. The fatigue of my duties, 
 
150 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 as assistant-surgeon, had brought on a slight 
 head-ache and feverish feel, and Mr. Murray and 
 myself retired early to bed. 
 
 This morning, (9th August) dawned upon a most 
 sickly crew. The Doctor whose fever had increased, 
 had passed a delirious night ; Mr. Murray and 
 myself felt but slightly relieved ; and all the rest, 
 except Sharkee, were something easier. At ten 
 o'clock the Renegade came and told us that the 
 Sultan had ordered our escort to be ready to see 
 us to Mogadore. No clap of thunder could have 
 more startled us than such a message at such a 
 time. We exclaimed loudly against so barbarous a 
 proceeding, and were preparing to send a message 
 to the Sultan, when the mistake was cleared up 
 by the appearance of a most quizzical, comical 
 little fellow in European costume, (a Spanish 
 Doctor he proved to be) who threw his queer 
 withered countenance into the form of a pair of 
 nut-crackers, and invariably prescribed phlebo- 
 tomy for all evils. He had come from Gibraltar 
 by desire of a rich Jew at Mogadore, who had 
 died before he reached that place, and the Sultan 
 hearing of him, had sent to him to desire his at- 
 tendance upon a Basha in the neighbourhood of 
 Marocco, whence he had just returned. Having 
 cured the Basha, and pocketed his gains, he was 
 preparing to return to Mogadore, and it was for 
 him that the Sultan had ordered the escort to be 
 ready, and our friend the Renegade had mistaken 
 the English Tibib* for the Spanish one. The Sultan, 
 
 * Tibib, or Durtor. 
 
JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 151 
 
 however, on being informed of the Doctor's illness, 
 had ordered the little Spaniard to remain another 
 clay or two, to render us any assistance that we 
 stood in need of; he, therefore, with Dr. Brown's 
 consent, proceeded to exercise upon him his 
 favourite practice, which slightly relieved him. To 
 our great joy the message at last arrived that we 
 were to be taken in the evening to our new 
 lodging. At about six o'clock, after the heat of 
 a burning day had in a measure subsided, the 
 Caid of the household, a tall athletic bustling 
 fellow, arrived at the garden, attended by a host 
 of young servants and mules, to convey us and our 
 baggage to the house prepared for us. Mr. Mac- 
 nean, whom our interpreter designated the great 
 Mr.Macnean, came to see us, attended by a back- 
 biting friend and servant : he told us with great 
 freedom that he was delighted to have the pleasure 
 of seeing us here, and that he had lived many 
 years in London, whither he went with his brother, 
 who was sent from the court of Marocco to that of 
 St. James's as the Sultan's Minister, and he ended 
 by assuring us of his goodwill towards us, and his 
 desire to serve us by the Sultan, with whom he 
 was, to use his own terms, "all the same Mr. Pitt, 
 all the same Mr Fox." 
 
 The Doctor made a violent exertion of the little 
 strength he possessed, and being placed on a 
 mule and Mr. Murray on another, I preferred 
 walking ; and thus we left with little regret the 
 abode of frogs and toads, and in ten minutes more 
 found ourselves in the interior of a spacious and 
 
152 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 lofty house. It consisted of four superbly-sized 
 rooms, forming a quadrangle, in the middle of 
 which a stone paved court resounded with the 
 soft splash of a spout of water issuing from a 
 marble basin placed in the centre. At the north 
 end of these apartments were kitchens, store- 
 rooms, and baths of all sorts, neatly paved with 
 small coloured tiles. This house formerly belonged 
 to old Muley Absolam, the Blind Prince, of whom 
 Ali Bey talks in such amiable terms.* It stands 
 close to the royal harem, and has a small garden, 
 on the south side, abounding in fruit trees. This 
 delightful change appeared to augur well for 
 the improvement of our health, and we beg- 
 ged the Caid to thank the Sultan, and say 
 that we were satisfied. The Doctor and Mr. 
 Murray retired immediately to bed, and I set 
 about arranging my room, and making myself 
 comfortable against an attack of sickness, for I 
 felt very feverish and heated. Whilst thus em- 
 ployed, a most dignified looking personage, with 
 a grey beard, dressed in the finest haiks of a 
 milky white, came floating into the Doctor's 
 apartment, to whom the united representative of 
 Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox paid the most servile adu- 
 lation, and announced him as Prince Belgazzi, 
 the Sultan's great friend and minister, which 
 may be interpreted, the Sultan's Tom-fool and butt. 
 He came loaded with the kindest inquires from 
 the Sultan concerning us, and with offers of the 
 
 * Muley 's Son was at this timeabscnton some duty of the Sultan's, 
 
.Kiril\ MY TO .MA HOC CO. 153 
 
 unbounded services of his master, whose whole 
 wish it was to treat us as such distinguished 
 guests deserved. All this was said with excessive 
 dignity and decorum, and having finished, he 
 retired amidst the most servile salutations of the 
 Moors present, and the great Mr. Macnean, who 
 himself shortly afterwards withdrew, and I pre- 
 pared to retire to rest. The heat of this day had 
 been nearly equal to that of the preceding one, and 
 again I yielded to the same temptation as on the 
 evening of our arrival, and having undressed, sat 
 myself down in the basin of the fountain, enjoying 
 the coolnes of the water as I threw it about me. I 
 had not, however, been in long, before I suddenly 
 became much cooler, and at intervals, a slight 
 shivering came over me. Alarmed at this sudden 
 change from burning heat to cold, I left the water 
 hastily and retired to my bed, courting in vain that 
 warmth which I had so lately shunned. To this 
 succeeded a hot fit, which first convinced me that 
 I had been attacked with the ague. 
 
 The next morning found us all ill, except our 
 Jewish servant. Dr. Brown's fever had increased 
 still further ; Mr. Murray and myself were very 
 feverish; and our two servants were nearly incapa- 
 ble of serving. Mr. Macnean came early this 
 morning to ascertain what supplies we stood in 
 need of, having been ordered by the Sultan to see 
 us kindly treated. We then put down on paper the 
 several articles of house-furniture and provisions 
 of which we stood in need. The interpreter in- 
 troduced to us a Jew named Jacob, a great man 
 amongst his tribe, who had been ordered by the 
 
154 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Sultan to supply us with all we demanded, and to 
 levy the pay ment on the Jewish community at large. 
 This fellow begged that we would be as merciful 
 on the Jews as possible, as they were very poor ; 
 we therefore cut our expenditure down as low as 
 we could, from a feeling of kindness towards these 
 proverbial cheats; and the satisfaction we after- 
 wards derived from our humanity, was, to hear that 
 our friend Jacob not only cheated us by seizing on 
 his brethren to the full extent of what we had 
 agreed to abate from our original demands, but he 
 cheated the Sultan too, who had ordered him to 
 keep an account of what we were supplied with, 
 that he might repay the Jews at a future period; 
 which account, by Jacob's reckoning, increased of 
 course seven-fold. During the course of the morning 
 Caid Feradge, the Sultan's favourite Eunuch, came 
 to us with the kindest inquiries from his royal 
 master concerning us, and begging that we would 
 apply for every thing we stood in need of. This 
 we promised to do. Mr. Murray and I, find- 
 ing ourselves grow worse, returned to bed with 
 intermitting fevers. The Spanish Doctor coming 
 to see us, immediately recommended his usual 
 practice, to which we both most willingly sub- 
 mitted, and afterwards felt much relieved by the 
 loss of blood. To complete our misfortunes, the 
 Sultan sent us large supplies of ice, which melted 
 untouched before our eyes, like the passing stream 
 of Tantalus. The heat this evening became in- 
 tolerably suffocating, and night closed upon us by 
 a loud storm of thunder bursting over our heads, 
 but unattended by rain. 
 
101'KM V TO MAItOCCO. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Residence at Marocco, continued. 
 
 As the greater part of our residence in Marocco 
 was passed in sickness, I shall here drop my daily 
 narrative, and endeavour to give a rough sketch of 
 what passed under our observation during the 
 time we remained there. Two days after entering 
 our house, Mr. Murray and myself slightly re- 
 covered from our fever, but on the day following 
 I was attacked with a tertian ague in all its horrors, 
 which soon after changed into a quartan, and then 
 to an irregular one. At the end of this time, about 
 eight days, Dr. Brown began to recover, and 
 I was suddenly attacked with the liver complaint, 
 for which he thought it necessary to bleed me 
 and put me under a course of salivation. This 
 reduced me so much that the ague again came on 
 in all its shapes, nor was it possible to keep it oft* 
 with the ordinary remedy of quinine bark, which 
 I dared not touch. My stomach became so 
 violently irritable as to reject the smallest nourish- 
 ment, and during nine days at one time I re- 
 ceived nothing but lemonade. In this condition I 
 
156 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 languished for sixty-three days, the time we re- 
 mained with the Sultan, forty- three of which 
 I passed in bed. Now and then the ague left me 
 for a few days, and, tempted by the beautiful view 
 of the Atlas, I would crawl to the top of the house 
 to gaze upon its blue snow-clad outline, or hobble 
 with Mr. Murray through our shady garden ; but 
 , even these gratifications were denied us, for on 
 every occasion of the kind my ague returned. 
 
 Mr. Murray after a short time was also severely 
 attacked with the same complaint, and in a few 
 days was reduced to a skeleton : he, however, 
 shook it off for a time, and though he had several 
 attacks afterwards, yet they only recurred at 
 considerable intervals, during which he again 
 picked us his strength, and became stouter than 
 we had ever seen him before. 
 
 Dr. Brown, during the last month of our 
 stay at Marocco, suffered most severely from 
 dysentery, and we again became greatly concerned 
 for his life ; looking upon his superior abilities as 
 our only staff, we felt doubly interested in his 
 safety ; but after a most trying illness, which he 
 bore heroically, he recovered sufficient strength 
 to enable him to leave Marocco. During our 
 residence at the capital, the Doctor went, by the 
 Sultan's desire, as often as he was able, to consult 
 with his Majesty on the state of his health, and 
 that of his son. The evil under which the Sultan 
 labours is piles. The Doctor often begged him 
 to desist from the use of horse-exercise which 
 would render his disease fatal to him ; but his 
 
JOUKNFY TO MAROCCO. 157 
 
 invariable reply was, that he might as well give up 
 his crown as abandon his usual practice of riding 
 every morning among his Caids ; a custom in- 
 separable from the possession of his authority ; 
 that while other kings shewed themselves to their 
 subjects mounted on a throne, those of Marocco 
 did so on their horses. This disease being far 
 advanced, is likely soon to terminate his life. 
 The Sultan has two sons by his Sultana or Queen, 
 from whom the right of succession proceeds. The 
 number of his women defies all calculation, and is 
 the cause of more expenditure than all the rest of 
 his establishment. Besides numbers of black and 
 white slaves which he purchases, his subjects 
 are continually bringing him their daughters 
 as presents, in hopes, through the medium of 
 their charms, to obtain a share of the royal 
 favour. These women, after a short time, are 
 abandoned for fresh ones, and either sent as 
 presents, or married as wives, to the great men of 
 the kingdom, or they are placed with a comfortable 
 maintenance in one of the royal harems in the dif- 
 ferent towns of the empire. The Sultan's eldest 
 son is eleven years old, and was much afflicted 
 with what we call the Scotch-fiddle, an annoyance 
 that seemed to be very prevalent at court, at least 
 if we may judge from the numerous applications 
 we had for the precious ointment. 
 
 It was a long time before I became sufficiently 
 recovered to pay my respects to the Sultan. At 
 last an interval occurred from sickness, and in com- 
 pany with the Doctor and Mr. Murray, and attended 
 
158 JOUKXKY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 by his Majesty's tea-maker, a Caid who grew 
 much attached to us, I repaired to the Sultan's 
 apartments. We were conducted into a spacious 
 garden, surrounded by a very lofty wall. It was 
 well stocked with fruit trees of different sorts, and 
 was watered by streams from the Atlas ; the whole 
 having the appearance of a kitchen garden. Our 
 conductor had hardly proceeded two paces when 
 he came to a dead stop, as you may see an old 
 pointer do when he suddenly catches the scent of 
 his game. Thus our Caid, having bowed himself 
 to the ground, with his hand to his forehead, stood 
 with his head outstretched, his eyes fixed, and 
 his arms extended on either side to prevent us 
 from proceeding, as he hastily exclaimed Seedna, 
 Seedna !* My eyes followed the direction of his, 
 and at the distance of three hundred yards, I per- 
 ceived the Sultan walking towards us, who im- 
 mediately waved his hand as a signal for our ap- 
 proach. We soon found ourselves in his presence, 
 and having bowed with our hats off, w replaced 
 them, and the Jewish interpreter, having taken 
 off his shoes, proceeded to do his office. The 
 Sultan is, from appearance, about forty-two years 
 of age, his figure rather inclined to be corpulent 
 and squat, and his height five feet nine inches. The 
 expression of a naturally good-humoured counte- 
 nance is much destroyed by a white spot on his 
 left eye, which gives him the appearance of 
 squinting ; his beard is short, black, and bushy, 
 and he is the only man in his dominions who 
 * Our Lord! Our Lord! 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 159 
 
 grows the hair between his neck and the outer 
 joint of his chin, it being considered dangerous to 
 allow of the too near approach of the razor to the 
 royal throat, for fear of those accidents from which 
 even Sultans are not exempt. He began the con- 
 versation by addressing Mr. Murray and myself, 
 hoping that we had recovered our health, and how 
 well aware he was of the power of England, 
 which he looked upon as his dearest ally, and the 
 English as his brethren, a feeling which had long 
 been cherished by the Moors. I then assured 
 him, in return, how reciprocal was the feeling, 
 and how anxious we were on our part to keep it 
 alive. He then addressed the Doctor concerning 
 his health, and after some fresh civilities con- 
 cerning his wish to make us comfortable, he ob- 
 served that I appeared very ill, and he would not 
 therefore detain us further; and having desired the 
 Caid to show us round the garden, he waved his 
 hand, and we bowed and left him. During this 
 time he remained sitting on a red cloth cushion 
 placed on a projecting edge of the garden- wall, 
 built for this purpose. In this manner he receives 
 all missions ; no one sits in his presence or is 
 offered refreshments, and yet there is no osten- 
 tation or pride in his dress or manners, which are 
 both perfectly simple. At the further end of the 
 garden we ascended a sort of house, which he calls 
 in the European style, because it contains two 
 iron fire-places, and some window frames devoid 
 of glass. From a tiled terrace in front of these 
 windows is a most charming view, overlooking, 
 
!(]() JOUKXKY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 as it does, the different court yards of the harem 
 and the city, and affording an uninterrupted view 
 of the entire range of the Atlas mountains, be- 
 witching the plain from east to west with grandeur. 
 The palace is an enormous establishment in all its 
 branches ; vast court-yards, with fountains in the 
 centre ; with store-houses, baths, sleeping apart- 
 ments, women's apartments, gardens, kitchens, et 
 cetera, all comprehended within its lofty walls, 
 which are about sixty feet high, and turreted on 
 the top after the Moorish fashion. These walls, as 
 well as all others at Marocco, are built of mud and 
 pebbles, beaten with rammers between two planks, 
 which form a frame, and then left to dry, or rather 
 bake, by the heat of the sun. The palace stands at 
 the southern extremity of the city, without its 
 walls, and facing the Atlas. The royal gardens 
 are numerous and extensive, but containing little 
 more than fruit trees ; roses and violets being the 
 only two flowers which are prized by the Moors. 
 These are, in their season, said to be very superior 
 in their odour to anything we possess in Europe, 
 and so abundant, that the luxurious make use 
 of them for stuffing cushions and mattrasses. 
 
 Upon reaching our house I was again attacked 
 with ague. Three times did I sit down before a 
 large canvass, with a desire of sketching a view of 
 the Atlas range, and each time was I taken with 
 my shivering fit ; the same occurred whenever I 
 attempted to write my journal, so that I was unable 
 to retain much of the conversation and anecdote 
 which occurred during our prolonged residence at 
 the capitol. 
 
JOURXKY TO MAROCCO. 161 
 
 Sultan Muley Abrachman appears to deserve 
 the opinion formed of him by his uncle Muley 
 Slieman, or Soliman, who left him, by will, the 
 sole heir to his crown and kingdom, to the pre- 
 judice of eighteen sons, because he looked upon 
 him as a sensible man ; and so he has proved 
 himself to be, by his wise behaviour in establishing 
 himself on his throne, not by the eastern mode, 
 the extermination of the late Sultan's family, 
 but by relying on his people's affections, which he 
 wins by his humanity and his kindness to those 
 very sons to whose prejudice he has mounted the 
 throne. These he keeps near his court, and by 
 this double line of policy and kindness, he pre- 
 vents sedition, and shews the world that he has 
 not ascended the throne by slaughter, but by the 
 justness of his claim, which is founded on the 
 uncontested will of his late uncle, whose voice, 
 say his followers, was the voice of the Holy 
 Prophet. From the expression of Muley Abrach- 
 man's countenance, he seems possessed of much 
 good-nature, and a degree of sly fun or humour, 
 which is seldom found in a man of a bad dispo- 
 sition. Stories are told of his having performed 
 the office of his own executioner, for the pleasure 
 of gratifying his revenge ; but these we heard 
 from our Jew interpreter, and therefore gave no 
 credit to them. 
 
 The arrangement of the royal hours are as fol- 
 lows. The Sultan rises at day-light, and having 
 said prayers, walks in his garden unattended, 
 giving orders to the workmen around him. At 
 
 M 
 
162 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 eight, he mounts his horse, and rides for two or 
 three hours, attended by all his great Caids or 
 Captains, who continue to gallop past him, and 
 discharge their long guns, loaded with blank 
 cartridge, at his royal person, so that his ride 
 is an unceasing Lab el Barode. On returning 
 from this exercise he retires to his women's 
 apartments until four o'clock in the evening, 
 enjoying the bath, and such other et cceteras as his 
 harem can offer with all its numbered charms and 
 charmers. At four he goes to the mosque for 
 evening prayers, and afterwards either rides, or 
 transacts business, during the remainder of the 
 evening. The favourite minister at court is Bel- 
 gazzi, not the Prime Minister, who was at this 
 time at Saffy, but the private friend and butt of 
 his Highness, to whom, even the Premier in Bar- 
 bary, as well as in other more civilized countries, 
 is obliged at times to buckle. Muley Belgazzi is a 
 man of about thirty-six years of age, and an old 
 follower of the Sultan's ; he has succeeded, by a 
 most unqualified good-humour, in gaining the 
 entire confidence of his Sovereign, to whose pre- 
 sence he has unrestrained access, arid whose hours 
 of relaxation he diverts, by telling him the scandal 
 of the day, and bearing the brunt of the Sultan's 
 practical jokes, who takes great pleasure in laugh- 
 ing at his good-natured Falstaff. 
 
 Belgazzi came often to see us, and was greatly 
 flattered by our kindness to him, in shewing him 
 all our European articles of utility and conveni- 
 ence, a description of which he never failed to make 
 to his indulgent lord. Shortly after our arrival, I 
 
.JOUKM-.Y TO MAROCCO. I fj,'> 
 
 gave him a pound of fine Battle powder, at which 
 he seemed greatly delighted, and proposed load- 
 ing his gun immediately with a handful of it, as 
 is their custom : against the danger of this, 
 however, I warned him, and he ran off to the 
 Sultan, as a boy who has had a present given him, 
 to shew it to his companion. He afterwards told 
 us that Seedna had taken his powder from him 
 for his own use, and then laughed at him. But 
 what delighed him most, were some sketches I 
 made, and more particularly one of a striped rat. 
 I shall never forget his half- frantic joy at discover- 
 ing me sitting before the drawing which I had 
 just finished, and the dead rat from which I had 
 taken it. Again and again he looked at the rat 
 and the picture, and he appeared at times doubt- 
 ful whether he were not dreaming, and then 
 burst out into immoderate fits of laughter, and 
 danced about the room with the card in his hand. 
 I also shewed him, from my portfolio, a coloured 
 print of Titian's half-length Venus rising from the 
 sea ; he viewed it for some time lost in astonish- 
 ment and delight, and then begged me to allow 
 him to carry them both away, to shew to a friend 
 of his. This I knew to be no other than the 
 Sultan, and I allowed him to take them, to his 
 infinite joy. He did not re-appear for two days; 
 at the end of that time, however, he returned me 
 the pictures, which bore the marks of much 
 thumbing, and he told me that they had been the 
 delight of the harem, and that the Sultan's ladies 
 begged I would draw them something else. 
 
 M 3 
 
164 JOURNEY TO MAROGCO. 
 
 Belgazzi often came to see me when employed 
 in drawing, and one day he asked me if I would 
 " write his face," as he expressed it. I told him 
 that I could do so if he wished, but he suddenly 
 replied, " Oh ! no ; if you do, you will take it to 
 England, and say this is Belgazzi." From what 
 motive this shame of being shewn in drawing, 
 arose, I could never find out ; but certainly his 
 sensibility on the subject was very great ; for he 
 came into our house one day with breathless 
 anxiety, to inquire of me if I had not written out 
 his face, which he begged me to give him. It 
 was in vain that I assured him I had not taken 
 his likeness ; for the Sultan, he said, had not only 
 declared that I had done so, but that he had 
 actually seen it. This was, it afterwards proved, 
 one of the Sultan's jokes against poor Belgazzi, 
 whose sensitiveness he had discovered ; but I could 
 never after make the poor fellow believe that it 
 was a hoax. 
 
 Hadge Cassem, a Caid of great distinction, and 
 tea-maker to his Majesty, was one of the best and 
 most respectable servants of his Highness. His 
 office permitted a very near intercourse with the 
 Sultan, it being the custom of his Highness to 
 see this favourite beverage prepared before him, 
 for fear of accidents ; and the Hadge, a rough, 
 weather-beaten looking old soldier, of forty 
 years of age, by this means, had frequent oppor- 
 tunities of being more familiar with his master 
 than many greater men. It was he who also 
 performed the duties of lord chamberlain, and 
 
JOURNEY Tp MAIIOCCO. 165 
 
 morning and evening he came regularly to con- 
 duct the Doctor, whenever his health permitted 
 it, to the presence of the Sultan. From these 
 constant visits we became more intimate with 
 the Hadge than any one else at Marocco, and 
 never had the slightest reason to retract the good 
 opinion we had early formed of this most excel- 
 lent creature. 
 
 Caid Mohamed ben Hassan, one of the great 
 Caids of the kingdom, was a young, handsome, 
 and interesting person. Our acquaintance began 
 with him, by his application to the Doctor con- 
 cerning an old gun-shot wound, the ball of which 
 had passed through his body. He came often to 
 see us, and while others who did the same, were 
 troublesome, or impertinently civil, Mohamed 
 would sit doubled up against the wall, while the 
 animation of his sharp regular features bespoke 
 his inward pleasure at what he witnessed. One 
 day the Doctor asked him if he wanted any thing : 
 "No," replied Mahomed, "nothing more than 
 the pleasure of seeing you make physic." The 
 simplicity and extreme elegance of this high- 
 minded young soldier, struck me at first sight, 
 and I used frequently to give him small parcels of 
 coarse powder to fire at the Lab el Barode, and 
 such other little presents as I had taken with me. 
 These so won upon his heart, that he afterwards 
 became our most intimate and amiable friend. 
 
 Caid Ali was the head gardener, and used to 
 set on the water for our fountain. This old man, 
 who had reached an age past sixty, was nearly 
 
166 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 black, and under an uncouth exterior, possessed 
 one of the warmest hearts I ever knew. I shall 
 never forget the simple gratitude of this poor 
 creature for our kindness to him. I observed one 
 day that he always went bare-headed, and asked 
 him the reason. The poor man, who had but one 
 coarse bournouse of cotton to cover his person, 
 owned that he was not rich enough to buy a cap. 
 It so happened that I had a remarkably fine 
 Tunizian scull-cap in my trunk, which I gave to 
 him, telling him that though he was poor, I looked 
 upon him as my friend. The old fellow could 
 hardly believe his senses at witnessing what he 
 considered such disinterested kindness from a 
 Christian, and stooping down to my bed, where I 
 was confined with ague, he caught my hand and 
 kissed it with the deepest veneration ; from which 
 time, Ali never allowed a day to pass without 
 coming to see me, and always ended his inquiries 
 concerning my health, by saying that he should 
 pray to Alia at night for my recovery. It was in 
 this situation one day, that the voice of Ali at my 
 bed-side, aroused me from a gloomy reverie into 
 which I had fallen. I turned round, and beheld 
 the poor fellow on his knees by my side, with an 
 offering of some fresh eggs, which he told me was 
 all he had to present me in return for my little 
 present. I was more pleased with the good man's 
 eggs than with any present I have ever received, 
 and he seemed as much delighted at my readily 
 accepting his simple offering. 
 
 J know of no pleasure so great as is afforded 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 167 
 
 to the traveller in barbarous countries, by those 
 simple strokes of nature, which draw, as it were, 
 the pure fire of the mind from the rough and 
 flinty nature of unpolished man. 
 
 The Spanish Doctor left us a few days after we 
 were settled in our new abode, and proceeded to 
 Mogadore; and Dr. Brown, having sufficiently 
 recovered from his fever to be able to attend to 
 the complaints which came before him, received 
 a message from the Sultan, saying that he would 
 take the liberty of sending such of his friends and 
 soldiers as required medical advice ; and that, to 
 prevent other intrusion, he had placed a guard at 
 our door who had orders to obey our directions. 
 From this time forward the Doctor's room was one 
 continued levee day after day, and many a droll 
 scene passed before us. Of the variety of com- 
 plaints that came before the notice of the Doctor, 
 there were none of any consequence, which dif- 
 fered from those of Europe. The itch was very 
 prevalent, and syphilis and gonorrhoea were also 
 current among the soldiery ; the former being 
 known under the name of the French disease. 
 Cases of the most terrible elephantiasis continually 
 meet the eye in this country ; but none ever so- 
 licited the Doctor's advice. A very common com- 
 plaint amongst the women who sought advice, was 
 the want of offspring ; the knowledge of obtain- 
 ing which by means of medicine, they feel con- 
 vinced is in the power of the Europeans to reveal 
 to them. The same degree of science, they be- 
 lieve, is capable of foretelling the sex of offspring 
 
168 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 yet unborn,* a question that all the newly-mar- 
 ried girls were most anxious to have answered 
 according to their hopes. Barrenness is a reproach 
 amongst the Moors, and the blame attaches in- 
 variably to the woman ; and thence has arisen, I 
 imagine, the notion among this people, that a 
 woman may remain pregnant for an unlimited 
 time, an opinion favoured and fostered, no doubt, 
 by all those who wish to avoid a reproach that 
 may divorce them. Jacob, our victualler, one day 
 brought his wife to us to complain of the delay of 
 his long-expected heir, of which his wife had been 
 pregnant^e years. The wife, a pretty, modest, 
 sleek- looking young woman, who, from her ap- 
 pearance, bore any thing but the marks of sterility, 
 declared her belief that she had long been preg- 
 nant, and seemed greatly disappointed that such 
 was not the case. We, however, consoled her, by 
 saying, that from appearances, she might yet live 
 in hopes, and that if they were not realized, she 
 must blame Jacob. This amused the Moors who 
 were present amazingly, and many a joke and 
 laugh passed round at the expense of Jacob, who 
 carried off his wife, more contented with her than 
 when he had arrived. 
 
 Many, however, were the applications made to 
 the Doctor for supplies of cantharides and such 
 like stimulants, which seemed the great end for 
 which many came to see us; for their visits seldom 
 
 * These wild speculations have birth from the idea entertained 
 by the Moors, that the art of healing is a species of necromancy, 
 of which all Europeans are in a degree possessed. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 169 
 
 ended without hinting at this real object of their 
 desire. Nothing can be conceived more disgust- 
 ing, than the degree of loathsome sensuality that 
 forms the most striking feature of the Moorish 
 character. I have constantly seen old men, of 
 seventy years of age, begging on their knees, that 
 the Doctor would bestow on them that vigour, 
 which their numbered years refused. I remember 
 one old fellow, in particular, whose teeth were 
 dropping from his mouth, intreating with all the 
 earnestness of a youthful lover, that the Doctor 
 would renovate him, to taste once more the joy of 
 love, with a young black girl of twelve years old, 
 whom the Sultan had lately given him ; and when 
 told that such an attempt would, in all probability, 
 extinguish the little of life he still possessed; he 
 eagerly exclaimed, " then give me the medicine, 
 and I will die content the moment after." 
 
 Much surprise was expressed by the Moors 
 that Dr. Brown was too high-principled to sub- 
 scribe to these vicious excesses. The frequent 
 applications made to him, and the astonishment 
 expressed at the Doctor's invariably refusing to 
 comply with their requests, caused explanations 
 which tend to convince me, that all who have 
 officiated in his capacity, in that country, have not 
 been equally scrupulous. Amongst those who came 
 daily to visit us, was the chief executioner, a 
 short-bodied, long-armed, herculean fellow, who 
 talked with as much pleasure of taking off a 
 head, as a connoisseur in carving would do of his 
 skill in cutting up a joint. He wore a prodi- 
 
170 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 giously long and heavy sword, with which he 
 professed generally to be able to sever the head 
 from the body at one stroke ; which he effected 
 by first pricking the culprit in the back, causing 
 him to throw his head backwards at the moment 
 the stroke from behind meets the neck. 
 
TO MAHOCCO. 171 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Residence at Marocco, continued. 
 
 About a fortnight after our arrival at Muley 
 Absolam's house, the Renegade, David Levantee, 
 whom I have before mentioned, having returned 
 from Mogadore, came to visit us, telling us how 
 great a friend he was to Mr. Wiltshire, the 
 British Vice-consul at that place, and how fond 
 he was of all Europeans; ending by saying, 
 that though he wore the turban, he was still a 
 Jew at heart, and really hated the Mahometans. 
 There was something so sudden in this disclosure 
 of the fellow's principles, that I much doubt, as I 
 did then, whether he was not sent by the Sultan 
 to sound our inclinations towards the Moors ; and 
 we were therefore doubly guarded in our expres- 
 sions. He told us, en confidence, that great suspicion 
 had been entertained . of the real object of two 
 such great Caids as we were, accompanying the 
 Doctor ; the more so, from the coincidence of two 
 men of war arriving off Mogadore at the moment 
 that we were sick in our beds at Marocco ; that 
 one of these vessels had fired a gun, and then they 
 
172 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 both hawled off and stood to sea. This of course 
 was argued into a signal to us, and the alarm was 
 rapidly spread over Mogadore, that the English 
 were coming to take that place ; in consequence of 
 which, a courier had been despatched to the Sul- 
 tan, who immediately ordered the Governor of 
 Mogadore, to put the place in a state of defence 
 with all possible despatch, which was complied 
 with ; and the Moors were in arms for two nights, 
 lying by their guns. All this had passed without 
 our knowledge, and was, no doubt, kept a secret 
 from us by the Sultan. It was at this time that 
 his Highness required some medicine from the 
 Doctor, who sent him a number of calomel pills ; 
 but, suspicion having found its way into the royal 
 breast, he had no intention that a pill should find 
 its way to his stomach, without first ascertaining 
 the effects. He therefore called Belgazzi and some 
 of his women, and made them all swallow a pill, in 
 his presence, while he stood laughing at the ludi- 
 crous faces of the patients. As none died under the 
 medicine/and as the two vessels did not again ap- 
 pear off the coast, his confidence in us seemed to 
 be quite established, and from that time forward 
 we were treated with unreserved kindness. Poor 
 Belgazzi came to see us the day after ; we laughed 
 most heartily at his countenance, as he described 
 the ludicrious scene which the Sultan's fondness 
 for a joke had in a measure promoted. 
 
 The Sultan being taken one day with the ague, 
 sent for the Doctor, and being questioned as to his 
 late mode of life, he told Dr. Brown that he had, a 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 173 
 
 few nights past, been to witness a grand Lab el 
 Barode in a neighbouring province, and that, not 
 thinking it worth while for a night to carry with 
 him his tent,* " he had slept under the moon," a 
 habit he had been much accustomed to in his 
 youth, but which of late years he had not practised. 
 The Doctor begged him, in future, to sleep under a 
 roof, and prescribed quinine pills. This excellent 
 remedy soon drove away the ague, and his High- 
 ness was so delighted at being so easily cured, 
 that he ordered a rejoicing to take place through- 
 out the palace. All the soldiers received additional 
 pay ; and Mr. Macnean was ordered by the Sultan 
 to prepare for us, in one of the royal gardens, a 
 great feast, to which he came early this morning to 
 invite us. Dr. Brown and Mr. Murray attended, but 
 I was too ill to leave the house. By Mr. Murray's 
 description, however, I did not lose much. The 
 feast, which the Sultan gave at the expense of 
 Mr. Macnean, was a sort of scramble for badly 
 dressed meats, served up in a summer-house. The 
 Interpreter was seized with the ague during his 
 dinner, and Mr. Murray caught it also, and suf- 
 fered severely two days after. The evening closed 
 with a general intoxication, from the strength of 
 the Jew's liquor, which the Moors insisted upon 
 his producing, treating him at the same time in 
 the most insolent manner. During dinner, the 
 
 * The Sultan's Tent is of very large dimensions, as may be 
 supposed by having forty Tent Pitchers appointed to attend it. 
 It is low, but divided into many compartments, and made of 
 camel's hair. 
 
174 JOUR-YEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 Governor of Marocco, a man of about sixty, came 
 into the garden, and in the course of conversation, 
 he begged the Doctor to recommend him a resto- 
 rative to vigour. It so happened that Mr. Macnean 
 had prepared a large plum-pudding for his English 
 guests, and the Doctor seeing the Governor's 
 prediliction for the dish, immediately recom- 
 mended it as the desired recipe. The Governor 
 no sooner heard this than he fell to, and devoured 
 the pudding, to the great delight of Mr. Murray 
 and the Doctor. We afterwards asked how the 
 plum-pudding had succeeded; he replied, that it 
 was an excellent recipe : such is the effect of 
 imagination. 
 
 Hearing one evening that Seedna was coming 
 home from hunting, Mr. Murray and myself, ill 
 as we were, crawled to the great square, near our 
 house, through which his Highness passes to 
 enter the Palace. The evening was fine, and 
 the air so beautifully clear, that the Atlas moun- 
 tains, over whose rugged surface, a dark purple 
 tint was turning to a blueish grey, seemed almost 
 within our grasp, the intervening plain being hid 
 by the high wall of the square, which was be- 
 decked with the striped tents and many-coloured 
 Caftans of the household troops. Loud shouts of 
 Alia II Alia, accompanied by irregular discharges 
 of fire arms, announced the near approach of his 
 Majesty. At this moment a party of horsemen 
 suddenly darted through the eastern gateway of 
 the square, with the speed of arrows, discharging 
 their pieces as they reached the further end, and 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 175 
 
 reining up their steeds ; to these succeeded party 
 after party, until the enclosed space before us 
 became a crowded scene of wild and noisy anima- 
 tion. The Sultan now made his appearance mount- 
 ed on a jet black soft-paced horse, and surrounded 
 by all his great Caids. Before him, was carried 
 his awning of pink silk, supported by four poles, 
 borne by pedestrians, and surrounded by a num- 
 ber of silken flags, embroidered with gold and 
 silver. The rear was brought up by the Canaille 
 of the Chasse ; and dogs and beaters of all sorts 
 and sizes lagged wearily around the mules, which 
 were laden with the spoils of the day. The Sul- 
 tan, who wore nothing to distinguish him from his 
 officers but a haik of fleecy whiteness, rode quietly 
 across the square towards the harem, while troops 
 of horsemen continued to pass and repass him, 
 shouting and firing their long guns at his per- 
 son. He suddenly made a halt upon seeing Mr. 
 Murray and myself in our uniform at a distance, 
 and gracefully reining up his horse, appeared 
 to be giving some directions to his Caids. It was 
 soon evident that he was preparing to give us a 
 sample of his horsemanship ; for one of his at- 
 tendants now rode up to him, and presented him 
 his gun ; a party of five or six Caids then formed 
 on his right and left, and away they dashed at full 
 speed, amidst the shouts of the multitude. This 
 was repeated twice, and we could perceive, even 
 from the distance at which we stood, that the Sul- 
 tan well deserved the praise bestowed upon him 
 by his people, as the best horseman in the country. 
 
