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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10355-0.txt b/10355-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..808f1bf --- /dev/null +++ b/10355-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5439 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10355 *** + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, + +BY THE LATE JAMES RICHARDSON, + +AUTHOR OF "A MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA," +"TRAVELS IN THE DESERT OF SAHARA," &C. + +EDITED BY HIS WIDOW. + +[Illustration] + +IN TWO VOLUMES. + +VOL. I. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Having made a limited tour in the Empire of Morocco a few years since, I +am enabled to appreciate the information imparted to us by the lamented +Richardson, and am desirous of adding a few observations of my own upon +the present state of affairs in that part of the African Continent. + +The following work of the indefatigable traveller demands, at the +present moment, a more than ordinary share of public attention, in +consequence of the momentous events now passing in the Straits of +Gibraltar, where the presence of powerful armaments entails on the +Governor of our great rock-fortress, a duty of some delicacy, situated +as he now is in close proximity to three belligerent powers, all of whom +are at peace with Great Britain. But distinguished alike for common +sense and professional ability, Sir William Codrington, it is to be +hoped, will steer clear of the follies committed by Sir Robert Wilson in +1844, and will command respect for the British name, without provoking +bitter feelings between ourselves, and our French and Spanish +neighbours. + +It is scarcely possible that either France or Spain can contemplate the +conquest of the entire Empire of Morocco, as the result of the present +impending crisis, the superficial extent of the territory being 219,420 +square miles, and the population nearly 8,000,000, [1] of which a large +proportion live in a state of perpetual warfare, occupying inaccessible +mountain fastnesses, from whence they only descend to the plains for the +sake of plunder. The inhabitants may be classified as follows: 4,000,000 +Moors and Arabs; 2,000,000 Berbers; 500,000 Jews, and the remainder are +of the Negro race. The regular Army consists of less than thirty +thousand men, but every Arab is an expert irregular horseman, and the +Berbers make good foot-soldiers. + +These indeed are, in ordinary times, rarely to be depended on by the +Emperor, but so powerful an incentive is religious fanaticism that, were +he to raise the standard of the Holy War, a large Army would quickly +rally around him, deficient perhaps in discipline, yet living by +plunder, and marching without the encumbrance of baggage, it would prove +a formidable opponent. + +Let us, however, suppose, that the present action of France and Spain +should result in the subversion of the atrocious system of Government +practised in Morocco: a guarantee from the conquerors that our existing +commercial privileges should be respected, would alone be required to +ensure the protection of our interests, and what an extended field would +the facilities for penetrating into the interior open to us! We must +also remember that Napoleon III. in heart, is a free-trader; and, should +Destiny ever appoint him the arbiter of Morocco, the protectionist +pressure of a certain deluded class in France would be impotent against +his policy in Western Barbary, a country perhaps more hostile to the +European than China. Sailors and others, who have had the misfortune to +be cast on the inhospitable shore of Northern Africa, have been sent far +inland into slavery to drag out a miserable existence; and, at this +moment, there are many white Christian slaves in the southern and +eastern provinces of the Empire. + +Should the war not result in conquest, the least we have a right to +expect, is that toleration should be forced upon the Moors, and that +European capital and labour should be allowed a free development +throughout their Empire. A flourishing trade would soon spring up, +nature having blessed Barbary with an excellent soil and climate, +besides vast mineral wealth in its mountains; lead, copper, and antimony +are found in them. The plains produce corn, rice, and indigo; the +forests of cedar, ilex, cork, and olive-trees are scattered over a vast +extent, and contain antelopes, wild bears, and other species of game; +Barbary also possesses an excellent breed of horses. The principal +manufactures are leather, shawls and carpets. + +England has, but a short time since, succeeded in emancipating her +Jewish brethren from their few remaining disabilities; an opportunity +may now be at hand, of ameliorating the condition of those in the Empire +of Morocco, who are forced to submit to a grinding persecution, and are +merely tolerated because they are useful. They supply many wants of the +Moorish population; are the best, and in many handicrafts, the only +artificers, and are much employed by the government in financial +occupations. They are compelled to occupy a distinct quarter of the town +they inhabit; are permitted only to wear black garments, are forbidden +to ride, the horse being considered too noble an animal to carry a Jew, +and are forced to take off their shoes on passing a mosque. Even the +little Moorish boys strike and ill-treat them in various ways, and the +slightest attempt at retaliation was formerly punished with death, and +would now be visited with the bastinado. They are more heavily taxed +than any other class, and special contributions are often levied on +them. + +Alas! why should we respect the national existence of any community of +Mahometans? Have we effaced from our memory their treachery and inhuman +cruelty in India; their utter worthlessness in Turkey; their neglect in +taking advantage of the richness with which nature has blest the +countries in their possession; and their conquest from Christendom of +one of the fairest portions of Europe. + +Civilization cries aloud for retribution on a race whose religion +teaches them to regard us as "dogs." Surely, far from protecting and +cherishing, we should hunt them out of the fair lands they occupy, and +force them back on the deserts which vomited them forth on our ancestors +ten centuries ago. Brief periods of glory at Bagdad, Cairo, and Granada, +should not protect those who are now slaves to the lowest vices that +degrade human nature. No administrative reforms are at all practicable; +their moral maladies have attacked the vital element; the sole cure is +conquest, and the substitution of Christian Governments in Northern +Africa, and Turkey in Europe and Asia. Russia, France, Austria, Greece, +and Spain are weary of the excesses of their savage neighbours; none can +be honestly inclined to stay their avenging swords. + +I have, in these prefatory remarks, extracted a few particulars from the +short chapter on Morocco, contained in my work on the "French in +Africa," and in advocating a crusade against the Mahometan races, I +believe I am recording the sentiments of millions of Europeans. + +It now only remains for me to give expression to that universal feeling +of regret which prevails among my countrymen at the untimely fate of +poor Richardson, and to offer my congratulations that he has bequeathed +to us so pleasing an addition to his former works as the following +narrative of his "Travels in Morocco." + + L. TRENT CAVE, F.R.G.S. + Author of "The French in Africa." + + Army and Navy Club, + November, 1859. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The present unsettled state of affairs in Morocco, in consequence of the +War in which she is now engaged with her more powerful and ancient +enemy--Spain, must, I conceive, render any information regarding a +region so little known peculiarly acceptable at the present moment. + +In Morocco, my late husband laboured to advance the same objects which +had previously taken him to Central Africa, viz., the amelioration of +the condition of the strange and remarkable races of men who inhabit +that part of the world. He aimed at the introduction of a legitimate +commerce with a view, in the first instance, to destroy the horrible and +revolting trade in slaves, and thus pave the way for the diffusion of +Christianity among a benighted people. While travelling, with these high +purposes in contemplation, he neglected no opportunity of studying the +geography of the country, and of obtaining an insight into the manners, +customs, prejudices, and sentiments of its inhabitants, as well as any +other useful information in relation to it. + +I accompanied him on his travels in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, in +which last city he left me, it not being considered advisable that I +should proceed with him into the interior of the country. We were not +destined to meet again in this world. My beloved husband died at Bornou, +in Central Africa, whither he was sent by Her Majesty's Government to +enter into treaties with the chiefs of the surrounding districts. + +Of the many difficulties and dangers which the traveller is likely to +encounter in penetrating into the interior of so inhospitable a region, +the reader may form some idea by a perusal of the the following extracts +from my husband's writings. + +"I am very much of opinion that in African travel we should take +especial care not to attempt too much at once; that we should proceed +very slowly, feeling our way, securing ourselves against surprise, and +reducing and confining our explorations to the record of matters of fact +as far as possible, or consistently with a due illustration of the +narrative. But, whether we attempt great tours, or short journeyings, we +shall soon find, by our own sad experience, that African travel can only +be successfully prosecuted piecemeal, bit by bit, here a little and +there a little, now an island, now a line of coast, now an inland +province, now a patch of desert, and slow and painful in all their +results, whilst few explorers will ever be able to undertake more than +two, at most three, inland journeys. + +"Failures, disasters, and misadventure may attend our efforts of +discovery; the intrepid explorers may perish, as they have so frequently +done, or be scalped by the Indian savage in the American wilderness, or +stabbed by the treacherous Bedouin of Asiatic deserts, or be stretched +stiff in the icy dreary Polar circles, or, succumbing to the burning +clime of Africa, leave their bones to bleach upon its arid sandy wastes; +yet these victims of enterprise will add more to a nation's glory than +its hoarded heaps of gold, or the great gains of its commerce, or even +the valour of its arms. + +"Nevertheless, geographical discovery is not barren ardour, or wasted +enthusiasm; it produces substantial fruits. The fair port of London, +with its two parallel forests of masts, bears witness to the rich and +untold treasures which result from the traffic of our merchant-fleets +with the isles and continents discovered by the genius and enterprise of +the maritime or inland explorer. And, finally, we have always in view +the complete regeneration of the world, by our laws, our learning, and +our religion. If every valley is to be raised, and every mountain laid +low, by the spade and axe of industry, guided by science, the valley or +the mountain must first be discovered. + +"If men are to be civilized, they must first be found; and if other, or +the remaining tribes of the inhabitable earth are to acknowledge the +true God, and accept His favour as known to us, they also, with +ourselves, must have an opportunity of hearing His name pronounced, and +His will declared." + +My husband would, indeed, have rejoiced had he lived to witness the +active steps now taken by Oxford and Cambridge for sending out +Missionaries to Central Africa, to spread the light of the Gospel. + +Among his unpublished letters, I find one addressed to the Christian +Churches, entitled "Project for the establishment of a Christian Mission +at Bornou," dated October, 1849. He writes: "The Christian Churches have +left Central Africa now these twelve centuries in the hands of the +Mohammedans, who, in different countries, have successfully propagated +the false doctrines of the impostor of Mecca. If the Christian Churches +wish to vindicate the honour of their religion--to diffuse its +beneficent and heavenly doctrines--and to remove from themselves the +severe censure of having abandoned Central Africa to the false prophet, +I believe there is now an opening, _viâ_ Bornou, to attempt the +establishment of their faith in the heart of Africa." + +He ends his paper by quoting the words of Ignatius Pallme, a Bohemian, +the writer of travels in Kordofan, who says "It is high time for the +Missionary Societies in Europe to direct their attention to this part of +Africa (that is, Kordofan). If they delay much longer, it will be too +late; for, when the negroes have once adopted the Koran, no power on +earth can induce them to change their opinions. I have heard, through +several authentic sources, that there are few provinces in the interior +of Africa where Mohammedanism has not already begun to gain a footing." + +It would be a great solace to me should this work be received +favourably, and be deemed to reflect honour on the memory of my lamented +husband; and, in the hope that such may be the case, I venture to commit +it into the hands of an indulgent public. + + J.E. RICHARDSON. + + London, + November 15, 1859. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME + + +INTRODUCTION + +PREFACE + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diploplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, or great +festival.--Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen.--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broad-cloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese +Sailors.--Trade-wind Hurricanes on the Atlantic Coast of +Morocco.--Difficulties of entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad +provisioning of Foreign Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the +once far-famed and dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. +Phillips, Captain of the Port.--Rumours amongst the People about my +Mission.--Visit to the Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the +inhabitants of Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed +of the ancient Numidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish +Emperor.--Martial character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black +Corps of the Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative +anecdotes of the various Emperors. + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodical visit of the +Mogador Merchants to the Emperor, in the Southern Capital. + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fêtes and Feastings among the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society.--Day and night side of the Mission Adventure.--Phillips' +application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes on" before the +Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, Darmon, who was +killed by the Government.--Order of the Government against Europeans +smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, Governor of +Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights amongst the +Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy of +troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.-- +European Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + +VOL. I. + +Interior of a Moorish House + +City of Tangier + +Port of Mogador + +Christian Burial Place + +Moorish Cemetery + +Nubian Cavalry of Ancient Africa + +Wadnoun + + +VOL. II. + +The Snake-Charmer + +City of Morocco + +Fish found in Hot Springs + +Water-Snake + +The Aoudad + + + + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + + +Morocco is the China of North Africa. The grand political maxim of the +Shereefian Court is, the exclusion of strangers; to look upon all +strangers with distrust and suspicion; and should they, at any time, +attempt to explore the interior of Morocco, or any of the adjacent +counties, to thwart and circumvent their enterprise, is a veritable feat +of statesmanship in the opinion of the Shereefian Court. The +assassination of Mr. Davidson, some years since, is an odious and +enduring stigma on the Moorish Court, notwithstanding the various +efforts which have been made to deny the personal responsibility of the +Emperor in that transaction. + +The Prince de Joinville was once going to open Morocco, as we opened +China; but bullets and shot which his Royal Highness showered upon +Tangier and Mogador, only closed faster the approaches and routes of +this well-guarded empire--only more hermetically sealed the capitals of +Fez and Morocco against the prying or morbid curiosity of the tourist, +or the mappings and measurings of the political spy. The striking +anecdote, illustrating the exclusive policy of the Maroquine Court, is +familiar to all who have read the history of the Moorish Sultans of the +Mugreb. Years ago, a European squadron threatened to bombard Tangier, +unless their demands were instantly satisfied; and the then reigning +Sultan sent down from Fez this imperial message: + +"How much will the enemy give me if I myself burn to ashes my +well-beloved city of Tangier? Tell the enemy, O governor of the mighty +city of Tangier, that I can reduce this self-same city to a heap of +smoking ruins, at a much cheaper rate than he can, with all his ships, +his warlike machines, and his fighting men." + +The strength of Morocco lies in her internal cities, her inland +population, and the natural difficulties of her territory; about her +coast she cares little; but the French did not find this out till after +their bombardments. The unwonted discovery led them afterwards to boast +that they had at length opened Morocco by the other and opposite system +of a pacific mission. The parties forming the mission, pretended to have +obtained from the Emperor permission for Europeans "to travel in Morocco +without let or hindrance whithersoever they will." But the opposition +press justly ridiculed the pretensions of the alleged concession, as the +precarious and barren result of a mission costing several million of +francs. Even an Englishman, but much more a Frenchman--and the latter is +especially hated and dreaded in all the Maroquine provinces, would have +considerably hesitated in placing confidence in the safe conduct of this +jealous Court. + +The spirit of the Christian West, which has invaded the most secret +councils of the Eastern world, Persia, Turkey, and all the countries +subjected to Ottoman rule, is still excluded by the haughty Shereefs of +the Mahometan West. There is scarcely any communication between the port +and the court of the Shereefs, and the two grand masters of orthodox +Islamism, this of the West, and that of the East, are nearly strangers +to each other. + +All that Muley Errahman has to do with the East, appears to be to +procure eunuchs and Abyssinian concubines for his harem from Egypt, and +send forward his most faithful, or most rebellious subjects [2] on their +pilgrimage to Mecca. + +Englishmen are surprised, that the frequent visits and uninterrupted +communications between Morocco and Gibraltar, during so long a period, +should have produced scarcely a perceptible change in the minds of the +Moors, and that Western Barbary should be a century behind Tunis. This +circumstance certainly does not arise from any inherent inaptitude in +the Moorish character to entertain friendly relations with Europeans, +and can only have resulted from that crouching and subservient policy +which the Gibraltar authorities have always judged it expedient to show +towards the Maroquines. + +Our diplomatic intercourse began with Morocco in the reign of Queen +Elizabeth; and though on friendly terms more or less ever since, +Englishmen have not yet obtained a recognised permission to travel in +the interior of the country, without first specially applying to its +Government. Our own countrymen know little of Morocco, or of its +inhabitants, customs, laws, and government; and, though only five or six +days sail from England, it must be regarded as an unknown and unexplored +region to the mass of the English nation. + +Nevertheless, in spite of the Maroquine Empire being the most +conservative and unchangeable of all North African Mussulman states, and +whilst, happily for itself, it has been allowed to pursue its course +obscurely and noiselessly, without exciting particular attention in +Europe, or being involved in the wars and commotions of European +nations, Morocco is not, therefore, beyond the reach of changes and the +ravages of time, nor exempt from that mutability which is impressed upon +all sublunary states. The bombardments of Tangier and Mogador have left +behind them traces not easily to be effaced. It was no ordinary event +for Morocco to carry on hostilities with an European power. + +The battle of Isly has deeply wounded the Shereefians, and incited the +Mussulman heart to sullen and unquenchable revenge. A change has come +over the Maroquine mind, which, as to its immediate effects, is +evidently for the worst towards us Christians. The distrust of all +Europeans, which existed before the French hostilities, is now enlarged +to hatred, a feeling from which even the English are hardly excepted. Up +to the last moment, the government and people of Morocco believed that +England would never abandon them to their unscrupulous and ambitious +neighbours. + +The citizens and merchants of Mogador could not be brought to believe, +or even to entertain the idea that the British ships of war would +quietly look on, whilst the French--the great rivals and enemies of the +English--destroyed their towns and batteries. Most manifest facts and +stern realities dissipated, in an hour when they little thought of it, +such a fond delusion. From that moment, the moral influence of England, +once our boast, and not perhaps unreasonably so, was no longer felt in +Morocco; and now we have lost almost all hold on the good wishes and +faith of the Mussulman tribes of that immense country. + +As to exploring the empire of Morocco, or making it the way of +communication with Soudan or Central Negroland, this is now altogether +impracticable. The difficulties of Europeans travelling the Maroquine +States, always great and perilous, are now become nearly insuperable. +This suspicious distrust, or ill-feeling has communicated itself +contagiously to the tribes of the South as far as the Desert, and has +infected other parts of Barbary. The Engleez, once the cherished friends +of the Moors, are looked upon more or less as the abettors of French +aggressions in North Africa, if not as the sharers with them of the +spoil. In the language of the more plain-spoken Moors, "We always +thought all Christians alike, though we often excepted the English from +the number of our enemies, now we are certain we were wrong; the English +are become as much our enemies as the French and the Spaniards." The +future alone can disclose what will be the particular result of this +unfavourable feeling; both with respect to France and England, and to +other European nations. However, we may look forward without misgiving. +Islamism will wear itself out--the Crescent must wane. + +In these preliminary observations, the commercial system of the +Maroquine Court deserves especial mention. The great object of Muley Abd +Errahman [3] is--nay, the pursuit of his whole life has been--to get the +whole of the trade of the empire into his own hands. In fact, he has by +this time virtually succeeded, though the thing is less ostentatiously +done than by the Egyptian viceroy, that equally celebrated +prince-merchant. In order to effect this, his Shereefian Majesty seeks +to involve in debt all the merchants, natives, or foreigners, tempting +them by the offer of profuse credit. As many of them as are needy and +speculative, this imperial boon is without scruple greedily accepted. +The Emperor likewise provides them with commodious houses and stores; +gives them at once ten or twenty thousand dollars worth of credit, and +is content to receive in return monthly instalments. These instalments +never are, never can be regularly paid up. The debt progressively and +indefinitely increases; and whilst they live like so many +merchant-princes, carrying on an immense trade, they are in reality +beggars and slaves of the Emperor. They are, however, styled _imperial_ +merchants, and wear their golden chains with ostentatious pride. + +This credit costs his Shereetian Highness nothing; he gives no goods, +advances no moneys, whilst he most effectually impoverishes and reduces +to servitude the foreign merchant resident in his empire, never allowing +him to visit his native country without the guarantee of leaving his +wife and family behind as hostages for his return. The native merchant +is, in all cases, absolutely at the mercy of his imperial lord. On the +bombardment of Mogador, all the native and resident traders, not +excepting the English merchants, were found overwhelmed with debt, and, +therefore, were not allowed to leave the country; and they were only +saved from the pillage and massacre of the ferocious Berber tribes by a +miracle of good luck. + +Since the bombardment of Mogador, the Emperor has more strongly than +ever set his face against the establishment of strangers in his +dominions. Now his Imperial Highness is anxious that all commerce should +be transacted by his own subjects. The Emperor's Jews are, in future, to +be the principal medium of commerce between Morocco and Europe, which, +indeed, is facilitated by many of the native Jews having direct +relations with European Jews, those of London and Marseilles. In this +way, the Maroquines will be relieved from the embarrassments occasioned +by the presence of Europeans, Jews, or Christians, under the protection +of foreign consuls. The Emperor, also, has a fair share of trade, and +gets a good return on what he exports; the balance of commercial +transactions is always in his favour. + +I must add a word on the way of treating politically with the Court of +Morocco. The modes and maxims of this Court, not unlike those of the +Chinese, are procrastination, plausible delays, and voluminous +despatches and communications, which are carried on through the hands of +intermediaries and subordinate agents of every rank and degree. You can +never communicate directly with the Emperor, as with other Barbary +princes and pashas. This system has admirably and invariably succeeded +for the last two or three centuries; that is to say, the empire of +Morocco has remained intact by foreign influences, while its system of +commerce has been an exclusive native monopoly. The Americans, however, +have endeavoured to adopt a more expeditious mode of treating with the +Maroquine Court. They have something, in the style and spirit of Lynch +law, usually made their own demands and their own terms, by threatening +the immediate withdrawal of their consul, or the bombardment of ports. + +The Shereefs, thus intimidated, have yielded, though with a very bad +grace. Nevertheless, the Americans have received no favours, nor have +they obtained a nearer approach to the awful Shereefian presence than +other people; and it is not likely they ever will succeed beyond their +neighbours. The French and English have always negotiated and +corresponded, corresponded and negotiated, and been worsted once and +worsted again. Somehow or other, the Emperor has, in most cases, had his +own way. Neither the American nor our own European system is the right +or dignified course. And I am still of opinion, that the Maroquine Court +is so far enlightened respecting the actual state of the barbarians or +Christian infidels, out of its Shereefian land of Marabouts, out of its +central orthodox Mussulman land of the Mugreb, as to be accessible to +ordinary notions of things, and that it would always concede a just +demand if it were rightly and vigorously pressed, and if the religious +fanaticism of its people were not involved in the transaction. Thus far +we may do justice to the government of these Moorish princes. + +This opinion, however, does not altogether coincide with that of the +late Mr. Hay. According to the report of Mr. Borrow, as found in his +work, "The Bible of Spain," the Moorish government, according to Mr. +Hay, was "one of the vilest description, with which it was next to +impossible to hold amicable relations, as it invariably acted with bad +faith, and set at nought the most solemn treaties." But, if the +Maroquine Court had acted in this most extraordinary manner, surely +there would now be no Moorish empire of Western Barbary. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name.--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, great +festival. Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen,--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + + +The communication between Gibraltar and Tangier is by no means easy and +regular, though the places are only a few hours' distance from the +other. I had waited many days at Gib. (as our captain called the former +place), before the wind enabled us to leave, and then, our boat being a +small transport for cattle, and the Government contractors wanting beef +for the garrison--for an Englishman or an English soldier cannot live in +any part of the world without beef--we were compelled to leave with the +wind in our teeth, and to make a night's voyage of this four or five +hours' traverse. It might be worth while, one would think, to try a +small steam-tug for the conveyance of cattle from Tangier to our +garrison, which, besides, would be a great convenience for passengers. + +On coming on deck in the morning, Tangier, "the city protected of the +Lord," appeared in all its North African lineaments, white and bright, +shining, square masses of masonry, domes of fair and modest santos, and +the heaven-pointing minarets; here and there a graceful palm, a dark +olive, or the black bushy kharoub, and all denned sharply and clearly in +the goodly prospect. But these Barbary towns had lost much of their +freshness or novelty to me, and novelty is the greatest ingredient of +our pleasure in foreign travel. I had also just travelled through Spain, +and the south of this country is still, as to its aspect, part and +parcel of Morocco, though it is severed by the Straits. In the ancient +Moorish city of Cordova, I had even saluted the turban. I met two Moors +strolling along, with halting steps and triste mien, through the +streets, whom I instinctively addressed. + +"_Wein mashe. Ash tomel_. Where are you going? What are you doing?" + +The Moors (greatly pleased to hear the sound of their own mother-tongue +in the land of their pilgrimage).--"_Net jerrej_. We are enjoying +ourselves." + +Traveller.--"What do you think of the country (Cordova)?" + +The Moors.--"This is the land of our fathers." + +Traveller.--"Well, what then? Are you going to possess it again?" + +The Moors.--"Of what country are you?" + +Traveller.--"Engleez." + +The Moors (brightening up).--"That is good. Yes, we are very glad. We +thought you might be a Spaniard, or a Frenchman. Now we'll tell you all; +we don't fear. God will give us this country again, when Seedna Aïsa [4] +comes to deliver us from these curse-smitten dogs of Spaniards." [5] + +Traveller.--"Well, never mind the Spaniards. Have you seen anything you +like here?" + +The Moors.--"Look at this knife; it is rusty; it should not be so." + +Traveller.--"How!" + +The Moors.--"We read in our books and commentators that in Andalous +(Spain) there is no rust, and that nothing rusts here." [6] + +Traveller.--"Nonsense; have you seen the hundred pillars of your +mosque?" (Now converted into a cathedral.) + +The Moors.--"Ah, we have seen them," with a deep sigh; "and the pillars +will stand till to-morrow." (End of the world.) + +I was obliged to say farewell to these poor pilgrims, wandering in the +land of their fathers, and worshipping at the threshold of the noble +remains of Moresco-Spanish antiquity, for the _diligencia_ was starting +off to Seville. + +To return from my digression. I soon found myself at home in Tangier +amongst my old friends, the Moors, and coming from Spain, could easily +recognise many things connecting the one country with the other. + +The success attending the various measures of the Bey of Tunis for the +abolition of slavery in North Africa, and the favourable manner in which +this prince had received me, when I had charge of a memorial from the +inhabitants of Malta, to congratulate his Highness on his great work on +philanthropy, induced the Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society to +confide to me an address to the Emperor of Morocco, praying him to +enfranchise the negro race of his imperial dominions. + +We were fully prepared to encounter the strongest opposition from the +Shereefian Court; but, at the same time, we thought there could be no +insuperable obstacle in our way. + +The Maroquines had the same religion and form of government as the +Tuniseens, and by perseverance in this, as well as any other enterprise, +something might at last be effected. Even the agitation of the question +in the empire of Morocco, amongst its various tribes, was a thing not to +be neglected; for the agitation of public opinion in a despotic country +like Morocco, as well as in a constitutional state like England, +admirably prepares the way for great measures of reform and +philanthropy; and, besides the business of an abolitionnist is +agitation; agitation unceasing; agitation in season and out of season. + +On my arrival at Tangier, I called upon Mr. Drummond Hay, the British +Consul-General, stating to him my object, and asking his assistance. The +English Government had instructed the Consul to address the Emperor on +this interesting subject, not long before I arrived, but it was with the +greatest difficulty that any sort of answer could be obtained to the +communication. + +Mr. Hay, therefore, gave me but small encouragement, and was not a +little surprised when I told him I expected a letter of introduction +from Her Majesty's Government. He could not understand this reiterated +assault on the Shereefs for the abolition of slavery, not comprehending +the absolute necessity of continued agitation on such a difficult +matter, as exciting from a despotic and semi-barbarous prince, fortified +by the prejudices of ages and generally sanctioned in his conduct by his +religion, the emancipation of a degraded and enslaved portion of the +human race. [7] However, Mr. Hay was polite, and set about arranging +matters for proceeding with a confessedly disagreeable subject for any +consul to handle under like circumstances. He made a copy of the address +of the Anti-Slavery Society, and sent it to the English Government, +requesting instructions. I expected an address from the Institut +d'Afrique of Paris; but, after waiting some time, the Secretary, Mr. +Hippolyte de St. Anthoine, wrote me a letter, in which he stated that, +on account of the ill-will manifested by the Emperor to the +establishment of the French in Algeria, the Institut had come to the +painful conclusion of not addressing him for the abolition of the +slave-trade in his imperial states. + +Soon after my arrival at Tangier, the English letter-boat, Carreo +Ingles, master, Matteo Attalya, brought twelve eunuch slaves, African +youths, from Gibraltar. They are a present from the Viceroy of Egypt to +the Emperor of Morocco. The Correo is the weekly bearer of letters and +despatches to and from Morocco. The slaves were not entered upon the +bill of health, thus infringing upon the maritime laws of Gibraltar and +Tangier. The other captains of the little boats could not help +remarking, "You English make so much fuss about putting down the +slave-trade, and allow it to be carried on under your own flag." Even +the foreign consuls here reprobated the inconsistency of the British +Government, in aiding the slave-trade of the Mediterranean by their own +flag. However, Government ordered a strict inquiry into this case, and +took means for preventing the occurrence of a like abuse. Nevertheless, +since then the Emperor has actually applied to the British Consul to +allow eunuchs to be brought down the Mediterranean in English steamers, +in the same way as these were brought from Malta to Gibraltar in the +Prometheus--as, forsooth, servants and passengers. And on the refusal of +our consul to sanction this illicit conveyance of slaves by British +vessels, the Emperor applied to the French consul, who condescended to +hoist the tri-coloured flag for the transport of slave-eunuchs! This is +one way of mitigating the prejudices of the Shereefian Court against the +French occupation of Algeria. Many slaves are carried up and down the +Mediterranean in French vessels. + +The keeper of an hotel related to me with great bitterness, that the +French officer who came with me from Gibraltar had left Tetuan for +Algeria. The officer had ordered a great many things of this man, +promising to pay on his return to Tangier. He deposited an old hatbox as +a security, which, on being opened by the hotel keeper, was found to be +full of greasy paper. At Tetuan, the officer gave himself out as a +special envoy of the Emperor of the French. + +My good friends, the Moors, continue to speculate upon the progress of +the French army in Algeria. I asked a Moorish officer what he thought of +the rumoured French invasion of Morocco. He put the backs of his hands +together, and locking together his fingers to represent the back of a +hedgehog, he observed emphatically; "Impossible! No Christians can +invade us. Our country is like a hedgehog, no one can touch us." Tangier +Christians will never permit the French to invade Morocco, whatever may +be the pretext. This is even the opinion of the foreign consuls. + +As a specimen of the commercial system of this country, I may mention +that the monopoly of exporting leeches was sold this week to a Jew, at +the rate of 25,000 dollars. Now the Jew refuses to buy leeches except at +his own price, whilst every unfortunate trader is obliged to sell to him +and to him only. In fact, the monopolist fixes the price, and everybody +who brings leeches to Tangier must accept it. This case of leeches may +be applied to nearly all the monopolies of the country. Can anything be +more ruinous to commerce? + +All the Moors of Tangier, immediately on entering into conversation with +me, inquire if I am Engleez? Even Moorish children ask this question: it +appears to be a charm to them. The Ayd Kebir (great feast) was +celebrated to-day, being the first of the new year. It was ushered in +yesterday by prayer in the mosques. About 9 A.M. the governor, the +commandant of the troops, and other Tangier authorities, proceeded to +the open space of the market, attended with flags and music, and some +hundred individuals all dressed in their holiday clothes. The white +flag, typical of the sanctity of religion, floated over others of +scarlet and green; the music was of squeaking bagpipes, and rude +tumtums, struck like minute drums. The greater part were on horseback, +the governor being most conspicuous. This troop of individuals ascended +a small hill of the market-place, where they remained half an hour in +solemn prayer. + +No Jew or Christian was allowed to approach the magic or sacred circle +which enclosed them. This being concluded, down ran a butcher with a +sheep on his back; just slaughtered, and bleeding profusely. A troop of +boys followed quickly at his heels pelting him with stones. The butcher +ran through the town to the seashore, and thence to the house of the +Kady--the boys still in hot and breathless pursuit, hard after him, +pelting him and the bleeding sheep. The Moors believe, if the man can +arrive at the house of the judge before the sheep dies, that the people +of Tangier will have good luck; but, if the sheep should be quite dead, +and not moving a muscle, then it will bring them bad luck, and the +Christians are likely to come and take away their country from them. The +drollest part of the ceremony is, that the boys should scamper after the +butcher, pelting the sheep, and trying to kill it outright, thus +endeavouring to bring ill-luck upon their city and themselves. But how +many of us really and knowingly seek our misfortunes? On the occasion of +this annual feast, every Moor, or head of a family, kills a sheep. The +rich give to the poor, but the poor usually save up their earnings to be +able to purchase a sheep to kill on this day. The streets are in +different parts covered with blood, making them look like so many +slaughter grounds. When the bashaw of the province is in Tangier, +thousands of the neighbouring Arabs come to pay him their respects. With +the Moors, the festivals of religion are bonâ fide festivals. It may +also be added, as characteristic of these North African barbarians, +that, whilst many a poor person in our merry Christian England does not, +and cannot, get his plum-pudding and roast-beef at Christmas, there is +not a poor man or even a slave, in Morocco who does not eat his lamb on +this great feast of the Mussulmans. It would be a mortal sin for a rich +man to refuse a poor man a mouthful of his lamb. + +Of course there was a sensation among the native population, and even +among the consular corps, about my mission; but I have nothing very +particular to record. I had many Moorish visitors, some of whom were +officers of the imperial troops. I made the acquaintance of one, Sidi +Ali, with whom I had the following dialogue:-- + +Traveller.--"Sidi Ali, what can I do to impress Muley Abd Errahman in my +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"But will the Emir of the Shereefs accept of money from us +Christians?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"What am I to give the minister Ben Dris, to get his +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"Can I travel in safety in Morocco?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money:" + +Indeed "money" seems to be the all and everything in Morocco, as among +us, "the nation of shopkeepers." The Emperor himself sets the example, +for he is wholly occupied in amassing treasures in Mequiney. Another +acquaintance of mine was a little more communicative. + +Aged Moor.--"What can I do for you, stranger? You are good to me, every +time I call here you give me tea with plenty of sugar in it. What can I +do for you in my country?" + +Traveller.--"Tell me how to get on in my mission? How can I see Muley +Errahman?" + +Aged Moor.--"Now I am bound to give you my best advice. First then, take +plenty of money with you. All love money; therefore without money you +can do nothing. Muley Abd Errahman loves money, and money he must have. +And the minister loves money, and the minister must not be forgotten. +The minister is the door to the Emperor. You cannot get into the house +but through the door. Out of the towns and cities, the Emperor has no +power; so that whenever you travel out of these places, remember to give +the people money." + +I had numberless volunteers to conduct me to Fez. All came begging for +this honour and lucrative employment. Whatever may be said of the +virtues of hospitality, I found all the world alike in its determination +to make the most of strangers, if not to devour them. But the Emperor +was not at Fez; he was in the southern capital, and it was necessary for +me to go via Mogador, to endeavour to obtain an interview with him at +that place. + +The dreary monotony of Moorish life was one day broken in upon by a +juvenile strolling singer, who attracted a crowd of silent and attentive +listeners. It was a grateful sight to see old men, with long and silvery +beards, reclining in mute and serious attention; young men lounging in +the pride and consciousness of animal strength; little children +intermixed, but without prattle or merriment--all fixed and fascinated +with the charm of vocal song. The vocalist himself was a picturesque +object; his face was burnt black with Afric's sun, his bare head was +wildly covered with long, black matted, and curly hair, but his eye was +soft and serene; and, as he stretched his throat upwards to give compass +to his voice, he seemed as if he would catch inspiration from the +Prophet in heaven. A coarse brown blanket enveloped his spare and +way-worn body, his only clothing and shelter from the heat by day and +the cold by night, a fold of which fell upon his naked feet. + +The voice of the Arab vocalist was extremely plaintive, even to the +tones and inflections of distress, and the burden of his song was of +religion and of love--two sentiments which all pure minds delight to +combine. When he stopped a moment to take breath, a murmur of applause +vibrated through the still air of the evening, not indeed for the youth, +but for God! [8] for it was a prayer of the artless and enraptured +bystanders, invoking Allah to bless the singing lad, and also to bless +them, while ascribing all praise to the Deity. + +This devout scene raised the Moors greatly in my estimation. I thought +men could not be barbarians, or even a jealous or vindictive race, who +were charmed with such simple melody of sounds, and with sentiments so +pure and true to nature. + +The Arab youth sang:-- + + Oh, there's none but the One God! + I'll journey over the Desert far + To seek my love the fairest of maidens; + The camels moan loudly to carry me thither, + Gainly are they, and fleeter than the swift-legged ostrich. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + + What though the Desert wind slay me; + What of it? death is from God. + And woe to me! I cannot repine. + But I'll away to the abode of my love, + I'll embrace her with all my strength, + I'll bear her back thence, and rest her on my couch. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + +So sang in plaintive accents the youth, until the last ray of the sun +lingered on the minarets' tops, when, by the louder and authoritative +voice of the Muezin calling the Faithful to prayers, this crowd of the +worshippers of song and vocal harmony was dispersed to meet again, and +forthwith chant a more solemn strain. The poor lad of the streets and +highways went into the mosque along with his motley group of admirers; +and all blended their voices and devotion together in prayer and +adoration, lowly and in profound prostration, before the Great Allah! + +It is my intention, in the course of the present narrative, to give a +brief account of the principal towns and cities of North Africa; and I +cannot do better than begin with Tangier. This city is very ancient, +having probably been built by the aboriginals, Berbers, and was usually +called by the Romans, Taigo on Tingis. The Emperor Claudius re-peopled +it, and called it Julia Traducta. The Moors call it Sanjah, and relate +that Benhad Sahab El-Alem built it, also surrounded it with walls of +metal, and constructed its houses of gold and silver. In this condition, +it remained until destroyed by some Berber kings, who carried away all +its treasures. The modern Tangier is a small city of the province of +Hasbat, picturesquely placed on the eastern slope of a hill, which +terminates in the west with its port and bay, having some analogy to the +site of Algiers. It has almost a square form, and its ramparts are a +wall, flanked here and there with towers. This place, likewise, is most +advantageously situate in the narrowest part of the Straits of +Gibraltar, at a few miles east of Cape Spartel, and thirty miles W.S.W. +of Gibraltar, and has, therefore, been coveted by all the conquerors of +North Africa. The Phoenicians, Romans, Goths, and Arabs successively +effected its conquest; and it was long a bone of eager contention +between the Moors and Portuguese. In 1471, Alonzo, King of Portugal, +took it from the Moors; and in 1662 it came into the hands of the +English, as a part of the dowry of Catherine, queen of Charles II.; so, +whilst in our possession it was a place of considerable strength; but on +its evacuation in 1684 by order of the English government, who were +disgusted by the expense of its occupation, and the bootless collisions +with the natives, the fortifications were demolished, and only the +vestiges of them now are visible. Had the British Government continued +its occupation for half a century, and kept in check the Maroquine +tribes, it is probable that by this time the greater part of Morocco +would have been under British rule, when we might have founded a +flourishing colony, from which all North Africa might have received the +elements of Christian civilization. + +Old Tangier (Tangier belia) is situate about four miles east from the +present, being now a heap of ruins, near a little river called Khalk or +Tingia, spanned over by the remains of a once finely-built Roman bridge. +Here was likewise an artificial port, where the Roman galleys retired. +The whole of this part of Africa was denominated by the Romans, +Mauritania, from the name of this city; and during their administration +was united to the government of Spain. Tangier had a population of from +four to six thousand. Grabert estimates the population at 10,000, +including 2,500 Jews, who live intermixed with the Moors; 1,400 negroes, +300 Berbers of Rif, and about 100 Christians. The Consuls-General of the +European Powers reside here; and most of them have commodious houses. +The Swedish Consul has a splendid garden, which is thrown open to the +European residents. There is but one good street in the town; and the +transition from Europe to Barbary, at so short a distance, is striking +to the stranger. Tarifa, on the opposite side, along the coast of Spain, +has, however, a Moorish affinity to this place; and the dress of the +women is not very dissimilar in the two towns, once inhabited by the +people of the same religion, and now, perhaps, many of them descendants +of the same families. + +Tangier, though a miserable place compared to most of the cities in +Europe, is something considerable in Morocco, and the great mosque is +rather splendid. Mr. Borrow justly remarks that its minarets look like +the offspring of the celebrated Giralda of Seville. The Christians have +here a convent, and a church within it, to which are attached +half-a-dozen monks. There is no Protestant church; Mr. Hay reads service +in the British Consulate, and invites the Protestant residents. Tangier +is the only place in the empire where the Christian religion is publicly +professed. The Jews have three or four small synagogues. Usually, the +synagogues in Barbary are nothing more than private houses. + +Before the bombardment of the French, the fortifications mounted forty +pieces or so of cannon, but of no strength; on the contrary, going +completely to ruin and decay, being scarcely strong enough to fire a +salute from. The Bay of Tangier is good and spacious; but, in the course +of time, will be filled up with sand. The shipping is exposed to strong +westerly winds. The safest anchorage, however, is on the the eastern +part, about half a mile off the shore, in a line with the round tower. +With a few thousand pounds, one of the finest--at least, one of the most +convenient--ports of the Mediterranean could be constructed here. There +is a bashaw of this province, who resides at El-Araish, and a +lieutenant-governor, who lives at Tangier. With these functionaries, the +representatives of European Powers have principally to transact affairs. +On the north is the castle, the residence of the governor. + +Eleven consuls take up their abode in Tangier; the British, French, +Spanish, Portuguese, American, Danish, Swedish, Sardinian, Neapolitan, +Austrian, and Dutch. Each consular house generally belongs to its +particular nation, the ground to the Sultan. + +The consuls who have the most interest to guard in Morocco, are the +British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Up to the bombardment of +Tangier, the Danish and Swedish Governments paid to the Maroquine Court, +the former 25,000 and the latter 20,000 dollars per annum, to have the +privilege of hoisting their flag at this port. The French hostilities +against Morocco furnished a convenient opportunity for getting this +odious tribute abolished. The Americans led the way in getting rid of +this subservience to the Shereefian Court, and refused from the first +all presents and annual donations. Generally, however, when new consuls +are appointed, they bring with them presents, and visit the Emperor in +person. On the occasion of _fêtes_, they sometimes make presents to the +governors of districts. Whenever the Emperor condescends to come down to +Tangier, three days after his arrival, it is the required etiquette for +the consuls to seek his presence, and to make their obeisance to the +Shereefian Lord. The consuls are accustomed to decide upon and control +the affairs of their own countrymen, and those placed under their +protection; but when a Moor and an European are concerned in a +transaction, it is usually a mixed commission of the consulate and the +Moorish authorities. + +Many curious anecdotes are current respecting the consuls and the +Moorish government. A Spanish consul once took it into his head to +strike his flag and leave Tangier. Whilst he was gone, the Emperor +ordered all the Jews to go and take possession of his house and live in +it, as a degradation. The consular house was soon crammed with dirty +Jews, whose vermin and filth rendered the house untenantable, until it +had undergone a thorough repair and cleansing. Sometimes the Emperor +shows a great affection for a particular consular family. The family of +the Portuguese Consul were great favorites. During the war of succession +in Portugal, the Portuguese Consul contracted debts in Tangier, not +being able to get his salary amidst the strife of parties. The Moors +complained to the Emperor of the consul's debts. Muley Abd Errahman, +though a thorough miser himself, paid the consul's debts, alleging as a +reason, "the consul was a friend of my ancestors, and he shall be my +friend." The Portuguese government wished to remove this consul on +account of his alleged Miguelite propensities, but the Emperor +threatened, if they did, that he would not receive another. Our +government compelled the Portuguese to gratify the personal feeling of +the Emperor. Senhor Colaso is a native of Morocco, as his father was +before him, and the Emperor calls them his own children. The Jewish +servants of the consulates are free from the poll-tax and other +obnoxious contributions, and their Moorish servants are also exempt from +government conscriptions. + +At times, very serious misunderstandings and disputes occur between the +consuls and the Emperor on the subject of his Imperial Highness. Our +consul, Mr. Hay, was shot at by a fanatic marabout, the ball missing +him, but killing a horse of one of the party. This affair was passed +over, the consul very properly taking no notice of a mad saint. But I +will cite another instance, as showing the intimate perception which the +Moors have of the peculiar precepts of our religion, as well as +exhibiting their own moral ideas, in each case representing them to us +in a favourable light. One of the Emperor's subjects had insulted the +French consul, M. Sourdeau, and Muley Suleiman addressed to him the +following singular epistle. + +"In the name of God, the most merciful. There is no power or force +except with the Most High and Great God! + +"Consul of the French nation, Sourdeau, and salutation to him who is in +the right way. Inasmuch as you are our guest, under our protection, and +consul in our country of a great nation, so we cannot but wish you the +greatest consideration and the honours. On which account, you will +perceive that that which has happened to you is to us intolerable, and +would still be so had it been done by one of our own children or most +intimate friends. And although we cannot put any obstacle to the decrees +of God, yet such an act is not grateful to us, even if it is done to the +vilest of men, or even cattle, and certainly we will not fail to show an +example of severe justice, God willing. If you were not Christians, +having a feeling heart, and bearing patiently injuries, after the +example of your prophet, whom God has in glory, Jesus the son of Mary, +who, in the Book which he brought you in the name of God, commands you, +that if any person strike you on one cheek turn to him the other also; +and who (always blessed of God!) also did not defend himself when the +Jews sought to kill him, from whom God took him. And, in our Book, it is +said, by the mouth of our Prophet, there is no people among whom there +are so many disposed to good works as those who call themselves +Christians; and certainly among you there are many priests and holy men +who are not proud; nevertheless, our Prophet also says, that we cannot +impute a crime to persons of three sorts, that is to say, madmen (until +they return to sound sense), children, and persons who sleep. Now this +man who has offended you is mad, and has no knowledge; but we have +decreed to give you full satisfaction. If, however, you should be +pleased to pardon him, you will perform a magnanimous work, and the Most +Merciful will abundantly recompense you. On the other hand, if you +absolutely wish him to be punished, he is in your hands, for in my +empire no one shall fear injustice or violence, with the assistance of +God." + +A whimsical story is current in Tangier respecting the dealings of the +Shereefian Court with the Neapolitan government, which characteristically +sets forth Moorish diplomacy or manoeuvring. A ship load of sulphur was +sent to the Emperor. The Moorish authorities declared it was very coarse +and mixed with dirt. With great alacrity, the Neapolitan government sent +another load of finer and better quality. This was delivered; and the +Consul asked the Moorish functionaries to allow the coarse sulphur to be +conveyed back. These worthies replied, "Oh dear, no! it is of no +consequence, the Emperor says, he will keep the bad, and not offend his +royal cousin, the King of Naples, by sending it back." The Neapolitan +government had no alternative but to submit, and thank the chief of the +Shereefs for his extreme condescension in accepting two ship-loads of +sulphur instead of one. + +There are occasional communications between Tangier and Tarifa, in +Spain, but they are very frequent with Gibraltar. A vast quantity of +European merchandize is imported here from Gibraltar for Fez and the +north of Morocco. All the postal and despatch business also comes +through Tangier, which has privileges that few or no other Maroquine +cities possess. The emperors, indeed, have been wont to call it "the +City of Christians." In the environs, there is at times a good deal of +game, and the European residents go out to shoot, as one is wont in +other countries to talk a walk. The principal game is the partridge and +hare, and the grand sport, the wild boar. Our officers of the Gibraltar +garrison come over for shooting. But quackery and humbug exist in +everything. A young gentleman has just arrived from Gibraltar, who had +been previously six weeks on his passage from Holland to that place, +with his legs infixed in a pair of three-league boots. He says he has +come from Holland on purpose to sport and hunt in Morocco. Several of +the consuls, when they go out sporting, metamorphose themselves into +veteran Numidian sportsmen. You would imagine they were going to hunt +lions for months in the ravines of the Atlas, whereas it is only to +shoot a stray partridge or a limping hare, or perchance they may meet +with a boar. And this they do for a couple of days, or twenty-four +hours, sleeping during the night very snugly under tents, and fed and +feasted with milk, fowls, and sheep by the Arabs. + +Morocco, like all despotic countries, furnishes some severe examples of +the degrading of high functionaries. There is an old man, +Sidi-El-Arby-Es-Said, living there, who is a marked victim of imperial +tyranny. Some years ago, the conqueror despoiled him of all his wealth, +and threw him into prison, after he had been twenty years bashaw of this +district. He was in prison one year with his two sons. The object of the +Emperor was to extort the last filse of his money; and he entirely +succeeded. The oppressor, however, relented a little on the death of one +of his victim's sons; released him from confinement, and gave the +ex-bashaw two houses, one for himself and the other for his surviving +son. The old captain of the port has been no less than a dozen times in +prison, under the exhausting pressure of the Emperor. After the imperial +miser has copiously bled his captain, he lets him out to fill his skin +again. The old gentleman is always merry and loyal, in spite of the +treatment from his imperial taskmaster. + +Very funny stories are told by the masters of the small craft, who +transport the bullocks from hence to Gibraltar. The government of that +place are only allowed to export, at a low duty per annum, a certain +number of bullocks. The contractor's agents come over; and at the moment +of embarking the cattle, something like the following dialogue +frequently ensues. + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Count away!" + +_Captain of the Port_.--"One, two, three, &c. Thirty, forty. Ah! stop! +stop! too many." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"No, you fool, there are only thirty." + +_Captain of the Port_.--"You lie! there are forty." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Only thirty, I tell you," (putting three or +four dollars into his hand). + +_Captain of the Port_.--"Well, well, there are only thirty." + +And, in this way, the garrison of Gibraltar often gets 500 or 1,000 head +of cattle more than the stipulated number, at five dollars per head duty +instead of ten. Who derives the benefit of peculation I am unable to +state. An anecdote recurs to me of old Youssef, Bashaw of Tripoli, +illustrative of the phlebotomizing system now under consideration. +Colonel Warrington one day seriously represented to the bashaw how his +functionaries robbed him, and took the liberty of mentioning the name of +one person. "Yes, yes," observed the bashaw, "I know all about him; I +don't want to catch him yet; he's not fat enough. When he has gorged a +little more, I'll have his head off." + +The Emperor of Morocco, however, usually treats his bashaws of the coast +with greater consideration than those of the interior cities, the former +being more in contact with Europeans, his Highness not wishing his +reputation to suffer in the eyes of Christians. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broadcloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + + +I took up my stay at the "English Hotel" (posada Ingles), kept by +Benoliel, a Morocco Jew, who spoke tolerable English. A Jerusalemitish +rabbi came in one day to write charms for his wife, she being near her +confinement. The superstition of charms and other cognate matters, are +shared alike by all the native inhabitants of Barbary. It often happens +that a Marabout shrine will be visited by Moor and Jew, each investing +the departed saint with his own peculiar sanctity. So contagious is this +species of superstition, that Romish Christians, long resident in +Barbary, assisted by the inventive monks, at last discover the Moorish +or Jewish to be a Christian saint. The Jewesses brought our Oriental +rabbi, declaring him to know everything, and that his garments smelt of +the Holy City. Benoliel, or Ben, as the English called him, protested to +me that he did not believe in charms; he only allowed the rabbi to write +them to please the women. But I have found, during my travels in the +Mediterranean, many persons of education, who pretended they did not +believe this or that superstition of their church, whilst they were at +heart great cowards, having no courage to reject a popular falsehood, +and quite as superstitious as those who never doubt the excrescent +dogmas or traditionary fables of their religion. The paper amulets, +however, operated favourably on Mrs. Benoliel. She was delivered of a +fine child; and received the congratulations of her neighbours. The +child was named Sultana; [9] and the people were all as merry as if a +princess had been born in Israel. + +I received a visit from a Moorish taleb, to whom I read some portions of +my journal, as also the Arabic Testament: + +_Taleb_.--"The English read Arabic because they are the friends of +Mussulmans. For this reason, God gives them wit to understand the +language of the Koran." + +_Traveller_.--"We wish to study all languages, and to know all people." + +_Taleb_.--"Now, as you have become so wise in our country, and read +Arabic, where next are you going? Why not be quiet and return home, and +live a marabout? Where next are you going?" + +In this strain the Taleb continued lecturing me, until he was +interrupted by a Berber of Rif. + +The Rifian.--"Christian, Engleez, come to our mountains. I will conduct +you to the Emir, on whom is the blessing of God. Come to the Emir, +come." + +Traveller.--"No, I've nothing to do with war." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! I know you are a necromancer. Cannot you tell +me where money is buried? I want money very bad. Give me a peseta." + +Traveller.--"Not I. I am going to see your Emperor." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! that is right; give him plenty of money. Muley +Abd Errahman hoards up money always. If you give him plenty of money, +you will be placed on a horse and ride by his side." + +The inhabitants of Barbary all bury their money. The secret is confided +to a single person, who often is taken ill, and dies before he can +discover the hiding place to his surviving relatives. Millions of +dollars are lost in this way. The people, conscious of their secret +practice, are always on the scent for concealed treasures. + +One Friday, some Jews asked the governor of the custom-house to grant +them their clearance-papers, because they were, early on the Sunday +following, to depart for Gibraltar. The governor said, "Come to-morrow." +"No," replied the Jews, "we cannot, it's our feast." "Well," returned +the governor, "you Jews have your feasts, the Christians have theirs, +and we Mussulmen will have ours. I'll not go down to the custom-house to +day, for it is my feast." These three Sundays or feasts, prevalent +through North Africa, are very inconvenient for business, and often make +men rebels to their religious persuasions. + +The following is a Frenchman's account of Morocco [10] up to the time of +its bombardments. + +"The question of Algeria cannot be confined within the limits of the +French possessions. It embraces Morocco, a country possessing a vast and +varied population. Leo gave a marvellous description of Fez, as the +second city of Islamism in his time. Travellers who have sought to +explore Africa, rarely or never took the route viâ Morocco. Formerly, +monks were stationed in the interior to purchase captives; but, since +piracy has ceased, these have left the country. Very few persons go into +the interior, for Maroquine merchants come out of their country to +trade. Tangier and Tetuan are not fair specimens of Morocco; they form a +transition from Europe to Africa, being neither Spain nor Morocco. The +ambassador, or merchant, who now-a-days gets an audience with the +Sultan, is allowed to see little of the country, arising from the +jealousy of the government or native merchants. Davidson was probably +murdered by the jealousy of the Fez merchants. + +"All the larger cities of Morocco are situate upon the coast, excepting +three capitals of the interior--Fez, Miknas, and Morocco, to which +El-Kesar-Kebir may be added. The other interior places are mostly large +villages, where the tribes of the country collect together. The +inhabitants of the cities make gain their only business, and debauchery +their only pleasure. As to their learning, there is an immense +difference between a Turkish ulema and a Moorish doctor. + +"From the fall of Carthage and Rome, until the fourteenth century, the +people of North Africa have had relations with Europe. The independence +of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco fell by internal dissensions like the +Mussulman power in Spain. After expelling the Mahometans from Spain, the +Christians (Spaniards and Portuguese) pursued them to Morocco, and built +a line of forts on its coasts. Those have all now been abandoned except +four, held by Spain. England destroyed the fortifications and abandoned +Tangier, which she had obtained through Portugal. To blockade Tangier at +the present time, would do more harm to England than Morocco, by cutting +off the supply of provisions for Gibraltar. + +"The navy of Morocco was never very great. It was the audacity and +cruelty of its pirates which frightened Christendom. During the maritime +wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Emperor of Morocco +remained neutral, which was a great benefit to the Christian belligerent +powers. Spain must be at peace with Morocco; she must either be an +active friend, or an enemy. The policy of Morocco, in former times, was +so well managed, that it made all the Christian powers pay a certain +tribute to that country, to insure themselves against the piracy of its +cruisers. + +"The history of the diplomatic relations of Europe with Morocco, +presents only a chronicle of shameful concessions made by the European +powers to the Moorish princes. At the end of the eighteenth century, the +Sultan of Morocco declared that, 'Whoever was not his friend was his +enemy,' or, in other words, that 'he would arm his cruisers against +every flag which did not float upon a consular house at Tangier.' + +"Muley Abd Errahman sent his corsairs to sea in 1828 to frighten the +European powers into treaties. The plan succeeded, the first squabble +being with Austria. From 1830, or, better to mark the period, since the +capture of Algiers, the corsairs and their depredations have ceased. The +progress of France in Africa has produced a profound impression in +Morocco, but European powers have not taken their due advantage of this. +Many humiliating acts have been performed by different governments. +England possessed herself of all the commerce of importance since she +has been established at Gibraltar. On the whole coast of Morocco, there +are only two mercantile establishments under the French flag. French +consular agents have no influence with the Moorish government. Morocco +and Spain have shewn themselves neighbours. Mutual assistance has often +been given by Morocco and Spain, in cases of national distress, +particularly in seasons of famine. + +"The Sultan of Morocco surveys from a distance the events of Europe, and +endeavours to arrest their effect on his frontier. The residence of the +foreign consuls was first at Rabat, then at Tangier. The object has +constantly been to keep the consuls, as far as possible, from his +capital and the transactions of his interior, in order that they may not +see the continual revolts of his tribes, and so discover the weakness +and disunion of the empire. Communications between Tangier and Morocco +require at least forty days, a system shrewdly laid down by the Sultan, +who is anxious to be as remote as possible from the consuls and their +influence. + +"The state of the army and navy, and particularly of the munitions of +war, is very bad. All the coast of Morocco is difficult of access, and +the only two ports which would have served for a naval station, are +those which have been abandoned, viz., the Bay of Santa Cruz and the +ancient Mamora, between El-Araish and Rabat; the rest are only +roadsteads." + +M. Rey thus sums up his observations upon European diplomacy directed +towards Morocco. "Voluntary humbling of European nations, always ready +to pander to Moorish rapacity, even without reaping any advantage for +it; and who submit themselves to be uselessly ransomed. As to the +English, they show suppleness and prudence, and sacrificing national +dignity to the prosperity of commerce; the Sultans are not backward in +taking advantage adroitly of a situation so favourable and almost +unique; such is the picture of the diplomatic relations we have +sketched." + +He describes the personal character and habits of the Sultan, Muley Abd +Errahman, and gives details of the court. + +"A Jew is the master-cook of the Emperor, his Imperial Highness always +eats alone. The Sultan receives European merchants in a very friendly +manner, whilst he keeps ambassadors at a respectful distance. An +interview with an ambassador does not last more than ten minutes. The +Sultan replies in a phraseology which has not been varied for three +centuries. The title of the present vizier is not minister, but sahab, +"friend" or "companion." The Sultan has the soundest judgment of any man +in his empire, and great tact in the administration of affairs. He +instructs himself by continual questions. + +"His passion is avarice, and he has converted the whole empire into a +commercial firm for the accumulation of his gains. Muley Tsmael left a +treasury of 100 millions of ducats, [11] and at the death of Sidi +Mohammed, this treasury was reduced to two millions. The constant +occupation of Muley Abd Errahmnan is to replenish the imperial treasury. +Commerce, which was neglected by his predecessors, has all his +attention. The cruelty of the former sultans is exchanged for the +avarice of the present. The history of these Shereefian princes is a +chain of unheard-of atrocities. The present sultan keeps not a single +promise when his interests interfere." + +M. Rey gives us this flattering tableau as a social picture of Morocco. + +Covetous governors are continually succeeding one another, they are ever +eager of enjoying the advantages of their position; their thirst for +plunder is so much the more intense, as they are not allowed time to +satisfy it, so they prey on the people. The inhabitants of towns and of +the country live in rags in miserable hovels. What raiment! what food! +mortality is dreadful, the children are invalids, and the women, +especially in the country, are condemned to do the work of beasts of +burden; such is the picture of society. + +I have quoted these few passages from the "Mémoire" of M. Rey, because +he was resident many years in Tangier, and his account of the country +discovers talent and intelligence, but is, of course, coloured with a +strong anti-English feeling. Mr. Hay wrote on the back of his +Mémoire,--"All that is said in reference to Great Britain is false and +malicious." M. Rey's opinions of the Moors and the present governors are +still more bitter and unjust. + +I had an interview with El-Martel-Warabah, government auctioneer of +slaves, from whom I obtained details respecting the slave-trade in +Tangier and Morocco generally. There is no market for slaves in Tangier. +The poor creatures are led about the town as cattle, particularly in the +main street, before the doors of the principal merchants, where they are +usually disposed of. No Jew or Christian is permitted to buy or hold a +slave in this country. Government possess many slaves, and people hire +them out by the day from the authorities. The ordinary price of a good +slave is eighty dollars. Boys, at the age of nine or ten years, sell the +best; female slaves do hot fetch so much as male slaves, unless of +extraordinary beauty. Slaves are imported from all the south. + +The Sultan levies no duty on the sale or import of slaves. When one runs +away from his master, and takes refuge with another, the new master +usually writes to the former, offering to buy him; thus slaves are often +enticed away. They are sometimes allowed to abscond without their owners +troubling themselves about them, their master's being unable either to +feed or sell them. + +In cases of punishment for all serious offences, slaves are brought +before the judicial authorities, and suffer the same punishment as free +men. In cases not deemed grave, they are flogged, or otherwise privately +punished by their masters. Slaves went to war with Abd-el-Kader, against +the French. The Arabs of Algeria had formerly many slaves. The chief +depôt of slaves is Morocco, the southern capital. Ten thousand have been +imported during one year; but the average number brought into Morocco +is, perhaps, not more than half that amount. The Maroquine Moors, before +departing for any country under the British flag, usually give liberty +to their slaves. On their return, however, they sell them again as +slaves, or get rid of them some way or other. A slave once having tasted +of liberty, can never again be fully reconciled to thraldom. Moors +resident in Gibraltar, have frequently slaves with them. A few days ago, +a slave-boy, resident in Gibraltar, wished to turn Christian, and was +immediately sent back to Tangier, and sold to another master. + +Europeans, with whom I have conversed in Tangier, assure me that slaves +are generally well treated, and that cases of cruelty are rare. +Nevertheless, they eagerly seek their freedom when an opportunity +offers. In 1833, a man of great power and influence in the Gharb +(province of Morocco), named El-Haj Mohammed Ben El-Arab, on a +remonstrance of his slaves, who stated that the English had abolished +slavery, and that they ought to have their liberty, called all his +slaves together, to the number of seventy-two, and actually took the +bold and generous resolution of liberating them. But, before releasing +them from bondage, he lectured them upon the difficulty of finding +subsistence in their new state of freedom, and then wrote out their +_Atkas_ of liberty. As might have been expected, some returned +voluntarily to servitude, not being able to get a living, whilst the +greater part obtained an honourable livelihood, enjoying the fruits of +independent freedom. It is mentioned, as an instance of fidelity, that a +negress is the gaoler of the women in Tangier. [12] + +At every Moorish feast of consequence (four of which are celebrated here +in a year), the slaves of Tangier perambulate the streets with music and +dancing, dressed in their holiday clothes, to beg alms from all classes +of the population, particularly Europeans. The money collected is +deposited in the hands of their chief; to this is added the savings of +the whole year. In the spring, all is spent in a feast, which lasts +seven days. The slaves carry green ears of wheat, barley, and fresh +dates about the town. The Moorish women kiss the new corn or fruit, and +give the slaves a trifle of money. A slave, when he is dissatisfied with +his master, sometimes will ask him to be allowed to go about begging +until he gets money enough to buy his freedom. The slave puts the âtka +in his mouth (which piece of written paper when signed, assures his +freedom), and goes about the town, crying, "Fedeeak Allah, (Ransom of +God!)" All depends on his luck. He may be months, or even years, before +he accumulates enough to purchase his ransom. + +Tangier Moors pretend that the negroes of Timbuctoo sacrifice annually a +white man, the victim being preserved and fed for the occasion. When the +time of immolation arrives, the white man is adorned with fair flowers, +and clothes of silk and many colours, and led out and sacrificed at a +grand "fiesta." Slaves and blacks in Morocco keep the same feast, with +the difference, that not being able to get a man to sacrifice, they kill +a bullock. Such a barbarous rite may possibly be practised in some part +of Negroland, but certainly not at Timbuctoo. All these tales about +Negro cannibals I am inclined to believe inventions. There never yet has +been published a well authenticated case of negro cannibalism. + +The grand cicerone for the English at Tangier, is Benoliel. He is a man +of about sixty years of age, and initiated into the sublimest mysteries +of the consular politics of the Shereefs. Ben is full of anecdotes of +everybody and everything from the emperor on the Shreefian throne, down +to the mad and ragged dervish in the streets. Our cicerone keeps a book, +in which the names of all his English guests have been from time to time +inscribed. His visitors have been principally officers from Gibraltar, +who come here for a few days sporting. On the bombardment of Tangier, +Ben left the country with other fugitives. The Moorish rabble plundered +his house; and many valuables which were there concealed, pledged by +persons belonging to Tangier, were carried away; Ben was therefore +ruined. Some foolish people at Gibraltar told Ben, that the streets of +London were paved with gold, or, at any rate, that, inasmuch as he (Ben) +had in his time entertained so many Englishmen at his hospitable +establishment at Tangier (for which, however, he was well paid), he +would be sure to make his fortune by a visit to England. I afterwards +met Ben accidentally in the streets of London, in great distress. Some +friends of the Anti-Slavery Society subscribed a small sum for him, and +sent him back to his family in Gibraltar. Poor Ben was astonished to +find as much misery in the streets of our own metropolis, as in any town +of Morocco. Regarding his co-religionists in England, Ben observed with +bitterness, "The Jews there are no good; they are very blackguards." He +was disappointed at their want of liberality, as well as their want of +sympathy for Morocco Jews. Ben thought he knew everything, and the ways +of this wicked world, but this visit to England convinced him he must +begin the world over again. Our cicerone is very shrewd; withal is +blessed with a good share of common sense; is by no means bigoted +against Mahometans or Christians, and is one of the more respectable of +the Barbary Jews. His information on Morocco, is, however, so mixed up +with the marvellous, that only a person well acquainted with North +Africa can distinguish the probable from the improbable, or separate the +wheat from the chaff. Ben has a large family, like most of the Maroquine +Jews; but the great attraction of his family is a most beautiful +daughter, with a complexion of jasmine, and locks of the raven; a +perfect Rachel in loveliness, proving fully the assertion of Ali Bey, +and all other travellers in Morocco, that the fairest women in this +country are the Jewesses. Ben is the type of many a Barbary Jew, who, to +considerable intelligence, and a few grains of what may be called fair +English honesty, unites the ordinarily deteriorated character of men, +and especially Jews, bora and brought up under oppressive governments. +Ben would sell you to the Emperor for a moderate price; and so would the +Jewish consular agents of Morocco. A traveller in this country must, +therefore, never trust a Maroquine Jew in a matter of vital importance. + +Mr. Drummond Hay, our Consul at Tangier, advised me to return to +Gibraltar, and to go by sea to Mogador, and thence to Morocco, where the +Emperor was then residing. Adopting his advice, I left the same evening +for Gibraltar. I took my passage in a very fine cutter, which had +formerly been a yacht, and had since been engaged as a smuggler of +Spanish goods. I confess, I was not sorry to hear that the Spanish +custom-house was often duped. The cutter had been purchased for the +Gibraltar secret service. + +The Anti-Slavery Society had placed at my disposal a few yards of green +cloth, for a present to the minister of the Emperor. At the custom-house +of Havre-de-Grace, I paid a heavy duty on it. But, when I got to Irun, +on the Spanish frontier, (having determined to come through Spain in +order to see the country), the custom-house officers demanded a duty +nearly double the cost of the cloth in London, so that there was no +alternative but to leave it in their possession. The only satisfaction, +or revenge which I had, was that of calling them _ladrones_ in the +presence of a mob of people, who, to do justice to the Spanish populace, +all took my part. + +When I complained of this conduct at Madrid, my friends laughed at my +simplicity, and told me I was "green" in Spanish; and in travelling +through "the land of chivalry," and of "ingeniósos hildágos," ought, on +the contrary, to thank God that I had arrived safe at Madrid with a +dollar in my pocket; whilst they kindly hinted, if I should really get +through the province of Andalusia safe to Cadiz, without being stripped +of everything, I must record it in my journal as a miracle of good luck. +This was, however, exaggeration. I had no reason to complain of anything +else during the time I was in Spain. My fellow travellers (all +Spaniards), nevertheless, rebuked me for want of tact. "You ought," they +said, "to have given a few pesetas to the guard of the diligencia, who +would have taken charge of your cloth, and kept it from going through +the custom-house." + +On reaching Gibraltar, I made the acquaintance of Frenerry, who for +thirty years has been a merchant in Morocco. Mr. Frenerry had frequent +opportunities of personal intercourse with Muley Abd Errahman, and had +more influence with him than the British Consul. Indeed, at all times, a +merchant is always more welcome to his Imperial Highness than a +diplomatic agent, who usually is charged with some disagreeable mission. +Mr. Frenerry was called, par excellence, "the merchant of the West." Of +course, Mr. Frenerry's opinions must be valuable on Maroquine affairs. +He says:--"The Morocco Moors like the English very much, and better than +any other Europeans, for they know the English to be their best friends. +At the same time, the Moors feel their weakness. They know also, that a +day might come when the English would be against them, or have disputes +with them, as in days past. The Moors are, therefore, jealous of the +English, though they consider them their friends; and do not like +Englishmen more than any other Christians to travel in their country. In +other respects, if well managed and occasionally coaxed or bribed with a +present, the Moors are very good natured, and as tractable as children." + +However, I find since the murder of Mr. Davidson, both the people and +government of Morocco have got a bad name in Gibraltar; and opinion +begins to prevail that it is almost impossible for an Englishman to +travel in the country. Mr. Frenerry recommends that a Moor should be +treated not proudly, but with a certain degree of firmness, to shew him +you will not be trifled with. In this way, he says, you will always +continue friends. + +With regard to the present Emperor, Mr. Frenerry is a great apologist of +his system. + +"The Emperor is obliged to exclude foreigners as much as possible from +his country. He does not want to tempt the cupidity of Europeans, by +showing them the resources of the empire. They are prying about for +mines of iron and silver. He is obliged to forbid these geological +wanderings. The subjects of his empire are divided in their feelings and +interests, and have been driven there by every wave of human +revolutions. The Emperor does not wish to discover his weakness abroad, +by letting Europeans witness the bad faith and disloyalty of his +heterogeneous tribes. The European consuls are much to blame; they +always carry their heads too high, if not insolently. They then appoint +Jewish consuls along the coast, a class of men whom the hereditary +prejudices of his Mussulman subjects will not respect." + +There is certainly something, if not a good deal, to be said _for_ the +emperor as well as _against_ him. I was obliged to wait some time at +Gibraltar before I could get a vessel for Mogador. I missed one +excellent opportunity from the want of a note from the Gibraltar +government. A Moor offered to allow me to take a passage without any +expense in his vessel, provided I could obtain a note from our +government; but the Governor of Gibraltar required an introduction in +form, and, before I could receive a letter from Mr. Hay to present to +him, the vessel left for Mogador. I therefore lost money and time +without any necessity. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese Sailors.-- +Trade-wind Hurricanes en the Atlantic Coast of Morocco.--Difficulties of +entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad provisioning of Foreign +Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the once far-famed and +dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. Phillips, Captain of +the Port--Rumours amongst the People about my Mission.--Visit to the +Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the inhabitants of +Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed of the ancient +Nuraidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish Emperor.--Martial +character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black Corps of the +Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative anecdotes of the +various Emperors. + + +On leaving the Straits (commonly called "The Gut,") a noble sight +presented itself--a fleet of some hundred merchantmen, all smacking +about before the rising wind, crowding every sail, lest it should change +ere they got clear of the obstructive straits. Many weeks had they been +detained by the westerly gales, and our vessel amongst the rest. I felt +the poignant misery of "waiting for the wind." I know nothing so +wearisome when all things are made ready. It is worse than hope +deferred, which sickens and saddens the heart. + +I have lately seen some newspaper reports, that government is preparing +a couple of steam-tugs, to be placed at the mouth of the straits, to tow +ships in and out. We may trust it will be done. But if government do it +not, I am sure it would answer the purpose of a private company, and I +have no doubt such speculation will soon be taken up. Vessels freighted +with perishable cargoes are often obliged to wait weeks, nay months, at +the mouth of the Straits, to the great injury of commerce. In our days +of steam and rapid communication, this cannot be tolerated. [13] + +After a voyage of four days, we found ourselves off the coast of +Mogador. The wind had been pretty good, but we had suffered some delay +from a south wind, which headed us for a short time. We prayed for a +westerly breeze, of which we soon got enough from west and north-west. +The first twelve hours it came gently on, but gradually increased till +it blew a gale. The captain was suddenly called up in the night, as +though the ship was going to sink, or could sink, whilst she was running +as fast as we would let her before the wind. But the real danger lay in +missing the coast of Mogador, or not being able to get within its port +from the violence of the breakers near the shore. Our vessel was a small +Genoese brig; and, though the Genoese are the best sailors in the +Mediterranean--even superior to the Greeks, who rank next--our captain +and his crew began to quake. At daylight, the coast-line loomed before +us, immersed in fog, and two hours after, the tall minaret of the great +mosque of Mogador, shooting erect, a dull lofty pyramid, stood over the +thick haze lying on the lower part of the coast. + +This phenomenon of the higher objects and mountains being visible over a +dense fog on the shore, is frequent on this side of the Atlantic. Wind +also prevails here. It scarcely ever rains, but wind the people have +nine months out of the twelve. It is a species of trade-wind, which +commences at the Straits, or the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and +sweeps down north-west with fury, making the entire coast of Morocco a +mountain-barrier of breakers, increasing in its course, and extending as +far as Wadnoun, Cape Bajdor, Cape Blanco, even to the Senegal. It does +not, however, extend far out at sea, being chiefly confined to the coast +range. Our alarm now was lest we should get within the clutches of this +fell swoop, for the port once past, it would have required us weeks to +bear up again, whilst this wind lasted. + +The Atlantic coast of Morocco is an indented or waving line, and there +are only two or three ports deserving the name of harbours--harbours of +refuge from these storms. Unlike the western coast of Ireland, so finely +indented by the Atlantic wave, this portion of the Morocco coast is +rounded off by the ocean. + +Our excitement was great. The capitano began yelping like a cowardly +school-boy, who has been well punched by a lesser and more courageous +antagonist. Immediately I got on deck, I produced an English book, which +mentioned the port of Mogador as a "good" port. + +"Per Dio Santo!" exclaimed our capitano; "yes, for the English it _is_ a +good port--you dare devils at sea--for them it _is_ a good port. The +open sea, with a gale of wind, is a good port for the _maladetti_ +English." + +Irritated at this extreme politeness to our gallant tars, who have so +long "braved the battle and the breeze," I did not trouble farther the +dauntless Genoese, who certainly was not destined to become a Columbus. +Now the men began to snivel and yelp, following the example of their +commander. "We won't go into the port, Santa Virgine! We won't go in to +be shivered to pieces on the rocks." At this moment our experienced +capitano fancied we had got into shoal-water; the surf was seen running +in foaming circles, as if in a whirlpool. Now, indeed, our capitano did +yelp; now did the crew yelp, invoking all the saints of the Roman +calendar, instead of attending to the ship. [14] Here was a scene of +indescribable confusion. Our ship was suddenly put round and back. + +My fellow passengers, a couple of Jews from Gibraltar, began swearing at +the capitano and his brave men. One of them, whilst cursing, thought it +just as well, at the same time, to call upon Father Abraham. Our little +brig pitched her bows two or three times under water like a storm-bird, +and did _not_ ground. It was seen to be a false alarm. The capitano now +took courage on seeing all the flags flying over the fortifications, it +being Friday, the Mahometan Sabbath. The silly fellow had heard, that +the port authorities always hauled down their colours, when the entrance +to the harbour was unsafe by reason of bad weather. Seeing the colours, +he imagined all was right. + +There are two entrances to the port of Mogador; one from the south, +which is quite open; the other from the north-west, which is only a +narrow passage, with scarcely room to admit a ship-of-the-line. The +'Suffren,' in which the Prince de Joinville commanded the bombardment of +the town, stood right over this entrance, on the northern channel, +having south-east the Isle of Mogador, and north-west the coast of the +Continent. The Prince took up a bold and critical position, exposed to +violent currents, to grounding on a rocky bottom, and to many other +serious accidents. [15] + +[Illustration] + +As we neared this difficult entrance, we were all in a state of the most +feverish excitement, expecting, such was the fury of the breakers, to be +thrown on the rock on either side. Thus, it was a veritable Scylla and +Charybdis. A man from the rigging descried several small vessels moored +snugly behind the isle. We ventured in with breathless agitation. A man +from one of the fortifications, guessing or seeing, I suppose, our +timidity and bad seamenship, cried out at the top of his lungs, "Salvo!" +which being interpreted, meant, "The entrance is safe." + +But this was not enough; we were to have another trial of patience. The +foolish captain--to terrify us to the last--had to cast his anchor, as a +matter of course; and imagine, dear reader, our alarm, our terror, when +we heard him scream out, "The chain is snapped!" We were now to be +driven out southwards by the fury of the wind, which had become a +hurricane, no very agreeable prospect! Happily, also this was a false +alarm. The capitano then came up to me, to shake hands, apologize, and +present congratulations on our safe harbouring. The perspiration of +fever and a heated brain was coursing down his cheeks. The capitano lit +an extra candle before the picture of the Virgin below, and observed to +me, whilst the men were saying their prayers of gratitude for +deliverance, "Per un miraculo della santissima Vergina; noi sciamo +salvati!"--(we are saved by a miracle of the Most Holy Virgin!) which, +of course, I did not or could not dispute, allowing, as I do, all men in +such circumstances, to indulge freely in their peculiar faith, so long +as it does not interfere with me or mine. + +It is well that our merchant-vessels have never been reduced to the +condition of Genoese craft, or been manned by such chicken-hearted +crews. I believe the pusillanimity of the latter is traceable, in a +great measure, to the miserable way in which the poor fellows are fed. +These Genoese had no meat whilst I was with them. I sailed once in a +Neapolitan vessel, a whole month, during which time the crew lived on +horse-beans, coarse maccaroni, Sardinian fish, mouldy biscuit, and +griping black wine. Meat they had none. How is it possible for men thus +fed, to fight and wrestle with the billows and terrors of the deep? + +We had no ordinary task to get on shore; the ocean was without, but a +sea was within port. The wind increased with such fury, that we +abandoned for the day the idea of landing. We had, however, specie on +board, which it was necessary forthwith to land. Mr. Philips, captain of +the port, and a merchant's clerk, therefore, came alongside with great +difficulty in a Moorish boat, to take on shore the specie; and in it I +embarked. This said barque was the miserable but apt representation of +the by-gone formidable Maroquine navy, which, not many centuries ago, +pushed its audacity to such lengths, that the "rovers of Salee" cruised +off the English coast, and defied the British fleets. Now the whole +naval force of the once-dreaded piratic states of Barbary can hardly +boast of two or three badly-manned brigs or frigates. As to Morocco, the +Emperor has not a single captain who can conduct a vessel from Mogador +to Gibraltar. + +The most skilful _rais_ his ports can furnish made an attempt lately, +and was blown up and down for months on the coasts of Spain and +Portugal, being at last driven into the Straits by almost miraculous +interposition. + +What was this Moorish boat in which I went on shore? A mere long shell +of bad planks, and scarcely more ship-shape than the trunk of a tree +hollowed into a canoe, leakily put together. It was filled with dirty, +ragged, half-naked sailors, whose seamanship did not extend beyond +coming and going from vessels lying in this little port. Each of these +Mogadorian port sailors had a bit of straight pole for an oar; the way +in which they rowed was equally characteristic. Struggling against wind +and current with their Moorish rais at the helm, encouraging their +labours by crying out first one thing, then another, as his fancy +dictated, the crew repeated in chorus all he said:--"Khobsah!" (a loaf) +cried the rais. + +All the men echoed "Khobsah." + +"A loaf you shall have when you return!" cried the rais. + +"A loaf we shall have when we return!" cried the men. + +"Pull, pull; God hears and sees you!" cried the rais. + +"We pull, we pull; God hears and sees us!" cried the men. + +"Sweetmeats, sweetmeats, by G--; sweetmeats by G--you shall have, only +pull away!" swore the rais. + +"Sweetmeats we shall have, thank God! sweetmeats we shall have, thank +God!" roared the men, all screaming and bawling. In this unique style, +after struggling three hours to get three miles over the port, we +landed, all of us completely exhausted and drowned in spray. + +It is usual for Moors, particularly negroes, to sing certain choruses, +and thus encourage one another in their work. What, however, is +remarkable, these choruses are mostly on sacred subjects, being +frequently the formula of their confession, "There is no God, but one +God, and Mahomet is his Prophet," &c. These clownish tars were deeply +coloured, and some quite black. I found, in fact, the greatest part of +the Moorish population of Mogador coloured persons. We may here easily +trace the origin of the epithet "Black-a-Moor," and we are not so +surprised that Shakspeare made his Moor black; indeed, the present +Emperor, Muley Abd Errahman, is of very dark complexion, though his +features are not at all of the negro cast. But he has sons quite black, +and with negro features, who, of course, are the children of negresses. +One of these, is Governor of Rabat. In no country is the colour of the +human skin so little thought of. This is a very important matter in the +question of abolition. There is no objection to the skin and features of +the negro; it is only the luxury of having slaves, or their usefulness +for heavy work, which weighs in the scale against abolition. + +As soon as we landed, we visited the lieutenant-governor, who +congratulated us on not being carried down to the Canary Islands. Then +his Excellency asked, in due studied form: + +"Where do you come from?" + +_Traveller_.