"Good Are The Horses Of The Moslems," Said My Old Friend, "Where
Will You Find Such?
They will descend rocky mountains at full
speed and neither trip nor fall, but you must be cautious with the
horses of the Moslems, and treat them with kindness, for the horses
of the Moslems are proud, and they like not being slaves.
When
they are young and first mounted, jerk not their mouths with your
bit, for be sure if you do they will kill you; sooner or later, you
will perish beneath their feet. Good are our horses; and good our
riders, yea, very good are the Moslems at mounting the horse; who
are like them? I once saw a Frank rider compete with a Moslem on
this beach, and at first the Frank rider had it all his own way,
and he passed the Moslem, but the course was long, very long, and
the horse of the Frank rider, which was a Frank also, panted; but
the horse of the Moslem panted not, for he was a Moslem also, and
the Moslem rider at last gave a cry and the horse sprang forward
and he overtook the Frank horse, and then the Moslem rider stood up
in his saddle. How did he stand? Truly he stood on his head, and
these eyes saw him; he stood on his head in the saddle as he passed
the Frank rider; and he cried ha! ha! as he passed the Frank rider;
and the Moslem horse cried ha! ha! as he passed the Frank breed,
and the Frank lost by a far distance. Good are the Franks; good
their horses; but better are the Moslems, and better the horses of
the Moslems."
We now directed our steps towards the town, but not by the path we
came: turning to the left under the hill of the mearrah, and along
the strand, we soon came to a rudely paved way with a steep ascent,
which wound beneath the wall of the town to a gate, before which,
on one side, were various little pits like graves, filled with
water or lime. "This is Dar Dwag," said the Mahasni; "this is the
house of the bark, and to this house are brought the hides; all
those which are prepared for use in Tangier are brought to this
house, and here they are cured with lime, and bran, and bark, and
herbs. And in this Dar Dwag there are one hundred and forty pits;
I have counted them myself; and there were more which have now
ceased to be, for the place is very ancient. And these pits are
hired not by one, nor by two, but by many people, and whosoever
list can rent one of these pits and cure the hides which he may
need; but the owner of all is one man, and his name is Cado
Ableque. And now my sultan has seen the house of the bark, and I
will show him nothing more this day; for to-day is Youm al Jumal
(Friday), and the gates will be presently shut whilst the Moslems
perform their devotions. So I will accompany my sultan to the
guest house, and there I will leave him for the present."
We accordingly passed through a gate, and ascending a street found
ourselves before the mosque where I had stood in the morning; in
another minute or two we were at the door of Joanna Correa. I now
offered my kind guide a piece of silver as a remuneration for his
trouble, whereupon he drew himself up and said:-
"The silver of my sultan I will not take, for I consider that I
have done nothing to deserve it. We have not yet visited all the
wonderful things of this blessed town. On a future day I will
conduct my sultan to the castle of the governor, and to other
places which my sultan will be glad to see; and when we have seen
all we can, and my sultan is content with me, if at any time he see
me in the soc of a morning, with my basket in my hand, and he see
nothing in that basket, then is my sultan at liberty as a friend to
put grapes in my basket, or bread in my basket, or fish or meat in
my basket. That will I not refuse of my sultan, when I shall have
done more for him than I have now. But the silver of my sultan
will I not take now nor at any time." He then waved his hand
gently and departed.
CHAPTER LVII
Strange Trio - The Mulatto - The Peace-offering - Moors of Granada -
Vive la Guadeloupo - The Moors - Pascual Fava - Blind Algerine - The
Retreat.
Three men were seated in the wustuddur of Joanna Correa, when I
entered; singular-looking men they all were, though perhaps three
were never gathered together more unlike to each other in all
points. The first on whom I cast my eye was a man about sixty,
dressed in a grey kerseymere coat with short lappets, yellow
waistcoat, and wide coarse canvas trousers; upon his head was a
very broad dirty straw hat, and in his hand he held a thick cane
with ivory handle; his eyes were bleared and squinting, his face
rubicund, and his nose much carbuncled. Beside him sat a good-
looking black, who perhaps appeared more negro than he really was,
from the circumstance of his being dressed in spotless white jean -
jerkin, waistcoat, and pantaloons being all of that material: his
head gear consisted of a blue Montero cap. His eyes sparkled like
diamonds, and there was an indescribable expression of good humour
and fun upon his countenance. The third man was a Mulatto, and by
far the most remarkable personage of the group: he might be
between thirty and forty; his body was very long, and though
uncouthly put together, exhibited every mark of strength and
vigour; it was cased in a ferioul of red wool, a kind of garment
which descends below the hips.
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