176 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Hadge Kassem and Mahomed ben Hassan came to 
 see us in the evening. The former seemed much 
 delighted at our praise of the Sultan's horseman- 
 ship, and the latter, to whom we had given the 
 name of the slashing Caid, from his gay galliard 
 manner, came in raptures to tell me that the pow- 
 der I had given him, had caused universal delight ; 
 for in firing off his piece with the Sultan, a ring of 
 smoke, which had been formed by the discharge 
 of his gun, had continued for a long time to be 
 seen in the air. We laughed at the poor fellow's 
 simplicity, and explained to him how he might 
 produce a recurrence of the fact by greasing the 
 muzzle of the gun, and he was not a little de- 
 lighted on learning so great a mystery. Whenever 
 these Caids came in of an evening, we always 
 made a practice of asking them to drink tea with 
 us, a beverage of which the Moors are doatingly 
 fond. Hadge Cassem, who was the Sultan's tea- 
 maker, used constantly to officiate for us after his 
 own fashion, which consisted in the insertion of a 
 few leaves of balm ; he then washed, as he called it, 
 the tea, by pouring on it a little hot water, and in- 
 stantly drawing it off again, filling up the tea- 
 pot with water, and throwing in quantities of 
 sugar. This forms a most delightful beverage, but 
 generally too sweet for our palates. The Moors 
 look upon tea as we do on wine, drinking it out of 
 small coffee-cups, at frequent intervals ; and so 
 high a value do they set upon this article of lux- 
 ury, that the poorest Moor will spend all he is 
 possessed of, to procure the very best green tea, 
 
JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 177 
 
 (black not being there in use) and the finest white 
 sugar that is imported from England, rather than 
 use a second quality, at less expense. Mr. Mur- 
 ray's bonhomie and agreeable qualities for society, 
 added to my best endeavours to please, and the 
 Doctor's to instruct, so won upon the Moors, 
 that hardly a day passed but some of the court 
 came to sit with us. On these occasions the con- 
 versation which seemed most to delight them, was 
 that which turned upon the fair sex; a subject 
 which, most men feeling alike on it, is the more 
 apt to create good-fellowship. Often, however, we 
 mutually exchanged accounts of our separate 
 countries and customs, and though it was evident 
 that they did not believe all we said concerning 
 England's power and wealth, they did not con- 
 ceal from us how anxious they were to be our 
 friends. Hadge Cassem, who was in a manner 
 the ear of his master, put questions to us con- 
 cerning our King and country, and with great 
 gravity told us one day, that his master believed 
 that the English Sultan was now considering 
 the propriety of making his subjects turn Maho- 
 metans, and that England, which they now 
 considered as their ally, would then be one and the 
 same kingdom as Marocco. Against the wealth 
 of individuals, the Hadge grounded his doubt by 
 asking, how it was that our Sultan did not cut off 
 their heads to gain their purses ; and upon being 
 told that it was beyond the power of our King to 
 harm the poorest subject, he stared with astonish- 
 ment, and it was evident that this piece of infor- 
 
178 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 mation did not give him a very exalted idea of our 
 Sovereign, for he declared he had rather serve a 
 despotic Sultan than such a one as ours. Such is 
 the effect of education ; he that is bred in slavery 
 is as happy in his lot as he that boasts of freedom, 
 and the Mahometan, over whose head hangs by a 
 single thread the sword of despotism, thinks no 
 more of the danger than the sheep does of the 
 butcher's knife which has just slaughtered one of 
 the flock. The terrific accounts which we gave of 
 our naval power, seemed to impress them with a 
 great idea of our consequence ; but what con- 
 vinced them most of our science, was the number 
 of European articles with which we travelled : 
 our arms, canteens, surgical instruments, and 
 fifty other little articles of convenience and 
 luxury, which exhibited a variety of invention and 
 ingenuity of which they had no idea. Belgazzi 
 came into my room one day, when I was in bed, 
 and observing that the noise he made in entering 
 had disturbed me, he came to my bed-side with 
 evident concern, and stooping down, said, through 
 the interpreter, that I must forgive him ; that he 
 was convinced he must often appear to me very 
 rude, for he knew that he was so much my infe- 
 rior that he felt his own ignorance ; while he could 
 not but observe how superior in every thing we 
 Christians were to the Moors. The good-hearted 
 man said this with such a simple, earnest man- 
 ner, and looked so ashamed of his own ignorance, 
 that I felt quite grieved for his situation, while I 
 could not but feel pleased at the ingenuousness of 
 the address. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 179 
 
 The heat of the weather continued to rage for 
 about two months with almost unabated fury. For 
 the first month, the thermometer stood during 
 the greater part of the day, at 92 ; it afterwards 
 became more irregular, and calculating it, at the 
 average of our stay at Marocco, it was at 82. 
 During the whole of this time, we were visited by 
 continual thunder storms at the close of the day, 
 which, towards the end of August, turned often to 
 heavy showers, which slightly cooled the atmos- 
 phere. The snow on the Atlas range, where it has 
 been said to remain throughout the year, entirely 
 disappeared for about a week. This, I understood 
 from the Moors, had not been the case for twenty 
 years previous; by which they supposed, that 
 for that period of time, they had not been visited 
 with so severe a summer as the present one. From 
 twelve to three in the day, the heat became often 
 so oppressive, that the very birds were unable to 
 bear it, taking refuge in the coolest places they 
 could find, with their wings drooping on the 
 ground with relaxation, and their mouths wide 
 open from the difficulty of respiration. 
 
 It was during the hottest days of our sufferings, 
 that we learnt the unhappy tidings of poor 
 Hamet Sharkee's death. There was a warmth of 
 feeling and a high-bred manner in this man, that 
 won upon us, and drew him to our hearts with 
 that feeling with which we assemble around the 
 cheerly blaze of a hospitable hearth, and draw 
 our chairs still nearer to its kindly influence, 
 courting its warmest rays. The cheerfulness of his 
 
 N 3 
 
180 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 disposition, the nobleness of his countenance, 
 his songs and his jokes,- had all been subjects of 
 interest and amusement to us, and served doubly 
 to augment the regret that so good a man, and so 
 amiable a companion, should have fallen a victim 
 to his fidelity in our service. 
 
 We were told, that ever since his first illness, 
 he had continued gradually to decline, until he 
 was advised to consult a famous Saint in the 
 neighbourhood of Marocco ; that upon returning 
 thence he had fallen from his horse, overcome by 
 the heat of the sun, and being conveyed to his 
 house, he expired the day following. As he had 
 never sent to us, nor asked the Doctor's advice, we 
 had great reason to suspect, that his companions, 
 who had ever shewn themselves exceedingly 
 jealous of our kindness to him, had persuaded the 
 poor fellow, in those superstituous moments which 
 often but too strongly influence a man's better 
 judgment in the hour of sickness, that his illness 
 had been occasioned by his too great fondness of 
 unbelievers ; and with that view, the unhappy man 
 forsook our good advice for that of the above- 
 mentioned Saint, who, no doubt brought, as most 
 Saints do at such an hour, more regret to the 
 dying man, than consolation. 
 
 Towards the latter end of September, and the 
 beginning of October, frequent showers an- 
 nounced the approach of the rainy season, and the 
 thermometer fell suddenly in two days 8 degrees, 
 causing us to put on warm cloathing. 
 
 The Moors themselves seem to suffer greatly 
 
JOURNKY TO MAROCCO. 181 
 
 from the heat and insalubriety of the climate of 
 Marocco. The blacks, however, appear perfectly 
 regardless of the burning rays of the mid-day 
 sun, which shine unheeded by the bare-headed 
 negro, while the white man rather drags on life 
 than enjoys it. The Sultan's standing army,* 
 independant of the Adouais (his body guard, of 
 about seven hundred men) does not, we were 
 informed, exceed five or six thousand men ; of 
 these the principal part are black troops, and 
 generally employed in the southern districts of 
 the kingdom, where the increased heat of the 
 sun overcomes the white men. This army, for 
 want of better occupation, and for the purpose 
 of being kept together, is continually employed 
 against some of the southern black tribes, lying 
 towards Tombuctoo, who, knowing little of war- 
 fare, are easily hunted down by their rapacious 
 neighbours, who deprive them of the rich gold 
 ornaments which decorate their ears and noses, 
 and while the young men are sent as slaves to 
 Marocco, and other parts of the kingdom, the 
 girls, from ten to twenty years of age, feel no 
 great reluctance in exchanging their liberty, for 
 the softer and more indolent life they afterwards 
 lead in the harems of the white Moors. 
 
 Of the prowess of his Highness's army I fear 
 little can be said, as may be inferred from the 
 following account, given by two Spanish Rene- 
 gades, who came to solicit the Doctor's medical aid. 
 
 * As every Maroquene subject is at any time liable to be 
 called out at the Sultan's pleasure, the expense of a large 
 standing army is avoided. 
 
182 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 One of these was a tall fellow, his Highnesses chief 
 engineer, over whom the united powers of ague 
 and fear exercised so absolute a control, that he 
 was in a continual shiver. The other was a sturdy 
 looking fellow enough, whose looks belied his 
 heart. He had obtained, as he told us, the exalted 
 post of chief Bombardier, and had been sent with 
 his companions to the black army, beyond the 
 Alps, with a park^of artillery under his command, 
 consisting "of two 'field pieces which had been 
 presented to the Sultan by the English. They 
 said that they had set out in full confidence of 
 bringing! into subordination, by means of these 
 two powerful engines of war, a rebellious tract of 
 mountainous country, which owned no Sultan, 
 and set at defiance his Majesty's laws. But sad 
 indeed had been the reverse of their hopes and 
 fortunes ; for as they were one night quietly 
 sleeping in their tents, they were suddenly dis- 
 turbed, by the impertinent and ill-timed intrusion 
 of twenty-eight ill-shaven ugly-looking sansculottes 
 fellows, who, rushing into their tents, took the 
 most unwarrantable liberties with the lives of his 
 Highness's subjects. In fact, the alarm spreading 
 over the encampment, the whole army, amount- 
 ing to five thousand men, became panic-struck, 
 and with all expedition took the shortest road 
 home, leaving forty-eight dead upon the field, and 
 the greater part of their baggage and tents. Th< 
 chief Engineer fairly owned, that, since that night, 
 when, awakened by the uproar, he beheld a grim 
 looking mountaineer on the point of spitting him 
 
JOI'IINKV TO MA ROC CO. 183 
 
 with a rusty bayonet on the end of his long gun, 
 he had never ceased trembling; that he and his 
 friend slipped dexterously under the tent, and 
 took to their heels, leaving behind them Seedna's 
 park of artillery, and came with the first intelli- 
 gence of the rout to Marocco. These men assured 
 us that they had become musselmen from neces- 
 sity, having, as many others had done, escaped from 
 Ceuta's prisons, and having no other choice to 
 follow. Renegades are despised and hated by the 
 Moors, and, in general, are little to be trusted : 
 strangers therefore, travelling in Mahometan coun- 
 tries, should be particularly careful to avoid all 
 intercourse with apostates. 
 
 The greatest annoyance we experienced at 
 Marocco from vermin, was from the rats. Those 
 who have not been placed in a similar situation, 
 nor ever read the interesting account of Dick Whit- 
 tington and his Cat, can form no idea of the 
 grievance under which we suffered, as well as the 
 black King of the Moors, of whom we read in Mr. 
 Newbury's edition of Dick's adventures. That 
 King, however, was more fortunate than we, fo# 
 he found in Dick's Cat a relief from this annoy- 
 ance; but we, alas! tried in vain to procure one, 
 being invariably told that they, as well as the 
 dogs, had fallen victims to the hunger of those 
 who were perishing from the last winter's famine. 
 
 On first taking possession of our house, the 
 number of rats exceeded all belief, and from their 
 boldness, it was evident that they looked upon 
 us as intruders. The probability of Dick's history 
 
184 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 need hardly be impeached. The lights were 
 no sooner extinguished of an evening, than the 
 whole house was alive with these vermin. They 
 upset the cups, jugs, and basons, by their pro- 
 digious strength and weight, and often set rolling 
 a large camp-kettle which contained the remnants 
 of our dinner. But not satisfied with the kitchen, 
 in which they kicked up a continual riot, they 
 came by dozens into our bed-rooms, in spite of all 
 the precautions we used to keep them out ; and, 
 finding that they did not hesitate running over my 
 bed, which was laid upon the floor, I fixed up a 
 large mosquito curtain heavily laden round the 
 lower part with musket-balls, hoping by these 
 means to exclude these unwelcome visitors; but 
 all was in vain, for they took the utmost pains to 
 creep under it, and I killed three of them at diffe- 
 rent times, by striking them with my fist. Long 
 sickness had rendered me very weak, and I was 
 attacked by a nervousness which caused me to 
 start and tremble at the slightest noise. It was in 
 this state, when enjoying the rarity of a quiet doze, 
 that I would suddenly spring up at the feel of a 
 huge rat crossing my face, and find, to my annoy- 
 ance, that the very means I had adopted to pre- 
 vent its entrance, now debarred its exit, while with 
 feeble efforts I continued to strike at the affrighted 
 animal with my fist, as it dashed from side to side, 
 unable to escape. Those who have a dislike to 
 this offensive vermin will readily conceive what I 
 must have suffered from the nervous state I was 
 in, and from the loss of my rest; of which my con- 
 
JOUHNKV TO MAROCCO. 185 
 
 tinual apprehension of the presence of these 
 animals deprived me. Our Italian servant, whose 
 illness we much feared at one time had deprived 
 him of his reason, was still more persecuted by 
 these noxious animals, of which, at any time, he 
 was greatly afraid. The poor fellow would go 
 creeping about the house in a high fever, with no 
 other cloathing than his shirt, with a candle in 
 one hand and a large stake in the other, in search 
 of his enemies. In spite of the wretchedness of 
 his emaciated figure, and his bewildered looks, as 
 he stole about the rooms at midnight, muttering to 
 himself, I could never refrain from laughing, when 
 in answer to " Que volete a quest" hora Antonio? " 
 he would reply, with a wild look, and a shrug of 
 the shoulders, " eh! eh! i ratti, signior, iratti ". 
 
 At last it became necessary for our general quiet, 
 to declare an exterminating war against the whole 
 tribe, and accordingly the household assembled, 
 with swords, staves, and wax candles, and by these 
 repeated ferretings, which caused us much merri- 
 ment, many were destroyed, and more frightened 
 into better behaviour.* 
 
 During our abode in Muley Absolem's house, 
 which was in good repair, we only killed two scor- 
 pions, and a third stung one of our black guards 
 at the garden gate. The fright of the black was 
 so great that he was proceeding to cut away the 
 affected part from his leg with a large dull-edged 
 
 * In most parts of the kingdom, tame ferrets are kept for the pur- 
 pose of killing the rats, which I have no doubt are more efficacious 
 than cats, many of which hitter will not destroy those animals. 
 
186 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 knife, when the Doctor prevented him, and applied 
 a more simple remedy. 
 
 These reptiles were, we were told, very abun- 
 dant in the city, where the houses are in a ruinous 
 state. Mosquitos do not seem to abound at Ma- 
 rocco, which is the more extraordinary, as damp, 
 herbaceous, well-wooded soils, are said to be the 
 birth-places of this tormenting insect. 
 
 Our supply of provisions, which, as I said be- 
 fore, was made through the Jew Jacob, consisted 
 of bread, meat, vegetables, tea and sugar. The 
 bread at Marocco, which is made into a sort of 
 large muffin-shape, is, though light and whole- 
 some, not so good as in most other parts of the 
 kingdom. The Sultan used frequently to send 
 us bread and fresh butter from his own table. 
 The former, which was made in his harem, 
 surpassed any thing of the kind I have ever eaten 
 in any country, but might have been objected to 
 by many, on account of a favourite custom among 
 the Moors the insertion of carraway-seeds into 
 their bread, which, from habit, I became fond of. 
 He also frequently sent us a sort of gruel, made 
 of fine corn or millet, and milk, savoured with 
 bits of sour cheese and herbs, which formed one 
 of the most palatable . articles of luxury that can 
 be imagined.* These were, besides their own 
 merits as eatables, of still greater honour to us, it 
 
 * I often begged our Italian cook to learn the art of making 
 this very agreeable, and apparently nutritious, mixture ; but the 
 bare idea of having any thing from Questi Genti Barbari, as he 
 called the Moors, was sufficient to deter our Genoese from com- 
 plying with rny desire. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 187 
 
 being considered that the greatest favour the Sul- 
 tan can confer, is to send bread and butter from his 
 own table to a visitor. By great economy, and a 
 little salt, we contrived to make these valuable 
 presents of butter last us until the next supply ; 
 but latterly, to our surprise, they failed all 
 together. This will be afterwards explained. 
 The mutton which we had supplied to us was of 
 a small mountain breed, without much fat, but 
 surpassing in sweetness of flavour even our own 
 South Down or Welch mutton. The beef is said 
 to be also very fine, but we seldom were in a con- 
 dition to partake of a bit of old England, and 
 therefore I cannot say what were its merits. 
 
 Every morning and evening we had a few quarts 
 of fresh milk from the palace, an article of great 
 scarcity in the hot weather at Marocco. Baubee 
 was the name of the old Caid who brought it,* and 
 I may safely add his name to the other amiable 
 characters I have before mentioned as the Sultan's 
 attendants. He had charge of the dairy, and 
 having for several days neglected bringing us 
 milk, we acquainted the Sultan of this cessation, 
 who immediately inquired into the reason of it, 
 and being told that the old Caid had been taken 
 iU, he sent him to see the Doctor, who gave him 
 some medicine, which cured him so rapidly, that 
 when he came next day with our milk, he was 
 
 * All the Sultan's household servants, however low, seem to 
 possess rank. In Mahometan courts, the meaner the employ- 
 ment, the greater is the chance of familiarity of the servant with 
 his master. 
 
188 JOURNEY TO MAliOCCO. 
 
 more like one mad than in his senses ; for, setting 
 down his little pail of milk, he jumped about the 
 yard, exclaiming Bono, tibib ! Bono, tibib ! at the 
 same time pinching himself all over, to assure us 
 how perfectly he was cured. The gratitude of this 
 old man was so great, that from that time for- 
 ward he came with the greatest punctuality with 
 our daily supply, and he never failed announcing 
 his approach by the same exclamation, even be- 
 fore he entered the quadrangle, nor ceased until 
 he again left it, seeming to think that no praise 
 was too great for so miraculous a cure. 
 
 Besides our daily provisions, the Sultan con- 
 tinually sent us quantities of fruit and ice, or 
 rather congealed snow, gathered from the Atlas 
 mountains. Of the fruit of Marocco little can be 
 said, except, indeed, I include under that head the 
 water-melon, which grows to a prodigious size, 
 and is the favourite of the garden in this country. 
 
 In our own garden we had several sorts of fruit, 
 but none which seemed to come to any perfection ; 
 which I attribute, in a measure, to the daily cus- 
 tom of flooding the whole with water, which, 
 hastening the growth of the tree, seldom produces 
 fruit of any flavour. The peaches, of which there 
 was a very large crop, exhibited the most curious 
 case of infernal disease even in fruit. Nothing 
 can be conceived more beautifully fair, rosy, and 
 full than they appeared ; but upon opening the 
 fruit, the centre was invariably found to be quite 
 rotten, without any apparent communicating 
 blemish from the exterior. 
 

 JOUKNKY TO MAItOCCO. 1 ^'J 
 
 Shortly before our departure from Marocco, 
 there arrived a caravan of Sheriffes to a great 
 amount, from the southern provinces of the king- 
 dom. These men, who all have a claim, from their 
 rank or pretended alliance to the Holy Prophet's 
 family, to the favour of the Sultan, are too nume- 
 rous to be easily exterminated ; and as they find 
 it their interest to remain united, they are con- 
 sequently a most dangerous enemy to offend, and 
 often very difficult to conciliate ; upon this oc- 
 casion, they had assembled to witness the ap- 
 proaching ceremony of the circumcision of the 
 Sultan's youngest son, and we were told that in 
 return for the honour of their attendance, the 
 Sultan was obliged to disburse large sums of 
 money amongst them. The number of Sheriffes 
 in this country, who all unite the two advantages 
 of rank and sanctity, is the great stumbling-block 
 of the Sultan, who is obliged to humour the 
 caprices, and comply with the demands of this 
 licentious part of his people. 
 
 Our Italian cook, who in the evening when his 
 work was over, would settle himself with his pipe 
 by the side of Abenseloom, the son of a ladder, 
 and ,between whiffs, indulge in those clever little 
 quips upon his friend's nation, which the Italian 
 knows well how to manage, exclaimed upon the 
 above occasion, Eh, eh, Abenseloom, me pare que 
 tutti i Mori son parenti del Re. The observation 
 was not very wide of the truth. 
 
190 TOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Preparations for departing from Marocco. Pre- 
 sents from the Sultan. Valedictory Interview with 
 his Highness. General Leave-taking. Depar- 
 ture from Marocco. Journey from thence to 
 Mog adore. 
 
 TOWARDS the beginning of October, the weather 
 began sensibly to alter, and with it our healths 
 slightly improved ; that is, the Doctor's and my 
 own, the rest of the party being tolerably strong. 
 The Moors assured us that the rainy season would 
 very shortly set in, and it became necessary that we 
 should decide upon the course we intended to take, 
 whether to remain, as was the Sultan's desire, 
 and run the risk of the approaching damp weather, 
 or take our leave of his Highness, and proceed to 
 Mogadore, as the nearest port from which we could 
 take shipping for Gibraltar ; to travel by land to 
 Tangiers in our state of health, being impossible. 
 Much as we wished to see more of this kingdom, 
 we were nevertheless obliged to listen to Dr. 
 Brown's warning against remaining longer at 
 Marocco, which, it was his opinion, would shortly 
 prevent even the possibility of our moving either 
 one way or the other. We therefore, with much 
 
JOl'RN'KV TO MAHOCO). 191 
 
 regret, at last determined upon quitting Maroeco 
 immediately for Mogadore, where the salubriety 
 of the sea air, we hoped, would in a short time 
 recruit our strength. Having communicated our 
 intentions to the Sultan, he readily acquiesced in 
 the plan, though he said it had been his wish that 
 we should have staid much longer with him. 
 Orders were then issued for the preparing of 
 mules, horses, and guards, for our conveyance and 
 escort. Long illness, and a gradual decay of 
 strength, had almost made me abandon all hope of 
 ever again reaching the rock of Gibraltar ; but 
 having slightly recovered about this time, hope 
 seemed to instil into me a vigour that I was not 
 aware of, and I exerted myself to the utmost to 
 prepare for our journey. Dr. Brown was at this 
 time suffering most severely, but the same feeling 
 caused in him exertions that outdid my own, 
 for never could he be even dissuaded from making 
 his accustomary visits to the Sultan, and receiving 
 those of the Moors who came for medical relief. 
 
 Having arranged every thing for our departure, 
 we signified to the Sultan our wish to take leave 
 of him on the following day. He returned us 
 for answer, by a favourite minister, Mouctar, a 
 remarkably handsome man, with whom we had 
 not till then become acquainted, that he would 
 receive our visit early the next morning, and that 
 he had sent us the following presents: to the 
 Doctor he gave a horse, of no very great appear- 
 ance as to abilities, besides bullocks and sheep to 
 the amount of about five hundred dollars. The 
 
192 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 horse was brought that day, but the rest was to be 
 levied by the Basha of Tangiers, and placed in 
 the Doctor's hands, when he chose to present that 
 Basha with the Sultan's order, which was given 
 to him for that purpose. With the horse, arrived 
 two mules for Mr. Murray and myself, which 
 caused us much amusement, though we did not 
 hesitate receiving them from Mouctar with all 
 due respect, as it was well meant on the part of 
 the Sultan. Mr. Murray and myself cast lots 
 for our choice, and the best, fell into my hands ; 
 it was a small chesnut-coloured mule, of the 
 most beautiful shape that can be imagined, 
 possessing much strength and speed. The other 
 was a black shaggy-coated creature, which would 
 have disgraced a gipsey's panniers. After the 
 usual number of civil speeches on both sides, con- 
 cerning our departure, and the magnificence of 
 the Sultan's bounty, Mouctar drew the Doctor 
 aside, and begged of him to bestow upon him a few 
 bottles of spirits ; the Doctor smiled at the insig- 
 nificance of the minister's desire, and promised 
 him all the spirits we had left. 
 
 Muley Belgazzi came in shortly after, to con- 
 gratulate us upon our favour in the eyes of royalty, 
 and ended by saying, that if we had any little 
 thing to give away, that he hoped we would not 
 forget our friend Muley Belgazzi, to whom the 
 smallest thing would be acceptable. We laughed 
 heartily at the school-boy cupidity of our good 
 natured companion, and gave him, as well as all 
 the others, some little present, which seemed 
 
JOURNKV TO MAROCCO. 193 
 
 greatly to please him. Hamet Ben Hassen came 
 in the evening to see me, and I begged of him to 
 purchase for me a white bournouse or cloak, 
 having neglected to bring my own with me ; he 
 said that he would do his utmost to procure me 
 one agreeable to my choice, and he set off accord- 
 ingly in search of one. 
 
 Early the next morning, we repaired to the 
 palace, attended as usual by Hadge Cassem, and 
 found his Highness seated on the same place as 
 on the former occasion. He received us very 
 graciously, talked a long while in the most grate- 
 ful manner of the Doctor's skill, saying that he 
 considered him as his Doctor,* and hoped, there- 
 fore, he would come again to see him when he 
 required it. He then observed, that I still looked 
 very ill, and that as it had been our particular 
 desire to leave Marocco, he could not refuse our re- 
 quest, when it was one that concerned our health, 
 but adding, that had we enjoyed our strength, it 
 had been his wish to take us a progress through his 
 dominions, which he was shortly going to make, 
 and have shewn us all that the country afforded in 
 the way of amusement, of which we had as yet 
 had none, on account of our long illness ; he then 
 begged to know if we were satisfied with our pre- 
 sents, and the preparations which had been made 
 for our journey. I told him that we were perfectly 
 satisfied, and that it would be my study to acquaint 
 my government, how exceedingly kindly we had 
 
 * Dr. Brown was afterwards given a Diploma by the Sultan, 
 which permitted him the privilege of practising his profession 
 throughout the dominions. 
 
 O 
 
194 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 been treated by himself, and all his people, and 
 that I hoped no Moor, who came on a visit to our 
 court, would ever have reason to complain of a 
 want of similar treatment on our part. He then 
 wished us a good journey, and waved us adieu, 
 and having walked round the garden, and plucked 
 what fruit we desired, for our journey, we went 
 home. 
 
 I must confess, that the idea of the tour, which 
 the Sultan had spoken of, (wretchedly ill and 
 weak as I was) caused me much regret at being 
 forced to leave Marocco. To relinquish the advant- 
 age of travelling all over the kingdom, as the 
 Sultan's guest, was hard indeed ; but alas, what 
 enjoyment has man without health ! I soon had 
 reason to know ; for at two o'clock I found myself 
 again shivering, with my old friend the ague. 
 This appeared to augur ill indeed, on the eve, 
 as we were, of a six days' journey, which we had 
 solemnly agreed amongst us, that nothing should 
 defer. This arrangement had become necessary, 
 as we found that one was continually taken ill as 
 another recovered ; and as it had become a matter 
 of life and death whether we could reach Moga- 
 dore before the rainy season would set in, which 
 would have been fatal to us, we at last agreed 
 that no consideration of friendship or feeling for 
 one person, was to prevent the safety of the many, 
 by deferring the day appointed, and to this hard 
 condition it was my fate to submit. 
 
 Late in the evening, as I lay under the restless 
 influence of my hot fit, Hamet Ben Hassen came 
 running to see me, with the bournouse I wished 
 
JOURNEY TO -MAROCCO. 
 
 in his hand. I asked him why he was so breath- 
 less; the poor fellow was in despair at finding me 
 again ill, and told me that he had suffered much 
 anxiety for fear I should think he had not kept 
 his word about the bournouse, for which he had 
 been searching all day in the town, and having at 
 last procured it, had come with all haste to shew 
 me how anxious he was to serve a friend who 
 had always been so kind to him. I then told him 
 I was going to take my leave of him, and that he 
 must allow me to make him a few presents, and 
 also some for his pretty young wife at Fez. The 
 sight of these trifles seemed greatly to affect this 
 noble-minded young man, for as I tendered them 
 to him, he gently refused them, and turning away 
 his head, he hid his handsome face in his hands, and 
 for a time seemed overcome with shame ; at last, 
 he broke silence, and turning to the interpreter, as 
 he sat on my bed, he said, " tell him that Hamet 
 is ashamed to look at his friend, because he feels 
 unable to equal him in his kindness,*' and from this 
 feeling, he had refused the presents which I again 
 pressed him to take, saying that there was no true 
 friendship where there was a wish to nullify the 
 obligation conferred, by an equal obligation. 
 With a melancholy look, he placed the things I 
 had given him in his haik, and taking off his tur- 
 ban with his right hand, which he raised above his 
 head, while his left hand held mine, he looked up 
 to heaven, and having uttered a short and earnest 
 prayer to Alia, to protect me through life, and 
 grant me many years to live in happiness, he 
 
 o3 
 
19G JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 replaced his turban, and bowing gracefully down, 
 he kissed my hand with ardour, and shot out of 
 the apartment. The soil which suits the seeds of 
 friendship, is that of the uncultivated mind ; no 
 weed of interest is there to check the growth of 
 that beautiful plant ; and the simple virtue of the 
 tented Arab, shines as pre-eminent as the rose 
 amongst the briers. 
 
 We all rose early on the following morning. 
 I was much weakened by my late attack, and felt 
 but little inclined to commence an arduous jour- 
 ney ; however I dressed myself with all alacrity, 
 and we all put the best face on our affairs that we 
 could, and though 1 have seldom seen a more sickly 
 company starting on a journey, I never saw a more 
 cheerful one. All our old friends now came to 
 take an affectionate leave of us, and amongst them 
 our poor friend Ali, the old gardener, who had 
 put on a clean white bournouse for the occasion. 
 I had promised him my mosquito curtain to make 
 him turbans with, which I took down and gave 
 him, besides some other little articles of incon- 
 siderable value. Many of our friends were sad 
 at our departure, but none so sad as old Ali. I 
 was sitting like a Moor against the wall, and 
 anxiously watching the progress of the packing, 
 when Ali, to whom I had already given the cur- 
 tain, came up to me with a face that evidently was 
 struggling between his feelings as a friend and 
 his pride as a man, for not a word had he spoken 
 since he entered the house. He paused for a 
 moment as if endeavouring to collect firmness 
 
JOURXEY TO MAKOCCO. 197 
 
 enough to bid me adieu, and kneeling down on one 
 knee, his right hand grasped mine, as his left 
 threw back the hood from his uncovered head, and 
 looking up to heaven with tears starting from his 
 eyes, he muttered an inward prayer to Alia, and 
 pressing my hand with fervour to his lips, turned 
 hastily round, and stalked away, without once 
 turning his head, or uttering a word. 
 
 The mules being now prepared, we again shook 
 hands with all who had assembled to witness our 
 departure, and mounting our mules, turned our 
 backs with little regret upon the abode of sick- 
 ness. The day was oppressively hot, and it was 
 a long time before we lost sight of the mosques of 
 Marocco. On leaving the town, we stopped 
 some time at an immense reservoir of water, 
 finely built of stone, and supplied by a stream 
 from the Atlas mountains. Here we expected to 
 meet some prisoners, who were to be placed under 
 the protection of our guards, for the purpose of 
 being taken to Mogadore ; but they not arriving, 
 we went slowly on, crossing, every now and then, 
 conduits of water, which intersect the whole 
 plain between the town and the mountains. 
 Nothing can give a grander idea of the size and 
 populousness of Marocco in former times, than 
 these subterraneous aqueducts, which] must have 
 cost an infinity of labour, and which, for the pur- 
 pose, I suppose, of conveying the water from the 
 mountains unexposed to the heat and evaporation 
 of the sun, are about twenty feet below the sur- 
 face of the plain. The method taken to form 
 
198 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 these, is by digging a series of holes, at intervals 
 of thirty feet, in the desired line of conduit, and 
 then under-mining the intervening space from 
 hole to hole. 
 
 The prisoners not coming up, the soldiers who 
 were with us declared they could not proceed 
 without them any further, the Caid of the party 
 being behind with them; we therefore again 
 halted under some stray palm-trees, and en- 
 deavoured in vain to screen ourselves from the 
 ardent rays of the mid-day sun, which so inflamed 
 my liver, that I experienced the most lively 
 attacks of pain over my side, back, and shoulders. 
 Stirred up with pain and indignation, at such 
 treatment of men already half-dead, I declared 
 no consideration would induce me to wait for the 
 prisoners, and after some disquisition I persuaded 
 the party to follow my example, by mounting our 
 mules and pursuing our course towards Mogadore. 
 We had hardly ridden a mile, when the mules on 
 which we were mounted, suddenly became most 
 unruly ; sometimes they would stop short with 
 their ears thrown forward, necks at full stretch, 
 and eyes starting out of their heads. Others 
 would kick and strike the ground violently with 
 their fore feet, as if at some object of fear ; in 
 short all seemed panic-struck. In a few minutes 
 half our baggage was kicked off the mules' backs, 
 whilst the ungovernable animals set off in various 
 directions, pursued by the enraged muleteers. It 
 was in vain I tried to account for such behaviour, 
 and looked in vain for some small fly or insect 
 
JOUNIIEY TO MAROCCO. 199 
 
 which might have been the cause of such apparent 
 madness. This general disorder continued for 
 about half an mile, during which, at intervals, 
 and at particular places, my mule would stop 
 suddenly, and as I said before, set his ears forward 
 and strike the ground with his fore-feet. I after- 
 wards spoke of this circumstance to a person at 
 Mogadore, who assured me that a similar incident 
 had occurred with him, and that he had narrowly 
 escaped being thrown by his mule ; that the 
 Moors had acquainted him that it arose from the 
 scent left on the track of a hygena, of which ani- 
 mal the mules learn early to have an instinctive 
 fear ; and that tying a piece of the skin of that 
 ferocious little animal to the back of the saddle, 
 had been often adopted as a means of urging for- 
 ward a stubborn mule, which imagines that its 
 enemy is close behind it, and flies from it with 
 precipitation. 
 
 The evening now began to close upon us, as we 
 pursued our way, over a dead flat country, covered 
 with low sim-burnt shrubs. The cause of our 
 mule's alarm soon after explained itself, for an 
 anim&l much resembling a fox, but twice as large, 
 crept cautiously from a hole by the road-side, 
 and on seeing me, shot with the rapidity of an 
 arrow to some neighbouring bushes, where it 
 paused for a few seconds to observe me. I was 
 on the point of cocking my pistol, when, seeing 
 me move, it vanished in an instant. At first, from 
 the obscurity of the evening, I imagined this ani- 
 mal to be a fox, but afterwards, hearing of the 
 
200 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 above explanation of our mules' behaviour, I was 
 decided that it must have been the very hyaena 
 whose track we had crossed. In the course of the 
 evening we passed the bed of a considerable tor- 
 rent, but now only occupied by a small stream of 
 very clear mountain water, giving nourishment to 
 that most elegant plant, the oleander, which grows 
 in such profusion in all parts of Barbary, that in 
 plains of great extent, the serpentine course of the 
 river may be traced for miles, by the rosy garlands 
 which skirt their banks on either side. The Caid 
 of our guard not having yet arrived with the 
 above-mentioned prisoners, and having in his 
 hands the directions concerning the route we were 
 to take, we were much at a loss to ascertain where 
 we should find a douar. In vain did our guards 
 disperse over the country, to the right and left, in 
 hopes of seeing the welcome fires of some Arab 
 tent, but none could be observed in any direction. 
 We were told that the country towards which we 
 were going, was in a very unsettled state, and that, 
 in consequence, few douars were to be met with on 
 the road ; seeing, therefore, no prospect of reach- 
 ing any habitation, and night having already set 
 in, we resolved to pitch our tent by the side of 
 a small stream that crossed the plain. Our Caid, 
 an old copper-coloured soldier, mounted on a 
 milk-white horse, of beautiful shape, arrived soon 
 after we had dismounted, attended by four more 
 guards, and the three state-prisoners, heavily 
 ironed. He was in great despair at finding us in 
 our present situation, and vented his rage in long 
 and stormy abuse upon the other guards, for not 
 
JOUKNLY TO MAUOCCO. 201 
 
 halting at a douar which we had passed about 
 sunset, and at which it had been the Sultan's 
 desire we should have rested. To go back would 
 have been only making bad worse, so far behind 
 had we left the douar, and to stay was nearly as 
 bad, for it being the custom in the country to trust 
 to these douars for the ordinary supplies of food 
 and fodder, no other provision for the animals is 
 ever made, which now exhibited the most impati- 
 ent marks of hunger, having travelled all day 
 without once touching food. Every motion of a 
 muleteer through the whole night caused the whole 
 string to rise, and utter those sounds of intelli- 
 gence, by which the horse can communicate his 
 wants to his master, and which, amongst animals 
 accustomed to travel together, is taken up from 
 one to another. Thus through the night we were 
 disturbed by a continual noise, which was the 
 more disagreeable, from the knowledge of the 
 privation from which these creatures suffered. 
 Before we retired to rest, our old Caid, who was 
 a fine hearty old blade, of great distinction amongst 
 those of his rank, came in to see us, and brought 
 us some fruit. He told us that the three prisoners 
 who were in his charge were to be taken to Moga- 
 dore, and there confined in prison for treasonable 
 conduct. Never did I see three such horribly 
 squalid bad-featured men. One, in particular, 
 who had committed a murder, seemed the most 
 hardened of wretches. They were placed before 
 the door of the Caid's tent, and slept in their 
 rags upon the bare ground, with iron collars round 
 their necks, and a strong connecting chain. 
 