--"Gibraltar." + +_His Excellency_.--"Where are you going?" + +_Traveller_.--"To see the Sultan, Muley Abd Errahman." + +_His Excellency_.--"What's your business?" + +_Traveller_.--"I will let your Excellency know to-morrow." + +I then proceeded to the house of Mr. Phillips, where I took up my +quarters. Mr. Willshire, our vice-consul, was absent, having gone up to +Morocco with all the principal merchants of Mogador, to pay a visit to +the Emperor. + +The port of Mogador had to-day a most wild and desolate appearance, +which was rendered still more dreary and hideous by a dark tempest +sweeping over it. On the shore, there was no appearance of life, much +less of trade and shipping. All had abandoned it, save a guard, who lay +stretched at the gate of the waterport, like a grim watch-dog. From this +place, we proceeded to the merchants' quarter of the town, which was +solitary and immersed in profound gloom. Altogether, my first +impressions of Mogador were most unfavourable, I went to bed and dreamt +of winds and seas, and struggled with tempests the greater part of the +night. Then I was shipwrecked off the Canaries; thrown on the coast of +Wadnoun, and made a slave by the wild Arabs wandering in the Desert--I +awoke. + +Mr. Phillips, mine host, soon became my right-hand man. His +extraordinary character, and the adventures of his life are worth a +brief notice. Phillips said he was descended from those York Jews, who, +on refusing to pay a contribution levied on them by one of our most +Christian kings, had a tooth drawn out every morning (without the aid of +chloroform), until they satisfied the cruel avarice of the tyrant. In +person, Phillips was a smart old gentleman, with the ordinary lineaments +of his race stamped on his countenance. The greater part of his life has +been spent in South America, where he attained the honours of +aide-de-camp to Bolivar. In those sanguinary revolutions, heaving with +the birth of the young republic, he had often been shut up in the +capilla to be shot, and was rescued always by the Jesuit fathers, who +pitied and saved the poor Jew, on his expressing himself favourable to +Christianity. Returning to England, after twenty years' absence, his +mother did not fully recognize him, until he one day got up and admired, +with youthful ardour, a china figure on the chimney-piece, which had +been his toy in his boyhood. On the occurrence of this little domestic +incident, the mother passionately embraced her lost prodigal, once dead, +but now "alive again." Phillips came to Mogador on a military +speculation, and offered to take the command of the Emperor's cavalry +against all his enemies. + +This audacity of a Jew filled the Moor with alarm. "How could a Jew, who +was not a devil, propose such an insult to the Commander of the +Faithful, as to presume to take the charge of his invincible warriors!" +Nevertheless, the little fellow weathered the storm, and got appointed +"captain of the port of Mogador," with the liberal salary of about +thirty shillings per month; but this did not prevent our aide-de-camp, +now metamorphosed into a sea captain, from wearing _an admiral's_ +uniform, which he obtained in a curious way on a visit to England. He +met in the streets of London with an acquaintance, who pretended to +patronize him. The gentleman jokingly said, "Well, Phillips, I must give +you an uniform, since you are appointed captain of the port of Mogador." +The said gentleman received, a few months afterwards, when his quondam +protégé was safe with his uniform strutting about Mogador, to the +amazement of the Moors, and the delight of his co-religionists, a bill +of thirty pounds or so, charged for "a suit of admiral's uniform for Mr. +Phillips, captain of the port of Mogador;" and found that a joke +sometimes has a serious termination. + +Phillips, on his first arrival in this country, entered into a +diplomatic contest with the Moorish authorities, demanding the +privileges of a native British-born Jew, and he determined to ride a +horse, in order to vindicate the rights of British Jews, before the +awful presence of the Shereefian Court! About this business, the +Consul-general Hay is said to have written eleven long, and Mr. +Willshire about twenty-one short and pithy despatches, but the affair +ended in smoke. Phillips, with great magnanimity and self-denial, +consented to relinquish the privilege, on the prayer of his brethren, +natives of Mogador, who were very naturally afraid, lest the incensed +Emperor might visit on them what he durst not inflict on the +British-born Jew. + +Of the achievements of Phillips in the way of science (for he assures he +is born to the high destiny of enlightening both barbarians and +civilized nations) I take the liberty, with his permission, of +mentioning one. Phillips brought here a pair of horse-shoes belonging to +a drayhorse of the firm of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, and Co., to astonish +the Moors by their size, who are great connoisseurs of horse-flesh. The +Moors protested their unbelief, and swore it was a lie,--"such shoes +never shod a horse." Phillips then got a skeleton of a head from +England. This they also scouted as an imposition, alleging that Phillips +had got it purposely made to deceive them. "Although they believed in +the Prophet, whom they never saw, they were still not such fools as to +believe in everything which an Infidel might bring to their country." +Phillips now gave up, in despair, the attempt to propagate science among +the Moors. + +Our ancient aide-de-camp of Bolivar is a liberal English Jew, and boasts +that, on Christmas-day, he always has his roast-beef and plum-pudding. I +supped with him often on a sucking-pig, for the Christians breed pigs in +this place, to the horror of pious Mussulmen. This amusing adventurer +subsequently left Mogador and went to Lisbon, where he purposed writing +a memorial to the Archbishop of Canterbury, containing the plan, of a +New Unitarian system of religion, by which the Jews might be brought +within the pale of the Christian Church! + +For some time I felt the effects of my sea voyage; my apartment rocked +in my brain. People speculated about the objects of my mission; the most +absurd rumours were afloat. "The Christian has come to settle the +affairs of Mr. Darman, whom the Emperor killed," some said. Others +remarked, "The Christian has come to buy all the slaves of the country, +in order to liberate them." The lieutenant-governor sent for Phillips, +to know what I came for, who I was, and how I passed my time? Phillips +told him all about my mission, and that I was a great taleb. When +Phillips mentioned to the governor, that Great Britain had paid a +hundred millions of dollars for the liberation of slaves belonging to +Englishmen, his Excellency, struck with astonishment, exclaimed, "The +English Sultan is inspired by God!" + +[Illustration.] + +I visited the burying-place of Christians, situate on the north-side of +the town by the sea-shore. A fine tomb was erected here to the memory of +Mrs. Willshire's father. The ignorant country people coming to Mogador +stopped to repeat prayers before it, believing it the tomb of some +favourite saint. The government, hearing of this idolatry to a +Christian, begged Mr. Willshire to have the tomb covered with cement. +When this was done, so perverse are these people, that they partially +divested it of covering, and chipped off pieces of marble for their +women, who ground them into powder, and dusted their faces with it to +make them fair. Every six months it is necessary to replaster the tomb. +This cemetery is the most desolate place the mind of man can conceive. +There is no green turf here to rest lightly on the bosom of the dead! No +tree, no cypress of mourning; no shade or shelter for those who seek to +indulge in grief. All is a sandy desolation, swept by the wild winds of +the solitary shore of the ocean. + +[Illustration] + +Farther on, is the Moorish cemetery, which I passed through. What a +spectacle of human corruption! Here, indeed, we may learn to despise +this world's poor renown, and cease tormenting ourselves with vain and +godless pursuits. It was then sunset, the moon had risen far up on the +fading brow of the departing day, casting pale lights and fearful +shadows over this house of the dead. It was time to return, or the gates +of the city would shut me out amidst the wreck of poor human dust and +bones. I saw, moving in the doubtful shadows of approaching night, the +grave-digging hyaena! + +It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. The wreckers of this coast +boldly assert that a shipwreck is a blessing (_berkah_), sent to them by +Providence. The port authorities have even the impudence to declare, +that to erect lighthouses at the mouth of the ports would be thwarting +the decrees of Divine Providence! In spite of all this, however, at the +urgent request of Mr. Willshire, when, on one occasion, the weather was +very bad, the governor of Mogador stationed guards on various parts of +the coast to preserve the lives and property of shipwrecked vessels. But +I do not think I have heard worse cases of Moorish wreckers, than those +which have happened not very many years ago on the French and English +coasts. Some of my readers will recollect the case of an Indiaman +wrecked off the coast of France, when poor ladies in a state of +suspended animation, had their fingers cut off to get possession of +their diamond-rings. During my stay at Mogador, a courier arrived from +Sous, bringing the news of some Christians being wrecked off the coast, +A Jew had purchased one poor fellow from the Arabs for two camels. Two +others were dead, their bodies cast upon the inhospitable beach by the +Atlantic surge, where they lay unburied, to be mangled by the wild +tribes, or to feed the hungry hyaena. + +Some of the merchants came hither from the capital; amongst the rest, +Mr. and Mrs. Elton, they, as well as others, brought a favourable +account of the Emperor and his ministers, and lauded very much the +commercial policy of the governor of Mogador. Moderation, it is said, is +the characteristic of the court's proceedings towards the merchants. +Trade was not very brisk, it being the rainy season, when the Arabs are +occupied with sowing the ground; the busy time is from September to +January. + +The produce sold at that time was simply that which is left of the past +season, having been kept back with the object of getting a better price +for it. Gum is brought in great quantities for exportation. An immense +quantity of sugar is imported, a third of which is loaf beet-root sugar +brought from Marseilles. + +Mr. Phillips came to me, to beg ten thousand pardons for having only +fowls for dinner. One morning two bullocks were killed by the Jews, but +not "according to the Law," and the greater part of the Jews that day +would have to go without meat. On these occasions, the Jews sell their +meat to the Moors and Christians at a reduced price. Phillips observed, +"I am obliged to eat meat according to the Law, or I should have no +peace of my life." + +A good many people were affected by colds, but the climate of Mogador is +reckoned very good. All the year round there is not much variation; N.W. +and N.E. winds bring cold in winter, and cool refreshing breezes in +summer. There was not a single medical man in Mogador, although there +were some fifty Europeans, including Jews. Some years ago a clever young +man was practising here. For one year, each European paid his share of +salary; but alas! those whom God blessed with good health, refused to +pay their quota to the support of a physician for their sickly +neighbours, consequently, every European's life was in the greatest +danger, should a serious accident occur to them. With regard to money, +they would prefer a broken leg all their life time to paying five pounds +to have it set. The consuls of Tangier subscribe for a resident +physician. + +[Illustration.] + +One afternoon, I went to see the Moorish cavalry "playing at powder," +(Lab Elbaroud) being a stirring and novel scene. A troop of these +haughty cavaliers assembled with their chiefs almost daily on the playa, +or parade. Then they divided themselves into parties of twenty or +thirty; proceeding with their manoeuvres, the cavaliers at first advance +slowly in a single line, then canter, and then gallop, spurring on the +horse to its last gasp, meantime standing up erect on their +shovel-stirrups, and turning from one side to the other; looking round +with an air of defiance, they fire off their matchlocks, throw +themselves into various dexterous attitudes, sometimes letting fall the +bridle. The pieces being discharged, the horses instantaneously stop. +The most difficult lesson a barb learns, is to halt suddenly in mid +career of a full gallop. To discharge his matchlock, standing on the +stirrups while the horse is in full gallop, is the great lesson of +perfection of the Maroquine soldiery. The cavaliers now wheel out of the +way for the next file, returning reloading, and taking their places to +gallop off and fire again. Crowds of people attend these equestrian +exhibitions, of which they are passionately fond. They squat round the +parade in double or treble rows, muffled up within their bournouses, in +mute admiration. Occasionally women are present, but females here join +in very few out-door amusements. When a whole troop of cavaliers are +thus manoeuvering, galloping at the utmost stretch of the horses' +muscles, the men screaming and hallowing "hah! hah! hah!" the dust and +sand rising in clouds before the foaming fiery barb, with the deafening +noise and confusion of a simultaneous discharge of firelocks, the +picture represents in vivid colours what might be conceived of the wild +Nubian cavalry of ancient Africa. [16] Today there was a mishap; several +cavaliers did not keep up the line. The chief leading the troops, cried +out in a rage, and with the voice of a senator, "Fools! madmen! are you +children, or are ye men?" Christians or Jews standing too near, are +frequently pushed back with violence; and we were told "not to stand in +the way of Mussulmen." + +These cavaliers are sometimes called _spahis_; they are composed of +Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and all the native races in Morocco. They are +usually plainly dressed, but, beneath the bournouse, many of them wear +the Moorish dress, embroidered in the richest style. Some of the horses +are magnificently caparisoned in superb harness, worked in silk and +gold. Fine harness is one of the luxuries of North Africa, and is still +much used, even in Tunis and Tripoli, where the new system of European +military dress and tactics has been introduced. The horse is the sacred +animal of Morocco, as well as the safeguard of the empire. The Sultan +has no other military defence, except the natural difficulties of the +country, or the hatred of his people to strangers. He does not permit +the exportation of horses, nor of barley, on which they are often fed. +[17] + +But the defeat of the Emperor's eldest son, Sidi Mahomed, at the Battle +of Isly, who commanded upwards of forty thousand of these cavaliers, has +thrown a shade over the ancient celebrity of this Moorish corps, and +these proud horsemen have since become discouraged. On that fatal day, +however, none of the black bodyguard of the Emperor was brought into +action. These muster some thirty thousand strong. This corps, or the +Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari, [18] are soldiers who possess the most cool and +undaunted courage; retreat with them is never thought of. Unlike the +Janissaries of old, their sole ambition is to _obey_, and not to _rule_ +their sovereign. This fidelity to the Shereefs remains unshaken through +all the shocks of the empire, and to the person of the Emperor they are +completely devoted. In a country like Morocco, of widely distinct races +and hostile tribes, all naturally detesting each other, the Emperor +finds in them his only safety. I cannot withhold the remark, that this +body-guard places before us the character of the negro in a very +favourable light. He is at once brave and faithful, the two essential +ingredients in the formation and development of heroic natures. + +It will, I trust, not be deemed out of place to consider for a moment +the warlike propensities and qualities of the negro. Every European who +has penetrated Africa, confesses to the bellicose disposition of the +negro, having seen him engaged with others in perpetual conflict. The +choice and retention of a body-guard of Blacks by the Moorish Emperor, +also triumphantly prove the martial nature of the negro race. But the +negro has signally displayed the military qualities of coolness and +courage in many instances, two or three of which I shall here take the +liberty of mentioning, in connexion with the affairs of Algeria. + +Mr. Lord relates, on the authority of the French, that, when the +invading army invested Fort de l'Empereur, and had silenced all its +guns, the Dey ordered the Turkish General to retreat to the Kasbah, and +leave three negroes to blow up the fort. It seemed, therefore, +abandoned, but two red flags floated still on its outward line of +defence, and a third on the angle towards the city. The French continued +all their efforts towards effecting a practicable breach. Three negroes +were now seen calmly walking on the ramparts, and from time to time +looking over as if examining the progress of the breach. One of them, +struck by a cannonball, fell; and the others, as if to avenge his death, +ran to a cannon, pointed it, and fired three shots. At the third, the +gun turned over, and they were unable to replace it. They tried another, +and as they were in the act of raising it, a shot swept the legs from +under one of them. The remaining negro gazed for a moment on his +comrade, drew him a little aside, left him, and once more examined the +breach. He then snatched one of the flags, and retired to the interior +of the tower. In a few minutes, he re-appeared, took a second flag and +descended. The French continued their cannonade, and the breach appeared +almost practicable, when suddenly they were astounded by a terrific +explosion, which shook the whole ground as with an earthquake. An +immense column of smoke, mixed with streaks of flames, burst from the +centre of the fortress; masses of solid masonry were hurled into the air +to an amazing height, while cannon, stones, timbers, projectiles, and +dead bodies were scattered in every direction. What was all this? The +negro had done his duty--the fort was blown up! + +In a skirmish near Mascara, one of Abd-el-Kader's negro soldiers killed +two Frenchmen with his own hand. The Emir, who was an eye-witness of his +bravery, rewarded him on the field of battle by presenting him with his +own sword and the Cross of the Crescent, the only military order in the +service, and which is never awarded except fur a very distinguished +action. Colonel Scott says the black was presented to him, and seemed as +proud of the honour conferred on him as if he had been made a K.G.C.B. + +In the strifes and disputes for succession that have characterized the +history of the Barbary princes, and reddened their annals with blood, +nothing has been more remarkable than the fidelity of the negroes to +their respective masters, and the bravery with which they have defended +them to the last hour of their reign or existence. When all his +partisans have deserted a pretender, when the soldiers of the successful +competitor to the throne have been in the act of pouncing upon the +fallen or falling prince, a handful of brave followers has rushed to the +rescue, and surrounded the person of their beloved leader, pouring out +their life-blood in his defence--and these men were negroes! To use a +vulgar metaphor, the negro will defend his master with the savage +courage and tenacity of a bull-dog. And this is the principal reason +which has induced the despotic princes of North Africa to cherish the +negroes, of whom they have encouraged a continual supply from the +interior. + +The history of this Imperial Guard of Negroes is interesting, as showing +the inconveniences as well as the advantage of such a corps, for these +troops have not been always so well conducted as they are at present. At +one time, the Shereefs claimed a species of sovereignty over the city of +Timbuctbo and the adjacent countries. In the year 1727, Muley Ismail +determined to re-people his wasted districts by a colony of negroes. His +secret object was, however, to form a body guard to keep his own people +in check, a sort of black Swiss regiment, so alike is the policy of all +tyrants. In a few years, these troops exceeded 100,000 men. Finding +their numbers so great, and their services so much needed by the Sultan, +they became exigeant and rapacious, dictating to their royal master. +Muley Abdallah was deposed six times by them. Finding their yoke +intolerable, the Sultan decimated them by sending them to fight in the +mountains. Others were disbanded for the same reasons by Sidi Mohammed. +Still, the effect of this new colonization was beneficially experienced +throughout the country. The Moors taking the black women as concubines, +a mixed race of industrious people sprang up, and gave an impetus to the +empire. It is questionable, however, if North Africa could he colonized +by negroes. By mixing with the Caucasian race, this experiment partly +succeeded. But in general, North Africa is too bleak and uncongenial for +the negroes' nature during winter. The negro race does not increase of +itself on this coast. Their present number is kept up by a continual +supply of slaves. When this is stopped, coloured people will begin +gradually to disappear. + +It is unnecessary to tell my readers that the Shereefs are very +sensitive on matters of religion; but an anecdote or two may amuse them. +A French writer expatiating in true Gallic style, calls Morocco the +"arrière-garde en Afrique of Islamism," and "une de ses armées de +réserve." Indeed, the coasts and cities of Morocco are inundated with +saints of every description and degree of sanctity. Morocco, in fact, is +not only the _classic_ land of Marabouts, but their home and haunt, and +sphere of agitation. There are ten thousand Abd-el-Kaders and Bou Mazas +all disputing authority with the High Priest, who sits on the green +throne of the Shereefs. Sometimes they assume the character of +demagogues, and inveigh against the rapacity and corruption of the court +and government. At others they appear as prophets, prophets of ill, by +preaching boldly the Holy war. + +The French in Africa now furnish them with an everlasting theme of +denunciation. From Morocco they travel eastwards, filling the Sahara and +the Atlas with the odours of their holy reputation. So that religious +light, like that of civilization, is now moving from the +west--eastwards, instead of, as in times past, from the east--eastwards. +The Maroquine Mahometans may be cited as a case in point. They find too +frequently only the form of religion in the east, as we do in the +eastern churches. They are beginning to assault Mecca as we have +assaulted Jerusalem. + +Now for an anecdote or two illustrative of the high state of orthodoxy +professed by the Shereefs. Some time ago, a number of handkerchiefs were +brought, or rather smuggled into Mogador, having printed upon them +passages from the Koran. One of them got into the hands of the Emperor, +who thinking the Christians were ridiculing the Sacred Book, ordered +instanter all the cities of the coast to be searched to discover the +offender who introduced them. Happily for the merchant he was not found +out. His Highness commanded that all the handkerchiefs which were +collected should be destroyed. When Mr. Davidson was at Morocco, he +prescribed some Seidlitz water for the use of the Sultan, and placed on +the sides of two bottles, containing the beverage, Arabic verses from +the Koran. The Sultan was exceedingly exasperated at this compliment to +his religion, and had it privately intimated to Mr. Davidson not to +desecrate the Holy Book in that abominable manner. The latter then very +prudently gave up to the minister all the printed verses he had brought +with him, which were concealed from public view. But if some of these +emperors are so rigid and scrupulous, there are others more liberal and +tolerant. + +Muley Suleiman was a great admirer of the European character, and was +much attached to a Mr. Leyton, an English merchant. This merchant was +one day riding out of the city of Mogador, when an old woman rushed at +him, seized the bridle of his horse, and demanded alms. The merchant +pushed her away with his whip. The ancient dame seeing herself so rudely +nonsuited, went off screaming revenge; and although she had not had a +tooth in her head for twenty long years, she noised about town that Mr. +Leyton had knocked two of her teeth out, and importuned the Governor to +obtain her some pecuniary indemnification. + +His Excellency advised Mr. Leyton to comply, and get rid of the +annoyance of the old woman. He resolutely refused, and the Governor was +obliged to report the case to the Emperor, as the old lady had made so +many partisans in Mogador as to threaten a disturbance. His Imperial +Highness wrote a letter to the merchant, condescendingly begging him to +supply the old woman with "two silver teeth," meaning thereby to give +her a trifling present in money. Mr. Leyton, being as obstinate as ever, +was ordered to appear before the Emperor at Morocco. Here the resolute +merchant declared that he had not knocked the teeth out of the old +woman's head, she had had none for years, and he would not be maligned +even in so small a matter. + +The Emperor was at his wits' end, and endeavoured to smooth down the +contumacious Leyton, to save his capital from insurrection; imploring +him to comply with the Lex talionis, [19] and have two of his teeth +drawn if he was inflexibly determined not to pay. The poor Emperor was +in hourly dread of a revolution about this tooth business, and at the +same time he knew the merchant had spoken the truth. Strange to say, Mr. +Leyton at last consented to lose his teeth rather than his money. +However, on the merchant's return from the capital to Mogador, to his +surprise, and no doubt to his satisfaction, he found that two ship-loads +of grain had been ordered to be delivered to him by the Emperor, in +compensation for the two teeth which he had had punched out to satisfy +the exigencies of the Empire. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine Affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodic visit of the Mogador +Merchants to the Emperor in the Southern Capital. + + +I received several visits from the Moors. As a class of men, they are +far superior in civility and kindness to the Moorish population of +Tangier. So much for the foolish and absurd stories about the place, +which tell us that it is the only city of the Empire in which Christians +can live with safety and comparative comfort. These tales must have been +invented to please the Tangier diplomatists. The contrary is the fact, +for, whilst the Moors of Tangier consist of camel drivers and soldiers, +there are a good number of very respectable native merchants in Mogador; +nevertheless, a large portion of the population is in the pay of +government as militia, to keep in check the tribes of the neighbouring +provinces; but their pay is very small, and most of them do a little +business; many are artizuns and common labourers. As a specimen of their +ordinary conversation, take the following. + +_Moors_.--"All the people of Morocco are soldiers; what can the +foreigner do against them? Morocco is one camp, our Sultan is one, we +have one Prophet, and one God." + +_Traveller_.--"In our country we do not care to have so many soldiers. +We have fewer than France, and many other countries; but our soldiers do +not work like yours; they are always soldiers, and fight bravely." + +_Moors_.--"We don't understand; how wonderful! the French must conquer +you with more soldiers." + +_Traveller_.--"We have more ships, and our principal country is an +island; the sea surrounds us, and defends us." + +_Moors_.--"How much pay has the Governor of Gibraltar?" + +_Traveller_.--"About 20,000 dollars per annum." + +_Moors_.--"Too much; why, the Koed of Mogador is obliged, instead of +receiving money, to send the Emperor, at a day's notice, 20, or 30,000 +dollars! or if he does not pay, he is sent to prison at once; his head +is not the value of a slave's." + +It appears that the old governor (who is now in Morocco) positively +refuses any salary or presents; his Excellency is a man of some small +property, and finds this plan answers best. He will not be fattened and +bled as the Emperor treats other governors. He politely hinted this to +the Emperor when he accepted office; since then, he has resolutely +refused all presents from the merchants, so that the Emperor has no +excuse whatever for bleeding him under the pretext that he is afflicted +with a plethora, from his exactions on the people. The moneys referred +to by the Moors are the custom dues, which are collected by a separate +department, and transmitted direct, to the Emperor. + +Whilst residing at Mogador, Mr. Cohen arrived from Morocco, where he had +been with the merchants. He is the English Jew who assisted Mr. Davidson +in his travels through Morocco. His experience in Maroquine affairs is +considerable, and I shall offer his conclusions concerning the present +state of the Empire. I prefer, indeed, giving the opinion of various +residents or natives of the country to our own. Mr. Cohen's ideas will +be found to differ exceedingly from that of the (Imperial) merchants, +who, in point of fact, are not free men, and cannot be trustworthy +witnesses. As Mr. Elton justly observed, the Europeans are so much +involved with the Emperor, that they are almost obliged to consent +publicly to the violent death of the unfortunate Jew, Dorman, although +he was under the French protection, and likewise a kind of vice-consul. + +Mr. Cohen says--"the people of Morocco are tired of their government, +tired of being pillaged of their property, tired of the insecurity and +uncertainty of their possessions; that is to say, of the few things +which still remain in their hands." Mr. Cohen goes so far as to +say--that, were a strong European power to be established on the coast, +the entire population would flock to its support. He gives the following +instance of the style and manner in which the Emperor bleeds the +governors of provinces. + +A few years ago, a governor of Mogador presented himself to the Sultan +of Fez. He was received with all due honours. The governor then begged +leave to return to Morocco. He was dismissed with great demonstrations +of friendship. He arrived at Morocco, and the governor of that city +immediately informed him that he was his prisoner, the Sultan having a +claim against him, of 40,000 dollars. At length, the poor dupe of royal +favour obtained permission to go back to Mogador and to sell all he had, +in order to make up the sum of 40,000 dollars. + +This is the way in which things are managed there. Of Maroquine policy, +Mr. Cohen says, "That when the Sultan finds himself in a scrape, he +gives way, though slightly dilatory at first. So long as he sees that he +does not commit himself, or is not detected, he does what he likes with +his own and other people's likewise, to the fullest extent of his power. +But on any mishap befalling him, Muley Abd Errahman, whenever he can, +always shifts the responsibility upon his ministers, and if one of them +gives his advice, and the course taken therein does not succeed, woe be +to the unhappy functionary!" + +Some years ago, a number of troops rebelled against the Emperor. At the +instance of the prime minister, Ben Dris, they were pardoned; but, +instead of receiving gratefully this imperial mercy, the troops broke +out afresh in rebellion, which, with great difficulty, was quelled by +the Sultan. This, however, being accomplished, he called the prime +minister before him, and thus addressed the amazed vizier. + +"Now, Sir, receive four hundred bastinadoes for your pains, and pay me +30,000 ducats; you will then take care in future how you give me +advice." Nevertheless, Ben Dris still remained vizier, and continued so +till his death. Bastinadoing a minister in Morocco is, however, much the +same as a forced resignation, or the dismissal of a minister in Europe. +Doubtless Ben Dris thought himself surprisingly lucky that the Emperor +did not cut off his head. + +It was the late Mr. Hay's opinion, that Muley Abd Errahman was a good +man, but surrounded with bad advisers. The probability seems rather, +that he took all the credit of the good acts of his advisers, and flung +on them the odium of all the bad acts committed by himself, as many +other despotic sovereigns have often done before him. + +With regard to the disaffection of the people, as alleged by Mr. Cohen, +its verification is of great importance to us, and our appreciation of +it equally so. + +We might be counting upon the resistance of the Maroquines against an +invasion of the French, and find, to our astonishment, the invaders +received as deliverers from the exactions and tyrannies of the +Shereefian oppressor. The fact is, Morocco will never be able to resist +the progress of nations any more than China, especially since she has +got the most restless people in the world for her neighbours. Besides, +during the last thirty years, many of the Maroquines have visited +Europe, and their eyes are becoming opened, the film of Moorish +fanaticism has fallen off; even on their aggressive neighbours, they see +the exercise of a government less rapacious than their own, and more +security of life and property. Still, the Emperor will use every means +to build up a barrier against innovation. + +Just at this time, a _rekos_ (courier) arrived from Mr. Willshire (now +at Morocco), bringing letters in answer to those which I had addressed +to him, touching my visit to the Emperor. He writes that he had "already +received orders from His Imperial Majesty respecting the object of my +mission," which words give me uneasiness, as they are evidently +unfavourable to it, and consequently to my journey to Morocco. + +There is a misunderstanding between the provinces of Shed ma and Hhaha. +These districts adjoin Mogador, the city belonging to Hhaha. Shedma is +mostly lowland and plains, and Hhaha highlands and mountains, which form +a portion of the south-western Atlas, and strike down into the sea at +Santa Cruz. There seems to be no other reason for those frequent +obstinate hostilities on both sides, except the nature of the country. +It is lamentable to think, because "a narrow frith" divides two people, +or because one lives in the mountains and the other in the plains, that +therefore they should be enemies for ever! Strange infatuation of poor +human nature. + +Here the feud legend babbles of revenge, and says that, in the time of +Muley Suleiman, one day when the Hhaha people were at prayers at +Mogador, during broad day light, the Shedma people came down upon them +and slaughtered them, and, whilst in the sacred and inviolable act of +devotion, entered the mosques and pillaged their houses. This produced +implacable hatred between them, which is likely to survive many +generations; but the story was told me by a Hhaha man, and not +improbably the people of Shedma had some plausible reason for making +this barbarous attack. + +Even before this piece of treachery of one Mussulman towards another at +the hour of prayer, the feuds seemed to have existed. It is a remarkable +circumstance in the history of Islamism, that many of the most +treacherous and sanguinary actions of Mahometans have been committed +within the sacred enclosures of the mosques, and at the hour of prayer. +One of the caliphs having been assassinated in a mosque, seems to have +been the precedent for all the murders of the kind which have followed, +and indelibly disgrace the Mussulman annals. + +These Hhaha and Shedma people are also borderers, and fight with the +accustomed ferocity of border tribes. + +Their conflicts are very desultory, being carried on by twos and threes, +or sixes and sevens, and with sticks, and stones, and other weapons, if +they cannot get knives, or matchlocks. Meanwhile, the Emperor folds his +arms, and looks on superbly and serenely. When the two parties are +exhausted, or have had enough of it for the present; his Imperial +Highness then interferes, and punishes both by fine. Indeed, it pays him +better to pursue this course; for, instead of spending money in the +suppression of factious insurrections, he gains by mulcting both +parties. The Sultan, in fact, not only aggrandizes himself by the +quarrels of his own subjects, but he profits by the disputes between the +foreign consuls and his governors. + +The imbroglio which took place some years since, between the Governor of +Mogador and the French Consul, M. Delaporte, is sufficiently +characteristic. An Algerine Mussulman, who was of course a French +subject, behaved himself very indecent, by setting all the usual rules +of Mahometan worship at defiance. This was a great scandal to the +Faithful. The Governor of Mogador, in defiance of religion, took upon +himself to punish a French Mussulman. The French Consul remonstrated +strongly in presence of the Governor, almost insulting him before his +people. The Sultan approved the conduct of his governor. The Consul +General decided that both parties ought to be removed, and the French +Government recalled their vice-consul. The Sultan, promised, but did not +dismiss his Governor, or rather the Governor himself would not be +dismissed. The French reiterated their complaints, which were supported +by a small squadron sent down to Mogador. The Governor was now +cashiered, and was besides obliged to pay the Emperor a fine of thirteen +thousand dollars, upon the pretext of appeasing the offended Majesty of +his royal master. So the Sultan always makes money by the misadventures +of his subjects. To indemnify the poor Governor for his fine, he +received soon after another appointment. On his return from Morocco, +having waited upon Mr Wiltshire regarding the presentation of the +Petition of the Anti-Slavery Society, the Vice-Consul explained the +great difficulty the Emperor had in receiving a petition which called +for an organic change in the social condition of the country, and that, +indeed, the abolition of slavery was "contrary to his religion." I then +represented to Mr. Willshire the propriety at least of waiting for the +arrival of the Governor of Mogador from Morocco, in order to have a +personal interview with him, to which the Vice-Consul acceded. + +The difficulties of travelling through Morocco; and of residing in the +inland towns have been already mentioned. + +In further proof, Mr. Elton related that, whilst the merchants visited +the Emperor in the, southern capital, a watch-maker, a European and a +Christian, asked permission of the Minister to dwell in the quarter of +the Moors, instead of that of the Jews, in which latter the Europeans +usually reside. + +The Minister replied, "you may live there if you like, but you must have +ten soldiers to guard you." Such a reply from the Minister, and whilst +the merchants were protected by the presence of the Emperor himself, is +all conclusive as to the insecurity attached to Europeans in the +interior towns. + +Morocco itself is a city of profound gloom, where the Moor indulges to +the utmost his taciturn disposition, and melancholy fatalism. It is, +therefore, not an enchanting abode for Europeans, who, whilst there +waiting on the Emperor, are obliged constantly to ride about to preserve +their health, or they would die of the suffocating stench in the Jew's +millah, or quarter. But, in taking this equestrian exercise, they are +not unfrequently insulted. An ungallant cavalier deliberately stopped +Mrs. Elton by riding up against her. + +The lady spurred her horse and caught with her feet a portion of his +light burnouse, dragging it away. He was only prevented riding after and +cutting her down, by one of the Emperor's secretaries, who was passing +by at the time. + +Mr. Elton had a fine black horse to ride upon. The populace were so +savage at seeing an infidel mounted upon so splendid an animal, that +they hooted: "Curse you, Infidel! dismount you dog!" + +These instances shew the sauciness of the vulgar, and are a fair example +of the conduct of the Moors. I am told by Barbary Jews, it would be next +to impossible for a Christian to walk without disguise in broad daylight +at Fez. Not so much from the hostility of the populace, as from their +indecent and vehement curiosity. However, in these cases, I am obliged +to give the testimony of others. Mr. Cohen, when travelling through the +interior, assumes the character of a quack doctor, the best passport in +all these countries. Practising as he goes, he manages to get enough to +bear his charges on the way. + +Oliver Goldsmith piped, but in Morocco the traveller and stranger +physics his way. To Europeans, Mr. Cohen gives this advice--"Never to +stay more than one night at any place." "Mr. Davidson," he says, +"stopped so long at Wadnoun, that all the Desert, as far as Timbuctoo, +heard of his projects and travels, and were determined to waylay and +plunder him." + +But, on the contrary, with respect to my own experience in the Desert, +the people appeared equally hostile or offended at my taking them by +surprise. Desert travelling after all is mostly an affair of luck. Six +travellers might be sent to Timbuctoo and three return, and three be +murdered, and yet the three who were murdered might have been as prudent +and as skilful as the three who were successful. The Maroquine +Government often shew a perfect Chinese jealousy of Europeans travelling +in the interior. When Doctor Willshire, brother of the Consul, returned +from Morocco, the Government gave orders that "he should be taken +directly to Mogador, and not be allowed to turn to the right hand or to +the left, to collect old stones or herbs." This lynx-eyed government +imagined they saw in Doctor Willshire's botanical and mineralogical +rambles, a design of spying out the powers and resources of the country. + +The consentaneous progress of Morocco in the universal movement of the +age, is argued by the merchants from an increased use of chairs, and +knives and forks. Some years ago, scarcely a knife and fork, or a chair +was to be found in this part of Morocco. Now, almost every house in the +Jewish quarter has them. The Jew of Barbary can use them with less +scruple than the orthodox Tory Moor, who sets his face like flint +against all changes, because his European brethren adopt them. Many +innovations of this domestic sort are introduced from Europe into North +Africa through the instrumentality of native Jews. Tea has become an +article Of universal consumption. It is, indeed, the wine of the +Maroquine Mussulmen. [20] Even in remote provinces, amongst Bebers and +Bedouins, the most miserable looking and living of people the finest +green tea is to be found. + +You enter a miserable looking hut, when you are amazed by the hostess +unlocking an old box, and taking out a choice tea service, cups, +saucers, tea-pot, and tea-tray, often of white china with gilt edges. +These, after use, are always kept locked up, as objects of most precious +value. The sugar is put in the tea-pot, and the Moors and Jews usually +drink their tea so sweet that it may be called syrup. But if any lady +tries the plan of melting the sugar while the tea is brewing in the +tea-pot, she will find the tea so prepared has acquired a different, and +not disagreeable flavour. + +Morocco has its fashions and manias as well as Europe. House building is +now the rage. They say it is not so easy for the Sultan to fleece the +people of their property when it consists of houses. Almost every +distinguished Moor in the interior has built, or is building himself a +spacious house. This mania is happily a useful one, and must advance the +comfort and sanitary improvement of the people. It is as good as a +Health of Towns Bill for them. + +The merchants having all returned from Morocco, I shall give some +account of their visit to the Emperor. The ancient rule of imperial +residence was, that the Sultan should sojourn six months in Fez, and six +months in Morocco, the former the northern, and the latter the southern +capital. This is not adhered to strictly, the Emperor taking up his +abode at one capital or the other, and sometimes at Micknos, according +to his caprice. He never fails, however, to visit Morocco once a year, +on account of its neighbourhood to Mogador, his much loved, and +beautiful commercial city. The Emperor himself, before his accession to +the throne, was the administrator of the customhouse of this city, where +he has acquired his commercial tastes and habits of business, which he +has cultivated from the very commencement of his reign. When the Emperor +resides in the South, he receives visits from the merchants of Mogador. +These visits are imperative on the merchants, if they are his imperial +debtors, or even if they wish to maintain a friendly feeling with his +government. Upon an average, the visits or deputations of merchants, +take place every three or four years; more frequently they cannot well +be, because they cost the merchants immense sums in presents, each often +giving to the value of three or four thousand dollars. In return, they +receive additional and prolonged credits. + +The number of Imperial merchants is about twenty, three of whom are +Englishmen, Messrs. Willshire, Elton, and Robertson. Most of the rest +are Barbary Jews. [21] + +There is a Belgian merchant who did not go with these. This gentleman, +owing nothing to the Emperor, preferred to pay duty on shipping his +merchandize, on which by payment of ready money, he gets 25 per cent +discount. This plan, however, does not enable him to compete with the +Imperial merchants, whose duties accumulate till they are years and +years in arrear. And when these arrears have gone on increasing till +there is no chance of payment, the Emperor, in order to keep up his +firms of enslaved merchants, will rather remit half or more of the debt, +in consideration of a handsome present, than encourage merchants to make +ready money payments. The largest debt owing by a single firm, is that +of a native Jew, viz., 250,000 dollars. The amount of the debt of the +united Mogador merchants is more than one million and a half of dollars. +The usual course of the merchants is to pay the debt off by monthly +instalments. + +As an instance of the Emperor's straining a point to keep solvent one of +his mercantile firms, on the occasion of the visit of the merchants to +Morocco, his Imperial Highness lent the house of Hasan Joseph (Jews) +10,000 dollars in hard cash, which, to my knowledge, were paid to them +out of the coffers of the Mogador custom-house. This was certainly an +instance of magnanimous generosity on the part of Muley Abd Errahman. +But the Emperor's genius is mercantile, and he is determined to support +his Imperial traders; and his conduct, after all, is only the +calculation of a raiser. + +It must be mentioned, however, to the honour of Mr. Elton, that on the +bombardment of Mogador, he and his lady were allowed to leave at once, +having paid up all their government debt. Indeed, the governor of that +place, was always accustomed to say to the collector of the returns of +the monthly payment of instalments: "Now, go first to Mrs. Elton; she +will be sure to have the money ready for you. And we must have money +to-day from some of the merchants." On another occasion, his Excellency +called the lady of Mr. Elton, "the best man amongst the merchants." Mrs. +Elton, being a vivacious, energetic lady, was often called "the woman of +the Christians." + +The following are the stations at which the merchants stop from Mogador +to Morocco, to visit the Emperor. + +1st. Emperor's Gardens; five hours from Mcgador, where are some fine fig +trees, and a spring. + +2nd. Aïn Omas. + +3rd. Seeshouar. + +4th. Wad Enfes. + +The country, for the first two days, is beautifully rural, scattered +over with noble Argan forests, on the third and fourth days, the journey +is through plains and an open country. On the second day, after leaving +Mogador, you obtain a distinct view of the great Atlas range at the back +of Morocco; on the fifth, as you approach the capital, the country is +overspread with wild date-palms, palmettos, or dwarf palms. The view of + + "Towering Atlas that supports the sky," + +now stands forth, vaster and more magnificent as you approach the +capital, and is the only feature of surpassing interest on the journey; +but it suffices to absorb all the attention of the traveller. As he +gazes on the giant mountain, which seems to support with its huge rocky +arms the frame-work of the skies, its head covered with everlasting +snow, he forgets the fatigue of his painful route under an African sun; +and, lost in pious musings, adores the Omnipotent being who laid the +foundation of this solid buttress. + +Halfway is called "the Neck of the Camel," where there is a well in the +midst of a scene extremely desert and dreary. Here all the donkeys of +the party of merchants died from want of water. The water of this well +is not permitted to be drunk by animals, in obedience to the solemn +Testament of the Saint who dug it. The poor horses and mules were tied +close up to the well, looking wistfully at the water when drawn for the +biped animals, and snuffing the scent; but they were not allowed to +taste a drop. Two horses broke loose and fought, their combat being +aggravated by thirst, "See!" cried the Moors to the merchants, "the +Saint is angry with you for having wished to give his water to horses." + +Our merchants, however, in defiance of the Saint (this invisible enemy +of the lower creation) and of his supporters, got a supply of water, +which during the night, and en marche the next day, they distributed to +their steeds. The accommodation on the way, and at the capital is very +bad, even the waiting-room near the palace, appropriated to the +Christians, is but an old dilapidated shed, with one of its sides +knocked out, or never filled in. "Everything," say our merchants, "is +going to rack and ruin in the capital. The Emperor will not even repair +his palaces, or the jealousies in which he keeps his women; money is his +only pursuit and his God." + +Their residence in the capital was very disagreeable, all being cooped +up in the Jews' quarter, and obliged to subsist on victuals cooked by +these people, which made certain of them unwell, for some of the Barbary +Jew's food is very indigestible. + +The presentation of the merchants to the Emperor was conducted as +follows: At nine in the morning, they were admitted into a garden in +presence of about two thousand imperial guards, all drawn up in file, +looking extremely fierce. Passing these bearded warriors, they were +conducted into a large square lined with buildings, where, after waiting +about five minutes, the gate of the palace was suddenly thrown open, and +the Emperor rode out superbly mounted on a white horse, followed on foot +by a group of courtiers. His Imperial Highness was attended by the +Governor of Mogador, who walked by his side. + +The first persons presented to the Shereefian lord were the officials of +Mogador, who were introduced by the Governor of that city; afterwards +came some Moorish grandees; then the Christians were presented, and +finally the Jewish merchants. The latter were introduced by the Governor +of Mogador, the Jews taking off their shoes as they passed before the +Emperor. One passed at a time, with his cadeau behind him, carried by an +attendant Jew. As the merchants moved on, his Imperial Highness asked +their names, and condescended to thank each of them separately for his +offering. + +The merchants carried in their hand, an invoice of their respective +presents, and gave it to the Governor, for the articles on their +delivery are not exposed before the eyes of the Sultan. To open the +budget would be a breach of good breeding, and would shock the Imperial +modesty. + +Fifteen merchants were introduced, and the ceremony of presentation +lasted about twenty minutes; this being concluded, the merchants were +permitted to perambulate the gardens of the Emperor, and to pluck a +little fruit. They were afterwards delayed a fortnight, waiting to +present a _cadeau_ to the Emperor's eldest son. Such are the details of +this journey, which I got from the merchants themselves. Mr. Willshire, +being a consul and great customer of his Imperial Highness, also +received a gift of a horse in exchange. The united value of the presents +to the Emperor, on this occasion, was fifty thousand dollars, which +amply indemnifies him for his money-lending, and the credit that he +gives. They consisted principally of articles of European manufactures. +His Imperial Highness afterwards sells them to his subjects on his own +account. Of course, amongst this mass of presents, there are many nice +things such as tea, sugar, spices, essences &c., for his personal +comfort and luxury, as well as for his harem, besides articles of dress +and ornament. + +It will not be out of place here, to give a brief account of the +commerce of Morocco. In doing so, we must take into consideration the +prodigious quantity of imports and exports, of which there are no +statistics in the Imperial custom-houses, and no consular returns. Let +us estimate the population of Morocco at its general compensation of +eight millions, and suppose that each spends a dollar per annum in the +purchase of European manufactures. This will raise the value of imports +at once to eight millions of dollars per annum. It is notorious that the +contraband trade of Tangier, and Tetuan, and the northern coast +generally doubles or trebles the commerce that passes through the +customhouse; but the legal trade is not well ascertained. + +Mr. Hay once sent, I believe, to the Agent of Mogador, a list of +questions to be answered by the consular department. The gentleman, who +was an unsalaried vice-consul, appalled at the number of +interrogatories, immediately replied, "That he had his own business to +attend to; he could not sit down to compose consular returns, which +would require weeks of labour; and if it were considered part of his +duties to answer such questions, he begged to resign at once his +vice-consulship." + +As to the Barbary Jews, who have charge of some of the vice-consulates, +they are necessarily incapacitated, by reason of their want of +education, for such an employment. It is, therefore, hopeless to attempt +to give any accurate account of the commerce of Morocco, I can only +annex a few details of those things of which we are actually cognizant. + +Whatever may be said of the indolent habits of the Moors, they were +once, and still are, a commercial people. Spain, the neighbour of +Morocco, still feels the loss of the Moors. They were the really +industrious classes settled in Spain. The merchants, the artists, the +operatives, and agriculturists unfortunately have left behind them few +inheriting their habits of perseverance. Little, indeed, can be expected +in Spain, where the maxim is adopted, that "nobility may lie dormant in +a servant, but becomes extinct in a merchant." Spain lost upwards of +three millions of intelligent and industrious Moors, a shock she will +never recover. + +The bombardment of a commercial city of this country would not do the +injury which is commonly imagined. The ports are numerous though not +very good. A single house or shed on the beach of Mogador, or Tangier, +is a sufficient custom-house for the Moors. There are no great deposits +of goods on the coast, for as soon as the camels bring their loads of +exports, these are shipped, and the camels immediately return to the +interior, laden with imported goods or manufactures. + +Mogador is the great commercial depôt of the Atlantic coast, and +therefore "the beautiful Ishweira, the beloved town," of Muley Abd +Errahman. Its trade is principally, however, with the south, the +provinces of Sous and Wadnoun, and the Western Sahara. Mogador is also +the bona-fide port of the southern capital of Morocco. Two-thirds of the +commerce of Mogador is carried on with England, the rest is divided +among the other nations of Europe; but of this third, I should think +France has one half. The port of Mogador has usually some half-a-dozen +vessels lying in it, but from twenty to thirty have been seen there. +They are usually sixty days discharging and taking in cargo. Each vessel +pays forty dollars port-dues, which must press very heavily upon small +vessels, but it is seldom that a vessel of less than one hundred tons is +seen at Mogador. The grand staple exports are only two, gum and almonds; +upon the sale of these, the commercial activity of this city entirely +depends. English vessels come directly from London, the French from +Marseilles; but so badly is this commerce managed that, at the present +time, Morocco produce is higher in Mogador than it is in London or +Marseilles; for instance, Morocco almonds are cheaper in London than +Mogador. + +Mazagan, and some few other ports, export produce direct to Europe, but +Tangier is the next commercial port of the empire. There is an important +trade in manufactures and provisions carried on between Tangier and +Gibraltar. The Fez merchants have resident agents in Gibraltar. Curious +stories are told of Maroquine adventurers leaving Tangier and Fez as +camel-drivers and town-porters, and then assuming the character and +style of merchants in Gibraltar, throwing over their shoulders a +splendid woollen burnouse, and folding round their heads a thoroughly +orthodox turban in large swelling folds of milk-white purity. + +In this way, they will walk through the stores of Gibraltar, and obtain +thousands of dollars' worth of credit. The merchant-emperor found it +necessary to put a stop to this, and promulgated a decree to the effect, +that "he would not, for the future, be responsible for the debts of any +of his subjects contracted out of his dominions." + +This was aimed at these trading adventurers, and the decree was +transmitted to the British Consul, who had it published in the Gibraltar +Gazette while I was staying in that city. Up to this time, the Emperor, +singularly enough, had made himself responsible for all the debts of his +subjects trading with Gibraltar. + +The trade in provisions at Tangier is most active, bullocks, sheep, +butcher's meat, fowls, eggs, game and pigeons, grain and flour, &c., are +daily shipped from Tangier to Gibraltar. The garrison and population of +Gibraltar draw more than two-thirds of their provisions from this and +other northern parts of Morocco. + +This government speculates in and carries on commerce; and, like most +African and Asiatic governments, has had its established monopolies from +time immemorial, of some of which it disposes, whilst it reserves others +for itself, as those of tobacco, sulphur, and cochineal. All the high +functionaries engage in commerce, and this occupation of trade and +barter is considered the most honourable in the empire, sanctioned as it +is by the Emperor himself, who may be considered as the chief of +merchants. The monopolies are sold by public auction at so much per +annum. On its own monopolies, government, as a rule, exacts a profit of +cent per cent. + +The following is a list of the monopolies which the Emperor sells, +either to his own employers or to native and foreign merchants. + +1. Leeches.--This is one of the most recently established monopolies, +dating only about twenty years back. The trade in leeches was set on +foot by Mr. Frenerry; it brought, at first, but a few dollars per annum, +and now the monopoly is sold for 50,000. Leeches are principally found +in the lakes of the north-west districts, called the Gharb. + +2. Wax.--This monopoly is confined almost exclusively to the markets of +Tangier and El-Araish. It sold, while I was in the country, for three +thousand dollars. + +3. Bark.--This is a monopoly of the north, principally of the +mountainous region of Rif. It is farmed for about sixteen thousand +dollars. + +4. The coining of copper money.--The right of coining money in the name +of the Emperor, is sold for ten thousand dollars to each principal city. +It is a dangerous privilege to be exercised; for, should the alloy be +not of a quality which pleases the Emperor, or the particular governor +of the city, the unfortunate coiner is forthwith degraded, and his +property confiscated. Indeed, the coiner sometimes pays for his +negligence, or dishonesty, with his head. + +5. Millet, and other small seeds.--This monopoly at Tangier is sold for +five hundred dollars. The price varies in other places according to +circumstances. + +6. Cattle.--The cattle exported from Tetuan, Tangier, and El-Araish, for +the victualling of Gibraltar, is likewise a monopoly; it amounted during +my stay to 7,500 dollars. In consequence of an alleged treaty, but which +does not exist on paper, the Emperor of Morocco has bound himself to +supply our garrison of Gibraltar with 2,000 head of cattle per annum, +1,500 of which must be shipped from Tangier, the rest from other parts +of the Gharb, or north-west. British contractors pay five dollars per +head export duty, the ordinary tax is ten. It is estimated, however, +that some three or four thousand head of cattle are annually exported +from Morocco for our garrison. The Gibraltar Commissariat contractors +complain, and with reason, that the Maroquine monopolist supplies the +British Government with "the very worst cattle of all Western Barbary." + +These monopolies do not interfere with the custom-house, which levies +its duties irrespectively of them. Leeches pay an export duty of 2s. 9d. +the thousand; wax pays an _ad valorem_ duty of fifty per cent; bark pays +a very small duty, and millet scarcely a penny per quintal. + +Independently of these monopolies, there are exports of merchandise of a +special character, and requiring a special permission from the Sultan, +such as grains and beasts of burden; and, if we may be permitted, +bipeds, or Jews and Jewesses. + +His Imperial Highness has absolute need of Jews to carry on the commerce +of the country. No male adult Jew, or child, can leave the ports of +Morocco, without paying four dollars customs duty. A Jewess must pay a +hundred dollars. The reason of there being such an excessive export-duty +on women is to keep them in the country, as a sort of pledge for the +return of their husbands, brothers or fathers, in the event of their +leaving for commercial or other purposes. Slaves are not exported from +Morocco. Besides the payment of special impost on exportation, wool pays +a duty of three dollars per quintal, and two pounds of powder when +dirty, and double when washed. A bullock pays export duty ten dollars, +and a sheep one. Sheepskins eight dollars the hundred, bullock-skins +three dollars per quintal, and goat-skins the same. Of grain, wheat pays +an export duty of three-fourths of a dollar per fanega, or about a +quintal. Barley is not exported, there being scarcely enough for home +consumption. + +Horses are exported in small numbers, by special permission from the +Emperor, A few years since when Spain threatened the frontier of +Portugal, the English Government found it necessary to come to the aid of +the latter country, and Mr. Frenerry was commissioned by our Government +to purchase of the Emperor five hundred horses for Portugal. + +His Imperial Highness called together his governors of cities, and +shieks of provinces, and after a long debate, it was unanimously decided +that so large a number of horses could not be sold to the Christians +without danger to the empire, whilst also, the transaction would be +contrary to the principles of Islamism. + +Should an individual wish to export a single horse, he would have to pay +sixty dollars, a duty which entirely amounts to a prohibition, many of +the boasted beasts not being worth twenty dollars. A mule pays forty, +and an ass five dollars. Mules are much dearer in Morocco and in other +parts of Barbary than horses. Camels are rarely exported, and have no +fixed import. + +The Queen of Spain, some time ago, solicited the Sultan for four camels, +and his Imperial Highness had the gallantry to grant the export free of +duty. + +There are several exports which are not monopolies. These are +principally from the south. The following are some of them. + +Ostrich feathers.--These are of three qualities; the first of which pays +three dollars per pound, the second quality one and a half dollars, and +the third, three-quarters of a dollar. Many feather merchants are now in +Mogador visiting at the feasts of the Jews, who reside in Sous and +Wadnoun, and have communications with all the districts of the Sahara. + +Elephants' teeth.--Ivory pays an export duty of ten per cent. During +late years, both ivory and ostrich feathers have lost much of their +value as articles of commerce. + +Gums.--Gum-arabic pays two dollars per quintal export duty, and gum +sudanic an ad valorem duty of ten per cent. But now-a-days only the very +best gum will sell in English markets; the inferior qualities, as of all +other Barbary produce, are shipped to Marseilles. One looks with extreme +interest at the beautiful pellucid drops of Sudanic gum, knowing that +the Arabs bring some of it from the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. + +Almonds.--Both the sweet and the bitter, in the shell, or the oil of +almonds, pay three dollars per quintal. Ship-loads at once are exported +from Mogador direct for Soudan. + +Red woollen sashes are exported at five dollars per dozen. The Spaniards +take a great quantity. Tanned skins, especially the red, or Morocco, are +exported at ten per cent, _ad valorem_. Slippers pay a dollar the +hundred. The haik or barracan is exported in great numbers to the Levant +by the pilgrims. The vessels, also, that carry pilgrims from Morocco, +return laden with these and other native manufactures. Barbary dried +peas are exported principally to Spain, paying a dollar the quintal. Fez +flour pays one dollar and a half per fanega; dates pay five dollars the +quintal; fowls and eggs, the former two dollars per dozen, the latter +two dollars per thousand; oranges and lemons pay a dollar the thousand. + +Gold is brought from Soudan over the Desert, and is sometimes exported. +I have no account of it, and never heard it mentioned in Morocco as an +article of any importance. + +Olive-oil is exported from the north, but not in great quantities. The +amount exported in a recent year was about the value of £6,000 sterling. +The olive is not so much cultivated in Morocco as in Tunis and Tripoli. + +Besides the articles above mentioned, antimony, euphorbium, horns, hemp, +linseed, rice, maize, and dra, orchella weed, orris-root, pomegranate +peel, sarsaparilla, snuff, sponges, walnuts, garbanyos, gasoul, and +mineral soap, gingelane, and commin seeds, &c., are exported in various +quantities. [22] + +It was reported in the mercantile circles, that representations would be +made to the Emperor to place the trade of the country upon a regular, +and more stable footing. All nations, indeed, would benefit by a change +which could not but be for the better. But I question whether his +Imperial Highness will give up his old and darling system of being the +sovereign-merchant of the Empire. It is not the interest of Great +Britain to annoy him, for we have always to look at Gibraltar. But it +would be desirable if Christian merchants could be found to undertake +the duty, to have all the vice-consuls of the coast Christians, in +preference to Jews. By having Jewish consuls, we place ourselves in a +false position with the Emperor, who is obliged to submit to the +prejudices of his people against Hebrews. British merchants ought to be +allowed to visit their own vessels whilst in port, to superintend, or +what not, the stowing or landing of their goods, as they are entitled to +do by treaty. Spanish dollars are the chief currency in Morocco; but +there are also doubloons and smaller gold coins. This currency, the +merchants manage very badly. A doubloon loses sixteen pence, or four +Maroquine ounces in exchange at Mogador, whilst at the capital of +Morocco, three days' journey from this, it passes for the same value it +bears in Spain and Gibraltar. + +As to the revenues of the Government of Morocco, our means of +information are still more uncertain and conjectural, than those we +possess regarding commerce. A French writer asserts, that the tithes +upon land assigned by the Koran and the capitation tax on the Jews, +produce from twenty to thirty million francs (or say about one million +pounds sterling) per annum. This, perhaps, is too large a sum. + +About a century ago, the revenues of Moocco were estimated at only +£200,000 sterling per annum. But if Muley Abd Errahman has fifty +millions of dollars, or ten millions sterling in the vaults of Mequinez, +he may be considered as the richest monarch in Africa, nay in all +Europe. It is positively stated that Muley Ismail left this amount, or +one hundred millions of ducats in the imperial treasury, which Sidi +Mahommed reduced to two millions. It may have been the great object of +the life of the present Sultan to restore this enormous hoard. No +country is rich or safe without a vast capital in hand as a reserve for +times of trouble, war, or famine. But it is not necessary that such +reserve should be in the hands of a government. + +This, a Maroquine prince cannot comprehend, and he decides as to the +riches and poverty of his country by the amount he possesses in his +royal vaults. + +In treating of trade, and comparing its exports with the peculiar +products and manufactures of the cities and towns, hereafter to be +enumerated, we may approximate to an idea of the resources of the +Maroquine Empire, but everything is more or less deteriorated in this +naturally rich country. + +Cattle and sheep, grain and fruits, are of inferior quality, owing to +the want of proper culture. No spontaneous growth is equal to culture, +for such is the ordinance of Divine Providence. Half of this country is +desert. The iron hand of despotic government presses heavily upon all +industry. If we add to this defective state of culture, the miserably +moral condition of the people, we have the unpleasant picture of an +inferiority civilized race of mankind scattered over a badly cultivated +region. Not all the magnificence of the glorious Atlas can reconcile +such a prospect to the imagination. But, unhappily, Morocco does not +constitute a very striking exception to the progress of civilization +along the shores and in the isles of the Mediterranean. Many countries +in Southern Europe are in a state little superior, and the Moorish +civilization is almost on a par with that of the Grecian, Sicilian, or +Maltese, and quite equal to Turkish advancement in the arts and sciences +of the nineteenth century. The only real advantage of the Turks over the +Moors consists in the improvements the former have made in the +organization of the army. Whoever travels through Morocco, and will but +open his eyes to survey its rich valleys and fertile plains, will be +impressed with the conviction that this country, cultivated by an +industrious population, and fostered by a paternal government, is +capable of producing all the agricultural wealth of the north and the +south of Europe, as well as the Tropics, and of maintaining its +inhabitants in happiness and plenty. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fetes and Feastings amongst the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + + +Notwithstanding the sarcasm of a French journalist that the French and +other Europeans consuls are "consuls des jusifs, et pour la protection +des jusifs," the French consuls both here and at Tangier, have real +power and influence with the Government. + +The Governor of Mogador, Sidi Haj El-Arby, arrived from Morocco. His +Excellency feared an attack from the Shedma and the Hhaha people, and +was obliged to have a strong escort. Not long ago, the Sultan himself +had a narrow escape from falling into the hands of a band of insurgents; +their object was to make their lord-paramount a prisoner, and extort +concessions as the price of his liberty. This will help us to form an +opinion of the want of sympathy between potentate and subjects in +Morocco. + +His Excellency brought an order from the Imperial despot to imprison the +late governor, if the balance of 6,000 dollars was not instantly +forthcoming, he having only paid nine out of the 15,000 demanded. The +late governor was confined in his house, instead of in the common +prison. It was said he was worth 30,000 dollars, but that he was afraid +to make too prompt a payment of the demand of the Emperor, lest he +should be called upon for more. However, his furniture, horses, and +mules were sold in the public streets; a melancholy spectacle was the +degradation of a former governor of this city. [23] + +The Moors look upon these things as matters of course, or with +indifference, quietly ejaculating, "It is destiny! who can resist?" but +the Moor, nevertheless, can clearly discern that wealth is a crime in +the eyes of their sovereign. I am not surprised at the present governor +absolutely rejecting all presents, and making the people call him by the +_soubriquet_ of "the Governor of _no_ presents," + +A short time after his appointment, a merchant having left his +Excellency a present during his absence from home, was immediately +summoned before him, when the following dialogue ensued:-- + +_His Excellency._--"Sir, how dare you leave a present at my house?" + +_The Merchant._--"Other governors before your Excellency have received +presents." + +_His Excellency._--"I am a governor of no presents! How much do you owe +the Sultan, my master?" + +_The Merchant._--"I--I--I--don't know," (hesitating and trembling) + +_His Excellency._--"Very well, when you owe the Sultan nothing, bring me +a present, and take this away, and make known to everybody, that Haj +El-Arby receives _no_ presents." + +The fact is, the Governor knows what he is about. Were his Excellency to +receive 16,000 dollars per annum as presents from the merchants of +Mogador, the Sultan would demand of him 15,999; besides, there is not a +merchant who makes a present that does not demand its value, a _quid pro +quo_ in the remission of custom-duties. Sidi-El-Arby is also a thorough +diplomatist, so far as report goes; he promises anybody anything; he +keeps all on the tiptoe of most blessed expectation, and so makes +friends of everybody. "To his friend, Cohen," he says, "I'll take you +back to my country with me, and make you rich; we are of the same +country." To Phillips, "You shall have a ship of your own soon." To the +merchants, "The Sultan shall lend you money whenever you want it." To +the Moors in general, "You shall have your taxes reduced." In this way, +his Excellency promises and flatters all, but takes very good care to +compromise himself with none. + +The frequented as well as the unfrequented spots are centres of +superstition. In the Sahara, by a lonely well, in the midst of boundless +sterility, where the curse on earth seems to have burnt blackest, a +camel passes every night groaning piteously, and wandering about in +search of its murdered master, so the tale was told me. Now, about two +day's journey from Mogador, there is also a well, containing within its +dank and dark hollow a perpetual apparition. At its bottom is seen the +motionless statue of a negress, with a variety of wearing materials +placed beside her, all made of fine burnished gold, and so bright, that +the dreary cavern of the deep well is illuminated. Whoever presumes to +look down the well at her, and covets her shining property, is +instantaneously seized with thirst and fever; and, if he does not expire +at once, he never recovers from the fatal effects of his combined +curiosity and avarice. People draw water daily from this well, but no +one dare look down it. + +Truth may be in this well! since there is a sad want of it on this, as +on other parts of the world. + +I was introduced to a Spanish renegade, a great many make their escape +from the presidios of the North. On getting away from these convict +establishments, they adopt the Mahometan religion, are pretty well +received by the Maroquines, and generally pass the rest of their days +tranquilly among the Moors. I imagine the better sort of them remain +Christians at heart, notwithstanding their public assumption of +Islamism. This renegade was a stonemason, whom I found at work, and he +was not at all distinguishable by strangers from the Moors, being +dressed precisely in the same fashion. I had some conversation with him, +which was characteristic of conceit, feeling and honour. + +_Traveller_--"How long have you escaped?" + +_Renegade._--"More than twenty years." + +_Traveller._--"Do you like this country and the Moors?" + +_Renegade._--"Better is Marruécos than Spain." + +_Traveller._--"Shall you ever attempt to return to Spain?" + +_Renegade._--"Why? here I have all I want. Besides, they would stretch +my neck for sending a fellow out of the world without his previously +having had an interview with his confessor." + +_Traveller._--"Are you not conscience-stricken? having committed such a +crime, how can you mention it?" + +_Renegade._--"Pooh, conscience! pooh, corazor!" + +Many of those wretched men have indeed lost their corazor, or it is +seared with a red-hot iron. + +Some hundreds of these Spanish convicts are scattered over the country, +but they soon lose their nationality. It is probable that, from some +knowledge of them, the Emperor presumed lately to call the Spaniards +"the vilest of nations," and yet at various times, the Maroquines have +shown great sympathy for the Spaniards. Some of these renegades were +found at the Battle of Isly in charge of field-pieces, where, according +to the French reports, they displayed great devotion to the cause of the +Emperor. + +When the governors of the convict settlements find too many on his +hands, or the prisons too full, they let a number of their best +conducted escape to the interior. The presence of those cut-throats in +Morocco may have something to do with such broils as the following, of +which I was a witness. Two fellows quarrelled violently, and were on the +point of sticking one another with their knives, when up stepped a third +party and cried out, "What! do you intend to act like Christians and +kill one another?" At the talismanic word of Eusara ("Christians, or +Nazareens,") they instantly desisted and became friends. The term +"Christian or Nazareen," is one of the most oppobrious names with which +the people of Mogador can abuse one another. + +The weddings and attendant feasts of the Jews are the more remarkable, +when we consider the circumstance of the social state of this oppressed +race in Morocco, their precarious condition, and the numberless insults +and oppressions inflicted on them by both the government and the people; +I was present at several of these weddings, and shall give the readers a +glimpse of them. I had read and heard a great deal about the persecution +of the Jews in Morocco, and was, therefore, not a little surprised to +meet with these continual feasts and festivals among a people so much +talked about as victims of Mussulman oppression. + +I find two sentences in my notes containing the pith of the whole. "The +Jews continued their feasts; about a third of their time is spent in +feasting." Again--"Amidst all their degradation, the Jew we saw to-day +recreating themselves to the utmost extent of their capacities of +enjoyment." It appears that during the time I was at Mogador there was +an unusual number of weddings, and then followed the feast of the +Passover. I think, whilst I was at Tangier, weddings or celebration of +weddings were going on every night. It may be safely asserted, that no +people in Barbary enjoy themselves more than the Jews, or more pamper +and gratify their appetites. What with weddings, feasts, and obligatory +festivals, their existence is one round of eating and drinking. These +feasts, besides, do not take place in a corner, nor are they barricaded +from public, or envious, or inquisitorial view, but are open to all, +being attended by Christians, Moors and Arabs. + +These wedding-feasts are substantial things. Here is the entry in my +journal of an account of them: "A bullock was killed at the house of the +bridegroom, tea and cakes and spirits were freely, nay universally +distributed there. The company afterwards went off with the bridegroom +to the house of the bride, where another distribution of the same kind +took place, whilst half of the bullock was brought for the bride's +friends. Here the bridegroom, in true oriental style, mounted upon a +couch of damask and gold. The bride, laden with bridal ornaments of gold +and jewels, and covered with a gauze veil, was led out by the women and +placed by his side. She was then left alone to sit in state as queen of +the feast, whilst the company regaled themselves with every imaginable +luxury of eating and drinking. Her future husband now produced, as a +present for his bride, a splendid pair of jewelled ear-rings, which were +held up amidst the screaming approbation of the guests. The Jewesses +present, were weighed down under the dead weight of a profusion of +jewels and gold, tiaras of pearls, necklaces of coral and gems, armlets, +wristlets and legets of silver gold and jet, with gold and silver +braided gowns, skirts and petticoats. + +This fiesta was kept up for seven days. Astonished at the profusion of +jewels worn by the various guests, I received a solution by a question I +asked, touching this mavellous circumstance. The greater part of the +jewels, worn on these occasions, are borrowed from friends and +neighbours; they must belong to some of the Jewish families, and their +quantity shews the great wealth possessed by the Jews living under this +despotic government, + +I assisted at the celebration of the nuptials of a portion of the family +of the feather merchants, a rich and powerful firm established in the +south for the purchase of ostrich-feathers. + +This was a wedding of great _éclat_; all the native Jewish aristocracy +of Mogador being invited to it. The festivities, beginning at noon, I +first entered the apartment where the bride was sitting in state. She +was elevated on a radiant throne of gold and crimson cushions amidst a +group of women, her hired flatterers, who kept singing and bawling out +her praises. "As beautiful as the moon is Rachel!" said one. "Fairer +than the jessamine!" exclaimed another. "Sweeter than honey in the +honey-comb!" ejaculated a third. Her eyes were shut, it being deemed +immodest to look on the company, and the features of her face motionless +as death, which made her look like a painted corpse. + +To describe the dresses of the bride would be tedious, as she was +carried away every hour and redressed, going through and exhibiting to +public view, with the greatest patience, the whole of her bridal +wardrobe. Her face was artistically painted; cheeks vermillion; lips +browned, with an odoriferous composition; eye-lashes blackened with +antimony; and on the forehead and tips of the chin little blue stars. +The palms of the hands and nails were stained with henna, or brown-red, +and her feet were naked, with the toe-nails and soles henna-stained. She +was very young, perhaps not more than thirteen, and hugely corpulent, +having been fed on paste and oil these last six months for the occasion. +The bridegroom, on the contrary, was a man of three times her age, tall, +lank and bony, very thin, and of sinister aspect. The woman was a little +lump of fat and flesh, apparently without intelligence, whilst the man +was a Barbary type of Dickens' Fagan. + +The ladies had now arranged themselves in tiers, one above the other, +and most gorgeous was the sight. Most of them wore tiaras, all flaming +with gems and jewels. They were literally covered from head to foot with +gold and precious stones. As each lady has but ten fingers, it was +necessary to tie some scores of rings on their hair. The beauty of the +female form, in these women, was quite destroyed by this excessive +quantity of jewellery. These jewels were chiefly pearls, brilliants, +rubies and emeralds. + +They are amassed and descend as heir-looms in families, from mother to +daughter. Some of the jewels being very ancient, they constitute the +riches of many families. In reverses of fortune, they are pledged, or +turned into money to relieve immediate necessity. The upper tiers of +ladies were the youngest, and least adorned, and consequently the +prettiest. The ancient dowagers sat below as so many queens enthroned, +challenging scrutiny and admiration. They were mostly of enormous +corpulency, spreading out their naked feet and trousered legs of an +enormous expanse. + +Several dowagers seemed scarcely to be able to breathe from heat, and +the plethora of their own well-fed and pampered flesh. We had now music, +and several attempts were made to get up the indecent Moorish dance, +which, however, was forbidden as too vulgar for such fashionable Jews, +and honoured by the presence of Europeans. Not much pleased with this +spectacle, I looked out of the window into the patio, or court-yard, +where I saw a couple of butchers' boys slaughtering a bullock for the +evening carousal. A number of boys were dipping their hands in the +blood, and making with it the representation of an outspread hand on the +doors, posts and walls, for the purpose of keeping off "the evil eye," +(_el ojo maligno,_) and so ensuring good luck to the new married couple. + +I then mounted the house-top to see a game played by the young men. +Here, on the flat roof, was assembled a court, with a sultan sitting in +the midst. Various prisoners were tried and condemned. Two or three of +the greatest culprits were then secured and dragged down to the ladies, +the officers of justice informing them that, if no one stepped forward +to rescue them, it was the sultan's orders that they should be +imprisoned. Several young Jewesses now clamourously demanded their +release. It is understood that these compassionate maidens who, on such +occasions, step forward to the rescue, and take one of the young men by +the hand, are willing to accept of the same when it may hereafter be +offered to them in marriage, so the contagion of wedding-feasts spreads, +and one marriage makes many. + +I now proceed to the supper-table of the men, where the party ate and +drank to gluttonous satiety. Several rabbis were hired to chant, over +the supper-table, prayers composed of portions of Scripture, and legends +of the Talmud. + +The dinning noise of bad music, and horrible screaming, called singing, +with the surfeit of the feast, laid me up for two days afterwards. The +men supped by themselves, and the women of course were also apart. + +My host, anxious that I should see all, insisted upon my going to have a +peep at the ladies whilst they were supping. Unlike us men, who sat up +round a table, because there were several Europeans among us, the women +lay sprawling and rolling on carpets and couches. + +In their own allotted apartments, these gorgeous daughters of Israel +looked still more huge and enormous, feasting almost to repletion, like +so many princesses of the royal orgies of Belshazzar. But this was a +native wedding, and, of course, when we consider the education of these +Barbary women, we must expect, when they have drink like the men, white +spirits for protracted hours until midnight, the proprieties of society +are easily dispensed with. Happily the class of women, who so kept up +the feast, were all said to be married, the maidens having gone home +with the bride. + +Very different, indeed, was another distinguished wedding at which I had +the honour of assisting, and which all the European consuls and their +families attended, with the _élite_ of the society of Mogador; this was +the marriage of M. Bittern, of Gibraltar, with Miss Amram Melek. The +bridegroom was the Portuguese Consul, the bride, the daughter of the +greatest Jewish merchant of the south, and consequently the Emperor's +greatest and most honoured debtor. The celebration of this wedding +lasted fourteen days. + +On the grand day, a ball and supper were given. All the Moors of the +town came to see the Christians and their ladies dance. Our musician, or +fiddler, kept away from some petty pique, and we were accordingly +reduced to the hard necessity of making use of a drum and whistling, +both to keep up our spirits and serve up the quadrilles. We had, +however, some good singing to make up for the disappointment. His +Excellency the Governor intended to have honoured us with his presence, +but he gave way to the remonstrance of an inflexible marabout, who +declared it a deadly sin to attend the marriages of Jews and Christians. + +The marriage guests were of three or four several sets and sorts. There +was the European coterie, the choicest and most select, graced by the +presence of the bride; then the native aristocrats, and here were the +gorgeous sultanas and Fezan spouses; then the lesser stars, and the +still more diminished. + +Finally, the "blind, the lame, and the halt," surrounded the doors of +the house in which the marriage-feast was held, receiving a portion of +the good things of this life. The whole number of guests was not more +than two hundred. Plenty of European Jewesses shone as bewitching stars +at this wedding; but all _param_ to us poor Christians. Indeed, there is +as little as no lovemaking, and match-making amongst the isolated +Nazarenes; for, out of a population of some fifty European families, +there are only two marriageable Christian ladies. + +The bride is frequently fetched by the bridegroom at midnight, when +there is a cry made, "behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye forth to meet +him!" (Matt xxv--6). This ancient custom prevails most among the Moors. +Once, whilst at Nabal, in Tunis, I was roused from my sleep at the dead +of the night by wild cries, and the discharging of fire-arms, attended +with a blaze of torches. The bridegroom was conveying his bride to his +home. A crowd of the friends of the newly-married couple, followed the +camel which carried the precious burden; all were admitted to the feast +in the court-yard, and the doors were shut for the night. + +At the wedding of the lower classes of the Jews, after dancing and +music, there is always a collection made for the bride, or the +musicians. On these occasions, the master of the ceremonies calls out +the names of the donors as they contribute to the support of the +festivities. I was somewhat taken by surprise to hear my name called +out, Bashador Inglez (English ambassador) when I attended one of the +weddings. But the fellow, making the announcement, attracted my +attention more than his flattering compliment. He was dressed in Moorish +costume with an immense white turban folded round his head. I could not +conceive the reason of a Moor taking such interest in feasts of the +Jews. + +The secret soon transpired. He was a renegade, who had apostatized for +the sake of marrying a pretty girl. His heart is always with his +brethren, and the authorities good-naturedly allow him to be master of +the ceremonies at these and other feasts, to preserve order, or rather +to prevent the Jews from being insulted by the Mahometans. + +There are always a few Jewish renegades in large Moorish towns, just +enough, I imagine, to convince the Mahometans of the superiority of +their religion to that of other nations; for whilst they obtain converts +from both Jews and Christians, and make proselytes of scores of Blacks, +they never hear of apostates from Islamism. The manner, however, in +which these renegades abandon their religion, is no very evident proof +of the divine authority of the Prophet of Mecca. Here is an instance. + +A boy of this town ran away from his father, and prostrated himself +before the Governor, imploring him to make him a Mussulman. The +Governor, actuated by the most rational and proper feeling, remarked to +the boy, "You are a child, you have not arrived at years of discretion, +you have not intellect enough to make a choice between two religions." +The boy was kept confined one night, then beaten, and sent home in the +morning. + +Another case happened like this when the boy was admitted within the +pale of Islamism. Jewish boys will often cry out when their fathers are +correcting them, "I will turn Mussulman!" A respectable Jew, who +related this to me, observed, "were I to hear any of my sons cry out in +this manner, I would immediately give them a dose of poison, and finish +them; I could not bear to see my children formed into Mussulman devils." + +It really seems the vulgar opinion among the Jews and Moors of this +place, that females have no souls. I asked many women themselves about +the matter; they replied, "We don't care, if we have no souls." A Rabbi +observed, "If women bear children, make good wives, and live virtuously +and chastely, they will go to heaven and enjoy an immortal existence; if +not, after death, they will suffer annihilation." + +This appears to be the opinion of all the well-educated. But a Jewish +lady who heard my conversation with the Rabbi, retorted with spirit: +"Whether I bear children or not, if my husband, or any man has a soul, I +have one likewise, for are not all men born of us women?" + +All, however, are well satisfied with this life, whatever may happen in +the next; male and female Jews and Mussulmen hold on their mutual career +with the greatest tenacity. I made inquiries about suicides, and was +told there were never any persons so foolish as to kill themselves. + +"We leave it to the Emperor to take away a man's life, if such be the +will of God!" and yet the Moors are habitually a grave, dreamy and +melancholy people. No doubt the light, buoyant atmosphere keeps them +from falling into such a state of mental prostration as to induce +suicide. + +I now found that many people looked upon me, in the language of the +Jewish renegade, as an ambassador, and some went so far as to say, "I +can make war with the Emperor if I like;" others persisted in saying "I +am going in search of the murdered Davidson." A man took the liberty of +telling Mr. Elton. "A very mysterious Christian has arrived from the +Sultan of the English. The Governor hearing that he had ordered a pair +of Moorish shoes, sent word to the shoemaker to be as long about them as +possible. This Nazarene is going to disguise himself as one of us, in +order to spy out our country." + +The Moors are certainly a timid and suspicious race. They feel their +weakness, and they are frightened of any Christian who does not come to +their country on commercial pursuits, as a sportsman, or in some +directly intelligible character. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Day and night side of the Mission +Adventure.--Phillips' application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes +on" before the Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, +Dannon, who was killed by the Government.--Order of the Government +against Europeans smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, +Governor of Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights +amongst the Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy +of troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.