In Its Hand It Held A Stick, To The End Of Which
Was Affixed A Bunch Of Palm Leaves, Which It Waved Incessantly As A
Fan, For The Purpose Of Scaring From Its Goods The Million Flies
Which, Engendered By The Barbary Sun, Endeavoured To Settle Upon
Them.
Behind it, and on either side, were piles of the same kind
of goods.
Shrit hinai, shrit hinai, (buy here, buy here), was
continually proceeding from its mouth. Such are the grocers of
Tangier, such their shops.
In the middle of the soc, upon the stones, were pyramids of melons
and sandias, (the water species), and also baskets filled with
other kinds of fruit, exposed for sale, whilst round cakes of bread
were lying here and there upon the stones, beside which sat on
their hams the wildest-looking beings that the most extravagant
imagination ever conceived, the head covered with an enormous straw
hat, at least two yards in circumference, the eaves of which,
flapping down, completely concealed the face, whilst the form was
swathed in a blanket, from which occasionally were thrust skinny
arms and fingers. These were Moorish women, who were, I believe,
in all instances, old and ugly, judging from the countenances of
which I caught a glimpse as they lifted the eaves of their hats to
gaze on me as I passed, or to curse me for stamping on their bread.
The whole soc was full of peoples and there was abundance of
bustle, screaming, and vociferation, and as the sun, though the
hour was still early, was shining with the greatest brilliancy, I
thought that I had scarcely ever witnessed a livelier scene.
Crossing the soc we entered a narrow street with the same kind of
box-shops on each side, some of which, however, were either
unoccupied or not yet opened, the lid being closed. We almost
immediately turned to the left, up a street somewhat similar, and
my guide presently entered the door of a low house, which stood at
the corner of a little alley, and which he informed me was the
abode of Joanna Correa. We soon stood in the midst of this
habitation. I say the midst, as all the Moorish houses are built
with a small court in the middle. This one was not more than ten
feet square. It was open at the top, and around it on three sides
were apartments; on the fourth a small staircase, which
communicated with the upper story, half of which consisted of a
terrace looking down into the court, over the low walls of which
you enjoyed a prospect of the sea and a considerable part of the
town. The rest of the story was taken up by a long room, destined
for myself, and which opened upon the terrace by a pair of folding-
doors. At either end of this apartment stood a bed, extending
transversely from wall to wall, the canopy touching the ceiling. A
table and two or three chairs completed the furniture.
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