202 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Journey from Marocco to Mogadore, continued. 
 
 HAVING passed a tolerable night from the 
 freshness of the air, which had materially altered 
 even in this short distance from Marocco, we rose 
 early from our beds to the apparently great satis- 
 faction of our mules, who seemed perfectly con- 
 scious that by continuing their journey they would 
 arrive the sooner at a douar; and it was astonishing 
 to witness the strength and activity with which 
 these useful animals continued their journey until 
 two o'clock in the day, many of them having three 
 hundred-weight on their backs, without having 
 tasted food for thirty hours. The country into 
 which we now entered assumed a more pleasing 
 appearance, being prettily wooded with a species 
 of thorn, and bearing the marks of recent crops 
 of corn, whenever an open space seemed to offer 
 itself for cultivation ; but still no signs of habi- 
 tation were to be seen. Numbers of the red- 
 legged partridge were feeding amongst the stubble. 
 
 I was here much surprised to see how different 
 
JOURNEY TO INI A ROC CO. 203 
 
 are the habits, in this part of the country, of that 
 little thieving bird the sparrow, to those in other 
 parts of the world. Here we found the trees in 
 some places so crowded with the nests of these 
 birds, as to prevent the possibility of even seeing 
 through them. The nest being made of fine long 
 grass, many of the trees literally more resembled 
 hay-stacks, than trees choaked with nests. There 
 were no sparrows to be seen at this place at the 
 present time, by which I imagine that this cunning 
 little bird had chosen this situation for its spring 
 abode on account of its vicinity to a corn country, 
 and that when harvest and nesting time are over, it 
 again repairs to the abodes of man, which, in this 
 country having neither chimneys nor roofs fit for 
 building in, are vacated during the breeding sea- 
 son by this little cheerful companion of man.* 
 
 At twelve o'clock we began to enter a different 
 style of country. Leaving the dead flat plain which 
 continued to the north west, we struck off to the 
 left, and gradually ascended some heights that bear 
 all the marks of a recent diluvian progress. The 
 plain over which we had lately been passing, con- 
 sisted of a soil like that of hardened mire al- 
 most without a stone. To our left, the Atlas 
 grand chain of mountains, stretching to the south 
 westward, sent forth from its base a low ridge 
 of table hills of an extraordinary appearance ; 
 being generally flat on the top, and though often 
 separated from one another by openings, for- 
 
 * It is a common saying among the blacks in the West Indies, 
 that wherever you find a white man, you will find a sparrow. 
 
204 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 med as by the rush of retiring waters. They are 
 all of precisely the same height, while their abrupt 
 and broken sides, covered with petrifactions and 
 flint, in a slightly chafed state, plainly evince the 
 force of some sudden revolution of water. The 
 idea that immediately possessed me, was, that I 
 was riding at the bottom of a dried-up sea. To our 
 right the chain of the small Atlas continued to 
 bound the plain to the northward. We now en- 
 tered a valley amongst the above mentioned Ta- 
 ble hills, in the centre of which rose a most re- 
 markable height of so finely outlined a shape, that 
 ignorant travellers have had the folly to ascribe the 
 formation of it to the Portuguese, who no doubt 
 profited by the situation when residing in the 
 country, as one that entirely commands and over- 
 looks this pass to Mogadore. This natural 
 redoubt is of a conical form, but having a flat head, 
 the surface of which is supported as if by art with 
 huge equalaterally formed rocks, and the finely 
 sloping sides are strewed with huge fragments of 
 this stone, which seem detached from above, and 
 theatening momentary descent. If we may 
 imagine that the adjacent country has been thus 
 curiously shaped by a sudden retiring of the 
 waters of the ocean, the singular form of this beau- 
 tiful hill is easily accounted for by its standing in 
 the centre of a valley closed to the south-west by 
 heights, which, checking the current from the 
 north-east, forced the body of water to return by 
 the same entrance, after making the round of the 
 valley and forming a sort of whirlpool, of which 
 
JOUKVKY TO MA HOC CO. 205 
 
 this hill seems to have stood in the centre. In 
 many parts we passed over large beds of small bro- 
 ken field-spar and flint, having strong marks of 
 chafing, but not so smoothed or rounded into peb- 
 bles as to authorize the supposition that they had 
 been long exposed to the irritation of water. I 
 have particularly mentioned these facts, as tending 
 to support the ingenious supposition of Ali Bey, 
 concerning this part of the country. The prospect 
 around us now became very agreeable. Large 
 walled enclosures or douars were seen on every 
 side, while small patches of rich verdure intersec- 
 ted by streams of clear water, and tenanted by 
 cows, sheep, and goats, gave notice of approaching 
 plenty. If such a sight was gratifying to our eyes, 
 how much more so must it have been to those of 
 our almost exhausted animals, who redoubled their 
 loitering pace, in anxious anticipation of the 
 refreshing food which nature had strewn around in 
 such profusion that it seemed as if all the richness 
 of the adjacent lands had been here concentrated. 
 Our guards now formed line in our front and raising 
 their long guns so as to bring them in a per- 
 pendicular direction, with the butt resting on the 
 thigh, they thus advanced slowly and in silence, 
 until met by the Chief of the douar before us, who 
 having welcomed us, we rode into a spacious wal- 
 led square and pitched our tents. It was here that 
 I missed my watch and a valuable snuff-box which 
 I had placed under my bed the previous night, 
 and in rising I had forgotten them. I immediately 
 made inquiry of our Jewish servant, who, having 
 
206 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 opened my bed, found in it the former, but the 
 snuff-box was no where to be seen. I offered a 
 a reward to any one who would bring it to me ; 
 giving out that I believed I had just dropped it. 
 This, I was in hopes, would tempt any one who 
 had stolen it to restore it to me. A search was 
 then commenced by all present, but no box was 
 brought me.* 
 
 As we entered the douar, a Jew crept up to the 
 old Caid of our escort, and, kissing the edge of his 
 haik, bade him welcome, and offered to supply him 
 with all necessary provisions for the Christians, of 
 whom he hoped, no doubt, to make no little profit. 
 
 The old Moor turned round to him, and re- 
 ceiving his flattery with the nonchalant air of one 
 accustomed to such prostrations, bade him (without 
 altering his countenance) go quickly, and bring 
 fowls, eggs, milk, butter, bread, and fruit. Away 
 the Jew flew, after a fresh batch of compliments 
 to the Caid, and presently returned with all things 
 needful. We then prepared our tent for the night, 
 and having rambled to the outside of the douar, to 
 
 * Some time after my return to England, I received this very 
 box from Gibraltar, by the means of my friend Mr. Murray, who, 
 gaining intelligence from our Genoese cook that he had seen our 
 son of a ladder sporting my box amongst his Jewish friends ; im- 
 mediately proceeded from the main guard, where he was on duty, 
 and, having secured the Jew, searched his lodging, and there 
 discovered the box hid with great care in an old trunk. Un- 
 luckily, the theft having been committed out of our territories, Mr. 
 Murray was not able to punish the thief, by any other means than 
 that of sending him away from Gibraltar, and luckily for the de- 
 linquent I did not discover the theft in Barbary, where five hun- 
 dred strokes of the bastinado would have been thought a merciful 
 release from being put to death. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 207 
 
 enjoy the beautiful prospect around us, we returned 
 to dinner, of which I partook with better appe- 
 tite than I had experienced for some time ; though 
 I was suffering much pain from the effects of my 
 liver. While sitting in our tent, I watched the 
 process of an old Arab woman making butter; 
 which is done by swinging the milk backwards 
 and forwards in an untanned goat-skin with the 
 hair inside. This is hung up like a little boat, 
 with a string at each end, tied to the heads of two 
 sticks fixed in the ground, two feet apart. I can- 
 not say that this antediluvian manner of churning 
 improves the taste of the butter; not to say any 
 thing of its resemblance in its appearance to wall 
 plaster, being full of hair. Our Jew interpreter 
 came to us while we were at dinner, to inform us 
 that the food of which we were partaking, had 
 been robbed, as he termed it, from the Jews of the 
 douar, for the Caid had positively refused paying 
 the fellow who had so anxiously besought the 
 honor of providing us. I told the interpreter that 
 I begged he would bring us no more messages of 
 the kind; that we were here as the Sultan's guests, 
 and therefore did not choose to interest ourselves 
 concerning the manner in which his Highness 
 thought proper to supply our wants ; that the 
 Caid doubtless had his orders concerning these 
 things, and that to open our purses to indemnify the 
 Jew, would not only be establishing a dangerous 
 precedent, but equivalent to insulting his High- 
 ness and the Caid of our escort. 
 
 Before we retired to rest Mr. Murray and my- 
 
208 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 self paid our Caid a visit, and took our tea with 
 us to his tent. He seemed much pleased with 
 our affability, and offered us in return some of his 
 coucassou. He told us that he had been an old 
 follower of Muley Slieman or Soliman, the late 
 Sultan, of whom he spoke in very high terms. 
 He was a fine, dignified, gentle-mannered old 
 man ; an excellent specimen of that thorough- 
 bred manner in which the Moors so far excel 
 other nations. 
 
 Early on the following morning we arose to 
 pursue our journey ; but while we were at break- 
 fast a disturbance took place near our tent that 
 caused much uproar. The Jew, it appeared, who 
 had supplied us on the previous day with provi- 
 sions, had again applied, in less submissive terms, 
 to the old Caid, for payment of the money due for 
 these articles. At first the discussion commenced 
 in friendly expostulation on the one side, and civil 
 denial on the other ; it then arose to recrimination 
 on one side, with a positive refusal, and a stern 
 " be off Jewish dog," on the other. This would 
 have been hint sufficient to any one but a Jew, 
 who only when his money is concerned will risk 
 his head. Stung, therefore, with indignation and 
 grief at his losses, he at last outstepped the bounds 
 of discretion, and fairly stormed at the Caid. 
 Like a sleeping lion, which has suddenly been 
 aroused by the heedlessness of a timid stag, 
 our Caid, who seemed before unwilling to allow 
 his gall to get the better of his general placidity 
 of temper, now sprung at the Jew, as some hot 
 
JOURN'EY TO MAROCCO. 209 
 
 expression of the Hebrew's fired the magazine 
 of his wrath. The explosion was as furious as 
 sudden, for in an instant the Caid had collared 
 the Jew with the vigour of a youth, and the next 
 moment found his victim stretched on the ground, 
 with his face downwards, and while two soldiers 
 held him in this position, eight others were quickly 
 ranged on either side, with all the sticks that 
 could be procured for the occasion, and a regular 
 tattoo commenced upon the unhappy Jew, on 
 whom they laid their blows with as little com- 
 punction and as much merriment as if they had 
 been beating a carpet. The old Caid, whose 
 wrath was boiling over, vented it still further by 
 catching a stick from a muleteer, and, running- 
 round the circle of soldiers, laid it on their heads 
 and shoulders to make them more active in their 
 duty. The affrighted Hebrew being very thickly 
 clad in long cloth robes, got no more than did him 
 good ; but he roared most lustily, begging for 
 God's sake that they would let him go with his 
 life, and he would not say another word. They 
 then ceased, and the Jew, quickly gathering up 
 his clothes around him, ran off with all expedition, 
 without daring to utter a syllable, or even to look 
 behind him. 
 
 Roars of laughter attended the affrighted Jew 
 in his exit from the court-yard, and I must say 
 that notwithstanding the unpleasant predicament 
 of the unhappy man, I could not forbear laughing 
 at the whole scene, which was certainly a most lu- 
 dicrous one. So common are these occurrences that 
 
210 JOt'HNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 the performance lasted but a few seconds, from the 
 expertness of the actors, who had supplied them- 
 selves with sticks even before the Jew was well 
 on the ground, which plainly evinced their readi- 
 ness in playing their accustomed parts. The old 
 Caicl, too, the violence of whose temper had spent 
 itself in a moment, now re-assumed his equanimity, 
 and with his accustomed serenity and softness of 
 manners, he invited us to mount our mules and 
 proceed onwards. 
 
 We had not quitted the douar more than a 
 quarter of an hour, when we passed the bed of a 
 mountain torrent, running from the south-east, 
 and having at this time a considerable stream of 
 clear water, which bounded over the rocky bed 
 until made to branch off in various directions by 
 conduits for the nourishment of the surrounding 
 farms. Having crossed this stream, we gradually 
 ascended a higher country, presenting nothing but 
 limestone rocks and petrifactions, which were 
 strewed over the ground in great abundance and 
 variety. The depth of soil appeared to be very 
 slight, for scarcely any vegetable production of a 
 foot high was to be seen in any direction for many 
 miles. The vicinity of the valley we had left 
 abounded in game. The red-legged partridge was 
 more numerous and tamer here than I have seen 
 it elsewhere, and flocks of grouse rose frequently 
 by the road side as we continued to ascend the 
 heights before us. I was too ill to alight from my 
 mule to go in quest of game, and my mule too 
 unquiet to allow of my taking a good aim from his 
 
JOIMN r.V TO .M Alton ' . 211 
 
 back ; but as I always rode with my double- 
 barrelled gun loaded with shot and ball, in case of 
 accidents, I succeeded in killing one of these 
 grouse from my mule's back. It was about the 
 size of an English partridge, of a plumage some- 
 thing browner, having black feathers under the 
 wing on that half of it nearest the body ; the other 
 half to the tip of the wing, also on the under 
 part, being quite white. The wings were pointed 
 at the tips, and the flight of the bird resembled 
 that of a pigeon. The legs were feathered to the 
 ground, and it stood upon three small toes like 
 those of the English grouse. Those who partook 
 of this bird pronounced it to be of a most delicious 
 flavour. I also killed a small species of the stone 
 curlew, of which numbers were to be seen running 
 along the road. 
 
 The country over which we were now journeying 
 became too barren to offer the smallest shelter from 
 the burning rays of the sun, which were ardently 
 reflected from a white lime-stone stratum of a 
 most curious form, exactly resembling the ruined 
 foundation of walls or houses, caused by lines of 
 perpendicular strata running at right angles with 
 each other. At first I could not but persuade 
 myself that we were passing over the site of some 
 old town, but upon recollecting that it is not the 
 custom to build with stone in this country, and 
 finding that the same appearance seemed to con- 
 tinue, I called Mr. Murray's attention to this 
 unusual form of stratum, and, from the great 
 extent of surrounding country that bore the same 
 
 p 3 
 
212 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 appearance, he concurred with me in deciding upon 
 it as the effect of nature. I have since been told 
 by some, that such a stratum does not exist in the 
 annals of mineralogy ; nor do I pretend to be 
 sufficiently versed in that science to dispute the 
 point scientifically ; but for the truth of what I 
 and Mr. Murray saw and examined attentively, I 
 can justly vouch, and I leave the point to be 
 settled by those whose business it is to deny all 
 they hear, until they discover the cause of the con- 
 trary. While passing over these stony heights we 
 met some pedestrian travellers of ragged fortunes. 
 One of these, in passing us, addressed one of the 
 prisoners and walked on; the old Caid, however, 
 had no sooner heard that he had done so, than he 
 despatched three of our escort after the fellow, 
 who soon came up with him, and, with the adroit- 
 ness of men accustomed to such scenes, secured 
 him in a moment by a loop at the end of a rope 
 carried for such purposes, which they tightened 
 sufficiently round his neck to give him no indistinct 
 idea of strangulation. The poor fellow, who was 
 dreadfully alarmed, forced a sort'of laugh or grin 
 into his countenance, already half-dead with fear 
 and suffocation, and begged earnestly for mercy 
 as his savage leader, quickening the pace of 
 of his horse, kept twitching the rope to excite by 
 the unhappy man's grimaces the merriment of 
 his comrades. Having inquired into the reason of 
 the culprit's detention, the old Caid assured us 
 that the neighbouring country was inhabited by 
 a people much disaffected to the present Sultan, 
 
JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 213 
 
 which made it necessary that every precaution 
 should be taken against surprise ; that one of our 
 prisoners belonged to this district, and having been 
 addressed by a stranger, it bore all the appearance 
 of improper communication with some neighbour- 
 ing horde, which might pour down upon us in the 
 night in numbers superior to our own. I could 
 not but applaud the quick-sighted -carefulness of 
 our old Caid, but begged he would release the 
 poor fellow in question, if he thought he could do 
 so without danger. The man, seeing Mr. Murray 
 and myself anxious about him, pressed up to us 
 as near as his rope allowed him, and, kissing the 
 tails of our animals, guggled forth his entreaties 
 for our intercession. The gentleman-like old 
 Caid, who never allowed an opportunity to pass 
 without paying us that attention which he con- 
 sidered due to the Sultan's guests, immediately 
 told the man that he should pardon him on ac- 
 count of our intercession, and that to us therefore 
 he owed his life. On finding the halter loosened 
 from his neck the man became frantic with joy, 
 and, leaping into the air in a variety of gestures, 
 he alternately laughed and cried, and kissing our 
 feet and the tails of our mules, he literally 
 screamed his invocations to Alia for our blessing, 
 as also that of the old Caid, whose countenance 
 having re-assumed its usual placidity, exhibited 
 no more emotion indicative of a participation in 
 the joy, than it had in the late agony, of the 
 released prisoner. The Arab was turning to de- 
 part on his way, when the two soldiers who had 
 
214 JOURNEY TO MAUOCC'O. 
 
 caught and led him begged to be remunerated for 
 their trouble. It was in vain he declared that he 
 possessed nothing; the soldiers insisted upon 
 seeing the inside of his leathern scrip, where his 
 worldly substance, amounting to a few silver bits, 
 was made to pay at least half- toll. 
 
 We made no mid-day halt, but continued tra- 
 velling as fast as we were able, in hopes of reaching 
 a douar before night-fall. Towards the evening, 
 the country improved ; thousands of trees of a 
 beautiful thorn, growing to the height of thirty 
 feet, were interspersed at distances, and the soil 
 bore a most abundant crop of long-dried grass, 
 amongst which herds of goats were here and 
 there seen quietly browsing. The landscape 
 altogether much resembled that style of park 
 scenery which is generally peculiar to England. 
 We passed hundreds of walled douars, but all 
 un tenanted, and many much dilapidated. The 
 country, too, around them, bore the marks of fire, 
 which seemed lately to have wasted the neigh- 
 bouring heights. I was told that this had been 
 done for the manuring of the soil, but upon passing 
 some olive plantations completely burnt up, and 
 from the number of uninhabited walled douars, 
 I was inclined to compare these appearances with 
 the morning's account of the unsettled state of the 
 country, and to lay the charge of these spoliations 
 to the Sultan's troops. At six o'clock we came 
 to a valley, through which ran creeping over 
 the stones a small stream of excellent water. 
 Abundance of water cresses and new grass inv 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 215 
 
 peded its progress on the more level parts, and 
 seemed to invite to refreshment the parched mouths 
 of our weary animals, which had suffered greatly 
 from the stony paths over which we had this day 
 travelled. The old muleteer, who, like ail of his 
 calling, had learned to sympathize with the 
 stomachs of his mules, besides imbibing a little of 
 their stubborn nature, here declared he must rest 
 for the night, nor could all the entreaties of the 
 Doctor and the soldiers urge him from his deter- 
 mination. Uncomfortable as was the situation, 
 with a small marsh near it, and no douar, I felt 
 still not a little pleased to find our day's toil at 
 an end ; for the heat of the sun and the fatigue of 
 travelling over rough roads had so overcome me, 
 that I could with difficulty keep my saddle. 
 
 It was agreed that if we remained here this night, 
 it would be necessary to stbrt at three o'clock the 
 next morning, to enable us to reach Mogadore on 
 the evening of the following day. We therefore 
 hastened to pitch our tent, and having received 
 a supply of straw from an Arab farmer, who came 
 down from the neighbouring hill to offer us his 
 assistance, we ate our suppers, and closing our 
 tents to keep out the damp of the evening, retired 
 to our beds to dream of agues, amidst a concert 
 of bull-frogs. I passed a wretched night, in the 
 middle of which I awoke, very sick and cold, and 
 at half-past two, I was obliged to make a most 
 dreadful exertion to dress myself, and prepare for 
 departure, which nothing but our agreement at 
 Marocco could have induced me to effect : a cup 
 
216 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 of hot coffee, however, enabled me to seat myself 
 on my mule, closely wrapt up in my thick woollen 
 bournouse, which hardly sufficed to protect me 
 from the cold raw air of the morning. We now 
 proceeded at a brisk pace, and by this means saved 
 ourselves some hours' riding in the hot sun. 
 As morning dawned we entered a beautiful forest 
 of the argan tree, which grows to the height of 
 about fifty-feet in a conical form, expanding con- 
 siderably in the lower branches. It bears a fruit 
 much resembling an olive, the stone of which 
 contains two, and sometimes three, kernels of a 
 most greasy nature, whence is extracted an oil 
 greatly preferred by the natives to that of the 
 olive, particularly for culinary purposes. To the 
 olfactory nerves of Europeans, the strong smell 
 of this oil is very unpleasant, in consequence of 
 the nut being baked to open it. This wood is a 
 natural plantation where no art is made use of in 
 its improvement, nor any other trouble taken than 
 that of picking the rich crops which nature abun- 
 dantly supplies. The exterior of the fruit is very 
 palatable to the herds of goats which live upon 
 it, though to the taste it is as bitter as gall. The 
 Moors say that the argan will not grow in latitudes 
 north of Saffee ; but from the rocky heights 
 on which it grows, I am inclined to think that 
 the experiment would belie the assertion. The 
 rocky beds through which this tree seems to delight 
 in forcing its tortuous roots, is of a soft brown 
 sand-stone. I brought a great quantity of these 
 nuts away with me from Mogadore, and presented 
 
JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 217 
 
 a sufficient number of them to Sir George Don 
 to plant over the rock of Gibraltar, to which place, 
 if they succeed in growing, they will form a great 
 ornament, as well as being of much service in the 
 way of shade. We continued passing through 
 this beautiful wood until one o'clock, when, after 
 surmounting height after height, in anxious expec- 
 tation of seeing Mogadore, we at last reached' the 
 summit of our wishes, and the long hoped-for 
 sight burst suddenly on our view. Never shall I 
 forget with what intense delight I gazed upon the 
 expanse of the dark blue ocean, which now lay 
 stretched in lazy apathy before me like a mighty 
 mirror. With what rapture did I inhale the pure 
 western breeze, already breathing into my languid 
 and 'exhausted frame, a new life and hopes of 
 health. I had long since abandoned almost every 
 prospect of again beholding this glorious sight, 
 and only clung to the bare idea as the ship- 
 wrecked mariner to the broken oar, which promises 
 but to prolong his doubtful existence. To those 
 associations of naval glory that swell the heart of 
 a Briton as he gazes upon the parent of his sea- 
 girt isle, I must add those derived from an early 
 professional acquaintance with that boisterous 
 element. My heart quite yearned towards it, and 
 1 vainly longed for the wing of the white sea-gull 
 to cut my way through the intervening space of 
 air, and dip my heated frame in the cool element 
 of the glassy ocean. 
 
 The heat of the sun had been very severe during 
 this morning. Want of rest, sickness of stomach, 
 
2 IB J.OUHXEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 and the fatigue of travelling to one already a 
 skeleton, added to the paralyzing pains of my in- 
 flamed liver, so overcame me that I almost doubted 
 whether I should be able to reach the destination 
 in view ; nothing but the knowledge that it would 
 be accomplished in four hours more, could have 
 made me protract my journey. We now descended 
 into the level country below, which was covered 
 with a wood of juniper : this is the chief material 
 used in house-building. It is not, on account of 
 its honey-comb'd nature, capable of being con- 
 verted into planks ; but its durability, hardness, 
 and strength, make it a most excellent material 
 for the beams of the flat heavy Moorish roofs. I 
 here became so weak as to be unable to carry any 
 longer my light French double-barrelled gun,which 
 I gave to one of our guards, and my pains increas- 
 ing, I made frequent halts beneath the shade of 
 the trees, by which I from time to time gained a 
 slight return of strength, enabling me to proceed 
 by degrees on my way, though I lost my com- 
 panions, who, however, left behind with me two of 
 the escort. As we cleared this juniper grove, we 
 found ourselves on the border of a little desart of 
 fine drift sand, that lies between Mogadore and the 
 main land, of about three miles broad, and after 
 threading our way through the little valleys, formed 
 by a thousand moving hills of this subtle sub- 
 stance, which are for ever assuming different 
 forms with every change of the wind, we found 
 ourselves at the foot of the walls of Mogadore. 
 Here my two escorts insisted upon my halting for 
 
JOURNM 10 MAROCCO. 219 
 
 a few minutes, while they rode up and down the 
 sand before me, and complimented me on my 
 arrival by firing my own powder at my face, after 
 which compliment, we passed under two arched 
 gateways, and shortly after found ourselves in the 
 great square near the Governor's palace, the 
 inner court of which is appropriated by the pre- 
 sent Governor to the service of the custom-house. 
 In the corner of the square, sitting on a long 
 stone bench, we descried the Governor with some 
 of his chief officers receiving Dr. Brown and Mr. 
 Murray, who were already arrived. Half dead 
 with pain and fatigue, I slid from my saddle and 
 crept towards my companions. The old Governor, 
 seeing my exhausted state, begged me to seat 
 myself on the bench near him, whilst he made 
 arrangements with Mr.Wiltshire, the British Vice- 
 consul, concerning the choice of a house for us, 
 and after some conversation, he said that he was 
 well aware of our favour in the Sultan's eyes, and 
 that it should be his endeavour to serve us in all 
 we required of him. We made our obeisance and 
 followed Mr. Wiltshire and one of the Governor's 
 officers to the house agreed upon, which contained 
 only two rooms; in consequence of which they gave 
 us another small one close by, in which Mr. Mur- 
 ray and the servant took up their abode, whilst 
 Dr. Brown and myself chose the former one. 
 My first care was to order my bed to be prepared 
 for me, and having slaked my thirst with some 
 cider which Mr. Wiltshire sent me, I literally 
 crawled into my bed, and almost instantly fell 
 
220 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 into a deep sleep. How long I might have re- 
 mained in this pleasing state of oblivion, had I 
 been allowed to sleep on, I cannot say ; but certain 
 it is, that I was awaked on the following evening, 
 while enjoying the five-and- twentieth hour of 
 unbroken rest, and after partaking some tea, I 
 again resigned myself to my repose, and awoke 
 not until ten o'clock on the following morning, 
 much refreshed, though far from well. Those who 
 have not experienced similar fatigue while suf- 
 fering from disease, can form no idea of the ex- 
 quisite blessing of sound sleep. 
 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 221 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Mogadore described. Its Citadel, Fortifications, fyc. 
 -The peculiarity of the Fishing Boats there. 
 Mode of Executing Criminals. The Caid or 
 Governor of the Place and his Occupation. The 
 Food, Expenses of Living, Climate, fyc. The 
 Jews, and their Mode of Living. 
 
 Mogadore, or Shwera, as it is called by the 
 Moors, is seated upon a small patch of granular 
 sand-stone rocks, and at high water is nearly insu- 
 lated by the tide. 
 
 The principal mosque, which stands at the 
 south end of the largest street, is a very extensive 
 building, said to be very handsome in the interior, 
 and having a square tower of great height; 
 there is also another in the great square of the 
 citadel. That part of Mogadore which is called 
 the citadel, comprehends nearly half the town to 
 the southward, and is divided from the other part 
 by a high wall, with a strong gate; which is 
 closed at nine o'clock every night. The houses 
 in this part of the town are well-built and lofty, 
 the streets are kept swept, and it bears more 
 marks of cleanliness than any town I have seen 
 in the dominions. There is but one house built 
 
222 JOUKNKY TO MA RO CCO. 
 
 in the European style, which formerly belonged 
 to a company of Genoese merchants. 
 
 The citadel contains within its walls the houses 
 of most of the governors, chief officers, the royal 
 palace, the custom-house, and the foreign consu- 
 lates ; besides a street of shops finely built of red 
 sand stone, formerly occupied by European mer- 
 chants. To the south of the citadel is the port 
 and harbour, the latter of which is nearly an open 
 roadstead, formed of a rocky island three miles 
 from the shore. It has only twenty-three feet of 
 water in the deepest part. The average depth 
 for anchoring at low water is from twelve to 
 nineteen feet, sufficient for the purposes of small 
 trading vessels, but dangerous even to these 
 in rough weather, with a sea wind. The anchor- 
 age is open to the south-west swell, which is but 
 imperfectly broken by shallows and reefs that run 
 out from the main land and the island. In other 
 countries than this, industry and art would have 
 combined to render such a perfectly safe harbour 
 for small vessels, by breaking the swell from the 
 south-west. The entrance to the harbour is by 
 the northern passage. The island is high and 
 rocky, is about a mile and a half in length, and 
 three quarters in breadth. It is set aside exclu- 
 sively for the confinement of state-prisoners, who 
 are here made to eke out their days of repentance, 
 until their faces become " whitened before the 
 eyes of the Sultan."* This island is defended, 
 
 * A figurative phrase used to express the return of the Sultan's 
 favour. 
 
.K>tli\l.Y TO MAKOCCO. 223 
 
 or rather, intended to be so, by a few crazy 
 pieces of ordnance, ensconced behind mud wall 
 embrasures. The port or landing-place is a 
 long stone slip at the arsenal, which compre- 
 hends a large range of casements, built bomb- 
 proof, flanked by two elegantly- formed square 
 towers, with turrets at the angles, and embra- 
 sures for small ordnance. These two towers are 
 connected by a battery of two tiers, many of the 
 embrasures containing fine pieces of brass 
 ordnance, of a calibre unfortunately much too 
 heavy for the carriages, which seem ready to 
 unhorse their riders at the first discharge. This 
 work faces the harbour, and in the centre you pass 
 through it, under a lofty stone arched gateway, 
 to arrive on the landing slip. From the westermost 
 tower, a longer battery stretches out to the south- 
 ward, on a ledge of rocks, partially defending the 
 landing-place from the westerly swell. This 
 tongue has a bastion at the end, mounted with 
 six or eight guns, as well as both sides of the 
 tongue, which has twenty-four ernbrazures on a 
 side. Beneath this battery is a most extensive 
 tank, containing a vast supply of rain water, 
 gathered from the adjacent works, in rainy 
 weather, by means of conduits. This is the only 
 supply of water which the inhabitants can 
 depend upon in cass of a siege, and is quite 
 insufficient to supply half the town. The inte- 
 rior of this battery also contains a great number of 
 state prisons not now in use. They are bomb- 
 proof cells of fifteen feet in length, having no light 
 
224 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 but such as beams through a small aperture, of 
 two inches square, at the end, left for the purpose 
 of tantalizing the unhappy prisoner, with enough 
 of that blessing to make him regret the pleasing 
 sight denied him, without rendering him the 
 smallest benefit from it. The whole of these 
 works, as well as those of the line wall defending 
 the town to the westward, and a round tower to the 
 eastward, were built by a Portuguese engineer, who 
 no doubt made a job of the affair, for to an unscien- 
 tific eye the works are finely executed, but in 
 reality are too flimsy to bear five minutes breach- 
 ing. Within the walls of the arsenal is a small 
 green-tiled building supported by pillars, under 
 which passes all the heavy merchandize landed on 
 the adjacent slip, for the purpose of being weighed. 
 The fishing boats, of which there are about 
 eight or nine, serve also as lighters for lading 
 and unlading merchantmen. Every evening at 
 sun-set, they are hauled up the slip, and locked 
 within the gates during the night. These boats, 
 are what at Lisbon the English call bean-pods, 
 resembling as they do the pod of that seed. It is 
 therefore evident that the Portuguese made use of 
 these boats, when in this country; from whom 
 the Moors learnt the art of building them. 
 Besides the elegance of this style of boat, it com- 
 bines the two advantages of lightness and the 
 capability of conveying a great weight. When 
 empty, it seems scarcely to touch the water, 
 sitting like a canoe on its centre ; but as it is 
 depressed by a cargo, the two ends gradually 
 
JOUKNEY TO MA HOC CO. 225 
 
 meeting the surface of the water, offer increasing 
 resistance to the additional weight. Near the 
 spot where these boats are drawn up, is the scene 
 of public execution. The criminal having landed 
 on the slip, from the prison on the island, and hav- 
 ing passed the arched gateway, is made to walk 
 towards a corner of the yard in front, while his 
 sentence of death is reading, and at the moment 
 of its conclusion, a party of soldiers from behind, 
 discharge their guns at the criminal, who often 
 falls a prolonged victim of cruelty to the awk- 
 wardness of his executioners. The ordinary mode 
 of execution at Mogadore for common criminals, 
 is that chosen by the Spanish grandees as their 
 peculiar prerogative, the severing of the head 
 from the body by means of a large sharp knife, 
 as the head of the culprit is held back for the 
 purpose : a more undignified disgusting mode of 
 execution I cannot well conceive. 
 
 Mogadore is completely walled in, and has three 
 principal gates, which with many interior ones are 
 closed at sunset. On the land side it is protected 
 from the attacks of the neighbouring country, by 
 a round tower before-mentioned, planted with 
 brass cannon. On the west, or sea-side, is an 
 extensive line-wall, crowned with ordnance, and 
 having beneath a range of bomb-proof casements, 
 capable of containing four or five thousand men ; 
 at the extremity of this is a small bastion of four 
 guns. This battery offers a delightful situation 
 for enjoying the fresh air of the ocean, and we 
 used frequently to repair thither for that purpose. 
 
 Q 
 
226 JOURNEY TO MAROCCQ 
 
 It is impossible to imagine a greater burlesque on 
 fortification than is this. pride of Mogadore. Here 
 are intermixed the inventions of every age and 
 country. The brass guns, of which there are many 
 beautiful Barcelona productions, are, from the du- 
 rable nature of the metal, in good order ; but those 
 of iron are scaling off, in sheets of rust as thick as 
 your hand, without even an effort on the part of a 
 friendly paint-brush to save them from extinction. 
 Out of about twenty-five pieces of ordnance on 
 this line of wall, there is not one that would stand 
 half a dozen rounds, in such a deplorable state are 
 the carnages, most of which have been constructed 
 at Mogadore, being nothing more than two long 
 shafts of wood, on solid wheels of the same light 
 material ; and, to complete the absurdity of the 
 whole appearance, the touch-holes are defended 
 from the inclemency of the weather by stones 
 which the zeal of the gunner has substituted for 
 leaden caps. At the northern end of this battery, 
 is another small one at right angles facing the 
 north : here are four of as good specimens of the 
 dilapidation of time as I ever beheld. One whose 
 numbered years would have literally done credit to 
 the age of Methusalem, had sunk under the hand 
 of time, having lost its hinder wheels, while the 
 mouth assuming a most unmilitary degree of ele- 
 vation, appeared to be turning its. thoughts to- 
 wards heaven in unison with two brass ten inch 
 mortars, which sat surrounded by a family of 
 little ones, gaping with hunger like a committee 
 of frogs debating on the weather. 
 
JOl'IJXKY TO MAKOCCO. 227 
 
 Mogadore has no supply of water within the 
 town, save that which is collected from the rain. 
 All the water that is used by the inhabitants is 
 procured from a stream at the distance of two 
 miles and a half by animal carriage, and thus the 
 town might be made to surrender in a few days 
 by cutting off the passage of the water carriers ; to 
 prevent which, however, in a measure, a small 
 village has been built on the side of a hill over- 
 hanging the stream, and near the mouth of it was 
 placed a round tower, with a small one in the 
 centre, both planted with cannon and intended to 
 command the mouth of the river and the south- 
 west passage of the roadstead. This fort, however, 
 being built contrary to the good old adage, upon a 
 foundation of sand, has fallen a victim to the 
 inundations of the river, which in rainy seasons 
 swells to a torrent. It was first struck with 
 lightning, and about two years ago, was com- 
 pletely undermined by the torrent, which sweep- 
 ing away the sandy foundation on one side, it 
 fell suddenly into entire ruins. With a very little 
 trouble the water of this river might be conveyed 
 into the town by a subterranean aqueduct through 
 the sands, while the head would be protected by 
 a small fort built higher up the banks of the river 
 seated on a rock. 
 