--European +Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + +I had an interview by special appointment with His Excellency the +Governor of Mogador regarding the address to be presented to the +Shereefian population from the Anti-Slavery Society. I may at once +premise that from what I heard of Mr. Hay's diplomatic powers and +influence with the Sultan, as well as the peculiar situation in which +Mr. Willshire was placed, encumbered with great liabilities to his +Highness' custom-house, I already abandoned all hopes of success, and +even thought myself fortunate in being able to obtain an interview with +the Governor of this commercial city. To have expected anything more, +would have been extremely unreasonable on my part, under such +circumstances. + +It will be as well if I give the address in this place. [24] Friday was +appointed, being a quiet day, and the Mussulman Sabbath, when His +Excellency had little business on hand. The Moors usually devote the +morning of their sabbath to prayer, and afternoon to business and +amusement. Our party consisted of myself, Mr. Willshire, the British +Vice-Consul, and Mr. Cohen as interpreter. + +About four o'clock P.M. we found the Governor quite alone, telling his +rosary of jet beads, squatting on his hams upon the floor of a little +dirty shop, not more than eight feet by six in dimensions, with a +ceiling of deep hanging cobwebs which had not been brushed away for a +century. + +A piece of coarse matting was spread over the ground floor, and a +sheepskin lay on it for his Excellency to repose upon, but no furniture +was to be seen. There was indeed an affectation of nakedness and +desolation. Pen and ink were placed by his side, and a number of +official papers were strewn about, with some letters bearing the seal of +the Emperor. This shop (or reception room) was situate in an immense +gloomy square; it was the only one open, and here were the only signs of +life. + +The Governor had forbidden any of his subjects to be present at the +audience, unwilling and afraid lest any should hear a whisper of the +question of abolition in the orthodox States of his Imperial Master. +Sidi Hay Elarby was an elderly man, with a placid and intelligent +countenance. His manners throughout the interview were those of a +perfect Moorish gentleman. The Governor could not be distinguished from +the people by his dress. He wore a plain white turban, plain burnouse +and a pair of common slippers. In such state, we found the the highest +functionary of this important city. + +His Excellency began by asking me how I was, and welcoming me to his +country. I then handed a written speech to the interpreter, who, being a +Jew, pulled off his shoes, and crouching down before the Governor, read +to him paragraph by paragraph. Each passage was further discussed and +replied to by the Governor with energy, nay with vehemence. The +interview lasted till dark--nearly two hours. + +The following is a copy of the written speech, which was read for the +purpose of introducing the Address, and supplying topics of +conversation. + +"May it please Your Excellency, the mission with which I am charged to +this country is to persuade his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of +Morocco, to co-operate in any way which his Imperial Majesty may deem +proper, with the people of England for the abolition of slavery. I am +sent to the Court of Morocco by a Society of English gentlemen, whose +object is to persuade all men, in all parts of the world, to abolish the +traffic in human beings, as a traffic contrary to the rights of men and +the laws of God. + +"In undertaking this mission, these gentlemen applied to the government +of our Sovereign Queen to furnish me with letters of recommendation to +the British Consuls of this country, the representatives of her Majesty +the Queen of England. Copies of these letters are in the possession of +Mr. Willshire. Those letters express strong sympathy for the objects of +the mission, and require the Consuls to give me their fullest +protection; and so far, our gracious Queen, the government, and the +English people, are all agreed that it is a good thing to address his +Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, to co-operate with and to +assist them in putting down the traffic in slavery in every part of the +world. + +"If the government of the Queen had thought that they should recommend +to your Excellency and your royal master anything contrary to your +religion, they could not have given me letters of introduction to their +consuls in this country. Rest assured that the English people believe it +to be agreeable to the doctrines and precepts of all religions to +abolish the traffic in human flesh and blood. + +"I pray, therefore, your Excellency to receive the petition, of which I +am the bearer, from the Society of English gentlemen. Our Government +have already spent three hundred millions of dollars, the money of the +people of England, to destroy the traffic in human beings; every day our +government continues to spend vast sums, adding to this enormous amount +for the same object of humanity. I am sure that, if your Imperial Master +value the friendship of England and the British government, if it be a +politic and good thing for Morocco to be allied with the most powerful +Christian nation in the world, the most certain way to conciliate and +found this alliance on a durable basis, is to cooperate with the people +of England for the abolition of the traffic in slaves, and graciously to +receive this address from the Society of Abolitionists in London. + +"We come not to your Excellency with force of arms--this could not be +just; we use only moral persuasion. Our religion disapproves of +compulsion in all such affairs. But I can assure your Excellency that +the English people will never cease, though all nations be against them, +as long as God Almighty holds them up as a people, to endeavour in every +possible way, to persuade and convince the world that the traffic in +human beings is a great crime." + +The Governor replied in these terms: "Your mission is against our +religion, I cannot entertain it or think of it, in any way whatever. If, +in other countries, the traffic in slaves is contrary to the religion of +those countries, in this it is not; here it is lawful for us to buy and +sell slaves. Mahomet, our Prophet, has authorized us to do this; but, at +the same time, our slaves must be fed and clothed like ourselves. If you +wish a proof of this, you can go and look at my slaves," (pointing to +his house). "To be holders of slaves, is a merit with us. + +"Your address ought to come directly from your Government, from your +Queen to our Sultan. It is not enough that it is recommended by your +Government. The European sovereigns are accustomed to act by the advice +of their counsellors and ministers; but the Sultan of Morocco always +acts without advice or councils. [25] If the address had come from the +Queen, it would have been received, and an answer would have been +returned accordingly. Then if your Government had been offended at the +answer of my master not agreeing with their opinion, they could have +taken their own satisfaction in any way they might have thought proper +(or have made war on us). + +"The money which you say the people of England have spent for the +suppression of the Slave Trade, has been, according to our opinion and +religion, misspent, and employed to destroy a system of which we +approve, and consider lawful. Still, I hope God will give your country +more money to spend, and in abundance. + +"The English people and the people of Morocco have been, from time +immemorial, great friends, proofs of which I can give you. The guns that +we get from other Christian nations, are never so good as those we get +from England. Besides, we always give the English whatever they ask for. +When the French were at war with Spain and wished to take Ceutra from +her, the English demanded from our Sultan, a small island near Ceutra, +to prevent the French from landing and seizing Ceutra. To this request, +my Sultan acceded; and to show you that the English are our particular +friends, the English gave the island back to us when the war was at an +end." + +Mr. Willshire now endeavoured to present the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society, praying his Excellency to accept it. + +On which, the Governor continued with his usual vivacity, "No; I am +sorry I cannot accept it; if I do, the Sultan must also, for now I act +as the Sultan. Indeed, I dare not receive the address, nor write to our +Lord [26] about it. Nor can I look at it, for in case the Sultan asks me +about it, I must swear that I have not touched nor seen the Address. If +I look at it, and then say I did not look at it, the Sultan will order +my tongue to be cut off from the roof of my mouth. + +"And further, O Consul! O Stranger! were our Lord to agree with your +Society, and abolish the traffic in slaves throughout his dominions, all +the people would rise up against him in revolt, and the Sultan would be +the first to have his head cut off. + +"Therefore, as a good and wise man, O Stranger--which you must be, or +you would not be entrusted with this mission--comply with the orders of +the Sultan's message, given to you by me and your Consul. + +"Any thing which you want for yourself or your private use, I will give +it you, even to the whole of this city of Mogador. But for myself I +cannot comply with the prayers of the address, or receive it from your +own or the Consul's hands." + +The message of the Sultan alluded to, was in substance to give up the +attempt of abolishing slavery in Morocco, and not to think of going to +the South, but to return at once to England. + +The Governor was greatly pleased with the sound of his own voice, and +the skill of his argumentations, and has the character of being a +loquacious and reasoning diplomatist. + +This was the public or day side of the mission; there was also the night +side; for where the curiosity of the Moor is excited, it must be +gratified, by fair or other means. It was not surprising, therefore, +that the wily Shereef should wish to know what this Address of an +English Society was, or could be; and if possible to obtain a copy, +although for the sake of the people it was found necessary to repudiate +altogether its acceptance. Accordingly, the next day, Cohen told me a +friend of the Emperor's was anxious to have some conversation with me, +and he begged me to take with me the Address. + +It was past ten at night, when alone, with my Moorish guide, I found +myself treading the long narrow streets of Mogador. + +The wind howled and the watch-dogs barked; it was so dark that we could +scarcely grope our way, no human being was about; we went up one street +and down another, stealing along our way; as if on some house-breaking +expedition; and I began to feel suspicious, fearing a trap might be laid +for me. Still, I had confidence in the honour of the Moors, I said to my +guide. + +"When shall we reach your master's?" + +_Guide_.--"God knows; be quiet!" + +We continued going through street after street. It was now bitter cold, +and a few drops of rain fell from the cutting wing of the north wind. + +To my Guide again. + +"Where is the house?" + +_Guide_.--"Follow me, don't talk!" After we had passed other streets, +"Is this the street?" + +_Guide_.--"Eskut! (hold your tongue)." + +We now entered a low dilapidated gateway, with a broken panelled door, +groaning on its hinges. + +Again I questioned my guide. "Who lives here?" + +_Guide_.--"Mahboul Ingleez (mad Englishman) hold your tongue! Do you +think we Mussulmans will eat you?" + +We passed through several court-yards, by the aid of a lantern, which +the guide found in a corner, and then entered a corridor. Here he +grasped me by the arm, in such wise as made me believe I was about to +have my head thrust through a bowstring. I ejaculated; "Allah Akbar! +Mercy upon us!" blending Arabic and English in my fright, and +struggling, fell with the guide against the door at the end of the +passage with a considerable crash. A voice was heard from within. +"_Ashbeek_ (what's the matter?)" My guide returned, "_Hale_ (open)." + +A huge negro now laid hold of me, and pulled me up a pair of narrow +stairs which led to a species of loft, in a detached portion of the +house. The case containing the Address fell out of my hands, and was +picked up by the guide. Another apartment within the loft was now +opened, shewing, through a dim and indistinct light, a venerable old +Moor, sitting in the midst of heaps of papers and books, like a midnight +astrologer, or a secret magician. On our entrance, the solitary Moor +raised his eyes, quietly, and said faintly, "Where is it?" My guide now +rushed in, began talking volubly, and made this harangue, thinking, +however, I could not understand him from the rapidity with which he +declaimed. + +"Sidi," he said, "this Christian is a frightened fool--and a _baheen_ +(ass)--I had the greatest trouble to get him here--he was frightened out +of himself--and now Allah! Allah! I have to take him back again." + +I received the compliment in silence, and endeavoured to recover my +tranquillity. But I could not help remarking the contrast between my +noisy and agitated guide, and the grave manner and immoveable quietness +of the recluse. The guide then handed him "the Address," and the Cid +opened the box or case with extreme caution, as if it had contained some +mysterious spell. The Cid now looked up for a moment at the big negro, +who decamped instantly and returned with a teapot and two cups. The two +cups were then filled with tea, one of which was presented to me, but I +had some hesitation about drinking it. The Cid, looked up at me with a +quiet smile, and gently muttered "_Eshrub_! (drink,") I drank the tea +and then waited anxiously to know what was coming next. The Cid +continued to unroll the Address. When this was done, he rolled it up and +again unrolled it, and stared at its Roman characters. He eyed the seal +and ejaculated, "_Haram_!" to himself! alluding, I suppose, to the +figure of the slave in chains, it being prohibited to make figures. The +Cid now paused a moment, then looked at me again, and finally turning to +the Guide said, "_Imshee El-Ghudwah_ (go to-morrow, I'll see.)" + +The guide now grasped me again by the hand, scarcely allowing me to bow +a good night to the Cid, and led me back to my lodgings, where I arrived +at midnight. When I awoke in the morning, I really imagined I had been +dreaming an ugly dream, until one of the English Jews called, and said +he was making a translation of the Address to be dispatched to the +Emperor at Morocco, and afterwards he would bring the Address back. The +Address was returned to me about a week afterwards, but whether an +Arabic translation was ever sent to the Sultan, I know no more than the +reader. + +Mr. Phillips has applied to the British Vice-consul to know whether, in +case of his going up to Morocco to carry a present for the Belgium +merchants, here, Phillips, being a Jew, will be obliged to pull off his +shoes, which would be depriving him of the rights of British-born +subjects, who stand with their shoes on in the Shereefian presence. The +Consul says he cannot answer the question, and must send a dispatch to +Mr. Hay. Mr. Willshire complimented Phillips: "Ah Phillips, you are +always proposing to me some knotty question. You profoundly perplex the +mind of Mr. Consul-general Hay." + +This leads me to notice the affecting case of the Israelite, Darmon, at +one time the French Vice-consul at Mazagran. This young Darmon was fond +of Moorish women, and always intriguing with them. Hay Mousa, Governor +of Mazagran, reported him to the Emperor, and his Highness sent orders +to have him decapitated. It was said afterwards by the Maroquine +Government, that "The order was merely to bring him to Morocco, and +that, when being conveyed as prisoner, and after attempting to run away, +the soldiers of his escort shot him." The Moorish Government also +pretend that Darmon attempted first to shoot the guards who shot him, in +self-defence. + +With regard to his being a French Consul, it is said by the French +Government, that he was not their consul at the time, having resigned. +It appears besides that members of his family are French, and others +Moorish subjects. Indeed, these Mauro-European Jews give great troubles +to the consuls; the various persons of a single family being often under +the protection of three or four consuls. It will thus be seen how full +of difficulties was this Darmon affair, and what a door it opened to +tedious Moorish diplomacy. The French Government arranged ultimately +with the Sultan a compromise, a sum of money being paid to the murdered +man's family, and the Governor of Mazagran was dismissed. + +When young Darmon fell into disgrace, his father, one of the Imperial +merchants, was at Morocco. The father inquired of the Minister whether +the Sultan would receive his present now his son had fallen into +disgrace. The cruelly avaricious tyrant deigned to accept it of the +father it is said, at the very moment when the order to decapitate his +son had been sent to Mazagran. No doubt it was a barbarous action, but +the extreme imprudence of the young man provoked the government to +extremities. The court was so irritated at the time, that it even issued +an order to place all Jews, natives, foreigners, or Europeans upon the +same level of exposure to Moorish insult and oppression. Speaking to Mr. +Willshire about this order, he smilingly observed: "Say nothing, it will +soon be forgotten." The government never intended to carry it out. Years +ago, the Emperor gave orders that Jews coming from European countries +should be placed on the same footing as native Jews, but the Imperial +edicts were unnoticed. + +A curious order was given about smoking some time ago in this city. It +was represented to the Governor that during Ramadan, Kafer-Nazarenes +went about smoking, occasioning the Faithful to sniff up the smoke, and +so break the Holy Fast. The Christians were likewise accused of going +near the mosques to fill them with filthy smoke. + +The Governor, in a circular, begged of the Consuls to prohibit their +countrymen, or "subjects," from smoking in the streets. The French +Consul considering this a police regulation, summoned together the +French subjects, and begged of them to comply with the non-smoking +order. Mr. Willshire took no notice of the affair, knowing it would soon +pass over. + +Mr, Willshire is a veteran in Morocco, and understands the genius of its +government. He considers the _laissez faire_ system the very best, and +this is all very well, provided the Sultan respects the heads of Her +Majesty's subjects. + +Haj Mousa, Governor of Mazagran, who was mixed up with the Darmon +affair, deserves notice from his brutal ferocity towards Europeans. With +great difficulty and damage to their lives, Europeans reside in +Mazagran, and it is not therefore surprising that the imprudent Darmon +fell into the clutches of this provincial tyrant, who probably ensnared +him as a prey. Up to the time of this affair, Haj Mousa had been an +irremoveable governor. The Sultan himself never attempted to displace +him, although he had committed, from time to time, the greatest +enormities. Other governors had been bled, fleeced, and impaled over and +over again; but the caitiff, Haj, always remained in possession of the +fruits of his tyranny. + +The reason for this tolerant conduct of the Emperor towards him is, that +when Muley Abd Errahman was in difficulties and obliged to fly for his +life, in the convulsions previous to his reign, Haj Mousa sent the young +prince a mule and thirty ducats; with this, the prince was enabled to +escape, and he saved his life to be afterwards proclaimed +Meer-el-Moumeneen. On receiving the mule and money, he exclaimed in a +transport of gratitude to the Governor of Mazagran, "I will never forget +you!" It is unfortunate the good faith of the Emperor's word has been so +deplorably abused by this tyrant, for it is considered certain, that +though temporarily removed from Mazagran, he will return, or be made +governor of another city. + +A Sous Jew called upon me one day, who is well acquainted with the +Shelouh or, Berber of the South. On asking if he would make a +translation of the book of Genesis from Hebrew into Shelouh, he replied: + +"No, I cannot. In the first place, the Emperor would cut off my head for +doing such a thing; and, again, it would be a sin to convert the Holy +Hebrew character into such a language of Infidels." + +We continued our discussion on a more practical subject. + +_Traveller_ (to the Jew)--"I am told that among you, Jews of Morocco, it +is a merit to rob us Christians and the Moors. Your young children are +even praised by their mothers if they commit a theft without being found +out: [27] is this right?" + +_The Jew_.--"You are all _Goyeem_ [28] (Gentiles), but it is not true +that we rob you, Christians. If we rob Mussulmen, it's because they rob +us first." + +The case really is, the Jews are literally being robbed every day by the +Moors one way or the other, and, if the people do not rob them, the +constituted authorities continue to make exactions under every pretence. +I am inclined, nevertheless, to think, without prejudice, that it is a +received maxim with _all native_ Barbary Jews, "to rob unbelievers, +Moors and Christians, when you can do so _safely_." This was the opinion +which a very respectable European Jew, resident in Tunis, entertained of +his brethren. At the same time, Ihere are numerous exceptions. + +Many of the lower classes of Moors likewise, think there is little or no +harm in robbing Jews and Blacks, that is, all who are Infidels and +Christians. + +I may mention, in connection with the above, the system of +False-Weights, which is an enormous scandal to this great commercial +city. It appears that almost every tradesman, and every imperial +merchant have two sets of weights, one to buy and another to sell with. +A merchant once had the impudence to cry out to his clerk when weighing, +"Oh, you are wrong, these are my _selling_ weights; bring me my _buying_ +weights. Am I not buying?" + +A Jew, once purchasing oil from a poor Arab, carried his villainy so far +as actually to make his tare and tret weigh more than the skin-bag when +full of oil, and coolly told the amazed Arab he had no money to give him +for the value received. "Give me back my oil!" cried the Arab. At this +the audacious Jew retorted, "There is none!" A European merchant +interfered, and saved the Jew from the bastinado he so richly deserved. +A Kady hearing of these abominations, took upon himself to begin a +reform, and went about examining weights. For his honest pains, and, in +the midst of his work of reform, the officious functionary received an +order from the Sultan, enjoining him to cease his interference, and +condemning him, as a punishment for his over-righteousness, "_to teach +twelve little boys to read every day, and not to sit at his own door for +the space of one year_." So unthankful, so odious is the task of +reforming in Morocco and many other countries. + +This account of the abominable system of two kinds of weights, I derived +from most unquestionable authority, otherwise I could not have given +credit to the statement. + +There were incessant rumours of war from the North. The Emperor had got +himself into difficulties with Spain and France. Orders had been sent +down to reinforce this garrison and that of Aghadir. The day before, the +Governor, calling his troops before him, did not shew his usual good +sense and prudence. He thus harangued them:--"Now, let those who want +new arms come and take them, and bring back the old ones. Let all have +courage, and fear not the Christians; fear not, women and children!" +The movement of troops was part of a general measure, extending to all +the coasts, and was, in fact, a review _en masse_ of the disposable +forces throughout the empire. Eighty thousand men were expected in this +city or the suburbs. The Sultan was reported to be on the march towards +the North with an army of 200,000 men. + +The Sultan did not expect to make use of his new levies, but the policy +of the thing was good. His Highness is evidently a pacific ruler, he has +but few regular troops, and he pays them badly. His predecessor had a +large army and paid them well. + +Great discontent prevailed among the soldiers, and the Emperor never +feels himself secure on his throne. + +This apparent crusade against the Infidels has no doubt tended to make +him popular, and to consolidate his power. True, it excited the tribes +of the interior against the Christians, but it was better to inflame +them against the Christians than to lose his own throne. + +The French Consul waited upon the Governor for explanations about the +movements of the troops. His Excellency observed, "I am ordered by my +Sultan to defend this city against all assailants, and I shall do so +till I am buried beneath its ruins. Though all the coast-cities were +captured, Mogador should never be surrendered." + +Some of the credulous Moors said, "The Shereefs will come from Tafilet, +led on by our Lord Mahomet, and destroy all the cursed Nazarenes. The +Sheerefs will fire against the French leaden balls, and silver balls." +Another observed to me, "If a fleet should come here, it will be +immediately sunk, because our Sultan has ordered every ball to hit, and +none to miss." + +This is not unlike what a Turk of Tripoli once said to me about the +Grand Signor and his late reforms. "The Turks will soon be civilized, +because the Sultan has given an order for all the Turks to be +civilized." The large guns of the forts were practised, and the guns of +the grand battery loaded. The infantry continued to practise on the +beach of the port: their manoeuvres were very uncouth and disorderly, +they merely moved backwards and forwards in lines of two deep. The +French Consul, Monsieur Jorelle, discontinued his usual promenade, to +prevent his being insulted, and so to avoid the the painful necessity of +demanding satisfaction. + +Mr. Willshire, being well known to the Mogador population, had not so +much to fear. Here is the advantage of a long residence in a country. +The French Government lose by the frequent changing of their consuls. +Still, M. Jorelle was right in not exposing himself to the mob, or the +wild levies who had come from their mountains. The fault of the Governor +was, in exciting the warlike fanaticism of the tribes of the interior +against the Christians, which he ought to have known the city +authorities might have extreme difficulty in keeping within bounds. No +European could pass the gates of the city without being spat upon, and +cursed by the barbarous Berbers. + +I paid a visit to M. Authoris, the Belgium merchant, and the only +European trader carrying on business independently of the Emperor. He +represented the commerce of the country to be in a most deplorable +condition. "There is now nothing to buy or sell on which there is a gain +of one per cent. The improvidence of the people is so great that, should +one harvest fail, inevitable famine would be the result, there not being +a single bushel of grain more in the country than is required for daily +consumption. Nor will the people avail themselves of any opportunity of +purchasing a thing cheap when it is cheap; they simply provide for their +hourly wants. They act in the literal sense of 'Take no thought for the +morrow, but let the morrow take care of itself.' As to the Jews, they +feast one day and fast the next." With regard to the excitement then +existing, M. Authoris observed. "This Government, on hearing rumours of +Spanish and French expeditions against the country, must naturally make +use of what power it has, the Holy War power, to excite the people in +their own defence. The Moors cannot discriminate Gazette intelligence. +When a worthless newspaper mentions an expedition being fitted out +against Morocco, the Emperor immediately sees a fleet of ships within +sight of his ports, and hears the reports of bombarding cannon." The raw +levies of Shedmah and Hhaha continued to enter the town, but only a +small number at a time, lest they should alarm the inhabitants. They +went about, peeping into houses, and wherever a door was open they would +walk in, staring with a wild curiosity. + +I had some conversation with my Moorish friends respecting the abolition +of slavery. An old doctor observed, "The English are not more humane +than other nations, but God has decreed that they should destroy the +slave-trade among the Christians. This, however, is no praise to them, +for they could not resist acting according to the will and mind of God. +As for the Mussulmen, what they do is for the benefit of slaves, +especially females, who, one and all, are doomed to death; [29] but, +when purchased by the slave-dealers, their lives are spared, and they +are made True Believers. Still, the Mussulmen would assist the English +in destroying the ships which carry slaves;" (as if the Moors had any +fleet). + +The number of slaves in this city is from eight hundred to one thousand. +It is difficult to ascertain any thing like the exact number, the +opulent Moors having many negress slaves, with whom they live in a state +of concubinage. Young, rich, and fashionable Moors, I was told for the +first time in a Mahommedan country, have become disgusted with the old +habit of managing and taking a wife early, and adopt the immoral +practice of buying female slaves, by which they avoid, as they say, the +trouble and expense of marrying females of their own rank in Moorish +society. A good Mussulman must however, marry once in his life. Slaves +are imported viâ Wadnoun from Timbuctoo and Soudan, and even from the +western coast. Negroes of the Timbuctoo market are more esteemed than +those of Guinea, being a stronger and more laborious race. The common +price of a slave in Mogador is from 60 to 90 ducats; one day a beautiful +African girl, freshly exported from the interior, was sold for 160 +ducats, or about £20 sterling. This is considered an extraordinary high +price. + +Slaves are sold by criers about the streets in Morocco, and most towns, +and not in bazaars, as in the East. But the most remarkable feature of +slavery in this part of the world, is the Christian or European slavery +carried further south, in the regions extending on the line of coast +below Wadnoun, and the adjacent Sahara. Something like a regular system +of Christian slavery is there going on, whilst its head-quarters are not +more than five or six days' journey from this residence of the European +Consuls. This white slavery consists in seizing shipwrecked sailors, +numbers being fishermen from the Canary Islands. We know little about +these poor captives, although we are so near Wadnoun, and are +continually trading with Sous and this country. Mr. Davidson casually +mentions them in his journal. + +It is a settled and religious practice of merchants to keep Europeans +ignorant of the south and the Desert; we only hear of these captives now +and then, when one escapes, and after being bought and sold by a hundred +different masters, is fortunate enough to be redeemed; of his companions +in shipwreck, the escaped captive rarely knows anything. They are gone: +they are either drowned near the coast, plundered and massacred, or +carried far away into the Desert, and perhaps for ever. Formerly vessels +navigated through the channel (if it may be so called) of the Canary +Islands and the Wadnoun coast, by which they often got on shoal water, +and were cast away; in this manner, whites were enslaved. Happily now, +masters of vessels have become acquainted with this dangerous coast. +They pass to the east of the Canaries, and fewer vessels are shipwrecked +hereabouts. + +The Spanish fishermen of the Canaries are chiefly now made captives. +These poor people are either seized when becalmed near the coast, or +captured on being cast on shore by the furious trade-winds, which sweep +these desolate shores (often nine months out of twelve) and carry utter +destruction with them. The wild and wandering Bedouins in bad weather, +with the true storm scent of the wrecker, patiently watch the coasts, +pouncing on their prey, with the voracity of the vulture, as it is +thrown up from the deep, along the inhospitable shore. Having got the +shipwrecked men in their possession, they act with the cunning and +avarice of slave-dealers, and are aided by the still craftier Jews, who +always render it very difficult for the consular agents to redeem these +unhappy captives. For although a Jew, by the Mahometan law, cannot +purchase slaves, yet by buying them-through Mussulmen, who share in the +profits, from the Arabs who first seized the captives, the slaves are +frequently kept back months in the Desert, being parted from one another +before they can be ransomed. + +Sometimes the Arabs alluringly question their captives to see if they +understand any mechanical arts, which are greatly esteemed, being very +useful in these almost tenantless regions; and should they discover that +they do, they carry them away into hopeless captivity, through the wilds +of the Desert, refusing to sell them at any price or offer of ransom. +But those who cannot, or will not make themselves useful, are generally +redeemed by the Mogador Consuls, should they escape being massacred in +the quarrels of the Arabs for the booty when they are first captured. + +There is, at the present time, a Spanish fisherman near Wadnoun, waiting +to be redeemed. The Arab Sheikh who holds him, demands two hundred +dollars for his redemption. Mr. Wiltshire objects to the price, as being +too much. Besides this, he is afraid to advance any money for a Spanish +captive's release, lest it should never be refunded. The Spanish +Government, representing a people so chivalrous in bygone times, and so +proud of their ancient exploits over the Moors of this very country, are +not now-a-days over zealous in redeeming their countrymen held in +bondage by these people. Mr. Willshire ransomed a Spanish boy, and +waited several years before he could get this imbecile Government to +refund the money. Espartero at last, however, interfered authoritatively +for the repayment to our generous consul. + +In the present case of the poor fisherman, the captive Spaniard lingers +between hope and fear, his only protection being the avarice of his +master, who, like all slave-dealers, is willing to take care of him as +he takes care of his horse. He is one out of four, the other three +having been massacred by the Arabs, or perished on the coast. But, at +present, we know nothing certain of this, although but a few days' +journey from the scene where the disaster took place--so miserable are +our means of information for enabling us to put an end to this system of +Christian slavery. Certainly some representations should be made to the +Emperor, who pretends to have jurisdiction over Wadnoun, and the +adjacent countries, that these captives may be delivered up to the +Consuls of Mogador. A fair remuneration might be given to the persons +bringing them safely to this town. + +I am told, the Ironmongers' Company of London have at their disposal +funds for the liberation of such British captives as are enslaved in +Southern Morocco. This money was left by a merchant who himself was made +a slave there; and since that time, owing to the few British captives +redeemed, it has increased to an enormous amount. Not knowing what to do +with the money, the Company, it is said, are about to petition +Parliament to build a school with a portion; but I should suggest that +it would be more in accordance with the original object, and declared +intention of the benevolent, donor, were this large surplus fund devoted +to the redemption of all other Christian captives, of whatever nation or +country. Because two hundred dollars are not forthcoming which could +easily be supplied from the Ironmongers' Company's funds, a poor +Spaniard is condemned to a cruel and hopeless slavery, wandering in the +wilds of the great African wilderness. It is impossible to tell the +number of Christian slaves who perish in the South of Morocco. Many of +the Consular agents of this city are as ignorant of the country as +persons residing in London. This subject absolutely demands the +attention of the governments of Europe. Our humanity and civilization +are in question. + +The opinions of the Jews here, are the same as those of American +slave-holders, with this slight difference, that they consider it right +to make slaves of white men and Europeans, as well as of black men, +negroes, and Africans, in which idea they are more consistent than their +Yankee men-selling brethren. + +As there are many Barbary Jews at Mogador, more or less under British +protection, I took the liberty of reminding them of their liabilities as +British subjects, by circulating among them copies of Lord Brougham's +Act. + +I had some conversation with Rabbi-El Melek and other Jews about the +question of abolition, + +_Traveller_.--"What is the opinion of the Jews of this country on the +matter of slavery?" + +_Rabbi-El-Melek._--"I will show you," (taking the Hebrew Bible he read) +"'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his +brethren.'" + +_Traveller._--"Admitting the curse pronounced here was right, that Ham +and Canaan were the progenitors of the African negroes, and that the +curse was to be extended to all generations of Africa--are these reasons +why the all-Merciful Deity will hold man guiltless who enslaves and +maltreats poor Africans? Now, the Jews have been dispersed all over the +world, and maltreated, if not enslaved, by both Christians and +Mahometans (as now) according to prophecy, but will God hold us +guiltless for persecuting or maltreating you, Jews?" + +_The Rabbi_.--"But we are the slaves of God, not of you Christians, and +besides, we are commanded to treat well our slaves in the Scriptures." +Here he quoted many passages from the Pentateuch. + +Then followed a desultory conversation, some asserting "that inasmuch as +the slavery of the whites was permitted by God, how much more right had +they to enslave blacks who were the servants of servants!" Others even +added, "If we were Sovereigns of Morocco, we should make slaves of both +Mahometans and Christians." This indeed is the genuine feeling of +Barbary Jews; oppression begets oppression, and wrong begets revenge. +Another observed, "If you ask me what I think as a British subject, and +not as a Jew, I will give you my opinion against slavery." + +Such distinctions in morals are not easily admissable, but the Jews +there are acute enough to make them, and are as good Jesuits as those of +Rome. Some cited the cavtivity of Joseph us, as a reason for carrying on +the slave-trade. + +On another occasion, I had a conversation with Hassan Yousef, the High +Priest, or Archbishop, as Captain Phillips calls him. The Chief Priest +acknowledged that he who stole a man, whether white or black, was +condemned to death, according to the fair interpretation of the Mosaic +law. He and all Jews were much astonished at the tenor of Lord +Brougham's Act, and got not a little frightened; for all the merchants +of Mogador, Christians and Jews, more or less aid and abet the +slave-trade, all having connections with slave-dealers. At length, our +Jewish Archbishop opined. "Well, well, it is better now, since the +Christians have put down slavery in most of their countries, that we +Jews should follow their example." + +It would be useful, and might subserve the cause of civilization, were +the Jews of Europe to take some means of enlightening their brethren of +North Africa on the question of slavery. The Israelites, who have +suffered so much from slavery and oppression, after becoming free +themselves, should endeavour to emancipate those who are still in the +chains of bondage. + +The Hhaha levies were about to return to their country; the disposable +force of this province is about 70,000. The troops from Shedma were to +come in after the departure of those of Hhaha. Government were afraid to +bring both together, lest they should fight among themselves. Alluding +to the quarrel of their Sultan with the French, these hostile tribes +mutter to each other, "We must kill our own French first;" that is to +say their own "hereditary enemies." + +I went out to see the two levies. These tribes had a singularly wild and +savage aspect, with only a blanket to cover them, which they wrap round +and round their bodies, having neither caps on their heads, nor shoes on +their feet. They were greatly excited against the Christians, owing to +the foolish conduct of the Moorish authorities. The lawless bands spat +at me, and every European passing by them, screaming with threatening +gestures, "God curse you! Infidels." These semi-savages, called out for +the defence of the Empire, were merely armed with a bad gun or +matchlock; some had only knives and clubs. Such levies are certainly +more fit to pillage the Emperor's coast-towns than to defend his +territory against the foreign enemy. + +These poor tribes bring their own provisions, a little barley meal, and +olive or argan-oil, or liquid butter; on this being exhausted, they +could stay no longer, for Government supplies them with nothing but bad +matchlocks. + +They were loud in their complaint on not receiving any nations, and +threatened to join the French Nazarenes when they arrived. His +Excellency the Governor was very anxious to get rid of them, which was +not at all surprising. So avaricious is the Emperor, that when he can, +he makes the rich Moors supply arms for their poorer brethren, instead +of furnishing them from government depôts. And this he insists upon as a +point of religion. The Governor called upon rich Moors to supply the +poor with arms. + +A friend of mine who understands Shelouh as well as Arabic, overheard a +characteristic quarrel between a Shedma man and a Hhaha man. The Shedma +people, or inhabitants of the plains, mostly speak Arabic, those of the +mountains, Shelouh, which difference of language embitters their +quarrels, and alienates them from one another. + +Shedma man.--"Dog! you have put your hands of the devil into my bag of +barley." + +Hhaha man.--"Dog and Jew, you lie!" + +Shedma man.--"Jew and Frenchman! there's some one now in your wife's +tent." + +Hhaha man.--"Religion of the Frenchman! your mother has been +dishonoured a thousand times." + +The maternal honour is the dearest of things amongst these +semi-barbarians. At the mention of this libel on his mother, the Shedma +fellow rushed at the Hhaha man, seizing him by the throat, and +unsheathed a dirk to plunge into his bowels. The scuffle fortunately +excited the instant attention of a group of Arabs close by, who, +securing both, carried them before the Shiekh; who, without hearing the +subject of the quarrel, bastinadoed them both with his own hand. But he +was the Hhaha Sheikh, and the Shedma Sheikh complained to the Governor +of his man having been bastinadoed by the other Sheikh. The Governor +dismissed them, each threatening the other with due vengeance. + +It is time to give some account of Mogador. We sometimes spell the name +with an e, Mogadore, the inhabitants call their town _Shweerah_. Square, +[30] in allusion to its beauty, for it is the only town constructed +altogether on geometrical principles throughout Morocco. Its form, +however, is really a triangle. Mogador is a modern city, having been +built in the year 1760 of our era, by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed, under +the direction of a French engineer of the name of Cornut, who was +assisted by Spanish renegades. + +The object of Sidi Mahommed was to found a central emporium of the +commerce of the Empire, and a port for the southern capital (Morocco). +This town belongs to the province of Hhaha, whose Berber tribes are its +natural defenders. + +The site is a sandy beach with a rocky foundation or a base on the sea, +forming a peninsula, and is supposed to be the ancient Erythraea. The +houses are regularly built, with streets in direct lines, extremely +convenient though somewhat narrow. The residences of the consuls and +European merchants are elegant and spacious. There is a large +market-place, which, on days when the market is not held, furnishes a +splendid parade, or "corso" for exercising cavalry. + +The city is divided into two parts; one division contains the citadel, +the public offices, the residence of the governor, and several houses +occupied by European consuls and merchants, which are all the property +of the Sultan; and the other is the space occupied by the houses of the +Moors and Jews. + +The Jews have a quarter or _willah_ to themselves, which is locked up +during the night, the key being kept by the police. Nevertheless, +several Jews, especially Imperial traders, are allowed to occupy houses +in the Moorish quarter or citadel portion of Mogador, with the Christian +merchants. + +Both quarters are surrounded by walls, not very thick or high, but which +are a sufficient protection, against the depredations of the +mountaineers, or Arabs of the plain. The port is formed by a curve in +the land and the isle of Mogador, which is about two miles from the +mainland. + +This isle, on the verge of the ocean, contains some little forts and a +mosque, and its marabout shrines sparkle in the sun. It is a place of +exile for political offenders. When the French landed, at the +bombardment of Mogador, they released fifty or sixty state prisoners, +some of whom had been Bashaws, or ministers of this and former reigns. +The isle, however, is finely situate off the Atlantic, fanned and swept +by healthy gales, and the prisoners suffer only seclusion from the +Continent. The exiles never attempt to escape, but quietly submit to +their destiny. + +In the port, there are only ten or twelve feet of water at ebb tide, so +that large vessels cannot enter, but must lie at anchor a mile and a +half off the Western battery, which extends along the north-western side +of the port. Such vessels do not lie there except in the summer months, +and then with extreme caution, being, as they are, right off in the +Atlantic, on one of its most dangerous coasts. There are some tolerable +batteries, but they cannot long resist a European bombardment, which was +demonstrated by the French. + +Colonel Keating says, "As far as parapets, ramparts, embrasures, +cavaliers, batteries, and casemates constitute a fortress, this town is +one; but the walls are flimsy, the cavaliers do not command, the +batteries do not flash, and the casemates are not bomb-proof. The +embrasures are so close that not one in three upon the ramparts could be +worked, if they were mounted, which they are not. All their guns, which +have been only twelve months here, are already in very bad order, from +exposure to the climate and surf. The casemates are so damp, that their +interior is covered constantly with a thick nitrous incrustation." +Nevertheless, the Moors have such a superstitious veneration for +fortifications built by a parcel of renegades, that they will not permit +Christians to walk on these ramparts. But what is most unfortunate for +the defence of Mogador, the water could be instantly cut off by +destroying its aqueduct. + +The population is between thirteen and fifteen thousand souls, including +four thousand Jews, and fifty Christians, who carry on an important +commerce, principally with London and Marseilles. Excepting Tangier, it +is now the only port which carries on uninterrupted commercial relations +with Europe. + +Mogador is situate in the midst of shifting sand-hills, that separate it +from the cultivated parts of the country, which are distant from four to +tweleve miles. These sands have an extraordinary appearance on returning +from the interior; they look like huge pyramidal batteries raised round +the suburbs of the city for its defence. The inhabitants are supplied +with water by means of an aqueduct, fed by the little river, or rill of +Wai Elghored, two miles distant south. The climate hereabouts is +extremely salubrious, the rocky sandy site of the city being removed +from all marshes or low lands, which produce pestiferous miasma or +fever-exhaling vegetation. Rarely does it rain, but the whole tract of +the adjoining country, between the Atlas and the sea, is tempered on the +one side by the loftiest ranges of that mountain, and on the other, by +the north-east trade winds, blowing continually. Mogador is in Lat. 31° +32' 40" N., and Long. 9° 35' 30" W. + +The environs offer nothing but desolate sands, except some gardens for +growing a few vegetables, and a sprinkling of flowers, which, by dint of +perseverance, have been planted in the sand of the sea-shore. This is a +remarkable instance of human culture turning the most hopelessly sterile +portions of the world to account. These sands of Mogador are only a +portion of a vast and almost interminable link, which girdles the +north-western coast of the African continent, and is only broken in upon +at short intervals, from Morocco to Senegal, like a shifting, heaving, +and ever-varying rampart against the aggressions of the ocean. Both wind +and sea have probably equally contributed to the formation of this vast +belt of shifting sands. + +The distance from Tangier to Mogador, by ordinary courier, is twelve +days, but no traveller could be expected to perform the journey in less +than twenty days. + +Other courier distances are as follows: + + Tangier to Rabat 4 days + Rabat to Fez 2 days + Fez to Mickas 12 hours + Rabat to Morocco 8 days + Mogador to Morocco 2½ days + Mogador to Santa Cruz 3 days + Mogador to Wadnoun 8 days + Santa Cruz to Teradant 1½ days + +A notice of the interesting, though now abandoned part of Aghadir, may +not be out place here. Aghadir, (called also Agheer and by the +Portuguese, Santa Cruz) means in Berber "walls." It is the Gurt Luessem +of Leo Africanus. The town is small, but strong, and well fortified, and +is situate upon the top of a high and abrupt rock, not far from the +promontory of Gheer, which is the western termination of the Atlas, and +where it dips into or strikes the ocean. + +On the south, close by, is the river Sous, and formerly Aghadir was the +capital of this province. + +Aghadir has a spacious and most secure port, which is the last port +southwards on the Atlantic. Indeed, this bay is the finest roadstead in +the whole empire. Mr. Jackson says, that during his residence at Aghadir +of three years, not a single ship was lost or injured. The principal +battery of Aghadir, a place equally strong by nature and art, is half +way down the western declivity of the mountain, and was originally +intended to protect a fine spring of water close to the sea. This fort +also commands the approaches to the town, both from the north and the +south, and the shipping in the bay. + +Santa Cruz was converted from a fisherman's settlement into a city, and +was fortified by the Portuguese in 1503. Muley Hamed el-Hassan besieged +it in 1536 with an army of fifty thousand men, and owing to the accident +of a powder-magazine blowing up and making a breach, the Sultan forced +an entrance, to the astonishment of the Portuguese, who were all +slaughtered. + +In the reign of Muley Ismail, Santa Cruz was the centre of an extensive +commerce carried on between Europe and the remotest regions of Africa, +which obtained for it the name of Bab-el-Soudan, (Gate of Soudan.) The +inhabitants became rich and powerful, and, as a consequence which so +frequently happens to both the civilized and the barbarian, insolent and +rebellious. In 1773, Sidi Mohammed was obliged to march out against the +town to crush a rebellion; and this done with great slaughter, he +ordered all the European merchants to quit the place and establish +themselves at Mogador. The father of this prince had sworn vengeance +against the haughty city, but died without accomplishing his sanguinary +threats. The son, however, did the work of blood, so faithful to vows of +evil and violence is man. Since that period, Aghadir has dwindled down +to nothing, six hundred inhabitants, and others say only one hundred and +fifty. The greater part of these are Jews, who have the finest women in +all the country. Mr. Davidson says the population of Aghadir is +forty-seven Mohammedans, and sixty-two Jews. At Fonte, the port, are +about two hundred Moors. Were any European power to conquer Morocco, +Aghadir would certainy be re-established as the centre of the commerce +in the south. To a maritime nation like England, the repair and +re-opening of its fine port would be the 6rst consideration, and +doubtless a lucrative and extensive commerce could be established +between Aghadir and Timbuctoo. The city is seven leagues south of Cape +Gheer, in latitude 30° 35'. + +I shall now give some further details illustrative of the state of negro +slavery. The Fniperor has an entire quarter of the city of Morocco +appropriated for his own slaves, the number of whom, in different parts +of the empire, amounts to upwards of sixty thousand. This is his, the +lion's share. His Imperial Highness, who was accepting presents from +various governors, lately received five hundred slaves from the Sheikh +of Taradant. The trading Moors, believing me to be sent by the British +Government to purchase and liberate all their slaves, have calculated +the whole of the slaves in Morocco to be worth twenty-seven millions of +dollars. + +A Moor observed, "I hope to see any calamity befall the country rather +than that of the slaves being liberated," He observed: "God shews his +approbation of slavery by not permitting slaves to rise against their +masters, or the free negroes to invade Morocco, who are infinitely more +numerous. The reason why the English abolished slavery is because the +Queen of England has a good heart, but Mussulmen treat their slaves +well, and do not fear the anger of God." When I mentioned that the Bey +of Tunis and the Imaum of Muscat had entered into treaties for the +suppression of Slavery, the traders observed, "Amongst the Mohammetans +are four sects, but the only orthodox sect is that of Morocco." + +There is, however, one class of abolitionists in this country--the +women, or Mooresses. The rumour that a Christian had come to purchase +all the slaves of Mogador soon penetrated the harems. The wife of one of +the most distinguished Moors of Mogador informed a Jewess of her +acquaintance, that she was very happy to hear a Christian was come to +purchase all her husband's slaves, for she was tired of her life with +them. The truth is, respectable Moorish females detest this system of +domestic slavery, and wish to see it abolished, notwithstanding that +they are bred in it, and are themselves little better than slaves. They +see themselves gradually abandoned by the husbands of their youth for +the most ignorant and degraded negress slaves, whom their husbands +purchase one after another as their caprice or passion excites them, +until their houses are filled with these slaves. + +The artful negress absorbs all the affection of her master, whilst the +legitimate wife is left as a widow, and is obliged to wait upon these +pampered slaves, whose insolence knows no bounds. The negress slaves +besides, when they bear sons, are treated with great respect; their +children are free by the law, and cannot be disposed of, although the +Moors do sell them when hard pressed for money. Yet even these negresses +are beginning to chatter and clatter about the Anti-Slavery mission, +expressing their satisfaction to our Jewish neighbours. A negress slave +on hearing that a person had come from England to liberate all the +slaves, jumped up and called on God to bless the English nation. + +This excitement in the domestic circles of Mogador raises the bile of +the slave-dealers. A fellow of this sort beckoned me to come to him as I +was passing in the street, and thus began: "Christian, if you dare +attempt to go to the south, we shall cut you up into ten thousand little +pieces." + +Traveller.--"You will not lay a finger upon me, nor throw a handful of +sand in my face unless it please God." + +Slave-dealer.--(Taken aback at this reply, he drew in his horns), "Well, +how much will you give us apiece for our slaves." + +_Traveller_.--"I shall give you nothing; you have no right to sell a +man, a brother, like yourself." + +_Slave-dealer_.--"It's our religion." + +_Traveller_.--"It's not your religion to sell Mussulman; you sell the +children of your own slaves, born in your houses, and who are +Mussulmen?" The slave-dealer, puzzled and angry, was silent a few +minutes, and then said, "Ah, well, all's right, all's from God." + +I received a visit from a Hajee under peculiar circumstances. Passing +through Tunis on his return from Mecca last year, his slave, hearing +that all the slaves were liberated in the country, ran away. In vain his +master attempted to catch him. There were no Christians in the country +of the Mecca impostor, who kept _manhunting hounds_. This is the +peculiar glory of Christian lands. Tunis is not so "go a-head" as Yankee +freedom-land. The consequence was the pilgrim left without his slave. He +then, strange to say, applied to me to procure him back his slave. +Thinking this a good opportunity to agitate the authorities here OR the +question, I recommended him to apply to the Governor, who should write +to the Emperor, and also to the Bey of Tunis, and so forth. I had +visitors daily who asked me when I should be ready to purchase the +slaves and liberate them. Arabs from the remotest districts came to me; +and I was told that there is not a town or district of the empire, but +has heard of the English going to liberate all the slaves of Morocco. + +I have studiously avoided giving details of the cruelties and hard +bondage of slavery in and around Morocco. On the contrary, I have stated +it to be the opinion of the Europeans and Consuls in Tangier, that +slaves are well treated in this country. Such an opinion ought to weigh +with all. [31] At the same time, in self-defence, as an abolitionist, +and occupied with a mission for the extinction of slavery in this +country, I must partly uplift the veil, however disgusting it may be to +my readers. A portion of the dark side of the picture must be exhibited. +Of the march of slave-caravans over the Sahara, I shall say +nothing--that is fully reported in my previous publication. When the +slaves arrive in Morocco, they are inarched about in different +directions of the country for sale. During their passage through a +populous district like this, where the females are exposed to the brutal +violence of ten thousand casual visitors, or agents of police and +government, it is the ordinary and revolting practice to adopt means one +cannot describe for the purpose of preserving their honour. Private +punishments are frequent; to my certain knowledge, a female slave was +tied up by the heela, head downwards, and, after being cruelly +flagellated, was left for dead by her, pitiless master. She was at last +cut down at the intercession of her mistress whose humanity got the +better of her hatred and jealousy. While I was at Mogador, a negress had +two of her children torn away from her to be sold at Morocco, to pay the +debts of her master, who was a Moor. The children were sons of the man +who sold them into bondage! The mother was inconsolable, ran about +distracted, and probably will never recover from the blow. These facts +are enough, and with any human man they will out-weigh all other +instances, however numerous, of alleged good treatment on the part of +Moorish slave masters. [32] + +I took a ride with Mr. Elton on the sandy beach. There is a fort in +ruins, at about half an hour's distance, illustrating most emphatically +the parable of the man who built his house upon the sands. + +This fort, which was to command the southern entrance of the harbour, is +supposed to be of Spanish construction, and built about the same time as +the city. + +It was once of considerable size and height, but is now a fallen and +ruined mass, its foundations "upon the sands" having given way. Storms +along this shore are often terribly destructive, we passed a portion of +the hulk of a vessel completely buried in the sand. [33] + +Notwithstanding the sober and taciturn character of the Moor, he can +sometimes indulge himself in pleasantry and caricature. The Moors have +made caricatures of the three last emperors, assisted by some Spanish +renegade artist: these Princes are Yezid, Suleiman, and Abd Errahman. +Yezid is represented as throwing away money with one hand, and cutting +off heads with the other, depicting his ferocity in destroying his +enemies, and his generosity in heaping favours on his friends. Suleiman +is represented as reading the Koran, in the character of a devout and +good man. The present Sultan is hit off capitally, with one hand holding +a bag of money behind him, and with the other stretched out before him, +begging for more. + +H B could not have better caricatured the three Shereefian Sultans. The +Moors affirmed that Muley Abd Errahman will keep faith with no one where +his avarice is concerned, and, when he can, he will sell a monopoly +twice or thrice, receiving money from each party. Of his meanness and +avarice, I adduce two anecdotes. Four years ago, Muley-Abd Errahman +ordered some blond for his Harem from Mr. Willshire. Just when I was +leaving Mogador, his Imperial Highness graciously returned it to our +merchant with the message--"It's too dear." Not long before, a man was +murdered upon the neutral land of two adjacent provinces, and a thousand +dollars were taken from his baggage. In such cases, the Governor of the +district is mulcted both for the murder and robbery. The Emperor claimed +two thousand dollars from one of the provinces, for the father of the +murdered man. This province escaped upon the plea that the murder had +not been committed within its territory. The other province refused to +satisfy the demand for the same reason. His Imperial Highness then made +both provinces pay 2,000 dollars each, keeping one two thousand for +himself, for the trouble he had of enforcing payment. + +The people of Sous not long ago had a quarrel, which the Emperor +fomented. Its Sheikhs fought; his Imperial Highness sent troops to turn +the balance of the fray, and to pacify the country. Then, he made the +belligerents pay each 40,000 dollars, as pacification-money, the value +of which he levied on slaves. In this politic way, the Imperial miser +replenishes his coffers, and "eats up" his loving subjects. + +I made the acquaintance of Mr. Treppass, the Austrian consul, and +Chancellor of the French consulate. Mr. Treppass has been upwards of +twenty years in this country, and was himself once an Imperial merchant, +but sold his business, preferring a small stipend and his liberty, to +being a vassal of the Emperor, fed in luxury and lodged in a fine house. +We had a long conversation upon the various topics connected with this +country. + +Mr. Treppass says, the present system of the court is resistance to all +innovation, to all strangers. But the pressure of the French on the +Algerine frontier is agitating the internal state of this country. +Money, which in other countries goes a long way, will almost do every +thing with the Government of Morocco. It will also effect much with the +people. Some fifty years ago, a Geneose merchant, resident in Mogador, +had the two provinces of Hhaha and Shedma under his control, and could +have made himself Sultan over them; this he effected solely by the +distribution of money. The Sultan of the time was in open war with a +pretender; his Imperial Highness begged for the assistance of the +all-powerful merchant. The merchant bought the affections and allegiance +of the people, and firmly established the Sultan on his throne. + +The influence of the merchant was now prodigious, and the Sultan himself +became alarmed. Not being able to rest, and being in hourly dread of the +Genoese, the Sultan ordered his officers to seize the merchant secretly, +and put him on board a vessel then weighing anchor for Europe. When the +merchant was placed on board, this message was delivered to him--"Our +Sultan is extremely obliged to you, sir, for the great services you +rendered him, by establishing him on his throne! but our Sultan says, +'If you could place him on the throne, you could also pull him off +again.' Therefore you must leave our country. Our Sultan graciously +gives you a portion of your wealth to carry away with you!" The officers +then shipped several chests of money, jewels, and other valuables to be +placed to the account of the merchant, and the Sultan-making Genoese +quitted Morocco for ever. + +The Moors reported to me that the French were building some factories, +with a fort, upon some unclaimed land along the coast, equidistant +between Aghadir and Wadnoun. It is probably near Fort Hillsboro of the +maps, and which Mr. Davidson calls Isgueder. A Moor was accused by the +authorities of Mogador of being mixed up with the transaction, and +immediately sent to the south, where he has not been heard of since. +Another report is that the French are only building a factory. The spot +of land has near it a small port and a good spring of water; quantities +of bricks and lime have been deposited there; French vessels of war from +the Senegal have been coasting and surveying up and down, touching at +the place. + +The new port is called Yedoueesai. I inquired particularly respecting +this project; but Mr. Treppass stated positively, that the French had +wholly abandoned the idea of establishing commercial relations with the +Sheikh of Wadnoun, or any tribes thereabouts, whatever might have been +their original intentions. Vessels of war have frequently visited the +coast of Wadnoun, finding it the worst in all Africa. They, however, now +maintain friendly relations with the Sheikh, in the event of shipwrecks +or other disasters, happening to French vessels. + +Nevertheless, it was at the particular request of the French Consul of +Mogador, that his Government broke off all communications with the +Sheikh, the Emperor having repeatedly complained to the Consul against +this intercourse assuming a commercial or diplomatic character. [34] The +whole coast, from the port of Mogador to the river Senegal, has been, +within the last few years, surveyed by the French vessels of war, +particularly by Captain E. Bouet; and there is sufficient evidence in +the reports of the people, and the remonstrances of the Maroquine +Government, to prove that the French did attempt a settlement on the +part of the coast above stated, but that it failed. + +The French took the idea of the undertaking from Davidson, who proposed +to Lord Palmerston to enter into communication with the Sheikh of +Wadnoun, and establish a factory on the coast, somewhere about the river +Noun, just below Cape Noun. A British vessel of war was sent down with +presents for the Sheikh, and to ascertain the whereabout of the fine +harbour reported to exist there by the Sheikh and his people. This +attempt of our government was as fruitless as that of the French +afterwards. Indeed, at the very time an English brig of war was +searching about for this port, and seeking an interview with the Sheikh +of Wadnoun on the coast, Davidson was murdered on the southern frontier +just as he was penetrating the Sahara. + +It is not improbable, however, that the knowledge of this recommendation +of Davidson, which, from the Sheikh's people themselves, would naturally +reach the court of Morocco, might have excited that jealous court to +compass in some way his death, or at any rate thwart his expedition to +Timbuctoo, for the Emperor is exceedingly jealous of any European +holding communication with the south. The Sheikh Barook is, in spite of +all this, very anxious to begin an intercourse with Europeans; and not +long ago, a messenger arrived with a bag of money for the Jew, Cohen, +telling him to take some out of it, and to go to the Sheikh who wished +to see him. But Cohen would not expose himself to the displeasure of the +Emperor, although he has English protection. + +Wadnoun is a quasi-independent Sheikhdom of the empire. The Sheikh of +Wadnoun pays no tithes nor other imposts, and only sends an annual +present as a mark of vassal-homage to the Emperor. Sous, which adjoins +this province, is more immediately under the power of the Sultan of the +Shereefs, but the tithes are not so easily collected in the south as in +the north. Much depends on the ability of the governor, who rules the +whole of the district in the name of the Emperor. The imperial authority +is maintained principally by prompting disunion amongst the Sheikhs; +Sous being divided into numerous districts, each district having an +independent Sheikh. + +By confusion and divisions among themselves, the Emperor rules all as +paramount-lord. When will people learn to be united, so that by union +they may win their freedom and independence? Alas! never. Wadnoun is +treated, however, very tenderly; for if the Emperor were to attempt the +subjugation of this country, the malcontents of Sous would join the +Sheikh, and his authority would probably be overthrown in all the south. + +Sous is the richest of these provinces, and equal to any other of the +northern districts. Its trade in dates, ostrich feathers, wax, wool, and +hides, particularly in gums, almonds, and slaves, is very great. All the +Saharan caravans must pass through this country, except those proceeding +_viâ_ Tafilett to Fez. Teroudant, its capital, is a very ancient city, +and was built by the ancient Berbers. It has a circumference of walls +capable of containing eighty thousand people, but the actual population +does not exceed twenty thousand. Its inhabitants are very industrious, +and the Moors excel in the art of dyeing. + +Noun, or Wadnoun, as this country and its capital are sometimes called, +Mr, Davidson briefly describes as a large district, having many clusters +of inhabitants. The town where the Sheikh resides, is of good size, and +has a millah, or Jew's quarter, besides a good market. It stands on the +river (such as it is) distant twenty two miles from the sea. + +The river Noun rises in the mountains above Souk Aisa or Assa, and is +there called Wad-el-Aisa; and, passing through the district of Wadnoun, +it takes the name of Assaka. The ancient name of this river was Daradus. +The territory around is not very fertile on account of the neighbourhood +of the Desert, but produces gum, wax, and ostrich feathers in abundance. +The inhabitants are mostly Arabs with a sprinkling of Shelouh, estimated +by Gräberg [35] at 2,000. The population is somewhat thickly scattered; +there are at least twenty villages between the district of Stuka and +Wadnoun. + +The annexed is a sketch of Wadnoun after the design left by Mr. +Davidson. + +[Illustration] + +Wadnoun is an important rendezvous of caravans. Many Timbuctoo caravans +break up here, and some Saharan. Several Saharan merchants come no +further north, disposing of their slaves and goods to Maroquine +merchants, who meet them in this place. + +It is safe travelling through these countries, provided no extraordinary +plot be laid for taking away a traveller's life, as in the case of +European explorers attempting to penetrate the interior. Mr. Treppass +thinks that, notwithstanding the ill-will of the Moorish Government, +Davidson could have succeeded in his attempted journey to Timbuctoo had +he been more circumspect. He gave out to all persons whom he met that he +was going to Timbuctoo. This insured his being stopped and murdered _en +route_ by some party or other, more especially as he at last abandonod +the idea of protecting himself by a caravan-party, and started alone. +But I am not altogether of this opinion. Too much publicity is certainly +injurious to a journey of discovery, and far and near awakens attention +and suspicion; but a too sudden and unexpected appearance in the towns +of the Desert, equally excites distrust and suspicion, if not hostile +feelings. + +Mr. Robertson, whilst at Morocco, heard one of the numerous versions of +the death of Mr. Davidson. He is said to have been killed by the mere +freak of a young Arab, who wished to have the pleasure of killing a +Christian, and who called out to his companions, "Come, let us go and +have a shot at the Christian." The party of Arabs to whom this +mischievous young man belonged, was afterwards extremely grieved at what +had been done. One of the Arabs, in plundering the baggage, lost his +hand by breaking a bottle containing aqua fortis. The glass cut a large +gash, and the aqua fortis entering immediately, consumed the hand. The +people cried out, "The devils of the Christian are in the water!" From +all I have heard, the great fault of Davidson appears to have been his +wishing to travel as like "a fine gentleman." This prejudiced all his +travelling-companions against him, and could not fail to render him +unpopular wherever he went. + +It is of no use for a man to cry out in the Desert, "I am an +Englishman!" he must exclaim, "I am an Arab, and will do and suffer like +an Arab." If any one were to ask me, "What would carry a roan to +Timbuctoo through the Desert? is it courage, or money, or prudence?" I +would reply, "The first thing is suffering, the second is suffering, and +the last is suffering." [36] I consulted an old man on this journey to +Timbuctoo. He could not undertake a voyage being too old. He mentioned +names of places _en route_, and said they travelled by the stars, which +star-travelling is all stuff. He recommended going by sea as much +nearer. Very little satisfactory information can be obtained from +Maroquine Moors, who would rather mislead than direct you. + +I endeavoured to open a correspondence with the South on the +Anti-Slavery question. At first, I thought of going to Wadnoun on +receiving an invitation from the Sheikh, but when I proposed this to Mr. +Wiltshire, he insisted on my relinquishing such a project, inasmuch as +having placed myself at the direction of the Consul-General, as +recommended by the Earl of Aberdeen, I was not at liberty to differ from +the advice, which Mr. Hay and himself might tender me. I saw there was +some reason in this, and submitted though with great reluctance. +However, I wrote two letters to Sheikh Barook of Wadnoun, stating the +views and objects of the Anti-Slavery Society. + +I had some difficulty in finding a courier, who would undertake the +delicate mission of conveying the letters. But Mr. Treppass and the +French Consul, M. Jorelle, felt themselves more at liberty in the matter +than our Consul, and determined to assist me, M. Jorelle very justly +observing, "We will sow the seeds of liberty, if we can do nothing +more." Indeed, I am greatly obliged to that gentleman for the interest +he took in my mission, and the assistance he rendered me on this and +other occasions. After my return to England, I received two letters from +the Sheikh in answer to those I had written to him. The Sheikh, afraid +lest his letter might fall into the hands of Government, after many +compliments, begs me to get the Emperor first to move in the question, +adding, "what he makes free, we will make free;" for he says in another +place, "We act as he acts, according to the _treek_ (ordinance) of God +and his Prophet." + +Sheikh Barook also protests that he has but little power in these +matters, living as he does in the Desert. As I did not seek for any +thing beyond an answer to my letters, and was only anxious that he +should know the sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Society, I was not all +disappointed. I knew too much of the pro-slavery feeling once existing +in a strong party in England, and the mighty struggles which we had +passed through to obtain British Abolition, to expect anything more than +a respectful answer to antislavery letters from a Prince of the Desert, +whose revenues were raised chiefly from the duties levied upon +slave-caravans passing through his territory. I only attempted to +scatter the seeds of liberty over the slave-tracks of the Desert, +leaving the budding forth and the growth to the irrigating influences of +that merciful and wise God, who has made all men of one flesh and blood. + +I visited the families of Jewish merchants during the Passover, in +company with Mr. and Mrs. Elton. Christians here visit the Jews twice a +year, at the feast of the Passover and Tabernacles. In return, Jews +visit Christians on New Year's day. This laudable practice promotes +social harmony between the Jews and Christians. + +In the house of one of our Jewish friends (Mr. Levi's) I assisted at the +celebration of the evening of the Passover. There is nothing very +particular in this ceremony, except a great deal of reading. The +drinking of the four cups [37] of wine, and the eating of the bitter +herbs, emblems of the joys and the sorrows attending the deliverance +from Egyptian bondage, are the more difficult parts of the ceremony. The +children naturally feel most the disagreeableness of eating the bitter +herbs, and several times, as soon as they put them into their mouths, +they spat them out again under the table. The drinking of an excessive +quantity of wine, is also attended with not a little inconvenience, and +one would think Bacchus was the deity worshipped, and not the God of the +Jews and Christians. When will mankind learn that violation of the +physical economy of their nature can never be acceptable to the Great +Creator? + +I do not say that European Israelites indulge so much in these excesses +as Barbary Jews, but I imagine that the germ of the debauch is found in +the Talmudical religion of both classes. But, since I should be very +sorry were a Jew to hold up to me the mummeries of Popery or of the +Greek Church, as the mirror of my own religion, I am not disposed to +animadvert upon the generally decorous worship of European Israelites. + +It requires three full days to get through this business of visiting. In +truth, it is a very serious affair, for we were obliged to eat cake, and +sip sherbet, or white brandy, at every house we went to, otherwise we +should confer an affront upon our friends. At all times, a great +quantity of white brandy, which the Jews distil themselves, is drunk, +but especially on these occasions. + +The Governor of Mogador gave orders, not long ago, that no Mussulman +should enter the Jewish quarter, to prevent the faithful from being +seduced into drinking this insidious spirit. I shall just mention what a +Christian is obliged to conform to, whilst visiting the Barbary Jews on +these high days and holidays. + +1st. You must eat a piece of cake, at least of _one_ sort, if not of +several kinds, and drink a little brandy, wine somets, or boiled juice +of the grape, or sherbet. In many of the houses, they give nothing but +brandy, which is tastefully placed out on small round tables, as at a +pastrycook's shop. + +2nd. You must admire the new dresses of the ladies, who are radiantly +and sumptuously attired "in flaming purple and refulgent gold," their +ornaments likewise of gold, silver, and all manner of precious stones; +for the daughters of Israel are, as on bridal days, all begemmed, +bejewelled, and diamonded, stuck over with gems as thick as stars "seen +in the galaxy or milky-way." On these festivals, it is absolutely a +matter of orthodox observance that the Jews and Jewesses should wear +something new. Some have entirely new dresses. + +3rd. Any thing new or remarkable in the house, or household furniture, +must be noticed or admired. + +4th. You must carry with you in your memorandum-book, or at the tip of +your tongue, a good assortment of first-rate compliments of the season. + +If these are spiced with a little scandal of your neighbours, or the +party you have just left, so much the better; they are more relished. + +Now you are obliged to visit twenty or thirty families per diem; and you +are literally passing through doors, square-courts, and corridors, +crossing patios and quadrangles, walking up and down stairs, getting up +and sitting down from morning to night, during these three mortal days. +It will be seen then, that these Passover and Tabernacle visits are +tremendous affairs, and require Herculean strength to get through their +polite duties. They may be days of jovial festivity to Jews, but +certainly they are days of labour and annoyance to Gentiles. + +But I must now give an account of one or two remarkable personages whom +we visited. The first was Madame Bousac, a Jewess of this country. Her +father was a grandee at Court in the days of former emperors, and the +greatest merchant of his time, and she represented as an aristocrat +among her people, a modern Esther, standing and pleading between the +Sultan and her nation. This lady is the only native woman in the +country, Mooress or Jewess, who has tact or courage enough to go and +speak to the Emperor, and state her request with an unfaltering voice +beneath the awful shadow of the Shereefian presence! Madame Bousac +accompanied the merchants to Morocco, to pay her respects to the +Emperor. Among other modest or confidential demands which the lady made +on the Imperial benevolence, was that of an advance to her husband of +ten thousand dollars. His Imperial Highness was immediately obliged to +give a formal assent before his court. + +She then visited the Harem, and felt herself quite at home. All the +ladies, wives or concubines of the Emperor, waited upon her; and served +her with tea and bread, and butter. + +The presentation of bread and butter and cups of tea, is said to be the +highest honour conferred on visitors, but why or wherefore I have not +heard. + +Madame Bousac gave us some account of the Morocco harem, which we may +suppose is like that of Fez and Miknas. The number of these ladies was +some two hundred. They are all attired alike, except the four wives, who +dress a little more in the style of Sultanas. I am sorry to be obliged +to disabuse the reader of the romance and oriental colouring attached to +our ideas of the harem, by giving Madame Bousac's simile of those +angelic houries. This lady said, "they are like a string of +charity-school girls going to church on a Sunday morning." + +Their penurious lord keeps down their pin-money to the lowest point, and +is not more liberal to his ladies than to his other subjects. Former +sultans were accustomed to allow their ladies half a dollar a day, but +these have but twopence, or at least fourpence. Muley Abd Errahman even +traffics in his beauties, and will now and then make a present of one to +a governor, in consideration of receiving an adequate return of money, +or presents. Sometimes, the Moors pay their Shereefian Sultan a similar +compliment, by presenting him with slaves from their harem. [38] + +Madame Bousac is, of course, a perfect lady according to Moorish ideas, +but her fascinations on the mind of the Emperor, arise more from her wit +and ability than her feminine grace and delicacy. She is anything but a +beauty, according to our ideas, being of a dark complexion, of middle +height, of large and powerful muscular proportions, very upright, as if +bending backwards, and with a hoarse and masculine voice. Like most +women in this part of the world, she is married to a man old enough to +be her father, or even grandfather, being even more than double her age. + +She herself may be about thirty, at which age the beauty of Barbary +women is gone for ever. Such is the court-dame who has courage enough to +speak to the Emperor of Morocco in public. She conversed with us about +her affairs, telling us the Emperor had not yet advanced to her husband +the loan of 10,000 dollars as promised, nor did she expect it, for she +knew his avarice. "Rather would he sell one of his Sultanas." But he had +sent her a present of four haiks, which she shewed us; they were +extremely fine and white. "These," she observed, "are the ten thousand +dollars paid in private, but which the Sultan could not refuse me in +public." + +Another character whom we visited, was the distinguished Rabbi, +Coriante. The priest entertained us with dissertations upon various +subjects. First of slavery. "It is unlawful to steal blacks, the Mosaic +law denouncing such theft with the punishment of death. Nevertheless, if +the Jews of this country had the power, they would enslave the +Mussulman, and well castigate them." + +This latter remark, Coriante uttered with an emphasis, denoting the +revenge which his countrymen would inflict upon their Mahometan +oppressors, who had kept them in chains for a series of ages. He +remarked, however, that the Sultan might give way on the question of +negro slavery, after the first shock to his prejudices. + +The Rabbi treated us with wine, but one of us, moved by curiosity, +having touched the bottle, he remarked to his daughter in an under-tone; +"It's all gone," (the rest of the wine is spoiled). Among these +extremely superstitious Barbary rabbies, it is a pollution to their wine +if a Christian touch even the bottle containing the juice of the grape, +and they will not drink it afterwards. + +We asked the reason of his not being able to drink, and found it was, +first, because women work in the vineyards, and the second, because the +Pope pronounces his blessing upon the vintage. After these Jews have +eaten meat, they are obliged to wait some time before they can eat +butter, or drink milk; in fact, their superstitions are numberless. The +Rabbi read to us portions of the proverbs of Solomon, and told us +Solomon was well acquainted with steam engines and railways, "Only they +were of no use in the Holy Land when God was always with his people." He +then gave us his blessing, and me this solemn warning. "Take care the +Emperor does not cut off your head, as he has cut off the head of our +young Darmon." [39] + + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + +[1] According to Xavier Darrieu. + +[2] It has always been the policy of Mahometan States to send their +troublesome subjects, such as were not considered rebel enough to +decapitate or to imprison, on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead of +expiating the sins of a buoyant patriotism at the galleys or the +Bermudas, they are sent to slake their patriotic ardour at the holy +wells of El-Kaaba. + +[3] The late Emperor of Morocco. + +[4] "Our Lord Jesus," the name by which the Moors, always mention Our +Saviour. + +[5] Moors entertain the lowest opinion possible of Spaniards. In an +intercepted correspondence of the Emperor of Morocco, found at the +Battle of Isly, Spaniards are called, "The most degraded of the human +race." + +[6] The climate of North Africa is remarkable for rusting everything +which can contract rust. This may be the reason of the Moors +representing Spain and other European countries as free from rust, +because there it is not so soon contracted. + +[7] Lord Palmerston proceeded in the same determined way with the Schah +of Persia (See Parliamentary Papers on the Slave Trade, class D, +presented 1848). But Colonel Shiel was fortunate in obtaining several +opinions of Mahomet that--"The worst of men is the seller of men"--was a +powerful auxiliary. The perseverance of the Minister and his agents in +Persia has been crowned with complete success; the Schah has issued a +firman prohibiting the Slave Trade in his territories. This firman will +complete our command over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian seas, and +enable our cruisers to intercept the slavers from the eastern shore of +Africa. + +[8] No people understand better than the Moors the noble feeling of +gratitude, contained in the words "Non nobis, Domine," &c. + +[9] Although _Sultana_, i.e., "Sultanness or Princess," is a frequent +name for a woman in this country, I hare never heard of a man being +called Sultan; and, indeed, I imagine the jealousy of the reigning +sovereign would never permit the use of such a name. But even in this +country, where women are treated as so many household chattels, Moorish +gallantry is sufficient to overlook these trivial or serious +pretensions. + +[10] "Souvenir d'un Voyage du Maroc," par M. Rey, Paris. + +[11] The value of this ducat is about half-a-crown English money. + +[12] Count Qrabert gives the following account of Maroquine Blacks: "The +Blacks who form a very numerous part of the population are most of them +slaves, and as it is customary in barbarous countries, become an object +of trade, though not to be compared with that carried on in other parts +of Barbary. The Black is generally of a soft and kind disposition, bears +fatigue with patience, and shows a serene and lively temper, totally +different in that respect from the Moor, who is taciturn and sullen. +Some of them have become men of prosperity and note, after having +recovered their liberty. They are renowned for their fidelity, and form +the most numerous part of the body-guards of the Sultan; that body-guard +makes about the half of the army, which on an average compose a total of +ten thousand men. The greater part of those Blacks comes from +Senegambia, Guinea, and the dominions of the Fellah or Fellani." +(_Specchio geografico e Statistico dell' Impero di Marocco. Geneva._) + +[13] Some time since, when the French Government were anxious to get +supplies of grain from the Levant, for the north of France, they sent +steamers to the Straits, to be ready to tow the vessels through, an +example worthy of imitation, in other times besides seasons of famine. + +[14] This conduct of Roman Catholic sailors has often been noticed. +Mahometans do the same, and resign themselves to fate, _i.e._, make no +effort to save themselves; the only difference is, they are less noisy, +and more sullen in their spiritless resignation. + +[15] The entrance to the port of Mogador, however, is difficult to all +seamen. We were besides in the depth of winter. The Prince de Joinville +describes his mishaps during the height of summer, or in August, when +placing his vessels in position before the town. He says in his report +of the bombardment: "New difficulties, and of more than one kind awaited +us. For four days, the violence of the wind and the roughness of the sea +prevented us from communicating with one another. Anchored upon a rocky +bottom, our anchors and cables broke, and the loss of them deprived us +of resources which were indispensable in order to obtain our object. +Some vessels had only one chain and one anchor. We could not think of +maintaining ourselves before Mogador under sail. The violence of the +currents and of the gale, would probably have carried us too far, and we +should have lost the opportunity of acting. Besides, in causing the +steamers to get to proceed with us, they would have consumed their fuel, +and in leaving them by themselves they would be exposed to run short of +provisions and water. It was therefore necessary to remain at anchor. At +last, the wind abated, and there remained of the hurricane of the +preceding days, a considerable swell from N.N.W. Then the vessels were +tormented by the swell, and became ungovernable." + +[16] The Ancient Numidians rode without saddle or bridle They were +celebrated as the "reinless" Numidians-- + +"Numidæ infraeni."--(Ænaid, iv., 41.) + +We are aware that another meaning to _infraeni_ has been given, that of +"indomitable;" but the peculiarity of these horsemen riding without +reins is the usual rendering. But ordinarily, the modern Moorish cavalry +is very comfortably mounted. Their saddles, with high backs, are as +commodious as a chair. The large, broad, shovel-stirrups enable the +rider to stand upright as on terra firma, whilst the sharp iron edges of +the stirrups goring the ribs of the poor animal, serve as spurs. These +lacerating stirrups are tied up short to the saddle, and the knees of +the rider are bent forwards in a very ungainly manner. Nevertheless, the +barb delights in the "powder play" as much as his master, and-- + + "Each generous steed to meet the play aspires, + And seconds, with his own, his master's fires; + He neighs, he foams, he paws the ground beneath, + And smoke and flame his swelling nostrils breathe." + +[17] The fire of the Barbary horse is generally known, but few reflect +upon the power of endurance which this animal possesses. I have known +them to go without water for two or three days when crossing the Desert, +during which time they will only receive a small measure of corn or a +few dates. On the coast, they are driven hard a long day, sweating, and +covered with foam, their sides bleeding from the huge sharp-edged +stirrups. Without the slightest covering, they are left out the whole +night, and their only evening meal is a little chopped barley-straw. + +Our European horses would perish under such circumstances, and the +French have lost the greater part of the horses they imported from +France for the cavalry. But this hard fare keeps down the fiery spirit +of these stallion barbs, otherwise they would be unmanageable. When +turned out to grass, they soon become wild. Crossing a field one day, +mounted, I was set upon by a troop of these wild, grazing horses, and +was instantly knocked to the ground, where I lay stunned. A cavalry +officer, who was riding with me, had only just time to escape, and saved +himself by dismounting, and letting his horse go. + +It was some hours before we could rescue the horses of our party from +their wild mates, sporting and bounding furiously over the plains. The +barb horses being all stallions (for the Moors consider it a crime to +geld so noble an animal), the fiercest and most terrific battles ensue +on a stud breaking loose from their pickets. These battles are always +between strangers, for the barb is the most affectionate of horses, and +if he is known to another, and become his mate, he will, as the Arabs +say, "die to be with him." + +[18] These trained bands of negroes call themselves _Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari_, +from the patron saint whom they adopted on settling in Morocco, the +celebrated Sidi-Bokhari, commentator on the Koran, and a native of +Bokhara, as his name implies. His commentary is almost as much venerated +as the Koran itself. + +[19] The _lex talion_ is frequently enforced in North Africa. + +[20] Maroquine Moors drench you with tea! they guzzle sweet tea all day +long, as the Affghans gulp down their tea, with butter in it, from +morning to night. + +[21] Native Jews manage most of the business of the interior, and farm +the greater part of the monopolies. But the Emperor must have some +European merchants connected with these Jews to maintain the commercial +relations of his country with Europe. The Jewish High Priest of Mogador +is a merchant, it being considered no interference with his sacred +functions. + +[22] See Appendix at end of Vol. II. + +[23] Muley Abd Errahman is averse to treating his governors with extreme +rigour. Mr. Hay gives an appalling account of private individuals +arrested on suspicion of possessing great wealth--"The most horrible +tortures are freely resorted to for forcing confessions of hidden +wealth. The victim is put in a slow oven, or kept standing for weeks in +a wooden dress; splinters are forced between the flesh and the nail of +the fingers; two fierce cats are put alive into his wide trousers, and +the breasts of his women are twisted with pincers. Young children have +sometimes been squeezed to death under the arms of a powerful man, +before the eyes of their parents." + +A wealthy merchant at Tangier, whose _auri sacra fames_ had led him to +resist for a long time the cruel tortures that had been, employed +against him, yielded at length to the following trial. "He was placed in +a corner of the room, wherein a hungry lion was chained in such a manner +as to be able to reach him with his claws, unless he held himself in a +most unnatural position." This reads very much like a description of the +torments of the Inquisition. The Moors may have imported this system of +torture from Spain. Similar barbarities were said to have been inflicted +by King Otho on prisoners in Greece, even on British Ionian subjects! I +recollect particularly the sewing up of fierce cats in the petticoats of +women. My experience in Morocco does not permit me to authenticate Mr. +Hay's horrible picture. + +[24] "To his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, Sidi Muley Abd +Errahman. + +"May it please your Majesty, + +"A Society in England, having for its object the Abolition of Slavery +and the Slave Trade throughout the world, and denominated the British +and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, being informed of the pacific +intentions and friendly disposition of your Majesty towards our +Sovereign Queen and Government, and being informed likewise, that your +Majesty, in diplomatic relations with other Foreign Princes and States, +has universally manifested the greatest desire to preserve peace amongst +nations, and, of necessary consequence, the happiness of the human race, +are encouraged to approach your Majesty, and to plead on behalf of a +numerous and important class of your subjects, the negro and other black +slaves. + +"These are a people always faithful to their friends and protectors (a +most conspicuous and immediate proof of which is seen in your Majesty's +Imperial Guard, formed principally of this class of your faithful +subjects,) and exhibiting under suffering and oppression the greatest +patience and fortitude, yet, during the long course of bygone centuries, +they have been subjected to horrid cruelties and barbarities, in order +to pander to the vices and to satiate the avarice of their oppressors. + +"Now we, the Society in England aforesaid, address your Majesty for the +succour and protection of this cruelly oppressed portion of the human +race, and in order that you may be graciously pleased to remove the +chain of bondage from off these unfortunate victims of the violence and +cupidity of wicked men, who, in defiance of all justice and mercy, claim +them as their property, and buy and sell them as cattle. + +"We further entreat that your Majesty would be graciously pleased to +place the slaves in your Imperial dominions upon a footing of equality +with the rest of your faithful subjects, and to make them free men, +having the rightful possession of their own persons, and being at +liberty to travel whithersoever they will. + +"For your Majesty rightly understands and knows as well as we do, that +God the Almighty Maker of us and you, has made all men equal, and has +not permitted man to have property in his fellow man, which reduces them +to the level of brutes; therefore, to make slaves of our fellows, our +brothers and sisters, is to sin against the will and mind of God, and to +provoke his wrath and indignation against us, and against our children +after us. + +"Consequently, we, the Society in England, aforesaid, in common with +some of your own Mussulman sovereigns and people, hold Slavery, and the +Slave Trade in extreme abhorrence, because it kills and destroys our +brothers whom we ought to love and cherish, because it makes them like +brutes, whom we ought to esteem as reasonable beings, because it hardens +our own hearts and makes us cruel towards our fellows, whom we ought to +treat with kindness and compassion, and because it deforms God's +creatures, in whom we ought to revere his spiritual likeness, man being +made after the likeness of God, in possessing a spiritual reasoning +soul; these evils, however, are the direct and inevitable consequences +of the accursed Slave Trade, and for such reasons we, the people of +England in general, abhor it, and seek, in every legitimate and +righteous way, to persuade men of every nation in the world to abandon +this inhuman and wicked traffic. + +"Finally, we implore your Majesty to be pleased to follow out that great +act of confidence which you have exercised towards the negro race, in +appointing them the life-guards of your Imperial person, by graciously +liberating them from the cruel yoke of slavery. From our hearts we +believe that your Majesty will find such a spontaneous act of compassion +towards the desolate African Slaves to be the wisest worldly policy, and +most agreeable to the will of the Eternal Creator of us all. Your loyal +subjects will love the goodness of your heart the more, and serve you +the better, while all Africa, of which the immense dominions of your +Majesty form so large a part, will catch new life and vigour, under the +blessing of the Almighty, and grow happy and prosperous in the ages to +come. + +"Signed and sealed on behalf of the Society in England for abolishing +Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the world. + +"(Signed) THOMAS CLARKSON. (L.S.)" + +[25] This is not exact. The vizier is often the author of certain lines +of policy. + +[26] All the Moorish Sultans are spoken of by the people as _Seedna_, +"Our Lord," and departed Saints are addressed by the same title. + +[27] It is curious to see the Spartan principle of theft developing +itself under such different circumstances. + +[28] [Transcriber's Note: In our print copy, the text of this footnote +is missing.] + +[29] This is the old story of the abettors of the slave-trade in all +parts of the world; I very much doubt if there be any truth in it. None +of the slave-dealers of the Desert whom I conversed with, had ever seen +or heard of prisoners of war being put to death. + +[30] The European name of Mogador, is supposed to be derived from +Mugdul, or Modogul, a Moorish Saiut. + +[31] The Governor of Mogador told me to go to look at his slaves, and +see that they were well fed and well clothed. But every rich man's +horses and dogs are well-fed and well-housed. + +[32] Mr. Davidson did not visit Morocco as an abolitionist. Head what +impression this Maroquine slavery made upon his mind. "My heart sickens +at the sight of this horrid picture. In another lot of these unfortunate +beings were six women, one of whom had given birth to a child on the +road, which was thrown into the bargain. There was an old wretch who had +come from Saweirah to purchase female slaves; his examination was +carried on in the most disgusting manner, I could not refrain from +calling down the curse of Heaven on these inhuman wretches. In many, but +little feeling is shewn for the poor blacks; and they seemed to think +less of their own fate than I did, who was merely a looker-on. One poor +creature, however, who was a finer woman, and less black than the rest, +shed tears. I could have given her my dagger to have plunged it in the +breast of the villain who was examining her. And yet these people pray +four times a day, and think themselves superior to all God's creatures! +More than ever do I wish to get away from, this den of hell-hounds. Each +of the grown persons was in the prime of life, and had once a home, and +was more to be pitied than the children, who had never known the liberty +of thought and act. To each of the ten slaves was given a lunch of bread; +while both the inhuman buyers and sellers, after chuckling over their +bargains, went to offer up their prayers to Heaven, before they took +their daily meal. Can such unhallowed doings be permitted to endure +longer! Oh, Spirit of Civilization, hither turn your eyes, and punish +the purchasers who ought to know better, for thus only will the sale be +stopped." + +[33] I asked a Moor, "Who built this castle on the sands?" He replied +pertly, "Iskander!" Whenever the Moors see anything marvellous or +ancient, they ascribe it to Alexander the Great, to Pharaoh, to Solomon, +or even to Nimrod, as caprice leads them, believing that these three or +four personages created all the wondrous and monstrous things in the +world. But we have an instance here, how soon through ignorance, or the +want of records, a modern thing may become ancient in the minds of the +vulgar. This fort was built after Mogador, which town is not yet a +century old. + +[34] Certainly, to establish relations with the Southern provinces of +Morocco, that is, Sous and Wadnoun, would greatly injure the trade of +Mogador, and, therefore, the Consuls, as well as the Moorish +Authorities, set their faces against any direct intercourse being opened +with the South. + +[35] Gräberg says Noun means the "river of eels," Davidson derives the +name from a Portuguese queen called Nounah; but his editor says the name +is properly Nul, was so written when the Arabs possessed Portugal, and +that Queen Nunah is a modern invention. + +[36] Whatever may have been Mr. Davidson's faults, I scarcely doubt that +the first impressions of Mr. Consul-General Hay were correct. He says, +"I _fear, however, that I am not to expect much assistance from him_," +(Mr. Hay); and hints, in other parts of his Journal, that Mr. Hay was +rather disposed to throw difficulties in his way, than to render him +efficient aid. Mr. Hay's son (which is very natural) attempts to +exculpate his father in an appendix to his "Western Barbary," and some +will, perhaps, think he has done so successfully. My experience of the +diplomatic skill of the late Consul, does not permit me to coincide with +this favourable opinion. The greater probability is, that if Mr. +Davidson had been left to his own "inspirations," and allowed complete +liberty of action, he would have succeeded in reaching Timbuctoo; but +his health doss not appear to have been sufficiently robust, or himself +acclimated, to have brought him back from his perilous adventure. + +[37] These cups hold at least a pint each, and every adult male is +expected to empty four, if not six. Of course, they get beastly +intoxicated, and suffer a day or two of illness afterwards, a very just +punishment. + +[38] But I do not think it reaches the point of complaisance, noticed by +Monsieur Chenier, when he was French Consul in 1767. He says, "The +veneration of the Moors is so great for this Prince, that they deem +themselves happy whenever one; of their daughters is admitted to share +his couch." On the other hand, many of the beauties presented by the +Sultan to his ministers, although brought out of his harems, are +virgins. The poor ladies in the royal harems are only so much stock, +from which their Lord and tyrant picks and chooses. + +[39] Friend Phillips is always wrestling with these prejudices of +Barbary Jews. When his wife was delivered of a daughter, he was +determined to have as much "fuss" made of the child as if it had been a +son, to spite the prejudices of his brethren. So, when he went out for a +walk with his wife, he would walk always arm-in-arm with her, although +she was a Jewess of this country, which caused great annoyance to his +woman-oppressing brethren. + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: In this electronic edition, footnotes have been +numbered and relocated to the end of the work. In footnote 35, the +spellings Nouna and Nunah both occur. In chapter 6, the word "convey" +was corrected to "conveying."] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1., by James Richardson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10355 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a190428 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10355 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10355) diff --git a/old/10355-8.txt b/old/10355-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f99b4fd --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10355-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5865 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1., by James Richardson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1. + +Author: James Richardson + +Release Date: December 1, 2003 [EBook #10355] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, VOL. 1. *** + + + + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Tom Allen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team from images generously made available +by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, + +BY THE LATE JAMES RICHARDSON, + +AUTHOR OF "A MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA," +"TRAVELS IN THE DESERT OF SAHARA," &C. + +EDITED BY HIS WIDOW. + +[Illustration] + +IN TWO VOLUMES. + +VOL. I. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Having made a limited tour in the Empire of Morocco a few years since, I +am enabled to appreciate the information imparted to us by the lamented +Richardson, and am desirous of adding a few observations of my own upon +the present state of affairs in that part of the African Continent. + +The following work of the indefatigable traveller demands, at the +present moment, a more than ordinary share of public attention, in +consequence of the momentous events now passing in the Straits of +Gibraltar, where the presence of powerful armaments entails on the +Governor of our great rock-fortress, a duty of some delicacy, situated +as he now is in close proximity to three belligerent powers, all of whom +are at peace with Great Britain. But distinguished alike for common +sense and professional ability, Sir William Codrington, it is to be +hoped, will steer clear of the follies committed by Sir Robert Wilson in +1844, and will command respect for the British name, without provoking +bitter feelings between ourselves, and our French and Spanish +neighbours. + +It is scarcely possible that either France or Spain can contemplate the +conquest of the entire Empire of Morocco, as the result of the present +impending crisis, the superficial extent of the territory being 219,420 +square miles, and the population nearly 8,000,000, [1] of which a large +proportion live in a state of perpetual warfare, occupying inaccessible +mountain fastnesses, from whence they only descend to the plains for the +sake of plunder. The inhabitants may be classified as follows: 4,000,000 +Moors and Arabs; 2,000,000 Berbers; 500,000 Jews, and the remainder are +of the Negro race. The regular Army consists of less than thirty +thousand men, but every Arab is an expert irregular horseman, and the +Berbers make good foot-soldiers. + +These indeed are, in ordinary times, rarely to be depended on by the +Emperor, but so powerful an incentive is religious fanaticism that, were +he to raise the standard of the Holy War, a large Army would quickly +rally around him, deficient perhaps in discipline, yet living by +plunder, and marching without the encumbrance of baggage, it would prove +a formidable opponent. + +Let us, however, suppose, that the present action of France and Spain +should result in the subversion of the atrocious system of Government +practised in Morocco: a guarantee from the conquerors that our existing +commercial privileges should be respected, would alone be required to +ensure the protection of our interests, and what an extended field would +the facilities for penetrating into the interior open to us! We must +also remember that Napoleon III. in heart, is a free-trader; and, should +Destiny ever appoint him the arbiter of Morocco, the protectionist +pressure of a certain deluded class in France would be impotent against +his policy in Western Barbary, a country perhaps more hostile to the +European than China. Sailors and others, who have had the misfortune to +be cast on the inhospitable shore of Northern Africa, have been sent far +inland into slavery to drag out a miserable existence; and, at this +moment, there are many white Christian slaves in the southern and +eastern provinces of the Empire. + +Should the war not result in conquest, the least we have a right to +expect, is that toleration should be forced upon the Moors, and that +European capital and labour should be allowed a free development +throughout their Empire. A flourishing trade would soon spring up, +nature having blessed Barbary with an excellent soil and climate, +besides vast mineral wealth in its mountains; lead, copper, and antimony +are found in them. The plains produce corn, rice, and indigo; the +forests of cedar, ilex, cork, and olive-trees are scattered over a vast +extent, and contain antelopes, wild bears, and other species of game; +Barbary also possesses an excellent breed of horses. The principal +manufactures are leather, shawls and carpets. + +England has, but a short time since, succeeded in emancipating her +Jewish brethren from their few remaining disabilities; an opportunity +may now be at hand, of ameliorating the condition of those in the Empire +of Morocco, who are forced to submit to a grinding persecution, and are +merely tolerated because they are useful. They supply many wants of the +Moorish population; are the best, and in many handicrafts, the only +artificers, and are much employed by the government in financial +occupations. They are compelled to occupy a distinct quarter of the town +they inhabit; are permitted only to wear black garments, are forbidden +to ride, the horse being considered too noble an animal to carry a Jew, +and are forced to take off their shoes on passing a mosque. Even the +little Moorish boys strike and ill-treat them in various ways, and the +slightest attempt at retaliation was formerly punished with death, and +would now be visited with the bastinado. They are more heavily taxed +than any other class, and special contributions are often levied on +them. + +Alas! why should we respect the national existence of any community of +Mahometans? Have we effaced from our memory their treachery and inhuman +cruelty in India; their utter worthlessness in Turkey; their neglect in +taking advantage of the richness with which nature has blest the +countries in their possession; and their conquest from Christendom of +one of the fairest portions of Europe. + +Civilization cries aloud for retribution on a race whose religion +teaches them to regard us as "dogs." Surely, far from protecting and +cherishing, we should hunt them out of the fair lands they occupy, and +force them back on the deserts which vomited them forth on our ancestors +ten centuries ago. Brief periods of glory at Bagdad, Cairo, and Granada, +should not protect those who are now slaves to the lowest vices that +degrade human nature. No administrative reforms are at all practicable; +their moral maladies have attacked the vital element; the sole cure is +conquest, and the substitution of Christian Governments in Northern +Africa, and Turkey in Europe and Asia. Russia, France, Austria, Greece, +and Spain are weary of the excesses of their savage neighbours; none can +be honestly inclined to stay their avenging swords. + +I have, in these prefatory remarks, extracted a few particulars from the +short chapter on Morocco, contained in my work on the "French in +Africa," and in advocating a crusade against the Mahometan races, I +believe I am recording the sentiments of millions of Europeans. + +It now only remains for me to give expression to that universal feeling +of regret which prevails among my countrymen at the untimely fate of +poor Richardson, and to offer my congratulations that he has bequeathed +to us so pleasing an addition to his former works as the following +narrative of his "Travels in Morocco." + + L. TRENT CAVE, F.R.G.S. + Author of "The French in Africa." + + Army and Navy Club, + November, 1859. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The present unsettled state of affairs in Morocco, in consequence of the +War in which she is now engaged with her more powerful and ancient +enemy--Spain, must, I conceive, render any information regarding a +region so little known peculiarly acceptable at the present moment. + +In Morocco, my late husband laboured to advance the same objects which +had previously taken him to Central Africa, viz., the amelioration of +the condition of the strange and remarkable races of men who inhabit +that part of the world. He aimed at the introduction of a legitimate +commerce with a view, in the first instance, to destroy the horrible and +revolting trade in slaves, and thus pave the way for the diffusion of +Christianity among a benighted people. While travelling, with these high +purposes in contemplation, he neglected no opportunity of studying the +geography of the country, and of obtaining an insight into the manners, +customs, prejudices, and sentiments of its inhabitants, as well as any +other useful information in relation to it. + +I accompanied him on his travels in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, in +which last city he left me, it not being considered advisable that I +should proceed with him into the interior of the country. We were not +destined to meet again in this world. My beloved husband died at Bornou, +in Central Africa, whither he was sent by Her Majesty's Government to +enter into treaties with the chiefs of the surrounding districts. + +Of the many difficulties and dangers which the traveller is likely to +encounter in penetrating into the interior of so inhospitable a region, +the reader may form some idea by a perusal of the the following extracts +from my husband's writings. + +"I am very much of opinion that in African travel we should take +especial care not to attempt too much at once; that we should proceed +very slowly, feeling our way, securing ourselves against surprise, and +reducing and confining our explorations to the record of matters of fact +as far as possible, or consistently with a due illustration of the +narrative. But, whether we attempt great tours, or short journeyings, we +shall soon find, by our own sad experience, that African travel can only +be successfully prosecuted piecemeal, bit by bit, here a little and +there a little, now an island, now a line of coast, now an inland +province, now a patch of desert, and slow and painful in all their +results, whilst few explorers will ever be able to undertake more than +two, at most three, inland journeys. + +"Failures, disasters, and misadventure may attend our efforts of +discovery; the intrepid explorers may perish, as they have so frequently +done, or be scalped by the Indian savage in the American wilderness, or +stabbed by the treacherous Bedouin of Asiatic deserts, or be stretched +stiff in the icy dreary Polar circles, or, succumbing to the burning +clime of Africa, leave their bones to bleach upon its arid sandy wastes; +yet these victims of enterprise will add more to a nation's glory than +its hoarded heaps of gold, or the great gains of its commerce, or even +the valour of its arms. + +"Nevertheless, geographical discovery is not barren ardour, or wasted +enthusiasm; it produces substantial fruits. The fair port of London, +with its two parallel forests of masts, bears witness to the rich and +untold treasures which result from the traffic of our merchant-fleets +with the isles and continents discovered by the genius and enterprise of +the maritime or inland explorer. And, finally, we have always in view +the complete regeneration of the world, by our laws, our learning, and +our religion. If every valley is to be raised, and every mountain laid +low, by the spade and axe of industry, guided by science, the valley or +the mountain must first be discovered. + +"If men are to be civilized, they must first be found; and if other, or +the remaining tribes of the inhabitable earth are to acknowledge the +true God, and accept His favour as known to us, they also, with +ourselves, must have an opportunity of hearing His name pronounced, and +His will declared." + +My husband would, indeed, have rejoiced had he lived to witness the +active steps now taken by Oxford and Cambridge for sending out +Missionaries to Central Africa, to spread the light of the Gospel. + +Among his unpublished letters, I find one addressed to the Christian +Churches, entitled "Project for the establishment of a Christian Mission +at Bornou," dated October, 1849. He writes: "The Christian Churches have +left Central Africa now these twelve centuries in the hands of the +Mohammedans, who, in different countries, have successfully propagated +the false doctrines of the impostor of Mecca. If the Christian Churches +wish to vindicate the honour of their religion--to diffuse its +beneficent and heavenly doctrines--and to remove from themselves the +severe censure of having abandoned Central Africa to the false prophet, +I believe there is now an opening, _viâ_ Bornou, to attempt the +establishment of their faith in the heart of Africa." + +He ends his paper by quoting the words of Ignatius Pallme, a Bohemian, +the writer of travels in Kordofan, who says "It is high time for the +Missionary Societies in Europe to direct their attention to this part of +Africa (that is, Kordofan). If they delay much longer, it will be too +late; for, when the negroes have once adopted the Koran, no power on +earth can induce them to change their opinions. I have heard, through +several authentic sources, that there are few provinces in the interior +of Africa where Mohammedanism has not already begun to gain a footing." + +It would be a great solace to me should this work be received +favourably, and be deemed to reflect honour on the memory of my lamented +husband; and, in the hope that such may be the case, I venture to commit +it into the hands of an indulgent public. + + J.E. RICHARDSON. + + London, + November 15, 1859. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME + + +INTRODUCTION + +PREFACE + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diploplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, or great +festival.--Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen.--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broad-cloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese +Sailors.--Trade-wind Hurricanes on the Atlantic Coast of +Morocco.--Difficulties of entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad +provisioning of Foreign Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the +once far-famed and dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. +Phillips, Captain of the Port.--Rumours amongst the People about my +Mission.--Visit to the Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the +inhabitants of Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed +of the ancient Numidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish +Emperor.--Martial character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black +Corps of the Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative +anecdotes of the various Emperors. + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodical visit of the +Mogador Merchants to the Emperor, in the Southern Capital. + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fêtes and Feastings among the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society.--Day and night side of the Mission Adventure.--Phillips' +application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes on" before the +Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, Darmon, who was +killed by the Government.--Order of the Government against Europeans +smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, Governor of +Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights amongst the +Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy of +troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.-- +European Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + +VOL. I. + +Interior of a Moorish House + +City of Tangier + +Port of Mogador + +Christian Burial Place + +Moorish Cemetery + +Nubian Cavalry of Ancient Africa + +Wadnoun + + +VOL. II. + +The Snake-Charmer + +City of Morocco + +Fish found in Hot Springs + +Water-Snake + +The Aoudad + + + + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + + +Morocco is the China of North Africa. The grand political maxim of the +Shereefian Court is, the exclusion of strangers; to look upon all +strangers with distrust and suspicion; and should they, at any time, +attempt to explore the interior of Morocco, or any of the adjacent +counties, to thwart and circumvent their enterprise, is a veritable feat +of statesmanship in the opinion of the Shereefian Court. The +assassination of Mr. Davidson, some years since, is an odious and +enduring stigma on the Moorish Court, notwithstanding the various +efforts which have been made to deny the personal responsibility of the +Emperor in that transaction. + +The Prince de Joinville was once going to open Morocco, as we opened +China; but bullets and shot which his Royal Highness showered upon +Tangier and Mogador, only closed faster the approaches and routes of +this well-guarded empire--only more hermetically sealed the capitals of +Fez and Morocco against the prying or morbid curiosity of the tourist, +or the mappings and measurings of the political spy. The striking +anecdote, illustrating the exclusive policy of the Maroquine Court, is +familiar to all who have read the history of the Moorish Sultans of the +Mugreb. Years ago, a European squadron threatened to bombard Tangier, +unless their demands were instantly satisfied; and the then reigning +Sultan sent down from Fez this imperial message: + +"How much will the enemy give me if I myself burn to ashes my +well-beloved city of Tangier? Tell the enemy, O governor of the mighty +city of Tangier, that I can reduce this self-same city to a heap of +smoking ruins, at a much cheaper rate than he can, with all his ships, +his warlike machines, and his fighting men." + +The strength of Morocco lies in her internal cities, her inland +population, and the natural difficulties of her territory; about her +coast she cares little; but the French did not find this out till after +their bombardments. The unwonted discovery led them afterwards to boast +that they had at length opened Morocco by the other and opposite system +of a pacific mission. The parties forming the mission, pretended to have +obtained from the Emperor permission for Europeans "to travel in Morocco +without let or hindrance whithersoever they will." But the opposition +press justly ridiculed the pretensions of the alleged concession, as the +precarious and barren result of a mission costing several million of +francs. Even an Englishman, but much more a Frenchman--and the latter is +especially hated and dreaded in all the Maroquine provinces, would have +considerably hesitated in placing confidence in the safe conduct of this +jealous Court. + +The spirit of the Christian West, which has invaded the most secret +councils of the Eastern world, Persia, Turkey, and all the countries +subjected to Ottoman rule, is still excluded by the haughty Shereefs of +the Mahometan West. There is scarcely any communication between the port +and the court of the Shereefs, and the two grand masters of orthodox +Islamism, this of the West, and that of the East, are nearly strangers +to each other. + +All that Muley Errahman has to do with the East, appears to be to +procure eunuchs and Abyssinian concubines for his harem from Egypt, and +send forward his most faithful, or most rebellious subjects [2] on their +pilgrimage to Mecca. + +Englishmen are surprised, that the frequent visits and uninterrupted +communications between Morocco and Gibraltar, during so long a period, +should have produced scarcely a perceptible change in the minds of the +Moors, and that Western Barbary should be a century behind Tunis. This +circumstance certainly does not arise from any inherent inaptitude in +the Moorish character to entertain friendly relations with Europeans, +and can only have resulted from that crouching and subservient policy +which the Gibraltar authorities have always judged it expedient to show +towards the Maroquines. + +Our diplomatic intercourse began with Morocco in the reign of Queen +Elizabeth; and though on friendly terms more or less ever since, +Englishmen have not yet obtained a recognised permission to travel in +the interior of the country, without first specially applying to its +Government. Our own countrymen know little of Morocco, or of its +inhabitants, customs, laws, and government; and, though only five or six +days sail from England, it must be regarded as an unknown and unexplored +region to the mass of the English nation. + +Nevertheless, in spite of the Maroquine Empire being the most +conservative and unchangeable of all North African Mussulman states, and +whilst, happily for itself, it has been allowed to pursue its course +obscurely and noiselessly, without exciting particular attention in +Europe, or being involved in the wars and commotions of European +nations, Morocco is not, therefore, beyond the reach of changes and the +ravages of time, nor exempt from that mutability which is impressed upon +all sublunary states. The bombardments of Tangier and Mogador have left +behind them traces not easily to be effaced. It was no ordinary event +for Morocco to carry on hostilities with an European power. + +The battle of Isly has deeply wounded the Shereefians, and incited the +Mussulman heart to sullen and unquenchable revenge. A change has come +over the Maroquine mind, which, as to its immediate effects, is +evidently for the worst towards us Christians. The distrust of all +Europeans, which existed before the French hostilities, is now enlarged +to hatred, a feeling from which even the English are hardly excepted. Up +to the last moment, the government and people of Morocco believed that +England would never abandon them to their unscrupulous and ambitious +neighbours. + +The citizens and merchants of Mogador could not be brought to believe, +or even to entertain the idea that the British ships of war would +quietly look on, whilst the French--the great rivals and enemies of the +English--destroyed their towns and batteries. Most manifest facts and +stern realities dissipated, in an hour when they little thought of it, +such a fond delusion. From that moment, the moral influence of England, +once our boast, and not perhaps unreasonably so, was no longer felt in +Morocco; and now we have lost almost all hold on the good wishes and +faith of the Mussulman tribes of that immense country. + +As to exploring the empire of Morocco, or making it the way of +communication with Soudan or Central Negroland, this is now altogether +impracticable. The difficulties of Europeans travelling the Maroquine +States, always great and perilous, are now become nearly insuperable. +This suspicious distrust, or ill-feeling has communicated itself +contagiously to the tribes of the South as far as the Desert, and has +infected other parts of Barbary. The Engleez, once the cherished friends +of the Moors, are looked upon more or less as the abettors of French +aggressions in North Africa, if not as the sharers with them of the +spoil. In the language of the more plain-spoken Moors, "We always +thought all Christians alike, though we often excepted the English from +the number of our enemies, now we are certain we were wrong; the English +are become as much our enemies as the French and the Spaniards." The +future alone can disclose what will be the particular result of this +unfavourable feeling; both with respect to France and England, and to +other European nations. However, we may look forward without misgiving. +Islamism will wear itself out--the Crescent must wane. + +In these preliminary observations, the commercial system of the +Maroquine Court deserves especial mention. The great object of Muley Abd +Errahman [3] is--nay, the pursuit of his whole life has been--to get the +whole of the trade of the empire into his own hands. In fact, he has by +this time virtually succeeded, though the thing is less ostentatiously +done than by the Egyptian viceroy, that equally celebrated +prince-merchant. In order to effect this, his Shereefian Majesty seeks +to involve in debt all the merchants, natives, or foreigners, tempting +them by the offer of profuse credit. As many of them as are needy and +speculative, this imperial boon is without scruple greedily accepted. +The Emperor likewise provides them with commodious houses and stores; +gives them at once ten or twenty thousand dollars worth of credit, and +is content to receive in return monthly instalments. These instalments +never are, never can be regularly paid up. The debt progressively and +indefinitely increases; and whilst they live like so many +merchant-princes, carrying on an immense trade, they are in reality +beggars and slaves of the Emperor. They are, however, styled _imperial_ +merchants, and wear their golden chains with ostentatious pride. + +This credit costs his Shereetian Highness nothing; he gives no goods, +advances no moneys, whilst he most effectually impoverishes and reduces +to servitude the foreign merchant resident in his empire, never allowing +him to visit his native country without the guarantee of leaving his +wife and family behind as hostages for his return. The native merchant +is, in all cases, absolutely at the mercy of his imperial lord. On the +bombardment of Mogador, all the native and resident traders, not +excepting the English merchants, were found overwhelmed with debt, and, +therefore, were not allowed to leave the country; and they were only +saved from the pillage and massacre of the ferocious Berber tribes by a +miracle of good luck. + +Since the bombardment of Mogador, the Emperor has more strongly than +ever set his face against the establishment of strangers in his +dominions. Now his Imperial Highness is anxious that all commerce should +be transacted by his own subjects. The Emperor's Jews are, in future, to +be the principal medium of commerce between Morocco and Europe, which, +indeed, is facilitated by many of the native Jews having direct +relations with European Jews, those of London and Marseilles. In this +way, the Maroquines will be relieved from the embarrassments occasioned +by the presence of Europeans, Jews, or Christians, under the protection +of foreign consuls. The Emperor, also, has a fair share of trade, and +gets a good return on what he exports; the balance of commercial +transactions is always in his favour. + +I must add a word on the way of treating politically with the Court of +Morocco. The modes and maxims of this Court, not unlike those of the +Chinese, are procrastination, plausible delays, and voluminous +despatches and communications, which are carried on through the hands of +intermediaries and subordinate agents of every rank and degree. You can +never communicate directly with the Emperor, as with other Barbary +princes and pashas. This system has admirably and invariably succeeded +for the last two or three centuries; that is to say, the empire of +Morocco has remained intact by foreign influences, while its system of +commerce has been an exclusive native monopoly. The Americans, however, +have endeavoured to adopt a more expeditious mode of treating with the +Maroquine Court. They have something, in the style and spirit of Lynch +law, usually made their own demands and their own terms, by threatening +the immediate withdrawal of their consul, or the bombardment of ports. + +The Shereefs, thus intimidated, have yielded, though with a very bad +grace. Nevertheless, the Americans have received no favours, nor have +they obtained a nearer approach to the awful Shereefian presence than +other people; and it is not likely they ever will succeed beyond their +neighbours. The French and English have always negotiated and +corresponded, corresponded and negotiated, and been worsted once and +worsted again. Somehow or other, the Emperor has, in most cases, had his +own way. Neither the American nor our own European system is the right +or dignified course. And I am still of opinion, that the Maroquine Court +is so far enlightened respecting the actual state of the barbarians or +Christian infidels, out of its Shereefian land of Marabouts, out of its +central orthodox Mussulman land of the Mugreb, as to be accessible to +ordinary notions of things, and that it would always concede a just +demand if it were rightly and vigorously pressed, and if the religious +fanaticism of its people were not involved in the transaction. Thus far +we may do justice to the government of these Moorish princes. + +This opinion, however, does not altogether coincide with that of the +late Mr. Hay. According to the report of Mr. Borrow, as found in his +work, "The Bible of Spain," the Moorish government, according to Mr. +Hay, was "one of the vilest description, with which it was next to +impossible to hold amicable relations, as it invariably acted with bad +faith, and set at nought the most solemn treaties." But, if the +Maroquine Court had acted in this most extraordinary manner, surely +there would now be no Moorish empire of Western Barbary. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name.--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, great +festival. Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen,--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + + +The communication between Gibraltar and Tangier is by no means easy and +regular, though the places are only a few hours' distance from the +other. I had waited many days at Gib. (as our captain called the former +place), before the wind enabled us to leave, and then, our boat being a +small transport for cattle, and the Government contractors wanting beef +for the garrison--for an Englishman or an English soldier cannot live in +any part of the world without beef--we were compelled to leave with the +wind in our teeth, and to make a night's voyage of this four or five +hours' traverse. It might be worth while, one would think, to try a +small steam-tug for the conveyance of cattle from Tangier to our +garrison, which, besides, would be a great convenience for passengers. + +On coming on deck in the morning, Tangier, "the city protected of the +Lord," appeared in all its North African lineaments, white and bright, +shining, square masses of masonry, domes of fair and modest santos, and +the heaven-pointing minarets; here and there a graceful palm, a dark +olive, or the black bushy kharoub, and all denned sharply and clearly in +the goodly prospect. But these Barbary towns had lost much of their +freshness or novelty to me, and novelty is the greatest ingredient of +our pleasure in foreign travel. I had also just travelled through Spain, +and the south of this country is still, as to its aspect, part and +parcel of Morocco, though it is severed by the Straits. In the ancient +Moorish city of Cordova, I had even saluted the turban. I met two Moors +strolling along, with halting steps and triste mien, through the +streets, whom I instinctively addressed. + +"_Wein mashe. Ash tomel_. Where are you going? What are you doing?" + +The Moors (greatly pleased to hear the sound of their own mother-tongue +in the land of their pilgrimage).--"_Net jerrej_. We are enjoying +ourselves." + +Traveller.--"What do you think of the country (Cordova)?" + +The Moors.--"This is the land of our fathers." + +Traveller.--"Well, what then? Are you going to possess it again?" + +The Moors.--"Of what country are you?" + +Traveller.--"Engleez." + +The Moors (brightening up).--"That is good. Yes, we are very glad. We +thought you might be a Spaniard, or a Frenchman. Now we'll tell you all; +we don't fear. God will give us this country again, when Seedna Aïsa [4] +comes to deliver us from these curse-smitten dogs of Spaniards." [5] + +Traveller.--"Well, never mind the Spaniards. Have you seen anything you +like here?" + +The Moors.--"Look at this knife; it is rusty; it should not be so." + +Traveller.--"How!" + +The Moors.--"We read in our books and commentators that in Andalous +(Spain) there is no rust, and that nothing rusts here." [6] + +Traveller.--"Nonsense; have you seen the hundred pillars of your +mosque?" (Now converted into a cathedral.) + +The Moors.--"Ah, we have seen them," with a deep sigh; "and the pillars +will stand till to-morrow." (End of the world.) + +I was obliged to say farewell to these poor pilgrims, wandering in the +land of their fathers, and worshipping at the threshold of the noble +remains of Moresco-Spanish antiquity, for the _diligencia_ was starting +off to Seville. + +To return from my digression. I soon found myself at home in Tangier +amongst my old friends, the Moors, and coming from Spain, could easily +recognise many things connecting the one country with the other. + +The success attending the various measures of the Bey of Tunis for the +abolition of slavery in North Africa, and the favourable manner in which +this prince had received me, when I had charge of a memorial from the +inhabitants of Malta, to congratulate his Highness on his great work on +philanthropy, induced the Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society to +confide to me an address to the Emperor of Morocco, praying him to +enfranchise the negro race of his imperial dominions. + +We were fully prepared to encounter the strongest opposition from the +Shereefian Court; but, at the same time, we thought there could be no +insuperable obstacle in our way. + +The Maroquines had the same religion and form of government as the +Tuniseens, and by perseverance in this, as well as any other enterprise, +something might at last be effected. Even the agitation of the question +in the empire of Morocco, amongst its various tribes, was a thing not to +be neglected; for the agitation of public opinion in a despotic country +like Morocco, as well as in a constitutional state like England, +admirably prepares the way for great measures of reform and +philanthropy; and, besides the business of an abolitionnist is +agitation; agitation unceasing; agitation in season and out of season. + +On my arrival at Tangier, I called upon Mr. Drummond Hay, the British +Consul-General, stating to him my object, and asking his assistance. The +English Government had instructed the Consul to address the Emperor on +this interesting subject, not long before I arrived, but it was with the +greatest difficulty that any sort of answer could be obtained to the +communication. + +Mr. Hay, therefore, gave me but small encouragement, and was not a +little surprised when I told him I expected a letter of introduction +from Her Majesty's Government. He could not understand this reiterated +assault on the Shereefs for the abolition of slavery, not comprehending +the absolute necessity of continued agitation on such a difficult +matter, as exciting from a despotic and semi-barbarous prince, fortified +by the prejudices of ages and generally sanctioned in his conduct by his +religion, the emancipation of a degraded and enslaved portion of the +human race. [7] However, Mr. Hay was polite, and set about arranging +matters for proceeding with a confessedly disagreeable subject for any +consul to handle under like circumstances. He made a copy of the address +of the Anti-Slavery Society, and sent it to the English Government, +requesting instructions. I expected an address from the Institut +d'Afrique of Paris; but, after waiting some time, the Secretary, Mr. +Hippolyte de St. Anthoine, wrote me a letter, in which he stated that, +on account of the ill-will manifested by the Emperor to the +establishment of the French in Algeria, the Institut had come to the +painful conclusion of not addressing him for the abolition of the +slave-trade in his imperial states. + +Soon after my arrival at Tangier, the English letter-boat, Carreo +Ingles, master, Matteo Attalya, brought twelve eunuch slaves, African +youths, from Gibraltar. They are a present from the Viceroy of Egypt to +the Emperor of Morocco. The Correo is the weekly bearer of letters and +despatches to and from Morocco. The slaves were not entered upon the +bill of health, thus infringing upon the maritime laws of Gibraltar and +Tangier. The other captains of the little boats could not help +remarking, "You English make so much fuss about putting down the +slave-trade, and allow it to be carried on under your own flag." Even +the foreign consuls here reprobated the inconsistency of the British +Government, in aiding the slave-trade of the Mediterranean by their own +flag. However, Government ordered a strict inquiry into this case, and +took means for preventing the occurrence of a like abuse. Nevertheless, +since then the Emperor has actually applied to the British Consul to +allow eunuchs to be brought down the Mediterranean in English steamers, +in the same way as these were brought from Malta to Gibraltar in the +Prometheus--as, forsooth, servants and passengers. And on the refusal of +our consul to sanction this illicit conveyance of slaves by British +vessels, the Emperor applied to the French consul, who condescended to +hoist the tri-coloured flag for the transport of slave-eunuchs! This is +one way of mitigating the prejudices of the Shereefian Court against the +French occupation of Algeria. Many slaves are carried up and down the +Mediterranean in French vessels. + +The keeper of an hotel related to me with great bitterness, that the +French officer who came with me from Gibraltar had left Tetuan for +Algeria. The officer had ordered a great many things of this man, +promising to pay on his return to Tangier. He deposited an old hatbox as +a security, which, on being opened by the hotel keeper, was found to be +full of greasy paper. At Tetuan, the officer gave himself out as a +special envoy of the Emperor of the French. + +My good friends, the Moors, continue to speculate upon the progress of +the French army in Algeria. I asked a Moorish officer what he thought of +the rumoured French invasion of Morocco. He put the backs of his hands +together, and locking together his fingers to represent the back of a +hedgehog, he observed emphatically; "Impossible! No Christians can +invade us. Our country is like a hedgehog, no one can touch us." Tangier +Christians will never permit the French to invade Morocco, whatever may +be the pretext. This is even the opinion of the foreign consuls. + +As a specimen of the commercial system of this country, I may mention +that the monopoly of exporting leeches was sold this week to a Jew, at +the rate of 25,000 dollars. Now the Jew refuses to buy leeches except at +his own price, whilst every unfortunate trader is obliged to sell to him +and to him only. In fact, the monopolist fixes the price, and everybody +who brings leeches to Tangier must accept it. This case of leeches may +be applied to nearly all the monopolies of the country. Can anything be +more ruinous to commerce? + +All the Moors of Tangier, immediately on entering into conversation with +me, inquire if I am Engleez? Even Moorish children ask this question: it +appears to be a charm to them. The Ayd Kebir (great feast) was +celebrated to-day, being the first of the new year. It was ushered in +yesterday by prayer in the mosques. About 9 A.M. the governor, the +commandant of the troops, and other Tangier authorities, proceeded to +the open space of the market, attended with flags and music, and some +hundred individuals all dressed in their holiday clothes. The white +flag, typical of the sanctity of religion, floated over others of +scarlet and green; the music was of squeaking bagpipes, and rude +tumtums, struck like minute drums. The greater part were on horseback, +the governor being most conspicuous. This troop of individuals ascended +a small hill of the market-place, where they remained half an hour in +solemn prayer. + +No Jew or Christian was allowed to approach the magic or sacred circle +which enclosed them. This being concluded, down ran a butcher with a +sheep on his back; just slaughtered, and bleeding profusely. A troop of +boys followed quickly at his heels pelting him with stones. The butcher +ran through the town to the seashore, and thence to the house of the +Kady--the boys still in hot and breathless pursuit, hard after him, +pelting him and the bleeding sheep. The Moors believe, if the man can +arrive at the house of the judge before the sheep dies, that the people +of Tangier will have good luck; but, if the sheep should be quite dead, +and not moving a muscle, then it will bring them bad luck, and the +Christians are likely to come and take away their country from them. The +drollest part of the ceremony is, that the boys should scamper after the +butcher, pelting the sheep, and trying to kill it outright, thus +endeavouring to bring ill-luck upon their city and themselves. But how +many of us really and knowingly seek our misfortunes? On the occasion of +this annual feast, every Moor, or head of a family, kills a sheep. The +rich give to the poor, but the poor usually save up their earnings to be +able to purchase a sheep to kill on this day. The streets are in +different parts covered with blood, making them look like so many +slaughter grounds. When the bashaw of the province is in Tangier, +thousands of the neighbouring Arabs come to pay him their respects. With +the Moors, the festivals of religion are bonâ fide festivals. It may +also be added, as characteristic of these North African barbarians, +that, whilst many a poor person in our merry Christian England does not, +and cannot, get his plum-pudding and roast-beef at Christmas, there is +not a poor man or even a slave, in Morocco who does not eat his lamb on +this great feast of the Mussulmans. It would be a mortal sin for a rich +man to refuse a poor man a mouthful of his lamb. + +Of course there was a sensation among the native population, and even +among the consular corps, about my mission; but I have nothing very +particular to record. I had many Moorish visitors, some of whom were +officers of the imperial troops. I made the acquaintance of one, Sidi +Ali, with whom I had the following dialogue:-- + +Traveller.--"Sidi Ali, what can I do to impress Muley Abd Errahman in my +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"But will the Emir of the Shereefs accept of money from us +Christians?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"What am I to give the minister Ben Dris, to get his +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"Can I travel in safety in Morocco?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money:" + +Indeed "money" seems to be the all and everything in Morocco, as among +us, "the nation of shopkeepers." The Emperor himself sets the example, +for he is wholly occupied in amassing treasures in Mequiney. Another +acquaintance of mine was a little more communicative. + +Aged Moor.--"What can I do for you, stranger? You are good to me, every +time I call here you give me tea with plenty of sugar in it. What can I +do for you in my country?" + +Traveller.--"Tell me how to get on in my mission? How can I see Muley +Errahman?" + +Aged Moor.--"Now I am bound to give you my best advice. First then, take +plenty of money with you. All love money; therefore without money you +can do nothing. Muley Abd Errahman loves money, and money he must have. +And the minister loves money, and the minister must not be forgotten. +The minister is the door to the Emperor. You cannot get into the house +but through the door. Out of the towns and cities, the Emperor has no +power; so that whenever you travel out of these places, remember to give +the people money." + +I had numberless volunteers to conduct me to Fez. All came begging for +this honour and lucrative employment. Whatever may be said of the +virtues of hospitality, I found all the world alike in its determination +to make the most of strangers, if not to devour them. But the Emperor +was not at Fez; he was in the southern capital, and it was necessary for +me to go via Mogador, to endeavour to obtain an interview with him at +that place. + +The dreary monotony of Moorish life was one day broken in upon by a +juvenile strolling singer, who attracted a crowd of silent and attentive +listeners. It was a grateful sight to see old men, with long and silvery +beards, reclining in mute and serious attention; young men lounging in +the pride and consciousness of animal strength; little children +intermixed, but without prattle or merriment--all fixed and fascinated +with the charm of vocal song. The vocalist himself was a picturesque +object; his face was burnt black with Afric's sun, his bare head was +wildly covered with long, black matted, and curly hair, but his eye was +soft and serene; and, as he stretched his throat upwards to give compass +to his voice, he seemed as if he would catch inspiration from the +Prophet in heaven. A coarse brown blanket enveloped his spare and +way-worn body, his only clothing and shelter from the heat by day and +the cold by night, a fold of which fell upon his naked feet. + +The voice of the Arab vocalist was extremely plaintive, even to the +tones and inflections of distress, and the burden of his song was of +religion and of love--two sentiments which all pure minds delight to +combine. When he stopped a moment to take breath, a murmur of applause +vibrated through the still air of the evening, not indeed for the youth, +but for God! [8] for it was a prayer of the artless and enraptured +bystanders, invoking Allah to bless the singing lad, and also to bless +them, while ascribing all praise to the Deity. + +This devout scene raised the Moors greatly in my estimation. I thought +men could not be barbarians, or even a jealous or vindictive race, who +were charmed with such simple melody of sounds, and with sentiments so +pure and true to nature. + +The Arab youth sang:-- + + Oh, there's none but the One God! + I'll journey over the Desert far + To seek my love the fairest of maidens; + The camels moan loudly to carry me thither, + Gainly are they, and fleeter than the swift-legged ostrich. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + + What though the Desert wind slay me; + What of it? death is from God. + And woe to me! I cannot repine. + But I'll away to the abode of my love, + I'll embrace her with all my strength, + I'll bear her back thence, and rest her on my couch. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + +So sang in plaintive accents the youth, until the last ray of the sun +lingered on the minarets' tops, when, by the louder and authoritative +voice of the Muezin calling the Faithful to prayers, this crowd of the +worshippers of song and vocal harmony was dispersed to meet again, and +forthwith chant a more solemn strain. The poor lad of the streets and +highways went into the mosque along with his motley group of admirers; +and all blended their voices and devotion together in prayer and +adoration, lowly and in profound prostration, before the Great Allah! + +It is my intention, in the course of the present narrative, to give a +brief account of the principal towns and cities of North Africa; and I +cannot do better than begin with Tangier. This city is very ancient, +having probably been built by the aboriginals, Berbers, and was usually +called by the Romans, Taigo on Tingis. The Emperor Claudius re-peopled +it, and called it Julia Traducta. The Moors call it Sanjah, and relate +that Benhad Sahab El-Alem built it, also surrounded it with walls of +metal, and constructed its houses of gold and silver. In this condition, +it remained until destroyed by some Berber kings, who carried away all +its treasures. The modern Tangier is a small city of the province of +Hasbat, picturesquely placed on the eastern slope of a hill, which +terminates in the west with its port and bay, having some analogy to the +site of Algiers. It has almost a square form, and its ramparts are a +wall, flanked here and there with towers. This place, likewise, is most +advantageously situate in the narrowest part of the Straits of +Gibraltar, at a few miles east of Cape Spartel, and thirty miles W.S.W. +of Gibraltar, and has, therefore, been coveted by all the conquerors of +North Africa. The Phoenicians, Romans, Goths, and Arabs successively +effected its conquest; and it was long a bone of eager contention +between the Moors and Portuguese. In 1471, Alonzo, King of Portugal, +took it from the Moors; and in 1662 it came into the hands of the +English, as a part of the dowry of Catherine, queen of Charles II.; so, +whilst in our possession it was a place of considerable strength; but on +its evacuation in 1684 by order of the English government, who were +disgusted by the expense of its occupation, and the bootless collisions +with the natives, the fortifications were demolished, and only the +vestiges of them now are visible. Had the British Government continued +its occupation for half a century, and kept in check the Maroquine +tribes, it is probable that by this time the greater part of Morocco +would have been under British rule, when we might have founded a +flourishing colony, from which all North Africa might have received the +elements of Christian civilization. + +Old Tangier (Tangier belia) is situate about four miles east from the +present, being now a heap of ruins, near a little river called Khalk or +Tingia, spanned over by the remains of a once finely-built Roman bridge. +Here was likewise an artificial port, where the Roman galleys retired. +The whole of this part of Africa was denominated by the Romans, +Mauritania, from the name of this city; and during their administration +was united to the government of Spain. Tangier had a population of from +four to six thousand. Grabert estimates the population at 10,000, +including 2,500 Jews, who live intermixed with the Moors; 1,400 negroes, +300 Berbers of Rif, and about 100 Christians. The Consuls-General of the +European Powers reside here; and most of them have commodious houses. +The Swedish Consul has a splendid garden, which is thrown open to the +European residents. There is but one good street in the town; and the +transition from Europe to Barbary, at so short a distance, is striking +to the stranger. Tarifa, on the opposite side, along the coast of Spain, +has, however, a Moorish affinity to this place; and the dress of the +women is not very dissimilar in the two towns, once inhabited by the +people of the same religion, and now, perhaps, many of them descendants +of the same families. + +Tangier, though a miserable place compared to most of the cities in +Europe, is something considerable in Morocco, and the great mosque is +rather splendid. Mr. Borrow justly remarks that its minarets look like +the offspring of the celebrated Giralda of Seville. The Christians have +here a convent, and a church within it, to which are attached +half-a-dozen monks. There is no Protestant church; Mr. Hay reads service +in the British Consulate, and invites the Protestant residents. Tangier +is the only place in the empire where the Christian religion is publicly +professed. The Jews have three or four small synagogues. Usually, the +synagogues in Barbary are nothing more than private houses. + +Before the bombardment of the French, the fortifications mounted forty +pieces or so of cannon, but of no strength; on the contrary, going +completely to ruin and decay, being scarcely strong enough to fire a +salute from. The Bay of Tangier is good and spacious; but, in the course +of time, will be filled up with sand. The shipping is exposed to strong +westerly winds. The safest anchorage, however, is on the the eastern +part, about half a mile off the shore, in a line with the round tower. +With a few thousand pounds, one of the finest--at least, one of the most +convenient--ports of the Mediterranean could be constructed here. There +is a bashaw of this province, who resides at El-Araish, and a +lieutenant-governor, who lives at Tangier. With these functionaries, the +representatives of European Powers have principally to transact affairs. +On the north is the castle, the residence of the governor. + +Eleven consuls take up their abode in Tangier; the British, French, +Spanish, Portuguese, American, Danish, Swedish, Sardinian, Neapolitan, +Austrian, and Dutch. Each consular house generally belongs to its +particular nation, the ground to the Sultan. + +The consuls who have the most interest to guard in Morocco, are the +British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Up to the bombardment of +Tangier, the Danish and Swedish Governments paid to the Maroquine Court, +the former 25,000 and the latter 20,000 dollars per annum, to have the +privilege of hoisting their flag at this port. The French hostilities +against Morocco furnished a convenient opportunity for getting this +odious tribute abolished. The Americans led the way in getting rid of +this subservience to the Shereefian Court, and refused from the first +all presents and annual donations. Generally, however, when new consuls +are appointed, they bring with them presents, and visit the Emperor in +person. On the occasion of _fêtes_, they sometimes make presents to the +governors of districts. Whenever the Emperor condescends to come down to +Tangier, three days after his arrival, it is the required etiquette for +the consuls to seek his presence, and to make their obeisance to the +Shereefian Lord. The consuls are accustomed to decide upon and control +the affairs of their own countrymen, and those placed under their +protection; but when a Moor and an European are concerned in a +transaction, it is usually a mixed commission of the consulate and the +Moorish authorities. + +Many curious anecdotes are current respecting the consuls and the +Moorish government. A Spanish consul once took it into his head to +strike his flag and leave Tangier. Whilst he was gone, the Emperor +ordered all the Jews to go and take possession of his house and live in +it, as a degradation. The consular house was soon crammed with dirty +Jews, whose vermin and filth rendered the house untenantable, until it +had undergone a thorough repair and cleansing. Sometimes the Emperor +shows a great affection for a particular consular family. The family of +the Portuguese Consul were great favorites. During the war of succession +in Portugal, the Portuguese Consul contracted debts in Tangier, not +being able to get his salary amidst the strife of parties. The Moors +complained to the Emperor of the consul's debts. Muley Abd Errahman, +though a thorough miser himself, paid the consul's debts, alleging as a +reason, "the consul was a friend of my ancestors, and he shall be my +friend." The Portuguese government wished to remove this consul on +account of his alleged Miguelite propensities, but the Emperor +threatened, if they did, that he would not receive another. Our +government compelled the Portuguese to gratify the personal feeling of +the Emperor. Senhor Colaso is a native of Morocco, as his father was +before him, and the Emperor calls them his own children. The Jewish +servants of the consulates are free from the poll-tax and other +obnoxious contributions, and their Moorish servants are also exempt from +government conscriptions. + +At times, very serious misunderstandings and disputes occur between the +consuls and the Emperor on the subject of his Imperial Highness. Our +consul, Mr. Hay, was shot at by a fanatic marabout, the ball missing +him, but killing a horse of one of the party. This affair was passed +over, the consul very properly taking no notice of a mad saint. But I +will cite another instance, as showing the intimate perception which the +Moors have of the peculiar precepts of our religion, as well as +exhibiting their own moral ideas, in each case representing them to us +in a favourable light. One of the Emperor's subjects had insulted the +French consul, M. Sourdeau, and Muley Suleiman addressed to him the +following singular epistle. + +"In the name of God, the most merciful. There is no power or force +except with the Most High and Great God! + +"Consul of the French nation, Sourdeau, and salutation to him who is in +the right way. Inasmuch as you are our guest, under our protection, and +consul in our country of a great nation, so we cannot but wish you the +greatest consideration and the honours. On which account, you will +perceive that that which has happened to you is to us intolerable, and +would still be so had it been done by one of our own children or most +intimate friends. And although we cannot put any obstacle to the decrees +of God, yet such an act is not grateful to us, even if it is done to the +vilest of men, or even cattle, and certainly we will not fail to show an +example of severe justice, God willing. If you were not Christians, +having a feeling heart, and bearing patiently injuries, after the +example of your prophet, whom God has in glory, Jesus the son of Mary, +who, in the Book which he brought you in the name of God, commands you, +that if any person strike you on one cheek turn to him the other also; +and who (always blessed of God!) also did not defend himself when the +Jews sought to kill him, from whom God took him. And, in our Book, it is +said, by the mouth of our Prophet, there is no people among whom there +are so many disposed to good works as those who call themselves +Christians; and certainly among you there are many priests and holy men +who are not proud; nevertheless, our Prophet also says, that we cannot +impute a crime to persons of three sorts, that is to say, madmen (until +they return to sound sense), children, and persons who sleep. Now this +man who has offended you is mad, and has no knowledge; but we have +decreed to give you full satisfaction. If, however, you should be +pleased to pardon him, you will perform a magnanimous work, and the Most +Merciful will abundantly recompense you. On the other hand, if you +absolutely wish him to be punished, he is in your hands, for in my +empire no one shall fear injustice or violence, with the assistance of +God." + +A whimsical story is current in Tangier respecting the dealings of the +Shereefian Court with the Neapolitan government, which characteristically +sets forth Moorish diplomacy or manoeuvring. A ship load of sulphur was +sent to the Emperor. The Moorish authorities declared it was very coarse +and mixed with dirt. With great alacrity, the Neapolitan government sent +another load of finer and better quality. This was delivered; and the +Consul asked the Moorish functionaries to allow the coarse sulphur to be +conveyed back. These worthies replied, "Oh dear, no! it is of no +consequence, the Emperor says, he will keep the bad, and not offend his +royal cousin, the King of Naples, by sending it back." The Neapolitan +government had no alternative but to submit, and thank the chief of the +Shereefs for his extreme condescension in accepting two ship-loads of +sulphur instead of one. + +There are occasional communications between Tangier and Tarifa, in +Spain, but they are very frequent with Gibraltar. A vast quantity of +European merchandize is imported here from Gibraltar for Fez and the +north of Morocco. All the postal and despatch business also comes +through Tangier, which has privileges that few or no other Maroquine +cities possess. The emperors, indeed, have been wont to call it "the +City of Christians." In the environs, there is at times a good deal of +game, and the European residents go out to shoot, as one is wont in +other countries to talk a walk. The principal game is the partridge and +hare, and the grand sport, the wild boar. Our officers of the Gibraltar +garrison come over for shooting. But quackery and humbug exist in +everything. A young gentleman has just arrived from Gibraltar, who had +been previously six weeks on his passage from Holland to that place, +with his legs infixed in a pair of three-league boots. He says he has +come from Holland on purpose to sport and hunt in Morocco. Several of +the consuls, when they go out sporting, metamorphose themselves into +veteran Numidian sportsmen. You would imagine they were going to hunt +lions for months in the ravines of the Atlas, whereas it is only to +shoot a stray partridge or a limping hare, or perchance they may meet +with a boar. And this they do for a couple of days, or twenty-four +hours, sleeping during the night very snugly under tents, and fed and +feasted with milk, fowls, and sheep by the Arabs. + +Morocco, like all despotic countries, furnishes some severe examples of +the degrading of high functionaries. There is an old man, +Sidi-El-Arby-Es-Said, living there, who is a marked victim of imperial +tyranny. Some years ago, the conqueror despoiled him of all his wealth, +and threw him into prison, after he had been twenty years bashaw of this +district. He was in prison one year with his two sons. The object of the +Emperor was to extort the last filse of his money; and he entirely +succeeded. The oppressor, however, relented a little on the death of one +of his victim's sons; released him from confinement, and gave the +ex-bashaw two houses, one for himself and the other for his surviving +son. The old captain of the port has been no less than a dozen times in +prison, under the exhausting pressure of the Emperor. After the imperial +miser has copiously bled his captain, he lets him out to fill his skin +again. The old gentleman is always merry and loyal, in spite of the +treatment from his imperial taskmaster. + +Very funny stories are told by the masters of the small craft, who +transport the bullocks from hence to Gibraltar. The government of that +place are only allowed to export, at a low duty per annum, a certain +number of bullocks. The contractor's agents come over; and at the moment +of embarking the cattle, something like the following dialogue +frequently ensues. + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Count away!" + +_Captain of the Port_.--"One, two, three, &c. Thirty, forty. Ah! stop! +stop! too many." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"No, you fool, there are only thirty." + +_Captain of the Port_.--"You lie! there are forty." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Only thirty, I tell you," (putting three or +four dollars into his hand). + +_Captain of the Port_.--"Well, well, there are only thirty." + +And, in this way, the garrison of Gibraltar often gets 500 or 1,000 head +of cattle more than the stipulated number, at five dollars per head duty +instead of ten. Who derives the benefit of peculation I am unable to +state. An anecdote recurs to me of old Youssef, Bashaw of Tripoli, +illustrative of the phlebotomizing system now under consideration. +Colonel Warrington one day seriously represented to the bashaw how his +functionaries robbed him, and took the liberty of mentioning the name of +one person. "Yes, yes," observed the bashaw, "I know all about him; I +don't want to catch him yet; he's not fat enough. When he has gorged a +little more, I'll have his head off." + +The Emperor of Morocco, however, usually treats his bashaws of the coast +with greater consideration than those of the interior cities, the former +being more in contact with Europeans, his Highness not wishing his +reputation to suffer in the eyes of Christians. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broadcloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + + +I took up my stay at the "English Hotel" (posada Ingles), kept by +Benoliel, a Morocco Jew, who spoke tolerable English. A Jerusalemitish +rabbi came in one day to write charms for his wife, she being near her +confinement. The superstition of charms and other cognate matters, are +shared alike by all the native inhabitants of Barbary. It often happens +that a Marabout shrine will be visited by Moor and Jew, each investing +the departed saint with his own peculiar sanctity. So contagious is this +species of superstition, that Romish Christians, long resident in +Barbary, assisted by the inventive monks, at last discover the Moorish +or Jewish to be a Christian saint. The Jewesses brought our Oriental +rabbi, declaring him to know everything, and that his garments smelt of +the Holy City. Benoliel, or Ben, as the English called him, protested to +me that he did not believe in charms; he only allowed the rabbi to write +them to please the women. But I have found, during my travels in the +Mediterranean, many persons of education, who pretended they did not +believe this or that superstition of their church, whilst they were at +heart great cowards, having no courage to reject a popular falsehood, +and quite as superstitious as those who never doubt the excrescent +dogmas or traditionary fables of their religion. The paper amulets, +however, operated favourably on Mrs. Benoliel. She was delivered of a +fine child; and received the congratulations of her neighbours. The +child was named Sultana; [9] and the people were all as merry as if a +princess had been born in Israel. + +I received a visit from a Moorish taleb, to whom I read some portions of +my journal, as also the Arabic Testament: + +_Taleb_.--"The English read Arabic because they are the friends of +Mussulmans. For this reason, God gives them wit to understand the +language of the Koran." + +_Traveller_.--"We wish to study all languages, and to know all people." + +_Taleb_.--"Now, as you have become so wise in our country, and read +Arabic, where next are you going? Why not be quiet and return home, and +live a marabout? Where next are you going?" + +In this strain the Taleb continued lecturing me, until he was +interrupted by a Berber of Rif. + +The Rifian.--"Christian, Engleez, come to our mountains. I will conduct +you to the Emir, on whom is the blessing of God. Come to the Emir, +come." + +Traveller.--"No, I've nothing to do with war." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! I know you are a necromancer. Cannot you tell +me where money is buried? I want money very bad. Give me a peseta." + +Traveller.--"Not I. I am going to see your Emperor." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! that is right; give him plenty of money. Muley +Abd Errahman hoards up money always. If you give him plenty of money, +you will be placed on a horse and ride by his side." + +The inhabitants of Barbary all bury their money. The secret is confided +to a single person, who often is taken ill, and dies before he can +discover the hiding place to his surviving relatives. Millions of +dollars are lost in this way. The people, conscious of their secret +practice, are always on the scent for concealed treasures. + +One Friday, some Jews asked the governor of the custom-house to grant +them their clearance-papers, because they were, early on the Sunday +following, to depart for Gibraltar. The governor said, "Come to-morrow." +"No," replied the Jews, "we cannot, it's our feast." "Well," returned +the governor, "you Jews have your feasts, the Christians have theirs, +and we Mussulmen will have ours. I'll not go down to the custom-house to +day, for it is my feast." These three Sundays or feasts, prevalent +through North Africa, are very inconvenient for business, and often make +men rebels to their religious persuasions. + +The following is a Frenchman's account of Morocco [10] up to the time of +its bombardments. + +"The question of Algeria cannot be confined within the limits of the +French possessions. It embraces Morocco, a country possessing a vast and +varied population. Leo gave a marvellous description of Fez, as the +second city of Islamism in his time. Travellers who have sought to +explore Africa, rarely or never took the route viâ Morocco. Formerly, +monks were stationed in the interior to purchase captives; but, since +piracy has ceased, these have left the country. Very few persons go into +the interior, for Maroquine merchants come out of their country to +trade. Tangier and Tetuan are not fair specimens of Morocco; they form a +transition from Europe to Africa, being neither Spain nor Morocco. The +ambassador, or merchant, who now-a-days gets an audience with the +Sultan, is allowed to see little of the country, arising from the +jealousy of the government or native merchants. Davidson was probably +murdered by the jealousy of the Fez merchants. + +"All the larger cities of Morocco are situate upon the coast, excepting +three capitals of the interior--Fez, Miknas, and Morocco, to which +El-Kesar-Kebir may be added. The other interior places are mostly large +villages, where the tribes of the country collect together. The +inhabitants of the cities make gain their only business, and debauchery +their only pleasure. As to their learning, there is an immense +difference between a Turkish ulema and a Moorish doctor. + +"From the fall of Carthage and Rome, until the fourteenth century, the +people of North Africa have had relations with Europe. The independence +of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco fell by internal dissensions like the +Mussulman power in Spain. After expelling the Mahometans from Spain, the +Christians (Spaniards and Portuguese) pursued them to Morocco, and built +a line of forts on its coasts. Those have all now been abandoned except +four, held by Spain. England destroyed the fortifications and abandoned +Tangier, which she had obtained through Portugal. To blockade Tangier at +the present time, would do more harm to England than Morocco, by cutting +off the supply of provisions for Gibraltar. + +"The navy of Morocco was never very great. It was the audacity and +cruelty of its pirates which frightened Christendom. During the maritime +wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Emperor of Morocco +remained neutral, which was a great benefit to the Christian belligerent +powers. Spain must be at peace with Morocco; she must either be an +active friend, or an enemy. The policy of Morocco, in former times, was +so well managed, that it made all the Christian powers pay a certain +tribute to that country, to insure themselves against the piracy of its +cruisers. + +"The history of the diplomatic relations of Europe with Morocco, +presents only a chronicle of shameful concessions made by the European +powers to the Moorish princes. At the end of the eighteenth century, the +Sultan of Morocco declared that, 'Whoever was not his friend was his +enemy,' or, in other words, that 'he would arm his cruisers against +every flag which did not float upon a consular house at Tangier.' + +"Muley Abd Errahman sent his corsairs to sea in 1828 to frighten the +European powers into treaties. The plan succeeded, the first squabble +being with Austria. From 1830, or, better to mark the period, since the +capture of Algiers, the corsairs and their depredations have ceased. The +progress of France in Africa has produced a profound impression in +Morocco, but European powers have not taken their due advantage of this. +Many humiliating acts have been performed by different governments. +England possessed herself of all the commerce of importance since she +has been established at Gibraltar. On the whole coast of Morocco, there +are only two mercantile establishments under the French flag. French +consular agents have no influence with the Moorish government. Morocco +and Spain have shewn themselves neighbours. Mutual assistance has often +been given by Morocco and Spain, in cases of national distress, +particularly in seasons of famine. + +"The Sultan of Morocco surveys from a distance the events of Europe, and +endeavours to arrest their effect on his frontier. The residence of the +foreign consuls was first at Rabat, then at Tangier. The object has +constantly been to keep the consuls, as far as possible, from his +capital and the transactions of his interior, in order that they may not +see the continual revolts of his tribes, and so discover the weakness +and disunion of the empire. Communications between Tangier and Morocco +require at least forty days, a system shrewdly laid down by the Sultan, +who is anxious to be as remote as possible from the consuls and their +influence. + +"The state of the army and navy, and particularly of the munitions of +war, is very bad. All the coast of Morocco is difficult of access, and +the only two ports which would have served for a naval station, are +those which have been abandoned, viz., the Bay of Santa Cruz and the +ancient Mamora, between El-Araish and Rabat; the rest are only +roadsteads." + +M. Rey thus sums up his observations upon European diplomacy directed +towards Morocco. "Voluntary humbling of European nations, always ready +to pander to Moorish rapacity, even without reaping any advantage for +it; and who submit themselves to be uselessly ransomed. As to the +English, they show suppleness and prudence, and sacrificing national +dignity to the prosperity of commerce; the Sultans are not backward in +taking advantage adroitly of a situation so favourable and almost +unique; such is the picture of the diplomatic relations we have +sketched." + +He describes the personal character and habits of the Sultan, Muley Abd +Errahman, and gives details of the court. + +"A Jew is the master-cook of the Emperor, his Imperial Highness always +eats alone. The Sultan receives European merchants in a very friendly +manner, whilst he keeps ambassadors at a respectful distance. An +interview with an ambassador does not last more than ten minutes. The +Sultan replies in a phraseology which has not been varied for three +centuries. The title of the present vizier is not minister, but sahab, +"friend" or "companion." The Sultan has the soundest judgment of any man +in his empire, and great tact in the administration of affairs. He +instructs himself by continual questions. + +"His passion is avarice, and he has converted the whole empire into a +commercial firm for the accumulation of his gains. Muley Tsmael left a +treasury of 100 millions of ducats, [11] and at the death of Sidi +Mohammed, this treasury was reduced to two millions. The constant +occupation of Muley Abd Errahmnan is to replenish the imperial treasury. +Commerce, which was neglected by his predecessors, has all his +attention. The cruelty of the former sultans is exchanged for the +avarice of the present. The history of these Shereefian princes is a +chain of unheard-of atrocities. The present sultan keeps not a single +promise when his interests interfere." + +M. Rey gives us this flattering tableau as a social picture of Morocco. + +Covetous governors are continually succeeding one another, they are ever +eager of enjoying the advantages of their position; their thirst for +plunder is so much the more intense, as they are not allowed time to +satisfy it, so they prey on the people. The inhabitants of towns and of +the country live in rags in miserable hovels. What raiment! what food! +mortality is dreadful, the children are invalids, and the women, +especially in the country, are condemned to do the work of beasts of +burden; such is the picture of society. + +I have quoted these few passages from the "Mémoire" of M. Rey, because +he was resident many years in Tangier, and his account of the country +discovers talent and intelligence, but is, of course, coloured with a +strong anti-English feeling. Mr. Hay wrote on the back of his +Mémoire,--"All that is said in reference to Great Britain is false and +malicious." M. Rey's opinions of the Moors and the present governors are +still more bitter and unjust. + +I had an interview with El-Martel-Warabah, government auctioneer of +slaves, from whom I obtained details respecting the slave-trade in +Tangier and Morocco generally. There is no market for slaves in Tangier. +The poor creatures are led about the town as cattle, particularly in the +main street, before the doors of the principal merchants, where they are +usually disposed of. No Jew or Christian is permitted to buy or hold a +slave in this country. Government possess many slaves, and people hire +them out by the day from the authorities. The ordinary price of a good +slave is eighty dollars. Boys, at the age of nine or ten years, sell the +best; female slaves do hot fetch so much as male slaves, unless of +extraordinary beauty. Slaves are imported from all the south. + +The Sultan levies no duty on the sale or import of slaves. When one runs +away from his master, and takes refuge with another, the new master +usually writes to the former, offering to buy him; thus slaves are often +enticed away. They are sometimes allowed to abscond without their owners +troubling themselves about them, their master's being unable either to +feed or sell them. + +In cases of punishment for all serious offences, slaves are brought +before the judicial authorities, and suffer the same punishment as free +men. In cases not deemed grave, they are flogged, or otherwise privately +punished by their masters. Slaves went to war with Abd-el-Kader, against +the French. The Arabs of Algeria had formerly many slaves. The chief +depôt of slaves is Morocco, the southern capital. Ten thousand have been +imported during one year; but the average number brought into Morocco +is, perhaps, not more than half that amount. The Maroquine Moors, before +departing for any country under the British flag, usually give liberty +to their slaves. On their return, however, they sell them again as +slaves, or get rid of them some way or other. A slave once having tasted +of liberty, can never again be fully reconciled to thraldom. Moors +resident in Gibraltar, have frequently slaves with them. A few days ago, +a slave-boy, resident in Gibraltar, wished to turn Christian, and was +immediately sent back to Tangier, and sold to another master. + +Europeans, with whom I have conversed in Tangier, assure me that slaves +are generally well treated, and that cases of cruelty are rare. +Nevertheless, they eagerly seek their freedom when an opportunity +offers. In 1833, a man of great power and influence in the Gharb +(province of Morocco), named El-Haj Mohammed Ben El-Arab, on a +remonstrance of his slaves, who stated that the English had abolished +slavery, and that they ought to have their liberty, called all his +slaves together, to the number of seventy-two, and actually took the +bold and generous resolution of liberating them. But, before releasing +them from bondage, he lectured them upon the difficulty of finding +subsistence in their new state of freedom, and then wrote out their +_Atkas_ of liberty. As might have been expected, some returned +voluntarily to servitude, not being able to get a living, whilst the +greater part obtained an honourable livelihood, enjoying the fruits of +independent freedom. It is mentioned, as an instance of fidelity, that a +negress is the gaoler of the women in Tangier. [12] + +At every Moorish feast of consequence (four of which are celebrated here +in a year), the slaves of Tangier perambulate the streets with music and +dancing, dressed in their holiday clothes, to beg alms from all classes +of the population, particularly Europeans. The money collected is +deposited in the hands of their chief; to this is added the savings of +the whole year. In the spring, all is spent in a feast, which lasts +seven days. The slaves carry green ears of wheat, barley, and fresh +dates about the town. The Moorish women kiss the new corn or fruit, and +give the slaves a trifle of money. A slave, when he is dissatisfied with +his master, sometimes will ask him to be allowed to go about begging +until he gets money enough to buy his freedom. The slave puts the âtka +in his mouth (which piece of written paper when signed, assures his +freedom), and goes about the town, crying, "Fedeeak Allah, (Ransom of +God!)" All depends on his luck. He may be months, or even years, before +he accumulates enough to purchase his ransom. + +Tangier Moors pretend that the negroes of Timbuctoo sacrifice annually a +white man, the victim being preserved and fed for the occasion. When the +time of immolation arrives, the white man is adorned with fair flowers, +and clothes of silk and many colours, and led out and sacrificed at a +grand "fiesta." Slaves and blacks in Morocco keep the same feast, with +the difference, that not being able to get a man to sacrifice, they kill +a bullock. Such a barbarous rite may possibly be practised in some part +of Negroland, but certainly not at Timbuctoo. All these tales about +Negro cannibals I am inclined to believe inventions. There never yet has +been published a well authenticated case of negro cannibalism. + +The grand cicerone for the English at Tangier, is Benoliel. He is a man +of about sixty years of age, and initiated into the sublimest mysteries +of the consular politics of the Shereefs. Ben is full of anecdotes of +everybody and everything from the emperor on the Shreefian throne, down +to the mad and ragged dervish in the streets. Our cicerone keeps a book, +in which the names of all his English guests have been from time to time +inscribed. His visitors have been principally officers from Gibraltar, +who come here for a few days sporting. On the bombardment of Tangier, +Ben left the country with other fugitives. The Moorish rabble plundered +his house; and many valuables which were there concealed, pledged by +persons belonging to Tangier, were carried away; Ben was therefore +ruined. Some foolish people at Gibraltar told Ben, that the streets of +London were paved with gold, or, at any rate, that, inasmuch as he (Ben) +had in his time entertained so many Englishmen at his hospitable +establishment at Tangier (for which, however, he was well paid), he +would be sure to make his fortune by a visit to England. I afterwards +met Ben accidentally in the streets of London, in great distress. Some +friends of the Anti-Slavery Society subscribed a small sum for him, and +sent him back to his family in Gibraltar. Poor Ben was astonished to +find as much misery in the streets of our own metropolis, as in any town +of Morocco. Regarding his co-religionists in England, Ben observed with +bitterness, "The Jews there are no good; they are very blackguards." He +was disappointed at their want of liberality, as well as their want of +sympathy for Morocco Jews. Ben thought he knew everything, and the ways +of this wicked world, but this visit to England convinced him he must +begin the world over again. Our cicerone is very shrewd; withal is +blessed with a good share of common sense; is by no means bigoted +against Mahometans or Christians, and is one of the more respectable of +the Barbary Jews. His information on Morocco, is, however, so mixed up +with the marvellous, that only a person well acquainted with North +Africa can distinguish the probable from the improbable, or separate the +wheat from the chaff. Ben has a large family, like most of the Maroquine +Jews; but the great attraction of his family is a most beautiful +daughter, with a complexion of jasmine, and locks of the raven; a +perfect Rachel in loveliness, proving fully the assertion of Ali Bey, +and all other travellers in Morocco, that the fairest women in this +country are the Jewesses. Ben is the type of many a Barbary Jew, who, to +considerable intelligence, and a few grains of what may be called fair +English honesty, unites the ordinarily deteriorated character of men, +and especially Jews, bora and brought up under oppressive governments. +Ben would sell you to the Emperor for a moderate price; and so would the +Jewish consular agents of Morocco. A traveller in this country must, +therefore, never trust a Maroquine Jew in a matter of vital importance. + +Mr. Drummond Hay, our Consul at Tangier, advised me to return to +Gibraltar, and to go by sea to Mogador, and thence to Morocco, where the +Emperor was then residing. Adopting his advice, I left the same evening +for Gibraltar. I took my passage in a very fine cutter, which had +formerly been a yacht, and had since been engaged as a smuggler of +Spanish goods. I confess, I was not sorry to hear that the Spanish +custom-house was often duped. The cutter had been purchased for the +Gibraltar secret service. + +The Anti-Slavery Society had placed at my disposal a few yards of green +cloth, for a present to the minister of the Emperor. At the custom-house +of Havre-de-Grace, I paid a heavy duty on it. But, when I got to Irun, +on the Spanish frontier, (having determined to come through Spain in +order to see the country), the custom-house officers demanded a duty +nearly double the cost of the cloth in London, so that there was no +alternative but to leave it in their possession. The only satisfaction, +or revenge which I had, was that of calling them _ladrones_ in the +presence of a mob of people, who, to do justice to the Spanish populace, +all took my part. + +When I complained of this conduct at Madrid, my friends laughed at my +simplicity, and told me I was "green" in Spanish; and in travelling +through "the land of chivalry," and of "ingeniósos hildágos," ought, on +the contrary, to thank God that I had arrived safe at Madrid with a +dollar in my pocket; whilst they kindly hinted, if I should really get +through the province of Andalusia safe to Cadiz, without being stripped +of everything, I must record it in my journal as a miracle of good luck. +This was, however, exaggeration. I had no reason to complain of anything +else during the time I was in Spain. My fellow travellers (all +Spaniards), nevertheless, rebuked me for want of tact. "You ought," they +said, "to have given a few pesetas to the guard of the diligencia, who +would have taken charge of your cloth, and kept it from going through +the custom-house." + +On reaching Gibraltar, I made the acquaintance of Frenerry, who for +thirty years has been a merchant in Morocco. Mr. Frenerry had frequent +opportunities of personal intercourse with Muley Abd Errahman, and had +more influence with him than the British Consul. Indeed, at all times, a +merchant is always more welcome to his Imperial Highness than a +diplomatic agent, who usually is charged with some disagreeable mission. +Mr. Frenerry was called, par excellence, "the merchant of the West." Of +course, Mr. Frenerry's opinions must be valuable on Maroquine affairs. +He says:--"The Morocco Moors like the English very much, and better than +any other Europeans, for they know the English to be their best friends. +At the same time, the Moors feel their weakness. They know also, that a +day might come when the English would be against them, or have disputes +with them, as in days past. The Moors are, therefore, jealous of the +English, though they consider them their friends; and do not like +Englishmen more than any other Christians to travel in their country. In +other respects, if well managed and occasionally coaxed or bribed with a +present, the Moors are very good natured, and as tractable as children." + +However, I find since the murder of Mr. Davidson, both the people and +government of Morocco have got a bad name in Gibraltar; and opinion +begins to prevail that it is almost impossible for an Englishman to +travel in the country. Mr. Frenerry recommends that a Moor should be +treated not proudly, but with a certain degree of firmness, to shew him +you will not be trifled with. In this way, he says, you will always +continue friends. + +With regard to the present Emperor, Mr. Frenerry is a great apologist of +his system. + +"The Emperor is obliged to exclude foreigners as much as possible from +his country. He does not want to tempt the cupidity of Europeans, by +showing them the resources of the empire. They are prying about for +mines of iron and silver. He is obliged to forbid these geological +wanderings. The subjects of his empire are divided in their feelings and +interests, and have been driven there by every wave of human +revolutions. The Emperor does not wish to discover his weakness abroad, +by letting Europeans witness the bad faith and disloyalty of his +heterogeneous tribes. The European consuls are much to blame; they +always carry their heads too high, if not insolently. They then appoint +Jewish consuls along the coast, a class of men whom the hereditary +prejudices of his Mussulman subjects will not respect." + +There is certainly something, if not a good deal, to be said _for_ the +emperor as well as _against_ him. I was obliged to wait some time at +Gibraltar before I could get a vessel for Mogador. I missed one +excellent opportunity from the want of a note from the Gibraltar +government. A Moor offered to allow me to take a passage without any +expense in his vessel, provided I could obtain a note from our +government; but the Governor of Gibraltar required an introduction in +form, and, before I could receive a letter from Mr. Hay to present to +him, the vessel left for Mogador. I therefore lost money and time +without any necessity. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese Sailors.-- +Trade-wind Hurricanes en the Atlantic Coast of Morocco.--Difficulties of +entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad provisioning of Foreign +Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the once far-famed and +dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. Phillips, Captain of +the Port--Rumours amongst the People about my Mission.--Visit to the +Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the inhabitants of +Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed of the ancient +Nuraidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish Emperor.--Martial +character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black Corps of the +Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative anecdotes of the +various Emperors. + + +On leaving the Straits (commonly called "The Gut,") a noble sight +presented itself--a fleet of some hundred merchantmen, all smacking +about before the rising wind, crowding every sail, lest it should change +ere they got clear of the obstructive straits. Many weeks had they been +detained by the westerly gales, and our vessel amongst the rest. I felt +the poignant misery of "waiting for the wind." I know nothing so +wearisome when all things are made ready. It is worse than hope +deferred, which sickens and saddens the heart. + +I have lately seen some newspaper reports, that government is preparing +a couple of steam-tugs, to be placed at the mouth of the straits, to tow +ships in and out. We may trust it will be done. But if government do it +not, I am sure it would answer the purpose of a private company, and I +have no doubt such speculation will soon be taken up. Vessels freighted +with perishable cargoes are often obliged to wait weeks, nay months, at +the mouth of the Straits, to the great injury of commerce. In our days +of steam and rapid communication, this cannot be tolerated. [13] + +After a voyage of four days, we found ourselves off the coast of +Mogador. The wind had been pretty good, but we had suffered some delay +from a south wind, which headed us for a short time. We prayed for a +westerly breeze, of which we soon got enough from west and north-west. +The first twelve hours it came gently on, but gradually increased till +it blew a gale. The captain was suddenly called up in the night, as +though the ship was going to sink, or could sink, whilst she was running +as fast as we would let her before the wind. But the real danger lay in +missing the coast of Mogador, or not being able to get within its port +from the violence of the breakers near the shore. Our vessel was a small +Genoese brig; and, though the Genoese are the best sailors in the +Mediterranean--even superior to the Greeks, who rank next--our captain +and his crew began to quake. At daylight, the coast-line loomed before +us, immersed in fog, and two hours after, the tall minaret of the great +mosque of Mogador, shooting erect, a dull lofty pyramid, stood over the +thick haze lying on the lower part of the coast. + +This phenomenon of the higher objects and mountains being visible over a +dense fog on the shore, is frequent on this side of the Atlantic. Wind +also prevails here. It scarcely ever rains, but wind the people have +nine months out of the twelve. It is a species of trade-wind, which +commences at the Straits, or the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and +sweeps down north-west with fury, making the entire coast of Morocco a +mountain-barrier of breakers, increasing in its course, and extending as +far as Wadnoun, Cape Bajdor, Cape Blanco, even to the Senegal. It does +not, however, extend far out at sea, being chiefly confined to the coast +range. Our alarm now was lest we should get within the clutches of this +fell swoop, for the port once past, it would have required us weeks to +bear up again, whilst this wind lasted. + +The Atlantic coast of Morocco is an indented or waving line, and there +are only two or three ports deserving the name of harbours--harbours of +refuge from these storms. Unlike the western coast of Ireland, so finely +indented by the Atlantic wave, this portion of the Morocco coast is +rounded off by the ocean. + +Our excitement was great. The capitano began yelping like a cowardly +school-boy, who has been well punched by a lesser and more courageous +antagonist. Immediately I got on deck, I produced an English book, which +mentioned the port of Mogador as a "good" port. + +"Per Dio Santo!" exclaimed our capitano; "yes, for the English it _is_ a +good port--you dare devils at sea--for them it _is_ a good port. The +open sea, with a gale of wind, is a good port for the _maladetti_ +English." + +Irritated at this extreme politeness to our gallant tars, who have so +long "braved the battle and the breeze," I did not trouble farther the +dauntless Genoese, who certainly was not destined to become a Columbus. +Now the men began to snivel and yelp, following the example of their +commander. "We won't go into the port, Santa Virgine! We won't go in to +be shivered to pieces on the rocks." At this moment our experienced +capitano fancied we had got into shoal-water; the surf was seen running +in foaming circles, as if in a whirlpool. Now, indeed, our capitano did +yelp; now did the crew yelp, invoking all the saints of the Roman +calendar, instead of attending to the ship. [14] Here was a scene of +indescribable confusion. Our ship was suddenly put round and back. + +My fellow passengers, a couple of Jews from Gibraltar, began swearing at +the capitano and his brave men. One of them, whilst cursing, thought it +just as well, at the same time, to call upon Father Abraham. Our little +brig pitched her bows two or three times under water like a storm-bird, +and did _not_ ground. It was seen to be a false alarm. The capitano now +took courage on seeing all the flags flying over the fortifications, it +being Friday, the Mahometan Sabbath. The silly fellow had heard, that +the port authorities always hauled down their colours, when the entrance +to the harbour was unsafe by reason of bad weather. Seeing the colours, +he imagined all was right. + +There are two entrances to the port of Mogador; one from the south, +which is quite open; the other from the north-west, which is only a +narrow passage, with scarcely room to admit a ship-of-the-line. The +'Suffren,' in which the Prince de Joinville commanded the bombardment of +the town, stood right over this entrance, on the northern channel, +having south-east the Isle of Mogador, and north-west the coast of the +Continent. The Prince took up a bold and critical position, exposed to +violent currents, to grounding on a rocky bottom, and to many other +serious accidents. [15] + +[Illustration] + +As we neared this difficult entrance, we were all in a state of the most +feverish excitement, expecting, such was the fury of the breakers, to be +thrown on the rock on either side. Thus, it was a veritable Scylla and +Charybdis. A man from the rigging descried several small vessels moored +snugly behind the isle. We ventured in with breathless agitation. A man +from one of the fortifications, guessing or seeing, I suppose, our +timidity and bad seamenship, cried out at the top of his lungs, "Salvo!" +which being interpreted, meant, "The entrance is safe." + +But this was not enough; we were to have another trial of patience. The +foolish captain--to terrify us to the last--had to cast his anchor, as a +matter of course; and imagine, dear reader, our alarm, our terror, when +we heard him scream out, "The chain is snapped!" We were now to be +driven out southwards by the fury of the wind, which had become a +hurricane, no very agreeable prospect! Happily, also this was a false +alarm. The capitano then came up to me, to shake hands, apologize, and +present congratulations on our safe harbouring. The perspiration of +fever and a heated brain was coursing down his cheeks. The capitano lit +an extra candle before the picture of the Virgin below, and observed to +me, whilst the men were saying their prayers of gratitude for +deliverance, "Per un miraculo della santissima Vergina; noi sciamo +salvati!"