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.
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