 Near this old fort is a large house built by the 
 late Sultan, also on the sands. It is a large square 
 enclosure of high walls, containing five small 
 green-tiled pavilions, one of which is in the 
 centre, and the others at the four corners of the 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 quadrangle. This palace was constructed to pre- 
 vent the necessity of the Sultan's living in the 
 town, when on a visit to Mogadore, feeling, I sup- 
 pose, more secure on this little desart with* his 
 body troops around him than in the town. Out 
 of the frying pan into the fire, is rather applicable 
 to the situation of this palace, for the architect 
 avoiding, as it were, the error of him who built 
 the fort on the sandy banks of the torrent, has, in 
 his zeal for the Sultan's safety, placed it on the 
 confines of the little moving desart, forgetting, or 
 perhaps not knowing, that African history affords 
 more awful examples of cities buried by sand, 
 than swept away by water. A stone placed on 
 a desart will always be the means of raising a 
 heap, a heap a hillock, and then a hill. This 
 is the case with Seedna's house, whose walls are 
 already half buried, for blow which ever way the 
 wind will, it is the rendezvous or rallying post of 
 the drift sands ; and in a few years will be 
 rendered uninhabitable. 
 
 Mogadore is ruled by a great Caid, as gover- 
 nor, whose name is Hash Hash,* one of the best 
 
 * Hash Hash has a brother of the same name, lately made Basha 
 of Tetuan. His father commenced life as a muleteer, and after- 
 wards became Basha of Tetuan, where he is said to have amas- 
 sed great sums of money by extortion and taxes. The late 
 Sultan took occasion to quarrel with him, that he might lay his 
 hands on the old man's purse, who after holding out against his 
 Lord, for a considerable time, was at last inveigled into a surren- 
 der; when he was immediately thrown into prison, and severely 
 bastinadoed at intervals to make him discover his hidden wealth ; 
 but such is the love of money in this country, that neither the 
 bastinado, nor the other sufferings Jie endured, were sufficient to 
 
JOUKNKY TO MA ROC CO. 229 
 
 servants of the Sultan, who was himself formerly 
 Governor of this town. Hash Hash is a man 
 of about fifty years of age, and under an uncouth 
 exterior, possesses considerable abilities, and a 
 most polished manner. He is much liked at 
 Mogadore. He is employed generally during the 
 day in personally acting the part of a Cus- 
 tom-house officer, by inspecting merchandize, 
 to prevent smuggling, and to receive the dues. 
 During the evening, he sits in the corner of the 
 large square, at the door of the custom-house, on 
 a stone bench fixed against the wall, and there 
 receives petitions, and grants audiences to all 
 comers. He keeps up no state, and when at 
 leisure, mingles without form amongst his people 
 as a private person. 
 
 As all supplies of food, except fish and bread, 
 are brought from the neighbouring country with 
 some difficulty, the expense of living at Mogadore 
 
 make him surrender the whole of his long earned wealth; part 
 of which he left to his two sons, he himself dying from the sever- 
 ity of his punishment. Amongst the many means taken to urge 
 him to discover his riches, that of putting live cats into the ampli- 
 tude of what in the Moorish dress can scarcely be termed small 
 clothes, is of a novel nature in the catalogue of tortures. 
 Shortly before the present time, I saw his son at Tetuan, who 
 had just taken possession of that government. He had paid the 
 present Sultan 48,000 dollars for his situation, which had 
 recently become vacant by the seizure of the late governor of 
 Tetuan, who like Hash Hash had been sent up to Marocco for 
 the purpose of being squeezed; where we saw him when we 
 were there. Having passed his period of purgatory, he was, 
 as is the custom, again taken into favour, and at that time was 
 ruling, scales in hand, at the head of the Sultan's beef butchery 
 for the troops. 
 
230 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 is greater than atMarocco. The meat too is of an 
 inferior quality, but the continual supply of fine 
 fish afforded by the sea, is an ample compensation 
 for the loss of other luxuries. The different 
 kinds offish of which we partook, while at Moga- 
 dore, were the turbot, dory, sole, tasagalt, old 
 maid, bream, whiting, and sardinias ; crawfish 
 and shrimps are also abundant. The tasagalt is 
 a large fish of the size and shape of a salmon, of 
 a whitish brown colour. To the taste, it is a 
 strong, highly flavoured fish, and is caught by the 
 hook, in such quantities as to form the principal 
 part of the poor people's diet. 
 
 The climate of Mogadore is decidedly a very 
 healthy one ; influenced as it is by the sea- 
 breezes during the major part of the year. 
 During the dreadful heat we experienced at 
 Marocco, the thermometer at Mogadore, ranged at 
 about 76, and during the nights the fall was much 
 greater than the usual proportion of change at sun- 
 set, in warm climates ; owing to the cool evening 
 breeze off the Atlantic. Notwithstanding, how- 
 ever, the usual salubriety of this place, it had suffered 
 much during this summer from ague, a complaint 
 the Moors call berd or cold : as they also call a 
 a fever skanna or heat. The inhabitants of Moga- 
 dore are certainly the finest race I have seen in 
 Marocco. The comparative coldness of their 
 climate braces their limbs, and nerves them to 
 more exertion than seems generally to suit the 
 apathy of other Moors. From their intercourse 
 with strangers, they have imbibed much of the 
 
JOUKNKV TO MAROCCO. 231 
 
 civilization of Europeans ; of whose various 
 languages they have also retained a smattering, 
 particularly the oaths of the English.* They are 
 remarkably well-behaved, and indeed the better 
 classes of society are elegantly polite. 
 
 The Jews at Mogadore, as in most towns of the 
 empire, have a separate quarter of the town 
 appropriated to them, within the walls of which 
 they are nightly enclosed at the hour of evening 
 gun-fire, by a Caid who has charge of the gate 
 day and night, to prevent the ill-timed intrusion 
 of the Mo6rs. Many of the richer Jews wear 
 round hats, and some indeed frock coats ; an affec- 
 tation borrowed from the Europeans. The wearing 
 of hats, however, is an attempt at singularity that 
 the Sultans of Marocco have had the sagacity to 
 indulge and turn to their own account, by allow- 
 ing those who can afford it, to pay an exemption 
 from the general law; which obliges all Jews to 
 wear the small black skull-cap. This indulgence 
 often costs them very dear ; for as they are reputed 
 rich, so does the Sultan urge his demands. I was 
 informed that a Jew there had paid 8000 dollars 
 for this privilege, which after all is only a distin- 
 
 * One who prided himself particularly upon his proficiency in 
 our tongue, asked me one day, " Why for you have beard all 
 same Moor? English ladies no like that. " " Yes, Embark, said 
 I, it tickles them." He looked puzzled for a moment, as he 
 turned over the leaves of his memory, but as if suddenly remem- 
 bering the word, he said, " Oh yes! I know, tea-kettle' I hear 
 that before," and so saying, away he Uudged, delighted at 
 having enriched his vocabulary with the word, which he kept 
 repeating to himself as he walked along the street. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 guishing mark like that placed by a shepherd on 
 a fat sheep, by which the Sultan is enabled to 
 ascertain which head is best worth taking off, 
 when his coffers are empty. 
 
 The Jewish women are here, as elsewhere, 
 very handsome generally, and individually are 
 often perfection's self. The Jewish town is a 
 very dunghill; the streets are so many beds of 
 chicken's feathers, which are made no use of, 
 and are therefore allowed to accumulate in 
 the highway, which from the great consumption 
 of this species of food, and the naturally dirty 
 Jewish habits, is a soft mass of filth of every 
 sort mixed up with feathers. The Jews thus 
 bring upon themselves the reproach of filthiness, 
 so much the horror of the delicate Musselmen, 
 who dignify their Jewish countrymen by the 
 appellation of Puercos.* Some of the interiors of 
 the Jewish houses are fitted up with some 
 expense, but exhibit a sad mixture of extrava- 
 gance and meanness, defiled by dirt and stench , 
 which is only rendered endurable to a European 
 by the sight of those gazelle-eyed beauties, who 
 give one an idea of the perfection of original man ; 
 whose image has been perpetuated in a race 
 whose ancient date and customs allow them to 
 boast of the purest blood. 
 
 However much the learned may have declared 
 the beau ideal of the human contour to be the 
 offspring of custom and prejudice, I am still of 
 opinion that what we call a regular set of features, 
 
 * Hogs in Spanish. 
 
~>h MiudflB on th^ 
 
 ki i. X Co 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 233 
 
 enlivened by large languishing eyes, and a loving 
 expression of countenance, is the original face of 
 our first mother or mothers; from the internal 
 feeling of delight which springs spontaneously in 
 the bosoms of the most ignorant men of all 
 enlightened nations, at the sight of such fair 
 visions. Corrupt taste may pervert the beau 
 ideal of the human form, but the existence of a 
 true standard is not therefore to be denied. The 
 narrow-minded Chinese, whose short-sighted 
 jealousy has been the means of regulating his 
 beau ideal of a foot, the Turk, whose depraved 
 taste, sated by the variety of a harem, nothing 
 but a mass of Circassian fat flesh can delight ; 
 or the thousand follies of fashion in our own 
 country, which alternately made many of our 
 lovely country-women disguise by unnatural com- 
 pression the most enchanting charm of their 
 persons, and the men to imagine perfection in 
 their sex the nearest approximation to the form of 
 a wasp : are not arguments sufficient to prove that 
 the Grecian beau ideal is only ours by adoption. 
 
234 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Notabilia during the Sojourn of the Travellers 
 
 at Mogadore. 
 
 THE trade of Mogadore was formerly very con- 
 siderable ; her port was open to the English, 
 French, American, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, 
 Sardinian and other countries' vessels ; who all 
 had their consuls, and, with the resident 
 merchants, formed amongst themselves a little 
 society, that combined to render the irksomeness 
 of their life in this place, at least, bearable ; but 
 times have greatly altered at Mogadore, which 
 now only boasts of two European consuls, and 
 one European mercantile house, conducted by 
 Mr. Wiltshire, also British vice-consul. The 
 second consulate was that of Sardinia, in whose 
 house lived a Maltese merchant, Don Pedro (now in 
 unfortunate circumstances) and two young Italian 
 supercargos. These (with the inmates of Mr. Wilt- 
 shire's housed were the societv which we found 
 
 
JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 235 
 
 upon arriving at Mogadore. The Sardinian 
 consul and Don Pedro called upon us the day 
 after our arrival, and with a hospitality worthy 
 of men in more affluent circumstances, offered 
 the kindest assistance to us in anything in which 
 they could serve us, which, as far as tables and 
 chairs, we accepted of; not being themselves 
 supplied with those little comforts and delicacies 
 so agreeable or necessary to sick men, they 
 could do no more. 
 
 Shortly after our arrival, I was again attacked 
 with ague, but after a few fits, I began gradually 
 to recover my strength. The cool nights, to 
 which we had so long been strangers, brought 
 with them refreshing sleep, that most infallible of 
 all prescriptions, and it is a curious circumstance 
 that Dr. Brown, who had escaped this disease 
 during our stay at Marocco, where it appeared 
 so prevalent, was attacked at last, shortly before 
 our departure from Mogadore, during weather the 
 least likely to bring it on ; but long will this old 
 man sometimes stick to the back of his resistless 
 patient. 
 
 The mules which the Sultan had given us 
 being found troublesome, and seeing no prospect 
 of our being able to convey them to Gibraltar 
 at a reasonable price, Mr. Murray and myself 
 resolved to dispose of them. Mr. Wiltshire came 
 to me one day and told me " that as Mrs.Wiltshire 
 had taken a fancy to mine, he was willing 
 to purchase it of me. " I replied, " that I had 
 no objection, and should leave the price to him 
 
236 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 to settle, as he was better acquainted with that 
 than myself." He replied, " that in consequence 
 of the quantity of mules, at present in the 
 market, he thought thirty dollars a fair price. " 
 I therefore sent him my mule. In the evening, 
 the Sardinian consul told me that a Moor had 
 asked him if I would have parted with her to 
 him for forty-five dollars, and, upon afterwards 
 mentioning the circumstance to some Moors of 
 respectability, they assured me she was worth 
 fifty dollars at least in the market, and that many 
 would have given more than that for her as the 
 Sultan's present. It was then only, that I was 
 able to appreciate the real value of the Sultan's 
 bounty, which I had before thought rather insig- 
 nificant. The sale of Mr. Murray's mule in the 
 market, proved the truth of what had been told 
 me ; for in comparison with mine, Mr. Murray's 
 mule was hardly worth half the sum, and yet 
 was bought up readily at twenty- four dollars. I 
 asked the auctioneer the reason of so large a price 
 having been paid for so poor a mule ; he replied, 
 " that owing to the scarcity of straw, on the 
 previous year, numbers of mules had died; and 
 that consequently, they were now scarce." 
 
 The auctioneer (who walked it up and down 
 the streets) was a sturdy black fellow, who, to 
 his credit, resisted the entreaties of one who 
 shamefully tried to bribe him with four dollars to 
 knock the mule down to him for sixteen. The 
 sale by auction consists in two ways, the statio- 
 nary and the current. In the latter, of which 
 
TO MA ROC CO. 237 
 
 we have just been talking, the auctioneer walks 
 from house to house, carrying with him the arti- 
 cles for sale, and stating their increasing prices 
 to the original bidders, as he receives a better 
 bid, and pocketing a per centage on the bargain. 
 To prevent bribery, however, the auctioneer is 
 liable to lose his head, if discovered. 
 
 This mode has an advantage, which is, that it 
 allows the owner of the goods to accept of any 
 offer made him to stop the further progress of the 
 article in the market. The auction-market is an 
 enclosure of small bazaars, in which sit the 
 owners of the merchandize around them ; and a 
 number of auctioneers, chosen for their stentorian 
 powers, continue striding up and down the 
 enclosed square, calling out at the full pitch 
 of their voices, the price or last bid of the article; 
 over which as they hold it up, they pronounce 
 some of their best puffs. The scene at first sight 
 is rather terrific ; the wild and swoln counte- 
 nances of the auctioneers, as they strain their iron 
 lungs in boisterous pre-eminence, maintaining a 
 gravity but ill adapted to the frivolous article of their 
 noisy encomiums ; the furious gestures of those 
 who are seen brandishing in the air rusty swords 
 and daggers, like personifications of the malig- 
 nant passions ; and the uncurbed expression of 
 astonishment depicted in the countenance of the 
 tawny Arab, as his large dark eyes expand to a 
 vacant stare ; all contribute to favour the illusion 
 that the scene before you is a mad-house, and the 
 actors maniacs of the highest order. 
 
238 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Finding, however, that no one insulted us, we 
 used frequently to repair to this scene of uproar. 
 Seeing one day a long double-edged sword coming 
 towards me in procession, like our great sword 
 of state in Westminster abbey, I arrested its 
 progress, and upon examination, I found it an old 
 time-browned Toledo of the age of chivalry, 
 which still possessed all the elasticity of its 
 youth in a most astonishing degree, while on its 
 blade was engraved, 
 
 " No me saques sin razon, 
 No me embaines sin honor."* 
 
 There was something touching in the misfortunes 
 of this venerable defender of chivalry, that seemed 
 to appeal to my generosity to save it from the 
 ignominious fate it was about to undergo, in being 
 knocked down for two shillings. It had perhaps 
 fought many a deadly action, in defence of 
 honour, rescued many a damsel from the hands 
 of her ravisher, cleft asunder many a Saracen's 
 turbaned head, in the iron grasp of a proud 
 templar ; or " who knows, " thought I, " but it 
 may be the identical sword of the renowned 
 knight of the sorrowful figure, Don Quixote de la 
 Mancha." Its dark woe-begone look decided in 
 favour of this last supposition, and I resolved to 
 rescue from its impending fate this gem of 
 chivalry, which was on the point of falling into 
 the hands of a Jewish shoemaker, who would 
 have converted it into knives for his stall; and 
 
 * " Do not draw me without reason, 
 Nor sheath me without honour." 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO 239 
 
 that which had been formed for the dignified 
 employment of cutting up bodies, would have 
 
 ended by cutting up pardpn me, gentle reader, ' 
 
 I was on the point of imagining a pun. So 
 putting my hand into my own pocket, I pulled 
 out as much bad copper coin as amounted to a 
 sixpence, and saved the companion of heroes 
 from the company of the awl and lapstone. 
 
 The principal article of sale, however, of this 
 market is the woollen manufacture of the coun- 
 try, such as is made into the bournouse or cloak, 
 and the haik, a species of covering like a large 
 table cloth in shape, folded around the person 
 according to the fancy or taste of the wearer. 
 
 Some of these woollen manufactures are of a 
 superior strength and closeness to any I have 
 seen in England, and are an excellent substitute 
 for camlets ; which they far surpass in closeness 
 of web and strength, and are equally light. 
 This cloth is woven by a perpendicular loom, to 
 which a heavy weight is attached to give it 
 greater force, and by this means it is rendered 
 perfectly impenetrable by water ; and it is not an 
 uncommon thing to see a soldier, upon an emer- 
 gency, making use of his cloak as a water-bucket, 
 which purpose it fully answers. Mogadore, how- 
 ever, is not celebrated for any particular species 
 of manufacture. 
 
 I used frequently, as I recovered my strength, 
 to ride along the sands to the south of the town, 
 on the horse given by the Sultan to Dr. Brown, who 
 not being a horseman, it had now become the 
 
240 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 property of Mr. Murray. During these little 
 excursions, I was sometimes attended by Mr. 
 Trepas, an agreeable young man in the house of 
 Mr. Wiltshire. In one of these rides, he took me 
 to see an argan tree in the neighbourhood, of 
 prodigious dimensions. The spread of the lower 
 boughs of this tree, (which have drooped with 
 age until partially buried with soil) is thirty paces, 
 and the height about forty-five feet. This tree, 
 (from the shelter it affords, and its fantastically 
 knarled boughs forming a variety of easy seats) 
 was usually the scene of the pic r nic parties of the 
 merchants, in former times. The situation pre- 
 sented a magnificent view of a very extensive valley 
 to the south-east, and in the azure distance arose 
 the aspiring Atlas like a Titanian fabric, from 
 whose silver mantle of snow were now reflected 
 the rays of a most resplendent sun. 
 
 While enjoying, with my companion, the shade 
 of our retreat and the grandeur of the scenery 
 before us, I observed two of those small owls I 
 have before mentioned, and calling to a black 
 slave, through the medium of Mr. Trepas, 
 (who had acquired the Arabic with wonderful 
 quickness) I bid him endeavour to catch me two 
 of these birds ; which he promised doing. 
 
 Not far from this place is another seat of retire- 
 ment of the merchants of Mogadore, who formerly 
 kept in order a small house and garden of vege- 
 tables, at a pretty sequestered spot, near the 
 stream which supplies Mogadore with water, and 
 the angler with mullet. But the stream is the 
 
JOUKNKY TO MAROCCO. 241 
 
 only object uninjured by time, for weeds have 
 choaked the garden, and the house is the habitation 
 of the lizard and the scorpion. 
 
 On returning home from our ride, we overtook a 
 Moor mounted on rather a handsome horse, gaily 
 caparisoned; he was the servant of a rich old Caid, a 
 renowned warrior, and a man of great consequence 
 in this country. This fellow had charge of his 
 stud, which was numerous. Amongst other con- 
 versation concerning horses, he gave us a recipe 
 for getting them into sleek condition, which he 
 pronounced infallible. It was this : dissolve half 
 a pound of fresh butter in your horse's water, 
 which for some time he will refuse drinking, but 
 thirst will at last overcome his repugnance, and 
 after a few times, custom will render it easy : this 
 is to be continued for thirteen days, giving him 
 no exercise. At the end of this time commence 
 riding him gently, and, in a short time he will 
 become beautifully sleek, with a coat of velvet ; 
 and as a proof of the receipt, he pointed to the 
 horse on which he was then mounted, which he 
 said had just then finished taking the above pre- 
 scription. The animal was certainly the sleekest of 
 the sleek, but it had not yet acquired the beauti- 
 ful coat which he said it would shortly have. He 
 then talked with great enthusiasm of his master, 
 who, I afterwards learned, was so sure a marks- 
 man as to be able (whilst at full speed on horse- 
 back) to single out his adversary from the enemy's 
 ranks, at two hundred yards, and bring him 
 
242 JOURXI Y *Q MAROCCO. 
 
 down with a ball. He seems to have possessed 
 an inventive genius, and amongst other warlike 
 experiments he had made use of, was that of a 
 species of flying artillery composed of small 
 swivels mounted on camels ; which, however, 
 failed, from the want of skilful artillerymen. 
 
 We were greatly disappointed at not finding a 
 vessel at Mogadore, which we had expected from 
 Gibraltar, and our eyes were eternally directed 
 towards the anxious quarter. At last a vessel 
 arrived, but we soon found it was not the one 
 we expected, but another laden with goods for 
 the house of Mr. Wiltshire, and having on board 
 Monsieur Shalliet newly appointed vice-consul, 
 vice Mr. Wiltshire, removed. Monsieur Shalliet 
 having brought with him his wife, our society by 
 these means became ameliorated*. On his arrival 
 he was totally unprovided with a house, there 
 being no consular establishment at this place ; and 
 he was therefore under the necessity of accepting 
 an offer of apartments from Mr. Wiltshire, until 
 a Moorish house could be prepared for him. 
 
 Day after day having elapsed without any 
 appearance of the long-expected vessel, we at 
 last determined upon writing to Gibraltar to 
 acquaint our friends at that place of the reason of 
 our detention, in hopes of their being able to hire 
 some vessel at a moderate price for our use. We 
 despatched a courier on foot with our letters to Tan - 
 giers. These couriers, the best of whom are blacks, 
 perform their journeys in a wonderfully short time. 
 Cloathed in a thick, short, woollen bournouse, 
 
JOIUXKY TO MA HOC'CO. 24o 
 
 with a staff, a scrip containing the food, money 
 and despatches, and a small earthern jar for 
 water, they set out to complete journeys of 
 twelve or fourteen days, resting during the heat of 
 the day under a fig tree or a rock, and travel- 
 ling with great rapidity at night. When crossing 
 a river that has no ferry-boat, they bind their 
 clothes and scrip on the top of the head, and 
 swim across, proceeding with fresh vigour on their 
 journey. They are generally paid upon the deli- 
 very of their letters, and are therefore very trust- 
 worthy and secret. 
 
 The daily supply .which we received from the 
 Governor by order of the Sultan, consisted of a 
 quarter of mutton, six fowls, a dozen of eggs, tea 
 and sugar. The mutton at Mogadore is of a very 
 inferior quality, and the beef but poor. Kids form 
 a great part of the consumption of those who in- 
 dulge in meat ; and fowls, the chief ingredient of 
 the national dish of couscassou, are very cheap ; 
 three for a pistorine, and eggs five dozen for five 
 pence, English. An abundance of the red-legged 
 partridges are always to be had, which are taken 
 alive by the net, and alsft hunted down by horse- 
 men, who continue riding after them in the open 
 country, until the bird is unable, from fatigue, to 
 rise. I bought several dozen of these with a view 
 of transporting them to England and Gibraltar, 
 where Sir George Don, amongst his other elegant 
 improvements of the rock, has taken much pains 
 to encourage them to breed, and with tolerable 
 success. These birds, though exceedingly wild, 
 
 R2 
 
244 JOUUNEV TO Al A ROC CO 
 
 are very soon reconciled to confinement ; in a 
 very short time I succeeded in making them eat 
 from my hand, and out of three dozen, I only lost 
 three previous to my departure. The sportsman 
 who brought them, begged me to cut both their 
 wings to prevent them from flying in case of 
 escape. I laughed at what I thought the fellow r 's 
 ignorance, in persisting that both wings should be 
 cut, telling him that this would be likely to give 
 the bird a better balance ; nothing however 
 seemed to convince him of the truth of what I 
 said, as I continued after our custom, to cut the 
 wings on one side close up to the thick part of the 
 quill. Having turned them into a small basket 
 for the moment, one of them effected its escape, 
 and immediately fluttered to the top of the house. 
 I snatched up my gun and crept softly to the head 
 of the stairs, when to my infinite astonishment, I 
 beheld the bird in full and rapid flight, at sixty 
 yards, clearing the town, and making for the 
 country to the eastward. I was then convinced 
 how necessary it is to listen to, what appears the 
 ignorance, and often proves to be the experi- 
 ence, of the natives of those countries in which 
 we travel. I can only account for the rapid 
 flight of this bird, under such disadvantages, by 
 the amazing strength of the muscle in the wings, 
 which enabled it, by the redoubled exertion on the 
 one side, to counter-balance the defects of the 
 other. I also had three camelions constantly in 
 my room, whose ridiculous manner of fighting, 
 caused us much amusement. I could never 
 detect them eating, nor did they seem to take any 
 
 
JOritNKY '10 MA ROC CO. 245 
 
 notice of the flies which were constantly settling 
 on their heads. 
 
 We had been much pleased upon arriving at 
 Mogadore, at finding there our friend the Spanish 
 Doctor, in whom upon better acquaintance, we 
 found a very excellent man, possessing much 
 dryness of humour, and a diverting turn for mimi- 
 cry ; he used to come very often to us to take his 
 soup with us, that being the only nourishment of 
 which he ever partook, and over which he would 
 discuss Spanish politics, and expose the scandalous 
 lives of the priests of his country, of whom he had 
 an insurmountable horror. The poor fellow, like 
 many of his unfortunate countrymen, had been 
 obliged to fly his country for his principles, which 
 were as dangerous to him as they were honourable ; 
 he entered Gibraltar as a barber's apprentice,where 
 he remained until sent for by a sick Jew at Moga- 
 dore, as I have before-mentioned, and was now 
 practising at this place, in hopes of supporting a 
 wife and a large family which he had left at 
 Malaga ; a cup of coffee in the morning, with a 
 crust of bread, formed his breakfast ; and to all 
 our entreaties that he would eat more dinner, his 
 invariable answer was, no " no senor, no come mas 
 fjue sopa, nada mas" which he would utter with 
 the true Andalusian scorn for the letter S, while he 
 seemed to screw up his resolution to maintain a 
 habit, I much fear, contracted in poverty, and 
 sustained from principle. 
 
 One day, while at dinner, we were unexpect- 
 edly gratified by the sight of the slashing Alkaid, 
 
246 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 Hamet Ben Hassen, who came running in, breath- 
 less with haste and delight, at seeing us again. 
 He had arrived from Marocco, he said, with some 
 prisoners under his charge, and had only just set 
 his foot on the ground, before he repaired the first 
 thing to see his old friends ; he was delighted to 
 find us all recovered from illness, and what 
 seemed to please him most, was, our getting up 
 from our dinner and running to meet him ; it 
 assured him, he said, of the sincerity of our friend- 
 ship for him. Never did I witness a more true 
 unaffected attachment, than was that of our friend 
 Hamet, whose noble countenance clearly displayed 
 the emotions of his high-born soul. He told us 
 many interesting particulars of our friends at 
 Marocco, and he also gave us an account of Mr. 
 Macnean, alias Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, who had 
 been detected by the Sultan, whose acuteness of 
 observation extends over his whole household, in 
 having kidnapped our supply of fresh bread and 
 butter, while at Marocco. The wily Jew, who had 
 heard of the Sultan's unexampled kindness and 
 condescension in supplying us from his own table 
 with these luxuries, resolved to obtain them for 
 himself, not, I suppose, for the immediate value 
 of them, but, because their being seen brought to 
 his house by one of the royal servants, would give 
 him great consequence in the eyes of the world, 
 as one on whom the Sultan was in the habit of 
 conferring the greatest honour he could render a 
 subject. To this end, he bribed the Sultan's 
 servant to bring him our bread and butter ; upon 
 
JUi KM.Y '10 MAUOCCt). 247 
 
 discovering which, the Sultan had been furious, 
 and though he had forgiven Mr. Macnean, (pro- 
 bably at the expense of a few ba^s of money,) he 
 had most severely bastinadoed the man who took 
 the bribe, which he desired we should be informed 
 of. From the highest to the lowest ; from the 
 great Mr. Macnean who drove his four horses in 
 London, and became a willing bankrupt to the 
 ruin of many, down to the paltry Jacop, our victu- 
 aller, who had cheated the Sultan, ourselves, and 
 his own brethren, such are the Jews. We made 
 Hamet Ben Hassan promise that he would look 
 upon our house as his, while he remained, which 
 he feared would not be long. 
 
 He came to dine with us the next day, and 
 seemed much pleased by our kindness to him. 
 He wore a very beautiful haik of delicate work- 
 manship, which attracted our attention. Dr. 
 Brown had long wished to procure one of the 
 same kind, and incautiously admired it. The well- 
 mannered Caid no sooner observed that the Doctor 
 was looking at it, than he sprang from his seat, 
 and untwisting himself from its fleecy folds, he 
 presented it to the Doctor with the greatest sim- 
 plicity and earnestness. It was in vain the 
 Doctor declared he would not accept it, for the 
 poor fellow said that to refuse his offer would be 
 to refuse his friendship, and after an almost equal 
 degree of perseverance on both sides, the Caid at 
 last agreed, though reluctantly, to receive a com- 
 pensation for it, and being asked the price, he 
 generously pointed out the mark at the corner of 
 
248 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 the liaik, which was nearly half as little as what Dr. 
 Brown was prepared to give. We were all much 
 delighted -by thi's new proof of the generosity of 
 our friend's character. In the course of the 
 evening I asked him to accompany me to the 
 sea-side, to fire with my rifle, thinking it would 
 amuse him ; we therefore repaired to the beach, 
 and having placed part of a bullock's scull, 
 whitened by the sun, on a rock at seventy-three 
 paces, I loaded my rifle, and presenting it to 
 Hamet, I instructed him how to take his aim 
 through the sights, all of which he seemed to 
 comprehend, and after a deliberate aim, he fired ; 
 the ball, however, fell short of the mark, though 
 the direction was good. I took my turn then, and 
 passed a ball through the right temple of the scull, 
 to the infinite delight of the by-standers. Hamet 
 laughingly pointed to the opposite temple, saying 
 " the next time it must be there." I again offered 
 him the rifle, and he proceeded with more care, to 
 regain his credit as a marksman, and taking off 
 his turban with his right hand, as his left grasped 
 the rifle, he raised it slowly and gracefully above 
 his bare head to the full extent of his arm, and 
 looking up to heaven, with intense earnestness in 
 his handsome features, he uttered a short prayer 
 to Alia, in which he was joined by those present, 
 invoking him to favour his aim ; he then looked 
 long and steadily at the mark, and fired. 
 Alas ! his prayers had been unsuccessful ; again 
 I took my turn, and brought down-my mark, and 
 to the wonder and dismay of the Caid, the ball 
 
JOfUNKV TO MAROCCO. 249 
 
 had passed directly through the scull, at the place 
 he had jokingly pointed out as its destination. 
 The poor fellow, who regarded my success as 
 something supernatural, while his own failure ap- 
 peared like the frowning of heaven on his sup- 
 plications, looked very sad, but I rallied him, and 
 told him he would soon become a good shot if he 
 would practise, and I challenged him to one more 
 trial. He again uncovered his head, and turning 
 to the by-standers he reproached them, in bitter 
 terms, for not having prayed fervently, or the 
 Christian would never have gained the victory ; 
 to this, they replied, by a regular attack upon 
 Mahomet, whose cause they seemed to think 
 concerned in the issue of the day. But Mahomet 
 seemed to think otherwise, for he paid as little 
 attention this time to his true believers as before, 
 and the Caid fired his last ball with as little effect 
 as the two former. 
 
 His despair now amounted almost to vexation, 
 and he said he would fire no more, and was 
 preparing to depart, when I smiled and said, 
 " Stop a moment Hamet, I have one more charge, 
 and we should not leave the bull's head standing." 
 With this, the last ball whistled through the air, 
 and sent the skull flying from its resting place. 
 Bono,Capitano, Bono, echoed around us, and Hamet 
 Ben Hassan came slowly up to me with a sorrow- 
 ful, yet kind expression of countenance, which 
 shewed that his feelings were struggling between 
 his admiration of me as a friend, and his prejudice 
 as a Mahometan, who considered that his religion 
 
250 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 had suffered a defeat, and clasping my hand with 
 warmth, he said, that I was muy maestro of the 
 art, and his great friend ; with this he turned about, 
 and we walked towards the town. Harnet hurried 
 to the mosque, to wipe away by prayer what he 
 seemed to regard a judgment on his sins. Shortly 
 after he joined me at tea with a more cheerful 
 countenance, and again took my hand, and pro- 
 nounced me " muy maestro." He seemed much 
 cheered by my telling him that he would soon be a 
 good marksman, and then, turning the conversa- 
 tion, he bid me tell him about my country ; the de- 
 scription of which seemed much to delight him, and 
 he went away, hoping that he might one day visit 
 England, in which I most sincerely joined him. 
 I never saw our friend after, and I therefore 
 imagine that he was hurried off to Marocco, with- 
 out time to wish us adieu. Shortly after this we 
 heard many accounts of the expected arrival of 
 Mr. Macnean at Mogadore, in quality of Ambas- 
 sador to the King of England, conveying with him 
 lions, tigers, &c. as presents from the Sultan. 
 Our Goverment, however, hearing of the proba- 
 bility of Mr. Macnean's embassy, transmitted 
 orders to the Consul-general, to prevent passports 
 being given him, as his character would not permit 
 of his being received at the English court. This 
 will, in all probability, be a most fatal blow to Mr. 
 Macnean's greatness, against whom the Sultan 
 will be so incensed, at hearing of his Ambassador's 
 disgrace, and the cause of it, that he will be able 
 with a very fair pretence to confiscate all Mr. 
 
JOtJKNKY TO MAKOCCO. 251 
 
 MaciK-an's property, even if he should be lucky 
 enough to escape death, or the island. 
 
 Our anxiety concerning the arrival of a vessel 
 was again gratified, but again were we disap- 
 pointed, for nothing short of 600 dollars would 
 induce the Captain, who was bound to England, 
 to break his insurance by putting into Gibraltar. 
 Day after day, therefore, continued to pass away, 
 and still no vessel came to our relief, until nearly 
 two months had elapsed, when suddenly a large 
 Sardinian brig appeared in the offing. The mo- 
 notony of our life at Mogadore had so ennuied us, 
 that the thoughts of again finding ourselves 
 amongst Christians, made us quite wild with joy. 
 
 When the Captain came on shore, we found 
 that he was from Gibraltar, consigned to the 
 Italian Jew, Busnachi, the most opulent man at 
 Mogadore, who dresses in the Eastern Jewish cos- 
 tume, and wears a European hat. The Captain 
 informed us, that he should discharge his cargo 
 with all expedition, and then return to Gibraltar. 
 We engaged to go with him. The usual passage- 
 money to that place, is a doubloon, and, as the 
 Sultan had supplied us with all things necessary 
 for our sea voyage, which, upon the average of fair 
 weather passages, is performed in seven days, we 
 considered that this would be ample. 
 
 The vessel having discharged her cargo, we 
 were visited on the part of the captain by a young 
 Italian Jew of the house of Busnachi, who, after 
 some preamble, offered to settle with us about the 
 passage- money, and ended by declaring the Cap- 
 
252 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 tain's intention to take us all to Gibraltar for 600 
 dollars. I must confess, I never felt a stronger 
 inclination to knock any one down for presump- 
 tion, than the fellow before me, who had dared to 
 be the conveyer of such a monstrous proposition. 
 
 After a long debate, in which I taxed him, his 
 master, and the Captain, as cheating villains, I, for 
 my part, ended by declaring that I would never 
 submit to such an imposition. We then agreed 
 to go to Busnachi, to whose clerk I declared, on 
 the way, my intention of immediately making 
 a complaint against his master to the Sultan, 
 in case- I found out (as I suspected) that he 
 had incited the Captain to make so unrea- 
 sonable a demand. This had its effect, for upon 
 arriving at Busnachi's house, I asked him if he 
 had influenced the Captain on this subject. His 
 clerk, in the mean time, had addressed him in 
 Arabic, and he, replied to my question, "that he 
 had had no hand in the affair, nor did he wish to 
 interfere." 1 then begged him to put that on 
 paper, which he did, and gave it to me. 
 