--(we are saved by a miracle of the Most Holy Virgin!) which, +of course, I did not or could not dispute, allowing, as I do, all men in +such circumstances, to indulge freely in their peculiar faith, so long +as it does not interfere with me or mine. + +It is well that our merchant-vessels have never been reduced to the +condition of Genoese craft, or been manned by such chicken-hearted +crews. I believe the pusillanimity of the latter is traceable, in a +great measure, to the miserable way in which the poor fellows are fed. +These Genoese had no meat whilst I was with them. I sailed once in a +Neapolitan vessel, a whole month, during which time the crew lived on +horse-beans, coarse maccaroni, Sardinian fish, mouldy biscuit, and +griping black wine. Meat they had none. How is it possible for men thus +fed, to fight and wrestle with the billows and terrors of the deep? + +We had no ordinary task to get on shore; the ocean was without, but a +sea was within port. The wind increased with such fury, that we +abandoned for the day the idea of landing. We had, however, specie on +board, which it was necessary forthwith to land. Mr. Philips, captain of +the port, and a merchant's clerk, therefore, came alongside with great +difficulty in a Moorish boat, to take on shore the specie; and in it I +embarked. This said barque was the miserable but apt representation of +the by-gone formidable Maroquine navy, which, not many centuries ago, +pushed its audacity to such lengths, that the "rovers of Salee" cruised +off the English coast, and defied the British fleets. Now the whole +naval force of the once-dreaded piratic states of Barbary can hardly +boast of two or three badly-manned brigs or frigates. As to Morocco, the +Emperor has not a single captain who can conduct a vessel from Mogador +to Gibraltar. + +The most skilful _rais_ his ports can furnish made an attempt lately, +and was blown up and down for months on the coasts of Spain and +Portugal, being at last driven into the Straits by almost miraculous +interposition. + +What was this Moorish boat in which I went on shore? A mere long shell +of bad planks, and scarcely more ship-shape than the trunk of a tree +hollowed into a canoe, leakily put together. It was filled with dirty, +ragged, half-naked sailors, whose seamanship did not extend beyond +coming and going from vessels lying in this little port. Each of these +Mogadorian port sailors had a bit of straight pole for an oar; the way +in which they rowed was equally characteristic. Struggling against wind +and current with their Moorish rais at the helm, encouraging their +labours by crying out first one thing, then another, as his fancy +dictated, the crew repeated in chorus all he said:--"Khobsah!" (a loaf) +cried the rais. + +All the men echoed "Khobsah." + +"A loaf you shall have when you return!" cried the rais. + +"A loaf we shall have when we return!" cried the men. + +"Pull, pull; God hears and sees you!" cried the rais. + +"We pull, we pull; God hears and sees us!" cried the men. + +"Sweetmeats, sweetmeats, by G--; sweetmeats by G--you shall have, only +pull away!" swore the rais. + +"Sweetmeats we shall have, thank God! sweetmeats we shall have, thank +God!" roared the men, all screaming and bawling. In this unique style, +after struggling three hours to get three miles over the port, we +landed, all of us completely exhausted and drowned in spray. + +It is usual for Moors, particularly negroes, to sing certain choruses, +and thus encourage one another in their work. What, however, is +remarkable, these choruses are mostly on sacred subjects, being +frequently the formula of their confession, "There is no God, but one +God, and Mahomet is his Prophet," &c. These clownish tars were deeply +coloured, and some quite black. I found, in fact, the greatest part of +the Moorish population of Mogador coloured persons. We may here easily +trace the origin of the epithet "Black-a-Moor," and we are not so +surprised that Shakspeare made his Moor black; indeed, the present +Emperor, Muley Abd Errahman, is of very dark complexion, though his +features are not at all of the negro cast. But he has sons quite black, +and with negro features, who, of course, are the children of negresses. +One of these, is Governor of Rabat. In no country is the colour of the +human skin so little thought of. This is a very important matter in the +question of abolition. There is no objection to the skin and features of +the negro; it is only the luxury of having slaves, or their usefulness +for heavy work, which weighs in the scale against abolition. + +As soon as we landed, we visited the lieutenant-governor, who +congratulated us on not being carried down to the Canary Islands. Then +his Excellency asked, in due studied form: + +"Where do you come from?" + +_Traveller_.--"Gibraltar." + +_His Excellency_.--"Where are you going?" + +_Traveller_.--"To see the Sultan, Muley Abd Errahman." + +_His Excellency_.--"What's your business?" + +_Traveller_.--"I will let your Excellency know to-morrow." + +I then proceeded to the house of Mr. Phillips, where I took up my +quarters. Mr. Willshire, our vice-consul, was absent, having gone up to +Morocco with all the principal merchants of Mogador, to pay a visit to +the Emperor. + +The port of Mogador had to-day a most wild and desolate appearance, +which was rendered still more dreary and hideous by a dark tempest +sweeping over it. On the shore, there was no appearance of life, much +less of trade and shipping. All had abandoned it, save a guard, who lay +stretched at the gate of the waterport, like a grim watch-dog. From this +place, we proceeded to the merchants' quarter of the town, which was +solitary and immersed in profound gloom. Altogether, my first +impressions of Mogador were most unfavourable, I went to bed and dreamt +of winds and seas, and struggled with tempests the greater part of the +night. Then I was shipwrecked off the Canaries; thrown on the coast of +Wadnoun, and made a slave by the wild Arabs wandering in the Desert--I +awoke. + +Mr. Phillips, mine host, soon became my right-hand man. His +extraordinary character, and the adventures of his life are worth a +brief notice. Phillips said he was descended from those York Jews, who, +on refusing to pay a contribution levied on them by one of our most +Christian kings, had a tooth drawn out every morning (without the aid of +chloroform), until they satisfied the cruel avarice of the tyrant. In +person, Phillips was a smart old gentleman, with the ordinary lineaments +of his race stamped on his countenance. The greater part of his life has +been spent in South America, where he attained the honours of +aide-de-camp to Bolivar. In those sanguinary revolutions, heaving with +the birth of the young republic, he had often been shut up in the +capilla to be shot, and was rescued always by the Jesuit fathers, who +pitied and saved the poor Jew, on his expressing himself favourable to +Christianity. Returning to England, after twenty years' absence, his +mother did not fully recognize him, until he one day got up and admired, +with youthful ardour, a china figure on the chimney-piece, which had +been his toy in his boyhood. On the occurrence of this little domestic +incident, the mother passionately embraced her lost prodigal, once dead, +but now "alive again." Phillips came to Mogador on a military +speculation, and offered to take the command of the Emperor's cavalry +against all his enemies. + +This audacity of a Jew filled the Moor with alarm. "How could a Jew, who +was not a devil, propose such an insult to the Commander of the +Faithful, as to presume to take the charge of his invincible warriors!" +Nevertheless, the little fellow weathered the storm, and got appointed +"captain of the port of Mogador," with the liberal salary of about +thirty shillings per month; but this did not prevent our aide-de-camp, +now metamorphosed into a sea captain, from wearing _an admiral's_ +uniform, which he obtained in a curious way on a visit to England. He +met in the streets of London with an acquaintance, who pretended to +patronize him. The gentleman jokingly said, "Well, Phillips, I must give +you an uniform, since you are appointed captain of the port of Mogador." +The said gentleman received, a few months afterwards, when his quondam +protégé was safe with his uniform strutting about Mogador, to the +amazement of the Moors, and the delight of his co-religionists, a bill +of thirty pounds or so, charged for "a suit of admiral's uniform for Mr. +Phillips, captain of the port of Mogador;" and found that a joke +sometimes has a serious termination. + +Phillips, on his first arrival in this country, entered into a +diplomatic contest with the Moorish authorities, demanding the +privileges of a native British-born Jew, and he determined to ride a +horse, in order to vindicate the rights of British Jews, before the +awful presence of the Shereefian Court! About this business, the +Consul-general Hay is said to have written eleven long, and Mr. +Willshire about twenty-one short and pithy despatches, but the affair +ended in smoke. Phillips, with great magnanimity and self-denial, +consented to relinquish the privilege, on the prayer of his brethren, +natives of Mogador, who were very naturally afraid, lest the incensed +Emperor might visit on them what he durst not inflict on the +British-born Jew. + +Of the achievements of Phillips in the way of science (for he assures he +is born to the high destiny of enlightening both barbarians and +civilized nations) I take the liberty, with his permission, of +mentioning one. Phillips brought here a pair of horse-shoes belonging to +a drayhorse of the firm of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, and Co., to astonish +the Moors by their size, who are great connoisseurs of horse-flesh. The +Moors protested their unbelief, and swore it was a lie,--"such shoes +never shod a horse." Phillips then got a skeleton of a head from +England. This they also scouted as an imposition, alleging that Phillips +had got it purposely made to deceive them. "Although they believed in +the Prophet, whom they never saw, they were still not such fools as to +believe in everything which an Infidel might bring to their country." +Phillips now gave up, in despair, the attempt to propagate science among +the Moors. + +Our ancient aide-de-camp of Bolivar is a liberal English Jew, and boasts +that, on Christmas-day, he always has his roast-beef and plum-pudding. I +supped with him often on a sucking-pig, for the Christians breed pigs in +this place, to the horror of pious Mussulmen. This amusing adventurer +subsequently left Mogador and went to Lisbon, where he purposed writing +a memorial to the Archbishop of Canterbury, containing the plan, of a +New Unitarian system of religion, by which the Jews might be brought +within the pale of the Christian Church! + +For some time I felt the effects of my sea voyage; my apartment rocked +in my brain. People speculated about the objects of my mission; the most +absurd rumours were afloat. "The Christian has come to settle the +affairs of Mr. Darman, whom the Emperor killed," some said. Others +remarked, "The Christian has come to buy all the slaves of the country, +in order to liberate them." The lieutenant-governor sent for Phillips, +to know what I came for, who I was, and how I passed my time? Phillips +told him all about my mission, and that I was a great taleb. When +Phillips mentioned to the governor, that Great Britain had paid a +hundred millions of dollars for the liberation of slaves belonging to +Englishmen, his Excellency, struck with astonishment, exclaimed, "The +English Sultan is inspired by God!" + +[Illustration.] + +I visited the burying-place of Christians, situate on the north-side of +the town by the sea-shore. A fine tomb was erected here to the memory of +Mrs. Willshire's father. The ignorant country people coming to Mogador +stopped to repeat prayers before it, believing it the tomb of some +favourite saint. The government, hearing of this idolatry to a +Christian, begged Mr. Willshire to have the tomb covered with cement. +When this was done, so perverse are these people, that they partially +divested it of covering, and chipped off pieces of marble for their +women, who ground them into powder, and dusted their faces with it to +make them fair. Every six months it is necessary to replaster the tomb. +This cemetery is the most desolate place the mind of man can conceive. +There is no green turf here to rest lightly on the bosom of the dead! No +tree, no cypress of mourning; no shade or shelter for those who seek to +indulge in grief. All is a sandy desolation, swept by the wild winds of +the solitary shore of the ocean. + +[Illustration] + +Farther on, is the Moorish cemetery, which I passed through. What a +spectacle of human corruption! Here, indeed, we may learn to despise +this world's poor renown, and cease tormenting ourselves with vain and +godless pursuits. It was then sunset, the moon had risen far up on the +fading brow of the departing day, casting pale lights and fearful +shadows over this house of the dead. It was time to return, or the gates +of the city would shut me out amidst the wreck of poor human dust and +bones. I saw, moving in the doubtful shadows of approaching night, the +grave-digging hyaena! + +It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. The wreckers of this coast +boldly assert that a shipwreck is a blessing (_berkah_), sent to them by +Providence. The port authorities have even the impudence to declare, +that to erect lighthouses at the mouth of the ports would be thwarting +the decrees of Divine Providence! In spite of all this, however, at the +urgent request of Mr. Willshire, when, on one occasion, the weather was +very bad, the governor of Mogador stationed guards on various parts of +the coast to preserve the lives and property of shipwrecked vessels. But +I do not think I have heard worse cases of Moorish wreckers, than those +which have happened not very many years ago on the French and English +coasts. Some of my readers will recollect the case of an Indiaman +wrecked off the coast of France, when poor ladies in a state of +suspended animation, had their fingers cut off to get possession of +their diamond-rings. During my stay at Mogador, a courier arrived from +Sous, bringing the news of some Christians being wrecked off the coast, +A Jew had purchased one poor fellow from the Arabs for two camels. Two +others were dead, their bodies cast upon the inhospitable beach by the +Atlantic surge, where they lay unburied, to be mangled by the wild +tribes, or to feed the hungry hyaena. + +Some of the merchants came hither from the capital; amongst the rest, +Mr. and Mrs. Elton, they, as well as others, brought a favourable +account of the Emperor and his ministers, and lauded very much the +commercial policy of the governor of Mogador. Moderation, it is said, is +the characteristic of the court's proceedings towards the merchants. +Trade was not very brisk, it being the rainy season, when the Arabs are +occupied with sowing the ground; the busy time is from September to +January. + +The produce sold at that time was simply that which is left of the past +season, having been kept back with the object of getting a better price +for it. Gum is brought in great quantities for exportation. An immense +quantity of sugar is imported, a third of which is loaf beet-root sugar +brought from Marseilles. + +Mr. Phillips came to me, to beg ten thousand pardons for having only +fowls for dinner. One morning two bullocks were killed by the Jews, but +not "according to the Law," and the greater part of the Jews that day +would have to go without meat. On these occasions, the Jews sell their +meat to the Moors and Christians at a reduced price. Phillips observed, +"I am obliged to eat meat according to the Law, or I should have no +peace of my life." + +A good many people were affected by colds, but the climate of Mogador is +reckoned very good. All the year round there is not much variation; N.W. +and N.E. winds bring cold in winter, and cool refreshing breezes in +summer. There was not a single medical man in Mogador, although there +were some fifty Europeans, including Jews. Some years ago a clever young +man was practising here. For one year, each European paid his share of +salary; but alas! those whom God blessed with good health, refused to +pay their quota to the support of a physician for their sickly +neighbours, consequently, every European's life was in the greatest +danger, should a serious accident occur to them. With regard to money, +they would prefer a broken leg all their life time to paying five pounds +to have it set. The consuls of Tangier subscribe for a resident +physician. + +[Illustration.] + +One afternoon, I went to see the Moorish cavalry "playing at powder," +(Lab Elbaroud) being a stirring and novel scene. A troop of these +haughty cavaliers assembled with their chiefs almost daily on the playa, +or parade. Then they divided themselves into parties of twenty or +thirty; proceeding with their manoeuvres, the cavaliers at first advance +slowly in a single line, then canter, and then gallop, spurring on the +horse to its last gasp, meantime standing up erect on their +shovel-stirrups, and turning from one side to the other; looking round +with an air of defiance, they fire off their matchlocks, throw +themselves into various dexterous attitudes, sometimes letting fall the +bridle. The pieces being discharged, the horses instantaneously stop. +The most difficult lesson a barb learns, is to halt suddenly in mid +career of a full gallop. To discharge his matchlock, standing on the +stirrups while the horse is in full gallop, is the great lesson of +perfection of the Maroquine soldiery. The cavaliers now wheel out of the +way for the next file, returning reloading, and taking their places to +gallop off and fire again. Crowds of people attend these equestrian +exhibitions, of which they are passionately fond. They squat round the +parade in double or treble rows, muffled up within their bournouses, in +mute admiration. Occasionally women are present, but females here join +in very few out-door amusements. When a whole troop of cavaliers are +thus manoeuvering, galloping at the utmost stretch of the horses' +muscles, the men screaming and hallowing "hah! hah! hah!" the dust and +sand rising in clouds before the foaming fiery barb, with the deafening +noise and confusion of a simultaneous discharge of firelocks, the +picture represents in vivid colours what might be conceived of the wild +Nubian cavalry of ancient Africa. [16] Today there was a mishap; several +cavaliers did not keep up the line. The chief leading the troops, cried +out in a rage, and with the voice of a senator, "Fools! madmen! are you +children, or are ye men?" Christians or Jews standing too near, are +frequently pushed back with violence; and we were told "not to stand in +the way of Mussulmen." + +These cavaliers are sometimes called _spahis_; they are composed of +Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and all the native races in Morocco. They are +usually plainly dressed, but, beneath the bournouse, many of them wear +the Moorish dress, embroidered in the richest style. Some of the horses +are magnificently caparisoned in superb harness, worked in silk and +gold. Fine harness is one of the luxuries of North Africa, and is still +much used, even in Tunis and Tripoli, where the new system of European +military dress and tactics has been introduced. The horse is the sacred +animal of Morocco, as well as the safeguard of the empire. The Sultan +has no other military defence, except the natural difficulties of the +country, or the hatred of his people to strangers. He does not permit +the exportation of horses, nor of barley, on which they are often fed. +[17] + +But the defeat of the Emperor's eldest son, Sidi Mahomed, at the Battle +of Isly, who commanded upwards of forty thousand of these cavaliers, has +thrown a shade over the ancient celebrity of this Moorish corps, and +these proud horsemen have since become discouraged. On that fatal day, +however, none of the black bodyguard of the Emperor was brought into +action. These muster some thirty thousand strong. This corps, or the +Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari, [18] are soldiers who possess the most cool and +undaunted courage; retreat with them is never thought of. Unlike the +Janissaries of old, their sole ambition is to _obey_, and not to _rule_ +their sovereign. This fidelity to the Shereefs remains unshaken through +all the shocks of the empire, and to the person of the Emperor they are +completely devoted. In a country like Morocco, of widely distinct races +and hostile tribes, all naturally detesting each other, the Emperor +finds in them his only safety. I cannot withhold the remark, that this +body-guard places before us the character of the negro in a very +favourable light. He is at once brave and faithful, the two essential +ingredients in the formation and development of heroic natures. + +It will, I trust, not be deemed out of place to consider for a moment +the warlike propensities and qualities of the negro. Every European who +has penetrated Africa, confesses to the bellicose disposition of the +negro, having seen him engaged with others in perpetual conflict. The +choice and retention of a body-guard of Blacks by the Moorish Emperor, +also triumphantly prove the martial nature of the negro race. But the +negro has signally displayed the military qualities of coolness and +courage in many instances, two or three of which I shall here take the +liberty of mentioning, in connexion with the affairs of Algeria. + +Mr. Lord relates, on the authority of the French, that, when the +invading army invested Fort de l'Empereur, and had silenced all its +guns, the Dey ordered the Turkish General to retreat to the Kasbah, and +leave three negroes to blow up the fort. It seemed, therefore, +abandoned, but two red flags floated still on its outward line of +defence, and a third on the angle towards the city. The French continued +all their efforts towards effecting a practicable breach. Three negroes +were now seen calmly walking on the ramparts, and from time to time +looking over as if examining the progress of the breach. One of them, +struck by a cannonball, fell; and the others, as if to avenge his death, +ran to a cannon, pointed it, and fired three shots. At the third, the +gun turned over, and they were unable to replace it. They tried another, +and as they were in the act of raising it, a shot swept the legs from +under one of them. The remaining negro gazed for a moment on his +comrade, drew him a little aside, left him, and once more examined the +breach. He then snatched one of the flags, and retired to the interior +of the tower. In a few minutes, he re-appeared, took a second flag and +descended. The French continued their cannonade, and the breach appeared +almost practicable, when suddenly they were astounded by a terrific +explosion, which shook the whole ground as with an earthquake. An +immense column of smoke, mixed with streaks of flames, burst from the +centre of the fortress; masses of solid masonry were hurled into the air +to an amazing height, while cannon, stones, timbers, projectiles, and +dead bodies were scattered in every direction. What was all this? The +negro had done his duty--the fort was blown up! + +In a skirmish near Mascara, one of Abd-el-Kader's negro soldiers killed +two Frenchmen with his own hand. The Emir, who was an eye-witness of his +bravery, rewarded him on the field of battle by presenting him with his +own sword and the Cross of the Crescent, the only military order in the +service, and which is never awarded except fur a very distinguished +action. Colonel Scott says the black was presented to him, and seemed as +proud of the honour conferred on him as if he had been made a K.G.C.B. + +In the strifes and disputes for succession that have characterized the +history of the Barbary princes, and reddened their annals with blood, +nothing has been more remarkable than the fidelity of the negroes to +their respective masters, and the bravery with which they have defended +them to the last hour of their reign or existence. When all his +partisans have deserted a pretender, when the soldiers of the successful +competitor to the throne have been in the act of pouncing upon the +fallen or falling prince, a handful of brave followers has rushed to the +rescue, and surrounded the person of their beloved leader, pouring out +their life-blood in his defence--and these men were negroes! To use a +vulgar metaphor, the negro will defend his master with the savage +courage and tenacity of a bull-dog. And this is the principal reason +which has induced the despotic princes of North Africa to cherish the +negroes, of whom they have encouraged a continual supply from the +interior. + +The history of this Imperial Guard of Negroes is interesting, as showing +the inconveniences as well as the advantage of such a corps, for these +troops have not been always so well conducted as they are at present. At +one time, the Shereefs claimed a species of sovereignty over the city of +Timbuctbo and the adjacent countries. In the year 1727, Muley Ismail +determined to re-people his wasted districts by a colony of negroes. His +secret object was, however, to form a body guard to keep his own people +in check, a sort of black Swiss regiment, so alike is the policy of all +tyrants. In a few years, these troops exceeded 100,000 men. Finding +their numbers so great, and their services so much needed by the Sultan, +they became exigeant and rapacious, dictating to their royal master. +Muley Abdallah was deposed six times by them. Finding their yoke +intolerable, the Sultan decimated them by sending them to fight in the +mountains. Others were disbanded for the same reasons by Sidi Mohammed. +Still, the effect of this new colonization was beneficially experienced +throughout the country. The Moors taking the black women as concubines, +a mixed race of industrious people sprang up, and gave an impetus to the +empire. It is questionable, however, if North Africa could he colonized +by negroes. By mixing with the Caucasian race, this experiment partly +succeeded. But in general, North Africa is too bleak and uncongenial for +the negroes' nature during winter. The negro race does not increase of +itself on this coast. Their present number is kept up by a continual +supply of slaves. When this is stopped, coloured people will begin +gradually to disappear. + +It is unnecessary to tell my readers that the Shereefs are very +sensitive on matters of religion; but an anecdote or two may amuse them. +A French writer expatiating in true Gallic style, calls Morocco the +"arrière-garde en Afrique of Islamism," and "une de ses armées de +réserve." Indeed, the coasts and cities of Morocco are inundated with +saints of every description and degree of sanctity. Morocco, in fact, is +not only the _classic_ land of Marabouts, but their home and haunt, and +sphere of agitation. There are ten thousand Abd-el-Kaders and Bou Mazas +all disputing authority with the High Priest, who sits on the green +throne of the Shereefs. Sometimes they assume the character of +demagogues, and inveigh against the rapacity and corruption of the court +and government. At others they appear as prophets, prophets of ill, by +preaching boldly the Holy war. + +The French in Africa now furnish them with an everlasting theme of +denunciation. From Morocco they travel eastwards, filling the Sahara and +the Atlas with the odours of their holy reputation. So that religious +light, like that of civilization, is now moving from the +west--eastwards, instead of, as in times past, from the east--eastwards. +The Maroquine Mahometans may be cited as a case in point. They find too +frequently only the form of religion in the east, as we do in the +eastern churches. They are beginning to assault Mecca as we have +assaulted Jerusalem. + +Now for an anecdote or two illustrative of the high state of orthodoxy +professed by the Shereefs. Some time ago, a number of handkerchiefs were +brought, or rather smuggled into Mogador, having printed upon them +passages from the Koran. One of them got into the hands of the Emperor, +who thinking the Christians were ridiculing the Sacred Book, ordered +instanter all the cities of the coast to be searched to discover the +offender who introduced them. Happily for the merchant he was not found +out. His Highness commanded that all the handkerchiefs which were +collected should be destroyed. When Mr. Davidson was at Morocco, he +prescribed some Seidlitz water for the use of the Sultan, and placed on +the sides of two bottles, containing the beverage, Arabic verses from +the Koran. The Sultan was exceedingly exasperated at this compliment to +his religion, and had it privately intimated to Mr. Davidson not to +desecrate the Holy Book in that abominable manner. The latter then very +prudently gave up to the minister all the printed verses he had brought +with him, which were concealed from public view. But if some of these +emperors are so rigid and scrupulous, there are others more liberal and +tolerant. + +Muley Suleiman was a great admirer of the European character, and was +much attached to a Mr. Leyton, an English merchant. This merchant was +one day riding out of the city of Mogador, when an old woman rushed at +him, seized the bridle of his horse, and demanded alms. The merchant +pushed her away with his whip. The ancient dame seeing herself so rudely +nonsuited, went off screaming revenge; and although she had not had a +tooth in her head for twenty long years, she noised about town that Mr. +Leyton had knocked two of her teeth out, and importuned the Governor to +obtain her some pecuniary indemnification. + +His Excellency advised Mr. Leyton to comply, and get rid of the +annoyance of the old woman. He resolutely refused, and the Governor was +obliged to report the case to the Emperor, as the old lady had made so +many partisans in Mogador as to threaten a disturbance. His Imperial +Highness wrote a letter to the merchant, condescendingly begging him to +supply the old woman with "two silver teeth," meaning thereby to give +her a trifling present in money. Mr. Leyton, being as obstinate as ever, +was ordered to appear before the Emperor at Morocco. Here the resolute +merchant declared that he had not knocked the teeth out of the old +woman's head, she had had none for years, and he would not be maligned +even in so small a matter. + +The Emperor was at his wits' end, and endeavoured to smooth down the +contumacious Leyton, to save his capital from insurrection; imploring +him to comply with the Lex talionis, [19] and have two of his teeth +drawn if he was inflexibly determined not to pay. The poor Emperor was +in hourly dread of a revolution about this tooth business, and at the +same time he knew the merchant had spoken the truth. Strange to say, Mr. +Leyton at last consented to lose his teeth rather than his money. +However, on the merchant's return from the capital to Mogador, to his +surprise, and no doubt to his satisfaction, he found that two ship-loads +of grain had been ordered to be delivered to him by the Emperor, in +compensation for the two teeth which he had had punched out to satisfy +the exigencies of the Empire. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine Affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodic visit of the Mogador +Merchants to the Emperor in the Southern Capital. + + +I received several visits from the Moors. As a class of men, they are +far superior in civility and kindness to the Moorish population of +Tangier. So much for the foolish and absurd stories about the place, +which tell us that it is the only city of the Empire in which Christians +can live with safety and comparative comfort. These tales must have been +invented to please the Tangier diplomatists. The contrary is the fact, +for, whilst the Moors of Tangier consist of camel drivers and soldiers, +there are a good number of very respectable native merchants in Mogador; +nevertheless, a large portion of the population is in the pay of +government as militia, to keep in check the tribes of the neighbouring +provinces; but their pay is very small, and most of them do a little +business; many are artizuns and common labourers. As a specimen of their +ordinary conversation, take the following. + +_Moors_.--"All the people of Morocco are soldiers; what can the +foreigner do against them? Morocco is one camp, our Sultan is one, we +have one Prophet, and one God." + +_Traveller_.--"In our country we do not care to have so many soldiers. +We have fewer than France, and many other countries; but our soldiers do +not work like yours; they are always soldiers, and fight bravely." + +_Moors_.--"We don't understand; how wonderful! the French must conquer +you with more soldiers." + +_Traveller_.--"We have more ships, and our principal country is an +island; the sea surrounds us, and defends us." + +_Moors_.--"How much pay has the Governor of Gibraltar?" + +_Traveller_.--"About 20,000 dollars per annum." + +_Moors_.--"Too much; why, the Koed of Mogador is obliged, instead of +receiving money, to send the Emperor, at a day's notice, 20, or 30,000 +dollars! or if he does not pay, he is sent to prison at once; his head +is not the value of a slave's." + +It appears that the old governor (who is now in Morocco) positively +refuses any salary or presents; his Excellency is a man of some small +property, and finds this plan answers best. He will not be fattened and +bled as the Emperor treats other governors. He politely hinted this to +the Emperor when he accepted office; since then, he has resolutely +refused all presents from the merchants, so that the Emperor has no +excuse whatever for bleeding him under the pretext that he is afflicted +with a plethora, from his exactions on the people. The moneys referred +to by the Moors are the custom dues, which are collected by a separate +department, and transmitted direct, to the Emperor. + +Whilst residing at Mogador, Mr. Cohen arrived from Morocco, where he had +been with the merchants. He is the English Jew who assisted Mr. Davidson +in his travels through Morocco. His experience in Maroquine affairs is +considerable, and I shall offer his conclusions concerning the present +state of the Empire. I prefer, indeed, giving the opinion of various +residents or natives of the country to our own. Mr. Cohen's ideas will +be found to differ exceedingly from that of the (Imperial) merchants, +who, in point of fact, are not free men, and cannot be trustworthy +witnesses. As Mr. Elton justly observed, the Europeans are so much +involved with the Emperor, that they are almost obliged to consent +publicly to the violent death of the unfortunate Jew, Dorman, although +he was under the French protection, and likewise a kind of vice-consul. + +Mr. Cohen says--"the people of Morocco are tired of their government, +tired of being pillaged of their property, tired of the insecurity and +uncertainty of their possessions; that is to say, of the few things +which still remain in their hands." Mr. Cohen goes so far as to +say--that, were a strong European power to be established on the coast, +the entire population would flock to its support. He gives the following +instance of the style and manner in which the Emperor bleeds the +governors of provinces. + +A few years ago, a governor of Mogador presented himself to the Sultan +of Fez. He was received with all due honours. The governor then begged +leave to return to Morocco. He was dismissed with great demonstrations +of friendship. He arrived at Morocco, and the governor of that city +immediately informed him that he was his prisoner, the Sultan having a +claim against him, of 40,000 dollars. At length, the poor dupe of royal +favour obtained permission to go back to Mogador and to sell all he had, +in order to make up the sum of 40,000 dollars. + +This is the way in which things are managed there. Of Maroquine policy, +Mr. Cohen says, "That when the Sultan finds himself in a scrape, he +gives way, though slightly dilatory at first. So long as he sees that he +does not commit himself, or is not detected, he does what he likes with +his own and other people's likewise, to the fullest extent of his power. +But on any mishap befalling him, Muley Abd Errahman, whenever he can, +always shifts the responsibility upon his ministers, and if one of them +gives his advice, and the course taken therein does not succeed, woe be +to the unhappy functionary!" + +Some years ago, a number of troops rebelled against the Emperor. At the +instance of the prime minister, Ben Dris, they were pardoned; but, +instead of receiving gratefully this imperial mercy, the troops broke +out afresh in rebellion, which, with great difficulty, was quelled by +the Sultan. This, however, being accomplished, he called the prime +minister before him, and thus addressed the amazed vizier. + +"Now, Sir, receive four hundred bastinadoes for your pains, and pay me +30,000 ducats; you will then take care in future how you give me +advice." Nevertheless, Ben Dris still remained vizier, and continued so +till his death. Bastinadoing a minister in Morocco is, however, much the +same as a forced resignation, or the dismissal of a minister in Europe. +Doubtless Ben Dris thought himself surprisingly lucky that the Emperor +did not cut off his head. + +It was the late Mr. Hay's opinion, that Muley Abd Errahman was a good +man, but surrounded with bad advisers. The probability seems rather, +that he took all the credit of the good acts of his advisers, and flung +on them the odium of all the bad acts committed by himself, as many +other despotic sovereigns have often done before him. + +With regard to the disaffection of the people, as alleged by Mr. Cohen, +its verification is of great importance to us, and our appreciation of +it equally so. + +We might be counting upon the resistance of the Maroquines against an +invasion of the French, and find, to our astonishment, the invaders +received as deliverers from the exactions and tyrannies of the +Shereefian oppressor. The fact is, Morocco will never be able to resist +the progress of nations any more than China, especially since she has +got the most restless people in the world for her neighbours. Besides, +during the last thirty years, many of the Maroquines have visited +Europe, and their eyes are becoming opened, the film of Moorish +fanaticism has fallen off; even on their aggressive neighbours, they see +the exercise of a government less rapacious than their own, and more +security of life and property. Still, the Emperor will use every means +to build up a barrier against innovation. + +Just at this time, a _rekos_ (courier) arrived from Mr. Willshire (now +at Morocco), bringing letters in answer to those which I had addressed +to him, touching my visit to the Emperor. He writes that he had "already +received orders from His Imperial Majesty respecting the object of my +mission," which words give me uneasiness, as they are evidently +unfavourable to it, and consequently to my journey to Morocco. + +There is a misunderstanding between the provinces of Shed ma and Hhaha. +These districts adjoin Mogador, the city belonging to Hhaha. Shedma is +mostly lowland and plains, and Hhaha highlands and mountains, which form +a portion of the south-western Atlas, and strike down into the sea at +Santa Cruz. There seems to be no other reason for those frequent +obstinate hostilities on both sides, except the nature of the country. +It is lamentable to think, because "a narrow frith" divides two people, +or because one lives in the mountains and the other in the plains, that +therefore they should be enemies for ever! Strange infatuation of poor +human nature. + +Here the feud legend babbles of revenge, and says that, in the time of +Muley Suleiman, one day when the Hhaha people were at prayers at +Mogador, during broad day light, the Shedma people came down upon them +and slaughtered them, and, whilst in the sacred and inviolable act of +devotion, entered the mosques and pillaged their houses. This produced +implacable hatred between them, which is likely to survive many +generations; but the story was told me by a Hhaha man, and not +improbably the people of Shedma had some plausible reason for making +this barbarous attack. + +Even before this piece of treachery of one Mussulman towards another at +the hour of prayer, the feuds seemed to have existed. It is a remarkable +circumstance in the history of Islamism, that many of the most +treacherous and sanguinary actions of Mahometans have been committed +within the sacred enclosures of the mosques, and at the hour of prayer. +One of the caliphs having been assassinated in a mosque, seems to have +been the precedent for all the murders of the kind which have followed, +and indelibly disgrace the Mussulman annals. + +These Hhaha and Shedma people are also borderers, and fight with the +accustomed ferocity of border tribes. + +Their conflicts are very desultory, being carried on by twos and threes, +or sixes and sevens, and with sticks, and stones, and other weapons, if +they cannot get knives, or matchlocks. Meanwhile, the Emperor folds his +arms, and looks on superbly and serenely. When the two parties are +exhausted, or have had enough of it for the present; his Imperial +Highness then interferes, and punishes both by fine. Indeed, it pays him +better to pursue this course; for, instead of spending money in the +suppression of factious insurrections, he gains by mulcting both +parties. The Sultan, in fact, not only aggrandizes himself by the +quarrels of his own subjects, but he profits by the disputes between the +foreign consuls and his governors. + +The imbroglio which took place some years since, between the Governor of +Mogador and the French Consul, M. Delaporte, is sufficiently +characteristic. An Algerine Mussulman, who was of course a French +subject, behaved himself very indecent, by setting all the usual rules +of Mahometan worship at defiance. This was a great scandal to the +Faithful. The Governor of Mogador, in defiance of religion, took upon +himself to punish a French Mussulman. The French Consul remonstrated +strongly in presence of the Governor, almost insulting him before his +people. The Sultan approved the conduct of his governor. The Consul +General decided that both parties ought to be removed, and the French +Government recalled their vice-consul. The Sultan, promised, but did not +dismiss his Governor, or rather the Governor himself would not be +dismissed. The French reiterated their complaints, which were supported +by a small squadron sent down to Mogador. The Governor was now +cashiered, and was besides obliged to pay the Emperor a fine of thirteen +thousand dollars, upon the pretext of appeasing the offended Majesty of +his royal master. So the Sultan always makes money by the misadventures +of his subjects. To indemnify the poor Governor for his fine, he +received soon after another appointment. On his return from Morocco, +having waited upon Mr Wiltshire regarding the presentation of the +Petition of the Anti-Slavery Society, the Vice-Consul explained the +great difficulty the Emperor had in receiving a petition which called +for an organic change in the social condition of the country, and that, +indeed, the abolition of slavery was "contrary to his religion." I then +represented to Mr. Willshire the propriety at least of waiting for the +arrival of the Governor of Mogador from Morocco, in order to have a +personal interview with him, to which the Vice-Consul acceded. + +The difficulties of travelling through Morocco; and of residing in the +inland towns have been already mentioned. + +In further proof, Mr. Elton related that, whilst the merchants visited +the Emperor in the, southern capital, a watch-maker, a European and a +Christian, asked permission of the Minister to dwell in the quarter of +the Moors, instead of that of the Jews, in which latter the Europeans +usually reside. + +The Minister replied, "you may live there if you like, but you must have +ten soldiers to guard you." Such a reply from the Minister, and whilst +the merchants were protected by the presence of the Emperor himself, is +all conclusive as to the insecurity attached to Europeans in the +interior towns. + +Morocco itself is a city of profound gloom, where the Moor indulges to +the utmost his taciturn disposition, and melancholy fatalism. It is, +therefore, not an enchanting abode for Europeans, who, whilst there +waiting on the Emperor, are obliged constantly to ride about to preserve +their health, or they would die of the suffocating stench in the Jew's +millah, or quarter. But, in taking this equestrian exercise, they are +not unfrequently insulted. An ungallant cavalier deliberately stopped +Mrs. Elton by riding up against her. + +The lady spurred her horse and caught with her feet a portion of his +light burnouse, dragging it away. He was only prevented riding after and +cutting her down, by one of the Emperor's secretaries, who was passing +by at the time. + +Mr. Elton had a fine black horse to ride upon. The populace were so +savage at seeing an infidel mounted upon so splendid an animal, that +they hooted: "Curse you, Infidel! dismount you dog!" + +These instances shew the sauciness of the vulgar, and are a fair example +of the conduct of the Moors. I am told by Barbary Jews, it would be next +to impossible for a Christian to walk without disguise in broad daylight +at Fez. Not so much from the hostility of the populace, as from their +indecent and vehement curiosity. However, in these cases, I am obliged +to give the testimony of others. Mr. Cohen, when travelling through the +interior, assumes the character of a quack doctor, the best passport in +all these countries. Practising as he goes, he manages to get enough to +bear his charges on the way. + +Oliver Goldsmith piped, but in Morocco the traveller and stranger +physics his way. To Europeans, Mr. Cohen gives this advice--"Never to +stay more than one night at any place." "Mr. Davidson," he says, +"stopped so long at Wadnoun, that all the Desert, as far as Timbuctoo, +heard of his projects and travels, and were determined to waylay and +plunder him." + +But, on the contrary, with respect to my own experience in the Desert, +the people appeared equally hostile or offended at my taking them by +surprise. Desert travelling after all is mostly an affair of luck. Six +travellers might be sent to Timbuctoo and three return, and three be +murdered, and yet the three who were murdered might have been as prudent +and as skilful as the three who were successful. The Maroquine +Government often shew a perfect Chinese jealousy of Europeans travelling +in the interior. When Doctor Willshire, brother of the Consul, returned +from Morocco, the Government gave orders that "he should be taken +directly to Mogador, and not be allowed to turn to the right hand or to +the left, to collect old stones or herbs." This lynx-eyed government +imagined they saw in Doctor Willshire's botanical and mineralogical +rambles, a design of spying out the powers and resources of the country. + +The consentaneous progress of Morocco in the universal movement of the +age, is argued by the merchants from an increased use of chairs, and +knives and forks. Some years ago, scarcely a knife and fork, or a chair +was to be found in this part of Morocco. Now, almost every house in the +Jewish quarter has them. The Jew of Barbary can use them with less +scruple than the orthodox Tory Moor, who sets his face like flint +against all changes, because his European brethren adopt them. Many +innovations of this domestic sort are introduced from Europe into North +Africa through the instrumentality of native Jews. Tea has become an +article Of universal consumption. It is, indeed, the wine of the +Maroquine Mussulmen. [20] Even in remote provinces, amongst Bebers and +Bedouins, the most miserable looking and living of people the finest +green tea is to be found. + +You enter a miserable looking hut, when you are amazed by the hostess +unlocking an old box, and taking out a choice tea service, cups, +saucers, tea-pot, and tea-tray, often of white china with gilt edges. +These, after use, are always kept locked up, as objects of most precious +value. The sugar is put in the tea-pot, and the Moors and Jews usually +drink their tea so sweet that it may be called syrup. But if any lady +tries the plan of melting the sugar while the tea is brewing in the +tea-pot, she will find the tea so prepared has acquired a different, and +not disagreeable flavour. + +Morocco has its fashions and manias as well as Europe. House building is +now the rage. They say it is not so easy for the Sultan to fleece the +people of their property when it consists of houses. Almost every +distinguished Moor in the interior has built, or is building himself a +spacious house. This mania is happily a useful one, and must advance the +comfort and sanitary improvement of the people. It is as good as a +Health of Towns Bill for them. + +The merchants having all returned from Morocco, I shall give some +account of their visit to the Emperor. The ancient rule of imperial +residence was, that the Sultan should sojourn six months in Fez, and six +months in Morocco, the former the northern, and the latter the southern +capital. This is not adhered to strictly, the Emperor taking up his +abode at one capital or the other, and sometimes at Micknos, according +to his caprice. He never fails, however, to visit Morocco once a year, +on account of its neighbourhood to Mogador, his much loved, and +beautiful commercial city. The Emperor himself, before his accession to +the throne, was the administrator of the customhouse of this city, where +he has acquired his commercial tastes and habits of business, which he +has cultivated from the very commencement of his reign. When the Emperor +resides in the South, he receives visits from the merchants of Mogador. +These visits are imperative on the merchants, if they are his imperial +debtors, or even if they wish to maintain a friendly feeling with his +government. Upon an average, the visits or deputations of merchants, +take place every three or four years; more frequently they cannot well +be, because they cost the merchants immense sums in presents, each often +giving to the value of three or four thousand dollars. In return, they +receive additional and prolonged credits. + +The number of Imperial merchants is about twenty, three of whom are +Englishmen, Messrs. Willshire, Elton, and Robertson. Most of the rest +are Barbary Jews. [21] + +There is a Belgian merchant who did not go with these. This gentleman, +owing nothing to the Emperor, preferred to pay duty on shipping his +merchandize, on which by payment of ready money, he gets 25 per cent +discount. This plan, however, does not enable him to compete with the +Imperial merchants, whose duties accumulate till they are years and +years in arrear. And when these arrears have gone on increasing till +there is no chance of payment, the Emperor, in order to keep up his +firms of enslaved merchants, will rather remit half or more of the debt, +in consideration of a handsome present, than encourage merchants to make +ready money payments. The largest debt owing by a single firm, is that +of a native Jew, viz., 250,000 dollars. The amount of the debt of the +united Mogador merchants is more than one million and a half of dollars. +The usual course of the merchants is to pay the debt off by monthly +instalments. + +As an instance of the Emperor's straining a point to keep solvent one of +his mercantile firms, on the occasion of the visit of the merchants to +Morocco, his Imperial Highness lent the house of Hasan Joseph (Jews) +10,000 dollars in hard cash, which, to my knowledge, were paid to them +out of the coffers of the Mogador custom-house. This was certainly an +instance of magnanimous generosity on the part of Muley Abd Errahman. +But the Emperor's genius is mercantile, and he is determined to support +his Imperial traders; and his conduct, after all, is only the +calculation of a raiser. + +It must be mentioned, however, to the honour of Mr. Elton, that on the +bombardment of Mogador, he and his lady were allowed to leave at once, +having paid up all their government debt. Indeed, the governor of that +place, was always accustomed to say to the collector of the returns of +the monthly payment of instalments: "Now, go first to Mrs. Elton; she +will be sure to have the money ready for you. And we must have money +to-day from some of the merchants." On another occasion, his Excellency +called the lady of Mr. Elton, "the best man amongst the merchants." Mrs. +Elton, being a vivacious, energetic lady, was often called "the woman of +the Christians." + +The following are the stations at which the merchants stop from Mogador +to Morocco, to visit the Emperor. + +1st. Emperor's Gardens; five hours from Mcgador, where are some fine fig +trees, and a spring. + +2nd. Aïn Omas. + +3rd. Seeshouar. + +4th. Wad Enfes. + +The country, for the first two days, is beautifully rural, scattered +over with noble Argan forests, on the third and fourth days, the journey +is through plains and an open country. On the second day, after leaving +Mogador, you obtain a distinct view of the great Atlas range at the back +of Morocco; on the fifth, as you approach the capital, the country is +overspread with wild date-palms, palmettos, or dwarf palms. The view of + + "Towering Atlas that supports the sky," + +now stands forth, vaster and more magnificent as you approach the +capital, and is the only feature of surpassing interest on the journey; +but it suffices to absorb all the attention of the traveller. As he +gazes on the giant mountain, which seems to support with its huge rocky +arms the frame-work of the skies, its head covered with everlasting +snow, he forgets the fatigue of his painful route under an African sun; +and, lost in pious musings, adores the Omnipotent being who laid the +foundation of this solid buttress. + +Halfway is called "the Neck of the Camel," where there is a well in the +midst of a scene extremely desert and dreary. Here all the donkeys of +the party of merchants died from want of water. The water of this well +is not permitted to be drunk by animals, in obedience to the solemn +Testament of the Saint who dug it. The poor horses and mules were tied +close up to the well, looking wistfully at the water when drawn for the +biped animals, and snuffing the scent; but they were not allowed to +taste a drop. Two horses broke loose and fought, their combat being +aggravated by thirst, "See!" cried the Moors to the merchants, "the +Saint is angry with you for having wished to give his water to horses." + +Our merchants, however, in defiance of the Saint (this invisible enemy +of the lower creation) and of his supporters, got a supply of water, +which during the night, and en marche the next day, they distributed to +their steeds. The accommodation on the way, and at the capital is very +bad, even the waiting-room near the palace, appropriated to the +Christians, is but an old dilapidated shed, with one of its sides +knocked out, or never filled in. "Everything," say our merchants, "is +going to rack and ruin in the capital. The Emperor will not even repair +his palaces, or the jealousies in which he keeps his women; money is his +only pursuit and his God." + +Their residence in the capital was very disagreeable, all being cooped +up in the Jews' quarter, and obliged to subsist on victuals cooked by +these people, which made certain of them unwell, for some of the Barbary +Jew's food is very indigestible. + +The presentation of the merchants to the Emperor was conducted as +follows: At nine in the morning, they were admitted into a garden in +presence of about two thousand imperial guards, all drawn up in file, +looking extremely fierce. Passing these bearded warriors, they were +conducted into a large square lined with buildings, where, after waiting +about five minutes, the gate of the palace was suddenly thrown open, and +the Emperor rode out superbly mounted on a white horse, followed on foot +by a group of courtiers. His Imperial Highness was attended by the +Governor of Mogador, who walked by his side. + +The first persons presented to the Shereefian lord were the officials of +Mogador, who were introduced by the Governor of that city; afterwards +came some Moorish grandees; then the Christians were presented, and +finally the Jewish merchants. The latter were introduced by the Governor +of Mogador, the Jews taking off their shoes as they passed before the +Emperor. One passed at a time, with his cadeau behind him, carried by an +attendant Jew. As the merchants moved on, his Imperial Highness asked +their names, and condescended to thank each of them separately for his +offering. + +The merchants carried in their hand, an invoice of their respective +presents, and gave it to the Governor, for the articles on their +delivery are not exposed before the eyes of the Sultan. To open the +budget would be a breach of good breeding, and would shock the Imperial +modesty. + +Fifteen merchants were introduced, and the ceremony of presentation +lasted about twenty minutes; this being concluded, the merchants were +permitted to perambulate the gardens of the Emperor, and to pluck a +little fruit. They were afterwards delayed a fortnight, waiting to +present a _cadeau_ to the Emperor's eldest son. Such are the details of +this journey, which I got from the merchants themselves. Mr. Willshire, +being a consul and great customer of his Imperial Highness, also +received a gift of a horse in exchange. The united value of the presents +to the Emperor, on this occasion, was fifty thousand dollars, which +amply indemnifies him for his money-lending, and the credit that he +gives. They consisted principally of articles of European manufactures. +His Imperial Highness afterwards sells them to his subjects on his own +account. Of course, amongst this mass of presents, there are many nice +things such as tea, sugar, spices, essences &c., for his personal +comfort and luxury, as well as for his harem, besides articles of dress +and ornament. + +It will not be out of place here, to give a brief account of the +commerce of Morocco. In doing so, we must take into consideration the +prodigious quantity of imports and exports, of which there are no +statistics in the Imperial custom-houses, and no consular returns. Let +us estimate the population of Morocco at its general compensation of +eight millions, and suppose that each spends a dollar per annum in the +purchase of European manufactures. This will raise the value of imports +at once to eight millions of dollars per annum. It is notorious that the +contraband trade of Tangier, and Tetuan, and the northern coast +generally doubles or trebles the commerce that passes through the +customhouse; but the legal trade is not well ascertained. + +Mr. Hay once sent, I believe, to the Agent of Mogador, a list of +questions to be answered by the consular department. The gentleman, who +was an unsalaried vice-consul, appalled at the number of +interrogatories, immediately replied, "That he had his own business to +attend to; he could not sit down to compose consular returns, which +would require weeks of labour; and if it were considered part of his +duties to answer such questions, he begged to resign at once his +vice-consulship." + +As to the Barbary Jews, who have charge of some of the vice-consulates, +they are necessarily incapacitated, by reason of their want of +education, for such an employment. It is, therefore, hopeless to attempt +to give any accurate account of the commerce of Morocco, I can only +annex a few details of those things of which we are actually cognizant. + +Whatever may be said of the indolent habits of the Moors, they were +once, and still are, a commercial people. Spain, the neighbour of +Morocco, still feels the loss of the Moors. They were the really +industrious classes settled in Spain. The merchants, the artists, the +operatives, and agriculturists unfortunately have left behind them few +inheriting their habits of perseverance. Little, indeed, can be expected +in Spain, where the maxim is adopted, that "nobility may lie dormant in +a servant, but becomes extinct in a merchant." Spain lost upwards of +three millions of intelligent and industrious Moors, a shock she will +never recover. + +The bombardment of a commercial city of this country would not do the +injury which is commonly imagined. The ports are numerous though not +very good. A single house or shed on the beach of Mogador, or Tangier, +is a sufficient custom-house for the Moors. There are no great deposits +of goods on the coast, for as soon as the camels bring their loads of +exports, these are shipped, and the camels immediately return to the +interior, laden with imported goods or manufactures. + +Mogador is the great commercial depôt of the Atlantic coast, and +therefore "the beautiful Ishweira, the beloved town," of Muley Abd +Errahman. Its trade is principally, however, with the south, the +provinces of Sous and Wadnoun, and the Western Sahara. Mogador is also +the bona-fide port of the southern capital of Morocco. Two-thirds of the +commerce of Mogador is carried on with England, the rest is divided +among the other nations of Europe; but of this third, I should think +France has one half. The port of Mogador has usually some half-a-dozen +vessels lying in it, but from twenty to thirty have been seen there. +They are usually sixty days discharging and taking in cargo. Each vessel +pays forty dollars port-dues, which must press very heavily upon small +vessels, but it is seldom that a vessel of less than one hundred tons is +seen at Mogador. The grand staple exports are only two, gum and almonds; +upon the sale of these, the commercial activity of this city entirely +depends. English vessels come directly from London, the French from +Marseilles; but so badly is this commerce managed that, at the present +time, Morocco produce is higher in Mogador than it is in London or +Marseilles; for instance, Morocco almonds are cheaper in London than +Mogador. + +Mazagan, and some few other ports, export produce direct to Europe, but +Tangier is the next commercial port of the empire. There is an important +trade in manufactures and provisions carried on between Tangier and +Gibraltar. The Fez merchants have resident agents in Gibraltar. Curious +stories are told of Maroquine adventurers leaving Tangier and Fez as +camel-drivers and town-porters, and then assuming the character and +style of merchants in Gibraltar, throwing over their shoulders a +splendid woollen burnouse, and folding round their heads a thoroughly +orthodox turban in large swelling folds of milk-white purity. + +In this way, they will walk through the stores of Gibraltar, and obtain +thousands of dollars' worth of credit. The merchant-emperor found it +necessary to put a stop to this, and promulgated a decree to the effect, +that "he would not, for the future, be responsible for the debts of any +of his subjects contracted out of his dominions." + +This was aimed at these trading adventurers, and the decree was +transmitted to the British Consul, who had it published in the Gibraltar +Gazette while I was staying in that city. Up to this time, the Emperor, +singularly enough, had made himself responsible for all the debts of his +subjects trading with Gibraltar. + +The trade in provisions at Tangier is most active, bullocks, sheep, +butcher's meat, fowls, eggs, game and pigeons, grain and flour, &c., are +daily shipped from Tangier to Gibraltar. The garrison and population of +Gibraltar draw more than two-thirds of their provisions from this and +other northern parts of Morocco. + +This government speculates in and carries on commerce; and, like most +African and Asiatic governments, has had its established monopolies from +time immemorial, of some of which it disposes, whilst it reserves others +for itself, as those of tobacco, sulphur, and cochineal. All the high +functionaries engage in commerce, and this occupation of trade and +barter is considered the most honourable in the empire, sanctioned as it +is by the Emperor himself, who may be considered as the chief of +merchants. The monopolies are sold by public auction at so much per +annum. On its own monopolies, government, as a rule, exacts a profit of +cent per cent. + +The following is a list of the monopolies which the Emperor sells, +either to his own employers or to native and foreign merchants. + +1. Leeches.--This is one of the most recently established monopolies, +dating only about twenty years back. The trade in leeches was set on +foot by Mr. Frenerry; it brought, at first, but a few dollars per annum, +and now the monopoly is sold for 50,000. Leeches are principally found +in the lakes of the north-west districts, called the Gharb. + +2. Wax.--This monopoly is confined almost exclusively to the markets of +Tangier and El-Araish. It sold, while I was in the country, for three +thousand dollars. + +3. Bark.--This is a monopoly of the north, principally of the +mountainous region of Rif. It is farmed for about sixteen thousand +dollars. + +4. The coining of copper money.--The right of coining money in the name +of the Emperor, is sold for ten thousand dollars to each principal city. +It is a dangerous privilege to be exercised; for, should the alloy be +not of a quality which pleases the Emperor, or the particular governor +of the city, the unfortunate coiner is forthwith degraded, and his +property confiscated. Indeed, the coiner sometimes pays for his +negligence, or dishonesty, with his head. + +5. Millet, and other small seeds.--This monopoly at Tangier is sold for +five hundred dollars. The price varies in other places according to +circumstances. + +6. Cattle.--The cattle exported from Tetuan, Tangier, and El-Araish, for +the victualling of Gibraltar, is likewise a monopoly; it amounted during +my stay to 7,500 dollars. In consequence of an alleged treaty, but which +does not exist on paper, the Emperor of Morocco has bound himself to +supply our garrison of Gibraltar with 2,000 head of cattle per annum, +1,500 of which must be shipped from Tangier, the rest from other parts +of the Gharb, or north-west. British contractors pay five dollars per +head export duty, the ordinary tax is ten. It is estimated, however, +that some three or four thousand head of cattle are annually exported +from Morocco for our garrison. The Gibraltar Commissariat contractors +complain, and with reason, that the Maroquine monopolist supplies the +British Government with "the very worst cattle of all Western Barbary." + +These monopolies do not interfere with the custom-house, which levies +its duties irrespectively of them. Leeches pay an export duty of 2s. 9d. +the thousand; wax pays an _ad valorem_ duty of fifty per cent; bark pays +a very small duty, and millet scarcely a penny per quintal. + +Independently of these monopolies, there are exports of merchandise of a +special character, and requiring a special permission from the Sultan, +such as grains and beasts of burden; and, if we may be permitted, +bipeds, or Jews and Jewesses. + +His Imperial Highness has absolute need of Jews to carry on the commerce +of the country. No male adult Jew, or child, can leave the ports of +Morocco, without paying four dollars customs duty. A Jewess must pay a +hundred dollars. The reason of there being such an excessive export-duty +on women is to keep them in the country, as a sort of pledge for the +return of their husbands, brothers or fathers, in the event of their +leaving for commercial or other purposes. Slaves are not exported from +Morocco. Besides the payment of special impost on exportation, wool pays +a duty of three dollars per quintal, and two pounds of powder when +dirty, and double when washed. A bullock pays export duty ten dollars, +and a sheep one. Sheepskins eight dollars the hundred, bullock-skins +three dollars per quintal, and goat-skins the same. Of grain, wheat pays +an export duty of three-fourths of a dollar per fanega, or about a +quintal. Barley is not exported, there being scarcely enough for home +consumption. + +Horses are exported in small numbers, by special permission from the +Emperor, A few years since when Spain threatened the frontier of +Portugal, the English Government found it necessary to come to the aid of +the latter country, and Mr. Frenerry was commissioned by our Government +to purchase of the Emperor five hundred horses for Portugal. + +His Imperial Highness called together his governors of cities, and +shieks of provinces, and after a long debate, it was unanimously decided +that so large a number of horses could not be sold to the Christians +without danger to the empire, whilst also, the transaction would be +contrary to the principles of Islamism. + +Should an individual wish to export a single horse, he would have to pay +sixty dollars, a duty which entirely amounts to a prohibition, many of +the boasted beasts not being worth twenty dollars. A mule pays forty, +and an ass five dollars. Mules are much dearer in Morocco and in other +parts of Barbary than horses. Camels are rarely exported, and have no +fixed import. + +The Queen of Spain, some time ago, solicited the Sultan for four camels, +and his Imperial Highness had the gallantry to grant the export free of +duty. + +There are several exports which are not monopolies. These are +principally from the south. The following are some of them. + +Ostrich feathers.--These are of three qualities; the first of which pays +three dollars per pound, the second quality one and a half dollars, and +the third, three-quarters of a dollar. Many feather merchants are now in +Mogador visiting at the feasts of the Jews, who reside in Sous and +Wadnoun, and have communications with all the districts of the Sahara. + +Elephants' teeth.--Ivory pays an export duty of ten per cent. During +late years, both ivory and ostrich feathers have lost much of their +value as articles of commerce. + +Gums.--Gum-arabic pays two dollars per quintal export duty, and gum +sudanic an ad valorem duty of ten per cent. But now-a-days only the very +best gum will sell in English markets; the inferior qualities, as of all +other Barbary produce, are shipped to Marseilles. One looks with extreme +interest at the beautiful pellucid drops of Sudanic gum, knowing that +the Arabs bring some of it from the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. + +Almonds.--Both the sweet and the bitter, in the shell, or the oil of +almonds, pay three dollars per quintal. Ship-loads at once are exported +from Mogador direct for Soudan. + +Red woollen sashes are exported at five dollars per dozen. The Spaniards +take a great quantity. Tanned skins, especially the red, or Morocco, are +exported at ten per cent, _ad valorem_. Slippers pay a dollar the +hundred. The haik or barracan is exported in great numbers to the Levant +by the pilgrims. The vessels, also, that carry pilgrims from Morocco, +return laden with these and other native manufactures. Barbary dried +peas are exported principally to Spain, paying a dollar the quintal. Fez +flour pays one dollar and a half per fanega; dates pay five dollars the +quintal; fowls and eggs, the former two dollars per dozen, the latter +two dollars per thousand; oranges and lemons pay a dollar the thousand. + +Gold is brought from Soudan over the Desert, and is sometimes exported. +I have no account of it, and never heard it mentioned in Morocco as an +article of any importance. + +Olive-oil is exported from the north, but not in great quantities. The +amount exported in a recent year was about the value of £6,000 sterling. +The olive is not so much cultivated in Morocco as in Tunis and Tripoli. + +Besides the articles above mentioned, antimony, euphorbium, horns, hemp, +linseed, rice, maize, and dra, orchella weed, orris-root, pomegranate +peel, sarsaparilla, snuff, sponges, walnuts, garbanyos, gasoul, and +mineral soap, gingelane, and commin seeds, &c., are exported in various +quantities. [22] + +It was reported in the mercantile circles, that representations would be +made to the Emperor to place the trade of the country upon a regular, +and more stable footing. All nations, indeed, would benefit by a change +which could not but be for the better. But I question whether his +Imperial Highness will give up his old and darling system of being the +sovereign-merchant of the Empire. It is not the interest of Great +Britain to annoy him, for we have always to look at Gibraltar. But it +would be desirable if Christian merchants could be found to undertake +the duty, to have all the vice-consuls of the coast Christians, in +preference to Jews. By having Jewish consuls, we place ourselves in a +false position with the Emperor, who is obliged to submit to the +prejudices of his people against Hebrews. British merchants ought to be +allowed to visit their own vessels whilst in port, to superintend, or +what not, the stowing or landing of their goods, as they are entitled to +do by treaty. Spanish dollars are the chief currency in Morocco; but +there are also doubloons and smaller gold coins. This currency, the +merchants manage very badly. A doubloon loses sixteen pence, or four +Maroquine ounces in exchange at Mogador, whilst at the capital of +Morocco, three days' journey from this, it passes for the same value it +bears in Spain and Gibraltar. + +As to the revenues of the Government of Morocco, our means of +information are still more uncertain and conjectural, than those we +possess regarding commerce. A French writer asserts, that the tithes +upon land assigned by the Koran and the capitation tax on the Jews, +produce from twenty to thirty million francs (or say about one million +pounds sterling) per annum. This, perhaps, is too large a sum. + +About a century ago, the revenues of Moocco were estimated at only +£200,000 sterling per annum. But if Muley Abd Errahman has fifty +millions of dollars, or ten millions sterling in the vaults of Mequinez, +he may be considered as the richest monarch in Africa, nay in all +Europe. It is positively stated that Muley Ismail left this amount, or +one hundred millions of ducats in the imperial treasury, which Sidi +Mahommed reduced to two millions. It may have been the great object of +the life of the present Sultan to restore this enormous hoard. No +country is rich or safe without a vast capital in hand as a reserve for +times of trouble, war, or famine. But it is not necessary that such +reserve should be in the hands of a government. + +This, a Maroquine prince cannot comprehend, and he decides as to the +riches and poverty of his country by the amount he possesses in his +royal vaults. + +In treating of trade, and comparing its exports with the peculiar +products and manufactures of the cities and towns, hereafter to be +enumerated, we may approximate to an idea of the resources of the +Maroquine Empire, but everything is more or less deteriorated in this +naturally rich country. + +Cattle and sheep, grain and fruits, are of inferior quality, owing to +the want of proper culture. No spontaneous growth is equal to culture, +for such is the ordinance of Divine Providence. Half of this country is +desert. The iron hand of despotic government presses heavily upon all +industry. If we add to this defective state of culture, the miserably +moral condition of the people, we have the unpleasant picture of an +inferiority civilized race of mankind scattered over a badly cultivated +region. Not all the magnificence of the glorious Atlas can reconcile +such a prospect to the imagination. But, unhappily, Morocco does not +constitute a very striking exception to the progress of civilization +along the shores and in the isles of the Mediterranean. Many countries +in Southern Europe are in a state little superior, and the Moorish +civilization is almost on a par with that of the Grecian, Sicilian, or +Maltese, and quite equal to Turkish advancement in the arts and sciences +of the nineteenth century. The only real advantage of the Turks over the +Moors consists in the improvements the former have made in the +organization of the army. Whoever travels through Morocco, and will but +open his eyes to survey its rich valleys and fertile plains, will be +impressed with the conviction that this country, cultivated by an +industrious population, and fostered by a paternal government, is +capable of producing all the agricultural wealth of the north and the +south of Europe, as well as the Tropics, and of maintaining its +inhabitants in happiness and plenty. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fetes and Feastings amongst the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + + +Notwithstanding the sarcasm of a French journalist that the French and +other Europeans consuls are "consuls des jusifs, et pour la protection +des jusifs," the French consuls both here and at Tangier, have real +power and influence with the Government. + +The Governor of Mogador, Sidi Haj El-Arby, arrived from Morocco. His +Excellency feared an attack from the Shedma and the Hhaha people, and +was obliged to have a strong escort. Not long ago, the Sultan himself +had a narrow escape from falling into the hands of a band of insurgents; +their object was to make their lord-paramount a prisoner, and extort +concessions as the price of his liberty. This will help us to form an +opinion of the want of sympathy between potentate and subjects in +Morocco. + +His Excellency brought an order from the Imperial despot to imprison the +late governor, if the balance of 6,000 dollars was not instantly +forthcoming, he having only paid nine out of the 15,000 demanded. The +late governor was confined in his house, instead of in the common +prison. It was said he was worth 30,000 dollars, but that he was afraid +to make too prompt a payment of the demand of the Emperor, lest he +should be called upon for more. However, his furniture, horses, and +mules were sold in the public streets; a melancholy spectacle was the +degradation of a former governor of this city. [23] + +The Moors look upon these things as matters of course, or with +indifference, quietly ejaculating, "It is destiny! who can resist?" but +the Moor, nevertheless, can clearly discern that wealth is a crime in +the eyes of their sovereign. I am not surprised at the present governor +absolutely rejecting all presents, and making the people call him by the +_soubriquet_ of "the Governor of _no_ presents," + +A short time after his appointment, a merchant having left his +Excellency a present during his absence from home, was immediately +summoned before him, when the following dialogue ensued:-- + +_His Excellency._--"Sir, how dare you leave a present at my house?" + +_The Merchant._--"Other governors before your Excellency have received +presents." + +_His Excellency._--"I am a governor of no presents! How much do you owe +the Sultan, my master?" + +_The Merchant._--"I--I--I--don't know," (hesitating and trembling) + +_His Excellency._--"Very well, when you owe the Sultan nothing, bring me +a present, and take this away, and make known to everybody, that Haj +El-Arby receives _no_ presents." + +The fact is, the Governor knows what he is about. Were his Excellency to +receive 16,000 dollars per annum as presents from the merchants of +Mogador, the Sultan would demand of him 15,999; besides, there is not a +merchant who makes a present that does not demand its value, a _quid pro +quo_ in the remission of custom-duties. Sidi-El-Arby is also a thorough +diplomatist, so far as report goes; he promises anybody anything; he +keeps all on the tiptoe of most blessed expectation, and so makes +friends of everybody. "To his friend, Cohen," he says, "I'll take you +back to my country with me, and make you rich; we are of the same +country." To Phillips, "You shall have a ship of your own soon." To the +merchants, "The Sultan shall lend you money whenever you want it." To +the Moors in general, "You shall have your taxes reduced." In this way, +his Excellency promises and flatters all, but takes very good care to +compromise himself with none. + +The frequented as well as the unfrequented spots are centres of +superstition. In the Sahara, by a lonely well, in the midst of boundless +sterility, where the curse on earth seems to have burnt blackest, a +camel passes every night groaning piteously, and wandering about in +search of its murdered master, so the tale was told me. Now, about two +day's journey from Mogador, there is also a well, containing within its +dank and dark hollow a perpetual apparition. At its bottom is seen the +motionless statue of a negress, with a variety of wearing materials +placed beside her, all made of fine burnished gold, and so bright, that +the dreary cavern of the deep well is illuminated. Whoever presumes to +look down the well at her, and covets her shining property, is +instantaneously seized with thirst and fever; and, if he does not expire +at once, he never recovers from the fatal effects of his combined +curiosity and avarice. People draw water daily from this well, but no +one dare look down it. + +Truth may be in this well! since there is a sad want of it on this, as +on other parts of the world. + +I was introduced to a Spanish renegade, a great many make their escape +from the presidios of the North. On getting away from these convict +establishments, they adopt the Mahometan religion, are pretty well +received by the Maroquines, and generally pass the rest of their days +tranquilly among the Moors. I imagine the better sort of them remain +Christians at heart, notwithstanding their public assumption of +Islamism. This renegade was a stonemason, whom I found at work, and he +was not at all distinguishable by strangers from the Moors, being +dressed precisely in the same fashion. I had some conversation with him, +which was characteristic of conceit, feeling and honour. + +_Traveller_--"How long have you escaped?" + +_Renegade._--"More than twenty years." + +_Traveller._--"Do you like this country and the Moors?" + +_Renegade._--"Better is Marruécos than Spain." + +_Traveller._--"Shall you ever attempt to return to Spain?" + +_Renegade._--"Why? here I have all I want. Besides, they would stretch +my neck for sending a fellow out of the world without his previously +having had an interview with his confessor." + +_Traveller._--"Are you not conscience-stricken? having committed such a +crime, how can you mention it?" + +_Renegade._--"Pooh, conscience! pooh, corazor!" + +Many of those wretched men have indeed lost their corazor, or it is +seared with a red-hot iron. + +Some hundreds of these Spanish convicts are scattered over the country, +but they soon lose their nationality. It is probable that, from some +knowledge of them, the Emperor presumed lately to call the Spaniards +"the vilest of nations," and yet at various times, the Maroquines have +shown great sympathy for the Spaniards. Some of these renegades were +found at the Battle of Isly in charge of field-pieces, where, according +to the French reports, they displayed great devotion to the cause of the +Emperor. + +When the governors of the convict settlements find too many on his +hands, or the prisons too full, they let a number of their best +conducted escape to the interior. The presence of those cut-throats in +Morocco may have something to do with such broils as the following, of +which I was a witness. Two fellows quarrelled violently, and were on the +point of sticking one another with their knives, when up stepped a third +party and cried out, "What! do you intend to act like Christians and +kill one another?" At the talismanic word of Eusara ("Christians, or +Nazareens,") they instantly desisted and became friends. The term +"Christian or Nazareen," is one of the most oppobrious names with which +the people of Mogador can abuse one another. + +The weddings and attendant feasts of the Jews are the more remarkable, +when we consider the circumstance of the social state of this oppressed +race in Morocco, their precarious condition, and the numberless insults +and oppressions inflicted on them by both the government and the people; +I was present at several of these weddings, and shall give the readers a +glimpse of them. I had read and heard a great deal about the persecution +of the Jews in Morocco, and was, therefore, not a little surprised to +meet with these continual feasts and festivals among a people so much +talked about as victims of Mussulman oppression. + +I find two sentences in my notes containing the pith of the whole. "The +Jews continued their feasts; about a third of their time is spent in +feasting." Again--"Amidst all their degradation, the Jew we saw to-day +recreating themselves to the utmost extent of their capacities of +enjoyment." It appears that during the time I was at Mogador there was +an unusual number of weddings, and then followed the feast of the +Passover. I think, whilst I was at Tangier, weddings or celebration of +weddings were going on every night. It may be safely asserted, that no +people in Barbary enjoy themselves more than the Jews, or more pamper +and gratify their appetites. What with weddings, feasts, and obligatory +festivals, their existence is one round of eating and drinking. These +feasts, besides, do not take place in a corner, nor are they barricaded +from public, or envious, or inquisitorial view, but are open to all, +being attended by Christians, Moors and Arabs. + +These wedding-feasts are substantial things. Here is the entry in my +journal of an account of them: "A bullock was killed at the house of the +bridegroom, tea and cakes and spirits were freely, nay universally +distributed there. The company afterwards went off with the bridegroom +to the house of the bride, where another distribution of the same kind +took place, whilst half of the bullock was brought for the bride's +friends. Here the bridegroom, in true oriental style, mounted upon a +couch of damask and gold. The bride, laden with bridal ornaments of gold +and jewels, and covered with a gauze veil, was led out by the women and +placed by his side. She was then left alone to sit in state as queen of +the feast, whilst the company regaled themselves with every imaginable +luxury of eating and drinking. Her future husband now produced, as a +present for his bride, a splendid pair of jewelled ear-rings, which were +held up amidst the screaming approbation of the guests. The Jewesses +present, were weighed down under the dead weight of a profusion of +jewels and gold, tiaras of pearls, necklaces of coral and gems, armlets, +wristlets and legets of silver gold and jet, with gold and silver +braided gowns, skirts and petticoats. + +This fiesta was kept up for seven days. Astonished at the profusion of +jewels worn by the various guests, I received a solution by a question I +asked, touching this mavellous circumstance. The greater part of the +jewels, worn on these occasions, are borrowed from friends and +neighbours; they must belong to some of the Jewish families, and their +quantity shews the great wealth possessed by the Jews living under this +despotic government, + +I assisted at the celebration of the nuptials of a portion of the family +of the feather merchants, a rich and powerful firm established in the +south for the purchase of ostrich-feathers. + +This was a wedding of great _éclat_; all the native Jewish aristocracy +of Mogador being invited to it. The festivities, beginning at noon, I +first entered the apartment where the bride was sitting in state. She +was elevated on a radiant throne of gold and crimson cushions amidst a +group of women, her hired flatterers, who kept singing and bawling out +her praises. "As beautiful as the moon is Rachel!" said one. "Fairer +than the jessamine!" exclaimed another. "Sweeter than honey in the +honey-comb!" ejaculated a third. Her eyes were shut, it being deemed +immodest to look on the company, and the features of her face motionless +as death, which made her look like a painted corpse. + +To describe the dresses of the bride would be tedious, as she was +carried away every hour and redressed, going through and exhibiting to +public view, with the greatest patience, the whole of her bridal +wardrobe. Her face was artistically painted; cheeks vermillion; lips +browned, with an odoriferous composition; eye-lashes blackened with +antimony; and on the forehead and tips of the chin little blue stars. +The palms of the hands and nails were stained with henna, or brown-red, +and her feet were naked, with the toe-nails and soles henna-stained. She +was very young, perhaps not more than thirteen, and hugely corpulent, +having been fed on paste and oil these last six months for the occasion. +The bridegroom, on the contrary, was a man of three times her age, tall, +lank and bony, very thin, and of sinister aspect. The woman was a little +lump of fat and flesh, apparently without intelligence, whilst the man +was a Barbary type of Dickens' Fagan. + +The ladies had now arranged themselves in tiers, one above the other, +and most gorgeous was the sight. Most of them wore tiaras, all flaming +with gems and jewels. They were literally covered from head to foot with +gold and precious stones. As each lady has but ten fingers, it was +necessary to tie some scores of rings on their hair. The beauty of the +female form, in these women, was quite destroyed by this excessive +quantity of jewellery. These jewels were chiefly pearls, brilliants, +rubies and emeralds. + +They are amassed and descend as heir-looms in families, from mother to +daughter. Some of the jewels being very ancient, they constitute the +riches of many families. In reverses of fortune, they are pledged, or +turned into money to relieve immediate necessity. The upper tiers of +ladies were the youngest, and least adorned, and consequently the +prettiest. The ancient dowagers sat below as so many queens enthroned, +challenging scrutiny and admiration. They were mostly of enormous +corpulency, spreading out their naked feet and trousered legs of an +enormous expanse. + +Several dowagers seemed scarcely to be able to breathe from heat, and +the plethora of their own well-fed and pampered flesh. We had now music, +and several attempts were made to get up the indecent Moorish dance, +which, however, was forbidden as too vulgar for such fashionable Jews, +and honoured by the presence of Europeans. Not much pleased with this +spectacle, I looked out of the window into the patio, or court-yard, +where I saw a couple of butchers' boys slaughtering a bullock for the +evening carousal. A number of boys were dipping their hands in the +blood, and making with it the representation of an outspread hand on the +doors, posts and walls, for the purpose of keeping off "the evil eye," +(_el ojo maligno,_) and so ensuring good luck to the new married couple. + +I then mounted the house-top to see a game played by the young men. +Here, on the flat roof, was assembled a court, with a sultan sitting in +the midst. Various prisoners were tried and condemned. Two or three of +the greatest culprits were then secured and dragged down to the ladies, +the officers of justice informing them that, if no one stepped forward +to rescue them, it was the sultan's orders that they should be +imprisoned. Several young Jewesses now clamourously demanded their +release. It is understood that these compassionate maidens who, on such +occasions, step forward to the rescue, and take one of the young men by +the hand, are willing to accept of the same when it may hereafter be +offered to them in marriage, so the contagion of wedding-feasts spreads, +and one marriage makes many. + +I now proceed to the supper-table of the men, where the party ate and +drank to gluttonous satiety. Several rabbis were hired to chant, over +the supper-table, prayers composed of portions of Scripture, and legends +of the Talmud. + +The dinning noise of bad music, and horrible screaming, called singing, +with the surfeit of the feast, laid me up for two days afterwards. The +men supped by themselves, and the women of course were also apart. + +My host, anxious that I should see all, insisted upon my going to have a +peep at the ladies whilst they were supping. Unlike us men, who sat up +round a table, because there were several Europeans among us, the women +lay sprawling and rolling on carpets and couches. + +In their own allotted apartments, these gorgeous daughters of Israel +looked still more huge and enormous, feasting almost to repletion, like +so many princesses of the royal orgies of Belshazzar. But this was a +native wedding, and, of course, when we consider the education of these +Barbary women, we must expect, when they have drink like the men, white +spirits for protracted hours until midnight, the proprieties of society +are easily dispensed with. Happily the class of women, who so kept up +the feast, were all said to be married, the maidens having gone home +with the bride. + +Very different, indeed, was another distinguished wedding at which I had +the honour of assisting, and which all the European consuls and their +families attended, with the _élite_ of the society of Mogador; this was +the marriage of M. Bittern, of Gibraltar, with Miss Amram Melek. The +bridegroom was the Portuguese Consul, the bride, the daughter of the +greatest Jewish merchant of the south, and consequently the Emperor's +greatest and most honoured debtor. The celebration of this wedding +lasted fourteen days. + +On the grand day, a ball and supper were given. All the Moors of the +town came to see the Christians and their ladies dance. Our musician, or +fiddler, kept away from some petty pique, and we were accordingly +reduced to the hard necessity of making use of a drum and whistling, +both to keep up our spirits and serve up the quadrilles. We had, +however, some good singing to make up for the disappointment. His +Excellency the Governor intended to have honoured us with his presence, +but he gave way to the remonstrance of an inflexible marabout, who +declared it a deadly sin to attend the marriages of Jews and Christians. + +The marriage guests were of three or four several sets and sorts. There +was the European coterie, the choicest and most select, graced by the +presence of the bride; then the native aristocrats, and here were the +gorgeous sultanas and Fezan spouses; then the lesser stars, and the +still more diminished. + +Finally, the "blind, the lame, and the halt," surrounded the doors of +the house in which the marriage-feast was held, receiving a portion of +the good things of this life. The whole number of guests was not more +than two hundred. Plenty of European Jewesses shone as bewitching stars +at this wedding; but all _param_ to us poor Christians. Indeed, there is +as little as no lovemaking, and match-making amongst the isolated +Nazarenes; for, out of a population of some fifty European families, +there are only two marriageable Christian ladies. + +The bride is frequently fetched by the bridegroom at midnight, when +there is a cry made, "behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye forth to meet +him!" (Matt xxv--6). This ancient custom prevails most among the Moors. +Once, whilst at Nabal, in Tunis, I was roused from my sleep at the dead +of the night by wild cries, and the discharging of fire-arms, attended +with a blaze of torches. The bridegroom was conveying his bride to his +home. A crowd of the friends of the newly-married couple, followed the +camel which carried the precious burden; all were admitted to the feast +in the court-yard, and the doors were shut for the night. + +At the wedding of the lower classes of the Jews, after dancing and +music, there is always a collection made for the bride, or the +musicians. On these occasions, the master of the ceremonies calls out +the names of the donors as they contribute to the support of the +festivities. I was somewhat taken by surprise to hear my name called +out, Bashador Inglez (English ambassador) when I attended one of the +weddings. But the fellow, making the announcement, attracted my +attention more than his flattering compliment. He was dressed in Moorish +costume with an immense white turban folded round his head. I could not +conceive the reason of a Moor taking such interest in feasts of the +Jews. + +The secret soon transpired. He was a renegade, who had apostatized for +the sake of marrying a pretty girl. His heart is always with his +brethren, and the authorities good-naturedly allow him to be master of +the ceremonies at these and other feasts, to preserve order, or rather +to prevent the Jews from being insulted by the Mahometans. + +There are always a few Jewish renegades in large Moorish towns, just +enough, I imagine, to convince the Mahometans of the superiority of +their religion to that of other nations; for whilst they obtain converts +from both Jews and Christians, and make proselytes of scores of Blacks, +they never hear of apostates from Islamism. The manner, however, in +which these renegades abandon their religion, is no very evident proof +of the divine authority of the Prophet of Mecca. Here is an instance. + +A boy of this town ran away from his father, and prostrated himself +before the Governor, imploring him to make him a Mussulman. The +Governor, actuated by the most rational and proper feeling, remarked to +the boy, "You are a child, you have not arrived at years of discretion, +you have not intellect enough to make a choice between two religions." +The boy was kept confined one night, then beaten, and sent home in the +morning. + +Another case happened like this when the boy was admitted within the +pale of Islamism. Jewish boys will often cry out when their fathers are +correcting them, "I will turn Mussulman!" A respectable Jew, who +related this to me, observed, "were I to hear any of my sons cry out in +this manner, I would immediately give them a dose of poison, and finish +them; I could not bear to see my children formed into Mussulman devils." + +It really seems the vulgar opinion among the Jews and Moors of this +place, that females have no souls. I asked many women themselves about +the matter; they replied, "We don't care, if we have no souls." A Rabbi +observed, "If women bear children, make good wives, and live virtuously +and chastely, they will go to heaven and enjoy an immortal existence; if +not, after death, they will suffer annihilation." + +This appears to be the opinion of all the well-educated. But a Jewish +lady who heard my conversation with the Rabbi, retorted with spirit: +"Whether I bear children or not, if my husband, or any man has a soul, I +have one likewise, for are not all men born of us women?" + +All, however, are well satisfied with this life, whatever may happen in +the next; male and female Jews and Mussulmen hold on their mutual career +with the greatest tenacity. I made inquiries about suicides, and was +told there were never any persons so foolish as to kill themselves. + +"We leave it to the Emperor to take away a man's life, if such be the +will of God!" and yet the Moors are habitually a grave, dreamy and +melancholy people. No doubt the light, buoyant atmosphere keeps them +from falling into such a state of mental prostration as to induce +suicide. + +I now found that many people looked upon me, in the language of the +Jewish renegade, as an ambassador, and some went so far as to say, "I +can make war with the Emperor if I like;" others persisted in saying "I +am going in search of the murdered Davidson." A man took the liberty of +telling Mr. Elton. "A very mysterious Christian has arrived from the +Sultan of the English. The Governor hearing that he had ordered a pair +of Moorish shoes, sent word to the shoemaker to be as long about them as +possible. This Nazarene is going to disguise himself as one of us, in +order to spy out our country." + +The Moors are certainly a timid and suspicious race. They feel their +weakness, and they are frightened of any Christian who does not come to +their country on commercial pursuits, as a sportsman, or in some +directly intelligible character. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Day and night side of the Mission +Adventure.--Phillips' application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes +on" before the Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, +Dannon, who was killed by the Government.--Order of the Government +against Europeans smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, +Governor of Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights +amongst the Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy +of troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.--European +Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + +I had an interview by special appointment with His Excellency the +Governor of Mogador regarding the address to be presented to the +Shereefian population from the Anti-Slavery Society. I may at once +premise that from what I heard of Mr. Hay's diplomatic powers and +influence with the Sultan, as well as the peculiar situation in which +Mr. Willshire was placed, encumbered with great liabilities to his +Highness' custom-house, I already abandoned all hopes of success, and +even thought myself fortunate in being able to obtain an interview with +the Governor of this commercial city. To have expected anything more, +would have been extremely unreasonable on my part, under such +circumstances. + +It will be as well if I give the address in this place. [24] Friday was +appointed, being a quiet day, and the Mussulman Sabbath, when His +Excellency had little business on hand. The Moors usually devote the +morning of their sabbath to prayer, and afternoon to business and +amusement. Our party consisted of myself, Mr. Willshire, the British +Vice-Consul, and Mr. Cohen as interpreter. + +About four o'clock P.M. we found the Governor quite alone, telling his +rosary of jet beads, squatting on his hams upon the floor of a little +dirty shop, not more than eight feet by six in dimensions, with a +ceiling of deep hanging cobwebs which had not been brushed away for a +century. + +A piece of coarse matting was spread over the ground floor, and a +sheepskin lay on it for his Excellency to repose upon, but no furniture +was to be seen. There was indeed an affectation of nakedness and +desolation. Pen and ink were placed by his side, and a number of +official papers were strewn about, with some letters bearing the seal of +the Emperor. This shop (or reception room) was situate in an immense +gloomy square; it was the only one open, and here were the only signs of +life. + +The Governor had forbidden any of his subjects to be present at the +audience, unwilling and afraid lest any should hear a whisper of the +question of abolition in the orthodox States of his Imperial Master. +Sidi Hay Elarby was an elderly man, with a placid and intelligent +countenance. His manners throughout the interview were those of a +perfect Moorish gentleman. The Governor could not be distinguished from +the people by his dress. He wore a plain white turban, plain burnouse +and a pair of common slippers. In such state, we found the the highest +functionary of this important city. + +His Excellency began by asking me how I was, and welcoming me to his +country. I then handed a written speech to the interpreter, who, being a +Jew, pulled off his shoes, and crouching down before the Governor, read +to him paragraph by paragraph. Each passage was further discussed and +replied to by the Governor with energy, nay with vehemence. The +interview lasted till dark--nearly two hours. + +The following is a copy of the written speech, which was read for the +purpose of introducing the Address, and supplying topics of +conversation. + +"May it please Your Excellency, the mission with which I am charged to +this country is to persuade his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of +Morocco, to co-operate in any way which his Imperial Majesty may deem +proper, with the people of England for the abolition of slavery. I am +sent to the Court of Morocco by a Society of English gentlemen, whose +object is to persuade all men, in all parts of the world, to abolish the +traffic in human beings, as a traffic contrary to the rights of men and +the laws of God. + +"In undertaking this mission, these gentlemen applied to the government +of our Sovereign Queen to furnish me with letters of recommendation to +the British Consuls of this country, the representatives of her Majesty +the Queen of England. Copies of these letters are in the possession of +Mr. Willshire. Those letters express strong sympathy for the objects of +the mission, and require the Consuls to give me their fullest +protection; and so far, our gracious Queen, the government, and the +English people, are all agreed that it is a good thing to address his +Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, to co-operate with and to +assist them in putting down the traffic in slavery in every part of the +world. + +"If the government of the Queen had thought that they should recommend +to your Excellency and your royal master anything contrary to your +religion, they could not have given me letters of introduction to their +consuls in this country. Rest assured that the English people believe it +to be agreeable to the doctrines and precepts of all religions to +abolish the traffic in human flesh and blood. + +"I pray, therefore, your Excellency to receive the petition, of which I +am the bearer, from the Society of English gentlemen. Our Government +have already spent three hundred millions of dollars, the money of the +people of England, to destroy the traffic in human beings; every day our +government continues to spend vast sums, adding to this enormous amount +for the same object of humanity. I am sure that, if your Imperial Master +value the friendship of England and the British government, if it be a +politic and good thing for Morocco to be allied with the most powerful +Christian nation in the world, the most certain way to conciliate and +found this alliance on a durable basis, is to cooperate with the people +of England for the abolition of the traffic in slaves, and graciously to +receive this address from the Society of Abolitionists in London. + +"We come not to your Excellency with force of arms--this could not be +just; we use only moral persuasion. Our religion disapproves of +compulsion in all such affairs. But I can assure your Excellency that +the English people will never cease, though all nations be against them, +as long as God Almighty holds them up as a people, to endeavour in every +possible way, to persuade and convince the world that the traffic in +human beings is a great crime." + +The Governor replied in these terms: "Your mission is against our +religion, I cannot entertain it or think of it, in any way whatever. If, +in other countries, the traffic in slaves is contrary to the religion of +those countries, in this it is not; here it is lawful for us to buy and +sell slaves. Mahomet, our Prophet, has authorized us to do this; but, at +the same time, our slaves must be fed and clothed like ourselves. If you +wish a proof of this, you can go and look at my slaves," (pointing to +his house). "To be holders of slaves, is a merit with us. + +"Your address ought to come directly from your Government, from your +Queen to our Sultan. It is not enough that it is recommended by your +Government. The European sovereigns are accustomed to act by the advice +of their counsellors and ministers; but the Sultan of Morocco always +acts without advice or councils. [25] If the address had come from the +Queen, it would have been received, and an answer would have been +returned accordingly. Then if your Government had been offended at the +answer of my master not agreeing with their opinion, they could have +taken their own satisfaction in any way they might have thought proper +(or have made war on us). + +"The money which you say the people of England have spent for the +suppression of the Slave Trade, has been, according to our opinion and +religion, misspent, and employed to destroy a system of which we +approve, and consider lawful. Still, I hope God will give your country +more money to spend, and in abundance. + +"The English people and the people of Morocco have been, from time +immemorial, great friends, proofs of which I can give you. The guns that +we get from other Christian nations, are never so good as those we get +from England. Besides, we always give the English whatever they ask for. +When the French were at war with Spain and wished to take Ceutra from +her, the English demanded from our Sultan, a small island near Ceutra, +to prevent the French from landing and seizing Ceutra. To this request, +my Sultan acceded; and to show you that the English are our particular +friends, the English gave the island back to us when the war was at an +end." + +Mr. Willshire now endeavoured to present the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society, praying his Excellency to accept it. + +On which, the Governor continued with his usual vivacity, "No; I am +sorry I cannot accept it; if I do, the Sultan must also, for now I act +as the Sultan. Indeed, I dare not receive the address, nor write to our +Lord [26] about it. Nor can I look at it, for in case the Sultan asks me +about it, I must swear that I have not touched nor seen the Address. If +I look at it, and then say I did not look at it, the Sultan will order +my tongue to be cut off from the roof of my mouth. + +"And further, O Consul! O Stranger! were our Lord to agree with your +Society, and abolish the traffic in slaves throughout his dominions, all +the people would rise up against him in revolt, and the Sultan would be +the first to have his head cut off. + +"Therefore, as a good and wise man, O Stranger--which you must be, or +you would not be entrusted with this mission--comply with the orders of +the Sultan's message, given to you by me and your Consul. + +"Any thing which you want for yourself or your private use, I will give +it you, even to the whole of this city of Mogador. But for myself I +cannot comply with the prayers of the address, or receive it from your +own or the Consul's hands." + +The message of the Sultan alluded to, was in substance to give up the +attempt of abolishing slavery in Morocco, and not to think of going to +the South, but to return at once to England. + +The Governor was greatly pleased with the sound of his own voice, and +the skill of his argumentations, and has the character of being a +loquacious and reasoning diplomatist. + +This was the public or day side of the mission; there was also the night +side; for where the curiosity of the Moor is excited, it must be +gratified, by fair or other means. It was not surprising, therefore, +that the wily Shereef should wish to know what this Address of an +English Society was, or could be; and if possible to obtain a copy, +although for the sake of the people it was found necessary to repudiate +altogether its acceptance. Accordingly, the next day, Cohen told me a +friend of the Emperor's was anxious to have some conversation with me, +and he begged me to take with me the Address. + +It was past ten at night, when alone, with my Moorish guide, I found +myself treading the long narrow streets of Mogador. + +The wind howled and the watch-dogs barked; it was so dark that we could +scarcely grope our way, no human being was about; we went up one street +and down another, stealing along our way; as if on some house-breaking +expedition; and I began to feel suspicious, fearing a trap might be laid +for me. Still, I had confidence in the honour of the Moors, I said to my +guide. + +"When shall we reach your master's?" + +_Guide_.--"God knows; be quiet!" + +We continued going through street after street. It was now bitter cold, +and a few drops of rain fell from the cutting wing of the north wind. + +To my Guide again. + +"Where is the house?" + +_Guide_.--"Follow me, don't talk!" After we had passed other streets, +"Is this the street?" + +_Guide_.--"Eskut! (hold your tongue)." + +We now entered a low dilapidated gateway, with a broken panelled door, +groaning on its hinges. + +Again I questioned my guide. "Who lives here?" + +_Guide_.--"Mahboul Ingleez (mad Englishman) hold your tongue! Do you +think we Mussulmans will eat you?" + +We passed through several court-yards, by the aid of a lantern, which +the guide found in a corner, and then entered a corridor. Here he +grasped me by the arm, in such wise as made me believe I was about to +have my head thrust through a bowstring. I ejaculated; "Allah Akbar! +Mercy upon us!" blending Arabic and English in my fright, and +struggling, fell with the guide against the door at the end of the +passage with a considerable crash. A voice was heard from within. +"_Ashbeek_ (what's the matter?)" My guide returned, "_Hale_ (open)." + +A huge negro now laid hold of me, and pulled me up a pair of narrow +stairs which led to a species of loft, in a detached portion of the +house. The case containing the Address fell out of my hands, and was +picked up by the guide. Another apartment within the loft was now +opened, shewing, through a dim and indistinct light, a venerable old +Moor, sitting in the midst of heaps of papers and books, like a midnight +astrologer, or a secret magician. On our entrance, the solitary Moor +raised his eyes, quietly, and said faintly, "Where is it?" My guide now +rushed in, began talking volubly, and made this harangue, thinking, +however, I could not understand him from the rapidity with which he +declaimed. + +"Sidi," he said, "this Christian is a frightened fool--and a _baheen_ +(ass)--I had the greatest trouble to get him here--he was frightened out +of himself--and now Allah! Allah! I have to take him back again." + +I received the compliment in silence, and endeavoured to recover my +tranquillity. But I could not help remarking the contrast between my +noisy and agitated guide, and the grave manner and immoveable quietness +of the recluse. The guide then handed him "the Address," and the Cid +opened the box or case with extreme caution, as if it had contained some +mysterious spell. The Cid now looked up for a moment at the big negro, +who decamped instantly and returned with a teapot and two cups. The two +cups were then filled with tea, one of which was presented to me, but I +had some hesitation about drinking it. The Cid, looked up at me with a +quiet smile, and gently muttered "_Eshrub_! (drink,") I drank the tea +and then waited anxiously to know what was coming next. The Cid +continued to unroll the Address. When this was done, he rolled it up and +again unrolled it, and stared at its Roman characters. He eyed the seal +and ejaculated, "_Haram_!" to himself! alluding, I suppose, to the +figure of the slave in chains, it being prohibited to make figures. The +Cid now paused a moment, then looked at me again, and finally turning to +the Guide said, "_Imshee El-Ghudwah_ (go to-morrow, I'll see.)" + +The guide now grasped me again by the hand, scarcely allowing me to bow +a good night to the Cid, and led me back to my lodgings, where I arrived +at midnight. When I awoke in the morning, I really imagined I had been +dreaming an ugly dream, until one of the English Jews called, and said +he was making a translation of the Address to be dispatched to the +Emperor at Morocco, and afterwards he would bring the Address back. The +Address was returned to me about a week afterwards, but whether an +Arabic translation was ever sent to the Sultan, I know no more than the +reader. + +Mr. Phillips has applied to the British Vice-consul to know whether, in +case of his going up to Morocco to carry a present for the Belgium +merchants, here, Phillips, being a Jew, will be obliged to pull off his +shoes, which would be depriving him of the rights of British-born +subjects, who stand with their shoes on in the Shereefian presence. The +Consul says he cannot answer the question, and must send a dispatch to +Mr. Hay. Mr. Willshire complimented Phillips: "Ah Phillips, you are +always proposing to me some knotty question. You profoundly perplex the +mind of Mr. Consul-general Hay." + +This leads me to notice the affecting case of the Israelite, Darmon, at +one time the French Vice-consul at Mazagran. This young Darmon was fond +of Moorish women, and always intriguing with them. Hay Mousa, Governor +of Mazagran, reported him to the Emperor, and his Highness sent orders +to have him decapitated. It was said afterwards by the Maroquine +Government, that "The order was merely to bring him to Morocco, and +that, when being conveyed as prisoner, and after attempting to run away, +the soldiers of his escort shot him." The Moorish Government also +pretend that Darmon attempted first to shoot the guards who shot him, in +self-defence. + +With regard to his being a French Consul, it is said by the French +Government, that he was not their consul at the time, having resigned. +It appears besides that members of his family are French, and others +Moorish subjects. Indeed, these Mauro-European Jews give great troubles +to the consuls; the various persons of a single family being often under +the protection of three or four consuls. It will thus be seen how full +of difficulties was this Darmon affair, and what a door it opened to +tedious Moorish diplomacy. The French Government arranged ultimately +with the Sultan a compromise, a sum of money being paid to the murdered +man's family, and the Governor of Mazagran was dismissed. + +When young Darmon fell into disgrace, his father, one of the Imperial +merchants, was at Morocco. The father inquired of the Minister whether +the Sultan would receive his present now his son had fallen into +disgrace. The cruelly avaricious tyrant deigned to accept it of the +father it is said, at the very moment when the order to decapitate his +son had been sent to Mazagran. No doubt it was a barbarous action, but +the extreme imprudence of the young man provoked the government to +extremities. The court was so irritated at the time, that it even issued +an order to place all Jews, natives, foreigners, or Europeans upon the +same level of exposure to Moorish insult and oppression. Speaking to Mr. +Willshire about this order, he smilingly observed: "Say nothing, it will +soon be forgotten." The government never intended to carry it out. Years +ago, the Emperor gave orders that Jews coming from European countries +should be placed on the same footing as native Jews, but the Imperial +edicts were unnoticed. + +A curious order was given about smoking some time ago in this city. It +was represented to the Governor that during Ramadan, Kafer-Nazarenes +went about smoking, occasioning the Faithful to sniff up the smoke, and +so break the Holy Fast. The Christians were likewise accused of going +near the mosques to fill them with filthy smoke. + +The Governor, in a circular, begged of the Consuls to prohibit their +countrymen, or "subjects," from smoking in the streets. The French +Consul considering this a police regulation, summoned together the +French subjects, and begged of them to comply with the non-smoking +order. Mr. Willshire took no notice of the affair, knowing it would soon +pass over. + +Mr, Willshire is a veteran in Morocco, and understands the genius of its +government. He considers the _laissez faire_ system the very best, and +this is all very well, provided the Sultan respects the heads of Her +Majesty's subjects. + +Haj Mousa, Governor of Mazagran, who was mixed up with the Darmon +affair, deserves notice from his brutal ferocity towards Europeans. With +great difficulty and damage to their lives, Europeans reside in +Mazagran, and it is not therefore surprising that the imprudent Darmon +fell into the clutches of this provincial tyrant, who probably ensnared +him as a prey. Up to the time of this affair, Haj Mousa had been an +irremoveable governor. The Sultan himself never attempted to displace +him, although he had committed, from time to time, the greatest +enormities. Other governors had been bled, fleeced, and impaled over and +over again; but the caitiff, Haj, always remained in possession of the +fruits of his tyranny. + +The reason for this tolerant conduct of the Emperor towards him is, that +when Muley Abd Errahman was in difficulties and obliged to fly for his +life, in the convulsions previous to his reign, Haj Mousa sent the young +prince a mule and thirty ducats; with this, the prince was enabled to +escape, and he saved his life to be afterwards proclaimed +Meer-el-Moumeneen. On receiving the mule and money, he exclaimed in a +transport of gratitude to the Governor of Mazagran, "I will never forget +you!" It is unfortunate the good faith of the Emperor's word has been so +deplorably abused by this tyrant, for it is considered certain, that +though temporarily removed from Mazagran, he will return, or be made +governor of another city. + +A Sous Jew called upon me one day, who is well acquainted with the +Shelouh or, Berber of the South. On asking if he would make a +translation of the book of Genesis from Hebrew into Shelouh, he replied: + +"No, I cannot. In the first place, the Emperor would cut off my head for +doing such a thing; and, again, it would be a sin to convert the Holy +Hebrew character into such a language of Infidels." + +We continued our discussion on a more practical subject. + +_Traveller_ (to the Jew)--"I am told that among you, Jews of Morocco, it +is a merit to rob us Christians and the Moors. Your young children are +even praised by their mothers if they commit a theft without being found +out: [27] is this right?" + +_The Jew_.--"You are all _Goyeem_ [28] (Gentiles), but it is not true +that we rob you, Christians. If we rob Mussulmen, it's because they rob +us first." + +The case really is, the Jews are literally being robbed every day by the +Moors one way or the other, and, if the people do not rob them, the +constituted authorities continue to make exactions under every pretence. +I am inclined, nevertheless, to think, without prejudice, that it is a +received maxim with _all native_ Barbary Jews, "to rob unbelievers, +Moors and Christians, when you can do so _safely_." This was the opinion +which a very respectable European Jew, resident in Tunis, entertained of +his brethren. At the same time, Ihere are numerous exceptions. + +Many of the lower classes of Moors likewise, think there is little or no +harm in robbing Jews and Blacks, that is, all who are Infidels and +Christians. + +I may mention, in connection with the above, the system of +False-Weights, which is an enormous scandal to this great commercial +city. It appears that almost every tradesman, and every imperial +merchant have two sets of weights, one to buy and another to sell with. +A merchant once had the impudence to cry out to his clerk when weighing, +"Oh, you are wrong, these are my _selling_ weights; bring me my _buying_ +weights. Am I not buying?" + +A Jew, once purchasing oil from a poor Arab, carried his villainy so far +as actually to make his tare and tret weigh more than the skin-bag when +full of oil, and coolly told the amazed Arab he had no money to give him +for the value received. "Give me back my oil!" cried the Arab. At this +the audacious Jew retorted, "There is none!" A European merchant +interfered, and saved the Jew from the bastinado he so richly deserved. +A Kady hearing of these abominations, took upon himself to begin a +reform, and went about examining weights. For his honest pains, and, in +the midst of his work of reform, the officious functionary received an +order from the Sultan, enjoining him to cease his interference, and +condemning him, as a punishment for his over-righteousness, "_to teach +twelve little boys to read every day, and not to sit at his own door for +the space of one year_." So unthankful, so odious is the task of +reforming in Morocco and many other countries. + +This account of the abominable system of two kinds of weights, I derived +from most unquestionable authority, otherwise I could not have given +credit to the statement. + +There were incessant rumours of war from the North. The Emperor had got +himself into difficulties with Spain and France. Orders had been sent +down to reinforce this garrison and that of Aghadir. The day before, the +Governor, calling his troops before him, did not shew his usual good +sense and prudence. He thus harangued them:--"Now, let those who want +new arms come and take them, and bring back the old ones. Let all have +courage, and fear not the Christians; fear not, women and children!" +The movement of troops was part of a general measure, extending to all +the coasts, and was, in fact, a review _en masse_ of the disposable +forces throughout the empire. Eighty thousand men were expected in this +city or the suburbs. The Sultan was reported to be on the march towards +the North with an army of 200,000 men. + +The Sultan did not expect to make use of his new levies, but the policy +of the thing was good. His Highness is evidently a pacific ruler, he has +but few regular troops, and he pays them badly. His predecessor had a +large army and paid them well. + +Great discontent prevailed among the soldiers, and the Emperor never +feels himself secure on his throne. + +This apparent crusade against the Infidels has no doubt tended to make +him popular, and to consolidate his power. True, it excited the tribes +of the interior against the Christians, but it was better to inflame +them against the Christians than to lose his own throne. + +The French Consul waited upon the Governor for explanations about the +movements of the troops. His Excellency observed, "I am ordered by my +Sultan to defend this city against all assailants, and I shall do so +till I am buried beneath its ruins. Though all the coast-cities were +captured, Mogador should never be surrendered." + +Some of the credulous Moors said, "The Shereefs will come from Tafilet, +led on by our Lord Mahomet, and destroy all the cursed Nazarenes. The +Sheerefs will fire against the French leaden balls, and silver balls." +Another observed to me, "If a fleet should come here, it will be +immediately sunk, because our Sultan has ordered every ball to hit, and +none to miss." + +This is not unlike what a Turk of Tripoli once said to me about the +Grand Signor and his late reforms. "The Turks will soon be civilized, +because the Sultan has given an order for all the Turks to be +civilized." The large guns of the forts were practised, and the guns of +the grand battery loaded. The infantry continued to practise on the +beach of the port: their manoeuvres were very uncouth and disorderly, +they merely moved backwards and forwards in lines of two deep. The +French Consul, Monsieur Jorelle, discontinued his usual promenade, to +prevent his being insulted, and so to avoid the the painful necessity of +demanding satisfaction. + +Mr. Willshire, being well known to the Mogador population, had not so +much to fear. Here is the advantage of a long residence in a country. +The French Government lose by the frequent changing of their consuls. +Still, M. Jorelle was right in not exposing himself to the mob, or the +wild levies who had come from their mountains. The fault of the Governor +was, in exciting the warlike fanaticism of the tribes of the interior +against the Christians, which he ought to have known the city +authorities might have extreme difficulty in keeping within bounds. No +European could pass the gates of the city without being spat upon, and +cursed by the barbarous Berbers. + +I paid a visit to M. Authoris, the Belgium merchant, and the only +European trader carrying on business independently of the Emperor. He +represented the commerce of the country to be in a most deplorable +condition. "There is now nothing to buy or sell on which there is a gain +of one per cent. The improvidence of the people is so great that, should +one harvest fail, inevitable famine would be the result, there not being +a single bushel of grain more in the country than is required for daily +consumption. Nor will the people avail themselves of any opportunity of +purchasing a thing cheap when it is cheap; they simply provide for their +hourly wants. They act in the literal sense of 'Take no thought for the +morrow, but let the morrow take care of itself.' As to the Jews, they +feast one day and fast the next." With regard to the excitement then +existing, M. Authoris observed. "This Government, on hearing rumours of +Spanish and French expeditions against the country, must naturally make +use of what power it has, the Holy War power, to excite the people in +their own defence. The Moors cannot discriminate Gazette intelligence. +When a worthless newspaper mentions an expedition being fitted out +against Morocco, the Emperor immediately sees a fleet of ships within +sight of his ports, and hears the reports of bombarding cannon." The raw +levies of Shedmah and Hhaha continued to enter the town, but only a +small number at a time, lest they should alarm the inhabitants. They +went about, peeping into houses, and wherever a door was open they would +walk in, staring with a wild curiosity. + +I had some conversation with my Moorish friends respecting the abolition +of slavery. An old doctor observed, "The English are not more humane +than other nations, but God has decreed that they should destroy the +slave-trade among the Christians. This, however, is no praise to them, +for they could not resist acting according to the will and mind of God. +As for the Mussulmen, what they do is for the benefit of slaves, +especially females, who, one and all, are doomed to death; [29] but, +when purchased by the slave-dealers, their lives are spared, and they +are made True Believers. Still, the Mussulmen would assist the English +in destroying the ships which carry slaves;" (as if the Moors had any +fleet). + +The number of slaves in this city is from eight hundred to one thousand. +It is difficult to ascertain any thing like the exact number, the +opulent Moors having many negress slaves, with whom they live in a state +of concubinage. Young, rich, and fashionable Moors, I was told for the +first time in a Mahommedan country, have become disgusted with the old +habit of managing and taking a wife early, and adopt the immoral +practice of buying female slaves, by which they avoid, as they say, the +trouble and expense of marrying females of their own rank in Moorish +society. A good Mussulman must however, marry once in his life. Slaves +are imported viâ Wadnoun from Timbuctoo and Soudan, and even from the +western coast. Negroes of the Timbuctoo market are more esteemed than +those of Guinea, being a stronger and more laborious race. The common +price of a slave in Mogador is from 60 to 90 ducats; one day a beautiful +African girl, freshly exported from the interior, was sold for 160 +ducats, or about £20 sterling. This is considered an extraordinary high +price. + +Slaves are sold by criers about the streets in Morocco, and most towns, +and not in bazaars, as in the East. But the most remarkable feature of +slavery in this part of the world, is the Christian or European slavery +carried further south, in the regions extending on the line of coast +below Wadnoun, and the adjacent Sahara. Something like a regular system +of Christian slavery is there going on, whilst its head-quarters are not +more than five or six days' journey from this residence of the European +Consuls. This white slavery consists in seizing shipwrecked sailors, +numbers being fishermen from the Canary Islands. We know little about +these poor captives, although we are so near Wadnoun, and are +continually trading with Sous and this country. Mr. Davidson casually +mentions them in his journal. + +It is a settled and religious practice of merchants to keep Europeans +ignorant of the south and the Desert; we only hear of these captives now +and then, when one escapes, and after being bought and sold by a hundred +different masters, is fortunate enough to be redeemed; of his companions +in shipwreck, the escaped captive rarely knows anything. They are gone: +they are either drowned near the coast, plundered and massacred, or +carried far away into the Desert, and perhaps for ever. Formerly vessels +navigated through the channel (if it may be so called) of the Canary +Islands and the Wadnoun coast, by which they often got on shoal water, +and were cast away; in this manner, whites were enslaved. Happily now, +masters of vessels have become acquainted with this dangerous coast. +They pass to the east of the Canaries, and fewer vessels are shipwrecked +hereabouts. + +The Spanish fishermen of the Canaries are chiefly now made captives. +These poor people are either seized when becalmed near the coast, or +captured on being cast on shore by the furious trade-winds, which sweep +these desolate shores (often nine months out of twelve) and carry utter +destruction with them. The wild and wandering Bedouins in bad weather, +with the true storm scent of the wrecker, patiently watch the coasts, +pouncing on their prey, with the voracity of the vulture, as it is +thrown up from the deep, along the inhospitable shore. Having got the +shipwrecked men in their possession, they act with the cunning and +avarice of slave-dealers, and are aided by the still craftier Jews, who +always render it very difficult for the consular agents to redeem these +unhappy captives. For although a Jew, by the Mahometan law, cannot +purchase slaves, yet by buying them-through Mussulmen, who share in the +profits, from the Arabs who first seized the captives, the slaves are +frequently kept back months in the Desert, being parted from one another +before they can be ransomed. + +Sometimes the Arabs alluringly question their captives to see if they +understand any mechanical arts, which are greatly esteemed, being very +useful in these almost tenantless regions; and should they discover that +they do, they carry them away into hopeless captivity, through the wilds +of the Desert, refusing to sell them at any price or offer of ransom. +But those who cannot, or will not make themselves useful, are generally +redeemed by the Mogador Consuls, should they escape being massacred in +the quarrels of the Arabs for the booty when they are first captured. + +There is, at the present time, a Spanish fisherman near Wadnoun, waiting +to be redeemed. The Arab Sheikh who holds him, demands two hundred +dollars for his redemption. Mr. Wiltshire objects to the price, as being +too much. Besides this, he is afraid to advance any money for a Spanish +captive's release, lest it should never be refunded. The Spanish +Government, representing a people so chivalrous in bygone times, and so +proud of their ancient exploits over the Moors of this very country, are +not now-a-days over zealous in redeeming their countrymen held in +bondage by these people. Mr. Willshire ransomed a Spanish boy, and +waited several years before he could get this imbecile Government to +refund the money. Espartero at last, however, interfered authoritatively +for the repayment to our generous consul. + +In the present case of the poor fisherman, the captive Spaniard lingers +between hope and fear, his only protection being the avarice of his +master, who, like all slave-dealers, is willing to take care of him as +he takes care of his horse. He is one out of four, the other three +having been massacred by the Arabs, or perished on the coast. But, at +present, we know nothing certain of this, although but a few days' +journey from the scene where the disaster took place--so miserable are +our means of information for enabling us to put an end to this system of +Christian slavery. Certainly some representations should be made to the +Emperor, who pretends to have jurisdiction over Wadnoun, and the +adjacent countries, that these captives may be delivered up to the +Consuls of Mogador. A fair remuneration might be given to the persons +bringing them safely to this town. + +I am told, the Ironmongers' Company of London have at their disposal +funds for the liberation of such British captives as are enslaved in +Southern Morocco. This money was left by a merchant who himself was made +a slave there; and since that time, owing to the few British captives +redeemed, it has increased to an enormous amount. Not knowing what to do +with the money, the Company, it is said, are about to petition +Parliament to build a school with a portion; but I should suggest that +it would be more in accordance with the original object, and declared +intention of the benevolent, donor, were this large surplus fund devoted +to the redemption of all other Christian captives, of whatever nation or +country. Because two hundred dollars are not forthcoming which could +easily be supplied from the Ironmongers' Company's funds, a poor +Spaniard is condemned to a cruel and hopeless slavery, wandering in the +wilds of the great African wilderness. It is impossible to tell the +number of Christian slaves who perish in the South of Morocco. Many of +the Consular agents of this city are as ignorant of the country as +persons residing in London. This subject absolutely demands the +attention of the governments of Europe. Our humanity and civilization +are in question. + +The opinions of the Jews here, are the same as those of American +slave-holders, with this slight difference, that they consider it right +to make slaves of white men and Europeans, as well as of black men, +negroes, and Africans, in which idea they are more consistent than their +Yankee men-selling brethren. + +As there are many Barbary Jews at Mogador, more or less under British +protection, I took the liberty of reminding them of their liabilities as +British subjects, by circulating among them copies of Lord Brougham's +Act. + +I had some conversation with Rabbi-El Melek and other Jews about the +question of abolition, + +_Traveller_.--"What is the opinion of the Jews of this country on the +matter of slavery?" + +_Rabbi-El-Melek._--"I will show you," (taking the Hebrew Bible he read) +"'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his +brethren.'" + +_Traveller._--"Admitting the curse pronounced here was right, that Ham +and Canaan were the progenitors of the African negroes, and that the +curse was to be extended to all generations of Africa--are these reasons +why the all-Merciful Deity will hold man guiltless who enslaves and +maltreats poor Africans? Now, the Jews have been dispersed all over the +world, and maltreated, if not enslaved, by both Christians and +Mahometans (as now) according to prophecy, but will God hold us +guiltless for persecuting or maltreating you, Jews?" + +_The Rabbi_.--"But we are the slaves of God, not of you Christians, and +besides, we are commanded to treat well our slaves in the Scriptures." +Here he quoted many passages from the Pentateuch. + +Then followed a desultory conversation, some asserting "that inasmuch as +the slavery of the whites was permitted by God, how much more right had +they to enslave blacks who were the servants of servants!" Others even +added, "If we were Sovereigns of Morocco, we should make slaves of both +Mahometans and Christians." This indeed is the genuine feeling of +Barbary Jews; oppression begets oppression, and wrong begets revenge. +Another observed, "If you ask me what I think as a British subject, and +not as a Jew, I will give you my opinion against slavery." + +Such distinctions in morals are not easily admissable, but the Jews +there are acute enough to make them, and are as good Jesuits as those of +Rome. Some cited the cavtivity of Joseph us, as a reason for carrying on +the slave-trade. + +On another occasion, I had a conversation with Hassan Yousef, the High +Priest, or Archbishop, as Captain Phillips calls him. The Chief Priest +acknowledged that he who stole a man, whether white or black, was +condemned to death, according to the fair interpretation of the Mosaic +law. He and all Jews were much astonished at the tenor of Lord +Brougham's Act, and got not a little frightened; for all the merchants +of Mogador, Christians and Jews, more or less aid and abet the +slave-trade, all having connections with slave-dealers. At length, our +Jewish Archbishop opined. "Well, well, it is better now, since the +Christians have put down slavery in most of their countries, that we +Jews should follow their example." + +It would be useful, and might subserve the cause of civilization, were +the Jews of Europe to take some means of enlightening their brethren of +North Africa on the question of slavery. The Israelites, who have +suffered so much from slavery and oppression, after becoming free +themselves, should endeavour to emancipate those who are still in the +chains of bondage. + +The Hhaha levies were about to return to their country; the disposable +force of this province is about 70,000. The troops from Shedma were to +come in after the departure of those of Hhaha. Government were afraid to +bring both together, lest they should fight among themselves. Alluding +to the quarrel of their Sultan with the French, these hostile tribes +mutter to each other, "We must kill our own French first;" that is to +say their own "hereditary enemies." + +I went out to see the two levies. These tribes had a singularly wild and +savage aspect, with only a blanket to cover them, which they wrap round +and round their bodies, having neither caps on their heads, nor shoes on +their feet. They were greatly excited against the Christians, owing to +the foolish conduct of the Moorish authorities. The lawless bands spat +at me, and every European passing by them, screaming with threatening +gestures, "God curse you! Infidels." These semi-savages, called out for +the defence of the Empire, were merely armed with a bad gun or +matchlock; some had only knives and clubs. Such levies are certainly +more fit to pillage the Emperor's coast-towns than to defend his +territory against the foreign enemy. + +These poor tribes bring their own provisions, a little barley meal, and +olive or argan-oil, or liquid butter; on this being exhausted, they +could stay no longer, for Government supplies them with nothing but bad +matchlocks. + +They were loud in their complaint on not receiving any nations, and +threatened to join the French Nazarenes when they arrived. His +Excellency the Governor was very anxious to get rid of them, which was +not at all surprising. So avaricious is the Emperor, that when he can, +he makes the rich Moors supply arms for their poorer brethren, instead +of furnishing them from government depôts. And this he insists upon as a +point of religion. The Governor called upon rich Moors to supply the +poor with arms. + +A friend of mine who understands Shelouh as well as Arabic, overheard a +characteristic quarrel between a Shedma man and a Hhaha man. The Shedma +people, or inhabitants of the plains, mostly speak Arabic, those of the +mountains, Shelouh, which difference of language embitters their +quarrels, and alienates them from one another. + +Shedma man.--"Dog! you have put your hands of the devil into my bag of +barley." + +Hhaha man.--"Dog and Jew, you lie!" + +Shedma man.--"Jew and Frenchman! there's some one now in your wife's +tent." + +Hhaha man.--"Religion of the Frenchman! your mother has been +dishonoured a thousand times." + +The maternal honour is the dearest of things amongst these +semi-barbarians. At the mention of this libel on his mother, the Shedma +fellow rushed at the Hhaha man, seizing him by the throat, and +unsheathed a dirk to plunge into his bowels. The scuffle fortunately +excited the instant attention of a group of Arabs close by, who, +securing both, carried them before the Shiekh; who, without hearing the +subject of the quarrel, bastinadoed them both with his own hand. But he +was the Hhaha Sheikh, and the Shedma Sheikh complained to the Governor +of his man having been bastinadoed by the other Sheikh. The Governor +dismissed them, each threatening the other with due vengeance. + +It is time to give some account of Mogador. We sometimes spell the name +with an e, Mogadore, the inhabitants call their town _Shweerah_. Square, +[30] in allusion to its beauty, for it is the only town constructed +altogether on geometrical principles throughout Morocco. Its form, +however, is really a triangle. Mogador is a modern city, having been +built in the year 1760 of our era, by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed, under +the direction of a French engineer of the name of Cornut, who was +assisted by Spanish renegades. + +The object of Sidi Mahommed was to found a central emporium of the +commerce of the Empire, and a port for the southern capital (Morocco). +This town belongs to the province of Hhaha, whose Berber tribes are its +natural defenders. + +The site is a sandy beach with a rocky foundation or a base on the sea, +forming a peninsula, and is supposed to be the ancient Erythraea. The +houses are regularly built, with streets in direct lines, extremely +convenient though somewhat narrow. The residences of the consuls and +European merchants are elegant and spacious. There is a large +market-place, which, on days when the market is not held, furnishes a +splendid parade, or "corso" for exercising cavalry. + +The city is divided into two parts; one division contains the citadel, +the public offices, the residence of the governor, and several houses +occupied by European consuls and merchants, which are all the property +of the Sultan; and the other is the space occupied by the houses of the +Moors and Jews. + +The Jews have a quarter or _willah_ to themselves, which is locked up +during the night, the key being kept by the police. Nevertheless, +several Jews, especially Imperial traders, are allowed to occupy houses +in the Moorish quarter or citadel portion of Mogador, with the Christian +merchants. + +Both quarters are surrounded by walls, not very thick or high, but which +are a sufficient protection, against the depredations of the +mountaineers, or Arabs of the plain. The port is formed by a curve in +the land and the isle of Mogador, which is about two miles from the +mainland. + +This isle, on the verge of the ocean, contains some little forts and a +mosque, and its marabout shrines sparkle in the sun. It is a place of +exile for political offenders. When the French landed, at the +bombardment of Mogador, they released fifty or sixty state prisoners, +some of whom had been Bashaws, or ministers of this and former reigns. +The isle, however, is finely situate off the Atlantic, fanned and swept +by healthy gales, and the prisoners suffer only seclusion from the +Continent. The exiles never attempt to escape, but quietly submit to +their destiny. + +In the port, there are only ten or twelve feet of water at ebb tide, so +that large vessels cannot enter, but must lie at anchor a mile and a +half off the Western battery, which extends along the north-western side +of the port. Such vessels do not lie there except in the summer months, +and then with extreme caution, being, as they are, right off in the +Atlantic, on one of its most dangerous coasts. There are some tolerable +batteries, but they cannot long resist a European bombardment, which was +demonstrated by the French. + +Colonel Keating says, "As far as parapets, ramparts, embrasures, +cavaliers, batteries, and casemates constitute a fortress, this town is +one; but the walls are flimsy, the cavaliers do not command, the +batteries do not flash, and the casemates are not bomb-proof. The +embrasures are so close that not one in three upon the ramparts could be +worked, if they were mounted, which they are not. All their guns, which +have been only twelve months here, are already in very bad order, from +exposure to the climate and surf. The casemates are so damp, that their +interior is covered constantly with a thick nitrous incrustation." +Nevertheless, the Moors have such a superstitious veneration for +fortifications built by a parcel of renegades, that they will not permit +Christians to walk on these ramparts. But what is most unfortunate for +the defence of Mogador, the water could be instantly cut off by +destroying its aqueduct. + +The population is between thirteen and fifteen thousand souls, including +four thousand Jews, and fifty Christians, who carry on an important +commerce, principally with London and Marseilles. Excepting Tangier, it +is now the only port which carries on uninterrupted commercial relations +with Europe. + +Mogador is situate in the midst of shifting sand-hills, that separate it +from the cultivated parts of the country, which are distant from four to +tweleve miles. These sands have an extraordinary appearance on returning +from the interior; they look like huge pyramidal batteries raised round +the suburbs of the city for its defence. The inhabitants are supplied +with water by means of an aqueduct, fed by the little river, or rill of +Wai Elghored, two miles distant south. The climate hereabouts is +extremely salubrious, the rocky sandy site of the city being removed +from all marshes or low lands, which produce pestiferous miasma or +fever-exhaling vegetation. Rarely does it rain, but the whole tract of +the adjoining country, between the Atlas and the sea, is tempered on the +one side by the loftiest ranges of that mountain, and on the other, by +the north-east trade winds, blowing continually. Mogador is in Lat. 31° +32' 40" N., and Long. 9° 35' 30" W. + +The environs offer nothing but desolate sands, except some gardens for +growing a few vegetables, and a sprinkling of flowers, which, by dint of +perseverance, have been planted in the sand of the sea-shore. This is a +remarkable instance of human culture turning the most hopelessly sterile +portions of the world to account. These sands of Mogador are only a +portion of a vast and almost interminable link, which girdles the +north-western coast of the African continent, and is only broken in upon +at short intervals, from Morocco to Senegal, like a shifting, heaving, +and ever-varying rampart against the aggressions of the ocean. Both wind +and sea have probably equally contributed to the formation of this vast +belt of shifting sands. + +The distance from Tangier to Mogador, by ordinary courier, is twelve +days, but no traveller could be expected to perform the journey in less +than twenty days. + +Other courier distances are as follows: + + Tangier to Rabat 4 days + Rabat to Fez 2 days + Fez to Mickas 12 hours + Rabat to Morocco 8 days + Mogador to Morocco 2½ days + Mogador to Santa Cruz 3 days + Mogador to Wadnoun 8 days + Santa Cruz to Teradant 1½ days + +A notice of the interesting, though now abandoned part of Aghadir, may +not be out place here. Aghadir, (called also Agheer and by the +Portuguese, Santa Cruz) means in Berber "walls." It is the Gurt Luessem +of Leo Africanus. The town is small, but strong, and well fortified, and +is situate upon the top of a high and abrupt rock, not far from the +promontory of Gheer, which is the western termination of the Atlas, and +where it dips into or strikes the ocean. + +On the south, close by, is the river Sous, and formerly Aghadir was the +capital of this province. + +Aghadir has a spacious and most secure port, which is the last port +southwards on the Atlantic. Indeed, this bay is the finest roadstead in +the whole empire. Mr. Jackson says, that during his residence at Aghadir +of three years, not a single ship was lost or injured. The principal +battery of Aghadir, a place equally strong by nature and art, is half +way down the western declivity of the mountain, and was originally +intended to protect a fine spring of water close to the sea. This fort +also commands the approaches to the town, both from the north and the +south, and the shipping in the bay. + +Santa Cruz was converted from a fisherman's settlement into a city, and +was fortified by the Portuguese in 1503. Muley Hamed el-Hassan besieged +it in 1536 with an army of fifty thousand men, and owing to the accident +of a powder-magazine blowing up and making a breach, the Sultan forced +an entrance, to the astonishment of the Portuguese, who were all +slaughtered. + +In the reign of Muley Ismail, Santa Cruz was the centre of an extensive +commerce carried on between Europe and the remotest regions of Africa, +which obtained for it the name of Bab-el-Soudan, (Gate of Soudan.) The +inhabitants became rich and powerful, and, as a consequence which so +frequently happens to both the civilized and the barbarian, insolent and +rebellious. In 1773, Sidi Mohammed was obliged to march out against the +town to crush a rebellion; and this done with great slaughter, he +ordered all the European merchants to quit the place and establish +themselves at Mogador. The father of this prince had sworn vengeance +against the haughty city, but died without accomplishing his sanguinary +threats. The son, however, did the work of blood, so faithful to vows of +evil and violence is man. Since that period, Aghadir has dwindled down +to nothing, six hundred inhabitants, and others say only one hundred and +fifty. The greater part of these are Jews, who have the finest women in +all the country. Mr. Davidson says the population of Aghadir is +forty-seven Mohammedans, and sixty-two Jews. At Fonte, the port, are +about two hundred Moors. Were any European power to conquer Morocco, +Aghadir would certainy be re-established as the centre of the commerce +in the south. To a maritime nation like England, the repair and +re-opening of its fine port would be the 6rst consideration, and +doubtless a lucrative and extensive commerce could be established +between Aghadir and Timbuctoo. The city is seven leagues south of Cape +Gheer, in latitude 30° 35'. + +I shall now give some further details illustrative of the state of negro +slavery. The Fniperor has an entire quarter of the city of Morocco +appropriated for his own slaves, the number of whom, in different parts +of the empire, amounts to upwards of sixty thousand. This is his, the +lion's share. His Imperial Highness, who was accepting presents from +various governors, lately received five hundred slaves from the Sheikh +of Taradant. The trading Moors, believing me to be sent by the British +Government to purchase and liberate all their slaves, have calculated +the whole of the slaves in Morocco to be worth twenty-seven millions of +dollars. + +A Moor observed, "I hope to see any calamity befall the country rather +than that of the slaves being liberated," He observed: "God shews his +approbation of slavery by not permitting slaves to rise against their +masters, or the free negroes to invade Morocco, who are infinitely more +numerous. The reason why the English abolished slavery is because the +Queen of England has a good heart, but Mussulmen treat their slaves +well, and do not fear the anger of God." When I mentioned that the Bey +of Tunis and the Imaum of Muscat had entered into treaties for the +suppression of Slavery, the traders observed, "Amongst the Mohammetans +are four sects, but the only orthodox sect is that of Morocco." + +There is, however, one class of abolitionists in this country--the +women, or Mooresses. The rumour that a Christian had come to purchase +all the slaves of Mogador soon penetrated the harems. The wife of one of +the most distinguished Moors of Mogador informed a Jewess of her +acquaintance, that she was very happy to hear a Christian was come to +purchase all her husband's slaves, for she was tired of her life with +them. The truth is, respectable Moorish females detest this system of +domestic slavery, and wish to see it abolished, notwithstanding that +they are bred in it, and are themselves little better than slaves. They +see themselves gradually abandoned by the husbands of their youth for +the most ignorant and degraded negress slaves, whom their husbands +purchase one after another as their caprice or passion excites them, +until their houses are filled with these slaves. + +The artful negress absorbs all the affection of her master, whilst the +legitimate wife is left as a widow, and is obliged to wait upon these +pampered slaves, whose insolence knows no bounds. The negress slaves +besides, when they bear sons, are treated with great respect; their +children are free by the law, and cannot be disposed of, although the +Moors do sell them when hard pressed for money. Yet even these negresses +are beginning to chatter and clatter about the Anti-Slavery mission, +expressing their satisfaction to our Jewish neighbours. A negress slave +on hearing that a person had come from England to liberate all the +slaves, jumped up and called on God to bless the English nation. + +This excitement in the domestic circles of Mogador raises the bile of +the slave-dealers. A fellow of this sort beckoned me to come to him as I +was passing in the street, and thus began: "Christian, if you dare +attempt to go to the south, we shall cut you up into ten thousand little +pieces." + +Traveller.--"You will not lay a finger upon me, nor throw a handful of +sand in my face unless it please God." + +Slave-dealer.--(Taken aback at this reply, he drew in his horns), "Well, +how much will you give us apiece for our slaves." + +_Traveller_.--"I shall give you nothing; you have no right to sell a +man, a brother, like yourself." + +_Slave-dealer_.--"It's our religion." + +_Traveller_.--"It's not your religion to sell Mussulman; you sell the +children of your own slaves, born in your houses, and who are +Mussulmen?" The slave-dealer, puzzled and angry, was silent a few +minutes, and then said, "Ah, well, all's right, all's from God." + +I received a visit from a Hajee under peculiar circumstances. Passing +through Tunis on his return from Mecca last year, his slave, hearing +that all the slaves were liberated in the country, ran away. In vain his +master attempted to catch him. There were no Christians in the country +of the Mecca impostor, who kept _manhunting hounds_. This is the +peculiar glory of Christian lands. Tunis is not so "go a-head" as Yankee +freedom-land. The consequence was the pilgrim left without his slave. He +then, strange to say, applied to me to procure him back his slave. +Thinking this a good opportunity to agitate the authorities here OR the +question, I recommended him to apply to the Governor, who should write +to the Emperor, and also to the Bey of Tunis, and so forth. I had +visitors daily who asked me when I should be ready to purchase the +slaves and liberate them. Arabs from the remotest districts came to me; +and I was told that there is not a town or district of the empire, but +has heard of the English going to liberate all the slaves of Morocco. + +I have studiously avoided giving details of the cruelties and hard +bondage of slavery in and around Morocco. On the contrary, I have stated +it to be the opinion of the Europeans and Consuls in Tangier, that +slaves are well treated in this country. Such an opinion ought to weigh +with all. [31] At the same time, in self-defence, as an abolitionist, +and occupied with a mission for the extinction of slavery in this +country, I must partly uplift the veil, however disgusting it may be to +my readers. A portion of the dark side of the picture must be exhibited. +Of the march of slave-caravans over the Sahara, I shall say +nothing--that is fully reported in my previous publication. When the +slaves arrive in Morocco, they are inarched about in different +directions of the country for sale. During their passage through a +populous district like this, where the females are exposed to the brutal +violence of ten thousand casual visitors, or agents of police and +government, it is the ordinary and revolting practice to adopt means one +cannot describe for the purpose of preserving their honour. Private +punishments are frequent; to my certain knowledge, a female slave was +tied up by the heela, head downwards, and, after being cruelly +flagellated, was left for dead by her, pitiless master. She was at last +cut down at the intercession of her mistress whose humanity got the +better of her hatred and jealousy. While I was at Mogador, a negress had +two of her children torn away from her to be sold at Morocco, to pay the +debts of her master, who was a Moor. The children were sons of the man +who sold them into bondage! The mother was inconsolable, ran about +distracted, and probably will never recover from the blow. These facts +are enough, and with any human man they will out-weigh all other +instances, however numerous, of alleged good treatment on the part of +Moorish slave masters. [32] + +I took a ride with Mr. Elton on the sandy beach. There is a fort in +ruins, at about half an hour's distance, illustrating most emphatically +the parable of the man who built his house upon the sands. + +This fort, which was to command the southern entrance of the harbour, is +supposed to be of Spanish construction, and built about the same time as +the city. + +It was once of considerable size and height, but is now a fallen and +ruined mass, its foundations "upon the sands" having given way. Storms +along this shore are often terribly destructive, we passed a portion of +the hulk of a vessel completely buried in the sand. [33] + +Notwithstanding the sober and taciturn character of the Moor, he can +sometimes indulge himself in pleasantry and caricature. The Moors have +made caricatures of the three last emperors, assisted by some Spanish +renegade artist: these Princes are Yezid, Suleiman, and Abd Errahman. +Yezid is represented as throwing away money with one hand, and cutting +off heads with the other, depicting his ferocity in destroying his +enemies, and his generosity in heaping favours on his friends. Suleiman +is represented as reading the Koran, in the character of a devout and +good man. The present Sultan is hit off capitally, with one hand holding +a bag of money behind him, and with the other stretched out before him, +begging for more. + +H B could not have better caricatured the three Shereefian Sultans. The +Moors affirmed that Muley Abd Errahman will keep faith with no one where +his avarice is concerned, and, when he can, he will sell a monopoly +twice or thrice, receiving money from each party. Of his meanness and +avarice, I adduce two anecdotes. Four years ago, Muley-Abd Errahman +ordered some blond for his Harem from Mr. Willshire. Just when I was +leaving Mogador, his Imperial Highness graciously returned it to our +merchant with the message--"It's too dear." Not long before, a man was +murdered upon the neutral land of two adjacent provinces, and a thousand +dollars were taken from his baggage. In such cases, the Governor of the +district is mulcted both for the murder and robbery. The Emperor claimed +two thousand dollars from one of the provinces, for the father of the +murdered man. This province escaped upon the plea that the murder had +not been committed within its territory. The other province refused to +satisfy the demand for the same reason. His Imperial Highness then made +both provinces pay 2,000 dollars each, keeping one two thousand for +himself, for the trouble he had of enforcing payment. + +The people of Sous not long ago had a quarrel, which the Emperor +fomented. Its Sheikhs fought; his Imperial Highness sent troops to turn +the balance of the fray, and to pacify the country. Then, he made the +belligerents pay each 40,000 dollars, as pacification-money, the value +of which he levied on slaves. In this politic way, the Imperial miser +replenishes his coffers, and "eats up" his loving subjects. + +I made the acquaintance of Mr. Treppass, the Austrian consul, and +Chancellor of the French consulate. Mr. Treppass has been upwards of +twenty years in this country, and was himself once an Imperial merchant, +but sold his business, preferring a small stipend and his liberty, to +being a vassal of the Emperor, fed in luxury and lodged in a fine house. +We had a long conversation upon the various topics connected with this +country. + +Mr. Treppass says, the present system of the court is resistance to all +innovation, to all strangers. But the pressure of the French on the +Algerine frontier is agitating the internal state of this country. +Money, which in other countries goes a long way, will almost do every +thing with the Government of Morocco. It will also effect much with the +people. Some fifty years ago, a Geneose merchant, resident in Mogador, +had the two provinces of Hhaha and Shedma under his control, and could +have made himself Sultan over them; this he effected solely by the +distribution of money. The Sultan of the time was in open war with a +pretender; his Imperial Highness begged for the assistance of the +all-powerful merchant. The merchant bought the affections and allegiance +of the people, and firmly established the Sultan on his throne. + +The influence of the merchant was now prodigious, and the Sultan himself +became alarmed. Not being able to rest, and being in hourly dread of the +Genoese, the Sultan ordered his officers to seize the merchant secretly, +and put him on board a vessel then weighing anchor for Europe. When the +merchant was placed on board, this message was delivered to him--"Our +Sultan is extremely obliged to you, sir, for the great services you +rendered him, by establishing him on his throne! but our Sultan says, +'If you could place him on the throne, you could also pull him off +again.' Therefore you must leave our country. Our Sultan graciously +gives you a portion of your wealth to carry away with you!" The officers +then shipped several chests of money, jewels, and other valuables to be +placed to the account of the merchant, and the Sultan-making Genoese +quitted Morocco for ever. + +The Moors reported to me that the French were building some factories, +with a fort, upon some unclaimed land along the coast, equidistant +between Aghadir and Wadnoun. It is probably near Fort Hillsboro of the +maps, and which Mr. Davidson calls Isgueder. A Moor was accused by the +authorities of Mogador of being mixed up with the transaction, and +immediately sent to the south, where he has not been heard of since. +Another report is that the French are only building a factory. The spot +of land has near it a small port and a good spring of water; quantities +of bricks and lime have been deposited there; French vessels of war from +the Senegal have been coasting and surveying up and down, touching at +the place. + +The new port is called Yedoueesai. I inquired particularly respecting +this project; but Mr. Treppass stated positively, that the French had +wholly abandoned the idea of establishing commercial relations with the +Sheikh of Wadnoun, or any tribes thereabouts, whatever might have been +their original intentions. Vessels of war have frequently visited the +coast of Wadnoun, finding it the worst in all Africa. They, however, now +maintain friendly relations with the Sheikh, in the event of shipwrecks +or other disasters, happening to French vessels. + +Nevertheless, it was at the particular request of the French Consul of +Mogador, that his Government broke off all communications with the +Sheikh, the Emperor having repeatedly complained to the Consul against +this intercourse assuming a commercial or diplomatic character. [34] The +whole coast, from the port of Mogador to the river Senegal, has been, +within the last few years, surveyed by the French vessels of war, +particularly by Captain E. Bouet; and there is sufficient evidence in +the reports of the people, and the remonstrances of the Maroquine +Government, to prove that the French did attempt a settlement on the +part of the coast above stated, but that it failed. + +The French took the idea of the undertaking from Davidson, who proposed +to Lord Palmerston to enter into communication with the Sheikh of +Wadnoun, and establish a factory on the coast, somewhere about the river +Noun, just below Cape Noun. A British vessel of war was sent down with +presents for the Sheikh, and to ascertain the whereabout of the fine +harbour reported to exist there by the Sheikh and his people. This +attempt of our government was as fruitless as that of the French +afterwards. Indeed, at the very time an English brig of war was +searching about for this port, and seeking an interview with the Sheikh +of Wadnoun on the coast, Davidson was murdered on the southern frontier +just as he was penetrating the Sahara. + +It is not improbable, however, that the knowledge of this recommendation +of Davidson, which, from the Sheikh's people themselves, would naturally +reach the court of Morocco, might have excited that jealous court to +compass in some way his death, or at any rate thwart his expedition to +Timbuctoo, for the Emperor is exceedingly jealous of any European +holding communication with the south. The Sheikh Barook is, in spite of +all this, very anxious to begin an intercourse with Europeans; and not +long ago, a messenger arrived with a bag of money for the Jew, Cohen, +telling him to take some out of it, and to go to the Sheikh who wished +to see him. But Cohen would not expose himself to the displeasure of the +Emperor, although he has English protection. + +Wadnoun is a quasi-independent Sheikhdom of the empire. The Sheikh of +Wadnoun pays no tithes nor other imposts, and only sends an annual +present as a mark of vassal-homage to the Emperor. Sous, which adjoins +this province, is more immediately under the power of the Sultan of the +Shereefs, but the tithes are not so easily collected in the south as in +the north. Much depends on the ability of the governor, who rules the +whole of the district in the name of the Emperor. The imperial authority +is maintained principally by prompting disunion amongst the Sheikhs; +Sous being divided into numerous districts, each district having an +independent Sheikh. + +By confusion and divisions among themselves, the Emperor rules all as +paramount-lord. When will people learn to be united, so that by union +they may win their freedom and independence? Alas! never. Wadnoun is +treated, however, very tenderly; for if the Emperor were to attempt the +subjugation of this country, the malcontents of Sous would join the +Sheikh, and his authority would probably be overthrown in all the south. + +Sous is the richest of these provinces, and equal to any other of the +northern districts. Its trade in dates, ostrich feathers, wax, wool, and +hides, particularly in gums, almonds, and slaves, is very great. All the +Saharan caravans must pass through this country, except those proceeding +_viâ_ Tafilett to Fez. Teroudant, its capital, is a very ancient city, +and was built by the ancient Berbers. It has a circumference of walls +capable of containing eighty thousand people, but the actual population +does not exceed twenty thousand. Its inhabitants are very industrious, +and the Moors excel in the art of dyeing. + +Noun, or Wadnoun, as this country and its capital are sometimes called, +Mr, Davidson briefly describes as a large district, having many clusters +of inhabitants. The town where the Sheikh resides, is of good size, and +has a millah, or Jew's quarter, besides a good market. It stands on the +river (such as it is) distant twenty two miles from the sea. + +The river Noun rises in the mountains above Souk Aisa or Assa, and is +there called Wad-el-Aisa; and, passing through the district of Wadnoun, +it takes the name of Assaka. The ancient name of this river was Daradus. +The territory around is not very fertile on account of the neighbourhood +of the Desert, but produces gum, wax, and ostrich feathers in abundance. +The inhabitants are mostly Arabs with a sprinkling of Shelouh, estimated +by Gräberg [35] at 2,000. The population is somewhat thickly scattered; +there are at least twenty villages between the district of Stuka and +Wadnoun. + +The annexed is a sketch of Wadnoun after the design left by Mr. +Davidson. + +[Illustration] + +Wadnoun is an important rendezvous of caravans. Many Timbuctoo caravans +break up here, and some Saharan. Several Saharan merchants come no +further north, disposing of their slaves and goods to Maroquine +merchants, who meet them in this place. + +It is safe travelling through these countries, provided no extraordinary +plot be laid for taking away a traveller's life, as in the case of +European explorers attempting to penetrate the interior. Mr. Treppass +thinks that, notwithstanding the ill-will of the Moorish Government, +Davidson could have succeeded in his attempted journey to Timbuctoo had +he been more circumspect. He gave out to all persons whom he met that he +was going to Timbuctoo. This insured his being stopped and murdered _en +route_ by some party or other, more especially as he at last abandonod +the idea of protecting himself by a caravan-party, and started alone. +But I am not altogether of this opinion. Too much publicity is certainly +injurious to a journey of discovery, and far and near awakens attention +and suspicion; but a too sudden and unexpected appearance in the towns +of the Desert, equally excites distrust and suspicion, if not hostile +feelings. + +Mr. Robertson, whilst at Morocco, heard one of the numerous versions of +the death of Mr. Davidson. He is said to have been killed by the mere +freak of a young Arab, who wished to have the pleasure of killing a +Christian, and who called out to his companions, "Come, let us go and +have a shot at the Christian." The party of Arabs to whom this +mischievous young man belonged, was afterwards extremely grieved at what +had been done. One of the Arabs, in plundering the baggage, lost his +hand by breaking a bottle containing aqua fortis. The glass cut a large +gash, and the aqua fortis entering immediately, consumed the hand. The +people cried out, "The devils of the Christian are in the water!" From +all I have heard, the great fault of Davidson appears to have been his +wishing to travel as like "a fine gentleman." This prejudiced all his +travelling-companions against him, and could not fail to render him +unpopular wherever he went. + +It is of no use for a man to cry out in the Desert, "I am an +Englishman!" he must exclaim, "I am an Arab, and will do and suffer like +an Arab." If any one were to ask me, "What would carry a roan to +Timbuctoo through the Desert? is it courage, or money, or prudence?" I +would reply, "The first thing is suffering, the second is suffering, and +the last is suffering." [36] I consulted an old man on this journey to +Timbuctoo. He could not undertake a voyage being too old. He mentioned +names of places _en route_, and said they travelled by the stars, which +star-travelling is all stuff. He recommended going by sea as much +nearer. Very little satisfactory information can be obtained from +Maroquine Moors, who would rather mislead than direct you. + +I endeavoured to open a correspondence with the South on the +Anti-Slavery question. At first, I thought of going to Wadnoun on +receiving an invitation from the Sheikh, but when I proposed this to Mr. +Wiltshire, he insisted on my relinquishing such a project, inasmuch as +having placed myself at the direction of the Consul-General, as +recommended by the Earl of Aberdeen, I was not at liberty to differ from +the advice, which Mr. Hay and himself might tender me. I saw there was +some reason in this, and submitted though with great reluctance. +However, I wrote two letters to Sheikh Barook of Wadnoun, stating the +views and objects of the Anti-Slavery Society. + +I had some difficulty in finding a courier, who would undertake the +delicate mission of conveying the letters. But Mr. Treppass and the +French Consul, M. Jorelle, felt themselves more at liberty in the matter +than our Consul, and determined to assist me, M. Jorelle very justly +observing, "We will sow the seeds of liberty, if we can do nothing +more." Indeed, I am greatly obliged to that gentleman for the interest +he took in my mission, and the assistance he rendered me on this and +other occasions. After my return to England, I received two letters from +the Sheikh in answer to those I had written to him. The Sheikh, afraid +lest his letter might fall into the hands of Government, after many +compliments, begs me to get the Emperor first to move in the question, +adding, "what he makes free, we will make free;" for he says in another +place, "We act as he acts, according to the _treek_ (ordinance) of God +and his Prophet." + +Sheikh Barook also protests that he has but little power in these +matters, living as he does in the Desert. As I did not seek for any +thing beyond an answer to my letters, and was only anxious that he +should know the sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Society, I was not all +disappointed. I knew too much of the pro-slavery feeling once existing +in a strong party in England, and the mighty struggles which we had +passed through to obtain British Abolition, to expect anything more than +a respectful answer to antislavery letters from a Prince of the Desert, +whose revenues were raised chiefly from the duties levied upon +slave-caravans passing through his territory. I only attempted to +scatter the seeds of liberty over the slave-tracks of the Desert, +leaving the budding forth and the growth to the irrigating influences of +that merciful and wise God, who has made all men of one flesh and blood. + +I visited the families of Jewish merchants during the Passover, in +company with Mr. and Mrs. Elton. Christians here visit the Jews twice a +year, at the feast of the Passover and Tabernacles. In return, Jews +visit Christians on New Year's day. This laudable practice promotes +social harmony between the Jews and Christians. + +In the house of one of our Jewish friends (Mr. Levi's) I assisted at the +celebration of the evening of the Passover. There is nothing very +particular in this ceremony, except a great deal of reading. The +drinking of the four cups [37] of wine, and the eating of the bitter +herbs, emblems of the joys and the sorrows attending the deliverance +from Egyptian bondage, are the more difficult parts of the ceremony. The +children naturally feel most the disagreeableness of eating the bitter +herbs, and several times, as soon as they put them into their mouths, +they spat them out again under the table. The drinking of an excessive +quantity of wine, is also attended with not a little inconvenience, and +one would think Bacchus was the deity worshipped, and not the God of the +Jews and Christians. When will mankind learn that violation of the +physical economy of their nature can never be acceptable to the Great +Creator? + +I do not say that European Israelites indulge so much in these excesses +as Barbary Jews, but I imagine that the germ of the debauch is found in +the Talmudical religion of both classes. But, since I should be very +sorry were a Jew to hold up to me the mummeries of Popery or of the +Greek Church, as the mirror of my own religion, I am not disposed to +animadvert upon the generally decorous worship of European Israelites. + +It requires three full days to get through this business of visiting. In +truth, it is a very serious affair, for we were obliged to eat cake, and +sip sherbet, or white brandy, at every house we went to, otherwise we +should confer an affront upon our friends. At all times, a great +quantity of white brandy, which the Jews distil themselves, is drunk, +but especially on these occasions. + +The Governor of Mogador gave orders, not long ago, that no Mussulman +should enter the Jewish quarter, to prevent the faithful from being +seduced into drinking this insidious spirit. I shall just mention what a +Christian is obliged to conform to, whilst visiting the Barbary Jews on +these high days and holidays. + +1st. You must eat a piece of cake, at least of _one_ sort, if not of +several kinds, and drink a little brandy, wine somets, or boiled juice +of the grape, or sherbet. In many of the houses, they give nothing but +brandy, which is tastefully placed out on small round tables, as at a +pastrycook's shop. + +2nd. You must admire the new dresses of the ladies, who are radiantly +and sumptuously attired "in flaming purple and refulgent gold," their +ornaments likewise of gold, silver, and all manner of precious stones; +for the daughters of Israel are, as on bridal days, all begemmed, +bejewelled, and diamonded, stuck over with gems as thick as stars "seen +in the galaxy or milky-way." On these festivals, it is absolutely a +matter of orthodox observance that the Jews and Jewesses should wear +something new. Some have entirely new dresses. + +3rd. Any thing new or remarkable in the house, or household furniture, +must be noticed or admired. + +4th. You must carry with you in your memorandum-book, or at the tip of +your tongue, a good assortment of first-rate compliments of the season. + +If these are spiced with a little scandal of your neighbours, or the +party you have just left, so much the better; they are more relished. + +Now you are obliged to visit twenty or thirty families per diem; and you +are literally passing through doors, square-courts, and corridors, +crossing patios and quadrangles, walking up and down stairs, getting up +and sitting down from morning to night, during these three mortal days. +It will be seen then, that these Passover and Tabernacle visits are +tremendous affairs, and require Herculean strength to get through their +polite duties. They may be days of jovial festivity to Jews, but +certainly they are days of labour and annoyance to Gentiles. + +But I must now give an account of one or two remarkable personages whom +we visited. The first was Madame Bousac, a Jewess of this country. Her +father was a grandee at Court in the days of former emperors, and the +greatest merchant of his time, and she represented as an aristocrat +among her people, a modern Esther, standing and pleading between the +Sultan and her nation. This lady is the only native woman in the +country, Mooress or Jewess, who has tact or courage enough to go and +speak to the Emperor, and state her request with an unfaltering voice +beneath the awful shadow of the Shereefian presence! Madame Bousac +accompanied the merchants to Morocco, to pay her respects to the +Emperor. Among other modest or confidential demands which the lady made +on the Imperial benevolence, was that of an advance to her husband of +ten thousand dollars. His Imperial Highness was immediately obliged to +give a formal assent before his court. + +She then visited the Harem, and felt herself quite at home. All the +ladies, wives or concubines of the Emperor, waited upon her; and served +her with tea and bread, and butter. + +The presentation of bread and butter and cups of tea, is said to be the +highest honour conferred on visitors, but why or wherefore I have not +heard. + +Madame Bousac gave us some account of the Morocco harem, which we may +suppose is like that of Fez and Miknas. The number of these ladies was +some two hundred. They are all attired alike, except the four wives, who +dress a little more in the style of Sultanas. I am sorry to be obliged +to disabuse the reader of the romance and oriental colouring attached to +our ideas of the harem, by giving Madame Bousac's simile of those +angelic houries. This lady said, "they are like a string of +charity-school girls going to church on a Sunday morning." + +Their penurious lord keeps down their pin-money to the lowest point, and +is not more liberal to his ladies than to his other subjects. Former +sultans were accustomed to allow their ladies half a dollar a day, but +these have but twopence, or at least fourpence. Muley Abd Errahman even +traffics in his beauties, and will now and then make a present of one to +a governor, in consideration of receiving an adequate return of money, +or presents. Sometimes, the Moors pay their Shereefian Sultan a similar +compliment, by presenting him with slaves from their harem. [38] + +Madame Bousac is, of course, a perfect lady according to Moorish ideas, +but her fascinations on the mind of the Emperor, arise more from her wit +and ability than her feminine grace and delicacy. She is anything but a +beauty, according to our ideas, being of a dark complexion, of middle +height, of large and powerful muscular proportions, very upright, as if +bending backwards, and with a hoarse and masculine voice. Like most +women in this part of the world, she is married to a man old enough to +be her father, or even grandfather, being even more than double her age. + +She herself may be about thirty, at which age the beauty of Barbary +women is gone for ever. Such is the court-dame who has courage enough to +speak to the Emperor of Morocco in public. She conversed with us about +her affairs, telling us the Emperor had not yet advanced to her husband +the loan of 10,000 dollars as promised, nor did she expect it, for she +knew his avarice. "Rather would he sell one of his Sultanas." But he had +sent her a present of four haiks, which she shewed us; they were +extremely fine and white. "These," she observed, "are the ten thousand +dollars paid in private, but which the Sultan could not refuse me in +public." + +Another character whom we visited, was the distinguished Rabbi, +Coriante. The priest entertained us with dissertations upon various +subjects. First of slavery. "It is unlawful to steal blacks, the Mosaic +law denouncing such theft with the punishment of death. Nevertheless, if +the Jews of this country had the power, they would enslave the +Mussulman, and well castigate them." + +This latter remark, Coriante uttered with an emphasis, denoting the +revenge which his countrymen would inflict upon their Mahometan +oppressors, who had kept them in chains for a series of ages. He +remarked, however, that the Sultan might give way on the question of +negro slavery, after the first shock to his prejudices. + +The Rabbi treated us with wine, but one of us, moved by curiosity, +having touched the bottle, he remarked to his daughter in an under-tone; +"It's all gone," (the rest of the wine is spoiled). Among these +extremely superstitious Barbary rabbies, it is a pollution to their wine +if a Christian touch even the bottle containing the juice of the grape, +and they will not drink it afterwards. + +We asked the reason of his not being able to drink, and found it was, +first, because women work in the vineyards, and the second, because the +Pope pronounces his blessing upon the vintage. After these Jews have +eaten meat, they are obliged to wait some time before they can eat +butter, or drink milk; in fact, their superstitions are numberless. The +Rabbi read to us portions of the proverbs of Solomon, and told us +Solomon was well acquainted with steam engines and railways, "Only they +were of no use in the Holy Land when God was always with his people." He +then gave us his blessing, and me this solemn warning. "Take care the +Emperor does not cut off your head, as he has cut off the head of our +young Darmon." [39] + + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + +[1] According to Xavier Darrieu. + +[2] It has always been the policy of Mahometan States to send their +troublesome subjects, such as were not considered rebel enough to +decapitate or to imprison, on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead of +expiating the sins of a buoyant patriotism at the galleys or the +Bermudas, they are sent to slake their patriotic ardour at the holy +wells of El-Kaaba. + +[3] The late Emperor of Morocco. + +[4] "Our Lord Jesus," the name by which the Moors, always mention Our +Saviour. + +[5] Moors entertain the lowest opinion possible of Spaniards. In an +intercepted correspondence of the Emperor of Morocco, found at the +Battle of Isly, Spaniards are called, "The most degraded of the human +race." + +[6] The climate of North Africa is remarkable for rusting everything +which can contract rust. This may be the reason of the Moors +representing Spain and other European countries as free from rust, +because there it is not so soon contracted. + +[7] Lord Palmerston proceeded in the same determined way with the Schah +of Persia (See Parliamentary Papers on the Slave Trade, class D, +presented 1848). But Colonel Shiel was fortunate in obtaining several +opinions of Mahomet that--"The worst of men is the seller of men"--was a +powerful auxiliary. The perseverance of the Minister and his agents in +Persia has been crowned with complete success; the Schah has issued a +firman prohibiting the Slave Trade in his territories. This firman will +complete our command over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian seas, and +enable our cruisers to intercept the slavers from the eastern shore of +Africa. + +[8] No people understand better than the Moors the noble feeling of +gratitude, contained in the words "Non nobis, Domine," &c. + +[9] Although _Sultana_, i.e., "Sultanness or Princess," is a frequent +name for a woman in this country, I hare never heard of a man being +called Sultan; and, indeed, I imagine the jealousy of the reigning +sovereign would never permit the use of such a name. But even in this +country, where women are treated as so many household chattels, Moorish +gallantry is sufficient to overlook these trivial or serious +pretensions. + +[10] "Souvenir d'un Voyage du Maroc," par M. Rey, Paris. + +[11] The value of this ducat is about half-a-crown English money. + +[12] Count Qrabert gives the following account of Maroquine Blacks: "The +Blacks who form a very numerous part of the population are most of them +slaves, and as it is customary in barbarous countries, become an object +of trade, though not to be compared with that carried on in other parts +of Barbary. The Black is generally of a soft and kind disposition, bears +fatigue with patience, and shows a serene and lively temper, totally +different in that respect from the Moor, who is taciturn and sullen. +Some of them have become men of prosperity and note, after having +recovered their liberty. They are renowned for their fidelity, and form +the most numerous part of the body-guards of the Sultan; that body-guard +makes about the half of the army, which on an average compose a total of +ten thousand men. The greater part of those Blacks comes from +Senegambia, Guinea, and the dominions of the Fellah or Fellani." +(_Specchio geografico e Statistico dell' Impero di Marocco. Geneva._) + +[13] Some time since, when the French Government were anxious to get +supplies of grain from the Levant, for the north of France, they sent +steamers to the Straits, to be ready to tow the vessels through, an +example worthy of imitation, in other times besides seasons of famine. + +[14] This conduct of Roman Catholic sailors has often been noticed. +Mahometans do the same, and resign themselves to fate, _i.e._, make no +effort to save themselves; the only difference is, they are less noisy, +and more sullen in their spiritless resignation. + +[15] The entrance to the port of Mogador, however, is difficult to all +seamen. We were besides in the depth of winter. The Prince de Joinville +describes his mishaps during the height of summer, or in August, when +placing his vessels in position before the town. He says in his report +of the bombardment: "New difficulties, and of more than one kind awaited +us. For four days, the violence of the wind and the roughness of the sea +prevented us from communicating with one another. Anchored upon a rocky +bottom, our anchors and cables broke, and the loss of them deprived us +of resources which were indispensable in order to obtain our object. +Some vessels had only one chain and one anchor. We could not think of +maintaining ourselves before Mogador under sail. The violence of the +currents and of the gale, would probably have carried us too far, and we +should have lost the opportunity of acting. Besides, in causing the +steamers to get to proceed with us, they would have consumed their fuel, +and in leaving them by themselves they would be exposed to run short of +provisions and water. It was therefore necessary to remain at anchor. At +last, the wind abated, and there remained of the hurricane of the +preceding days, a considerable swell from N.N.W. Then the vessels were +tormented by the swell, and became ungovernable." + +[16] The Ancient Numidians rode without saddle or bridle They were +celebrated as the "reinless" Numidians-- + +"Numidæ infraeni."