Whilst
Scudding Along In This Manner, We Passed Close Under The Stern Of A
Large Vessel Bearing American Colours; She
Was tacking up the
straits, and slowly winning her way against the impetuous Levanter.
As we passed under her, I
Observed the poop crowded with people
gazing at us; indeed, we must have offered a singular spectacle to
those on board, who, like my young American friend at Gibraltar,
were visiting the Old World for the first time. At the helm stood
the Jew; his whole figure enveloped in a gabardine, the cowl of
which, raised above his head, gave him almost the appearance of a
spectre in its shroud; whilst upon the deck, mixed with Europeans
in various kinds of dresses, all of them picturesque with the
exception of my own, trod the turbaned Moors, the haik of the hadji
flapping loosely in the wind. The view they obtained of us,
however, could have been but momentary, as we bounded past them
literally with the speed of a racehorses so that in about an hour's
time we were not more than a mile's distance from the foreland on
which stands the fortress Alminar, and which constitutes the
boundary point of the bay of Tangier towards the east. There the
wind dropped and our progress was again slow.
For a considerable time Tangier had appeared in sight. Shortly
after standing away from Tarifa, we had descried it in the far
distance, when it showed like a white dove brooding on its nest.
The sun was setting behind the town when we dropped anchor in its
harbour, amidst half a dozen barks and felouks about the size of
our own, the only vessels which we saw. There stood Tangier before
us, and a picturesque town it was, occupying the sides and top of
two hills, one of which, bold and bluff, projects into the sea
where the coast takes a sudden and abrupt turn. Frowning and
battlemented were its walls, either perched on the top of
precipitous rocks, whose base was washed by the salt billows, or
rising from the narrow strand which separates the hill from the
ocean.
Yonder are two or three tiers of batteries, displaying heavy guns
which command the harbour; above them you see the terraces of the
town rising in succession like steps for giants. But all is white,
perfectly white, so that the whole seems cut out of an immense
chalk rock, though true it is that you behold here and there tall
green trees springing up from amidst the whiteness: perhaps they
belong to Moorish gardens, and beneath them even now peradventure
is reclining many a dark-eyed Leila, akin to the houries. Right
before you is a high tower or minaret, not white but curiously
painted, which belongs to the principal mosque of Tangier; a black
banner waves upon it, for it is the feast of Ashor. A noble beach
of white sand fringes the bay from the town to the foreland of
Alminar. To the east rise prodigious hills and mountains; they are
Gibil Muza and his chain; and yon tall fellow is the peak of
Tetuan; the grey mists of evening are enveloping their sides. Such
was Tangier, such its vicinity, as it appeared to me whilst gazing
from the Genoese bark.
A boat was now lowered from the vessel, in which the captain, who
was charged with the mail from Gibraltar, the Jew secretary, and
the hadji and his attendant negroes departed for the shore. I
would have gone with them, but I was told that I could not land
that night, as ere my passport and bill of health could be
examined, the gates would be closed; so I remained on board with
the crew and the two Jews. The former prepared their supper, which
consisted simply of pickled tomatoes, the other provisions having
been consumed. The old Genoese brought me a portion, apologizing
at the same time, for the plainness of the fare. I accepted it
with thanks, and told him that a million better men than myself had
a worse super. I never ate with more appetite. As the night
advanced, the Jews sang Hebrew hymns, and when they had concluded,
demanded of me why I was silent, so I lifted up my voice and
chanted Adun Oulem:-
"Reigned the Universe's Master, ere were earthly things begun;
When His mandate all created, Ruler was the name He won;
And alone He'll rule tremendous when all things are past and gone,
He no equal has, nor consort, He, the singular and lone,
Has no end and no beginning; His the sceptre, might and throne.
He's my God and living Saviour, rock to whom in need I run;
He's my banner and my refuge, fount of weal when called upon;
In His hand I place my spirit at nightfall and rise of sun,
And therewith my body also; God's my God - I fear no one."
Darkness had now fallen over land and sea; not a sound was heard
save occasionally the distant barking of a dog from the shore, or
some plaintive Genoese ditty, which arose from a neighbouring bark.
The town seemed buried in silence and gloom, no light, not even
that of a taper, could be descried. Turning our eyes in the
direction of Spain, however, we perceived a magnificent
conflagration seemingly enveloping the side and head of one of the
lofty mountains northward of Tarifa; the blaze was redly reflected
in the waters of the strait; either the brushwood was burning or
the Carboneros were plying their dusky toil. The Jews now
complained, of weariness, and the younger, uncording a small
mattress, spread it on the deck and sought repose. The sage
descended into the cabin, but he had scarcely time to lie down ere
the old mate, darting forward, dived in after him, and pulled him
out by the heels, for it was very shallow, and the descent was
effected by not more than two or three steps.
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