 We then left his house, and went in search of 
 the captain, whom we found at the end of the 
 street; and to our interrogations, he declared, 
 "that he had left the management of the whole in 
 the hands of Mr. Busnachi, who had ordered that 
 he should not touch at Gibraltar, but proceed 
 straight to Leghorn, unless we induced him so to 
 do by the offer of a sum of money equivalent to 
 his loss of time, which sum Mr. Busnachi had set- 
 tled at 600 dollars, but that he should be willing 
 
JOUHNKV TO MA ROC CO. 253 
 
 to take 400 instead. We then determined to 
 repair to the house of Wiltshire, and inquire 
 if they intended chartering any goods for Gibral- 
 tar, by which we might (by joining with them) 
 bring the Genoese to better terms. The first per- 
 son I met in the street near his own house, was 
 Mr. Wiltshire, who in answer to my question, 
 assured me " that he had not the least idea of 
 chartering any goods." We then again repaired to 
 the Captain, endeavouring to make him listen to 
 reason ; all, however, was in vain : for knowing the 
 situation in which we were placed, and thinking 
 that he could (as employed by government) exact 
 what he pleased from us, he was determined to 
 hold out in his demand. Exasperated to a degree 
 against such cool determined villainy, I fairly told 
 the fellow to his face that I would force him to 
 take us at our own price. Upon this a clamour 
 was raised on all sides against me; even my own 
 companions declared against arbitrary measures, 
 and represented the danger of exasperating the 
 Captain, who would perhaps refuse taking us at all, 
 and the Captain, choaking with rage, defied me to 
 put my threat in execution ; whereupon, I begged 
 of Dr. Brown and Mr. Murray to accompany me 
 to the Basha. 
 
 Dr. Brown objected to the plan, protesting that 
 the Basha had no power over a vessel whose consul 
 was at hand to protect her, and therefore declined 
 the attempt. 1 therefore begged Mr. Murray to 
 follow me, which he agreed to do; and we set out. 
 Dr. Brown, seeing that we were determined to 
 
254 JOL'KXMY TO -MAKOCCO. 
 
 proceed, at last agreed to accompany us, and we 
 went off in search of the Governor. On our way 
 thither, I was asked how I proposed forcing the 
 Captain to conform to our agreement. I replied, 
 " in any other country the task would have been 
 more difficult, but in a country like this, (governed 
 by despotism) I should not hesitate proceeding by 
 force against a rascal who would not listen to rea- 
 
 o 
 
 son ; and was it to be supposed, that (as the Sul- 
 tan's guests) the Governor would allow the Cap- 
 to sail without us." " How can he prevent it?" 
 cried all at once. 
 
 " Refuse him ballast," said I, " without which 
 he cannot move." " But his Consul will force 
 the Governor by treaty to give him ballast. "- 
 " Then he will charge him so high as to prevent 
 him from taking it," I replied. In fact, I well 
 knew the thousand means by which the arbitrary 
 will of a Sultan is enforced, and so it proved. 
 Not finding the Governor at his house, we were 
 told that he would most likely be at the outside of 
 the town, inspecting some works. Thither we 
 went, and found the old man sitting on the rocks 
 near the sea-side, inspecting the progress of some 
 repairs which were making to the foundation of 
 the town-wall, lately damaged by the sea. Having 
 made our bows and salaams, we quietly stated 
 our grievance to him, and begged his assistance. 
 The interpreter had hardly finished speaking to 
 him, when taking the conversation out of his 
 mouth, as it were, he replied in a mild polite tone, 
 "Tell them that I know how highly the Sultan 
 
.KU'UXF.Y TO .MAKOCCO, '1^>~) 
 
 esteems them, and how well he has treated them, 
 and it therefore becomes me as his servant to do 
 even more to please them, and that such shall 
 always be my endeavour upon all occasions." And 
 then, raising his voice in anger, and with eager gesti- 
 culation, he continued, "Tell them,* that as to the 
 Captain of the brig, I will see that he does not sail 
 hence without them ; not a bale of goods shall he 
 embark; not a drop of water shall he have ; nor 
 ballast ; nor provisions ; unless he agrees to take 
 them at the accustomed terms." He then turned 
 suddenly to an attendant, to whom he appeared to 
 be issuing some order, for the messenger imme- 
 diately went off with despatch. His countenance 
 and manner again assumed their wonted serenity ; 
 and after we had thanked him for his ready as- 
 sistance, he again assured us that all should be 
 arranged to our satisfaction, and we took our leave, 
 and re-entered the town, our undertaking having 
 succeeded according to my sanguine expectations. 
 On arriving at our house, we found that the Go- 
 vernor, with that remarkable quick-sightedness so 
 pre-eminent in barbarous countries, had already 
 despatched a messenger to the Caid of the guard 
 at the arsenal, with orders to prevent the depar- 
 ture of the Captain to his vessel, and the landing 
 of some wine belonging to Mr. Busnachi. He 
 had seen in a moment the possibility of the en- 
 raged Captain's taking off provisions of which he 
 stood in need, and sailing to some other port for 
 ballast ; but he also knew nothing would induce 
 * " Goullou, tell them." The usual prelude of address. 
 
256 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 Mr. Busnachi to forego the pleasure of landing 
 his cask of wine, in the use of which beverage 
 he is said to indulge largely. 
 
 The Jew was nearly as sharp as the Basha, for 
 the instant he discovered that we had gone off to 
 the latter, he sent with all expedition to the brig 
 for his wine ; but the order for its detention met 
 it at the landing place, to the mortification of its 
 owner, who found himself outwitted. Thus armed 
 with the Basha's authority, we soon summoned 
 the mortified Captain to a surrender of his demand ; 
 and with that ready return of good-humour for 
 which Italians are famous, he soon complied with 
 our offer, and signed the agreement. The day 
 after this, upon asking the Captain when he should 
 sail, he said he only waited the return of a 
 courier from the Sultan, to whom Mr. Wiltshire 
 had sent two days previous, a request to be 
 allowed to ship off a cargo of returned flour to 
 Gibraltar. This agreed but ill with the declaration 
 of that house, that they had not the least idea of 
 chartering any goods, a mercantile way of speak- 
 ing, no doubt, for they certainly could not have 
 wished to benefit the well-known house of Rent- 
 shaw at the expense of three subaltern officers of 
 the army, by striking a good bargain for their 
 freight on our expected four hundred dollars. In 
 the evening, the Captain came to Mr. Murray, 
 who was confined in bed with a return of ague, 
 and offered to take his horse in the hold of the 
 brig, to which Mr. Murray objected, saying, that 
 as he was going to take flour on board, he might 
 
JOl ItXKY TO .MAI'JK'CO. 257 
 
 hurt the horse. The Captain replied, that, on the 
 contrary, he should so arrange the cargo as not to 
 interfere with it ; that he was accustomed to con- 
 vey horses from Tunis to Italy, and that he 
 therefore willingly undertook all the risk at his 
 own expense, provided Mr. Murray agreed to pay 
 him twenty-four dollars on its safe landing at 
 Gibraltar. To this Mr. Murray agreed, and' the 
 Captain went away perfectly satisfied. On the 
 day expected, a courier arrived from Marocco with 
 the Sultan's permission to ship off the flour. In 
 the meantime another vessel was descried in 
 the offing, and in the course of the evening, arrived 
 a polacca brig of English owners, from the Havan- 
 nah, bound to Malaga. She had been out from 
 that port eight months, having touched at St. 
 Mary's and St. Michael's for a recruit of provisions, 
 of which they were running very short, when they 
 made Mogadore, in a very leaky condition. We 
 now prepared joyfully for our departure, and I 
 certainly never felt happier in my life than with 
 the prospect of the speedy realization of my san- 
 guine hopes of again reaching my own country. 
 A few days before our departure, M r. Murray sent 
 to the Captain of our brig, requesting to know 
 when his horse was to go on board, to which the 
 other replied in many evasive ways, and even 
 hinted before Mr. Murray and myself, that he 
 should be obliged to leave thirty barrels of the 
 flour behind, if he took the horse; to which we 
 replied, that, of course that could not prevent 
 him from fulfilling his previous engagement with 
 
258 JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 
 
 Mr. Murray. " Certo que no" replied the wily 
 Genoese, fully aware, all the time, that he medi- 
 tated breaking his agreement. 
 
 Two days after this, he finally declared it was 
 impossible for him to take the horse, as Mr. Wilt- 
 shire had insisted upon his shipping all the flour. 
 I then begged Mr. Murray to go immediately to 
 Mr. Wiltshire, and state that his horse was pre- 
 vented being embarked, on account of a few barrels 
 of flour which could not be put in competition 
 with the Sultan's present, convinced, as I felt, 
 that that gentleman, could never consent to the 
 Captain's quoting him as authority, for his having 
 broken his engagement with Mr. Murray, formed 
 before that of the Ex- vice-consul. Mr. Murray, 
 however, declined taking these steps, or appealing 
 to the interference of the Governor, which would 
 have settled the matter in a moment, as the Sultan 
 had ordered him to see us and our effects embarked 
 on board any vessel bound to Gibraltar, and it 
 would have been dangerous for him to have ne- 
 glected this order. He therefore listened to a com- 
 position with the Captain, who, fearing no doubt, 
 an appeal to that power he had already felt, 
 proposed to undertake the expense of the horse by 
 land, to Tangiers ; and, as our interpreter had de- 
 termined to go by that road to Tetuan, he under- 
 took to see it safe to Tangiers. Dr. Brown, being 
 taken ill with the ague, resolved to leave the shore, 
 and accordingly repaired on board the vessel, 
 where he remained until we finally embarked. 
 
 Amongst the few Europeans at Mogadore, was 
 
JOUKNKY TO MAUOCCQ. 259 
 
 a Maltese, whose misfortunes and persecution 
 interested us in his behalf. It appears that Don 
 Pedro, had fallen an unsuspecting victim to the 
 arts of the Sultan, in a manner which I shall 
 afterwards describe ; suffice it at present to say, 
 that, according to all the rules of fair dealing 
 and free trade, Don Pedro had sustained much 
 injustice from the Sultan, who had now just seized 
 upon all that the poor man was possessed of in the 
 world, as part payment of a pretended debt due 
 to him by Don Pedro. In this dilemma and dis- 
 grace, the unfortunate man came to beg a favour 
 of us, which was that we would write to the Sul- 
 tan in his behalf, petitioning that, as an English 
 subject, who had humanely sustained hundreds 
 of starving wretches during the late famine, he 
 would grant him his protection in trade. He 
 seemed to attach so much consequence to the idea 
 of our favour in the Sultan's eyes, that Mr. Mur- 
 ray and myself readily agreed to be in any way 
 instrumental in restoring this unfortunate man to 
 his situation as a merchant. There were those 
 at Mogadore, who talked in sneers of this excellent 
 man ; but it was evident, from the general interest 
 felt by all classes of the Moors in his behalf, and 
 the kind manner in which they spoke of the soft- 
 hearted bankrupt, that Don Pedro well merited 
 the assistance of his own co-subjects. Dr. Brown, 
 however impressed he declared himself with the 
 good character of the merchant, and the injustice 
 which had caused his ruin, declined interfering 
 (as he considered it) between him and the Sultan. 
 
 s2 
 
260 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 1 had nothing either to hope or fear from the Com- 
 mander of the Faithful, and could have no hesitation 
 in risking the displeasure of his Highness, in my 
 endeavours to serve the unhappy Maltese ; and I 
 therefore sat down and composed the accompany- 
 ing letter* to the Sultan, which was afterwards 
 written in Arabic, and garnished with Orientalism, 
 after the fashion of a scribe said to be famous for 
 the flowers of his speech. This being performed, 
 Mr. Murray and myself added our signatures. 
 It luckily occurred to me at the moment, that I 
 might add more weight to our letter, by using an 
 artifice, excusable under similar circumstances. 
 I remembered that in this country, none used 
 seals but such as are high in authority, and I 
 therefore determined to affix mine to my signature ; 
 and as the arms of my family are quartered in those 
 of my country, the Sultan would naturally, upon 
 seeing the Lion of England, which he knows from 
 the seals affixed to official papers, compare it to 
 those of royalty, and, observing the similarity, 
 draw thence sundry confused notions of our con- 
 sequence, likely to influence him favourably in 
 his conduct towards Don Pedro. I therefore in 
 Fyn Sigillac, Vel Brand, en Vast houd, stamped 
 my arms opposite my own name, and my crest 
 opposite that of Mr. Murray. Don Pedro imme- 
 diately hired a courier to proceed with the letter 
 to Marocco ; but, previous to sending it, he 
 shewed it to the Governor, who, having read it 
 over, told him that our favour was great with the 
 * This letter will be found in the Appendix. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 261 
 
 Sultan, and that he hoped our petition would 
 succeed ; but what was of more value than all the 
 rest of it, were the seals, which evinced that we 
 were men of consideration among our own people. 
 We did not remain long enough to receive the 
 Sultan's answer to our letter, but I trust it may 
 have been useful to the excellent object of it. 
 This evening, a Moor having been told I desired a 
 small owl, brought me one he had caught the 
 evening before : it was very wild and shy, but 
 bore confinement well. 
 
262 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Travellers take leave of the Governor of Moga- 
 dore, and their friends there, and set sail from that 
 place. 
 
 THE long-expected, happy day, at last arrived, 
 on which we were to take our final leave of the 
 kingdom of Marocco. In the morning, the 
 Governor sent us word that boats would be ready 
 for our reception, and every convenience that lay 
 in his power to grant, should be rendered us in 
 our embarkation, and that at mid-day he should 
 be ready to inspect our baggage at the custom- 
 house previous to its passing the gate of the port. 
 This, he said, was merely a form that would be 
 gone through to prevent any appearance of parti- 
 ality in administering the laws of the customs. 
 At the hour appointed, therefore, we walked to 
 the custom-house, in the court-yard of which we 
 found the Governor sitting with eight fat secre- 
 taries all in a row, each having before him a small 
 ink-horn and a ledger, in which he entered the 
 duties upon the numerous articles that were open- 
 ing for the inspection of the Governor ; by this 
 
TO MAUOCCO. 2G3 
 
 means few mistakes were made, and the Governor 
 could render an exact account of the custom-house 
 dues to the Sultan, to whose private purse this 
 part of the revenue exclusively belongs. The old 
 gentleman received us very politely, and begged 
 to assure us, how sorry he felt at our departure, and 
 that he had prepared for us the supplies ordered 
 by the Sultan for our consumption at sea, which 
 consisted of a bullock, four sheep with appropriate 
 fodder, two large casks of flour, a large jar of 
 honey, containing at least five gallons, a bag of 
 couscassou, five dozen of fowls, and eight hundred 
 eggs, besides tea, sugar, and biscuits in proportion. 
 We expressed ourselves very well satisfied 
 with the bounty of the Sultan, and his kind- 
 ness. He then opened severally the different 
 boxes of our baggage, into which he gently thrust 
 his hand, with the scrupulosity of an oath-bound 
 custom-house officer, who, in our own country, 
 satisfies his conscience by this partial search, 
 when a great man is in question: and though 
 above bribery, to prevent the opening of your box, 
 will nevertheless, on these occasions, receive 
 a small compensation for nailing it down 
 again. The latter part, however, was not the 
 case with the governor, who having inspected 
 the whole, with the greatest delicacy, caused them 
 to be re-closed and sent on board. He expressed 
 his intention of accompanying us to the landing- 
 place, when we were ready to embark. This 
 honour, however, we begged leave to decline, and 
 proposed instead, taking our leave of him at his 
 
264 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 usual evening seat in the square where we had 
 first seen him. We then returned to our house to 
 eat our last meal, and having taken leave of our 
 apartments, which (as his cell to the prisoner) had 
 become endeared to us by familiarity, we set off to 
 the square. On our way, we called at the house of 
 Monsieur Shalliet, to take leave of that amiable 
 person and his lady. The latter shunned the pain 
 of parting, but the former endeavoured in vain to 
 meet with firmness a scene that was to deprive him 
 of our company, and leave him isolated in a land of 
 strangers. Of all situations of the kind, I know of 
 none so deplorable as the Vice-consulate of Moga- 
 dore, a place which offers resources neither for 
 employment nor pleasure of any sort. The anti- 
 quarian, the historian, the naturalist, or the sports- 
 man, would be equally unable to pursue their re- 
 spective avocations. Even the common exercise of 
 the body (unless such as is afforded the caged lion 
 by walking up and down his den) is in a measure 
 denied the inhabitant of this singular place ; cut 
 off as it is from the main-land by a desart of sand 
 not always passable, nor at any time agreeable. 
 As the Governor was waiting to receive us, we 
 were forced to tear ourselves away from the 
 presence of our friend, with a violence that 
 seemed almost to break his heart. At the 
 house of the Sardinian Consul, we found the 
 Captain of our vessel and all our friends in the 
 Sardinian establishment. Don Pedro's servant, a 
 Maltese renegado (but I believe at heart a Chris- 
 tian) brought me his little dog, a beautiful black 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 265 
 
 and tan terrier, which I had offered to purchase of 
 him. It occurred to me at the moment, that 
 Monsieur and Madame Shalliet (whose grief was 
 uppermost in my mind) had often admired the 
 gentle little Fanny, and I proposed to send it them 
 as a joint present between Mr. Murray and 
 myself. We therefore despatched the little dog, 
 with two notes to Monsieur Shalliet, and, wishing 
 adieu to our friends, we proceeded to the square, 
 where we found the Governor, with many of his 
 officers around him. On our way thither, Don 
 Pedro requested I would speak in his favour to 
 the Governor, which I promised to do, and in 
 answer to Hash Hash's many civilities to us, I 
 told him that we hoped he would be kind to 
 Don Pedro, who being a British subject, and a 
 humane man, it would give our government plea- 
 sure to think that he was justly treated; to which 
 he replied, "that he would do all that lay in his 
 power to help him to regain his situation in life, " 
 and further added, "that he would write to us, 
 at Gibraltar, if he himself should be in want of 
 any thing which that place could supply." He 
 then asked us if the Captain was going on board 
 with us, adding that he had given orders at the 
 port that he should not be allowed to embark until 
 we were fairly on board, for fear he should sail 
 without us. Such is the sagacity these people 
 are possessed of, that when they undertake any- 
 thing, there is no weak point (however insignifi- 
 cant) that they do not provide against. We beg- 
 ged the Governor to send the Captain off imme- 
 
266 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 diately, as he was dallying on shore, while our 
 fair wind was dying away. He promised that he 
 would, and having bowed, we left him and walked 
 to the landing-place, accompanied by the minis- 
 ter, who kept off the crowd and bullied the boat- 
 men, and we at last stepped into the barge, which 
 conveyed us over rather an unpleasant southern 
 swell in a short time, to our brig. Here we found 
 the Doctor much recovered, and were now most 
 anxious to get under weigh, but the vessel was in 
 such a state of confusion from the packages and 
 luggage that crowded her upper deck, that several 
 hours of fair wind were allowed to steal away 
 before a range could be procured for the cable. 
 It was night before this desirable point was 
 attained, and as, to our joy, the last heave of the 
 windlass brought the anchor to our bows, and the 
 flattened head-sheets and backed yards payed off 
 her head, the moon, which until now had remained 
 deeply obscured, behind some black clouds, burst 
 suddenly through an opening in her gloomy 
 shroud, shewing us the direction of the scud, 
 which was flying fast from the north-east. Again 
 this bright, but ill-boding vision, was shrouded 
 from our sight by its black vapoury curtain, and left 
 us in darkness and despair. The north-east wind, 
 we knew but too well, was the most prevalent on 
 this coast, and generally of great duration; we 
 had, therefore, before us the unpleasant prospect 
 of a long voyage. For two hours the inconstant 
 element appeared to befriend us, but it was only 
 to seduce us from our place of rest into an ocean 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 267 
 
 of troubled waters, already agitated by the fore- 
 running swell of an approaching north-easterly 
 gale,* which came on at midnight, unobserved by 
 me, for I had crept with more haste than pleasure, 
 at the first symptoms of a heavy over-reaching sea, 
 into as stinking a cabin, as ever disgraced a col- 
 lier, where I in vain endeavoured to drown in 
 oblivion by hopes of the future, the memory of 
 the past, and the consciousness of the present 
 time. 
 
 * The swell of an approaching gale of wind frequently pre- 
 cedes it some days. A few years ago a most violent proof of 
 the irritability of water was experienced at Gibraltar. It was 
 announced by a strange noise, resembling that heard in a shell 
 when placed to the ear ; and shortly after a mountain-swell from 
 the eastward came rolling towards the rock, against which it 
 discharged its fury with a force unparalleled even in the heaviest 
 gales of wind known at that place, and drawing from their 
 anchors by its recoil from the Algerine side of the bay, the vessels 
 anchored under shelter of the rock ; during the whole of this 
 frightful spectacle, which lasted two days, the weather remained 
 perfectly calm, and the heavens overcast. Some imagined it the 
 effect of an earthquake, but one capable of producing such an 
 effect on the water, would have been felt violently on the neigh- 
 bouring shore, nor is this the manner in which the sea is troubled 
 on such occasions. 
 
JO 8 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Observations on the Population, Revenue, Naval and 
 Military Force of Marocco The Natural and 
 Artificial Strength of the Country Description of 
 the Various Tribes which compose the Inhabitants. 
 
 The Sultan of Marocco, who, from his present 
 state of health, is not likely to live many years, has 
 two sons by his Queen or Sultana. These two boys 
 are under the age of twelve. The eldest is re- 
 ported to be a very wayward child, and so it would 
 seem, if we may judge from being told by Hadge 
 Cassem that he could not be prevailed on to make 
 use of the precious ointment, for the riddance of 
 that complaint which comes, it appears, from far 
 south, as well as far north ; that he had always 
 one hand in the honey jar, spoiling his teeth and 
 stomach, and that he had sent the Sultan's pills, 
 rolling about the floor for his amusement, which 
 last frolic brought the Hadge to the Doctor, 
 for a fresh supply, saying that he did not wish 
 
 let his father know of it for fear he should 
 punish him, which shews that his father ha 
 yet abandoned all interest in him. Thi 
 number of good-humoured simple people wh< 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 2G9 
 
 compose the court of the Sultan, and his well- 
 known turn for a joke, combine to pronounce him 
 a man of mild and easy temper, fonder of riding 
 with his Caids, and attending the operations of 
 his gardeners, than the surveillance of his national 
 duties, so that the kingdom though mildly, is 
 badly ruled. 
 
 The gradual and perceptible decay of the whole 
 fabric of the Maroqueen government, through 
 every department, may be compared to that of a 
 man in a consumption, whose whole system is 
 withering by degrees, more from the want of the 
 fire of life, than from any particular pain or sick- 
 ness in any one part. Not but that this decay 
 might be checked, and the system regenerated ; 
 but nothing short of a head and a hand like that 
 of Buonaparte, formed to redeem a lost nation, 
 could entirely effect this. 
 
 To decide upon the population of this kingdom, 
 with any degree of probability, notwithstanding a 
 former writer's exact numeration of it in the 
 several towns and provinces, is wholly impractica- 
 ble; no census being taken, and all inquiry on this 
 head, being either calculated to excite suspicion, 
 or likely to meet an extravagant bombastical an- 
 swer. Suffice it therefore for those who have not 
 numerical heads, to say that from the general 
 view of the towns and douars of the country 
 through which we passed, and the many deserted 
 villages, the country was not a quarter peopled. 
 
 Of the revenue it is as impossible to judge 
 as of the population, there being no budget. 
 
270 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 It may be said, however, that it seems scarcely 
 sufficient for the two important branches of the 
 state, the royal harems, and the army. The 
 wise Solomon had not more partners of his heart 
 than Sultan Muley Abrachman ; not that he is 
 reckoned a particularly amorous prince for a Moor; 
 but that these love establishments are in a mea- 
 sure considered indispensably necessary to the 
 dignity of the situation of a Sultan. The latter 
 of these branches, the army, which is not only in 
 the same degree necessary to the dignity, but also 
 the safety of the throne and its occupant, is, I 
 blush to say, not very much more numerous 
 than the former, and certainly less expensive. 
 
 The only army of any consequence that I heard 
 of, was that which I have before-mentioned, as 
 defeated by the mountaineers. Besides this, the 
 Adouais, (the body-guard of the Sultan,) of about 
 seven hundred men, is the only body of regular 
 troops in the country, and if I may judge of the 
 troops in general by his Highness's life guards 
 (horse), they must be most wretchedly equipped. 
 Every Moor, however, is on occasions liable to be 
 called upon to serve as militia, and from the speci- 
 mens of this body which I have seen, the Arabs 
 appear the most effective. Hardy as the untamed 
 brute, and as strong and active ; the Arab unites to 
 the cunning of a fox, the patience of a spider, and 
 when his revenge is awakened, or his avarice and 
 love of plunder excited, he will lie in silent am- 
 bush whole days awaiting his enemy or his prey, 
 and existing on a handful of dates. These are tl 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 271 
 
 only combatants to be feared by an European 
 force ; but even they are not formidable, for it 
 would be as impossible for the Sultan to make 
 them act with unity in a body, as to induce them 
 to live in a settled habitation ; and unless inter- 
 ested in the war, they would drive their flocks to 
 other pastures, and shun contention. In a country 
 where the greater part of the population consists of 
 tribes of men of any country, as are the Arabs, 
 no great sacrifices can be expected from the 
 emulation of patriotism. He that is born under 
 a camel's-hair tent on the desart, has few localities 
 around to endear him to the country of his birth, 
 or recal to his memory the days of his youth. 
 
 The marine force of Marocco, is nearly a nonen- 
 tity, a small schooner and three or four latteen boats 
 constitute the protection of the coast. So opiniated 
 are the Moors concerning their own power, or so 
 ignorant of that of other countries of which they 
 see so little, that, ridiculous as it may seem, the 
 above-mentioned schooner and a latteen boat were 
 sent to Lisbon two or three years back, for the pur- 
 pose of securing one of the Lisbon-bound Brazilian 
 men, of great value, which was expected shortly to 
 arrive. The owners of her, or the consignees, in 
 considerable alarm, applied to Lord A. Beauclerk, 
 then commanding the English squadron in the 
 Tagus, begging his mediation in the affair. His 
 Lordship, with that staightforward generosity 
 and impartiality which characterize him, offered 
 to do all that lay in his power, by persuasion, to 
 deter the Moor from his intention. The schooner 
 
272 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 was then lying in the river, ready to put to sea in 
 search of his prize, when his Lordship invited the 
 Grand Admiral of the Moorish fleet on board to 
 a conference, and after having shewn him all the, 
 attention and civility due to his rank, he opened 
 the case in question, by assuring the Moor that he 
 had no authority or wish to interfere between him 
 and his enemies, but that, as a common friend, he 
 would advise him to desist from his projected en- 
 terprize. The Moor, who thought Lord Amelius 
 alluded to our allies the Portuguese, assured him 
 that it was not his intention to offend them in any 
 way ; but the prize he sought was one that be- 
 longed to the Brazilians, a people on the other 
 side of the ocean ; and being asked why his master 
 had made war against that people, he replied, that 
 " it was his custom so to do by all nations which he 
 knew nothing about, and who did not send him a 
 consul." His Lordship then told him that this was 
 all very well, if such was their custom, but as his 
 friend he would advise him to consider how he 
 might bring two on his back instead of one ; that 
 the affinity was such between the Brazilians am 
 Portuguese that they looked on each other as bro- 
 thers. The poor Moor, who had never before 
 heard of the relationship existing between these 
 two powers, was much pleased with his Lordship's 
 civility, and declared he would immediately re- 
 turn home to acquaint his master of this piece of 
 information, which he accordingly did. 
 
 That part of the country through which we 
 passed offers no impediment to the movement of 
 
JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 273 
 
 troops, being open even to nakedness, smooth 
 under foot, and well supplied with streams of 
 water. In a country like this, cavalry would be 
 the most useful, as the soft sand of the road would 
 prevent the rapid movements of the infantry, and 
 make them an easier prey to the cavalry of the 
 enemy, whose finely- trained active horses are well 
 suited to the desultory warfare of their riders. 
 The fortification of their towns is a mere burlesque 
 on the term. Mogadore is the only sea-port that 
 can boast of any strength, if such weakness can 
 be dignified by that name. A merchant of Mo- 
 gadore, who wrote an account of this part of 
 Barbary some years ago, declares on the authority 
 of a naval officer of distinction, that Mogadore 
 might easily be taken by six frigates. This must 
 have been when the guns of those fortresses were 
 in good repair, and even then I should have asked 
 no more than two at most ; but now I should 
 not highly estimate the naval officer's conduct 
 who could not with one frigate make the white 
 flag fly on its staff in ten minutes. So much for 
 the strength of Marocco : now to its inhabitants. 
 
 The ancient Moor of Granada is a character now 
 extinct, though their Marroqueen descendants 
 possess many of their virtues. 
 
 The inhabitants of this kingdom may be com- 
 prised in five different classes, viz. the Moors or 
 white Mahometans ; the Half-Castes ; the Jews ; 
 the Arabs; and the Negroes. 
 
 The white Moors, and the Half-Castes (their 
 children from black slaves) are an indolent race, 
 
 T 
 
274 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 entirely abandoned to the sensual pleasures of 
 the Harem. This passion does not of course cause 
 the same demoralization of the mind as it does 
 with us, whose religion forbids these excesses; but 
 it creates an extreme lassitude of mind and body, 
 and, from the excessive use by this people of all 
 sorts of invigorating* stimulants, many must become 
 a prey in early life, to the indulgence of this 
 favourite, but vicious practice. In all other re- 
 spects the simplicity of their life and mariners, 
 and the frugality of their fare, forms a striking 
 contrast with their otherwise sensual habits. 
 
 The Moors are decidedly a very handsome and 
 finely proportioned people. With height of figure 
 they possess small-boned limbs, and remarkably 
 delicately shaped hands and feet. As a proof of 
 the former, I have examined numbers of their 
 sword hands, which weapons being made in a par- 
 ticular manner to fit the hands, are very much too 
 small for the admission of an English fat ; yet, 
 like the blood-horse, fineness of make does not 
 stamp them as devoid of strength. 
 
 Wine and spirits are little used by the Moors, 
 and the only intoxicating article of which they 
 partake is the hemp-seed* and flower, which they 
 
 * I have often questioned the smokers of hemp -seed as to the 
 effect of it, and received for answer, that upon having finished 
 the third pipe, the mind becomes greatly exhilarated, and the indi- 
 vidual imagines himself the Sultan, the acme of course of Moorish 
 ideas of happiness ; that afterwards a pleasing sleep closes this 
 dream of delight, which in a short time passes off with no other 
 unpleasant effects than the awakening from the pleasing creations 
 of imagination, to a sense of the unpleasant reality. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 275 
 
 smoke as an opiate, in pipes as small as thimbles, 
 but this is generally confined to the lower classes. 
 Tea is the favourite beverage, in which they 
 indulge at all hours of the day. 
 
 The only remains of that highly civilized state 
 of society, renowned in the history of the Aben- 
 cerrages, is the polite delicate breeding, observable 
 in all the manners and actions of the higher 
 orders, who carry their sense of politeness even to 
 a trifling degree, with a seriousness and dignity of 
 manner and action, which convinces you that it is 
 their desire to please you, while, what we envy 
 and affect to despise in the French, is, however 
 pleasing at times, often repulsive to our feelings of 
 sincerity, by the careless cold-hearted manner that 
 commonly accompanies it. I should therefore 
 decidedly pronounce a well-bred Moor, as the 
 most finished man of any nation I have ever seen. 
 The eastern Mahomedan has much of this manner, 
 but his insufferable pride often gets the better of 
 it. In his person and dress, the Moor of these 
 kingdoms is remarkable for his cleanliness ; his 
 constant ablutions as a good musselman, (which 
 the Marroqueen Moor generally is), added to the 
 luxury of the bath in a warm climate, tend to en- 
 courage his cleanly habits. The practice of eating 
 with the fingers, upon a little consideration, will 
 be found to be far from dirty or repulsive, when 
 we reflect how scrupulously careful are these 
 people, to avoid polluting their right hands by any 
 unclean purposes, and the eight or nine times a 
 day that they wash them. The hand is as capable 
 
 T2 
 
27C JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 of purification by water and soap, as the fork or 
 spoon by sand and whitening. Custom is the 
 illiberal arbiter of taste. 
 
 Mildness of temper is general among all classes, 
 and when they do quarrel, which is seldom, the 
 storm is loud and furious, but soon exhausts itself 
 in vociferation. 
 
 The Half Castes, or the offspring of the black 
 concubines, are a hardier race of men then the 
 white Moors, and much more numerous. Their 
 colour is a clear bronze, and to this they often 
 conjoin the bold prominent outline of the eastern 
 features of their fathers. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Jew*. The Arabs. The Negroes. Com- 
 mercial Resources of the Country, $c. $c. 
 Arrival at Gibraltar. 
 
 THE Jews, I should imagine, form at least the 
 third part of the population of the towns in this 
 country. The successive Sultans who have ruled 
 over these dominions, have found it their interest 
 to protect the lives and property of Israel's fated 
 race, and to encourage their desire for trade, b} 
 which policy they are enabled by more means 
 than/fl/r taxation, to raise large sums of money 
 upon any emergency ; but with the cunning of a 
 rat-catcher, (who never destroys his own trade) 
 they take care not to disable their victims by these 
 repeated loans, as they are called. A very little, 
 however, suffices to set a Jew up again in busi- 
 ness, so persevering is his pursuit of that wealth 
 which he knows but conduces in the end to pur- 
 chase him the bastinado. In all the towns of the 
 kingdom, except Tangiers, the Jews are allotted 
 a separate quarter from the Moors, at the gate of 
 which a Caid is placed, with authority to prevent 
 
278 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 the entrance of their Moorish brethren, and at 
 night the gate is closed, and the keys taken to 
 the house of the governor. No considerations of 
 poverty seems ever to prevent marriage amongst 
 them, though riches are generally matched to 
 the same, by affiancing the children at an early 
 age. This practice of affiancing is productive of 
 much happiness between the married pair in after 
 life, who from childhood, have learned to humour 
 each others foibles, and it also checks that ro- 
 mantic passion of love, so cherished in en- 
 lightened countries, where the fair one's deter- 
 mination to choose for herself, but too often entails 
 miserable consequences on herself and her friends; 
 but such is the effect of a society where art has 
 superseded nature, where many a beautiful young 
 girl languishes through the ripeness of her youth, 
 in vain endeavours to find the beau ideal of her 
 circulating library education, and is finally obliged 
 either to surrender her charms at the instigation 
 of mama into the hands of a Midas with the ears 
 of " an ass, an ass" or eke out her uninteresting 
 existence in the mal-appropriation of her sex's or- 
 nament affection, which finding no return from 
 the bosom of her first idol, man, vents itself in 
 the care of pug-dogs and parrots. 
 
 Far different is it amongst those of whom I 
 speak, where each young heart finds its respon- 
 sive beat in the bosom it has learned to think its 
 own, nor destroys the present joy by anticipating, 
 however poor, the prolific consequences of the 
 future. By this state of things, however, the 
 
G Bea 
 
 The Interior of an opulent Jew's 
 friiiu'ti brEngelniaiiB, Grtif CoiaH e L <5c Co 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 279 
 
 poorer classes remain poor, while the richer in- 
 crease their wealth in the opposite ratio. 
 
 Amonst the higher classes of the Jews who can 
 afford to build large houses, it is customary for 
 all branches of the family to live together : thus 
 you may see five and six generations in the same 
 tenement, all looking up to the father of the whole, 
 as a patriarch, and treating him with great respect 
 and kindness. This sight, I must say, is very 
 gratifying. The Jews in this country are a very 
 fair specimen of objection to that argument which 
 has often been advanced to prove that the human 
 race degenerates by breeding in-and-in (if the 
 sportsman's term may be allowed me for want of 
 one expressive of the same signification, applicable 
 to man.) It ' ls impossible to find a finer race of men, 
 or a more angelic one of females, than are these 
 people. The Jewish male children are in their in- 
 fancy exquisitely beautiful, and it astonishes a 
 stranger not a little, when surrounded by what 
 might pass for angels and cherubim, he looks in 
 vain for a handsome face amongst the grown-up 
 males. This I attribute to the constant debasement 
 of their minds, in which the thoughts of servility, 
 avarice, deceit, and the meanest subtlety, are daily 
 gaining the ascendancy over the more radiant vir- 
 tues of nature, visible in the jocund open counten- 
 ance of extreme youth. The Jewish boy has hardly 
 turned his seventh year, when he is taken in hand 
 by the elder brethren, and taught " to make the 
 worse appear the better bargain." From this 
 moment, so strong are their passions, the child 
 
280 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 becomes ugly. This will be the easier imagined 
 when we consider the debasement to which they 
 are subject even from the children of a true be- 
 liever. I have seen a little fellow of six years 
 old, with a troop of fat toddlings of only three 
 and four, teaching their young ideas to throw 
 stones at a Jew, and one little urchin would 
 with the greatest coolness, waddle up to the man 
 and literally spit upon his " Jewish gaberdine." To 
 all this the Jew is obliged to submit ; it would be 
 more than his life was worth to offer to strike a 
 Mahomedan. But such, and ten times as much 
 will Moses endure for the sake of cheating his 
 persecutor at some future period, and this is, be- 
 sides its individual advantage, the sweetest re- 
 venge of a Jew.* Notwithstanding these black 
 
 * The character of Shylock, however finely drawn by the im- 
 mortal bard, is nevertheless a very unjust representation of a 
 Jew. Deadly revenge is not concomitant with those feelings of 
 patience under suffering and mild forgiveness of injuries, which 
 are necessary to the advancement of those who, from early life, 
 are taught to sacrifice their deepest feelings to the attainment of 
 the golden end of their wishes. Shylock's delight at the intel- 
 ligence of the merchant's losses, would have been more natural 
 had they only been the means of making Antonio a bankrupt, by 
 the seizure of the residue of his property for the payment of the 
 bond, or if the author was determined to make the Jew a revenge- 
 ful character, he might have done so, by representing his exaspe- 
 ration at his losses, as the incentive to his headlong passion ; 
 but in making him refuse the multiplied offers of Antonio's 
 friend, he drops the character of the Jew, and describes that mad 
 self-destroying revenge, which was both inconsistent with the 
 Jewish good sense, and the civilization of the times. But a vulgar 
 and popular prejudice of the age, suggested the exaggerated 
 character on which our bard has prostituted his finest dramatic 
 powers. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 281 
 
 spots on the Jewish character, I must confess that 
 I was much struck by the domestic virtues of this 
 extraordinary race, who live in. the most social 
 manner amongst themselves, surrounded by their 
 families, cheerfully striving to assist each other 
 in their advance in life, and uniting to prevent 
 their mutual disgrace. To such a length do they 
 carry this mutual assistance, that they do not 
 hesitate cheating, or even false swearing for each 
 other, even for trifles.* 
 
 Amongst other extraordinary religious customs, 
 is that of annually selecting a young virgin from 
 amongst them, and enclosing her for several hours 
 in a wooden box, where she awaits the coming of 
 the Holy Ghost ; hoping to be the mother of their 
 long expected Messiah. During this time, how- 
 ever, she is carefully watched for fear that her 
 lively imagination might tempt her to satisfy the 
 the hopes of the Jewish tribe at the expense of 
 her reputation. Thus, we see to what a pitch of 
 ridiculous and disgusting credulity religious 
 superstition is capable of conducting the minds of 
 men. The marriages of their women consist in 
 the meeting of all the friends at the house of the 
 bride, where refreshments are provided for the 
 
 * A Jew was convicted of perjury at Gibraltar, in his evidence 
 against another Jew, whom he endeavoured to screen, and was 
 condemned to the pillory. The Jewish community, to avoid what 
 seemed a disgrace to the whole body, entered into a subscription, 
 and many thousand dollars were offered to Lord Chatham for the 
 Jew's pardon ; and strange to say, they seemed greatly surprised 
 that their endeavours were laughed at, and that the Jew was 
 placed in the pillory. 
 
282 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 company. Towards night, the bride is taken as 
 wife and recognized as such before witnesses, by 
 her intended husband. She is then taken away, 
 and (by a number of matrons whose scrutiny she 
 undergoes) she is then complety shaved of her 
 beautiful tresses, for which a wig is substituted. 
 The nails of her hands and toes are then touched 
 with henna, and her eyelids painted black. Thus, 
 having taken the bath, she is perfumed, and con- 
 veyed to the marriage bed. The bridegroom 
 only remains with her until the final consumma- 
 tion of the marriage, at the end of which time 
 barbarous proofs of the girl's late immaculate 
 state are exhibited to a council of relations and 
 friends, anxiously awaiting this confirmation of 
 the contract; which may be dissolv?^ a ^ the plea- 
 sure of the bridegroom, failing the abov^ P ro f s 
 Expedients of art, however, are (as may be :tf& a " 
 gined) seldom wanting to satisfy the over coi^~ 
 dent bridegroom, and deceive the friends, when 
 nature or libertinism deny the expected evidence. 
 During the period of nine days, the husband is 
 denied all further intercourse with his bride, who 
 is daily seated on a gorgeous bed or couch, with 
 an overhanging canopy, dressed out in all the 
 gold and jewels of her ancestors, while visitors 
 keep pouring in, and amusing themselves by kis- 
 sing the bride, and partaking of the marriage 
 feast. The dance on these occasions, I have 
 already given a description of. At the end of the 
 nine days, the almost exhausted bride is taken to 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 the house of her husband, and so closes the 
 ceremony . 
 
 To describe the Arab part of the population of 
 Marocco, would only occupy the time of my rea- 
 der in the perusal of what he must have read in a 
 thousand other Journals of African travels, for an 
 Arab is the same in all parts of the world ; whether 
 encamped on the desart, in expectation of a pas- 
 sing caravan, or under a green hedge by the road- 
 side in England, awaiting the gloom of night to 
 replenish his kettle from a neighbouring henroost, 
 and, passing the interregnum in laudable endea- 
 vours to increase the population of the country, 
 by administering to credulous maid-servants 
 the desired issue of fate ; a husband, ten children, 
 and a legacy. Unfortunately, however, for the 
 fated parties and the country, the two former 
 blessings come generally unattended by the third. 
 It would indeed be desirable that these dark 
 hedge dispensers of futurity were prevented from 
 their truly destructive practices, equally dangerous 
 to the hen-roost and the maiden's heart. Many a 
 tender young chicken has fallen a victim to their 
 arts. But could this apparently desirable end be 
 attained, it is doubtful whether the naturally 
 superstitious mind of woman would not find a 
 substitute for the interpretation of her wishes. 
 
 Without pretending to argue phisiologically the 
 disputed question concerning the probability of 
 the origin of the Negro race of Africa, I shall 
 merely state, what to me, as an unsophisticated 
 
284 JOURNEY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 observer, has appeared worthy notice on this 
 subject. 
 
 I have often remarked, that the general feature 
 of a picture is easier detected by a child than a 
 connoisseur. If this simile prove applicable to 
 my natural view of the present phenomenon, I 
 shall feel happy in having been useful to those 
 who argue that the Negroes are a specific race, and 
 if my conclusions prove false, I shall feel equally 
 proud, if the opposite party can turn them to its 
 advantage, in deciding so interesting a question. 
 It has been admitted by those who contend that 
 the two races are sprung from the same origin, 
 that the heat of the sun could never have been 
 the means of altering the human complexion from 
 white to black. The Moors of Marocco are a very 
 fair specimen of the truth of this admission. The 
 hundreds of years they have resided in this coun- 
 try seems to have caused no change in their 
 colour towards the black shade, beyond the em- 
 browned complexion produced upon the cuticle 
 by the momentary action of the sun's rays. Now 
 this admission appears to me as tending rather to 
 prove that the Black is a specific race ; for if we 
 are deprived of this method of accounting for 
 the alteration of white to black, and substitue the 
 theory of transmission of altered shape and colour 
 by co-operating propagation, we may as well be- 
 lieve the original stock to have been black as 
 white. 
 
 If on the contrary we admit the probability of 
 the blacks being a specific race, formed for the 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 285 
 
 intensity of tropical heat, the various intervening 
 shades of colour between the two extremes, are 
 easily accounted for by the mixing of the two 
 specific races ; and though white men are found in 
 tropical climates, certain it is, (independent of 
 the thick and coloured rete mucosum of the black 
 man), that no race of human beings seems so cal- 
 culated to undergo the heat of their ardent sun as 
 the Negroes of Africa. The white Moor appears 
 rather to exist than to thrive in the heated atmos- 
 phere of his climate ; while the Negro literally 
 revels in the burning rays of the sun, basking 
 whole hours under its mid-day influence. The 
 skin of the former suffers evidently from continual 
 exposure to the sun ; thus their legs, bare from 
 below the knee to the slipper, assume a dry, 
 tightened, and scorbutic appearance : but far dif- 
 ferent is it with the smooth polished cuticle of the 
 Negro, from the firm but elastic surface of which 
 a gentle perspiration is constantly exuding, and 
 thus protecting it from being scorched . Nor do the 
 tenderer parts even of the female, suffer more from 
 nakedness, than the harder frame of the male sex: 
 neither do the Negroes yield to that lassitude 
 which more or less affects all white men in hot 
 climates ; on the contrary, I think that a black 
 man will work harder in the hot than in the cool 
 weather. In fact, one of the most striking views 
 of the subject, is that which voluntarily presents 
 itself to the eye of the traveller in these countries, 
 who cannot but observe what an undeniable claim 
 the Negro has to the title of, the indigenous 
 
286 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 lord of the soil, while his white ruler seems to 
 pay dearly indeed for his usurpation. 
 
 The resources of commerce in this kingdom, are 
 abundant and prolific. Corn and cattle are the 
 chief commodities, and for the growth of the 
 one, and the breeding of the other, the country 
 seems singularly adapted. It is said that the 
 plains of Ducalla alone, are capable of producing 
 in one year as much corn, as the United Kingdoms 
 of Great Britain. And the extensive plains which 
 characterise this country, and through which 
 slimy rivers are found in all directions sluggishly 
 meandering and enriching the neighbouring lands 
 by their Nilous quality, present, to the breeder's 
 eye, " the potentiality of growing rich beyond 
 the dreams of avarice." Of the former of these 
 sources of wealth, I can vouch, from the immense 
 crops of corn that overstocked the market, during 
 the harvest of the year I left Mogadore. I was in 
 the habit of purchasing nearly a bushel of corn for 
 my partridges, at one shilling English, allowing at 
 the same time for being cheated of part by my 
 Jewish servant, who bought it. I was told by 
 many, that, such was the profusion of this very 
 superior grain of its kind, that it did not, in many 
 instances, repay the labour of harvesting. The 
 principal articles of foreign export, are hides, 
 gums, bee's- wax, and bitter-almonds. A small 
 quantity of ostrich feathers, are now and then 
 supplied from the southern provinces ; and gold, 
 of the first quality, from Tombuctoo, forms no 
 inconsiderable part of the profit of the merchants 
 
JOUNREY TO MAROCCO. 287 
 
 resident in the country ; whilst silver, which is 
 not allowed to be exported, is a contraband 
 business, which from its enormous profits, drowns 
 all other considerations of fair traffic, and is carried 
 on to a great extent by the Jews of the country. 
 
 Besides these objects of commerce, a thousand 
 others lie scattered over the face of the earth, or 
 remained buried in its bowels. We were told 
 while at Marocco, that the Atlas abounded in 
 mines of silver, but 1 could gather no correct 
 information concerning this. Mr. Macnean, how- 
 ever, assured me, that copper mines were there 
 abundant, and that he had often seen specimens 
 of the ore. Honey, of which there is such an 
 abundance, is not exported. It possesses the 
 richest natural flavour, but is rendered nearly 
 unpalatable by the dead bees and wax with 
 which it is clogged. The shebbel and tasagalt 
 are two species of fish, which, if properly cured, 
 would be delicious additions to European luxury ; 
 but they prepare them with oil, and dry them in 
 the sun, thus rendering them too rich a food for any 
 but their own stomachs. A vast variety of fruit, 
 of which dates and oranges are tb e only exports, 
 is to be seen in all parts of the kingdom. The 
 grape flourishes, but is only planted for the pur- 
 pose of eating, and a small consumption by the 
 Jews, in the shape of wine and spirits. 
 
 As it was my misfortune to have visited this 
 country during the hottest months of the year, I 
 can say little concerning the botanical productions 
 of its soil ; for during my residence there, I hardly 
 
288 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO 
 
 observed a single flower : but that in the milder 
 seasons, the researches of the botanist would be 
 amply repaid, is obvious, from the superior quan- 
 tity and flavour of the honey. 
 
 The breed of horses, once so esteemed, under 
 the name of Barbs, brought by the Moors into 
 Spain, is greatly deteriorated by entire neglect in 
 their breeding ; the Sultan himself has very few 
 worthy observation. Out of forty or fifty brood 
 mares fetlocked in the court near our house, I 
 only saw one that particularly struck me ; it was 
 milk white, small, but of great strength and 
 fine proportions, with a head that in England we 
 have no idea of, enlivened by the look of mettle 
 and gentle intelligence in a pair of coal-black 
 eyes of great size. The white and the ash colour 
 with black manes and tails, are decidedly the 
 finest specimens of the barb blood. The most 
 beautiful horses in the country, belong to the 
 chiefs of Arab douars, but nevertheless, the mass, 
 though poor and meagre-looking, are very active 
 and capable of enduring great fatigue and hard fare. 
 
 A stable is an article of luxury almost entirely 
 unknown in Barbary. Even the Sultan's horses 
 stand exposed to all the vicissitudes of weather, 
 throughout the year, fetlocked around the palace 
 walls, with the bare earth for their bed, and 
 heaven their canopy, and yet they maintain their 
 sleek appearance. The head, neck, and fore- 
 hand, are the parts which are most distinguish- 
 able in the Moorish horses, and the length, gloss, 
 and softness (resembliug fine silk) of their manes 
 
JOLRXKV TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 and tails, adds much to the beauty of these parts. 
 The hind quarters are generally goose-rumped, 
 which shape I attribute to the Moslem custom 
 of riding with powerful bits, with which they 
 delight in shewing the power they have over their 
 horses by reining them up at full gallop ; which 
 brings them at once on their haunches. Thus 
 the transmission of a form altered by this violent 
 and unnatural constraint of the hinder quarters, 
 may have produced a race of goose-rumped horses. 
 With due submission to the physiologist, who 
 may, perhaps, advance anatomical objections to 
 this supposition, I merely submit it, as to me it 
 appears probable. However much we may ridi- 
 cule the powerful bit of these horsemen, and their 
 unnatural use of it, I cannot but agree with them 
 that the laugh is on their side. They say that we 
 are not the masters of our horses, who run away 
 with us on all occasions, and that we cannot pre- 
 vent them from precipitating us over a cliff, or 
 headlong into a river. Nothing can be more 
 just than this observation. The fact is, that we 
 have given ourselves the credit, from the time 
 when mounted on a Shetland pony, to the more 
 exalted age of the chase, for being excellent 
 horsemen ; understanding entirely the manage- 
 ment of these animals, because, forsooth, we get 
 across the country at a certain pace. All other 
 good qualities in horses are sacrificed to, and 
 all bad ones overlooked for, the desirable end, 
 rapidity of motion. The finest trained Arab, or 
 German horse, would not gain grace in the eyes 
 
 u 
 
290 JOURNEY TO MA HOC CO. 
 
 of a sporting character, (all Englishmen partaking 
 more or less of this mania) when placed in competi- 
 tion with the kicking, biting, tumble-down hack, that 
 by skilful management of the divine art of conduct- 
 ing, is propelled forward at the rate of 15 miles in 
 the hour. Thus ill our eagerness to gratify our 
 national restlessness, "Push on, keep moving," we 
 entirely neglect the more useful and elegant arts 
 of horse-training. The little affection we display 
 for our horses, observable in all ranks, from the 
 peer to the horse-jockey (terms which are often 
 synonymous) conduces to the neglect of their 
 characters. There is no horse in England that 
 has not his price. Under such perpetual change 
 of masters, (each possessing different tempers 
 and tastes) the poor horse (with us) can hardly 
 be expected to become an accomplished one; 
 while, on the contrary, the Arab will take no 
 money for the animal which has shared his for- 
 tunes, and often his bread, and which, from 
 constant attention and kind treatment, becomes 
 to him, what a dog is to a European. The con- 
 trast between an Arab and an Englishman's idea 
 and management of a horse, is finely exemplified 
 in their respective early propensities for this spe- 
 cies of amusement. The English boy sets himself 
 a-straddle on a broom-stick, provided with a 
 bridle, and, with the most thorough contempt for 
 the wooden mouth of his horse, he early learns 
 the various arts of pulling, jerking, and sawing, 
 which he afterwards displays in his useless endea- 
 vours to stop his runaway bit of blood, with a 
 
JOritXFY TO MA HOC 1 CO 2!) 1 
 
 snaffle, or incompetent bit. The Arab child 
 (disdaining the ewe-necked stick) procures the 
 semicircular half of an iron hoop, to one end of 
 which he attaches a bridle, which by the elasti- 
 city of the metal causes that end of the semi-hoop 
 to represent the finely arched crest of the horse 
 of that country, and teaches him to have a light 
 hand, afterwards so necessary with the powerful 
 bit; while the other end being gently compressed 
 against the ground, springs and bounds under the 
 partial weight of the rider. It is wonderful with 
 what an air of grave consequence and perfect 
 imitation of their elders these little children " ride 
 a cock-horse." The barbarous and unnecessary 
 practice of mutilation is forbidden by the Maho- 
 metan law. I say unnecessary, because I have 
 never witnessed any inconvenience arising from 
 the contrary, sufficient to authorise a practice not 
 only cruel, but impolitic, as no one can deny that 
 it deprives the animal of the greater part of his 
 strength, hardiness, and beauty, and subjects him to 
 incalculable evils in after life, not known in coun- 
 tries where the practice is forbidden. Horses, by 
 proper treatment, will learn like men to conduct 
 themselves under all circumstances of congrega- 
 tion. It is worthy remark, that amongst the 
 many horses I have seen in Barbary, I never 
 could discover a broken knee, and was told that 
 horses were rarely known to fall, owing in part, 
 I suppose, to the strength of bit, which sets them 
 upon their haunches, and is so powerful as to ad- 
 mit of the management of the hottest steed, even 
 
 u2 
 
k 292 JOURNKY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 by a child. The elegant ease with which these 
 people manage their horses, and the lightness of 
 their hand upon the bridle, adds a charm to horse- 
 manship unknown to those who have not seen it. 
 The practice of speaking to them, places those ani- 
 mals nearly on a footing with their biped masters. 
 The smallest word serves to tranquillize or set 
 them in flame. I have seen a horse tremble 
 violently at the angry exclamation of his master: 
 and the hah! hah! strongly aspirated, which is 
 made use of on setting off at a Lab el Barode is 
 sufficient to put him instantly into a gallop. 
 
 Mules are the most useful animals in Marocco, 
 equally adapted as they are for riding as well as 
 burthen. The smoothness and rapidity of their 
 walk, renders them more agreeable for a journey 
 than the horse, and, from the Sultan downwards, 
 no great man travels long journeys by any other 
 means. A good mule is valued at a higher price 
 than a horse. The bright chesnut with a black 
 cross is reckoned the best bred ; most of the Sul- 
 tan's are of this colour ; of their capability of en- 
 during fatigue, I have already given ample proofs. 
 
 Of the birds of the country which differed from 
 those of Europe generally, are the following: 
 the eagle or vulture, a bird of fourteen-feet spread 
 in the wing. The northern part of the kingdom 
 abounds with them. I have seen them come often 
 to Gibraltar from Apes Hill on the other side of 
 the straits, in a flight of thirty or forty at a time ; 
 and on one occasion, I succeeded in approaching 
 within thirty yards of two or three, and notwith- 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 293 
 
 standing the weight of duck shot, with which 
 my gun was loaded, I was unable to do further 
 injury, than cutting away a few feathers. The one 
 I fired at hardly quickened his flight, so unconsci- 
 ous did he seem of my destructive intentions. Of 
 the hawk variety, there are a great number. I 
 killed a small one at Tetuan, of nearly a pure white, 
 with a black pupil to the eye, and a blood red iris : 
 I think I never beheld so piercing an eye. Owls 
 are to be seen in great variety, from the large 
 horned one standing two feet and a half high, to 
 that of four inches. The white heron is the most 
 delicate and beautiful bird I have ever seen ; it 
 stands about eighteen inches high, has black legs, 
 and a soft plumage of snowy white ; along the 
 centre of the back are to be found a few long grey 
 feathers, resembling hair ; the pupil of the eye is 
 black with a crome yellow iris : I am particular in 
 the description of this bird as there seems to 
 have been some difference of opinion, as to its 
 being a heron or a garde bceuf. They are much 
 cherished by the inhabitants of this country, 
 partly, I suppose, from their resemblance to the 
 sacred stork family, and partly owing to their 
 feeding on grubs. At Tetuan, I have seen num- 
 bers of these elegant birds at a time, following, 
 unheeded by mischievous boys, within a few feet 
 of the plough. Barn door fowls could not have 
 been tamer. I shot one of them in our garden at 
 Marocco, but I had no means of preserving it. 
 The Tibib, so called from the sound of its note, is 
 the most amiable fearless little companion of man. 
 
294 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 It builds in, the houses. It is about the size and 
 shape of a chaffinch ; of an auburn brown plumage ; 
 with the most cheerful clear-toned chirp of any 
 bird I know. It is, I believe, not to be found north 
 of Marocco, and dies in confinement. 
 
 As it seems to have been the intention of 
 our ministry to cultivate a closer commercial 
 intercourse with the kingdom of Marocco, (at least 
 if I may judge by the late appointment of a Vice- 
 consul to Tangiers, where Mr. Douglass the Consul 
 General was already residing) I shall here endea- 
 vour to show how the three Consulate appoint- 
 ments then in that country, had the honour of pro- 
 tecting one British commercial house. Mogadore 
 was formerly a port of considerable commerce, as 
 I have before stated, receiving from many nations 
 their manufactures for the rich produce of the 
 country ; and now, it can only boast of one resi- 
 dent merchant. I shall therefore point out the 
 reason of this decline of trade, in hopes of assist- 
 ing the endeavours of the present authorities, to 
 establish on a firmer basis, what has of late been 
 suffered to fall to ruin. 
 
 In the first place then, according to the rules 
 of fair trade, some standing tariff, or custom-house 
 duty, ought to be established in all countries, 
 that the trader may know, when he sails to a 
 foreign port, what will be his profits upon the 
 goods he proposes bearing back to his country 
 from that port. That there was such a tariff is 
 evident by an article in the last treaty between 
 England and Marocco, which particularly states 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 295 
 
 that the Consuls are called upon to resist all 
 infringements upon the regularly established ta- 
 riff. If there be no stated agreement of this 
 nature between the two countries, the interests of 
 commerce have been neglected ; and if there be 
 one, it certainly has not been protected from the 
 encroachments of the Sultan's arbitrary and short- 
 sighted policy. Thus, we find the duties at pre- 
 sent in this country, entirely regulated by the 
 capricious will of the Sultan, who, like all bar- 
 barians, thinks that " a bird in the hand is worth 
 two in a bush," even if they are to be caught 
 hereafter. The duty upon wax, for instance, 
 which is always a necessary article in Roman 
 Catholic countries, is ten Spanish dollars to the 
 quintal ; and all other duties are fluctuating ac- 
 cording to the demand for the produce. The old 
 story of the King and the Egg, is very applicable 
 to the Sultan's system of imposing these duties ; 
 the more rare becomes the arrival of a vessel 
 in his ports, the higher he raises the duty. The 
 instant a merchantman has anchored at Mogadore, 
 the Governor despatches a courier to the Sultan 
 with the bill of lading, who " lays it on thick," by 
 doubling the duties upon both imports and ex- 
 ports. As it may be conceived, this abominable 
 system, unresisted by the Consuls of different 
 nations, has succeeded partly in paralizing the 
 trade of the country, and gradually the merchants, 
 one by one, have dropped away, until the protec- 
 tors of commerce are alone left to convince the 
 Sultan of their country's disposition to be on 
 
296 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 amicable terms with him ; else might they chance 
 to see their traders pillaged, as I have before 
 shewn, by his Highness's marine. It will be 
 asked, how then has one commercial house re- 
 mained in the country under such an oppressive 
 system ? It must be answered that until lately 
 this house was invested with the Consular dignity, 
 which protected it in its trade ; but it does not 
 require the keenest perception to observe that it- 
 ill became the interest of that establishment as a 
 mercantile one, to enforce strictly the Consular 
 protection of those rights of trade which would 
 not fail to create it competitors, while the reverse 
 secured to that establishment a complete monopoly. 
 Under such auspices, who can wonder that trade 
 has not flourished in Barbary ? In the second 
 place the Sultan, rinding it easier to raise large 
 sums with expediency from the Jewish commu- 
 nity, over whom his absolute power gives him this 
 authority, has therefore encouraged these people 
 to trade, by means which have been as successful 
 to them, as destructive to the merchants of other 
 nations. Thus, while he raises the duty on the 
 foreign merchants' goods, he lowers it on those of 
 the Jews, who by this means undersell and ruin 
 their competitors. But while he is thus appa- 
 rently indulgent to the Jews, he is, in reality, 
 only inducing them to slip their heads into a 
 noose, which he afterwards tightens according to 
 his pleasure. This he effects by calling the re- 
 duction of duty towards these people, a loan ; so 
 that, after the Jew is well in debt, he calls upon 
 
JOUHNKY TO MAKOCCO. 297 
 
 him for payment, and with this "fair show of 
 justice," squeezes him out of his golden store, 
 taking care, at the same time, not to play the 
 part of him who killed his gold-producing goose, 
 by leaving him enough to commence business 
 again, by reducing three times lower the duties 
 on those articles which the Jew afterwards retails 
 at a price equivalent to the higher ones. This 
 was the unfortunate case of Don Pedro, the 
 Maltese, who having been unanimously recom- 
 mended to the favour of the Sultan by the Moors 
 themselves, for his humanity to the starving mul- 
 titude during the famine, repaired to Marocco, to 
 conciliate the kind will of his Highness, laden with 
 presents, the value of which was almost all he pos- 
 sessed in the world. Upon arriving there, he was 
 kindly received by the Sultan, who expressed his 
 everlasting obligation to him for saving the lives of 
 his subjects during the late famine, and offered to 
 set him up in trade, by allowing him the before- 
 mentioned privilege of reduced duties. Thus 
 enticed, Don Pedro recommenced business, but 
 on a small cargo arriving during our residence at 
 Mogadore, the Sultan suddenly pounced upon it, 
 under the plea of debt incurred by the reduced 
 duties. The Maltese, however conscious he was 
 of this custom by the Jews, had no idea that its 
 rigour was to be extended to him, to whom the 
 privilege had been granted in return for his pre- 
 sents and his humanity. 
 
 Don Pedro was, therefore, by this most unfair 
 treatment, a ruined man when I left Mogadore; and 
 
298 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 I sincerely hope that the Consul General will 
 find it within the limits of his duty, to rescue 
 this unfortunate and ill-treated man from his 
 present situation, into which he has been un- 
 fairly enticed and inveigled. I cannot but sup- 
 pose, that this piece of cunning in his High- 
 ness's government, is an illegal act in the eyes of 
 good sense and the laws of nations, and requires 
 the interference of consular authority. The un- 
 fortunate object for whom I contend, has, I know, 
 enemies at Mogadore; but let not these prejudice 
 the ears of our authorities : let them rather go to 
 the Moors, to ascertain his character. When a 
 Mahometan speaks in high terms of an unbeliever, 
 depend upon it that he is deserving of the praise. 
 But whatever may have been Don Pedro's conduct, 
 in other points (though I cannot say I could ever 
 clearly find fault in him) he is a British subject, 
 and has a right to call upon the Consul of those 
 kingdoms for protection from injury, providing the 
 Sultan's ruse is illegal. His faults do not deprive 
 him of his privileges as a subject. 
 
 Besides the illegal proceedings of the Sultan 
 above-mentioned, there is another equally arbi- 
 trary, to which, strange to say, the late Vice- 
 consul in his semi-mercantile character, submitted 
 in common with the Jewish merchants of the 
 country. This is an invitation (properly inter- 
 preted an order) from the Sultan, requesting the 
 presence (for which read presents) of all the 
 merchants, at his palace at Marocco or elsewhere. 
 To go there without a golden offer, would be, to 
 
.101 KXKY TO MAKOCCO. 299 
 
 be refused admittance to his Highness, and after- 
 wards the benefit of trade. We therefore cannot 
 wonder at a poor helpless man complying with so 
 arbitrary a measure of extortion ; but surely there 
 can be no excuse for an opulent merchant armed 
 with the Consular dignity of Great Britain, in sub- 
 mitting to such a shameless degradation. It is 
 well indeed that the new alteration concerning the 
 Consuls, will prevent for the future a recurrence 
 of such behaviour.* 
 
 By these means has the commerce of the coun- 
 try either died away, fallen into the hands of the 
 Jews, or passed southward to the French colonies ; 
 and our commercial interest, and the dignity of 
 our name, are gradually decaying, in a land abound- 
 ing in useful productions, and peopled by a race 
 well-disposed to prefer us to all other nations. 
 
 Having shewn the evil, let me attempt to point 
 out the remedy. 
 
 It is obvious to all who consider the peculiar 
 situation of Gibraltar, and the extreme jealousy 
 of all other nations at our holding that key to the 
 Mediterranean, that it is of the most vital impor- 
 tance to its safe keeping, that we should command 
 the supplies of the opposite coast, for the mainte- 
 nance of our garrison. This we at present do by 
 treaty ; the Sultan therein being bound to supply 
 us with bullocks at so much per head, and in such 
 number as there stated. But we have seen, that 
 during a siege, the Spanish government have been 
 
 * It has been determined, that, in future, no Consul shall be 
 permitted to trade. 
 
300 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 able to cut in two this binding with a golden sword ; 
 and such again may be the case by other nations, 
 poor Spain's golden dreams being over : would it 
 not therefore be politic to prevent a defection 
 which might one day prove fatal to our garrison, 
 at that invaluable fortress ? It might well be said 
 that one of the most precious stones in the crown 
 of England, is the rock of Gibraltar. 
 
 Too little familiarity is as apt to breed contempt 
 as too much ; and we should therefore surely en- 
 deavour to rescue our name from almost oblivion 
 in the empire of Marocco. This can only be done 
 by a stern uncomplying line of policy : let a 
 Mahometan imagine that he has outwitted you, 
 and he will think lightly of you. The anecdote I 
 have already told, of the consternation of the 
 country at the arrival of two paltry Columbian 
 cmizers off Mogadore, one of which fired a gun, 
 will plainly show how unaccustomed is such a 
 sight, and the effect it produces. I should thence 
 be led to recommend that outward and homeward 
 bound men of war of the Indian stations, be 
 ordered occasionally to call at Mogadore on their 
 way, under any paltry excuse of fresh beef or 
 water, and that the same be done at Tangiers, by 
 Mediterranean cruizers ; this would give the most 
 entire support to the exertions of Consuls, who 
 Hen might be able, by the terror of our name, 
 and the justness of our proceedings, to enforce 
 their arguments, and reinstate our sinking trade ; 
 but there must be no sleeping over the cause : a 
 firm, determined, just, and open line of policy, is 
 
JOIKM.Y TO MAKOCTO. 301 
 
 that which will succeed with the Moors. Consider 
 the danger of the gradual decay of this kingdom, 
 and its alluring richness, which will one day 
 tempt an over-populous country to seize on it 
 as a colony, which, in its present state, would be 
 far from difficult. On the other hand, a proper 
 degree of firmness and exertion on our part, 
 would succeed in organizing this paralized nation ; 
 and with its return of health, will come strength 
 and vigour to protect itself, whilst it will be 
 always its policy to cultivate our alliance. 
 Besides the terror of our name, we possess the 
 advantage of holding their depot of trade, Gibral- 
 tar from whence they receive tea, sugar, cloth, 
 c. and it were easy for us to show them, by retort 
 on their merchants, that they must establish a 
 fair basis of trade with ours. I have been thus 
 circumstantial, because I know of no other reason 
 of the late appointment of a Vice-consul to Tan- 
 giers, where the Consul General was already 
 residing, except that it was the intention of our 
 Ministry, to have made an exertion towards re- 
 opening the almost closed ports of trade, with the 
 Moors of Marocco. This is only my surmise, 
 which it will be politic, at least, in them to own 
 as their intention. 
 
 There is yet another measure that I am induced 
 to recommend to the notice of authorities, which, 
 from my observation, I know to be absolutely 
 necessary for the correct intercourse between our 
 Consuls and the Sultan. This is the appoint- 
 ment of a European interpreter, without whom, 
 
302 JOURNEY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 provided the Consuls are not themselves proficient 
 in the Arabic language, all their negociations must 
 prove nugatory. No subject of his Highness, 
 whether Moor or Jew (and the latter are generally 
 the medium of communication) will dare to inter- 
 pret literally the words of his employer, provided 
 they be disagreeable to the Sultan, besides the 
 advantage they will take of you, by turning your 
 negociations to their profit, or, sacrificing your 
 interests for a bribe from the other party. Thus, 
 our interpreter told us, that the Sultan had made 
 him a present, as remuneration for his services, of 
 those very articles supplied us for our sea-stock. 
 Luckily however, the Sultan, accustomed to deal 
 with Jews, wrote to the Governor of Mogadore, 
 ordering him to supply us with these articles as 
 our sea-stock, and discovered the villany of the 
 interpreter. To avoid then, this evil, the only 
 alternative is the appointment of a Christian inter- 
 preter,* with such an independant salary as is 
 likely to make it worth his while to resist bribery, 
 for fear of the loss of his situation, if discovered. 
 Being a Christian, he will, if not subject to 
 bribery, at all events, protect your interests, rather 
 than those of the Moors or Jews ; while a Jewish 
 interpreter, from notions of interest or fear, will 
 always side with the Moor, if the subject of dis- 
 cussion be indifferent to his own tribe. The 
 residence of such an interpreter as I have recom- 
 mended, would naturally be at Mogadore, that 
 place being near the capital, whereas Tangiers, the 
 
 * Vide Appendix D. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 place of residence of the Consul General, is too 
 distant from Marocco to admit of any frequency of 
 negociation, while the orders of the Consul Gene- 
 ral might be transmitted to the Vice Consul at 
 Mogadore, who would repair thence to the capital 
 accompanied by the * interpreter. As such an 
 interpreter will be always difficult to find, I am 
 tempted to recommend to the notice of the Con- 
 sul General, as an object of charity, as well as 
 utility, the before-mentioned Don Pedro; whose 
 unfortunate circumstances ; his perfect knowledge 
 of the Arabic ; his acquaintance with the Mahome- 
 tan character, and that of the Sultan's ministers ; 
 added to his own reputation even amongst the 
 sons of the Crescent ; point him out as one, the 
 appointment of whom to this office by the Con- 
 sul General, would be as politic as humane. 
 
 Though it may perhaps be deemed inconsistent 
 with the plan of a journal, to enter into a specu- 
 lative political disquisition, I cannot here conclude 
 my slight survey of the Maroqueen empire,without 
 first adverting to a subject, which, as it appears 
 to me, is vitally connected with British interests 
 in Africa, and the safety of our much envied and 
 desired colony and garrison at Gibraltar. 
 
 I need hardly advance any argument to prove 
 how jealous are the other nations of Europe of our 
 possession of this valuable key to the Mediter- 
 ranean, and how anxious they must feel to wrest 
 from the favourite sons of Neptune this jewel of 
 his dominions. 
 
 As long as British discipline, and the vigilance 
 of such Governors as the Earl of Chatham and 
 
304 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 Sir George Don, continue to preside over the 
 safeguard of Gibraltar, neither force, fraud nor 
 surprise are likely ever to cause the capitu- 
 lation of that almost impregnable fortress. The 
 remaining enemy to be feared is, therefore, star- 
 vation, which we have seen, did, on a former 
 occasion, reduce the garrison to great privations, 
 notwithstanding the utmost endeavours of our 
 cruizers to prevent the supplies from Barbary 
 being cut off by the enemy. Against this evil 
 it has always been our aim, as it certainly is our 
 interest, to guard ourselves, by uniting ourselves 
 in the strongest bonds of alliance with the Moors ; 
 and for the double purpose of enriching them 
 and providing ourselves with supplies, an article 
 was inserted in our treaty of alliance with the 
 Sultan, binding him to provide us with so many 
 head of cattle a year, at thirty dollars a head, 
 export duty, which, considering that the original 
 cost of the animal is only half that sum, is no 
 inconsiderable profit to his Highness's revenue. 
 But valuable as this article of the treaty may be 
 to the Sultan, we have seen how, during a siege, 
 that Spanish dollars have proved a weightier ar- 
 gument than the parchment of our treaty ; nor is 
 it to be wondered at, that, in so poor a nation, 
 inhabited by a people of a different religion from 
 ours, the golden rule should be the lesson they 
 are most desirous to learn. To speak in the 
 Moorish style, his Highness's sublime ears are in 
 his purse, ever open to the silver tones of the 
 Christian dogs, but closed to their barking. Un- 
 
TO MAROCCO. 305 
 
 der these circumstances it surely should be our 
 study to impress upon the minds of our Moorish 
 allies the necessity of our friendship before that of 
 any other nation, in a manner that would convince 
 them that we are their natural ally in the warm- 
 est sense of the word. There are only two 
 means by which this could be effected. The one 
 by the methods I have before suggested, the 
 resuscitation of the declining trade of the Empire, 
 by some new arrangement, by which our mer- 
 chants might obtain a firm basis of trade, and by 
 such an alteration in its revenues, as would con- 
 sequently ensue, the country, would not only 
 be enabled to defend itself from intruders, but 
 also be convinced of the utility of an alliance 
 with another people, between whom and it 
 there exists a natural league of dependance and 
 assistance. 
 
 The other method to which I am now to allude, 
 is the obtaining some territorial footing on the 
 shores of Barbary. 
 
 This latter is indeed a subject as delicate to 
 treat on as difficult to put in practice, but it yet 
 does not appear to me to be wholly impracticable, 
 even without departing in the smallest degree 
 from the straight road of good faith and honour. 
 
 To establish the necessity of speedily pursuing 
 the one or the other of the above courses, I have 
 already shewn, besides the almost defenceless and 
 decaying state of the Maroqueen Empire, that 
 its amazing richness is such, that it must ulti- 
 mately (and that period is not far distant" full u 
 
306 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 sacrifice to the cupidity of some shark whose rule 
 is expediency, or become the colony of some over 
 populous country, on the principle of Agrarian 
 law.* 
 
 Upon this supposition then, would it not be 
 politic as regards ourselves, and kind as regards 
 our ally, to prevent, by timely precaution, a circum- 
 stance prejudicial to us both ? 
 
 It will be asked what arguments can be used, 
 independent of the golden one, to induce the Sul- 
 tan to surrender a part of his dominions into our 
 hands : I shall therefore explain the peculiar situ- 
 ation of his Highness. 
 
 * It may perhaps be not unworthy of remark, that on the very 
 day last autumn, on which I was making my notes respecting the 
 above disquisition, which had long occupied my attention, there 
 appeared in the English papers, the copy of a letter extracted 
 from the Paris papers relative to the expediency of colonizing 
 Mauritania, from the southern shores of France, beginning by the 
 total expulsion of that notorious band of Algerine pirates from 
 their strong hold, and thence by gradual steps to occupy the 
 whole of that fertile and beautiful country on the northern side 
 of the great Atlas mountains, under the plea of exterminating 
 a troublesome general enemy to Europe, (the Algerines then at 
 variance with France) and the right of seizing on a country 
 abounding in the gifts of nature, almost unheeded by a people 
 not sufficiently populous to own so vast a territory to the exclu- 
 sion of those in want. The proposition was truly worthy of the 
 school of Napoleon, and in several subsequent letters the plan 
 was continued. It may be remembered, that AH Bey was turned 
 out of the kingdom of Marocco, as a supposed agent of the 
 Prince of the Peace, examining into the state of the country during 
 the year of Trafalgar; it is, however, more generally believed that 
 he was employed in this service at the instigation of the French 
 Emperor, who no doubt saw the policy of seizing so valuable an 
 acquisition, both as regarded the trade of France with Africa, 
 and as concerned that desirable object the taking of Gibraltar. 
 
JOURNET TO MAROCCO. 307 
 
 Sultan Muley Abrachman stands iu that pre- 
 dicament in which all illegitimates do, who having 
 broken the line of succession to mount another's 
 throne, find that their success alone will entitle 
 them to approbation, while the reverse for ever 
 condemns them as execrable usurpers. For while 
 his own followers declaim upon the validity of 
 the late Muley Solyman's will, leaving him heir 
 to the crown, they nevertheless are candid enough 
 to declare that unless he had obtained the Treasury 
 chest with the will, he would have failed in his 
 endeavour to justify himself from the imputation 
 of an usurper. Since that period his reign has 
 been continually troubled with repeated insurrec- 
 tions, whose plea has invariably been the cause of 
 legitimacy. Besides these various rebellions, he 
 has to contend with another still more powerful 
 enemy, the Sheriffes of the empire, whom he is 
 obliged to overcome rather by gold than iron ; 
 and this licentious and daring body of persons, 
 professing sanctity and claiming royalty, knowing 
 the peculiarity of the present Sultan's situation, 
 are continually reminding him of their disagreeable 
 presence, of which nothing but a remuneration for 
 the honour of their visit can rid him. These 
 calls upon his purse, added to the expenses of his 
 harem establishments, and his troops, have redu- 
 ced the finances of his treasury to a very low ebb ; 
 and though liked by his people generally, Muley 
 Abrachman feels the insecurity of his footing, 
 and the uncertainty of his son's succession ; while 
 to secure the one, and guarantee the other, our 
 
 x 2 
 
308 joruxrv TO MAROCCO. 
 
 money and assistance might prove available in no 
 slight degree, when we remember, that what by 
 this country would be considered as a trifling 
 sum for so valuable an acquisition as the cession 
 to us of a territory in Barbary, would by the 
 Moors be looked upon as almost endless wealth. 
 The Sultan cannot but feel how advantageous 
 would be the filling of his coffers, in his present 
 critical and impoverished state ; and by binding 
 ourselves to supply him with warlike stores, and to 
 render him cur assisstance in seating him more 
 firmly on his tottering throne, and securing the 
 succession of his son, we should most effectually 
 gain his confidence. Added to these weighty 
 arguments would be those of the regeneration of 
 the sinking trade of his country, by our carrying 
 into Barbary those goods, which the Moors (not 
 being a nautical people) now procure at great 
 expense from Gibraltar. 
 
 Against these arguments will of course be found 
 opposed the fears of a barbarous people, and the 
 prejudice of religion ; but I am nevertheless of 
 opinion that the present Sultan, who is a man 
 of shrewd sense, and far from being a bigot, would 
 be well inclined to receive a handsome compen- 
 sation for the surrender of Tetuan into our hands, 
 when shewn how likely it is that some other nation, 
 under the plea of establishing the late Sultan's 
 family on the throne, may gain an unwelcome 
 footing in his country. Tetuan being a most 
 radical and insubordinate town, constantly setting 
 at naught the Sultan's authority, he would feel less 
 compunction in surrendering it into our hands. 
 
JO I' HMO' TO MAROCiO. 309 
 
 The policy of establishing the present Sultan's 
 family firmly on the throne, and securing the suc- 
 cession, is obvious to all who are acquainted with 
 our relations with Tripoli and Algiers. At the for- 
 mer of these places, which is governed by an 
 hereditary Bashalic, we are not only respected 
 as an ally, but beloved as an nation. At the lat- 
 ter place (Algiers) the ephemeral period of the 
 Dey's power, prevents, of course, as in all coun- 
 tries where the government is solely lodged in the 
 hands of the sovereign, that durability of faith, so 
 necessary for the observance of treaties. 
 
 During this digression from the path of my 
 journal we were struggling day after day with the 
 same foul north-east gale. The sea got up, and as 
 We stood off and on shore, the stench of the dis- 
 turbed bilge-water, (of which our vessel was full) 
 added to the horror of being cooped up in our filthy 
 cabin during fourteen days. In all situations, 
 however, some sources of amusement are to be 
 found by those whose minds are not bent, (as I 
 have known many) on self annoyance. Nor is 
 there a more mistaken idea, than that the obser- 
 vance of trifles is the proof of a little mind; on the 
 contrary, the active mind is never satisfied, and 
 dwells rather on the merest trifles than lie dor- 
 mant for want of more important objects. With- 
 out thence wishing to lay particular claim to 
 activity of mind, I must confess that much 
 amusement was afforded me by the co-partners 
 of our confinement, a large English torn cat, 
 a thieving Genoese cabin boy, of eccentric man- 
 
310 JOUUNKY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 ners, an old Tunisian hen, and my little owl. 
 The cat and the hen both laid claim to the same 
 nest in the cabin, in which the latter daily depo- 
 sited, at the precise hour of two, a pledge of her 
 illicit amours amongst her many feathered admi- 
 rers, which fluttered about the upper deck, after 
 which, her feline partner regained his seat in the 
 disputed nest, until the old lady's tongue at the 
 usual hour not only brought to her assistance 
 the Genoese boy, but reminded us of the philoso- 
 phical warning that "we had lived another day." 
 My little owl in a short time became quite recon- 
 ciled to its confinement, and fed eagerly from my 
 hand ; he twice made his escape from the cage, 
 but I found him each time by his cries of rage and 
 fear at the sight of the torn cat, who stood ready 
 to pounce upon him, while, with one claw raised, 
 and its large dazzling eyes keenly fixed at its 
 antagonist, it awaited the attack, which even 
 the ferocious cat feared to commence. Our 
 cabin boy, under the appearance of an idiot, con- 
 cealed a most thievish disposition, for which little 
 peccadillo, he made ample amends to his consci- 
 ence by his zeal in lighting a small lamp hang- 
 ing in a niche occupied by an exact represen- 
 tation of Nostra Senora, in sky-blue drapery, 
 surrounded by a flight of little cherubims all 
 wings and eyes much resembling my owl. Like all 
 Italians, whose propensity for talking is so violent 
 that rather than not indulge in this habit, from want 
 of a listener, they will address their conversation 
 ven to inanimate objects ; he was continually 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 311 
 
 holding colloquy with the old hen, the biscuits in 
 the locker, the torn cat, or the owl. The former of 
 these seemed perfectly to understand him, and 
 regularly each day applied for his assistance to 
 expel the torn cat from her nest, into which Dame 
 Partlet suffered herself to be placed, while her 
 protector seated himself by her side during the 
 period of her confinement, amusing her with his 
 desultory conversation. One could almost imagine 
 that the two were equally intellectual. We soon 
 found, however, that the boy to the number of his 
 acquaintance, had added that of our white sugar, 
 with which he became more communicative than 
 with all the others ; and by these repeated visits, 
 in one of which we detected him in the very act, 
 our stock was exhausted before we had finished 
 our voyage. 
 
 We had stood out to the westward for some 
 days, hoping to meet a favourable breeze, but the 
 north-east wind continued to blow uninterruptedly 
 until the fourteenth day, when it suddenly died 
 away. On the 16th day a westerly wind sprang 
 up. Our Captain, whose navigating powers did 
 not extend beyond the finding of his latitude, 
 fairly owned that he did not know how far he 
 might be to the westward ; he kept indeed a 
 sort of dead reckoning, but as he only hove his 
 log about every four hours, and as his vessel made 
 as much leeway as an old cask, he confessed 
 that his method of ascertaining his longitude 
 might be rather incorrect, and he laid all the 
 blame on questi bestia di mare, into which he 
 
312 JOURNEY TO MARUCCO. 
 
 never had before strayed, and which he pro- 
 nounced very different from the Mediterranean, 
 where longitude was of no use, for that he knew 
 every head-land in it, and that he had but to 
 creep from one to another, and if it did come on 
 to blow, there was always some port to leeward to 
 run to. When I heard this candid avowal, I must 
 say I felt not a little glad that we were at last 
 blessed with a fair wind, as a continuance of bad 
 easterly weather, would in all probability have 
 placed us on the rocks of Madeira. By the Cap- 
 tain's dead reckoning we were to have made Cape 
 St. Vincent in four-and-twenty hours, providing 
 our wind continued. It did so, but still no land 
 appeared, and on we stood ; the Captain looked 
 anxiously and dubiously at the chart, to satisfy 
 himself that we could not by any chance have 
 entered the Mediterranean by any other route 
 than the accustomed one, for he declared he must 
 have passed Cape St. Vincent. The day following, 
 however, we spoke a Spanish latteen boat, who 
 gave us our course and distance to Gibraltar. It 
 then appeared that the Captain had been a hundred 
 and eighty miles out of his reckoning : thus had we 
 experienced bad weather from the westward. 
 There is no saying on what part of Spain we might 
 have been wrecked ; luckily, however, we made 
 the Straights the next day, and at at nine o'clock 
 in the evening found ourselves becalmed off Tan- 
 giers. At eight the next morning we were steering 
 for the anchorage. The rock of Gibraltar arose 
 in all its singularity of shape before our delighted 
 
JOURNEY TO MAHOCCO. 313 
 
 eyes : long absence from an enlightened people, 
 severe sickness, and the agreeable associations of 
 former happy scenes, combined to make the sight 
 before us the most interesting one I ever beheld. 
 After being nearly back-strapped by the Captain's 
 obstinacy in his care to steer clear of the pearl 
 rock, we anchored in the quarantine ground at one 
 o'clock, and to our dismay were told we were con- 
 demned to five days quarantine. Soon after, how- 
 ever, arrived an order for our immediate release, as 
 two of the regiments of the garrison were on the 
 point of going to Portugal. Arrived on shore, a 
 thousand sources of delight awaited me. The 
 meeting with my most excellent brother officers; 
 the pleasing union of hearts and hands with my 
 many acquaintances, who had heard and believed 
 that I was dead ; my promotion in the army ; the 
 contents of five months packets of letters; and 
 the thoughts of returning health; were subjects 
 that for several days fed the most rapturous 
 dream of my life. 
 
314 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Brief Account of Gibraltar ; its Situation, Climate, 
 Amusements, fyc. including some Remarks on 
 Tetuan, from Observations made by the Author 
 during a Visit to that Place on a Party of 
 Pleasure. 
 
 As there are many who believe the rock of 
 Gibraltar, to be literally what its name imports, a 
 barren rock swarming with monkeys, mosquitos 
 and soldiers, where there is barely space enough 
 to turn round, without entangling your sword in 
 your neighbour's legs ; and, as ill-grounded pre- 
 judice amongst officers of our 'army, but too often 
 places it on a footing with the worst quarters in 
 our colonies, I shall here endeavour, by a short 
 account of it, to vindicate this defamed military 
 nursery. 
 
 Gibraltar, the true derivation of whose name 
 would puzzle, I imagine, even antiquarians to 
 ascertain, has very probably been so called from a 
 corruption of the Moorish words Gibbel Hudder, 
 or green mountain, which, in former times, when, 
 as we are told, it was covered with wood, rendered 
 this appellation even more applicable than at 
 present, though even now, its high state of vegeta- 
 
JOUUNLY TO MAKOCCO. 315 
 
 lion to the very summit of the mountain asserts 
 its title, however erroneous the conjecture, to the 
 name of Gibbel Hudder. 
 
 The whole extent of the rock is hardly three 
 miles in length, or a mile at the broadest part. 
 To the north it is connected with Spain by a dead 
 flat isthmus of sand, which has, evidently, in 
 early ages been covered by water, but is yearly 
 increasing its height by the drift-sand, which daily 
 accumulates from the bay, by the force of the 
 westerly wind. This end of the rock is the most 
 imposing aspect it presents. To the dizzy height 
 of three thousand feet, the white lime-stone cliff, 
 shoots lightly, and fountainlike, in perpendicular 
 jets from the stagnant level of the sands, to where 
 its " cloud-capt" head is crowned at the very 
 apex of a cone, by the all-triumphant efforts of 
 aspiring man, who has here planted his engines 
 of destruction. About half-way up this awful 
 precipice, where thousands of hawks are floating 
 on the light and subtle element, are situate the 
 caverns of thunder the galleries. These are too 
 well known to require a minute description; 
 suffice it to say, that, no where has human inge- 
 nuity, labour, and expense been so combined in the 
 accomplishment of a nearly useless undertaking. 
 After a few discharges from these port-holes, the 
 galleries become so suffocating for want of venti- 
 lation, that they are obliged to be abandoned. 
 Let it not, however, be supposed, that they are of 
 no service ; their very name carries its terror into 
 Spain, as their appearance inspires wonder in the 
 
316 JOURNF/V TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 mind of the passing stranger. The eastern side 
 of the rock, which is washed by the Mediter- 
 ranean waters, is in most places as precipitous as 
 the northern end ; at the foot, however, of the 
 overhanging crags, whose falling masses have 
 gradually formed an easier slope, near the water's 
 edge, is imbedded a most picturesque village, 
 called Catalan. A small and convenient bay for 
 boats, presents a refuge for the smuggler and fish- 
 erman, which are two classes that form the 
 society of this place, which is governed by an 
 officer, and a detachment from the garrison. 
 
 At the base of the mountain side to the west- 
 ward, is a considerable extent of level ground, 
 upon which the town of Gibraltar is built. It 
 has, however, in latter years crept gradually up 
 the steep bank of the hill, until a variety of zig- 
 zag roads and stone steps have been found neces- 
 sary to assist the foot passenger in reaching his 
 habitation. 
 
 To the south of the town lie the public gardens 
 or Alamda, of considerable extent, and exquisite 
 beauty. The softness of the climate at Gibraltar 
 is such, that the trees are hardly three months 
 deprived of their foliage, the varied brilliancy of 
 which produces a most enchanting coup d'ml. 
 Two Chinese pavilions are placed at convenient 
 distances, affording retirement from the heat of 
 the sun ; and sentries are posted at various points, 
 to prevent any mutilation of the trees or flowers 
 by the public, who are allowed to wander about 
 these gardens unmolested. Marble seats, and 
 
TO MAKOCTO. 317 
 
 rustic chairs of uneasy-notoriety, beneath the 
 thick shade of a species of white maple, are 
 every where to be found tenanted by hard sitters, 
 and refugee Spanish patriots, who here endeavour 
 to eke "out their short-lived permit,* and smother 
 the recollection of a faithless despot, an enslaved 
 country, and the murder of a family, in long curl- 
 ing clouds of that soothing herb so admirably 
 prepared by one Squintum, of one-eye cigar- 
 making celebrity, whose halfpenny rolls of con- 
 solation are well known to those who have tarried 
 at the rock ; as are also his house, no larger than 
 a cigar-box ; his nightingale ; and last, though 
 not least in the list of his possessions, his prettj 
 daughter, whose small white hand it was thought 
 gave a charm to the tou-rnure of the narcotic 
 roll. But to return to the garden. The walks, and 
 geranium hedges, are kept in the greatest order, 
 and an extensive parade ground, surrounded by 
 walks and trees, spread over a level space, where 
 may be seen to evaporate at almost all hours of 
 the day, the excess of military zeal, beneath 
 the melting influence of a most implacable sun, 
 which here seems to concentrate its fiercest rays, 
 upon the devoted head of the raw subaltern on his 
 initiation into the mysteries of the goose-step. 
 Below this military gridiron, a few small green 
 fields slope easily down to the sea-lines of fortifi- 
 cation. But a few years since, these beautiful 
 gardens were not in being ; a barren waste of sand 
 and rock occupied their present situation. Two 
 
 * Permission to remain in the Garrison. 
 
318 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 well macadamized roads lead you to the southern 
 parts of the rock, both shaded by over-hanging 
 trees. It were in vain to attempt to describe 
 exactly the various beautiful spots, where nature 
 and art have united to please the senses ; at every 
 turn some sweet landscape in miniature attracts 
 the eye. Here, a clematis-embowered cottage, 
 overhung by the frowning craggs, peeps from out 
 a cluster of flowering shrubs and trees : There a 
 little castellated mansion, seated on a table-rock, 
 with perpendicular sides, commands a deep indent, 
 whose rough surface bristles with the green and 
 pointed aloe ; while the more fertile depths below, 
 give nourishment to the elegant banana, and a 
 thousand plants of fragrance and beauty. 
 
 Europa flats, as the southermost parts of Gibral- 
 tar is called, comprises a large extent of easy 
 sloping and flat surface, of a rocky bed, deeply 
 honey-combed with large cavities capable of con- 
 taining sufficient soil to make these flats produce 
 enough vegetable nourishment for the whole gar- 
 rison in case of a siege. I once had the honour of 
 discussing, with an officer of distinction at Gibral- 
 tar, the great advantage that would accrue to the 
 garrison, were these stony flats covered with the 
 mould and scavengering, that is dug from the 
 foundations of the houses in town, and collected 
 in the streets ; when he assured me, that the idea 
 had not escaped the Governor, but that/upon his 
 commencing the work, another department had 
 represented to him the impropriety of such a 
 proceeding, as tending to facilitate the movements 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 319 
 
 of invading troops, in consequence of which the 
 work had been abandoned. This excess of mili- 
 ary caution might be praise-worthy allowing 
 (which it is difficult to do) that an invading enemy 
 is likely ever to be found treading over this 
 ground. It appeared to me, as it will to all who 
 have seen the locale, that an architect might as 
 reasonably object to placing steps to your street- 
 door, on the score of impeding the ingress of a 
 house-breaker. 
 
 At the back of the rock, to the eastward, is the 
 Governor's summer residence, offering, however, 
 nothing remarkable in its construction or situa- 
 tion, being a low, ill-built, half-stone, half- wooden 
 building. On Europa flats, Sir George Don has 
 erected a very handsome hospital, of lofty, cool, and 
 capacious wards, intended as a reserve against the 
 breaking out of any dangerous fever ; where the 
 sick may be nursed without the least fear of 
 infecting the other parts of the rock ; but, thanks 
 to his watchfulness and good arrangements, he 
 has made his own foresight unavailable, as it has 
 never yet been used for the intended purpose. 
 The situation of this building is the one the most 
 appropriate, in my opinion, for the Governor's 
 summer residence. Its exposure to the eastern 
 and western breezes, renders it the coolest situa- 
 tion of the two, and, with no great trouble, the 
 now uncouth, barren surface of the flats might 
 have been laid out into meadows and pleasure 
 grounds, affording a relief to the eye of the sea- 
 
320 JOUHXEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 girt scorpion, * and preventing for the future, (in 
 case of a siege) a recurrence of those deprivations, 
 of which we read in some officer's journal, when 
 onions sold at a shilling a root. This, how- 
 ever, (independant of my proposition to fertilize 
 the flats) can never again be the case, for cultiva- 
 tion has within these late years extended itself 
 most rapidly. The great demand for fruit and 
 vegetables, in the market, has encouraged a num- 
 ber of Genoese to lay out gardens on every patch 
 of rock to be purchased or hired, and by dint of 
 accumulating manure, and scavengering, they have 
 succeeded in covering the rocky bed with a very 
 substantial layer of earth. This, however, is not 
 wanted on all parts of Gibraltar, where there are 
 many parts of great natural depth of soil. The 
 Naval Commissioner's house is built on one of 
 these ; it comprehends several acres of excellent 
 soil, well wooded, with a great variety of fruit, 
 and ornamental trees. The house, for want of a 
 tenant, (the Commissioner generally residing at 
 Malta) is sadly out of repair, but the grounds 
 about it are very beautiful. 
 
 The Cave of St. Michael is one of the lions of 
 Gibraltar, and as it is about two thirds of the way 
 up the mountain-side, it is one of the most 
 disagreeable lions to have to shew to a passing 
 friend. During my residence at the rock, the 
 officers of the garrison subscribed to light up, 
 with candles, the interior of this beautiful place. 
 
 *Name given to the natives of the rock. 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 321 
 
 Some thousands of lights, attached to iron hoops, 
 glimmered through the immense space, whose roof 
 is finely vaulted with natural arches, and in many 
 parts supported by pillars of stallactite formation. 
 The sight was truly gratifying, and reminded me 
 of my early beau ideal of the robber's cave in Gil 
 Bias. The scene was rendered even more wild 
 by the repeated echo of a military band, playing 
 the peculiar music of Der Frieschutz. No one 
 has ever been bold enough, or rather fool enough, 
 to ascertain the extent of this cave, which by the 
 vulgar, is believed to extend under the straits to 
 Apes Hill on the Barbary coast, and by this route, 
 they also affirm that the monkeys enter Gibraltar, 
 where this likeness of man is indigenous. 
 
 It is worthy remark, that these animals have 
 never been got to breed on the adjoining Andalu- 
 sian mountains, nor in any other part of Europe. 
 They are protected at Gibraltar, by military law, 
 and consequently very tame. Troops of them may 
 be seen at any time sitting, chattering by the 
 road-side, laying deep designs for the plunder of 
 some fig-tree. There is one amongst them of a 
 very superior size ; he stands, or rather sits, up- 
 wards of three feet high, and has received from 
 the garrison, the dignified appellation of town- 
 major. As this venerable old gentleman has been 
 seen almost every day during these eight years to 
 rny knowledge, it would be curious to ascertain 
 the natural period of a monkey's life. When 
 caught by the Moors on Apes Hill, these creatures 
 become very tame and sociable. They have, 
 
 Y 
 
322 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 however, been known to escape occasionally from 
 the chain of slavery, and make for the heights, 
 anticipating, no doubt, a kind reception from 
 those of their own species enjoying the blessings 
 of freedom ; but alas, monkeys, like men, are but 
 too apt to shun the persecuted wretch, and the 
 old town major on these occasions, refuses the 
 necessary permit, shrinking with horror from the 
 base slave who has grown weary of his chain ; so 
 that the poor refugee is fain to return to his 
 owner, and submit himself to the mercy of this 
 tyranny. One of our officers had one of these 
 apes, the most, good-natured and sagacious one I 
 have ever seen ; he had a knack of knitting his 
 brows, while employed in anything he found dif- 
 ficult to accomplish, or comprehend, that gave his 
 countenance an intelligence quite human. 
 
 The town of Gibraltar has increased in size 
 most wonderfully, within these few late years. 
 The enormous profits on the contraband trade, 
 carried into Spain, has made Gibraltar one of the 
 most mercantile towns in the Mediterranean, and 
 with the increase of wealth has arisen the desire 
 for luxury, which has induced the merchants to 
 build handsome houses, and keep up appropriate 
 establishments. I remember when, but a few 
 years ago, the governor's carriage was almost 
 the only vehicle of the kind on the rock, but now 
 every opulent merchant rolls out in the evening in 
 his barouche or tilbury, and a regular stage coach 
 conveyance is established between the Rock and 
 St. Roque, in Spain. The streets have been laid 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 323 
 
 out with more attention to public convenience and 
 health, well paved and lighted, and regularly 
 cleansed twice a day of all nuisance and dirt, by a 
 scavengering department, which is strictly at- 
 tended to. By these means the town has become 
 a remarkably neat, comfortable place of residence, 
 and nothing can exceed the high state of health 
 of the people. Since the arrival of Sir George 
 Don, the Lieutenant Governor at that place, it has 
 not been visited by any sickness. The first care 
 of that sensible person was the opening, cleansing, 
 and repairing of the sewers of the town, which, 
 from their choaked state, had been the means of 
 annually breeding a fever. To re-capitulate the 
 various benefits conferred on the garrison of Gi- 
 braltar by the tasteful and energetic improvements 
 of Sir George Don, would be nearly as endless 
 as the minute description of the locale of that sin- 
 gular place, where every foot of ground owns 
 some share of his protecting hand : the beautiful 
 roads, gardens, promenades, and plantations, will 
 do honour to his unremitting attention to public 
 comfort and convenience, long after he has ceased 
 to be their guardian ; and the soldier who may 
 one day be cooped up in this little paradise by a 
 siege, will sincerely thank him who has made his 
 prison so agreeable a retreat. Each year brings 
 with it some new plan of improvement, so that 
 the mechanism of a watch is not a more compact 
 piece of art than this little kingdom, where the 
 strictest military duty is enforced, and where the 
 young soldier learns the first principle of his pro- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 JOUKNLY TO MA ROC CO. 
 
 fession punctuality, better than in any other 
 colony or garrison in the world. 
 
 Amongst the few improvements of public bene- 
 fit still wanting to perfect this almost impregnable 
 fortress, is a plentiful supply of fresh water ; an 
 article of necessity and convenience, the abun- 
 dant use of which conduces in all hot climates to 
 the health of the inhabitants. Gibraltar is at 
 present supplied by wells, into which the leak of 
 the rock in the rainy season is collected ; but this, 
 though fostered with care, is often barely suffi- 
 cient for the consumption of the garrison, and en- 
 tirely depends upon the quantity of rain which 
 falls during the rainy season, or rather upon the 
 continuance of wet weather, by which the water 
 is enabled to soak into the clefts of the rock. 
 
 It appears to me, that no expense would be 
 too great to lavish, in affording the free and un- 
 limited use of this essential article of life ; and 
 there are two means by which it might be effected. 
 The one, by constructing a most extensive tank 
 near the public gardens, capable of containing an 
 almost unbounded supply; and, the other, by in- 
 troducing the water from some excellent spring 
 lately discovered within our lines on the neutral 
 ground, by means of a subterranean aqueduct of 
 a sufficient depth and strength to prevent its being 
 cut off by any sudden attack of an enemy ; though 
 the proximity of the springs to the guns of the 
 rock would sufficiently prevent the possibility of 
 even such an attempt, and still more so of any 
 continued work of destruction. Which of these 
 
JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 32-"> 
 
 two might be effected with least expense I am not 
 capable of deciding. It appears to me the latter. 
 The former, however, would have the advantage, 
 by its situation of supplying with equal ease both 
 ends of the rock, and also the public gardens, 
 which would be greatly benefited by its neigh- 
 bourhood. The cost, however, of either method 
 would, I imagine, be amply defrayed in a few 
 years by a tax on the inhabitants, who are now 
 obliged to undergo an inconceivable expense in 
 providing themselves with water from the neutral 
 ground, by means of mule carriage. 
 
 The climate of Gibraltar is decidedly a very 
 healthy one, and during the winter and spring 
 months, a very agreeable one ; the greatest 
 drawback to it being the cloudy cap which over- 
 hangs the rock during an easterly wind. This, 
 however heavy it causes the air to feel to weak 
 lungs or diseased liver, is often a great protection 
 from the violent heat of the mid-day sun in sum- 
 mer. During the continuance of this wind, most 
 people are overcome by a nerveless lassitude of 
 body and mind. Wine bottled off at such a time, 
 turns sour, gold lace turns black, from its damp, 
 meat becomes soon putrid, and even the monkeys 
 leave their haunts, and come low down the moun- 
 tain to the western side, to shun the baneful 
 breeze. Various philosophical reasons have been 
 assigned as the cause of this cloud-collecting capa- 
 city of the rock of Gibraltar; but for the informa- 
 tion of those whose minds are not equally clouded 
 with speculative theories, I shall here venture to as- 
 
326 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 sert that the particular shape and height of the 
 rock combine to create a species of whirlwind of 
 currents, from which the dense vapour of the Le- 
 vant wind is unable for a short time to escape ; 
 and thus, being collected, forms a dark cloud. 
 They who know the peculiar form of this half- 
 mountain, and have ever watched the progress of 
 the thousand beautiful circles into which the 
 vapour is wreathed around its rugged brow, during 
 a Levanter; will find little difficulty in accepting 
 this explanation of what at first sight appears so 
 extraordinary. 
 
 The sources of amusement at Gibraltar are 
 more various than prolific. A pack of fox-hounds 
 turns out twice a week during the season, fol- 
 lowed by many who can (but more who cannot) 
 ride. But, however, notwithstanding the number 
 of foxes, and their unstopped earths, (which are 
 death to a long run) the adventures of the day are 
 as merrily canvassed over the bottle as those of 
 Melton. A small theatre, in which a very tole- 
 rable company of Spanish players are generally 
 to be found, affords amusement to the lovers of 
 the Spanish tongue ; here, also, the amateur 
 performers of the garrison are in the habit of exhi- 
 biting their dramatic powers. During the winter, 
 garrison balls are held at the library rooms. 
 These were but badly attended, owing to a very 
 mistaken notion of dignity on the part of the 
 military, who have always scorned the society of 
 the mercantile part of the community at this 
 place; by which the society had been under a 
 
JOURNKT TO MAROCCO. 327 
 
 continual restraint. Upon our arrival there, we 
 set our faces against this illiberality, and I was 
 deputed by the regiment as their committee-man, 
 to bring about a reform. It is difficult to imagine 
 the strength of opposition I had to overcome, and 
 the number of enemies I made in the faithful dis- 
 charge of my duty amongst the military fair sex 
 or Amazons, many of whom declared their firm 
 determination of never again dancing at these 
 balls ; others would not give their hands in the 
 dance to any lady but an Amazon ; and all joined 
 in declaring the balls would be given up, but 
 alas! neither the threats nor the prophecies of 
 those who were that night made wall-flowers, 
 were able to stem the current of mercantile new 
 comers, which poured into the rooms upon the 
 commencement of the season, since which, the 
 fair aristocrats have been obliged (after a few vain 
 endeavours to regain their dominion) to lay aside 
 their arms, and make common cause with the res- 
 pectable classes of the merchants. This union of 
 all parties has formed a larger and more agree- 
 able society of that which before was neither one 
 nor the other. 
 
 Rowing, riding, and shooting, are the chief 
 pastimes of the garrison, and a cricket club, and 
 racket court sum up the list -of Gibraltar attrac- 
 tions. 
 
 There is but little game to be found in the vi- 
 cinity of the rock ; the sportsmen are therefore 
 obliged to seek it on the Barbary coast, where it 
 abounds. Tetuan, or as the Moors call it Tetauon, 
 
328 JOURXhlY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 is the resort of those who follow this sport. 
 During the winter of 1825, I joined a party to go 
 to this place. We laid in a stock of provisions 
 for three weeks, and went on board a Genoese 
 beef boat, as those are termed which supply Gi- 
 braltar with cattle from the Barbary coast. We 
 had been detained several days, by contrary winds 
 which had at last turned to a strong north-wester, 
 but it blew so hard that the Captain declared his 
 determination of not putting to sea. It was in 
 vain we used all the means of gentle persuasion, 
 to induce him to weigh anchor; so convinced did 
 he seem of the inability of the Santa Maria to 
 weather the gale. I therefore tried what ridicule 
 could effect, and it succeeded, for after calling the 
 Genoese land lubbers who were all afraid of bad 
 weather, the fellow called upon all the saints he 
 could remember to vouch for his courage ; swore 
 in every Patois between Genoa and the rock ; 
 stamped about the deck like a maniac ; threw 
 down his jacket and jumped on it ; beat out the 
 crown of his hat upon the stock of the spare 
 anchor ; and, having thrown it over-board, imme- 
 diately got under weigh, declaring he was no 
 more afraid to die thau ourselves. Once before 
 the wind, under snug canvass, he soon saw how 
 vain had been his fears, and as the Santa Maria 
 danced merrily along the racing waves, the 
 Captain, with that ready return of good humour 
 for which his countrymen are proverbial, laughed 
 and joked about the fate of his best beaver. 
 Six hours brought us to the mouth of the Te- 
 
JOURNKY TO MAROCCO. 329 
 
 tuan river ; which having a bar of sand across 
 it, is impassable at low water (as it then was.) 
 We anchored our little boat, and awaited the 
 return of day, to enter the river. Having ob- 
 obtained permission from the Basha of Tetuan 
 to land on the following morning, we accordingly 
 repaired on shore at an early hour, and took 
 up our abode in some apartments, belonging 
 the English Vice Consul, (a Jew) which were 
 situated over a custom-house, standing on the 
 bank of the river's mouth. This river, in summer 
 a mere stream, is navigable for barges only beyond 
 the custom-house towards the town, a distance of 
 about four miles in a direct line. The surround- 
 ing country consists of an extensive plain, bounded 
 by a range of beautiful mountains, which AH 
 Bey imagined to be connected with the minor 
 chain of the Atlas, near Marocco. On a south- 
 ern slope of one of these, and at the gorge of a 
 mountain pass to the eastward, is built the town 
 of Tetuan, judiciously placed as commanding the 
 above-mentioned pass, the only approach to the 
 interior from the coast, and the only route by 
 which an enemy from the interior could attempt 
 to surprise the fertile country around the town. 
 As regards the healthful ness of the situation, 
 nothing can surpass it ; exposed as it is to a con- 
 tinued current of air from the east or west, it 
 enjoys a most temperate climate. 
 
 Tetuan may be said to contain between forty 
 and fifty thousand inhabitants, one half of which, 
 at least, are Jews. It boasts of nothing different 
 
330 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 from other Moorish towns in point of structure. 
 It is surrounded by a wall of no very great thick- 
 ness, on the summit of which are planted some 
 crazy pieces of ordnance, which by the Moors 
 are thought very terrfic, as they have been 
 several times made subservient to the ambition of 
 rebel Bashas, who have generally succeeded in 
 setting the Sultan's power at defiance for a time, 
 until treachery, or blind faith in the promises of 
 pardon which Sultans are never known to keep 
 with their subjects, have brought them to the 
 bastinado. As Tetuan is so far from the seat of 
 Government, and is possessed of such natural ad- 
 vantages, its inhabitants are a very radical set. 
 The town is well-watered by excellent streams 
 and springs, and contains many large houses of a 
 better style of architecture than those of Tangiers. 
 Tetuan was governed by a Basha, at that time in 
 the person of Hash Hash, whom I have already 
 mentioned. He is a man of great shrewdness, 
 and has a turn for splendour. In his person he is 
 short and fat, and his complexion is deeply 
 marked with the small-pox, but to a good set of 
 features is added the lustre of a pair of dark 
 hazel brown eyes, of wonderful vivacity and ex- 
 pression, which contrasted singularly with the 
 vis inertia which seemed to root his leaden frame 
 to his cushioned seat beyond the power of motion. 
 He received us with some little state in the garden 
 of his palace, where, in front of an orange grove, 
 he had ensconced himself in a small open alcove, 
 with a minister and secretary on either side, whose 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 331 
 
 pretensions to the attributes of the fat kind, were 
 as undoubted as those of their master. Having 
 already sent our little conciliatory offerings, con- 
 sisting of some tea, sugar, broad cloth, and japan- 
 ned tea trays, (the latter of which are held in high 
 estimation by their women), we were invited to 
 seat ourselves in the alcove, while the Jewish 
 representative of Great Britain, trembling with 
 fear before the keen glance of the Basha, acted 
 the part of interpreter between us. His Highness, 
 after many neatly turned compliments, promised 
 us his protection while we remained in the coun- 
 try, and appointed a Caid to attend us in our 
 sport to shew us the best covers for game. Some 
 excellent tea, and a variety of preserves and cakes, 
 then made their appearance on the head of a 
 black eunuch, who, having set down the tray on 
 the floor, made three salaams, bowing his head to 
 the earth, and then backed out of the presence. 
 In the centre of the chequered black and white 
 pavement of the marble floor, was a small mur- 
 muring fountain of the clearest spring-water, 
 which at any other time than the present (a cold 
 day in November) would have added greatly to 
 our entertainment, but it was now an inducement 
 for us to hurry over our interview, by swallowing 
 with more haste than discretion, our scalding tea. 
 During our residence at the custom-house we 
 had an opportunity of witnessing the wonderful 
 progress of a deluge in a mountainous district of 
 this country. We had retired to rest one night 
 at eleven o'clock, when the weather exhibited no 
 
332 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 signs of an approaching storm. Towards twelve 
 o'clock, however, a sudden explosion of the three 
 volatile elements aroused us from our slumber: 
 between the howling wind and the terrific bursts 
 of thunder which succeeded each other with 
 amazing rapidity, it seemed doubtful which 
 would first level our mud-built house to the foun- 
 dation ; whilst an increasing glare of vivid light- 
 ning, shooting through the narrow loop-holes of 
 our tenement, served rather to warn us that water 
 was the enemy most to be feared ; for the 
 unresisting quality of our mud-walls soon yielded 
 to the torrents of rain that spouted from every 
 point of the heavens, and kept us continually 
 employed during the night in shifting our beds 
 from one part of the floor to another, to avoid the 
 encroaching influx which dropped from the cracks 
 of our sun-baked roof. The violence of the hurri- 
 cane, however, soon subsided, and vented its 
 gusty rage in floods of tears. At an early hour 
 on the following morning, upon peeping through 
 the loop-holes, we discovered the dreadful effects 
 of the late storm. The small patch of rising 
 ground on which the custom-house stood, was 
 completely insulated by a sheet of water four feet 
 deep, covering the whole plain to the base of the 
 neighbouring mountains, and bearing on its turbid 
 surface the varied wreck of the adjoining country. 
 The meandering tract of the tranquil stream, 
 that had on the preceding evening glided so 
 smoothly within its narrow channel, might now 
 be traced writhing in mighty folds, like some 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 333 
 
 huge serpent, through the wide sea around it, and 
 drawing within its vortex the larger masses of 
 those lighter materials of vegetation, which the 
 force of attraction had collected in their drifting 
 course. Thus many a chip of the old block might 
 be seen rallying around the parent log, and many 
 a straw placing its dependence on a broken reed. 
 The vessels lying in the river the evening before, 
 were now riding at anchor in an open sea, and upon 
 the subsiding of the waters were left hard and fast 
 upon the dry land, many fathoms from the banks 
 of the river. In a very few hours this prodigious 
 accumulation of water had entirely disappeared ; 
 the truant river, as if exhausted by its late efforts, 
 again sunk back within its muddy banks. The 
 black moor hen regained its rushy haunts, and 
 the milk-white heron was feasting on those of the 
 finny race, which the deceitful flood had left 
 struggling in muddy pools over the surface of the 
 country. The sudden irruption of the flood as 
 well as its departure, was marked by its victims, 
 the hares and rabbits that lay drowned on the plain, 
 which was enriched by an alluvial deposit nearly 
 a foot thick. This unfavourable state of the 
 ground for sporting, put an end to our further pro- 
 gress in that pastime, and we therefore prepared 
 to return to Gibraltar, and for that purpose en- 
 gaged for our passage on board the Buena Ventura, 
 a felucca bound to the rock. 
 
 The lavish propensities of our purse-proud 
 countrymen, have, it is well known, given us in all 
 parts of the world, the credit of being inexhausti- 
 
334 JOURNEY TO MAKOCCO. 
 
 ble in our pecuniary supplies. This is, perhaps, 
 the greatest drawback from the pleasure of travel- 
 ling in foreign countries, to those who are fain to 
 let their left hand know what their right hand 
 gives away. In Spain, an Englishman has to 
 fight as stoutly in asserting his poverty as in de- 
 fending his riches, so convinced do the people of 
 that country feel that John's pocket is possessed 
 of the same replenishing property as the purse of 
 Fortunatus. No sooner had we made known our 
 intention of departure, than we were beset on 
 every side by both Moors and Jews in common 
 alliance to grow rich at our expense, while in 
 sharing the prize-money, the Moor invariably 
 pounced upon half the Jew's gain, as a tax upon 
 the Israelite for his permission to pillage their 
 common guest the Christian. During a most 
 violent altercation between two Jews for the pos- 
 session of a farthing, which might- have ended in 
 bloodshed, had not a Moorish soldier decided the 
 dispute by beating severely both the combatants 
 and pocketing the bone of contention, we took 
 the opportunity offered to us of taking our un- 
 observed departure, and jumping on board the 
 Buena Ventura, pushed her from the shore, as a 
 gentle south-wester swelled the sails, and aided 
 her to drop down to the mouth of the river. 
 Having passed the castle, a large square building, 
 crowned at the four corners with dome-roofed 
 towers, and planted with cannon, we stood out to 
 sea. The morning was clear and fine, and as the 
 wind freshened, our Felucca glided swiftly along 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 335 
 
 the yet unbroken level of her watery way, while 
 the bold outlines of the Tetuan mountains faded 
 from the eye, and the white cliffs of the pointed 
 rock became the object of our anticipation. No 
 sooner had we shot past the rugged head land, of 
 Ceuta's heights, than the wind was found to sweep 
 in angry squalls along the troubled surface of the 
 irritable straights, and our little vessel, now under 
 close-reefed sails, struggled hard to weather the 
 freshening gale. The current of the straights, 
 aided by the westerly wind, combined with a 
 chopping sea to set us so much to leeward, 
 that it became necessary to make several boards 
 to windward before we could venture into the mid- 
 channel of the stream, by which delay, the evening 
 wore fast away before we finally made for the 
 rock, and the pale sickly sun hurried to rest be- 
 hind a curtain of dark and windy clouds. The 
 disagreeable motion of the Felucca, soon sent me 
 below a victim to its sickening effects, where I 
 crept into the Captain's stinking birth, and en- 
 deavoured to forget my present misery, in my 
 hopes of a speedy release, until I fell asleep. 
 
 A hurried noise of feet and voices over my head 
 aroused me from my slumber, and hearing some 
 difference of opinion between the Captain and 
 his crew, as to the feasibility of weathering 
 Europa point, to double which it was necessary in 
 order to enable us to reach the anchorage, and per- 
 ceiving that the confusion increased, I crept from 
 my hiding place and sprang upon deck, when the 
 unexpected danger of our situation was but too 
 
336 JOUUVHY TO MAUOCCO. 
 
 apparent to the eye of one accustomed to naval 
 affairs. The point which the Captain was desi- 
 rous of weathering lay right a-head of us about 
 sixty yards distant. The wind would not allow 
 of the vessel's being closer hauled, and to every 
 two yards she made of head way, a boisterous 
 sea and a violent current were setting her a 
 foot to leeward of her course ; under such cir- 
 cumstances it was impossible she could double 
 the head land before us. I instantly called to 
 the Captain, pointing out the madness of at- 
 tempting it, bidding him to put his helm hard 
 dow r n, and go about while he had room enough 
 left him, or he must infalliably run on the rocks ; 
 but his anxiety to reach the anchorage of the 
 bay before night, had blinded his better sense, 
 and he hastily replied, that he would still try it. 
 For a few seconds he clung to hope of success, 
 but the dreadful conviction of tke truth of my 
 warning, rushed suddenly into his mind, and he 
 put his helm hard down. It was now, however, 
 too late ; the felucca had been kept so close to the 
 wind that she had not sufficient way on her to 
 stem the fury of head sea, she faltered in the 
 wind and then fell off. The helm was immedi- 
 ate shifted to wear her, but we were now so near 
 the rocky cliff that she had not sea-room, and the 
 anchor became our only chance of salvation from 
 instant destruction. Happily, indeed, for us, the 
 tenacious emblem of hope had no sooner reached 
 the bottom, than, guided by the hand of some 
 kind Peri, it hooked in a cavity of the rocky bed 
 
JOLKNKY TO MAROCCO. 337 
 
 below, and the next moment found us riding, 
 with an almost up and down cable, in a most 
 frightful situation. Within a few yards of our 
 starboard side arose the bold overhanging cliff 
 against which the sea was dashing its fullest force. 
 Close astern lay a sharp, pointed, sunken rock, 
 over which the effervescent waters rose and fell 
 with angry growls, like some, huge monster dis- 
 playing its foaming jaws to a devoted victim. 
 
 Our little bark, thus bound by the nose, pitched 
 headlong into each succeeding wave, and rolled 
 so heavily that it was with difficulty we were 
 able to keep our footing; the rigging had become 
 entangled, that the huge latteen yards, totally 
 unrestrained, swung to and fro with prodigious 
 violence, threatening momentarily to dash out our 
 brains; our dogs ran howling about the decks, 
 and the boatmen, who had given themselves up 
 from the first t to childish despair, went stamping 
 about the vessel, alternately swearing, praying, 
 calling on all their patron saints with vehemence, 
 beating their breasts, and teaiing their hair. One 
 fellow in particular, a Maltese, whose prodigious 
 herculean brawn of shoulders had in the morning 
 excited our admiration, now fell on his knees, and 
 blubbered like a child. The light of day had 
 ceased to enliven the western horizon, and the 
 black clouds which were gathering around the 
 prophetic brow of the Barbary mountains, 
 announced a heavy gale. The fury with which 
 the sea burst around and over the bow of our v.-v. 
 M.-1, forbadr the slightest expectation tlr.it our 
 
 z 
 
338 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 anchor could hold out much longer, and the 
 dreadful alternative of being dashed against the 
 rocks astern of us in the dead of the night, 
 presented indeed a frightful prospect. My com- 
 panions inquired anxiously of me, as one more 
 conversant with naval tactics than themselves, my 
 opinion of the extent of danger to be apprehended. 
 But little consolation was I prepared to offer 
 them ; for the disorder of the felucca, the peculi- 
 arity of her situation, and the cowardly despair 
 of our sailors, made me abandon all thoughts of 
 safety ; then and there for the first time in my 
 life did I see destruction staring me so fully in 
 the face, that I abandoned all hope, and could 
 only contemplate the idea of a painful death. 
 There is, however, in the worst of conditions a 
 reaction of the mind, which often reanimates it 
 with increased vigour, of which ingenuity is the 
 happy offspring. A sudden thought darted across 
 my mind at this critical moment, and aroused me 
 from the torpor of hopelessness by which I had 
 been overcome ; and, with as much avidity as the 
 drowning man catching at a straw, did I seize on 
 the transient chance of salvation. Calling to the 
 Captain, I asked, "What he proposed attemp- 
 ting? he replied, "That he knew not what to do, 
 but hoped that our anchor might yet save us 
 through the night. I then pointed out to him the 
 fallacy of such an idea, and the inevitable death 
 that awaited us, if we parted from our anchor in 
 the dark. I also told him that I had formerly 
 belonged to his profession, and still remembered 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 339 
 
 something of naval affairs ; that if he and his men 
 would place themselves implicitly under my 
 directions, I would undertake to save them and 
 the vessel. 
 
 The Captain was luckily in that state of despair 
 which urges a man to listen to any consolation, 
 and he therefore readily agreed to devolve on me 
 the entire command, whereupon, I represented to 
 my companions that I was about to attempt a 
 manoeuvre which I hoped might succeed in saving 
 us, but that failing to do so, they must expect to 
 be wrecked on the rock a-stern, but, that as there 
 was not the most distant hope of our being able 
 to ride out the night at anchor, it would, at any 
 rate be preferable that the worst should happen 
 before it became quite dark, as there might then 
 be a chance of saving ourselves by dropping from 
 the mast-head on the rocks, before the vessel 
 would either sink or go to pieces. They unani- 
 mously declared their determination of abiding by 
 the consequences whether good or bad of my at- 
 tempt. Close a-stern as I before-mentioned, lay 
 a sunken rock distant about three yards, and but 
 a few yards further was a rocky cliff crossing our 
 stern and reaching as far as our larboard quarter. 
 The object then was, to get under weigh without 
 making the smallest degree of stern-way, or with- 
 out drifting bodily to leeward, either of which 
 would send us a wreck on the above-mentioned 
 rocks. For this purpose, then, I ordered the 
 boatmen to run out a rope with a jambing hitch 
 on the cable, by means of a long spar, and by 
 
 72 
 
340 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 leading the opposite end of this rope in at the 
 quarter of the vessel, I formed what sailors term, 
 a spring on the cable, by hawling on which, and 
 at the same time slacking the other, the Felucca 
 would be brought to present her broadside to the 
 sea instead of her bow, and consequently in a 
 position ready to make sail with the wind on the 
 beam. The success of this manoeuvre, it must 
 be observed, depended greatly upon the Felucca 
 proving lively and gathering weigh the instant she 
 would be loosened from hold, as on the contrary 
 two waves were sufficient to dash her on the cliff. 
 Having arranged this with some difficulty, I sta- 
 tioned a man at the bow with an axe, ready to cut 
 away the cable the instant I should give the sig- 
 nal, and two others stood ready to hoist the jib 
 and mizen. ' I then anxiously watched for a mo- 
 mentary lull of the sea, and hawled in upon the 
 spring until I brought the vessel's broadside to the 
 wind, at the same time making sail on her. No 
 sooner did I perceive that she felt the weight of 
 her canvass and seemed to struggle for deliver- 
 ance, than I gave the momentous word of cam- 
 mand corta down went the axe, and the severed 
 cable flew like distended indian-rubber, from the 
 bows. For a few moments, a breathless anxiety 
 for the doubtful issue of the stroke which still 
 sounded in our ears, pervaded every countenance. 
 The scales of life and death were so finely poised, 
 that a hair might have turned the balance in favour 
 of cither; never shall I forget the dreadful uncer- 
 tainty of those few seconds ! the looks of those 
 
JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 341 
 
 around me seemed already to reproach me with 
 that rash presumption which threatened only to 
 hasten their destruction. Awhile, the Felucca 
 paused, but fortunately being very light, a violent 
 gust of wind gave the propelling launch, and 
 shooting a-head like a hound slipped from a leash, 
 she cleared the dreaded cliff to leeward and 
 shaving within a few feet of the angry point, 
 bounded into safe water and seemed to dance for 
 very joy at her deliverance. Who was there at 
 that moment amongst us, whose heart did not 
 overflow with thankfulness to the divine will, 
 which had permitted us to escape from a situation, 
 that but a few short minutes before had appeared 
 perfectly hopeless ? Another half-hour found us 
 comfortably gathered around the cheerful blaze 
 of the Commandant's hospitable hearth at Catalan. 
 So short had been the whole scene, and so rapid 
 the vicissitude, that I could hardly persuade 
 myself of our real safety, which resembled one of 
 those joyous dreams of imbittered bliss, when the 
 dreamer even in sleep mistrusts the too delicious 
 creations of his sportive fancy. 
 
342 JOURNEY TO MAKQCTO. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Royal Welch Fusiliers leave Gibraltar for 
 Lisbon. 
 
 THE day at last arrived when the Royal Welch 
 Fusiliers were to leave the rock. At two clock, 
 the companies fell in with their usual precision 
 and regularity in heavy marching order, full of 
 health and spirits, and as ardent in their hopes of 
 soon distinguishing themselves, as any body of men 
 could be ; never was there a finer, more enthusi- 
 astic, well-trained, highly disciplined corps pre- 
 pared to follow, to any danger, a body of officers 
 as ready to lead them on ; never have I witnessed 
 such a general feeling of union as existed between 
 the officers and men of this truly noble corps. At 
 the well known word of command, whcih they have 
 never been known to disobey under any circum- 
 stances, forward the whole moved off with that 
 smooth firm step for which the regiment is remark- 
 able,* and attended by the cheering multitude, 
 proceeding to the water port landing-place where 
 
 * A lady of distinction at Gibraltar, observed that she always 
 recognized the 23d. when passing under the window, by their 
 gentlemanlike step. 
 
JOl'HN'KY TO MAROCCO. 343 
 
 they embarked on board of the boats prepared to 
 convey them to the Windsor Castle. I cannot, 
 however, take leave of my brother officers with- 
 out first expressing my deep regret at being 
 obliged to sever myself from a band of hearts as 
 sincere, warm, and attached, as ever pushed the 
 merry bottle round a mess-table. One character 
 and one feeling of union and fellowship pervaded 
 this unrivalled body of officers. A stranger would 
 have thought they had been culled from the 
 flower of the army ; for size, strength, manly 
 beauty, and vigorous health, nothing could sur- 
 pass them. To see the splendid and truly hospi- 
 table board of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, laden 
 with its costly plate, and surrounded by such a 
 blaze of manly perfection, arrayed in the splendid 
 uniform of the corps, and to hear the merry laugh 
 and joke pass round in harmony, while good 
 humour still lurked among the dregs of the last 
 bottle was one of the most exhilarating and grati- 
 fying sights that the eye of a British soldier can 
 witness. I must here compliment the com- 
 mander of the corps Colonel Pearson, upon his 
 admirable system of uniting his officers, by en- 
 couraging the social union of the mess-table, 
 without endeavouring to check that liberal and 
 independant conversation which is the foundation 
 of the noble spirit which places the British officer 
 so much above those of other nations, while it 
 incites him from motives of responsibility and 
 personal honour to deeds of superior daring. 
 His determination also to discountenance all 
 
344 JOURNEY TO MAROCCO. 
 
 quarrelling, has created a common feeling of dis- 
 approbation in the regiment against all dissen- 
 tions, while the general opinion of the officers 
 against whose judgment there is no appeal, is 
 the arbiter of all momentary differences. How 
 superior is this goldearule for deciding right from 
 wrong to the leaden arguments of the duellist, 
 formerly so much in vogue in the army that every 
 fool who failed by other means to counter-balance 
 the scale of sense and justice, might throw his 
 pistols into the opposite one of ignorance and 
 oppression. 
 

 
For Description of this Rat, which was striped brown and 
 yellow, Vide page 183. 
 
 s 
 
 The accompanying engraving of a Spider is from a drawing I 
 made from life of this insect which I caught at Mogadore, and 
 I have here inserted it on account of its behaviour when taken 
 by me ; never have I witnessed so much natural fierceness in so 
 small a body. So far from endeavouring to escape from me, 
 upon being touched from behind with a stick, it turned sud- 
 denly round and bit it with the utmost virulence; and when placed 
 on a table, it remained continually facing me, disdaining to run 
 away, and literally rushing on to the attack when any thing ap- 
 proached it. The Moors declared it was venomous. The colour 
 was of an Indian red. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A. Vide Page 124. 
 
 This species of tarantula is, I imagine, the same as that of which 
 Ali Bey makes mention as having caught one at Marocco, and 
 which he believed to have been a hitherto unknown species, and 
 which he greatly regretted having subsequently lost. Upon ar- 
 riving in England, I wished to present this tarantula to the 
 British Museum, but I could not gather any information concern- 
 ing it, nor indeed were the spiders of that collection ever ar- 
 ranged ; I therefore decided upon sending it to the Society at 
 Paris, where pursuits of Natural History are more enthusiastically 
 followed than in this country, and for this purpose I consigned it 
 to the keeping of Monsieur Le Due de Montebello, who promised 
 to present it to the Society, and afterwards acquaint me with the 
 opinion of that body as to the class to which it belonged ; but I 
 much fear that my tarantula has met the same fate as that of 
 Ali Bey's, as the Due Montebello has never done me the honour 
 of communicating with me, though I since addressed him a note 
 begging to know the issue (whether fortunate or otherwise) of his 
 undertaking. 
 
 Appendix, B. 
 
 The quotation in question is from a description of the English 
 national character, given by a native to a philosopher, Lucidoro, 
 in a most amusing and clever little Spanish work, entitled La 
 Viage de la Razon. As the work is probably but little known in 
 England, and as I consider its remarks a very fair satire, I have 
 here subjoined the extract from which I have drawn my quotation. 
 " Hallose alii un Milord mui instruido, y mui amable, que se di- 
 vertio, y rio a costa de su propio pais. ' Nosotros, dixo, soraos 
 inconstantes, como el elemento que nos circunda : no tenemos de 
 
348 APPENDIX. 
 
 estable sino un fondo de taciturnidad, de la que es mui dificil 
 despojarnos. Llegamos a una Ciudad con el animo de parmane- 
 cer alii seis meses, y salimos de ella al dia siguiente. Esto pro- 
 viene de una inquietud natural, que nos atormenta, y de la que 
 no podemos librarnos, no obstante todo nuestro fanatismo en 
 favor de la libertad. En otro tiempo nos amaban por nuestro 
 dinero; pero nos ban enganado tantas veces, que nos hemos 
 hecho tan economicos, como desconfiados. 
 
 Quisieramos viajar continuamente ; y por lo comun, en todos 
 nuestros viages no vemos, ni tratamos sino con Ingleses : Uso 
 ridiculo, que nace de una excesiva preocupacion en favor de 
 nosotros mismos, y del temor de que nos traten. Nosotros ama- 
 mos la Francia, y aborrecemos a los Franceses : aprendemos con 
 todo cuidado su lengua, y solo es para no hablarla. Solo apreci- 
 amos nuestro pais, y no podemos parar en el : nuestras mismas 
 mugeres corren en busca de otras regiones, dexando su patria. 
 Nosotros a ninguno faltamos ; pero estamos siempre sobre el 
 quien vive, recelosos de que los demas nos falten. Jamas se 
 hallan entre nosotros deudas, ni querellas ; pero no dexamos de 
 tener pesares. Nuestras despedidas son tan secas, como nues- 
 tras Ilegadas : dexamos a las mugeres el cuidado de enterne- 
 cerse. 
 
 Si hablaraos poco, es porque se nos repite continuamente, que 
 las mugeres son las que nacieron para hablar, y los hombres para 
 pensar. Leemos con mucho gusto ; pero en nuestras lecturas, lo 
 mismo que'en nuestros modales; preferimos lo singular, y aim lo 
 estrano. 
 
 Nosotros no somos humanos ; sino parque gustamos del he- 
 roismo ; y amamos el placer, sin conocer el deleite. Es mui 
 raro entre nosotros el que aprueba lo que no se asemeja a nuestras 
 Icyes, y costumbres ; pero nosotros nos conformamos sin violencia 
 a los usos de los otros paises, queriendo, esto no obstante, que yd 
 sea en el corte del vestido, y yd en el modo de presentarnos, 
 eonozcan que somos Ingleses. 
 
 Pocas veces se nos adula, quando nos alaban. Los aplauso* 
 entre nosotros tienen algo de baxeza, y abatimiento. 
 
 El patriotismo es nuestra pasion dominante, y la libertad, 
 nuestro elemcnto ; y si se nos trata de entusiastas sobre este 
 
APPENDIX. 349 
 
 punto, es porque no sabemos el arle de persuadir. Hai siempre 
 entre nosotros algo de ansteridad, que disminuye cl merito de 
 nuestros sentimientos, y gustos. 
 
 Somos capaces de las ciencias mas sublimes, aunque somos 
 demasiado esclavos de nuestros Autores. 
 
 Llevamos la amistad hasta el ultimo termino, pero esto es 
 quando estamos asegurados de un amigo por una larga serie da 
 anos ; y asi sucede, que morimos, por lo comun, antes de lograr 
 nuestra confianza.' " 
 
 Appendix. C. 
 
 A specimen of this stone, which covers all the plain around 
 Marocco, I brought to England, but finding the same difficulty 
 as I did concerning the tarantula, I at last sent it by a servant 
 with some other fossils to a private mineralogist, -with strict injunc- 
 tions to deliver this specimen particularly, for small as it appeared, 
 it was of more consequence than all the rest. But so much 
 caution proved as bad as none, if not worse, for my servant being 
 on the point of leaving my service, his ignorant cupidity was 
 excited by my interest in the stone, and supposing, no doubt, that 
 nothing less valuable than a diamond was contained therein, 
 he neglected delivering it, which I learnt at a subsequent period, 
 when all search after the man or stone were futile. I can 
 therefore only describe it as a hard close-grained stone of a 
 greyish brown, throughout which are embedded spots of a lighter 
 brown, in form and appearance exactly resembling (except as 
 regards colour) those seen in the marble called " the verde 
 antique. I have dwelt upon this subject, because it has occurred 
 to me since, whether it be possible that many years exposure of 
 the verde antique to a scorching sun is Capable of bleaching out 
 the colour, the specimen to which I allude, may originally have 
 been green, and as I have understood that it is a matter of some 
 doubt whence the Romans drew their supplies of this beautiful 
 marble, it would be curious to, by this method, have traced their 
 researches to the Atlas mountains, where, should my supposition 
 be valid, there are, no doubt, vast quarries of this beautiful 
 marble. White marble is also found in the Atlas mountains, a 
 beautiful specimen of which I was shewn at the harem, in the 
 shape of a flat scollop-carved basin of eleven feet diameter. 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 Vide Page 260. 
 
 I was on the point of abandoning all prospect of procuring a 
 translation of the Letter in question, when, through the kindness 
 of a member of the Royal Oriental Society, I was introduced to 
 Mr. Belfour, also a member of the same society, to whose perfect 
 knowledge of the Arabic in all its varieties, I remain much in- 
 debted for the very able translation with which he has presented 
 me, and which does the more honour to his abilities, as a native 
 of Marocco, after having himself endeavoured in vain to effect 
 the translation, finally declared the variety of the Arabic of 
 different countries to be such, added to the difference of their 
 styles, that it would be impossible without reference to Paris, to 
 procure a correct translation of this Letter. 
 
 Praise belongs to God alone. And there is no Spirit which is 
 not in his possession. 
 
 Our Lord and Master the most wise Sultan, the most glorious 
 Prince and Hero ! Whose empire may God perpetuate, and under 
 whose dominion may he place the whole world here below, making 
 the felicity of his days everlasting, and reducing within the 
 grasp of his hand the expanded universe, to be subject in all 
 things to his command ! May the standard of his justice not 
 cease to be unfolded until the day of resurrection, nor the wheel 
 of fortune leave off turning to his hand ; nor the smiling coun- 
 tenance of bliss depart from his company ! May the wings of 
 equity continue to be spread over him ; and at all times and in 
 all places may he be renovated in glory, and happiness, and joy, 
 and with blissful tidings ! After spreading the noble carpet of our 
 salutations and blessings before the Majesty of our Lord, and of 
 our silent prayer and genuflexions towards Almighty God, for 
 our noble master, we took leave of him, to proceed to other parts 
 of his happy country ; but having hitherto been unable to find a 
 ship here, we are still looking out for the first occasion. In the 
 meantime, Pedro, the Maltese, one of the merchants of Moga- 
 dore, has been to us, and begged and prayed of us to write to our 
 Lord, that he would be pleased to use indulgence towards him, 
 
APPENDIX. 351 
 
 and be kind to him according to his former kindness, and grant 
 him free safety, and regard ; and not suffer him to be confounded 
 with the merchants at Mogadore, and among the Foreigners, 
 according to the custom that has prevailed with them : seeing 
 that he came upon a promise made to him of a distinct privilege. 
 We hope therefore, please God, that our Lord will be merciful to 
 him, and not suffer him to be ill-treated in any way ; knowing, 
 as we do, that our Lord cannot consent to any evil action; and 
 praying, that he will be kind to him. 
 
 When our brethren and countrymen shall know of the Sultan's 
 kindness, they will grow in love and friendship towards his 
 Highness, and we trust that our Lord will be kind to him, and 
 grant him free safety : and may God grant his Highness a blessing 
 upon his life ! Amen, and salutation. 
 
 On the 12th of Jemadi el Awwal of the year 1242. 
 
 The Caid Beauclerk, and the Caid Murray. 
 
 The two Englishmen, by the intermediation of the Interpreter. 
 
 Translated from the original Arabic, by F.C. Belfour Esq.M.R.A.S. 
 
 Favourable Issue of the above Letter received by the Author 
 from Mogadore, on the 1st of February, 1828. 
 
 Translated from the Italian. 
 
 SIR, By the arrival of news to this place coming to Mr. 
 Trepas, of the house of Wiltshire & Co., I learn with pleasure, 
 that you are again restored with health, to the bosom of your 
 noble family, and as I feel convinced that it will give you pleasure 
 to hear of the situation of my present affairs, I have taken the 
 liberty of addressing you this letter to that effect. 
 
 The unfortunate affair with which you are well acquainted, 
 has ended by his serene Highness, paying me what was over and 
 above ; after the sale of my goods, lately sequestrated at this 
 custom-house, and the distribution of the profit of that sale, 
 amongst my various creditors, which amounted to seventy-five 
 per cent ; and as to the remainder of my debts which amounted 
 to about a thousand dollars ? His Highness has had the kindness 
 to issue a decree releasing me from all further claims on account 
 of debt. 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 I am now left without the means of again engaging in com- 
 merce, and as I feel persuaded that you will not neglect your 
 promise of using your endeavours to better my condition, upon 
 your arrival in England, and as 1 fear that you may perhaps 
 forget me, while so far away, I again beg of you to recommend 
 me to some respectable commercial house in London, which will 
 make me a consignment of goods on my own or their account, 
 the amount to be returned to them by the same vessel that 
 brings me the goods, which amount will be in the produce of the 
 country and negro (or Tombuctoo) gold. And should this effort 
 on your part fail, I hope you will be enabled to procure me 
 from the British Governmert some other situation as Vice Consul 
 or even Interpreter in this country, or any other part of Africa, 
 for which my knowledge of the Africans from Cairo to Moga- 
 dore, and their language, with which I am perfectly acquainted, 
 renders me a fit person. 
 
 This is the moment at which it would be a charity to serve 
 an honest but oppressed man, whose gratitude shall be known to 
 all the world ; in the mean time, I transmit you a list of the 
 prices of goods most saleable in this empire, and those fit for 
 exportation to yours ; and I now offer you in anticipation of your 
 favours, my sincere thanks for whatever you may hereafter accom- 
 plish to my benefit, and anxiously awaiting the honour of your 
 coirmunication, I have the honor to be, 
 
 Your very obedient Servant, 
 
 PIETRO FELICE MICALLRF. 
 Mogadore, 1st December, 1827. 
 
 Prices of foreign Goods and Manufactures calculated in Spa- 
 nish hard dollars. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Indian cloth called elefantes of 30 yards the piece, is sold at 5J 
 
 Ditto English of 50 yards in the piece ,----- 5J 
 
 Ditto of Hamburgh, in the piece -------- 4 
 
 Coarse cloth, in the piece, of a double thread - - - - 9 
 
APPENDIX. 858 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Common cloth, scarlet, green, -yellow, and blue, every 100 
 yds. at, - 140 
 
 The custom house duty upon the above mentioned articles is 
 10 per cent, on the value. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Blue India Muslin of 60 yds. the half piece, sells for - - - 5 
 White muslin, of 10 yards the piece, -------2 
 
 Coloured cotton goods with small stripes, per piece - - - 6 
 Common cotton handkerchiefs of a large size, per hundred at, 16 
 
 Fine ditto, ditto, 30 
 
 Yellow nankeen, 28 yards in the piece, 8 
 
 White ditto, with small stripes, ------- - - 9 
 
 Striped silk handkerchiefs, of China manufacture, per dozen, 10 
 Fine woollen cloth, scarlet, yellow, light blue, dark blue, and 
 white, per yard, ----------- -7 
 
 Serge of various colours, per piece of 29 yards, - - - - 
 
 White sewing cotton, in packets of 9ft>s., per packet, - - - 9 
 
 Sugar, double refined lump, per quintal, 24 
 
 Ditto, white, in powder, per ditto. -----*- -16 
 
 Brown sugar, per quintal, ---------- 14 
 
 Green tea per pound of 18 ounces, ------- 1 
 
 Green Martinique coffee, per quintal, - ------ 15 
 
 Pepper, black, per quintal, - --------- 15 
 
 Cinnamon, sweet, per ditto, --------- 50 
 
 Cloves, per ditto, 100 
 
 Butchers' knives, with broad blades, made at Amsterdam, 
 
 with red and yellow handles, per dozen , 100 
 
 Bellows, of middling size, per dozen, - ------ 10 
 
 Buenos Ay res hides, weighing from 31 to 33tbs. each, per 
 
 quintal, 36 
 
 Cochineal, per ft), of 18 ounces, -------- 
 
 On the preceding articles, duty is paid in cash, at the rate of 
 ten per cent, on the price current. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Swedish iron, in broad bars sells per quintal for - - - - 7 j 
 
354 APPENDIX. 
 
 Dollars. 
 English ditto, ditto, at, 5 
 
 These two articles pay a duty of 2 dollars per quintal. 
 
 Prices of Articles for exportation from this country. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Gum, Senegal, worth per quintal,- --------15 
 
 Gum, Sandrach, ------------- 12 
 
 Cow hides, weighing from 10 to 12ft). each, per quintal, - 4 
 Calf ditto, 4 to 5ft>s. each, per quintal,- ------ 3 
 
 The foregoing articles pay 3 dollars per quintal exportation 
 duty. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Gum, Barbary, per quintal, ----------4 
 
 Alrnonds, bitter, per ditto, ----------- 4J 
 
 Ditto, sweet, per ditto, --,.-----,.- -4 
 
 The above articles pay 2 dollars per quintal, exportation duty. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Olive oil, per quintal, ------------4 
 
 For this article you pay 4 dollars the quintal, exportation 
 duty. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Yellow bees' wax, of the first quality, per quintal, - - 18 
 Export duty, 10 dollars. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Goatskins the dozen of 12. - 2J 
 
 Export duty 1 dollar per dozen. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Ostrich feathers, picked, the Ifo. of 18 ounces, 4 
 
 Export duty 2 dollars per ib. 
 
 Negro or Tombuctoo gold of the purest quality, for the parcel 
 
APPENDIX. 355 
 
 weighing 15| Spanish pillar dollars, weighing from 200 to 210 
 oz., each, equal to the value of a doubloon of 13 or 14 dollars, 
 and this article is allowed to be exported, free of duty. 
 Note. For your information, the quintal of this place is 8 per 
 cent, more than the English quintal, and our commission is 2J 
 per cent. 
 
 Appendix, D. 
 
 It may not be inapplicable here to remark that much of the 
 success of the French in their intercourse with Africa, where their 
 trade is gaining the ascendancy over ours, and that of the Aus- 
 trians at Constantinople, is owing chiefly to the attention they 
 pay to the acquirement of the Arabic language, for which pur- 
 pose there are both at Paris and Vienna institutions where the 
 youths of those countries, who are destined for missions of what- 
 ever sort, are early prepared for that service, and it is much to be 
 regretted that no such institution in this country places it within 
 our power to cope with our neighbours in our relations with Ma- 
 hometan countries. Common discernment will be sufficient to 
 convince the observer of these things how superior must be the 
 negociations of an ambassador or consul at a Mahomedan court, 
 who is able personally to communicate with the fountain head of 
 authority, to those of him who is obliged to submit himself to 
 the mercy of an interpreter, who has a thousand good reasons 
 for turning your negociations to his own account or that of his 
 highest bidder. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 PROCTOR, WINE-OFFICE COURT, FLEET-STREET. 
 
EftRATA. 
 
 Page 47 line 3, for silex, read ilex. 
 
 9$ * 4j for base, read vase. 
 
 142 4, for tfmcziers, read muezzin's, 
 _ 144 6, for malaviU) read mufaria. 
 
 185 30, for se*> read fef* 
 
 185 vide note, for having, read learning. 
 
 254 Httfc 10, for cap, read captain. 
 
 ^ 269 *-* 4j for betoitehing, read bestriding. 
 ~- 21, fot cft^wfetiwt, read 
 
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