--(Ænaid, iv., 41.) + +We are aware that another meaning to _infraeni_ has been given, that of +"indomitable;" but the peculiarity of these horsemen riding without +reins is the usual rendering. But ordinarily, the modern Moorish cavalry +is very comfortably mounted. Their saddles, with high backs, are as +commodious as a chair. The large, broad, shovel-stirrups enable the +rider to stand upright as on terra firma, whilst the sharp iron edges of +the stirrups goring the ribs of the poor animal, serve as spurs. These +lacerating stirrups are tied up short to the saddle, and the knees of +the rider are bent forwards in a very ungainly manner. Nevertheless, the +barb delights in the "powder play" as much as his master, and-- + + "Each generous steed to meet the play aspires, + And seconds, with his own, his master's fires; + He neighs, he foams, he paws the ground beneath, + And smoke and flame his swelling nostrils breathe." + +[17] The fire of the Barbary horse is generally known, but few reflect +upon the power of endurance which this animal possesses. I have known +them to go without water for two or three days when crossing the Desert, +during which time they will only receive a small measure of corn or a +few dates. On the coast, they are driven hard a long day, sweating, and +covered with foam, their sides bleeding from the huge sharp-edged +stirrups. Without the slightest covering, they are left out the whole +night, and their only evening meal is a little chopped barley-straw. + +Our European horses would perish under such circumstances, and the +French have lost the greater part of the horses they imported from +France for the cavalry. But this hard fare keeps down the fiery spirit +of these stallion barbs, otherwise they would be unmanageable. When +turned out to grass, they soon become wild. Crossing a field one day, +mounted, I was set upon by a troop of these wild, grazing horses, and +was instantly knocked to the ground, where I lay stunned. A cavalry +officer, who was riding with me, had only just time to escape, and saved +himself by dismounting, and letting his horse go. + +It was some hours before we could rescue the horses of our party from +their wild mates, sporting and bounding furiously over the plains. The +barb horses being all stallions (for the Moors consider it a crime to +geld so noble an animal), the fiercest and most terrific battles ensue +on a stud breaking loose from their pickets. These battles are always +between strangers, for the barb is the most affectionate of horses, and +if he is known to another, and become his mate, he will, as the Arabs +say, "die to be with him." + +[18] These trained bands of negroes call themselves _Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari_, +from the patron saint whom they adopted on settling in Morocco, the +celebrated Sidi-Bokhari, commentator on the Koran, and a native of +Bokhara, as his name implies. His commentary is almost as much venerated +as the Koran itself. + +[19] The _lex talion_ is frequently enforced in North Africa. + +[20] Maroquine Moors drench you with tea! they guzzle sweet tea all day +long, as the Affghans gulp down their tea, with butter in it, from +morning to night. + +[21] Native Jews manage most of the business of the interior, and farm +the greater part of the monopolies. But the Emperor must have some +European merchants connected with these Jews to maintain the commercial +relations of his country with Europe. The Jewish High Priest of Mogador +is a merchant, it being considered no interference with his sacred +functions. + +[22] See Appendix at end of Vol. II. + +[23] Muley Abd Errahman is averse to treating his governors with extreme +rigour. Mr. Hay gives an appalling account of private individuals +arrested on suspicion of possessing great wealth--"The most horrible +tortures are freely resorted to for forcing confessions of hidden +wealth. The victim is put in a slow oven, or kept standing for weeks in +a wooden dress; splinters are forced between the flesh and the nail of +the fingers; two fierce cats are put alive into his wide trousers, and +the breasts of his women are twisted with pincers. Young children have +sometimes been squeezed to death under the arms of a powerful man, +before the eyes of their parents." + +A wealthy merchant at Tangier, whose _auri sacra fames_ had led him to +resist for a long time the cruel tortures that had been, employed +against him, yielded at length to the following trial. "He was placed in +a corner of the room, wherein a hungry lion was chained in such a manner +as to be able to reach him with his claws, unless he held himself in a +most unnatural position." This reads very much like a description of the +torments of the Inquisition. The Moors may have imported this system of +torture from Spain. Similar barbarities were said to have been inflicted +by King Otho on prisoners in Greece, even on British Ionian subjects! I +recollect particularly the sewing up of fierce cats in the petticoats of +women. My experience in Morocco does not permit me to authenticate Mr. +Hay's horrible picture. + +[24] "To his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, Sidi Muley Abd +Errahman. + +"May it please your Majesty, + +"A Society in England, having for its object the Abolition of Slavery +and the Slave Trade throughout the world, and denominated the British +and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, being informed of the pacific +intentions and friendly disposition of your Majesty towards our +Sovereign Queen and Government, and being informed likewise, that your +Majesty, in diplomatic relations with other Foreign Princes and States, +has universally manifested the greatest desire to preserve peace amongst +nations, and, of necessary consequence, the happiness of the human race, +are encouraged to approach your Majesty, and to plead on behalf of a +numerous and important class of your subjects, the negro and other black +slaves. + +"These are a people always faithful to their friends and protectors (a +most conspicuous and immediate proof of which is seen in your Majesty's +Imperial Guard, formed principally of this class of your faithful +subjects,) and exhibiting under suffering and oppression the greatest +patience and fortitude, yet, during the long course of bygone centuries, +they have been subjected to horrid cruelties and barbarities, in order +to pander to the vices and to satiate the avarice of their oppressors. + +"Now we, the Society in England aforesaid, address your Majesty for the +succour and protection of this cruelly oppressed portion of the human +race, and in order that you may be graciously pleased to remove the +chain of bondage from off these unfortunate victims of the violence and +cupidity of wicked men, who, in defiance of all justice and mercy, claim +them as their property, and buy and sell them as cattle. + +"We further entreat that your Majesty would be graciously pleased to +place the slaves in your Imperial dominions upon a footing of equality +with the rest of your faithful subjects, and to make them free men, +having the rightful possession of their own persons, and being at +liberty to travel whithersoever they will. + +"For your Majesty rightly understands and knows as well as we do, that +God the Almighty Maker of us and you, has made all men equal, and has +not permitted man to have property in his fellow man, which reduces them +to the level of brutes; therefore, to make slaves of our fellows, our +brothers and sisters, is to sin against the will and mind of God, and to +provoke his wrath and indignation against us, and against our children +after us. + +"Consequently, we, the Society in England, aforesaid, in common with +some of your own Mussulman sovereigns and people, hold Slavery, and the +Slave Trade in extreme abhorrence, because it kills and destroys our +brothers whom we ought to love and cherish, because it makes them like +brutes, whom we ought to esteem as reasonable beings, because it hardens +our own hearts and makes us cruel towards our fellows, whom we ought to +treat with kindness and compassion, and because it deforms God's +creatures, in whom we ought to revere his spiritual likeness, man being +made after the likeness of God, in possessing a spiritual reasoning +soul; these evils, however, are the direct and inevitable consequences +of the accursed Slave Trade, and for such reasons we, the people of +England in general, abhor it, and seek, in every legitimate and +righteous way, to persuade men of every nation in the world to abandon +this inhuman and wicked traffic. + +"Finally, we implore your Majesty to be pleased to follow out that great +act of confidence which you have exercised towards the negro race, in +appointing them the life-guards of your Imperial person, by graciously +liberating them from the cruel yoke of slavery. From our hearts we +believe that your Majesty will find such a spontaneous act of compassion +towards the desolate African Slaves to be the wisest worldly policy, and +most agreeable to the will of the Eternal Creator of us all. Your loyal +subjects will love the goodness of your heart the more, and serve you +the better, while all Africa, of which the immense dominions of your +Majesty form so large a part, will catch new life and vigour, under the +blessing of the Almighty, and grow happy and prosperous in the ages to +come. + +"Signed and sealed on behalf of the Society in England for abolishing +Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the world. + +"(Signed) THOMAS CLARKSON. (L.S.)" + +[25] This is not exact. The vizier is often the author of certain lines +of policy. + +[26] All the Moorish Sultans are spoken of by the people as _Seedna_, +"Our Lord," and departed Saints are addressed by the same title. + +[27] It is curious to see the Spartan principle of theft developing +itself under such different circumstances. + +[28] [Transcriber's Note: In our print copy, the text of this footnote +is missing.] + +[29] This is the old story of the abettors of the slave-trade in all +parts of the world; I very much doubt if there be any truth in it. None +of the slave-dealers of the Desert whom I conversed with, had ever seen +or heard of prisoners of war being put to death. + +[30] The European name of Mogador, is supposed to be derived from +Mugdul, or Modogul, a Moorish Saiut. + +[31] The Governor of Mogador told me to go to look at his slaves, and +see that they were well fed and well clothed. But every rich man's +horses and dogs are well-fed and well-housed. + +[32] Mr. Davidson did not visit Morocco as an abolitionist. Head what +impression this Maroquine slavery made upon his mind. "My heart sickens +at the sight of this horrid picture. In another lot of these unfortunate +beings were six women, one of whom had given birth to a child on the +road, which was thrown into the bargain. There was an old wretch who had +come from Saweirah to purchase female slaves; his examination was +carried on in the most disgusting manner, I could not refrain from +calling down the curse of Heaven on these inhuman wretches. In many, but +little feeling is shewn for the poor blacks; and they seemed to think +less of their own fate than I did, who was merely a looker-on. One poor +creature, however, who was a finer woman, and less black than the rest, +shed tears. I could have given her my dagger to have plunged it in the +breast of the villain who was examining her. And yet these people pray +four times a day, and think themselves superior to all God's creatures! +More than ever do I wish to get away from, this den of hell-hounds. Each +of the grown persons was in the prime of life, and had once a home, and +was more to be pitied than the children, who had never known the liberty +of thought and act. To each of the ten slaves was given a lunch of bread; +while both the inhuman buyers and sellers, after chuckling over their +bargains, went to offer up their prayers to Heaven, before they took +their daily meal. Can such unhallowed doings be permitted to endure +longer! Oh, Spirit of Civilization, hither turn your eyes, and punish +the purchasers who ought to know better, for thus only will the sale be +stopped." + +[33] I asked a Moor, "Who built this castle on the sands?" He replied +pertly, "Iskander!" Whenever the Moors see anything marvellous or +ancient, they ascribe it to Alexander the Great, to Pharaoh, to Solomon, +or even to Nimrod, as caprice leads them, believing that these three or +four personages created all the wondrous and monstrous things in the +world. But we have an instance here, how soon through ignorance, or the +want of records, a modern thing may become ancient in the minds of the +vulgar. This fort was built after Mogador, which town is not yet a +century old. + +[34] Certainly, to establish relations with the Southern provinces of +Morocco, that is, Sous and Wadnoun, would greatly injure the trade of +Mogador, and, therefore, the Consuls, as well as the Moorish +Authorities, set their faces against any direct intercourse being opened +with the South. + +[35] Gräberg says Noun means the "river of eels," Davidson derives the +name from a Portuguese queen called Nounah; but his editor says the name +is properly Nul, was so written when the Arabs possessed Portugal, and +that Queen Nunah is a modern invention. + +[36] Whatever may have been Mr. Davidson's faults, I scarcely doubt that +the first impressions of Mr. Consul-General Hay were correct. He says, +"I _fear, however, that I am not to expect much assistance from him_," +(Mr. Hay); and hints, in other parts of his Journal, that Mr. Hay was +rather disposed to throw difficulties in his way, than to render him +efficient aid. Mr. Hay's son (which is very natural) attempts to +exculpate his father in an appendix to his "Western Barbary," and some +will, perhaps, think he has done so successfully. My experience of the +diplomatic skill of the late Consul, does not permit me to coincide with +this favourable opinion. The greater probability is, that if Mr. +Davidson had been left to his own "inspirations," and allowed complete +liberty of action, he would have succeeded in reaching Timbuctoo; but +his health doss not appear to have been sufficiently robust, or himself +acclimated, to have brought him back from his perilous adventure. + +[37] These cups hold at least a pint each, and every adult male is +expected to empty four, if not six. Of course, they get beastly +intoxicated, and suffer a day or two of illness afterwards, a very just +punishment. + +[38] But I do not think it reaches the point of complaisance, noticed by +Monsieur Chenier, when he was French Consul in 1767. He says, "The +veneration of the Moors is so great for this Prince, that they deem +themselves happy whenever one; of their daughters is admitted to share +his couch." On the other hand, many of the beauties presented by the +Sultan to his ministers, although brought out of his harems, are +virgins. The poor ladies in the royal harems are only so much stock, +from which their Lord and tyrant picks and chooses. + +[39] Friend Phillips is always wrestling with these prejudices of +Barbary Jews. When his wife was delivered of a daughter, he was +determined to have as much "fuss" made of the child as if it had been a +son, to spite the prejudices of his brethren. So, when he went out for a +walk with his wife, he would walk always arm-in-arm with her, although +she was a Jewess of this country, which caused great annoyance to his +woman-oppressing brethren. + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: In this electronic edition, footnotes have been +numbered and relocated to the end of the work. In footnote 35, the +spellings Nouna and Nunah both occur. In chapter 6, the word "convey" +was corrected to "conveying."] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1., by James Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, VOL. 1. *** + +***** This file should be named 10355-8.txt or 10355-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/3/5/10355/ + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Tom Allen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team from images generously made available +by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10355-8.zip b/old/10355-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..347d851 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10355-8.zip diff --git a/old/10355.txt b/old/10355.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..af5a335 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10355.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5865 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1., by James Richardson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1. + +Author: James Richardson + +Release Date: December 1, 2003 [EBook #10355] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, VOL. 1. *** + + + + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Tom Allen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team from images generously made available +by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, + +BY THE LATE JAMES RICHARDSON, + +AUTHOR OF "A MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA," +"TRAVELS IN THE DESERT OF SAHARA," &C. + +EDITED BY HIS WIDOW. + +[Illustration] + +IN TWO VOLUMES. + +VOL. I. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Having made a limited tour in the Empire of Morocco a few years since, I +am enabled to appreciate the information imparted to us by the lamented +Richardson, and am desirous of adding a few observations of my own upon +the present state of affairs in that part of the African Continent. + +The following work of the indefatigable traveller demands, at the +present moment, a more than ordinary share of public attention, in +consequence of the momentous events now passing in the Straits of +Gibraltar, where the presence of powerful armaments entails on the +Governor of our great rock-fortress, a duty of some delicacy, situated +as he now is in close proximity to three belligerent powers, all of whom +are at peace with Great Britain. But distinguished alike for common +sense and professional ability, Sir William Codrington, it is to be +hoped, will steer clear of the follies committed by Sir Robert Wilson in +1844, and will command respect for the British name, without provoking +bitter feelings between ourselves, and our French and Spanish +neighbours. + +It is scarcely possible that either France or Spain can contemplate the +conquest of the entire Empire of Morocco, as the result of the present +impending crisis, the superficial extent of the territory being 219,420 +square miles, and the population nearly 8,000,000, [1] of which a large +proportion live in a state of perpetual warfare, occupying inaccessible +mountain fastnesses, from whence they only descend to the plains for the +sake of plunder. The inhabitants may be classified as follows: 4,000,000 +Moors and Arabs; 2,000,000 Berbers; 500,000 Jews, and the remainder are +of the Negro race. The regular Army consists of less than thirty +thousand men, but every Arab is an expert irregular horseman, and the +Berbers make good foot-soldiers. + +These indeed are, in ordinary times, rarely to be depended on by the +Emperor, but so powerful an incentive is religious fanaticism that, were +he to raise the standard of the Holy War, a large Army would quickly +rally around him, deficient perhaps in discipline, yet living by +plunder, and marching without the encumbrance of baggage, it would prove +a formidable opponent. + +Let us, however, suppose, that the present action of France and Spain +should result in the subversion of the atrocious system of Government +practised in Morocco: a guarantee from the conquerors that our existing +commercial privileges should be respected, would alone be required to +ensure the protection of our interests, and what an extended field would +the facilities for penetrating into the interior open to us! We must +also remember that Napoleon III. in heart, is a free-trader; and, should +Destiny ever appoint him the arbiter of Morocco, the protectionist +pressure of a certain deluded class in France would be impotent against +his policy in Western Barbary, a country perhaps more hostile to the +European than China. Sailors and others, who have had the misfortune to +be cast on the inhospitable shore of Northern Africa, have been sent far +inland into slavery to drag out a miserable existence; and, at this +moment, there are many white Christian slaves in the southern and +eastern provinces of the Empire. + +Should the war not result in conquest, the least we have a right to +expect, is that toleration should be forced upon the Moors, and that +European capital and labour should be allowed a free development +throughout their Empire. A flourishing trade would soon spring up, +nature having blessed Barbary with an excellent soil and climate, +besides vast mineral wealth in its mountains; lead, copper, and antimony +are found in them. The plains produce corn, rice, and indigo; the +forests of cedar, ilex, cork, and olive-trees are scattered over a vast +extent, and contain antelopes, wild bears, and other species of game; +Barbary also possesses an excellent breed of horses. The principal +manufactures are leather, shawls and carpets. + +England has, but a short time since, succeeded in emancipating her +Jewish brethren from their few remaining disabilities; an opportunity +may now be at hand, of ameliorating the condition of those in the Empire +of Morocco, who are forced to submit to a grinding persecution, and are +merely tolerated because they are useful. They supply many wants of the +Moorish population; are the best, and in many handicrafts, the only +artificers, and are much employed by the government in financial +occupations. They are compelled to occupy a distinct quarter of the town +they inhabit; are permitted only to wear black garments, are forbidden +to ride, the horse being considered too noble an animal to carry a Jew, +and are forced to take off their shoes on passing a mosque. Even the +little Moorish boys strike and ill-treat them in various ways, and the +slightest attempt at retaliation was formerly punished with death, and +would now be visited with the bastinado. They are more heavily taxed +than any other class, and special contributions are often levied on +them. + +Alas! why should we respect the national existence of any community of +Mahometans? Have we effaced from our memory their treachery and inhuman +cruelty in India; their utter worthlessness in Turkey; their neglect in +taking advantage of the richness with which nature has blest the +countries in their possession; and their conquest from Christendom of +one of the fairest portions of Europe. + +Civilization cries aloud for retribution on a race whose religion +teaches them to regard us as "dogs." Surely, far from protecting and +cherishing, we should hunt them out of the fair lands they occupy, and +force them back on the deserts which vomited them forth on our ancestors +ten centuries ago. Brief periods of glory at Bagdad, Cairo, and Granada, +should not protect those who are now slaves to the lowest vices that +degrade human nature. No administrative reforms are at all practicable; +their moral maladies have attacked the vital element; the sole cure is +conquest, and the substitution of Christian Governments in Northern +Africa, and Turkey in Europe and Asia. Russia, France, Austria, Greece, +and Spain are weary of the excesses of their savage neighbours; none can +be honestly inclined to stay their avenging swords. + +I have, in these prefatory remarks, extracted a few particulars from the +short chapter on Morocco, contained in my work on the "French in +Africa," and in advocating a crusade against the Mahometan races, I +believe I am recording the sentiments of millions of Europeans. + +It now only remains for me to give expression to that universal feeling +of regret which prevails among my countrymen at the untimely fate of +poor Richardson, and to offer my congratulations that he has bequeathed +to us so pleasing an addition to his former works as the following +narrative of his "Travels in Morocco." + + L. TRENT CAVE, F.R.G.S. + Author of "The French in Africa." + + Army and Navy Club, + November, 1859. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The present unsettled state of affairs in Morocco, in consequence of the +War in which she is now engaged with her more powerful and ancient +enemy--Spain, must, I conceive, render any information regarding a +region so little known peculiarly acceptable at the present moment. + +In Morocco, my late husband laboured to advance the same objects which +had previously taken him to Central Africa, viz., the amelioration of +the condition of the strange and remarkable races of men who inhabit +that part of the world. He aimed at the introduction of a legitimate +commerce with a view, in the first instance, to destroy the horrible and +revolting trade in slaves, and thus pave the way for the diffusion of +Christianity among a benighted people. While travelling, with these high +purposes in contemplation, he neglected no opportunity of studying the +geography of the country, and of obtaining an insight into the manners, +customs, prejudices, and sentiments of its inhabitants, as well as any +other useful information in relation to it. + +I accompanied him on his travels in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, in +which last city he left me, it not being considered advisable that I +should proceed with him into the interior of the country. We were not +destined to meet again in this world. My beloved husband died at Bornou, +in Central Africa, whither he was sent by Her Majesty's Government to +enter into treaties with the chiefs of the surrounding districts. + +Of the many difficulties and dangers which the traveller is likely to +encounter in penetrating into the interior of so inhospitable a region, +the reader may form some idea by a perusal of the the following extracts +from my husband's writings. + +"I am very much of opinion that in African travel we should take +especial care not to attempt too much at once; that we should proceed +very slowly, feeling our way, securing ourselves against surprise, and +reducing and confining our explorations to the record of matters of fact +as far as possible, or consistently with a due illustration of the +narrative. But, whether we attempt great tours, or short journeyings, we +shall soon find, by our own sad experience, that African travel can only +be successfully prosecuted piecemeal, bit by bit, here a little and +there a little, now an island, now a line of coast, now an inland +province, now a patch of desert, and slow and painful in all their +results, whilst few explorers will ever be able to undertake more than +two, at most three, inland journeys. + +"Failures, disasters, and misadventure may attend our efforts of +discovery; the intrepid explorers may perish, as they have so frequently +done, or be scalped by the Indian savage in the American wilderness, or +stabbed by the treacherous Bedouin of Asiatic deserts, or be stretched +stiff in the icy dreary Polar circles, or, succumbing to the burning +clime of Africa, leave their bones to bleach upon its arid sandy wastes; +yet these victims of enterprise will add more to a nation's glory than +its hoarded heaps of gold, or the great gains of its commerce, or even +the valour of its arms. + +"Nevertheless, geographical discovery is not barren ardour, or wasted +enthusiasm; it produces substantial fruits. The fair port of London, +with its two parallel forests of masts, bears witness to the rich and +untold treasures which result from the traffic of our merchant-fleets +with the isles and continents discovered by the genius and enterprise of +the maritime or inland explorer. And, finally, we have always in view +the complete regeneration of the world, by our laws, our learning, and +our religion. If every valley is to be raised, and every mountain laid +low, by the spade and axe of industry, guided by science, the valley or +the mountain must first be discovered. + +"If men are to be civilized, they must first be found; and if other, or +the remaining tribes of the inhabitable earth are to acknowledge the +true God, and accept His favour as known to us, they also, with +ourselves, must have an opportunity of hearing His name pronounced, and +His will declared." + +My husband would, indeed, have rejoiced had he lived to witness the +active steps now taken by Oxford and Cambridge for sending out +Missionaries to Central Africa, to spread the light of the Gospel. + +Among his unpublished letters, I find one addressed to the Christian +Churches, entitled "Project for the establishment of a Christian Mission +at Bornou," dated October, 1849. He writes: "The Christian Churches have +left Central Africa now these twelve centuries in the hands of the +Mohammedans, who, in different countries, have successfully propagated +the false doctrines of the impostor of Mecca. If the Christian Churches +wish to vindicate the honour of their religion--to diffuse its +beneficent and heavenly doctrines--and to remove from themselves the +severe censure of having abandoned Central Africa to the false prophet, +I believe there is now an opening, _via_ Bornou, to attempt the +establishment of their faith in the heart of Africa." + +He ends his paper by quoting the words of Ignatius Pallme, a Bohemian, +the writer of travels in Kordofan, who says "It is high time for the +Missionary Societies in Europe to direct their attention to this part of +Africa (that is, Kordofan). If they delay much longer, it will be too +late; for, when the negroes have once adopted the Koran, no power on +earth can induce them to change their opinions. I have heard, through +several authentic sources, that there are few provinces in the interior +of Africa where Mohammedanism has not already begun to gain a footing." + +It would be a great solace to me should this work be received +favourably, and be deemed to reflect honour on the memory of my lamented +husband; and, in the hope that such may be the case, I venture to commit +it into the hands of an indulgent public. + + J.E. RICHARDSON. + + London, + November 15, 1859. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME + + +INTRODUCTION + +PREFACE + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diploplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, or great +festival.--Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen.--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broad-cloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese +Sailors.--Trade-wind Hurricanes on the Atlantic Coast of +Morocco.--Difficulties of entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad +provisioning of Foreign Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the +once far-famed and dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. +Phillips, Captain of the Port.--Rumours amongst the People about my +Mission.--Visit to the Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the +inhabitants of Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed +of the ancient Numidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish +Emperor.--Martial character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black +Corps of the Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative +anecdotes of the various Emperors. + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodical visit of the +Mogador Merchants to the Emperor, in the Southern Capital. + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fetes and Feastings among the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society.--Day and night side of the Mission Adventure.--Phillips' +application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes on" before the +Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, Darmon, who was +killed by the Government.--Order of the Government against Europeans +smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, Governor of +Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights amongst the +Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy of +troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.-- +European Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + +VOL. I. + +Interior of a Moorish House + +City of Tangier + +Port of Mogador + +Christian Burial Place + +Moorish Cemetery + +Nubian Cavalry of Ancient Africa + +Wadnoun + + +VOL. II. + +The Snake-Charmer + +City of Morocco + +Fish found in Hot Springs + +Water-Snake + +The Aoudad + + + + +TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Policy of the Court of Morocco.--Its strength.--Diplomatic Intercourse +with England.--Distrust of Europeans.--Commercial Relations. + + +Morocco is the China of North Africa. The grand political maxim of the +Shereefian Court is, the exclusion of strangers; to look upon all +strangers with distrust and suspicion; and should they, at any time, +attempt to explore the interior of Morocco, or any of the adjacent +counties, to thwart and circumvent their enterprise, is a veritable feat +of statesmanship in the opinion of the Shereefian Court. The +assassination of Mr. Davidson, some years since, is an odious and +enduring stigma on the Moorish Court, notwithstanding the various +efforts which have been made to deny the personal responsibility of the +Emperor in that transaction. + +The Prince de Joinville was once going to open Morocco, as we opened +China; but bullets and shot which his Royal Highness showered upon +Tangier and Mogador, only closed faster the approaches and routes of +this well-guarded empire--only more hermetically sealed the capitals of +Fez and Morocco against the prying or morbid curiosity of the tourist, +or the mappings and measurings of the political spy. The striking +anecdote, illustrating the exclusive policy of the Maroquine Court, is +familiar to all who have read the history of the Moorish Sultans of the +Mugreb. Years ago, a European squadron threatened to bombard Tangier, +unless their demands were instantly satisfied; and the then reigning +Sultan sent down from Fez this imperial message: + +"How much will the enemy give me if I myself burn to ashes my +well-beloved city of Tangier? Tell the enemy, O governor of the mighty +city of Tangier, that I can reduce this self-same city to a heap of +smoking ruins, at a much cheaper rate than he can, with all his ships, +his warlike machines, and his fighting men." + +The strength of Morocco lies in her internal cities, her inland +population, and the natural difficulties of her territory; about her +coast she cares little; but the French did not find this out till after +their bombardments. The unwonted discovery led them afterwards to boast +that they had at length opened Morocco by the other and opposite system +of a pacific mission. The parties forming the mission, pretended to have +obtained from the Emperor permission for Europeans "to travel in Morocco +without let or hindrance whithersoever they will." But the opposition +press justly ridiculed the pretensions of the alleged concession, as the +precarious and barren result of a mission costing several million of +francs. Even an Englishman, but much more a Frenchman--and the latter is +especially hated and dreaded in all the Maroquine provinces, would have +considerably hesitated in placing confidence in the safe conduct of this +jealous Court. + +The spirit of the Christian West, which has invaded the most secret +councils of the Eastern world, Persia, Turkey, and all the countries +subjected to Ottoman rule, is still excluded by the haughty Shereefs of +the Mahometan West. There is scarcely any communication between the port +and the court of the Shereefs, and the two grand masters of orthodox +Islamism, this of the West, and that of the East, are nearly strangers +to each other. + +All that Muley Errahman has to do with the East, appears to be to +procure eunuchs and Abyssinian concubines for his harem from Egypt, and +send forward his most faithful, or most rebellious subjects [2] on their +pilgrimage to Mecca. + +Englishmen are surprised, that the frequent visits and uninterrupted +communications between Morocco and Gibraltar, during so long a period, +should have produced scarcely a perceptible change in the minds of the +Moors, and that Western Barbary should be a century behind Tunis. This +circumstance certainly does not arise from any inherent inaptitude in +the Moorish character to entertain friendly relations with Europeans, +and can only have resulted from that crouching and subservient policy +which the Gibraltar authorities have always judged it expedient to show +towards the Maroquines. + +Our diplomatic intercourse began with Morocco in the reign of Queen +Elizabeth; and though on friendly terms more or less ever since, +Englishmen have not yet obtained a recognised permission to travel in +the interior of the country, without first specially applying to its +Government. Our own countrymen know little of Morocco, or of its +inhabitants, customs, laws, and government; and, though only five or six +days sail from England, it must be regarded as an unknown and unexplored +region to the mass of the English nation. + +Nevertheless, in spite of the Maroquine Empire being the most +conservative and unchangeable of all North African Mussulman states, and +whilst, happily for itself, it has been allowed to pursue its course +obscurely and noiselessly, without exciting particular attention in +Europe, or being involved in the wars and commotions of European +nations, Morocco is not, therefore, beyond the reach of changes and the +ravages of time, nor exempt from that mutability which is impressed upon +all sublunary states. The bombardments of Tangier and Mogador have left +behind them traces not easily to be effaced. It was no ordinary event +for Morocco to carry on hostilities with an European power. + +The battle of Isly has deeply wounded the Shereefians, and incited the +Mussulman heart to sullen and unquenchable revenge. A change has come +over the Maroquine mind, which, as to its immediate effects, is +evidently for the worst towards us Christians. The distrust of all +Europeans, which existed before the French hostilities, is now enlarged +to hatred, a feeling from which even the English are hardly excepted. Up +to the last moment, the government and people of Morocco believed that +England would never abandon them to their unscrupulous and ambitious +neighbours. + +The citizens and merchants of Mogador could not be brought to believe, +or even to entertain the idea that the British ships of war would +quietly look on, whilst the French--the great rivals and enemies of the +English--destroyed their towns and batteries. Most manifest facts and +stern realities dissipated, in an hour when they little thought of it, +such a fond delusion. From that moment, the moral influence of England, +once our boast, and not perhaps unreasonably so, was no longer felt in +Morocco; and now we have lost almost all hold on the good wishes and +faith of the Mussulman tribes of that immense country. + +As to exploring the empire of Morocco, or making it the way of +communication with Soudan or Central Negroland, this is now altogether +impracticable. The difficulties of Europeans travelling the Maroquine +States, always great and perilous, are now become nearly insuperable. +This suspicious distrust, or ill-feeling has communicated itself +contagiously to the tribes of the South as far as the Desert, and has +infected other parts of Barbary. The Engleez, once the cherished friends +of the Moors, are looked upon more or less as the abettors of French +aggressions in North Africa, if not as the sharers with them of the +spoil. In the language of the more plain-spoken Moors, "We always +thought all Christians alike, though we often excepted the English from +the number of our enemies, now we are certain we were wrong; the English +are become as much our enemies as the French and the Spaniards." The +future alone can disclose what will be the particular result of this +unfavourable feeling; both with respect to France and England, and to +other European nations. However, we may look forward without misgiving. +Islamism will wear itself out--the Crescent must wane. + +In these preliminary observations, the commercial system of the +Maroquine Court deserves especial mention. The great object of Muley Abd +Errahman [3] is--nay, the pursuit of his whole life has been--to get the +whole of the trade of the empire into his own hands. In fact, he has by +this time virtually succeeded, though the thing is less ostentatiously +done than by the Egyptian viceroy, that equally celebrated +prince-merchant. In order to effect this, his Shereefian Majesty seeks +to involve in debt all the merchants, natives, or foreigners, tempting +them by the offer of profuse credit. As many of them as are needy and +speculative, this imperial boon is without scruple greedily accepted. +The Emperor likewise provides them with commodious houses and stores; +gives them at once ten or twenty thousand dollars worth of credit, and +is content to receive in return monthly instalments. These instalments +never are, never can be regularly paid up. The debt progressively and +indefinitely increases; and whilst they live like so many +merchant-princes, carrying on an immense trade, they are in reality +beggars and slaves of the Emperor. They are, however, styled _imperial_ +merchants, and wear their golden chains with ostentatious pride. + +This credit costs his Shereetian Highness nothing; he gives no goods, +advances no moneys, whilst he most effectually impoverishes and reduces +to servitude the foreign merchant resident in his empire, never allowing +him to visit his native country without the guarantee of leaving his +wife and family behind as hostages for his return. The native merchant +is, in all cases, absolutely at the mercy of his imperial lord. On the +bombardment of Mogador, all the native and resident traders, not +excepting the English merchants, were found overwhelmed with debt, and, +therefore, were not allowed to leave the country; and they were only +saved from the pillage and massacre of the ferocious Berber tribes by a +miracle of good luck. + +Since the bombardment of Mogador, the Emperor has more strongly than +ever set his face against the establishment of strangers in his +dominions. Now his Imperial Highness is anxious that all commerce should +be transacted by his own subjects. The Emperor's Jews are, in future, to +be the principal medium of commerce between Morocco and Europe, which, +indeed, is facilitated by many of the native Jews having direct +relations with European Jews, those of London and Marseilles. In this +way, the Maroquines will be relieved from the embarrassments occasioned +by the presence of Europeans, Jews, or Christians, under the protection +of foreign consuls. The Emperor, also, has a fair share of trade, and +gets a good return on what he exports; the balance of commercial +transactions is always in his favour. + +I must add a word on the way of treating politically with the Court of +Morocco. The modes and maxims of this Court, not unlike those of the +Chinese, are procrastination, plausible delays, and voluminous +despatches and communications, which are carried on through the hands of +intermediaries and subordinate agents of every rank and degree. You can +never communicate directly with the Emperor, as with other Barbary +princes and pashas. This system has admirably and invariably succeeded +for the last two or three centuries; that is to say, the empire of +Morocco has remained intact by foreign influences, while its system of +commerce has been an exclusive native monopoly. The Americans, however, +have endeavoured to adopt a more expeditious mode of treating with the +Maroquine Court. They have something, in the style and spirit of Lynch +law, usually made their own demands and their own terms, by threatening +the immediate withdrawal of their consul, or the bombardment of ports. + +The Shereefs, thus intimidated, have yielded, though with a very bad +grace. Nevertheless, the Americans have received no favours, nor have +they obtained a nearer approach to the awful Shereefian presence than +other people; and it is not likely they ever will succeed beyond their +neighbours. The French and English have always negotiated and +corresponded, corresponded and negotiated, and been worsted once and +worsted again. Somehow or other, the Emperor has, in most cases, had his +own way. Neither the American nor our own European system is the right +or dignified course. And I am still of opinion, that the Maroquine Court +is so far enlightened respecting the actual state of the barbarians or +Christian infidels, out of its Shereefian land of Marabouts, out of its +central orthodox Mussulman land of the Mugreb, as to be accessible to +ordinary notions of things, and that it would always concede a just +demand if it were rightly and vigorously pressed, and if the religious +fanaticism of its people were not involved in the transaction. Thus far +we may do justice to the government of these Moorish princes. + +This opinion, however, does not altogether coincide with that of the +late Mr. Hay. According to the report of Mr. Borrow, as found in his +work, "The Bible of Spain," the Moorish government, according to Mr. +Hay, was "one of the vilest description, with which it was next to +impossible to hold amicable relations, as it invariably acted with bad +faith, and set at nought the most solemn treaties." But, if the +Maroquine Court had acted in this most extraordinary manner, surely +there would now be no Moorish empire of Western Barbary. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Arrival at Tangier.--Moorish Pilgrims in Cordova.--Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Mr. D. Hay, British Consul.--Institut +d'Afrique.--Conveyance of Eunuchs in vessels under the French +Flag.--Franco-Moorish Politics.--Corn Monopolies in Morocco.--Love and +veneration for the English name.--Celebration of the Ayd-Kebir, great +festival. Value of Money in Morocco.--Juvenile Strolling +Singer.--General account of the city of Tangier.--Intercourse between +the Moorish Emperor and the Foreign Consuls.--Cockney sportsmen,--The +degrading of high Moorish Functionaries.--How we smuggle Cattle from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--The Blood-letting of plethoric Placemen. + + +The communication between Gibraltar and Tangier is by no means easy and +regular, though the places are only a few hours' distance from the +other. I had waited many days at Gib. (as our captain called the former +place), before the wind enabled us to leave, and then, our boat being a +small transport for cattle, and the Government contractors wanting beef +for the garrison--for an Englishman or an English soldier cannot live in +any part of the world without beef--we were compelled to leave with the +wind in our teeth, and to make a night's voyage of this four or five +hours' traverse. It might be worth while, one would think, to try a +small steam-tug for the conveyance of cattle from Tangier to our +garrison, which, besides, would be a great convenience for passengers. + +On coming on deck in the morning, Tangier, "the city protected of the +Lord," appeared in all its North African lineaments, white and bright, +shining, square masses of masonry, domes of fair and modest santos, and +the heaven-pointing minarets; here and there a graceful palm, a dark +olive, or the black bushy kharoub, and all denned sharply and clearly in +the goodly prospect. But these Barbary towns had lost much of their +freshness or novelty to me, and novelty is the greatest ingredient of +our pleasure in foreign travel. I had also just travelled through Spain, +and the south of this country is still, as to its aspect, part and +parcel of Morocco, though it is severed by the Straits. In the ancient +Moorish city of Cordova, I had even saluted the turban. I met two Moors +strolling along, with halting steps and triste mien, through the +streets, whom I instinctively addressed. + +"_Wein mashe. Ash tomel_. Where are you going? What are you doing?" + +The Moors (greatly pleased to hear the sound of their own mother-tongue +in the land of their pilgrimage).--"_Net jerrej_. We are enjoying +ourselves." + +Traveller.--"What do you think of the country (Cordova)?" + +The Moors.--"This is the land of our fathers." + +Traveller.--"Well, what then? Are you going to possess it again?" + +The Moors.--"Of what country are you?" + +Traveller.--"Engleez." + +The Moors (brightening up).--"That is good. Yes, we are very glad. We +thought you might be a Spaniard, or a Frenchman. Now we'll tell you all; +we don't fear. God will give us this country again, when Seedna Aisa [4] +comes to deliver us from these curse-smitten dogs of Spaniards." [5] + +Traveller.--"Well, never mind the Spaniards. Have you seen anything you +like here?" + +The Moors.--"Look at this knife; it is rusty; it should not be so." + +Traveller.--"How!" + +The Moors.--"We read in our books and commentators that in Andalous +(Spain) there is no rust, and that nothing rusts here." [6] + +Traveller.--"Nonsense; have you seen the hundred pillars of your +mosque?" (Now converted into a cathedral.) + +The Moors.--"Ah, we have seen them," with a deep sigh; "and the pillars +will stand till to-morrow." (End of the world.) + +I was obliged to say farewell to these poor pilgrims, wandering in the +land of their fathers, and worshipping at the threshold of the noble +remains of Moresco-Spanish antiquity, for the _diligencia_ was starting +off to Seville. + +To return from my digression. I soon found myself at home in Tangier +amongst my old friends, the Moors, and coming from Spain, could easily +recognise many things connecting the one country with the other. + +The success attending the various measures of the Bey of Tunis for the +abolition of slavery in North Africa, and the favourable manner in which +this prince had received me, when I had charge of a memorial from the +inhabitants of Malta, to congratulate his Highness on his great work on +philanthropy, induced the Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society to +confide to me an address to the Emperor of Morocco, praying him to +enfranchise the negro race of his imperial dominions. + +We were fully prepared to encounter the strongest opposition from the +Shereefian Court; but, at the same time, we thought there could be no +insuperable obstacle in our way. + +The Maroquines had the same religion and form of government as the +Tuniseens, and by perseverance in this, as well as any other enterprise, +something might at last be effected. Even the agitation of the question +in the empire of Morocco, amongst its various tribes, was a thing not to +be neglected; for the agitation of public opinion in a despotic country +like Morocco, as well as in a constitutional state like England, +admirably prepares the way for great measures of reform and +philanthropy; and, besides the business of an abolitionnist is +agitation; agitation unceasing; agitation in season and out of season. + +On my arrival at Tangier, I called upon Mr. Drummond Hay, the British +Consul-General, stating to him my object, and asking his assistance. The +English Government had instructed the Consul to address the Emperor on +this interesting subject, not long before I arrived, but it was with the +greatest difficulty that any sort of answer could be obtained to the +communication. + +Mr. Hay, therefore, gave me but small encouragement, and was not a +little surprised when I told him I expected a letter of introduction +from Her Majesty's Government. He could not understand this reiterated +assault on the Shereefs for the abolition of slavery, not comprehending +the absolute necessity of continued agitation on such a difficult +matter, as exciting from a despotic and semi-barbarous prince, fortified +by the prejudices of ages and generally sanctioned in his conduct by his +religion, the emancipation of a degraded and enslaved portion of the +human race. [7] However, Mr. Hay was polite, and set about arranging +matters for proceeding with a confessedly disagreeable subject for any +consul to handle under like circumstances. He made a copy of the address +of the Anti-Slavery Society, and sent it to the English Government, +requesting instructions. I expected an address from the Institut +d'Afrique of Paris; but, after waiting some time, the Secretary, Mr. +Hippolyte de St. Anthoine, wrote me a letter, in which he stated that, +on account of the ill-will manifested by the Emperor to the +establishment of the French in Algeria, the Institut had come to the +painful conclusion of not addressing him for the abolition of the +slave-trade in his imperial states. + +Soon after my arrival at Tangier, the English letter-boat, Carreo +Ingles, master, Matteo Attalya, brought twelve eunuch slaves, African +youths, from Gibraltar. They are a present from the Viceroy of Egypt to +the Emperor of Morocco. The Correo is the weekly bearer of letters and +despatches to and from Morocco. The slaves were not entered upon the +bill of health, thus infringing upon the maritime laws of Gibraltar and +Tangier. The other captains of the little boats could not help +remarking, "You English make so much fuss about putting down the +slave-trade, and allow it to be carried on under your own flag." Even +the foreign consuls here reprobated the inconsistency of the British +Government, in aiding the slave-trade of the Mediterranean by their own +flag. However, Government ordered a strict inquiry into this case, and +took means for preventing the occurrence of a like abuse. Nevertheless, +since then the Emperor has actually applied to the British Consul to +allow eunuchs to be brought down the Mediterranean in English steamers, +in the same way as these were brought from Malta to Gibraltar in the +Prometheus--as, forsooth, servants and passengers. And on the refusal of +our consul to sanction this illicit conveyance of slaves by British +vessels, the Emperor applied to the French consul, who condescended to +hoist the tri-coloured flag for the transport of slave-eunuchs! This is +one way of mitigating the prejudices of the Shereefian Court against the +French occupation of Algeria. Many slaves are carried up and down the +Mediterranean in French vessels. + +The keeper of an hotel related to me with great bitterness, that the +French officer who came with me from Gibraltar had left Tetuan for +Algeria. The officer had ordered a great many things of this man, +promising to pay on his return to Tangier. He deposited an old hatbox as +a security, which, on being opened by the hotel keeper, was found to be +full of greasy paper. At Tetuan, the officer gave himself out as a +special envoy of the Emperor of the French. + +My good friends, the Moors, continue to speculate upon the progress of +the French army in Algeria. I asked a Moorish officer what he thought of +the rumoured French invasion of Morocco. He put the backs of his hands +together, and locking together his fingers to represent the back of a +hedgehog, he observed emphatically; "Impossible! No Christians can +invade us. Our country is like a hedgehog, no one can touch us." Tangier +Christians will never permit the French to invade Morocco, whatever may +be the pretext. This is even the opinion of the foreign consuls. + +As a specimen of the commercial system of this country, I may mention +that the monopoly of exporting leeches was sold this week to a Jew, at +the rate of 25,000 dollars. Now the Jew refuses to buy leeches except at +his own price, whilst every unfortunate trader is obliged to sell to him +and to him only. In fact, the monopolist fixes the price, and everybody +who brings leeches to Tangier must accept it. This case of leeches may +be applied to nearly all the monopolies of the country. Can anything be +more ruinous to commerce? + +All the Moors of Tangier, immediately on entering into conversation with +me, inquire if I am Engleez? Even Moorish children ask this question: it +appears to be a charm to them. The Ayd Kebir (great feast) was +celebrated to-day, being the first of the new year. It was ushered in +yesterday by prayer in the mosques. About 9 A.M. the governor, the +commandant of the troops, and other Tangier authorities, proceeded to +the open space of the market, attended with flags and music, and some +hundred individuals all dressed in their holiday clothes. The white +flag, typical of the sanctity of religion, floated over others of +scarlet and green; the music was of squeaking bagpipes, and rude +tumtums, struck like minute drums. The greater part were on horseback, +the governor being most conspicuous. This troop of individuals ascended +a small hill of the market-place, where they remained half an hour in +solemn prayer. + +No Jew or Christian was allowed to approach the magic or sacred circle +which enclosed them. This being concluded, down ran a butcher with a +sheep on his back; just slaughtered, and bleeding profusely. A troop of +boys followed quickly at his heels pelting him with stones. The butcher +ran through the town to the seashore, and thence to the house of the +Kady--the boys still in hot and breathless pursuit, hard after him, +pelting him and the bleeding sheep. The Moors believe, if the man can +arrive at the house of the judge before the sheep dies, that the people +of Tangier will have good luck; but, if the sheep should be quite dead, +and not moving a muscle, then it will bring them bad luck, and the +Christians are likely to come and take away their country from them. The +drollest part of the ceremony is, that the boys should scamper after the +butcher, pelting the sheep, and trying to kill it outright, thus +endeavouring to bring ill-luck upon their city and themselves. But how +many of us really and knowingly seek our misfortunes? On the occasion of +this annual feast, every Moor, or head of a family, kills a sheep. The +rich give to the poor, but the poor usually save up their earnings to be +able to purchase a sheep to kill on this day. The streets are in +different parts covered with blood, making them look like so many +slaughter grounds. When the bashaw of the province is in Tangier, +thousands of the neighbouring Arabs come to pay him their respects. With +the Moors, the festivals of religion are bona fide festivals. It may +also be added, as characteristic of these North African barbarians, +that, whilst many a poor person in our merry Christian England does not, +and cannot, get his plum-pudding and roast-beef at Christmas, there is +not a poor man or even a slave, in Morocco who does not eat his lamb on +this great feast of the Mussulmans. It would be a mortal sin for a rich +man to refuse a poor man a mouthful of his lamb. + +Of course there was a sensation among the native population, and even +among the consular corps, about my mission; but I have nothing very +particular to record. I had many Moorish visitors, some of whom were +officers of the imperial troops. I made the acquaintance of one, Sidi +Ali, with whom I had the following dialogue:-- + +Traveller.--"Sidi Ali, what can I do to impress Muley Abd Errahman in my +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"But will the Emir of the Shereefs accept of money from us +Christians?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"What am I to give the minister Ben Dris, to get his +favour?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money!" + +Traveller.--"Can I travel in safety in Morocco?" + +Sidi Ali.--"Money:" + +Indeed "money" seems to be the all and everything in Morocco, as among +us, "the nation of shopkeepers." The Emperor himself sets the example, +for he is wholly occupied in amassing treasures in Mequiney. Another +acquaintance of mine was a little more communicative. + +Aged Moor.--"What can I do for you, stranger? You are good to me, every +time I call here you give me tea with plenty of sugar in it. What can I +do for you in my country?" + +Traveller.--"Tell me how to get on in my mission? How can I see Muley +Errahman?" + +Aged Moor.--"Now I am bound to give you my best advice. First then, take +plenty of money with you. All love money; therefore without money you +can do nothing. Muley Abd Errahman loves money, and money he must have. +And the minister loves money, and the minister must not be forgotten. +The minister is the door to the Emperor. You cannot get into the house +but through the door. Out of the towns and cities, the Emperor has no +power; so that whenever you travel out of these places, remember to give +the people money." + +I had numberless volunteers to conduct me to Fez. All came begging for +this honour and lucrative employment. Whatever may be said of the +virtues of hospitality, I found all the world alike in its determination +to make the most of strangers, if not to devour them. But the Emperor +was not at Fez; he was in the southern capital, and it was necessary for +me to go via Mogador, to endeavour to obtain an interview with him at +that place. + +The dreary monotony of Moorish life was one day broken in upon by a +juvenile strolling singer, who attracted a crowd of silent and attentive +listeners. It was a grateful sight to see old men, with long and silvery +beards, reclining in mute and serious attention; young men lounging in +the pride and consciousness of animal strength; little children +intermixed, but without prattle or merriment--all fixed and fascinated +with the charm of vocal song. The vocalist himself was a picturesque +object; his face was burnt black with Afric's sun, his bare head was +wildly covered with long, black matted, and curly hair, but his eye was +soft and serene; and, as he stretched his throat upwards to give compass +to his voice, he seemed as if he would catch inspiration from the +Prophet in heaven. A coarse brown blanket enveloped his spare and +way-worn body, his only clothing and shelter from the heat by day and +the cold by night, a fold of which fell upon his naked feet. + +The voice of the Arab vocalist was extremely plaintive, even to the +tones and inflections of distress, and the burden of his song was of +religion and of love--two sentiments which all pure minds delight to +combine. When he stopped a moment to take breath, a murmur of applause +vibrated through the still air of the evening, not indeed for the youth, +but for God! [8] for it was a prayer of the artless and enraptured +bystanders, invoking Allah to bless the singing lad, and also to bless +them, while ascribing all praise to the Deity. + +This devout scene raised the Moors greatly in my estimation. I thought +men could not be barbarians, or even a jealous or vindictive race, who +were charmed with such simple melody of sounds, and with sentiments so +pure and true to nature. + +The Arab youth sang:-- + + Oh, there's none but the One God! + I'll journey over the Desert far + To seek my love the fairest of maidens; + The camels moan loudly to carry me thither, + Gainly are they, and fleeter than the swift-legged ostrich. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + + What though the Desert wind slay me; + What of it? death is from God. + And woe to me! I cannot repine. + But I'll away to the abode of my love, + I'll embrace her with all my strength, + I'll bear her back thence, and rest her on my couch. + Oh, there's none but the One God! + +So sang in plaintive accents the youth, until the last ray of the sun +lingered on the minarets' tops, when, by the louder and authoritative +voice of the Muezin calling the Faithful to prayers, this crowd of the +worshippers of song and vocal harmony was dispersed to meet again, and +forthwith chant a more solemn strain. The poor lad of the streets and +highways went into the mosque along with his motley group of admirers; +and all blended their voices and devotion together in prayer and +adoration, lowly and in profound prostration, before the Great Allah! + +It is my intention, in the course of the present narrative, to give a +brief account of the principal towns and cities of North Africa; and I +cannot do better than begin with Tangier. This city is very ancient, +having probably been built by the aboriginals, Berbers, and was usually +called by the Romans, Taigo on Tingis. The Emperor Claudius re-peopled +it, and called it Julia Traducta. The Moors call it Sanjah, and relate +that Benhad Sahab El-Alem built it, also surrounded it with walls of +metal, and constructed its houses of gold and silver. In this condition, +it remained until destroyed by some Berber kings, who carried away all +its treasures. The modern Tangier is a small city of the province of +Hasbat, picturesquely placed on the eastern slope of a hill, which +terminates in the west with its port and bay, having some analogy to the +site of Algiers. It has almost a square form, and its ramparts are a +wall, flanked here and there with towers. This place, likewise, is most +advantageously situate in the narrowest part of the Straits of +Gibraltar, at a few miles east of Cape Spartel, and thirty miles W.S.W. +of Gibraltar, and has, therefore, been coveted by all the conquerors of +North Africa. The Phoenicians, Romans, Goths, and Arabs successively +effected its conquest; and it was long a bone of eager contention +between the Moors and Portuguese. In 1471, Alonzo, King of Portugal, +took it from the Moors; and in 1662 it came into the hands of the +English, as a part of the dowry of Catherine, queen of Charles II.; so, +whilst in our possession it was a place of considerable strength; but on +its evacuation in 1684 by order of the English government, who were +disgusted by the expense of its occupation, and the bootless collisions +with the natives, the fortifications were demolished, and only the +vestiges of them now are visible. Had the British Government continued +its occupation for half a century, and kept in check the Maroquine +tribes, it is probable that by this time the greater part of Morocco +would have been under British rule, when we might have founded a +flourishing colony, from which all North Africa might have received the +elements of Christian civilization. + +Old Tangier (Tangier belia) is situate about four miles east from the +present, being now a heap of ruins, near a little river called Khalk or +Tingia, spanned over by the remains of a once finely-built Roman bridge. +Here was likewise an artificial port, where the Roman galleys retired. +The whole of this part of Africa was denominated by the Romans, +Mauritania, from the name of this city; and during their administration +was united to the government of Spain. Tangier had a population of from +four to six thousand. Grabert estimates the population at 10,000, +including 2,500 Jews, who live intermixed with the Moors; 1,400 negroes, +300 Berbers of Rif, and about 100 Christians. The Consuls-General of the +European Powers reside here; and most of them have commodious houses. +The Swedish Consul has a splendid garden, which is thrown open to the +European residents. There is but one good street in the town; and the +transition from Europe to Barbary, at so short a distance, is striking +to the stranger. Tarifa, on the opposite side, along the coast of Spain, +has, however, a Moorish affinity to this place; and the dress of the +women is not very dissimilar in the two towns, once inhabited by the +people of the same religion, and now, perhaps, many of them descendants +of the same families. + +Tangier, though a miserable place compared to most of the cities in +Europe, is something considerable in Morocco, and the great mosque is +rather splendid. Mr. Borrow justly remarks that its minarets look like +the offspring of the celebrated Giralda of Seville. The Christians have +here a convent, and a church within it, to which are attached +half-a-dozen monks. There is no Protestant church; Mr. Hay reads service +in the British Consulate, and invites the Protestant residents. Tangier +is the only place in the empire where the Christian religion is publicly +professed. The Jews have three or four small synagogues. Usually, the +synagogues in Barbary are nothing more than private houses. + +Before the bombardment of the French, the fortifications mounted forty +pieces or so of cannon, but of no strength; on the contrary, going +completely to ruin and decay, being scarcely strong enough to fire a +salute from. The Bay of Tangier is good and spacious; but, in the course +of time, will be filled up with sand. The shipping is exposed to strong +westerly winds. The safest anchorage, however, is on the the eastern +part, about half a mile off the shore, in a line with the round tower. +With a few thousand pounds, one of the finest--at least, one of the most +convenient--ports of the Mediterranean could be constructed here. There +is a bashaw of this province, who resides at El-Araish, and a +lieutenant-governor, who lives at Tangier. With these functionaries, the +representatives of European Powers have principally to transact affairs. +On the north is the castle, the residence of the governor. + +Eleven consuls take up their abode in Tangier; the British, French, +Spanish, Portuguese, American, Danish, Swedish, Sardinian, Neapolitan, +Austrian, and Dutch. Each consular house generally belongs to its +particular nation, the ground to the Sultan. + +The consuls who have the most interest to guard in Morocco, are the +British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Up to the bombardment of +Tangier, the Danish and Swedish Governments paid to the Maroquine Court, +the former 25,000 and the latter 20,000 dollars per annum, to have the +privilege of hoisting their flag at this port. The French hostilities +against Morocco furnished a convenient opportunity for getting this +odious tribute abolished. The Americans led the way in getting rid of +this subservience to the Shereefian Court, and refused from the first +all presents and annual donations. Generally, however, when new consuls +are appointed, they bring with them presents, and visit the Emperor in +person. On the occasion of _fetes_, they sometimes make presents to the +governors of districts. Whenever the Emperor condescends to come down to +Tangier, three days after his arrival, it is the required etiquette for +the consuls to seek his presence, and to make their obeisance to the +Shereefian Lord. The consuls are accustomed to decide upon and control +the affairs of their own countrymen, and those placed under their +protection; but when a Moor and an European are concerned in a +transaction, it is usually a mixed commission of the consulate and the +Moorish authorities. + +Many curious anecdotes are current respecting the consuls and the +Moorish government. A Spanish consul once took it into his head to +strike his flag and leave Tangier. Whilst he was gone, the Emperor +ordered all the Jews to go and take possession of his house and live in +it, as a degradation. The consular house was soon crammed with dirty +Jews, whose vermin and filth rendered the house untenantable, until it +had undergone a thorough repair and cleansing. Sometimes the Emperor +shows a great affection for a particular consular family. The family of +the Portuguese Consul were great favorites. During the war of succession +in Portugal, the Portuguese Consul contracted debts in Tangier, not +being able to get his salary amidst the strife of parties. The Moors +complained to the Emperor of the consul's debts. Muley Abd Errahman, +though a thorough miser himself, paid the consul's debts, alleging as a +reason, "the consul was a friend of my ancestors, and he shall be my +friend." The Portuguese government wished to remove this consul on +account of his alleged Miguelite propensities, but the Emperor +threatened, if they did, that he would not receive another. Our +government compelled the Portuguese to gratify the personal feeling of +the Emperor. Senhor Colaso is a native of Morocco, as his father was +before him, and the Emperor calls them his own children. The Jewish +servants of the consulates are free from the poll-tax and other +obnoxious contributions, and their Moorish servants are also exempt from +government conscriptions. + +At times, very serious misunderstandings and disputes occur between the +consuls and the Emperor on the subject of his Imperial Highness. Our +consul, Mr. Hay, was shot at by a fanatic marabout, the ball missing +him, but killing a horse of one of the party. This affair was passed +over, the consul very properly taking no notice of a mad saint. But I +will cite another instance, as showing the intimate perception which the +Moors have of the peculiar precepts of our religion, as well as +exhibiting their own moral ideas, in each case representing them to us +in a favourable light. One of the Emperor's subjects had insulted the +French consul, M. Sourdeau, and Muley Suleiman addressed to him the +following singular epistle. + +"In the name of God, the most merciful. There is no power or force +except with the Most High and Great God! + +"Consul of the French nation, Sourdeau, and salutation to him who is in +the right way. Inasmuch as you are our guest, under our protection, and +consul in our country of a great nation, so we cannot but wish you the +greatest consideration and the honours. On which account, you will +perceive that that which has happened to you is to us intolerable, and +would still be so had it been done by one of our own children or most +intimate friends. And although we cannot put any obstacle to the decrees +of God, yet such an act is not grateful to us, even if it is done to the +vilest of men, or even cattle, and certainly we will not fail to show an +example of severe justice, God willing. If you were not Christians, +having a feeling heart, and bearing patiently injuries, after the +example of your prophet, whom God has in glory, Jesus the son of Mary, +who, in the Book which he brought you in the name of God, commands you, +that if any person strike you on one cheek turn to him the other also; +and who (always blessed of God!) also did not defend himself when the +Jews sought to kill him, from whom God took him. And, in our Book, it is +said, by the mouth of our Prophet, there is no people among whom there +are so many disposed to good works as those who call themselves +Christians; and certainly among you there are many priests and holy men +who are not proud; nevertheless, our Prophet also says, that we cannot +impute a crime to persons of three sorts, that is to say, madmen (until +they return to sound sense), children, and persons who sleep. Now this +man who has offended you is mad, and has no knowledge; but we have +decreed to give you full satisfaction. If, however, you should be +pleased to pardon him, you will perform a magnanimous work, and the Most +Merciful will abundantly recompense you. On the other hand, if you +absolutely wish him to be punished, he is in your hands, for in my +empire no one shall fear injustice or violence, with the assistance of +God." + +A whimsical story is current in Tangier respecting the dealings of the +Shereefian Court with the Neapolitan government, which characteristically +sets forth Moorish diplomacy or manoeuvring. A ship load of sulphur was +sent to the Emperor. The Moorish authorities declared it was very coarse +and mixed with dirt. With great alacrity, the Neapolitan government sent +another load of finer and better quality. This was delivered; and the +Consul asked the Moorish functionaries to allow the coarse sulphur to be +conveyed back. These worthies replied, "Oh dear, no! it is of no +consequence, the Emperor says, he will keep the bad, and not offend his +royal cousin, the King of Naples, by sending it back." The Neapolitan +government had no alternative but to submit, and thank the chief of the +Shereefs for his extreme condescension in accepting two ship-loads of +sulphur instead of one. + +There are occasional communications between Tangier and Tarifa, in +Spain, but they are very frequent with Gibraltar. A vast quantity of +European merchandize is imported here from Gibraltar for Fez and the +north of Morocco. All the postal and despatch business also comes +through Tangier, which has privileges that few or no other Maroquine +cities possess. The emperors, indeed, have been wont to call it "the +City of Christians." In the environs, there is at times a good deal of +game, and the European residents go out to shoot, as one is wont in +other countries to talk a walk. The principal game is the partridge and +hare, and the grand sport, the wild boar. Our officers of the Gibraltar +garrison come over for shooting. But quackery and humbug exist in +everything. A young gentleman has just arrived from Gibraltar, who had +been previously six weeks on his passage from Holland to that place, +with his legs infixed in a pair of three-league boots. He says he has +come from Holland on purpose to sport and hunt in Morocco. Several of +the consuls, when they go out sporting, metamorphose themselves into +veteran Numidian sportsmen. You would imagine they were going to hunt +lions for months in the ravines of the Atlas, whereas it is only to +shoot a stray partridge or a limping hare, or perchance they may meet +with a boar. And this they do for a couple of days, or twenty-four +hours, sleeping during the night very snugly under tents, and fed and +feasted with milk, fowls, and sheep by the Arabs. + +Morocco, like all despotic countries, furnishes some severe examples of +the degrading of high functionaries. There is an old man, +Sidi-El-Arby-Es-Said, living there, who is a marked victim of imperial +tyranny. Some years ago, the conqueror despoiled him of all his wealth, +and threw him into prison, after he had been twenty years bashaw of this +district. He was in prison one year with his two sons. The object of the +Emperor was to extort the last filse of his money; and he entirely +succeeded. The oppressor, however, relented a little on the death of one +of his victim's sons; released him from confinement, and gave the +ex-bashaw two houses, one for himself and the other for his surviving +son. The old captain of the port has been no less than a dozen times in +prison, under the exhausting pressure of the Emperor. After the imperial +miser has copiously bled his captain, he lets him out to fill his skin +again. The old gentleman is always merry and loyal, in spite of the +treatment from his imperial taskmaster. + +Very funny stories are told by the masters of the small craft, who +transport the bullocks from hence to Gibraltar. The government of that +place are only allowed to export, at a low duty per annum, a certain +number of bullocks. The contractor's agents come over; and at the moment +of embarking the cattle, something like the following dialogue +frequently ensues. + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Count away!" + +_Captain of the Port_.--"One, two, three, &c. Thirty, forty. Ah! stop! +stop! too many." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"No, you fool, there are only thirty." + +_Captain of the Port_.--"You lie! there are forty." + +_Agent of Contractor_.--"Only thirty, I tell you," (putting three or +four dollars into his hand). + +_Captain of the Port_.--"Well, well, there are only thirty." + +And, in this way, the garrison of Gibraltar often gets 500 or 1,000 head +of cattle more than the stipulated number, at five dollars per head duty +instead of ten. Who derives the benefit of peculation I am unable to +state. An anecdote recurs to me of old Youssef, Bashaw of Tripoli, +illustrative of the phlebotomizing system now under consideration. +Colonel Warrington one day seriously represented to the bashaw how his +functionaries robbed him, and took the liberty of mentioning the name of +one person. "Yes, yes," observed the bashaw, "I know all about him; I +don't want to catch him yet; he's not fat enough. When he has gorged a +little more, I'll have his head off." + +The Emperor of Morocco, however, usually treats his bashaws of the coast +with greater consideration than those of the interior cities, the former +being more in contact with Europeans, his Highness not wishing his +reputation to suffer in the eyes of Christians. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Posada.--Ingles and Benoliel.--Amulets for successful +parturition.--Visits of a Moorish Taleb and a Berber.--Three Sundays +during a week in Barbary.--M. Rey's account of the Empire of +Morocco.--The Government Auctioneer gives an account of Slavery and the +Slave Trade in Morocco.--Benoliel as English Cicerone.--Departure from +Tangier to Gibraltar.--How I lost my fine green broadcloth.--Mr. +Frenerry's opinion of Maroquine Affairs. + + +I took up my stay at the "English Hotel" (posada Ingles), kept by +Benoliel, a Morocco Jew, who spoke tolerable English. A Jerusalemitish +rabbi came in one day to write charms for his wife, she being near her +confinement. The superstition of charms and other cognate matters, are +shared alike by all the native inhabitants of Barbary. It often happens +that a Marabout shrine will be visited by Moor and Jew, each investing +the departed saint with his own peculiar sanctity. So contagious is this +species of superstition, that Romish Christians, long resident in +Barbary, assisted by the inventive monks, at last discover the Moorish +or Jewish to be a Christian saint. The Jewesses brought our Oriental +rabbi, declaring him to know everything, and that his garments smelt of +the Holy City. Benoliel, or Ben, as the English called him, protested to +me that he did not believe in charms; he only allowed the rabbi to write +them to please the women. But I have found, during my travels in the +Mediterranean, many persons of education, who pretended they did not +believe this or that superstition of their church, whilst they were at +heart great cowards, having no courage to reject a popular falsehood, +and quite as superstitious as those who never doubt the excrescent +dogmas or traditionary fables of their religion. The paper amulets, +however, operated favourably on Mrs. Benoliel. She was delivered of a +fine child; and received the congratulations of her neighbours. The +child was named Sultana; [9] and the people were all as merry as if a +princess had been born in Israel. + +I received a visit from a Moorish taleb, to whom I read some portions of +my journal, as also the Arabic Testament: + +_Taleb_.--"The English read Arabic because they are the friends of +Mussulmans. For this reason, God gives them wit to understand the +language of the Koran." + +_Traveller_.--"We wish to study all languages, and to know all people." + +_Taleb_.--"Now, as you have become so wise in our country, and read +Arabic, where next are you going? Why not be quiet and return home, and +live a marabout? Where next are you going?" + +In this strain the Taleb continued lecturing me, until he was +interrupted by a Berber of Rif. + +The Rifian.--"Christian, Engleez, come to our mountains. I will conduct +you to the Emir, on whom is the blessing of God. Come to the Emir, +come." + +Traveller.--"No, I've nothing to do with war." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! I know you are a necromancer. Cannot you tell +me where money is buried? I want money very bad. Give me a peseta." + +Traveller.--"Not I. I am going to see your Emperor." + +The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! that is right; give him plenty of money. Muley +Abd Errahman hoards up money always. If you give him plenty of money, +you will be placed on a horse and ride by his side." + +The inhabitants of Barbary all bury their money. The secret is confided +to a single person, who often is taken ill, and dies before he can +discover the hiding place to his surviving relatives. Millions of +dollars are lost in this way. The people, conscious of their secret +practice, are always on the scent for concealed treasures. + +One Friday, some Jews asked the governor of the custom-house to grant +them their clearance-papers, because they were, early on the Sunday +following, to depart for Gibraltar. The governor said, "Come to-morrow." +"No," replied the Jews, "we cannot, it's our feast." "Well," returned +the governor, "you Jews have your feasts, the Christians have theirs, +and we Mussulmen will have ours. I'll not go down to the custom-house to +day, for it is my feast." These three Sundays or feasts, prevalent +through North Africa, are very inconvenient for business, and often make +men rebels to their religious persuasions. + +The following is a Frenchman's account of Morocco [10] up to the time of +its bombardments. + +"The question of Algeria cannot be confined within the limits of the +French possessions. It embraces Morocco, a country possessing a vast and +varied population. Leo gave a marvellous description of Fez, as the +second city of Islamism in his time. Travellers who have sought to +explore Africa, rarely or never took the route via Morocco. Formerly, +monks were stationed in the interior to purchase captives; but, since +piracy has ceased, these have left the country. Very few persons go into +the interior, for Maroquine merchants come out of their country to +trade. Tangier and Tetuan are not fair specimens of Morocco; they form a +transition from Europe to Africa, being neither Spain nor Morocco. The +ambassador, or merchant, who now-a-days gets an audience with the +Sultan, is allowed to see little of the country, arising from the +jealousy of the government or native merchants. Davidson was probably +murdered by the jealousy of the Fez merchants. + +"All the larger cities of Morocco are situate upon the coast, excepting +three capitals of the interior--Fez, Miknas, and Morocco, to which +El-Kesar-Kebir may be added. The other interior places are mostly large +villages, where the tribes of the country collect together. The +inhabitants of the cities make gain their only business, and debauchery +their only pleasure. As to their learning, there is an immense +difference between a Turkish ulema and a Moorish doctor. + +"From the fall of Carthage and Rome, until the fourteenth century, the +people of North Africa have had relations with Europe. The independence +of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco fell by internal dissensions like the +Mussulman power in Spain. After expelling the Mahometans from Spain, the +Christians (Spaniards and Portuguese) pursued them to Morocco, and built +a line of forts on its coasts. Those have all now been abandoned except +four, held by Spain. England destroyed the fortifications and abandoned +Tangier, which she had obtained through Portugal. To blockade Tangier at +the present time, would do more harm to England than Morocco, by cutting +off the supply of provisions for Gibraltar. + +"The navy of Morocco was never very great. It was the audacity and +cruelty of its pirates which frightened Christendom. During the maritime +wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Emperor of Morocco +remained neutral, which was a great benefit to the Christian belligerent +powers. Spain must be at peace with Morocco; she must either be an +active friend, or an enemy. The policy of Morocco, in former times, was +so well managed, that it made all the Christian powers pay a certain +tribute to that country, to insure themselves against the piracy of its +cruisers. + +"The history of the diplomatic relations of Europe with Morocco, +presents only a chronicle of shameful concessions made by the European +powers to the Moorish princes. At the end of the eighteenth century, the +Sultan of Morocco declared that, 'Whoever was not his friend was his +enemy,' or, in other words, that 'he would arm his cruisers against +every flag which did not float upon a consular house at Tangier.' + +"Muley Abd Errahman sent his corsairs to sea in 1828 to frighten the +European powers into treaties. The plan succeeded, the first squabble +being with Austria. From 1830, or, better to mark the period, since the +capture of Algiers, the corsairs and their depredations have ceased. The +progress of France in Africa has produced a profound impression in +Morocco, but European powers have not taken their due advantage of this. +Many humiliating acts have been performed by different governments. +England possessed herself of all the commerce of importance since she +has been established at Gibraltar. On the whole coast of Morocco, there +are only two mercantile establishments under the French flag. French +consular agents have no influence with the Moorish government. Morocco +and Spain have shewn themselves neighbours. Mutual assistance has often +been given by Morocco and Spain, in cases of national distress, +particularly in seasons of famine. + +"The Sultan of Morocco surveys from a distance the events of Europe, and +endeavours to arrest their effect on his frontier. The residence of the +foreign consuls was first at Rabat, then at Tangier. The object has +constantly been to keep the consuls, as far as possible, from his +capital and the transactions of his interior, in order that they may not +see the continual revolts of his tribes, and so discover the weakness +and disunion of the empire. Communications between Tangier and Morocco +require at least forty days, a system shrewdly laid down by the Sultan, +who is anxious to be as remote as possible from the consuls and their +influence. + +"The state of the army and navy, and particularly of the munitions of +war, is very bad. All the coast of Morocco is difficult of access, and +the only two ports which would have served for a naval station, are +those which have been abandoned, viz., the Bay of Santa Cruz and the +ancient Mamora, between El-Araish and Rabat; the rest are only +roadsteads." + +M. Rey thus sums up his observations upon European diplomacy directed +towards Morocco. "Voluntary humbling of European nations, always ready +to pander to Moorish rapacity, even without reaping any advantage for +it; and who submit themselves to be uselessly ransomed. As to the +English, they show suppleness and prudence, and sacrificing national +dignity to the prosperity of commerce; the Sultans are not backward in +taking advantage adroitly of a situation so favourable and almost +unique; such is the picture of the diplomatic relations we have +sketched." + +He describes the personal character and habits of the Sultan, Muley Abd +Errahman, and gives details of the court. + +"A Jew is the master-cook of the Emperor, his Imperial Highness always +eats alone. The Sultan receives European merchants in a very friendly +manner, whilst he keeps ambassadors at a respectful distance. An +interview with an ambassador does not last more than ten minutes. The +Sultan replies in a phraseology which has not been varied for three +centuries. The title of the present vizier is not minister, but sahab, +"friend" or "companion." The Sultan has the soundest judgment of any man +in his empire, and great tact in the administration of affairs. He +instructs himself by continual questions. + +"His passion is avarice, and he has converted the whole empire into a +commercial firm for the accumulation of his gains. Muley Tsmael left a +treasury of 100 millions of ducats, [11] and at the death of Sidi +Mohammed, this treasury was reduced to two millions. The constant +occupation of Muley Abd Errahmnan is to replenish the imperial treasury. +Commerce, which was neglected by his predecessors, has all his +attention. The cruelty of the former sultans is exchanged for the +avarice of the present. The history of these Shereefian princes is a +chain of unheard-of atrocities. The present sultan keeps not a single +promise when his interests interfere." + +M. Rey gives us this flattering tableau as a social picture of Morocco. + +Covetous governors are continually succeeding one another, they are ever +eager of enjoying the advantages of their position; their thirst for +plunder is so much the more intense, as they are not allowed time to +satisfy it, so they prey on the people. The inhabitants of towns and of +the country live in rags in miserable hovels. What raiment! what food! +mortality is dreadful, the children are invalids, and the women, +especially in the country, are condemned to do the work of beasts of +burden; such is the picture of society. + +I have quoted these few passages from the "Memoire" of M. Rey, because +he was resident many years in Tangier, and his account of the country +discovers talent and intelligence, but is, of course, coloured with a +strong anti-English feeling. Mr. Hay wrote on the back of his +Memoire,--"All that is said in reference to Great Britain is false and +malicious." M. Rey's opinions of the Moors and the present governors are +still more bitter and unjust. + +I had an interview with El-Martel-Warabah, government auctioneer of +slaves, from whom I obtained details respecting the slave-trade in +Tangier and Morocco generally. There is no market for slaves in Tangier. +The poor creatures are led about the town as cattle, particularly in the +main street, before the doors of the principal merchants, where they are +usually disposed of. No Jew or Christian is permitted to buy or hold a +slave in this country. Government possess many slaves, and people hire +them out by the day from the authorities. The ordinary price of a good +slave is eighty dollars. Boys, at the age of nine or ten years, sell the +best; female slaves do hot fetch so much as male slaves, unless of +extraordinary beauty. Slaves are imported from all the south. + +The Sultan levies no duty on the sale or import of slaves. When one runs +away from his master, and takes refuge with another, the new master +usually writes to the former, offering to buy him; thus slaves are often +enticed away. They are sometimes allowed to abscond without their owners +troubling themselves about them, their master's being unable either to +feed or sell them. + +In cases of punishment for all serious offences, slaves are brought +before the judicial authorities, and suffer the same punishment as free +men. In cases not deemed grave, they are flogged, or otherwise privately +punished by their masters. Slaves went to war with Abd-el-Kader, against +the French. The Arabs of Algeria had formerly many slaves. The chief +depot of slaves is Morocco, the southern capital. Ten thousand have been +imported during one year; but the average number brought into Morocco +is, perhaps, not more than half that amount. The Maroquine Moors, before +departing for any country under the British flag, usually give liberty +to their slaves. On their return, however, they sell them again as +slaves, or get rid of them some way or other. A slave once having tasted +of liberty, can never again be fully reconciled to thraldom. Moors +resident in Gibraltar, have frequently slaves with them. A few days ago, +a slave-boy, resident in Gibraltar, wished to turn Christian, and was +immediately sent back to Tangier, and sold to another master. + +Europeans, with whom I have conversed in Tangier, assure me that slaves +are generally well treated, and that cases of cruelty are rare. +Nevertheless, they eagerly seek their freedom when an opportunity +offers. In 1833, a man of great power and influence in the Gharb +(province of Morocco), named El-Haj Mohammed Ben El-Arab, on a +remonstrance of his slaves, who stated that the English had abolished +slavery, and that they ought to have their liberty, called all his +slaves together, to the number of seventy-two, and actually took the +bold and generous resolution of liberating them. But, before releasing +them from bondage, he lectured them upon the difficulty of finding +subsistence in their new state of freedom, and then wrote out their +_Atkas_ of liberty. As might have been expected, some returned +voluntarily to servitude, not being able to get a living, whilst the +greater part obtained an honourable livelihood, enjoying the fruits of +independent freedom. It is mentioned, as an instance of fidelity, that a +negress is the gaoler of the women in Tangier. [12] + +At every Moorish feast of consequence (four of which are celebrated here +in a year), the slaves of Tangier perambulate the streets with music and +dancing, dressed in their holiday clothes, to beg alms from all classes +of the population, particularly Europeans. The money collected is +deposited in the hands of their chief; to this is added the savings of +the whole year. In the spring, all is spent in a feast, which lasts +seven days. The slaves carry green ears of wheat, barley, and fresh +dates about the town. The Moorish women kiss the new corn or fruit, and +give the slaves a trifle of money. A slave, when he is dissatisfied with +his master, sometimes will ask him to be allowed to go about begging +until he gets money enough to buy his freedom. The slave puts the atka +in his mouth (which piece of written paper when signed, assures his +freedom), and goes about the town, crying, "Fedeeak Allah, (Ransom of +God!)" All depends on his luck. He may be months, or even years, before +he accumulates enough to purchase his ransom. + +Tangier Moors pretend that the negroes of Timbuctoo sacrifice annually a +white man, the victim being preserved and fed for the occasion. When the +time of immolation arrives, the white man is adorned with fair flowers, +and clothes of silk and many colours, and led out and sacrificed at a +grand "fiesta." Slaves and blacks in Morocco keep the same feast, with +the difference, that not being able to get a man to sacrifice, they kill +a bullock. Such a barbarous rite may possibly be practised in some part +of Negroland, but certainly not at Timbuctoo. All these tales about +Negro cannibals I am inclined to believe inventions. There never yet has +been published a well authenticated case of negro cannibalism. + +The grand cicerone for the English at Tangier, is Benoliel. He is a man +of about sixty years of age, and initiated into the sublimest mysteries +of the consular politics of the Shereefs. Ben is full of anecdotes of +everybody and everything from the emperor on the Shreefian throne, down +to the mad and ragged dervish in the streets. Our cicerone keeps a book, +in which the names of all his English guests have been from time to time +inscribed. His visitors have been principally officers from Gibraltar, +who come here for a few days sporting. On the bombardment of Tangier, +Ben left the country with other fugitives. The Moorish rabble plundered +his house; and many valuables which were there concealed, pledged by +persons belonging to Tangier, were carried away; Ben was therefore +ruined. Some foolish people at Gibraltar told Ben, that the streets of +London were paved with gold, or, at any rate, that, inasmuch as he (Ben) +had in his time entertained so many Englishmen at his hospitable +establishment at Tangier (for which, however, he was well paid), he +would be sure to make his fortune by a visit to England. I afterwards +met Ben accidentally in the streets of London, in great distress. Some +friends of the Anti-Slavery Society subscribed a small sum for him, and +sent him back to his family in Gibraltar. Poor Ben was astonished to +find as much misery in the streets of our own metropolis, as in any town +of Morocco. Regarding his co-religionists in England, Ben observed with +bitterness, "The Jews there are no good; they are very blackguards." He +was disappointed at their want of liberality, as well as their want of +sympathy for Morocco Jews. Ben thought he knew everything, and the ways +of this wicked world, but this visit to England convinced him he must +begin the world over again. Our cicerone is very shrewd; withal is +blessed with a good share of common sense; is by no means bigoted +against Mahometans or Christians, and is one of the more respectable of +the Barbary Jews. His information on Morocco, is, however, so mixed up +with the marvellous, that only a person well acquainted with North +Africa can distinguish the probable from the improbable, or separate the +wheat from the chaff. Ben has a large family, like most of the Maroquine +Jews; but the great attraction of his family is a most beautiful +daughter, with a complexion of jasmine, and locks of the raven; a +perfect Rachel in loveliness, proving fully the assertion of Ali Bey, +and all other travellers in Morocco, that the fairest women in this +country are the Jewesses. Ben is the type of many a Barbary Jew, who, to +considerable intelligence, and a few grains of what may be called fair +English honesty, unites the ordinarily deteriorated character of men, +and especially Jews, bora and brought up under oppressive governments. +Ben would sell you to the Emperor for a moderate price; and so would the +Jewish consular agents of Morocco. A traveller in this country must, +therefore, never trust a Maroquine Jew in a matter of vital importance. + +Mr. Drummond Hay, our Consul at Tangier, advised me to return to +Gibraltar, and to go by sea to Mogador, and thence to Morocco, where the +Emperor was then residing. Adopting his advice, I left the same evening +for Gibraltar. I took my passage in a very fine cutter, which had +formerly been a yacht, and had since been engaged as a smuggler of +Spanish goods. I confess, I was not sorry to hear that the Spanish +custom-house was often duped. The cutter had been purchased for the +Gibraltar secret service. + +The Anti-Slavery Society had placed at my disposal a few yards of green +cloth, for a present to the minister of the Emperor. At the custom-house +of Havre-de-Grace, I paid a heavy duty on it. But, when I got to Irun, +on the Spanish frontier, (having determined to come through Spain in +order to see the country), the custom-house officers demanded a duty +nearly double the cost of the cloth in London, so that there was no +alternative but to leave it in their possession. The only satisfaction, +or revenge which I had, was that of calling them _ladrones_ in the +presence of a mob of people, who, to do justice to the Spanish populace, +all took my part. + +When I complained of this conduct at Madrid, my friends laughed at my +simplicity, and told me I was "green" in Spanish; and in travelling +through "the land of chivalry," and of "ingeniosos hildagos," ought, on +the contrary, to thank God that I had arrived safe at Madrid with a +dollar in my pocket; whilst they kindly hinted, if I should really get +through the province of Andalusia safe to Cadiz, without being stripped +of everything, I must record it in my journal as a miracle of good luck. +This was, however, exaggeration. I had no reason to complain of anything +else during the time I was in Spain. My fellow travellers (all +Spaniards), nevertheless, rebuked me for want of tact. "You ought," they +said, "to have given a few pesetas to the guard of the diligencia, who +would have taken charge of your cloth, and kept it from going through +the custom-house." + +On reaching Gibraltar, I made the acquaintance of Frenerry, who for +thirty years has been a merchant in Morocco. Mr. Frenerry had frequent +opportunities of personal intercourse with Muley Abd Errahman, and had +more influence with him than the British Consul. Indeed, at all times, a +merchant is always more welcome to his Imperial Highness than a +diplomatic agent, who usually is charged with some disagreeable mission. +Mr. Frenerry was called, par excellence, "the merchant of the West." Of +course, Mr. Frenerry's opinions must be valuable on Maroquine affairs. +He says:--"The Morocco Moors like the English very much, and better than +any other Europeans, for they know the English to be their best friends. +At the same time, the Moors feel their weakness. They know also, that a +day might come when the English would be against them, or have disputes +with them, as in days past. The Moors are, therefore, jealous of the +English, though they consider them their friends; and do not like +Englishmen more than any other Christians to travel in their country. In +other respects, if well managed and occasionally coaxed or bribed with a +present, the Moors are very good natured, and as tractable as children." + +However, I find since the murder of Mr. Davidson, both the people and +government of Morocco have got a bad name in Gibraltar; and opinion +begins to prevail that it is almost impossible for an Englishman to +travel in the country. Mr. Frenerry recommends that a Moor should be +treated not proudly, but with a certain degree of firmness, to shew him +you will not be trifled with. In this way, he says, you will always +continue friends. + +With regard to the present Emperor, Mr. Frenerry is a great apologist of +his system. + +"The Emperor is obliged to exclude foreigners as much as possible from +his country. He does not want to tempt the cupidity of Europeans, by +showing them the resources of the empire. They are prying about for +mines of iron and silver. He is obliged to forbid these geological +wanderings. The subjects of his empire are divided in their feelings and +interests, and have been driven there by every wave of human +revolutions. The Emperor does not wish to discover his weakness abroad, +by letting Europeans witness the bad faith and disloyalty of his +heterogeneous tribes. The European consuls are much to blame; they +always carry their heads too high, if not insolently. They then appoint +Jewish consuls along the coast, a class of men whom the hereditary +prejudices of his Mussulman subjects will not respect." + +There is certainly something, if not a good deal, to be said _for_ the +emperor as well as _against_ him. I was obliged to wait some time at +Gibraltar before I could get a vessel for Mogador. I missed one +excellent opportunity from the want of a note from the Gibraltar +government. A Moor offered to allow me to take a passage without any +expense in his vessel, provided I could obtain a note from our +government; but the Governor of Gibraltar required an introduction in +form, and, before I could receive a letter from Mr. Hay to present to +him, the vessel left for Mogador. I therefore lost money and time +without any necessity. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Departure from Gibraltar to Mogador.--The Straits.--Genoese Sailors.-- +Trade-wind Hurricanes en the Atlantic Coast of Morocco.--Difficulties of +entering the Port of Mogador.--Bad provisioning of Foreign +Merchantmen.--The present Representative of the once far-famed and +dreaded Rovers.--Disembarkation at Mogador.--Mr. Phillips, Captain of +the Port--Rumours amongst the People about my Mission.--Visit to the +Cemeteries.--Maroquine Wreckers.--Health of the inhabitants of +Mogador.--Moorish Cavaliers "playing at powder" composed of the ancient +Nuraidians.--The Barb.--The Life Guards of the Moorish Emperor.--Martial +character of the Negro.--Some account of the Black Corps of the +Shereefs.--Orthodoxy of the Shereefs, and illustrative anecdotes of the +various Emperors. + + +On leaving the Straits (commonly called "The Gut,") a noble sight +presented itself--a fleet of some hundred merchantmen, all smacking +about before the rising wind, crowding every sail, lest it should change +ere they got clear of the obstructive straits. Many weeks had they been +detained by the westerly gales, and our vessel amongst the rest. I felt +the poignant misery of "waiting for the wind." I know nothing so +wearisome when all things are made ready. It is worse than hope +deferred, which sickens and saddens the heart. + +I have lately seen some newspaper reports, that government is preparing +a couple of steam-tugs, to be placed at the mouth of the straits, to tow +ships in and out. We may trust it will be done. But if government do it +not, I am sure it would answer the purpose of a private company, and I +have no doubt such speculation will soon be taken up. Vessels freighted +with perishable cargoes are often obliged to wait weeks, nay months, at +the mouth of the Straits, to the great injury of commerce. In our days +of steam and rapid communication, this cannot be tolerated. [13] + +After a voyage of four days, we found ourselves off the coast of +Mogador. The wind had been pretty good, but we had suffered some delay +from a south wind, which headed us for a short time. We prayed for a +westerly breeze, of which we soon got enough from west and north-west. +The first twelve hours it came gently on, but gradually increased till +it blew a gale. The captain was suddenly called up in the night, as +though the ship was going to sink, or could sink, whilst she was running +as fast as we would let her before the wind. But the real danger lay in +missing the coast of Mogador, or not being able to get within its port +from the violence of the breakers near the shore. Our vessel was a small +Genoese brig; and, though the Genoese are the best sailors in the +Mediterranean--even superior to the Greeks, who rank next--our captain +and his crew began to quake. At daylight, the coast-line loomed before +us, immersed in fog, and two hours after, the tall minaret of the great +mosque of Mogador, shooting erect, a dull lofty pyramid, stood over the +thick haze lying on the lower part of the coast. + +This phenomenon of the higher objects and mountains being visible over a +dense fog on the shore, is frequent on this side of the Atlantic. Wind +also prevails here. It scarcely ever rains, but wind the people have +nine months out of the twelve. It is a species of trade-wind, which +commences at the Straits, or the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and +sweeps down north-west with fury, making the entire coast of Morocco a +mountain-barrier of breakers, increasing in its course, and extending as +far as Wadnoun, Cape Bajdor, Cape Blanco, even to the Senegal. It does +not, however, extend far out at sea, being chiefly confined to the coast +range. Our alarm now was lest we should get within the clutches of this +fell swoop, for the port once past, it would have required us weeks to +bear up again, whilst this wind lasted. + +The Atlantic coast of Morocco is an indented or waving line, and there +are only two or three ports deserving the name of harbours--harbours of +refuge from these storms. Unlike the western coast of Ireland, so finely +indented by the Atlantic wave, this portion of the Morocco coast is +rounded off by the ocean. + +Our excitement was great. The capitano began yelping like a cowardly +school-boy, who has been well punched by a lesser and more courageous +antagonist. Immediately I got on deck, I produced an English book, which +mentioned the port of Mogador as a "good" port. + +"Per Dio Santo!" exclaimed our capitano; "yes, for the English it _is_ a +good port--you dare devils at sea--for them it _is_ a good port. The +open sea, with a gale of wind, is a good port for the _maladetti_ +English." + +Irritated at this extreme politeness to our gallant tars, who have so +long "braved the battle and the breeze," I did not trouble farther the +dauntless Genoese, who certainly was not destined to become a Columbus. +Now the men began to snivel and yelp, following the example of their +commander. "We won't go into the port, Santa Virgine! We won't go in to +be shivered to pieces on the rocks." At this moment our experienced +capitano fancied we had got into shoal-water; the surf was seen running +in foaming circles, as if in a whirlpool. Now, indeed, our capitano did +yelp; now did the crew yelp, invoking all the saints of the Roman +calendar, instead of attending to the ship. [14] Here was a scene of +indescribable confusion. Our ship was suddenly put round and back. + +My fellow passengers, a couple of Jews from Gibraltar, began swearing at +the capitano and his brave men. One of them, whilst cursing, thought it +just as well, at the same time, to call upon Father Abraham. Our little +brig pitched her bows two or three times under water like a storm-bird, +and did _not_ ground. It was seen to be a false alarm. The capitano now +took courage on seeing all the flags flying over the fortifications, it +being Friday, the Mahometan Sabbath. The silly fellow had heard, that +the port authorities always hauled down their colours, when the entrance +to the harbour was unsafe by reason of bad weather. Seeing the colours, +he imagined all was right. + +There are two entrances to the port of Mogador; one from the south, +which is quite open; the other from the north-west, which is only a +narrow passage, with scarcely room to admit a ship-of-the-line. The +'Suffren,' in which the Prince de Joinville commanded the bombardment of +the town, stood right over this entrance, on the northern channel, +having south-east the Isle of Mogador, and north-west the coast of the +Continent. The Prince took up a bold and critical position, exposed to +violent currents, to grounding on a rocky bottom, and to many other +serious accidents. [15] + +[Illustration] + +As we neared this difficult entrance, we were all in a state of the most +feverish excitement, expecting, such was the fury of the breakers, to be +thrown on the rock on either side. Thus, it was a veritable Scylla and +Charybdis. A man from the rigging descried several small vessels moored +snugly behind the isle. We ventured in with breathless agitation. A man +from one of the fortifications, guessing or seeing, I suppose, our +timidity and bad seamenship, cried out at the top of his lungs, "Salvo!" +which being interpreted, meant, "The entrance is safe." + +But this was not enough; we were to have another trial of patience. The +foolish captain--to terrify us to the last--had to cast his anchor, as a +matter of course; and imagine, dear reader, our alarm, our terror, when +we heard him scream out, "The chain is snapped!" We were now to be +driven out southwards by the fury of the wind, which had become a +hurricane, no very agreeable prospect! Happily, also this was a false +alarm. The capitano then came up to me, to shake hands, apologize, and +present congratulations on our safe harbouring. The perspiration of +fever and a heated brain was coursing down his cheeks. The capitano lit +an extra candle before the picture of the Virgin below, and observed to +me, whilst the men were saying their prayers of gratitude for +deliverance, "Per un miraculo della santissima Vergina; noi sciamo +salvati!"--(we are saved by a miracle of the Most Holy Virgin!) which, +of course, I did not or could not dispute, allowing, as I do, all men in +such circumstances, to indulge freely in their peculiar faith, so long +as it does not interfere with me or mine. + +It is well that our merchant-vessels have never been reduced to the +condition of Genoese craft, or been manned by such chicken-hearted +crews. I believe the pusillanimity of the latter is traceable, in a +great measure, to the miserable way in which the poor fellows are fed. +These Genoese had no meat whilst I was with them. I sailed once in a +Neapolitan vessel, a whole month, during which time the crew lived on +horse-beans, coarse maccaroni, Sardinian fish, mouldy biscuit, and +griping black wine. Meat they had none. How is it possible for men thus +fed, to fight and wrestle with the billows and terrors of the deep? + +We had no ordinary task to get on shore; the ocean was without, but a +sea was within port. The wind increased with such fury, that we +abandoned for the day the idea of landing. We had, however, specie on +board, which it was necessary forthwith to land. Mr. Philips, captain of +the port, and a merchant's clerk, therefore, came alongside with great +difficulty in a Moorish boat, to take on shore the specie; and in it I +embarked. This said barque was the miserable but apt representation of +the by-gone formidable Maroquine navy, which, not many centuries ago, +pushed its audacity to such lengths, that the "rovers of Salee" cruised +off the English coast, and defied the British fleets. Now the whole +naval force of the once-dreaded piratic states of Barbary can hardly +boast of two or three badly-manned brigs or frigates. As to Morocco, the +Emperor has not a single captain who can conduct a vessel from Mogador +to Gibraltar. + +The most skilful _rais_ his ports can furnish made an attempt lately, +and was blown up and down for months on the coasts of Spain and +Portugal, being at last driven into the Straits by almost miraculous +interposition. + +What was this Moorish boat in which I went on shore? A mere long shell +of bad planks, and scarcely more ship-shape than the trunk of a tree +hollowed into a canoe, leakily put together. It was filled with dirty, +ragged, half-naked sailors, whose seamanship did not extend beyond +coming and going from vessels lying in this little port. Each of these +Mogadorian port sailors had a bit of straight pole for an oar; the way +in which they rowed was equally characteristic. Struggling against wind +and current with their Moorish rais at the helm, encouraging their +labours by crying out first one thing, then another, as his fancy +dictated, the crew repeated in chorus all he said:--"Khobsah!" (a loaf) +cried the rais. + +All the men echoed "Khobsah." + +"A loaf you shall have when you return!" cried the rais. + +"A loaf we shall have when we return!" cried the men. + +"Pull, pull; God hears and sees you!" cried the rais. + +"We pull, we pull; God hears and sees us!" cried the men. + +"Sweetmeats, sweetmeats, by G--; sweetmeats by G--you shall have, only +pull away!" swore the rais. + +"Sweetmeats we shall have, thank God! sweetmeats we shall have, thank +God!" roared the men, all screaming and bawling. In this unique style, +after struggling three hours to get three miles over the port, we +landed, all of us completely exhausted and drowned in spray. + +It is usual for Moors, particularly negroes, to sing certain choruses, +and thus encourage one another in their work. What, however, is +remarkable, these choruses are mostly on sacred subjects, being +frequently the formula of their confession, "There is no God, but one +God, and Mahomet is his Prophet," &c. These clownish tars were deeply +coloured, and some quite black. I found, in fact, the greatest part of +the Moorish population of Mogador coloured persons. We may here easily +trace the origin of the epithet "Black-a-Moor," and we are not so +surprised that Shakspeare made his Moor black; indeed, the present +Emperor, Muley Abd Errahman, is of very dark complexion, though his +features are not at all of the negro cast. But he has sons quite black, +and with negro features, who, of course, are the children of negresses. +One of these, is Governor of Rabat. In no country is the colour of the +human skin so little thought of. This is a very important matter in the +question of abolition. There is no objection to the skin and features of +the negro; it is only the luxury of having slaves, or their usefulness +for heavy work, which weighs in the scale against abolition. + +As soon as we landed, we visited the lieutenant-governor, who +congratulated us on not being carried down to the Canary Islands. Then +his Excellency asked, in due studied form: + +"Where do you come from?" + +_Traveller_.--"Gibraltar." + +_His Excellency_.--"Where are you going?" + +_Traveller_.--"To see the Sultan, Muley Abd Errahman." + +_His Excellency_.--"What's your business?" + +_Traveller_.--"I will let your Excellency know to-morrow." + +I then proceeded to the house of Mr. Phillips, where I took up my +quarters. Mr. Willshire, our vice-consul, was absent, having gone up to +Morocco with all the principal merchants of Mogador, to pay a visit to +the Emperor. + +The port of Mogador had to-day a most wild and desolate appearance, +which was rendered still more dreary and hideous by a dark tempest +sweeping over it. On the shore, there was no appearance of life, much +less of trade and shipping. All had abandoned it, save a guard, who lay +stretched at the gate of the waterport, like a grim watch-dog. From this +place, we proceeded to the merchants' quarter of the town, which was +solitary and immersed in profound gloom. Altogether, my first +impressions of Mogador were most unfavourable, I went to bed and dreamt +of winds and seas, and struggled with tempests the greater part of the +night. Then I was shipwrecked off the Canaries; thrown on the coast of +Wadnoun, and made a slave by the wild Arabs wandering in the Desert--I +awoke. + +Mr. Phillips, mine host, soon became my right-hand man. His +extraordinary character, and the adventures of his life are worth a +brief notice. Phillips said he was descended from those York Jews, who, +on refusing to pay a contribution levied on them by one of our most +Christian kings, had a tooth drawn out every morning (without the aid of +chloroform), until they satisfied the cruel avarice of the tyrant. In +person, Phillips was a smart old gentleman, with the ordinary lineaments +of his race stamped on his countenance. The greater part of his life has +been spent in South America, where he attained the honours of +aide-de-camp to Bolivar. In those sanguinary revolutions, heaving with +the birth of the young republic, he had often been shut up in the +capilla to be shot, and was rescued always by the Jesuit fathers, who +pitied and saved the poor Jew, on his expressing himself favourable to +Christianity. Returning to England, after twenty years' absence, his +mother did not fully recognize him, until he one day got up and admired, +with youthful ardour, a china figure on the chimney-piece, which had +been his toy in his boyhood. On the occurrence of this little domestic +incident, the mother passionately embraced her lost prodigal, once dead, +but now "alive again." Phillips came to Mogador on a military +speculation, and offered to take the command of the Emperor's cavalry +against all his enemies. + +This audacity of a Jew filled the Moor with alarm. "How could a Jew, who +was not a devil, propose such an insult to the Commander of the +Faithful, as to presume to take the charge of his invincible warriors!" +Nevertheless, the little fellow weathered the storm, and got appointed +"captain of the port of Mogador," with the liberal salary of about +thirty shillings per month; but this did not prevent our aide-de-camp, +now metamorphosed into a sea captain, from wearing _an admiral's_ +uniform, which he obtained in a curious way on a visit to England. He +met in the streets of London with an acquaintance, who pretended to +patronize him. The gentleman jokingly said, "Well, Phillips, I must give +you an uniform, since you are appointed captain of the port of Mogador." +The said gentleman received, a few months afterwards, when his quondam +protege was safe with his uniform strutting about Mogador, to the +amazement of the Moors, and the delight of his co-religionists, a bill +of thirty pounds or so, charged for "a suit of admiral's uniform for Mr. +Phillips, captain of the port of Mogador;" and found that a joke +sometimes has a serious termination. + +Phillips, on his first arrival in this country, entered into a +diplomatic contest with the Moorish authorities, demanding the +privileges of a native British-born Jew, and he determined to ride a +horse, in order to vindicate the rights of British Jews, before the +awful presence of the Shereefian Court! About this business, the +Consul-general Hay is said to have written eleven long, and Mr. +Willshire about twenty-one short and pithy despatches, but the affair +ended in smoke. Phillips, with great magnanimity and self-denial, +consented to relinquish the privilege, on the prayer of his brethren, +natives of Mogador, who were very naturally afraid, lest the incensed +Emperor might visit on them what he durst not inflict on the +British-born Jew. + +Of the achievements of Phillips in the way of science (for he assures he +is born to the high destiny of enlightening both barbarians and +civilized nations) I take the liberty, with his permission, of +mentioning one. Phillips brought here a pair of horse-shoes belonging to +a drayhorse of the firm of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, and Co., to astonish +the Moors by their size, who are great connoisseurs of horse-flesh. The +Moors protested their unbelief, and swore it was a lie,--"such shoes +never shod a horse." Phillips then got a skeleton of a head from +England. This they also scouted as an imposition, alleging that Phillips +had got it purposely made to deceive them. "Although they believed in +the Prophet, whom they never saw, they were still not such fools as to +believe in everything which an Infidel might bring to their country." +Phillips now gave up, in despair, the attempt to propagate science among +the Moors. + +Our ancient aide-de-camp of Bolivar is a liberal English Jew, and boasts +that, on Christmas-day, he always has his roast-beef and plum-pudding. I +supped with him often on a sucking-pig, for the Christians breed pigs in +this place, to the horror of pious Mussulmen. This amusing adventurer +subsequently left Mogador and went to Lisbon, where he purposed writing +a memorial to the Archbishop of Canterbury, containing the plan, of a +New Unitarian system of religion, by which the Jews might be brought +within the pale of the Christian Church! + +For some time I felt the effects of my sea voyage; my apartment rocked +in my brain. People speculated about the objects of my mission; the most +absurd rumours were afloat. "The Christian has come to settle the +affairs of Mr. Darman, whom the Emperor killed," some said. Others +remarked, "The Christian has come to buy all the slaves of the country, +in order to liberate them." The lieutenant-governor sent for Phillips, +to know what I came for, who I was, and how I passed my time? Phillips +told him all about my mission, and that I was a great taleb. When +Phillips mentioned to the governor, that Great Britain had paid a +hundred millions of dollars for the liberation of slaves belonging to +Englishmen, his Excellency, struck with astonishment, exclaimed, "The +English Sultan is inspired by God!" + +[Illustration.] + +I visited the burying-place of Christians, situate on the north-side of +the town by the sea-shore. A fine tomb was erected here to the memory of +Mrs. Willshire's father. The ignorant country people coming to Mogador +stopped to repeat prayers before it, believing it the tomb of some +favourite saint. The government, hearing of this idolatry to a +Christian, begged Mr. Willshire to have the tomb covered with cement. +When this was done, so perverse are these people, that they partially +divested it of covering, and chipped off pieces of marble for their +women, who ground them into powder, and dusted their faces with it to +make them fair. Every six months it is necessary to replaster the tomb. +This cemetery is the most desolate place the mind of man can conceive. +There is no green turf here to rest lightly on the bosom of the dead! No +tree, no cypress of mourning; no shade or shelter for those who seek to +indulge in grief. All is a sandy desolation, swept by the wild winds of +the solitary shore of the ocean. + +[Illustration] + +Farther on, is the Moorish cemetery, which I passed through. What a +spectacle of human corruption! Here, indeed, we may learn to despise +this world's poor renown, and cease tormenting ourselves with vain and +godless pursuits. It was then sunset, the moon had risen far up on the +fading brow of the departing day, casting pale lights and fearful +shadows over this house of the dead. It was time to return, or the gates +of the city would shut me out amidst the wreck of poor human dust and +bones. I saw, moving in the doubtful shadows of approaching night, the +grave-digging hyaena! + +It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. The wreckers of this coast +boldly assert that a shipwreck is a blessing (_berkah_), sent to them by +Providence. The port authorities have even the impudence to declare, +that to erect lighthouses at the mouth of the ports would be thwarting +the decrees of Divine Providence! In spite of all this, however, at the +urgent request of Mr. Willshire, when, on one occasion, the weather was +very bad, the governor of Mogador stationed guards on various parts of +the coast to preserve the lives and property of shipwrecked vessels. But +I do not think I have heard worse cases of Moorish wreckers, than those +which have happened not very many years ago on the French and English +coasts. Some of my readers will recollect the case of an Indiaman +wrecked off the coast of France, when poor ladies in a state of +suspended animation, had their fingers cut off to get possession of +their diamond-rings. During my stay at Mogador, a courier arrived from +Sous, bringing the news of some Christians being wrecked off the coast, +A Jew had purchased one poor fellow from the Arabs for two camels. Two +others were dead, their bodies cast upon the inhospitable beach by the +Atlantic surge, where they lay unburied, to be mangled by the wild +tribes, or to feed the hungry hyaena. + +Some of the merchants came hither from the capital; amongst the rest, +Mr. and Mrs. Elton, they, as well as others, brought a favourable +account of the Emperor and his ministers, and lauded very much the +commercial policy of the governor of Mogador. Moderation, it is said, is +the characteristic of the court's proceedings towards the merchants. +Trade was not very brisk, it being the rainy season, when the Arabs are +occupied with sowing the ground; the busy time is from September to +January. + +The produce sold at that time was simply that which is left of the past +season, having been kept back with the object of getting a better price +for it. Gum is brought in great quantities for exportation. An immense +quantity of sugar is imported, a third of which is loaf beet-root sugar +brought from Marseilles. + +Mr. Phillips came to me, to beg ten thousand pardons for having only +fowls for dinner. One morning two bullocks were killed by the Jews, but +not "according to the Law," and the greater part of the Jews that day +would have to go without meat. On these occasions, the Jews sell their +meat to the Moors and Christians at a reduced price. Phillips observed, +"I am obliged to eat meat according to the Law, or I should have no +peace of my life." + +A good many people were affected by colds, but the climate of Mogador is +reckoned very good. All the year round there is not much variation; N.W. +and N.E. winds bring cold in winter, and cool refreshing breezes in +summer. There was not a single medical man in Mogador, although there +were some fifty Europeans, including Jews. Some years ago a clever young +man was practising here. For one year, each European paid his share of +salary; but alas! those whom God blessed with good health, refused to +pay their quota to the support of a physician for their sickly +neighbours, consequently, every European's life was in the greatest +danger, should a serious accident occur to them. With regard to money, +they would prefer a broken leg all their life time to paying five pounds +to have it set. The consuls of Tangier subscribe for a resident +physician. + +[Illustration.] + +One afternoon, I went to see the Moorish cavalry "playing at powder," +(Lab Elbaroud) being a stirring and novel scene. A troop of these +haughty cavaliers assembled with their chiefs almost daily on the playa, +or parade. Then they divided themselves into parties of twenty or +thirty; proceeding with their manoeuvres, the cavaliers at first advance +slowly in a single line, then canter, and then gallop, spurring on the +horse to its last gasp, meantime standing up erect on their +shovel-stirrups, and turning from one side to the other; looking round +with an air of defiance, they fire off their matchlocks, throw +themselves into various dexterous attitudes, sometimes letting fall the +bridle. The pieces being discharged, the horses instantaneously stop. +The most difficult lesson a barb learns, is to halt suddenly in mid +career of a full gallop. To discharge his matchlock, standing on the +stirrups while the horse is in full gallop, is the great lesson of +perfection of the Maroquine soldiery. The cavaliers now wheel out of the +way for the next file, returning reloading, and taking their places to +gallop off and fire again. Crowds of people attend these equestrian +exhibitions, of which they are passionately fond. They squat round the +parade in double or treble rows, muffled up within their bournouses, in +mute admiration. Occasionally women are present, but females here join +in very few out-door amusements. When a whole troop of cavaliers are +thus manoeuvering, galloping at the utmost stretch of the horses' +muscles, the men screaming and hallowing "hah! hah! hah!" the dust and +sand rising in clouds before the foaming fiery barb, with the deafening +noise and confusion of a simultaneous discharge of firelocks, the +picture represents in vivid colours what might be conceived of the wild +Nubian cavalry of ancient Africa. [16] Today there was a mishap; several +cavaliers did not keep up the line. The chief leading the troops, cried +out in a rage, and with the voice of a senator, "Fools! madmen! are you +children, or are ye men?" Christians or Jews standing too near, are +frequently pushed back with violence; and we were told "not to stand in +the way of Mussulmen." + +These cavaliers are sometimes called _spahis_; they are composed of +Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and all the native races in Morocco. They are +usually plainly dressed, but, beneath the bournouse, many of them wear +the Moorish dress, embroidered in the richest style. Some of the horses +are magnificently caparisoned in superb harness, worked in silk and +gold. Fine harness is one of the luxuries of North Africa, and is still +much used, even in Tunis and Tripoli, where the new system of European +military dress and tactics has been introduced. The horse is the sacred +animal of Morocco, as well as the safeguard of the empire. The Sultan +has no other military defence, except the natural difficulties of the +country, or the hatred of his people to strangers. He does not permit +the exportation of horses, nor of barley, on which they are often fed. +[17] + +But the defeat of the Emperor's eldest son, Sidi Mahomed, at the Battle +of Isly, who commanded upwards of forty thousand of these cavaliers, has +thrown a shade over the ancient celebrity of this Moorish corps, and +these proud horsemen have since become discouraged. On that fatal day, +however, none of the black bodyguard of the Emperor was brought into +action. These muster some thirty thousand strong. This corps, or the +Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari, [18] are soldiers who possess the most cool and +undaunted courage; retreat with them is never thought of. Unlike the +Janissaries of old, their sole ambition is to _obey_, and not to _rule_ +their sovereign. This fidelity to the Shereefs remains unshaken through +all the shocks of the empire, and to the person of the Emperor they are +completely devoted. In a country like Morocco, of widely distinct races +and hostile tribes, all naturally detesting each other, the Emperor +finds in them his only safety. I cannot withhold the remark, that this +body-guard places before us the character of the negro in a very +favourable light. He is at once brave and faithful, the two essential +ingredients in the formation and development of heroic natures. + +It will, I trust, not be deemed out of place to consider for a moment +the warlike propensities and qualities of the negro. Every European who +has penetrated Africa, confesses to the bellicose disposition of the +negro, having seen him engaged with others in perpetual conflict. The +choice and retention of a body-guard of Blacks by the Moorish Emperor, +also triumphantly prove the martial nature of the negro race. But the +negro has signally displayed the military qualities of coolness and +courage in many instances, two or three of which I shall here take the +liberty of mentioning, in connexion with the affairs of Algeria. + +Mr. Lord relates, on the authority of the French, that, when the +invading army invested Fort de l'Empereur, and had silenced all its +guns, the Dey ordered the Turkish General to retreat to the Kasbah, and +leave three negroes to blow up the fort. It seemed, therefore, +abandoned, but two red flags floated still on its outward line of +defence, and a third on the angle towards the city. The French continued +all their efforts towards effecting a practicable breach. Three negroes +were now seen calmly walking on the ramparts, and from time to time +looking over as if examining the progress of the breach. One of them, +struck by a cannonball, fell; and the others, as if to avenge his death, +ran to a cannon, pointed it, and fired three shots. At the third, the +gun turned over, and they were unable to replace it. They tried another, +and as they were in the act of raising it, a shot swept the legs from +under one of them. The remaining negro gazed for a moment on his +comrade, drew him a little aside, left him, and once more examined the +breach. He then snatched one of the flags, and retired to the interior +of the tower. In a few minutes, he re-appeared, took a second flag and +descended. The French continued their cannonade, and the breach appeared +almost practicable, when suddenly they were astounded by a terrific +explosion, which shook the whole ground as with an earthquake. An +immense column of smoke, mixed with streaks of flames, burst from the +centre of the fortress; masses of solid masonry were hurled into the air +to an amazing height, while cannon, stones, timbers, projectiles, and +dead bodies were scattered in every direction. What was all this? The +negro had done his duty--the fort was blown up! + +In a skirmish near Mascara, one of Abd-el-Kader's negro soldiers killed +two Frenchmen with his own hand. The Emir, who was an eye-witness of his +bravery, rewarded him on the field of battle by presenting him with his +own sword and the Cross of the Crescent, the only military order in the +service, and which is never awarded except fur a very distinguished +action. Colonel Scott says the black was presented to him, and seemed as +proud of the honour conferred on him as if he had been made a K.G.C.B. + +In the strifes and disputes for succession that have characterized the +history of the Barbary princes, and reddened their annals with blood, +nothing has been more remarkable than the fidelity of the negroes to +their respective masters, and the bravery with which they have defended +them to the last hour of their reign or existence. When all his +partisans have deserted a pretender, when the soldiers of the successful +competitor to the throne have been in the act of pouncing upon the +fallen or falling prince, a handful of brave followers has rushed to the +rescue, and surrounded the person of their beloved leader, pouring out +their life-blood in his defence--and these men were negroes! To use a +vulgar metaphor, the negro will defend his master with the savage +courage and tenacity of a bull-dog. And this is the principal reason +which has induced the despotic princes of North Africa to cherish the +negroes, of whom they have encouraged a continual supply from the +interior. + +The history of this Imperial Guard of Negroes is interesting, as showing +the inconveniences as well as the advantage of such a corps, for these +troops have not been always so well conducted as they are at present. At +one time, the Shereefs claimed a species of sovereignty over the city of +Timbuctbo and the adjacent countries. In the year 1727, Muley Ismail +determined to re-people his wasted districts by a colony of negroes. His +secret object was, however, to form a body guard to keep his own people +in check, a sort of black Swiss regiment, so alike is the policy of all +tyrants. In a few years, these troops exceeded 100,000 men. Finding +their numbers so great, and their services so much needed by the Sultan, +they became exigeant and rapacious, dictating to their royal master. +Muley Abdallah was deposed six times by them. Finding their yoke +intolerable, the Sultan decimated them by sending them to fight in the +mountains. Others were disbanded for the same reasons by Sidi Mohammed. +Still, the effect of this new colonization was beneficially experienced +throughout the country. The Moors taking the black women as concubines, +a mixed race of industrious people sprang up, and gave an impetus to the +empire. It is questionable, however, if North Africa could he colonized +by negroes. By mixing with the Caucasian race, this experiment partly +succeeded. But in general, North Africa is too bleak and uncongenial for +the negroes' nature during winter. The negro race does not increase of +itself on this coast. Their present number is kept up by a continual +supply of slaves. When this is stopped, coloured people will begin +gradually to disappear. + +It is unnecessary to tell my readers that the Shereefs are very +sensitive on matters of religion; but an anecdote or two may amuse them. +A French writer expatiating in true Gallic style, calls Morocco the +"arriere-garde en Afrique of Islamism," and "une de ses armees de +reserve." Indeed, the coasts and cities of Morocco are inundated with +saints of every description and degree of sanctity. Morocco, in fact, is +not only the _classic_ land of Marabouts, but their home and haunt, and +sphere of agitation. There are ten thousand Abd-el-Kaders and Bou Mazas +all disputing authority with the High Priest, who sits on the green +throne of the Shereefs. Sometimes they assume the character of +demagogues, and inveigh against the rapacity and corruption of the court +and government. At others they appear as prophets, prophets of ill, by +preaching boldly the Holy war. + +The French in Africa now furnish them with an everlasting theme of +denunciation. From Morocco they travel eastwards, filling the Sahara and +the Atlas with the odours of their holy reputation. So that religious +light, like that of civilization, is now moving from the +west--eastwards, instead of, as in times past, from the east--eastwards. +The Maroquine Mahometans may be cited as a case in point. They find too +frequently only the form of religion in the east, as we do in the +eastern churches. They are beginning to assault Mecca as we have +assaulted Jerusalem. + +Now for an anecdote or two illustrative of the high state of orthodoxy +professed by the Shereefs. Some time ago, a number of handkerchiefs were +brought, or rather smuggled into Mogador, having printed upon them +passages from the Koran. One of them got into the hands of the Emperor, +who thinking the Christians were ridiculing the Sacred Book, ordered +instanter all the cities of the coast to be searched to discover the +offender who introduced them. Happily for the merchant he was not found +out. His Highness commanded that all the handkerchiefs which were +collected should be destroyed. When Mr. Davidson was at Morocco, he +prescribed some Seidlitz water for the use of the Sultan, and placed on +the sides of two bottles, containing the beverage, Arabic verses from +the Koran. The Sultan was exceedingly exasperated at this compliment to +his religion, and had it privately intimated to Mr. Davidson not to +desecrate the Holy Book in that abominable manner. The latter then very +prudently gave up to the minister all the printed verses he had brought +with him, which were concealed from public view. But if some of these +emperors are so rigid and scrupulous, there are others more liberal and +tolerant. + +Muley Suleiman was a great admirer of the European character, and was +much attached to a Mr. Leyton, an English merchant. This merchant was +one day riding out of the city of Mogador, when an old woman rushed at +him, seized the bridle of his horse, and demanded alms. The merchant +pushed her away with his whip. The ancient dame seeing herself so rudely +nonsuited, went off screaming revenge; and although she had not had a +tooth in her head for twenty long years, she noised about town that Mr. +Leyton had knocked two of her teeth out, and importuned the Governor to +obtain her some pecuniary indemnification. + +His Excellency advised Mr. Leyton to comply, and get rid of the +annoyance of the old woman. He resolutely refused, and the Governor was +obliged to report the case to the Emperor, as the old lady had made so +many partisans in Mogador as to threaten a disturbance. His Imperial +Highness wrote a letter to the merchant, condescendingly begging him to +supply the old woman with "two silver teeth," meaning thereby to give +her a trifling present in money. Mr. Leyton, being as obstinate as ever, +was ordered to appear before the Emperor at Morocco. Here the resolute +merchant declared that he had not knocked the teeth out of the old +woman's head, she had had none for years, and he would not be maligned +even in so small a matter. + +The Emperor was at his wits' end, and endeavoured to smooth down the +contumacious Leyton, to save his capital from insurrection; imploring +him to comply with the Lex talionis, [19] and have two of his teeth +drawn if he was inflexibly determined not to pay. The poor Emperor was +in hourly dread of a revolution about this tooth business, and at the +same time he knew the merchant had spoken the truth. Strange to say, Mr. +Leyton at last consented to lose his teeth rather than his money. +However, on the merchant's return from the capital to Mogador, to his +surprise, and no doubt to his satisfaction, he found that two ship-loads +of grain had been ordered to be delivered to him by the Emperor, in +compensation for the two teeth which he had had punched out to satisfy +the exigencies of the Empire. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Several visits from the Moors; their ideas on soldiers and payment of +public functionaries.--Mr. Cohen and his opinion on Maroquine Affairs.-- +Phlebotomising of Governors, and Ministerial responsibility.--Border +Travels of the Shedma and Hhaha tribes.--How the Emperor enriches +himself by the quarrels of his subjects.--Message from the Emperor +respecting the Anti-Slavery Address.--Difficulties of travelling through +or residing in the Interior.--Use of Knives, and Forks, and Chairs are +signs of Social Progress.--Account of the periodic visit of the Mogador +Merchants to the Emperor in the Southern Capital. + + +I received several visits from the Moors. As a class of men, they are +far superior in civility and kindness to the Moorish population of +Tangier. So much for the foolish and absurd stories about the place, +which tell us that it is the only city of the Empire in which Christians +can live with safety and comparative comfort. These tales must have been +invented to please the Tangier diplomatists. The contrary is the fact, +for, whilst the Moors of Tangier consist of camel drivers and soldiers, +there are a good number of very respectable native merchants in Mogador; +nevertheless, a large portion of the population is in the pay of +government as militia, to keep in check the tribes of the neighbouring +provinces; but their pay is very small, and most of them do a little +business; many are artizuns and common labourers. As a specimen of their +ordinary conversation, take the following. + +_Moors_.--"All the people of Morocco are soldiers; what can the +foreigner do against them? Morocco is one camp, our Sultan is one, we +have one Prophet, and one God." + +_Traveller_.--"In our country we do not care to have so many soldiers. +We have fewer than France, and many other countries; but our soldiers do +not work like yours; they are always soldiers, and fight bravely." + +_Moors_.--"We don't understand; how wonderful! the French must conquer +you with more soldiers." + +_Traveller_.--"We have more ships, and our principal country is an +island; the sea surrounds us, and defends us." + +_Moors_.--"How much pay has the Governor of Gibraltar?" + +_Traveller_.--"About 20,000 dollars per annum." + +_Moors_.--"Too much; why, the Koed of Mogador is obliged, instead of +receiving money, to send the Emperor, at a day's notice, 20, or 30,000 +dollars! or if he does not pay, he is sent to prison at once; his head +is not the value of a slave's." + +It appears that the old governor (who is now in Morocco) positively +refuses any salary or presents; his Excellency is a man of some small +property, and finds this plan answers best. He will not be fattened and +bled as the Emperor treats other governors. He politely hinted this to +the Emperor when he accepted office; since then, he has resolutely +refused all presents from the merchants, so that the Emperor has no +excuse whatever for bleeding him under the pretext that he is afflicted +with a plethora, from his exactions on the people. The moneys referred +to by the Moors are the custom dues, which are collected by a separate +department, and transmitted direct, to the Emperor. + +Whilst residing at Mogador, Mr. Cohen arrived from Morocco, where he had +been with the merchants. He is the English Jew who assisted Mr. Davidson +in his travels through Morocco. His experience in Maroquine affairs is +considerable, and I shall offer his conclusions concerning the present +state of the Empire. I prefer, indeed, giving the opinion of various +residents or natives of the country to our own. Mr. Cohen's ideas will +be found to differ exceedingly from that of the (Imperial) merchants, +who, in point of fact, are not free men, and cannot be trustworthy +witnesses. As Mr. Elton justly observed, the Europeans are so much +involved with the Emperor, that they are almost obliged to consent +publicly to the violent death of the unfortunate Jew, Dorman, although +he was under the French protection, and likewise a kind of vice-consul. + +Mr. Cohen says--"the people of Morocco are tired of their government, +tired of being pillaged of their property, tired of the insecurity and +uncertainty of their possessions; that is to say, of the few things +which still remain in their hands." Mr. Cohen goes so far as to +say--that, were a strong European power to be established on the coast, +the entire population would flock to its support. He gives the following +instance of the style and manner in which the Emperor bleeds the +governors of provinces. + +A few years ago, a governor of Mogador presented himself to the Sultan +of Fez. He was received with all due honours. The governor then begged +leave to return to Morocco. He was dismissed with great demonstrations +of friendship. He arrived at Morocco, and the governor of that city +immediately informed him that he was his prisoner, the Sultan having a +claim against him, of 40,000 dollars. At length, the poor dupe of royal +favour obtained permission to go back to Mogador and to sell all he had, +in order to make up the sum of 40,000 dollars. + +This is the way in which things are managed there. Of Maroquine policy, +Mr. Cohen says, "That when the Sultan finds himself in a scrape, he +gives way, though slightly dilatory at first. So long as he sees that he +does not commit himself, or is not detected, he does what he likes with +his own and other people's likewise, to the fullest extent of his power. +But on any mishap befalling him, Muley Abd Errahman, whenever he can, +always shifts the responsibility upon his ministers, and if one of them +gives his advice, and the course taken therein does not succeed, woe be +to the unhappy functionary!" + +Some years ago, a number of troops rebelled against the Emperor. At the +instance of the prime minister, Ben Dris, they were pardoned; but, +instead of receiving gratefully this imperial mercy, the troops broke +out afresh in rebellion, which, with great difficulty, was quelled by +the Sultan. This, however, being accomplished, he called the prime +minister before him, and thus addressed the amazed vizier. + +"Now, Sir, receive four hundred bastinadoes for your pains, and pay me +30,000 ducats; you will then take care in future how you give me +advice." Nevertheless, Ben Dris still remained vizier, and continued so +till his death. Bastinadoing a minister in Morocco is, however, much the +same as a forced resignation, or the dismissal of a minister in Europe. +Doubtless Ben Dris thought himself surprisingly lucky that the Emperor +did not cut off his head. + +It was the late Mr. Hay's opinion, that Muley Abd Errahman was a good +man, but surrounded with bad advisers. The probability seems rather, +that he took all the credit of the good acts of his advisers, and flung +on them the odium of all the bad acts committed by himself, as many +other despotic sovereigns have often done before him. + +With regard to the disaffection of the people, as alleged by Mr. Cohen, +its verification is of great importance to us, and our appreciation of +it equally so. + +We might be counting upon the resistance of the Maroquines against an +invasion of the French, and find, to our astonishment, the invaders +received as deliverers from the exactions and tyrannies of the +Shereefian oppressor. The fact is, Morocco will never be able to resist +the progress of nations any more than China, especially since she has +got the most restless people in the world for her neighbours. Besides, +during the last thirty years, many of the Maroquines have visited +Europe, and their eyes are becoming opened, the film of Moorish +fanaticism has fallen off; even on their aggressive neighbours, they see +the exercise of a government less rapacious than their own, and more +security of life and property. Still, the Emperor will use every means +to build up a barrier against innovation. + +Just at this time, a _rekos_ (courier) arrived from Mr. Willshire (now +at Morocco), bringing letters in answer to those which I had addressed +to him, touching my visit to the Emperor. He writes that he had "already +received orders from His Imperial Majesty respecting the object of my +mission," which words give me uneasiness, as they are evidently +unfavourable to it, and consequently to my journey to Morocco. + +There is a misunderstanding between the provinces of Shed ma and Hhaha. +These districts adjoin Mogador, the city belonging to Hhaha. Shedma is +mostly lowland and plains, and Hhaha highlands and mountains, which form +a portion of the south-western Atlas, and strike down into the sea at +Santa Cruz. There seems to be no other reason for those frequent +obstinate hostilities on both sides, except the nature of the country. +It is lamentable to think, because "a narrow frith" divides two people, +or because one lives in the mountains and the other in the plains, that +therefore they should be enemies for ever! Strange infatuation of poor +human nature. + +Here the feud legend babbles of revenge, and says that, in the time of +Muley Suleiman, one day when the Hhaha people were at prayers at +Mogador, during broad day light, the Shedma people came down upon them +and slaughtered them, and, whilst in the sacred and inviolable act of +devotion, entered the mosques and pillaged their houses. This produced +implacable hatred between them, which is likely to survive many +generations; but the story was told me by a Hhaha man, and not +improbably the people of Shedma had some plausible reason for making +this barbarous attack. + +Even before this piece of treachery of one Mussulman towards another at +the hour of prayer, the feuds seemed to have existed. It is a remarkable +circumstance in the history of Islamism, that many of the most +treacherous and sanguinary actions of Mahometans have been committed +within the sacred enclosures of the mosques, and at the hour of prayer. +One of the caliphs having been assassinated in a mosque, seems to have +been the precedent for all the murders of the kind which have followed, +and indelibly disgrace the Mussulman annals. + +These Hhaha and Shedma people are also borderers, and fight with the +accustomed ferocity of border tribes. + +Their conflicts are very desultory, being carried on by twos and threes, +or sixes and sevens, and with sticks, and stones, and other weapons, if +they cannot get knives, or matchlocks. Meanwhile, the Emperor folds his +arms, and looks on superbly and serenely. When the two parties are +exhausted, or have had enough of it for the present; his Imperial +Highness then interferes, and punishes both by fine. Indeed, it pays him +better to pursue this course; for, instead of spending money in the +suppression of factious insurrections, he gains by mulcting both +parties. The Sultan, in fact, not only aggrandizes himself by the +quarrels of his own subjects, but he profits by the disputes between the +foreign consuls and his governors. + +The imbroglio which took place some years since, between the Governor of +Mogador and the French Consul, M. Delaporte, is sufficiently +characteristic. An Algerine Mussulman, who was of course a French +subject, behaved himself very indecent, by setting all the usual rules +of Mahometan worship at defiance. This was a great scandal to the +Faithful. The Governor of Mogador, in defiance of religion, took upon +himself to punish a French Mussulman. The French Consul remonstrated +strongly in presence of the Governor, almost insulting him before his +people. The Sultan approved the conduct of his governor. The Consul +General decided that both parties ought to be removed, and the French +Government recalled their vice-consul. The Sultan, promised, but did not +dismiss his Governor, or rather the Governor himself would not be +dismissed. The French reiterated their complaints, which were supported +by a small squadron sent down to Mogador. The Governor was now +cashiered, and was besides obliged to pay the Emperor a fine of thirteen +thousand dollars, upon the pretext of appeasing the offended Majesty of +his royal master. So the Sultan always makes money by the misadventures +of his subjects. To indemnify the poor Governor for his fine, he +received soon after another appointment. On his return from Morocco, +having waited upon Mr Wiltshire regarding the presentation of the +Petition of the Anti-Slavery Society, the Vice-Consul explained the +great difficulty the Emperor had in receiving a petition which called +for an organic change in the social condition of the country, and that, +indeed, the abolition of slavery was "contrary to his religion." I then +represented to Mr. Willshire the propriety at least of waiting for the +arrival of the Governor of Mogador from Morocco, in order to have a +personal interview with him, to which the Vice-Consul acceded. + +The difficulties of travelling through Morocco; and of residing in the +inland towns have been already mentioned. + +In further proof, Mr. Elton related that, whilst the merchants visited +the Emperor in the, southern capital, a watch-maker, a European and a +Christian, asked permission of the Minister to dwell in the quarter of +the Moors, instead of that of the Jews, in which latter the Europeans +usually reside. + +The Minister replied, "you may live there if you like, but you must have +ten soldiers to guard you." Such a reply from the Minister, and whilst +the merchants were protected by the presence of the Emperor himself, is +all conclusive as to the insecurity attached to Europeans in the +interior towns. + +Morocco itself is a city of profound gloom, where the Moor indulges to +the utmost his taciturn disposition, and melancholy fatalism. It is, +therefore, not an enchanting abode for Europeans, who, whilst there +waiting on the Emperor, are obliged constantly to ride about to preserve +their health, or they would die of the suffocating stench in the Jew's +millah, or quarter. But, in taking this equestrian exercise, they are +not unfrequently insulted. An ungallant cavalier deliberately stopped +Mrs. Elton by riding up against her. + +The lady spurred her horse and caught with her feet a portion of his +light burnouse, dragging it away. He was only prevented riding after and +cutting her down, by one of the Emperor's secretaries, who was passing +by at the time. + +Mr. Elton had a fine black horse to ride upon. The populace were so +savage at seeing an infidel mounted upon so splendid an animal, that +they hooted: "Curse you, Infidel! dismount you dog!" + +These instances shew the sauciness of the vulgar, and are a fair example +of the conduct of the Moors. I am told by Barbary Jews, it would be next +to impossible for a Christian to walk without disguise in broad daylight +at Fez. Not so much from the hostility of the populace, as from their +indecent and vehement curiosity. However, in these cases, I am obliged +to give the testimony of others. Mr. Cohen, when travelling through the +interior, assumes the character of a quack doctor, the best passport in +all these countries. Practising as he goes, he manages to get enough to +bear his charges on the way. + +Oliver Goldsmith piped, but in Morocco the traveller and stranger +physics his way. To Europeans, Mr. Cohen gives this advice--"Never to +stay more than one night at any place." "Mr. Davidson," he says, +"stopped so long at Wadnoun, that all the Desert, as far as Timbuctoo, +heard of his projects and travels, and were determined to waylay and +plunder him." + +But, on the contrary, with respect to my own experience in the Desert, +the people appeared equally hostile or offended at my taking them by +surprise. Desert travelling after all is mostly an affair of luck. Six +travellers might be sent to Timbuctoo and three return, and three be +murdered, and yet the three who were murdered might have been as prudent +and as skilful as the three who were successful. The Maroquine +Government often shew a perfect Chinese jealousy of Europeans travelling +in the interior. When Doctor Willshire, brother of the Consul, returned +from Morocco, the Government gave orders that "he should be taken +directly to Mogador, and not be allowed to turn to the right hand or to +the left, to collect old stones or herbs." This lynx-eyed government +imagined they saw in Doctor Willshire's botanical and mineralogical +rambles, a design of spying out the powers and resources of the country. + +The consentaneous progress of Morocco in the universal movement of the +age, is argued by the merchants from an increased use of chairs, and +knives and forks. Some years ago, scarcely a knife and fork, or a chair +was to be found in this part of Morocco. Now, almost every house in the +Jewish quarter has them. The Jew of Barbary can use them with less +scruple than the orthodox Tory Moor, who sets his face like flint +against all changes, because his European brethren adopt them. Many +innovations of this domestic sort are introduced from Europe into North +Africa through the instrumentality of native Jews. Tea has become an +article Of universal consumption. It is, indeed, the wine of the +Maroquine Mussulmen. [20] Even in remote provinces, amongst Bebers and +Bedouins, the most miserable looking and living of people the finest +green tea is to be found. + +You enter a miserable looking hut, when you are amazed by the hostess +unlocking an old box, and taking out a choice tea service, cups, +saucers, tea-pot, and tea-tray, often of white china with gilt edges. +These, after use, are always kept locked up, as objects of most precious +value. The sugar is put in the tea-pot, and the Moors and Jews usually +drink their tea so sweet that it may be called syrup. But if any lady +tries the plan of melting the sugar while the tea is brewing in the +tea-pot, she will find the tea so prepared has acquired a different, and +not disagreeable flavour. + +Morocco has its fashions and manias as well as Europe. House building is +now the rage. They say it is not so easy for the Sultan to fleece the +people of their property when it consists of houses. Almost every +distinguished Moor in the interior has built, or is building himself a +spacious house. This mania is happily a useful one, and must advance the +comfort and sanitary improvement of the people. It is as good as a +Health of Towns Bill for them. + +The merchants having all returned from Morocco, I shall give some +account of their visit to the Emperor. The ancient rule of imperial +residence was, that the Sultan should sojourn six months in Fez, and six +months in Morocco, the former the northern, and the latter the southern +capital. This is not adhered to strictly, the Emperor taking up his +abode at one capital or the other, and sometimes at Micknos, according +to his caprice. He never fails, however, to visit Morocco once a year, +on account of its neighbourhood to Mogador, his much loved, and +beautiful commercial city. The Emperor himself, before his accession to +the throne, was the administrator of the customhouse of this city, where +he has acquired his commercial tastes and habits of business, which he +has cultivated from the very commencement of his reign. When the Emperor +resides in the South, he receives visits from the merchants of Mogador. +These visits are imperative on the merchants, if they are his imperial +debtors, or even if they wish to maintain a friendly feeling with his +government. Upon an average, the visits or deputations of merchants, +take place every three or four years; more frequently they cannot well +be, because they cost the merchants immense sums in presents, each often +giving to the value of three or four thousand dollars. In return, they +receive additional and prolonged credits. + +The number of Imperial merchants is about twenty, three of whom are +Englishmen, Messrs. Willshire, Elton, and Robertson. Most of the rest +are Barbary Jews. [21] + +There is a Belgian merchant who did not go with these. This gentleman, +owing nothing to the Emperor, preferred to pay duty on shipping his +merchandize, on which by payment of ready money, he gets 25 per cent +discount. This plan, however, does not enable him to compete with the +Imperial merchants, whose duties accumulate till they are years and +years in arrear. And when these arrears have gone on increasing till +there is no chance of payment, the Emperor, in order to keep up his +firms of enslaved merchants, will rather remit half or more of the debt, +in consideration of a handsome present, than encourage merchants to make +ready money payments. The largest debt owing by a single firm, is that +of a native Jew, viz., 250,000 dollars. The amount of the debt of the +united Mogador merchants is more than one million and a half of dollars. +The usual course of the merchants is to pay the debt off by monthly +instalments. + +As an instance of the Emperor's straining a point to keep solvent one of +his mercantile firms, on the occasion of the visit of the merchants to +Morocco, his Imperial Highness lent the house of Hasan Joseph (Jews) +10,000 dollars in hard cash, which, to my knowledge, were paid to them +out of the coffers of the Mogador custom-house. This was certainly an +instance of magnanimous generosity on the part of Muley Abd Errahman. +But the Emperor's genius is mercantile, and he is determined to support +his Imperial traders; and his conduct, after all, is only the +calculation of a raiser. + +It must be mentioned, however, to the honour of Mr. Elton, that on the +bombardment of Mogador, he and his lady were allowed to leave at once, +having paid up all their government debt. Indeed, the governor of that +place, was always accustomed to say to the collector of the returns of +the monthly payment of instalments: "Now, go first to Mrs. Elton; she +will be sure to have the money ready for you. And we must have money +to-day from some of the merchants." On another occasion, his Excellency +called the lady of Mr. Elton, "the best man amongst the merchants." Mrs. +Elton, being a vivacious, energetic lady, was often called "the woman of +the Christians." + +The following are the stations at which the merchants stop from Mogador +to Morocco, to visit the Emperor. + +1st. Emperor's Gardens; five hours from Mcgador, where are some fine fig +trees, and a spring. + +2nd. Ain Omas. + +3rd. Seeshouar. + +4th. Wad Enfes. + +The country, for the first two days, is beautifully rural, scattered +over with noble Argan forests, on the third and fourth days, the journey +is through plains and an open country. On the second day, after leaving +Mogador, you obtain a distinct view of the great Atlas range at the back +of Morocco; on the fifth, as you approach the capital, the country is +overspread with wild date-palms, palmettos, or dwarf palms. The view of + + "Towering Atlas that supports the sky," + +now stands forth, vaster and more magnificent as you approach the +capital, and is the only feature of surpassing interest on the journey; +but it suffices to absorb all the attention of the traveller. As he +gazes on the giant mountain, which seems to support with its huge rocky +arms the frame-work of the skies, its head covered with everlasting +snow, he forgets the fatigue of his painful route under an African sun; +and, lost in pious musings, adores the Omnipotent being who laid the +foundation of this solid buttress. + +Halfway is called "the Neck of the Camel," where there is a well in the +midst of a scene extremely desert and dreary. Here all the donkeys of +the party of merchants died from want of water. The water of this well +is not permitted to be drunk by animals, in obedience to the solemn +Testament of the Saint who dug it. The poor horses and mules were tied +close up to the well, looking wistfully at the water when drawn for the +biped animals, and snuffing the scent; but they were not allowed to +taste a drop. Two horses broke loose and fought, their combat being +aggravated by thirst, "See!" cried the Moors to the merchants, "the +Saint is angry with you for having wished to give his water to horses." + +Our merchants, however, in defiance of the Saint (this invisible enemy +of the lower creation) and of his supporters, got a supply of water, +which during the night, and en marche the next day, they distributed to +their steeds. The accommodation on the way, and at the capital is very +bad, even the waiting-room near the palace, appropriated to the +Christians, is but an old dilapidated shed, with one of its sides +knocked out, or never filled in. "Everything," say our merchants, "is +going to rack and ruin in the capital. The Emperor will not even repair +his palaces, or the jealousies in which he keeps his women; money is his +only pursuit and his God." + +Their residence in the capital was very disagreeable, all being cooped +up in the Jews' quarter, and obliged to subsist on victuals cooked by +these people, which made certain of them unwell, for some of the Barbary +Jew's food is very indigestible. + +The presentation of the merchants to the Emperor was conducted as +follows: At nine in the morning, they were admitted into a garden in +presence of about two thousand imperial guards, all drawn up in file, +looking extremely fierce. Passing these bearded warriors, they were +conducted into a large square lined with buildings, where, after waiting +about five minutes, the gate of the palace was suddenly thrown open, and +the Emperor rode out superbly mounted on a white horse, followed on foot +by a group of courtiers. His Imperial Highness was attended by the +Governor of Mogador, who walked by his side. + +The first persons presented to the Shereefian lord were the officials of +Mogador, who were introduced by the Governor of that city; afterwards +came some Moorish grandees; then the Christians were presented, and +finally the Jewish merchants. The latter were introduced by the Governor +of Mogador, the Jews taking off their shoes as they passed before the +Emperor. One passed at a time, with his cadeau behind him, carried by an +attendant Jew. As the merchants moved on, his Imperial Highness asked +their names, and condescended to thank each of them separately for his +offering. + +The merchants carried in their hand, an invoice of their respective +presents, and gave it to the Governor, for the articles on their +delivery are not exposed before the eyes of the Sultan. To open the +budget would be a breach of good breeding, and would shock the Imperial +modesty. + +Fifteen merchants were introduced, and the ceremony of presentation +lasted about twenty minutes; this being concluded, the merchants were +permitted to perambulate the gardens of the Emperor, and to pluck a +little fruit. They were afterwards delayed a fortnight, waiting to +present a _cadeau_ to the Emperor's eldest son. Such are the details of +this journey, which I got from the merchants themselves. Mr. Willshire, +being a consul and great customer of his Imperial Highness, also +received a gift of a horse in exchange. The united value of the presents +to the Emperor, on this occasion, was fifty thousand dollars, which +amply indemnifies him for his money-lending, and the credit that he +gives. They consisted principally of articles of European manufactures. +His Imperial Highness afterwards sells them to his subjects on his own +account. Of course, amongst this mass of presents, there are many nice +things such as tea, sugar, spices, essences &c., for his personal +comfort and luxury, as well as for his harem, besides articles of dress +and ornament. + +It will not be out of place here, to give a brief account of the +commerce of Morocco. In doing so, we must take into consideration the +prodigious quantity of imports and exports, of which there are no +statistics in the Imperial custom-houses, and no consular returns. Let +us estimate the population of Morocco at its general compensation of +eight millions, and suppose that each spends a dollar per annum in the +purchase of European manufactures. This will raise the value of imports +at once to eight millions of dollars per annum. It is notorious that the +contraband trade of Tangier, and Tetuan, and the northern coast +generally doubles or trebles the commerce that passes through the +customhouse; but the legal trade is not well ascertained. + +Mr. Hay once sent, I believe, to the Agent of Mogador, a list of +questions to be answered by the consular department. The gentleman, who +was an unsalaried vice-consul, appalled at the number of +interrogatories, immediately replied, "That he had his own business to +attend to; he could not sit down to compose consular returns, which +would require weeks of labour; and if it were considered part of his +duties to answer such questions, he begged to resign at once his +vice-consulship." + +As to the Barbary Jews, who have charge of some of the vice-consulates, +they are necessarily incapacitated, by reason of their want of +education, for such an employment. It is, therefore, hopeless to attempt +to give any accurate account of the commerce of Morocco, I can only +annex a few details of those things of which we are actually cognizant. + +Whatever may be said of the indolent habits of the Moors, they were +once, and still are, a commercial people. Spain, the neighbour of +Morocco, still feels the loss of the Moors. They were the really +industrious classes settled in Spain. The merchants, the artists, the +operatives, and agriculturists unfortunately have left behind them few +inheriting their habits of perseverance. Little, indeed, can be expected +in Spain, where the maxim is adopted, that "nobility may lie dormant in +a servant, but becomes extinct in a merchant." Spain lost upwards of +three millions of intelligent and industrious Moors, a shock she will +never recover. + +The bombardment of a commercial city of this country would not do the +injury which is commonly imagined. The ports are numerous though not +very good. A single house or shed on the beach of Mogador, or Tangier, +is a sufficient custom-house for the Moors. There are no great deposits +of goods on the coast, for as soon as the camels bring their loads of +exports, these are shipped, and the camels immediately return to the +interior, laden with imported goods or manufactures. + +Mogador is the great commercial depot of the Atlantic coast, and +therefore "the beautiful Ishweira, the beloved town," of Muley Abd +Errahman. Its trade is principally, however, with the south, the +provinces of Sous and Wadnoun, and the Western Sahara. Mogador is also +the bona-fide port of the southern capital of Morocco. Two-thirds of the +commerce of Mogador is carried on with England, the rest is divided +among the other nations of Europe; but of this third, I should think +France has one half. The port of Mogador has usually some half-a-dozen +vessels lying in it, but from twenty to thirty have been seen there. +They are usually sixty days discharging and taking in cargo. Each vessel +pays forty dollars port-dues, which must press very heavily upon small +vessels, but it is seldom that a vessel of less than one hundred tons is +seen at Mogador. The grand staple exports are only two, gum and almonds; +upon the sale of these, the commercial activity of this city entirely +depends. English vessels come directly from London, the French from +Marseilles; but so badly is this commerce managed that, at the present +time, Morocco produce is higher in Mogador than it is in London or +Marseilles; for instance, Morocco almonds are cheaper in London than +Mogador. + +Mazagan, and some few other ports, export produce direct to Europe, but +Tangier is the next commercial port of the empire. There is an important +trade in manufactures and provisions carried on between Tangier and +Gibraltar. The Fez merchants have resident agents in Gibraltar. Curious +stories are told of Maroquine adventurers leaving Tangier and Fez as +camel-drivers and town-porters, and then assuming the character and +style of merchants in Gibraltar, throwing over their shoulders a +splendid woollen burnouse, and folding round their heads a thoroughly +orthodox turban in large swelling folds of milk-white purity. + +In this way, they will walk through the stores of Gibraltar, and obtain +thousands of dollars' worth of credit. The merchant-emperor found it +necessary to put a stop to this, and promulgated a decree to the effect, +that "he would not, for the future, be responsible for the debts of any +of his subjects contracted out of his dominions." + +This was aimed at these trading adventurers, and the decree was +transmitted to the British Consul, who had it published in the Gibraltar +Gazette while I was staying in that city. Up to this time, the Emperor, +singularly enough, had made himself responsible for all the debts of his +subjects trading with Gibraltar. + +The trade in provisions at Tangier is most active, bullocks, sheep, +butcher's meat, fowls, eggs, game and pigeons, grain and flour, &c., are +daily shipped from Tangier to Gibraltar. The garrison and population of +Gibraltar draw more than two-thirds of their provisions from this and +other northern parts of Morocco. + +This government speculates in and carries on commerce; and, like most +African and Asiatic governments, has had its established monopolies from +time immemorial, of some of which it disposes, whilst it reserves others +for itself, as those of tobacco, sulphur, and cochineal. All the high +functionaries engage in commerce, and this occupation of trade and +barter is considered the most honourable in the empire, sanctioned as it +is by the Emperor himself, who may be considered as the chief of +merchants. The monopolies are sold by public auction at so much per +annum. On its own monopolies, government, as a rule, exacts a profit of +cent per cent. + +The following is a list of the monopolies which the Emperor sells, +either to his own employers or to native and foreign merchants. + +1. Leeches.--This is one of the most recently established monopolies, +dating only about twenty years back. The trade in leeches was set on +foot by Mr. Frenerry; it brought, at first, but a few dollars per annum, +and now the monopoly is sold for 50,000. Leeches are principally found +in the lakes of the north-west districts, called the Gharb. + +2. Wax.--This monopoly is confined almost exclusively to the markets of +Tangier and El-Araish. It sold, while I was in the country, for three +thousand dollars. + +3. Bark.--This is a monopoly of the north, principally of the +mountainous region of Rif. It is farmed for about sixteen thousand +dollars. + +4. The coining of copper money.--The right of coining money in the name +of the Emperor, is sold for ten thousand dollars to each principal city. +It is a dangerous privilege to be exercised; for, should the alloy be +not of a quality which pleases the Emperor, or the particular governor +of the city, the unfortunate coiner is forthwith degraded, and his +property confiscated. Indeed, the coiner sometimes pays for his +negligence, or dishonesty, with his head. + +5. Millet, and other small seeds.--This monopoly at Tangier is sold for +five hundred dollars. The price varies in other places according to +circumstances. + +6. Cattle.--The cattle exported from Tetuan, Tangier, and El-Araish, for +the victualling of Gibraltar, is likewise a monopoly; it amounted during +my stay to 7,500 dollars. In consequence of an alleged treaty, but which +does not exist on paper, the Emperor of Morocco has bound himself to +supply our garrison of Gibraltar with 2,000 head of cattle per annum, +1,500 of which must be shipped from Tangier, the rest from other parts +of the Gharb, or north-west. British contractors pay five dollars per +head export duty, the ordinary tax is ten. It is estimated, however, +that some three or four thousand head of cattle are annually exported +from Morocco for our garrison. The Gibraltar Commissariat contractors +complain, and with reason, that the Maroquine monopolist supplies the +British Government with "the very worst cattle of all Western Barbary." + +These monopolies do not interfere with the custom-house, which levies +its duties irrespectively of them. Leeches pay an export duty of 2s. 9d. +the thousand; wax pays an _ad valorem_ duty of fifty per cent; bark pays +a very small duty, and millet scarcely a penny per quintal. + +Independently of these monopolies, there are exports of merchandise of a +special character, and requiring a special permission from the Sultan, +such as grains and beasts of burden; and, if we may be permitted, +bipeds, or Jews and Jewesses. + +His Imperial Highness has absolute need of Jews to carry on the commerce +of the country. No male adult Jew, or child, can leave the ports of +Morocco, without paying four dollars customs duty. A Jewess must pay a +hundred dollars. The reason of there being such an excessive export-duty +on women is to keep them in the country, as a sort of pledge for the +return of their husbands, brothers or fathers, in the event of their +leaving for commercial or other purposes. Slaves are not exported from +Morocco. Besides the payment of special impost on exportation, wool pays +a duty of three dollars per quintal, and two pounds of powder when +dirty, and double when washed. A bullock pays export duty ten dollars, +and a sheep one. Sheepskins eight dollars the hundred, bullock-skins +three dollars per quintal, and goat-skins the same. Of grain, wheat pays +an export duty of three-fourths of a dollar per fanega, or about a +quintal. Barley is not exported, there being scarcely enough for home +consumption. + +Horses are exported in small numbers, by special permission from the +Emperor, A few years since when Spain threatened the frontier of +Portugal, the English Government found it necessary to come to the aid of +the latter country, and Mr. Frenerry was commissioned by our Government +to purchase of the Emperor five hundred horses for Portugal. + +His Imperial Highness called together his governors of cities, and +shieks of provinces, and after a long debate, it was unanimously decided +that so large a number of horses could not be sold to the Christians +without danger to the empire, whilst also, the transaction would be +contrary to the principles of Islamism. + +Should an individual wish to export a single horse, he would have to pay +sixty dollars, a duty which entirely amounts to a prohibition, many of +the boasted beasts not being worth twenty dollars. A mule pays forty, +and an ass five dollars. Mules are much dearer in Morocco and in other +parts of Barbary than horses. Camels are rarely exported, and have no +fixed import. + +The Queen of Spain, some time ago, solicited the Sultan for four camels, +and his Imperial Highness had the gallantry to grant the export free of +duty. + +There are several exports which are not monopolies. These are +principally from the south. The following are some of them. + +Ostrich feathers.--These are of three qualities; the first of which pays +three dollars per pound, the second quality one and a half dollars, and +the third, three-quarters of a dollar. Many feather merchants are now in +Mogador visiting at the feasts of the Jews, who reside in Sous and +Wadnoun, and have communications with all the districts of the Sahara. + +Elephants' teeth.--Ivory pays an export duty of ten per cent. During +late years, both ivory and ostrich feathers have lost much of their +value as articles of commerce. + +Gums.--Gum-arabic pays two dollars per quintal export duty, and gum +sudanic an ad valorem duty of ten per cent. But now-a-days only the very +best gum will sell in English markets; the inferior qualities, as of all +other Barbary produce, are shipped to Marseilles. One looks with extreme +interest at the beautiful pellucid drops of Sudanic gum, knowing that +the Arabs bring some of it from the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. + +Almonds.--Both the sweet and the bitter, in the shell, or the oil of +almonds, pay three dollars per quintal. Ship-loads at once are exported +from Mogador direct for Soudan. + +Red woollen sashes are exported at five dollars per dozen. The Spaniards +take a great quantity. Tanned skins, especially the red, or Morocco, are +exported at ten per cent, _ad valorem_. Slippers pay a dollar the +hundred. The haik or barracan is exported in great numbers to the Levant +by the pilgrims. The vessels, also, that carry pilgrims from Morocco, +return laden with these and other native manufactures. Barbary dried +peas are exported principally to Spain, paying a dollar the quintal. Fez +flour pays one dollar and a half per fanega; dates pay five dollars the +quintal; fowls and eggs, the former two dollars per dozen, the latter +two dollars per thousand; oranges and lemons pay a dollar the thousand. + +Gold is brought from Soudan over the Desert, and is sometimes exported. +I have no account of it, and never heard it mentioned in Morocco as an +article of any importance. + +Olive-oil is exported from the north, but not in great quantities. The +amount exported in a recent year was about the value of L6,000 sterling. +The olive is not so much cultivated in Morocco as in Tunis and Tripoli. + +Besides the articles above mentioned, antimony, euphorbium, horns, hemp, +linseed, rice, maize, and dra, orchella weed, orris-root, pomegranate +peel, sarsaparilla, snuff, sponges, walnuts, garbanyos, gasoul, and +mineral soap, gingelane, and commin seeds, &c., are exported in various +quantities. [22] + +It was reported in the mercantile circles, that representations would be +made to the Emperor to place the trade of the country upon a regular, +and more stable footing. All nations, indeed, would benefit by a change +which could not but be for the better. But I question whether his +Imperial Highness will give up his old and darling system of being the +sovereign-merchant of the Empire. It is not the interest of Great +Britain to annoy him, for we have always to look at Gibraltar. But it +would be desirable if Christian merchants could be found to undertake +the duty, to have all the vice-consuls of the coast Christians, in +preference to Jews. By having Jewish consuls, we place ourselves in a +false position with the Emperor, who is obliged to submit to the +prejudices of his people against Hebrews. British merchants ought to be +allowed to visit their own vessels whilst in port, to superintend, or +what not, the stowing or landing of their goods, as they are entitled to +do by treaty. Spanish dollars are the chief currency in Morocco; but +there are also doubloons and smaller gold coins. This currency, the +merchants manage very badly. A doubloon loses sixteen pence, or four +Maroquine ounces in exchange at Mogador, whilst at the capital of +Morocco, three days' journey from this, it passes for the same value it +bears in Spain and Gibraltar. + +As to the revenues of the Government of Morocco, our means of +information are still more uncertain and conjectural, than those we +possess regarding commerce. A French writer asserts, that the tithes +upon land assigned by the Koran and the capitation tax on the Jews, +produce from twenty to thirty million francs (or say about one million +pounds sterling) per annum. This, perhaps, is too large a sum. + +About a century ago, the revenues of Moocco were estimated at only +L200,000 sterling per annum. But if Muley Abd Errahman has fifty +millions of dollars, or ten millions sterling in the vaults of Mequinez, +he may be considered as the richest monarch in Africa, nay in all +Europe. It is positively stated that Muley Ismail left this amount, or +one hundred millions of ducats in the imperial treasury, which Sidi +Mahommed reduced to two millions. It may have been the great object of +the life of the present Sultan to restore this enormous hoard. No +country is rich or safe without a vast capital in hand as a reserve for +times of trouble, war, or famine. But it is not necessary that such +reserve should be in the hands of a government. + +This, a Maroquine prince cannot comprehend, and he decides as to the +riches and poverty of his country by the amount he possesses in his +royal vaults. + +In treating of trade, and comparing its exports with the peculiar +products and manufactures of the cities and towns, hereafter to be +enumerated, we may approximate to an idea of the resources of the +Maroquine Empire, but everything is more or less deteriorated in this +naturally rich country. + +Cattle and sheep, grain and fruits, are of inferior quality, owing to +the want of proper culture. No spontaneous growth is equal to culture, +for such is the ordinance of Divine Providence. Half of this country is +desert. The iron hand of despotic government presses heavily upon all +industry. If we add to this defective state of culture, the miserably +moral condition of the people, we have the unpleasant picture of an +inferiority civilized race of mankind scattered over a badly cultivated +region. Not all the magnificence of the glorious Atlas can reconcile +such a prospect to the imagination. But, unhappily, Morocco does not +constitute a very striking exception to the progress of civilization +along the shores and in the isles of the Mediterranean. Many countries +in Southern Europe are in a state little superior, and the Moorish +civilization is almost on a par with that of the Grecian, Sicilian, or +Maltese, and quite equal to Turkish advancement in the arts and sciences +of the nineteenth century. The only real advantage of the Turks over the +Moors consists in the improvements the former have made in the +organization of the army. Whoever travels through Morocco, and will but +open his eyes to survey its rich valleys and fertile plains, will be +impressed with the conviction that this country, cultivated by an +industrious population, and fostered by a paternal government, is +capable of producing all the agricultural wealth of the north and the +south of Europe, as well as the Tropics, and of maintaining its +inhabitants in happiness and plenty. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Influence of French Consuls.--Arrival of the Governor of Mogador from +the Capital; he brings an order to imprison the late Governor; his +character, and mode of administering affairs.--Statue of a Negress at +the bottom of a well.--Spanish Renegades.--Various Wedding Festivals of +Jews.--Frequent Fetes and Feastings amongst the Jewish population of +Morocco.--Scripture Illustration, "Behold the Bridegroom +cometh!"--Jewish Renegades.--How far women have souls.--Infrequency of +Suicides. + + +Notwithstanding the sarcasm of a French journalist that the French and +other Europeans consuls are "consuls des jusifs, et pour la protection +des jusifs," the French consuls both here and at Tangier, have real +power and influence with the Government. + +The Governor of Mogador, Sidi Haj El-Arby, arrived from Morocco. His +Excellency feared an attack from the Shedma and the Hhaha people, and +was obliged to have a strong escort. Not long ago, the Sultan himself +had a narrow escape from falling into the hands of a band of insurgents; +their object was to make their lord-paramount a prisoner, and extort +concessions as the price of his liberty. This will help us to form an +opinion of the want of sympathy between potentate and subjects in +Morocco. + +His Excellency brought an order from the Imperial despot to imprison the +late governor, if the balance of 6,000 dollars was not instantly +forthcoming, he having only paid nine out of the 15,000 demanded. The +late governor was confined in his house, instead of in the common +prison. It was said he was worth 30,000 dollars, but that he was afraid +to make too prompt a payment of the demand of the Emperor, lest he +should be called upon for more. However, his furniture, horses, and +mules were sold in the public streets; a melancholy spectacle was the +degradation of a former governor of this city. [23] + +The Moors look upon these things as matters of course, or with +indifference, quietly ejaculating, "It is destiny! who can resist?" but +the Moor, nevertheless, can clearly discern that wealth is a crime in +the eyes of their sovereign. I am not surprised at the present governor +absolutely rejecting all presents, and making the people call him by the +_soubriquet_ of "the Governor of _no_ presents," + +A short time after his appointment, a merchant having left his +Excellency a present during his absence from home, was immediately +summoned before him, when the following dialogue ensued:-- + +_His Excellency._--"Sir, how dare you leave a present at my house?" + +_The Merchant._--"Other governors before your Excellency have received +presents." + +_His Excellency._--"I am a governor of no presents! How much do you owe +the Sultan, my master?" + +_The Merchant._--"I--I--I--don't know," (hesitating and trembling) + +_His Excellency._--"Very well, when you owe the Sultan nothing, bring me +a present, and take this away, and make known to everybody, that Haj +El-Arby receives _no_ presents." + +The fact is, the Governor knows what he is about. Were his Excellency to +receive 16,000 dollars per annum as presents from the merchants of +Mogador, the Sultan would demand of him 15,999; besides, there is not a +merchant who makes a present that does not demand its value, a _quid pro +quo_ in the remission of custom-duties. Sidi-El-Arby is also a thorough +diplomatist, so far as report goes; he promises anybody anything; he +keeps all on the tiptoe of most blessed expectation, and so makes +friends of everybody. "To his friend, Cohen," he says, "I'll take you +back to my country with me, and make you rich; we are of the same +country." To Phillips, "You shall have a ship of your own soon." To the +merchants, "The Sultan shall lend you money whenever you want it." To +the Moors in general, "You shall have your taxes reduced." In this way, +his Excellency promises and flatters all, but takes very good care to +compromise himself with none. + +The frequented as well as the unfrequented spots are centres of +superstition. In the Sahara, by a lonely well, in the midst of boundless +sterility, where the curse on earth seems to have burnt blackest, a +camel passes every night groaning piteously, and wandering about in +search of its murdered master, so the tale was told me. Now, about two +day's journey from Mogador, there is also a well, containing within its +dank and dark hollow a perpetual apparition. At its bottom is seen the +motionless statue of a negress, with a variety of wearing materials +placed beside her, all made of fine burnished gold, and so bright, that +the dreary cavern of the deep well is illuminated. Whoever presumes to +look down the well at her, and covets her shining property, is +instantaneously seized with thirst and fever; and, if he does not expire +at once, he never recovers from the fatal effects of his combined +curiosity and avarice. People draw water daily from this well, but no +one dare look down it. + +Truth may be in this well! since there is a sad want of it on this, as +on other parts of the world. + +I was introduced to a Spanish renegade, a great many make their escape +from the presidios of the North. On getting away from these convict +establishments, they adopt the Mahometan religion, are pretty well +received by the Maroquines, and generally pass the rest of their days +tranquilly among the Moors. I imagine the better sort of them remain +Christians at heart, notwithstanding their public assumption of +Islamism. This renegade was a stonemason, whom I found at work, and he +was not at all distinguishable by strangers from the Moors, being +dressed precisely in the same fashion. I had some conversation with him, +which was characteristic of conceit, feeling and honour. + +_Traveller_--"How long have you escaped?" + +_Renegade._--"More than twenty years." + +_Traveller._--"Do you like this country and the Moors?" + +_Renegade._--"Better is Marruecos than Spain." + +_Traveller._--"Shall you ever attempt to return to Spain?" + +_Renegade._--"Why? here I have all I want. Besides, they would stretch +my neck for sending a fellow out of the world without his previously +having had an interview with his confessor." + +_Traveller._--"Are you not conscience-stricken? having committed such a +crime, how can you mention it?" + +_Renegade._--"Pooh, conscience! pooh, corazor!" + +Many of those wretched men have indeed lost their corazor, or it is +seared with a red-hot iron. + +Some hundreds of these Spanish convicts are scattered over the country, +but they soon lose their nationality. It is probable that, from some +knowledge of them, the Emperor presumed lately to call the Spaniards +"the vilest of nations," and yet at various times, the Maroquines have +shown great sympathy for the Spaniards. Some of these renegades were +found at the Battle of Isly in charge of field-pieces, where, according +to the French reports, they displayed great devotion to the cause of the +Emperor. + +When the governors of the convict settlements find too many on his +hands, or the prisons too full, they let a number of their best +conducted escape to the interior. The presence of those cut-throats in +Morocco may have something to do with such broils as the following, of +which I was a witness. Two fellows quarrelled violently, and were on the +point of sticking one another with their knives, when up stepped a third +party and cried out, "What! do you intend to act like Christians and +kill one another?" At the talismanic word of Eusara ("Christians, or +Nazareens,") they instantly desisted and became friends. The term +"Christian or Nazareen," is one of the most oppobrious names with which +the people of Mogador can abuse one another. + +The weddings and attendant feasts of the Jews are the more remarkable, +when we consider the circumstance of the social state of this oppressed +race in Morocco, their precarious condition, and the numberless insults +and oppressions inflicted on them by both the government and the people; +I was present at several of these weddings, and shall give the readers a +glimpse of them. I had read and heard a great deal about the persecution +of the Jews in Morocco, and was, therefore, not a little surprised to +meet with these continual feasts and festivals among a people so much +talked about as victims of Mussulman oppression. + +I find two sentences in my notes containing the pith of the whole. "The +Jews continued their feasts; about a third of their time is spent in +feasting." Again--"Amidst all their degradation, the Jew we saw to-day +recreating themselves to the utmost extent of their capacities of +enjoyment." It appears that during the time I was at Mogador there was +an unusual number of weddings, and then followed the feast of the +Passover. I think, whilst I was at Tangier, weddings or celebration of +weddings were going on every night. It may be safely asserted, that no +people in Barbary enjoy themselves more than the Jews, or more pamper +and gratify their appetites. What with weddings, feasts, and obligatory +festivals, their existence is one round of eating and drinking. These +feasts, besides, do not take place in a corner, nor are they barricaded +from public, or envious, or inquisitorial view, but are open to all, +being attended by Christians, Moors and Arabs. + +These wedding-feasts are substantial things. Here is the entry in my +journal of an account of them: "A bullock was killed at the house of the +bridegroom, tea and cakes and spirits were freely, nay universally +distributed there. The company afterwards went off with the bridegroom +to the house of the bride, where another distribution of the same kind +took place, whilst half of the bullock was brought for the bride's +friends. Here the bridegroom, in true oriental style, mounted upon a +couch of damask and gold. The bride, laden with bridal ornaments of gold +and jewels, and covered with a gauze veil, was led out by the women and +placed by his side. She was then left alone to sit in state as queen of +the feast, whilst the company regaled themselves with every imaginable +luxury of eating and drinking. Her future husband now produced, as a +present for his bride, a splendid pair of jewelled ear-rings, which were +held up amidst the screaming approbation of the guests. The Jewesses +present, were weighed down under the dead weight of a profusion of +jewels and gold, tiaras of pearls, necklaces of coral and gems, armlets, +wristlets and legets of silver gold and jet, with gold and silver +braided gowns, skirts and petticoats. + +This fiesta was kept up for seven days. Astonished at the profusion of +jewels worn by the various guests, I received a solution by a question I +asked, touching this mavellous circumstance. The greater part of the +jewels, worn on these occasions, are borrowed from friends and +neighbours; they must belong to some of the Jewish families, and their +quantity shews the great wealth possessed by the Jews living under this +despotic government, + +I assisted at the celebration of the nuptials of a portion of the family +of the feather merchants, a rich and powerful firm established in the +south for the purchase of ostrich-feathers. + +This was a wedding of great _eclat_; all the native Jewish aristocracy +of Mogador being invited to it. The festivities, beginning at noon, I +first entered the apartment where the bride was sitting in state. She +was elevated on a radiant throne of gold and crimson cushions amidst a +group of women, her hired flatterers, who kept singing and bawling out +her praises. "As beautiful as the moon is Rachel!" said one. "Fairer +than the jessamine!" exclaimed another. "Sweeter than honey in the +honey-comb!" ejaculated a third. Her eyes were shut, it being deemed +immodest to look on the company, and the features of her face motionless +as death, which made her look like a painted corpse. + +To describe the dresses of the bride would be tedious, as she was +carried away every hour and redressed, going through and exhibiting to +public view, with the greatest patience, the whole of her bridal +wardrobe. Her face was artistically painted; cheeks vermillion; lips +browned, with an odoriferous composition; eye-lashes blackened with +antimony; and on the forehead and tips of the chin little blue stars. +The palms of the hands and nails were stained with henna, or brown-red, +and her feet were naked, with the toe-nails and soles henna-stained. She +was very young, perhaps not more than thirteen, and hugely corpulent, +having been fed on paste and oil these last six months for the occasion. +The bridegroom, on the contrary, was a man of three times her age, tall, +lank and bony, very thin, and of sinister aspect. The woman was a little +lump of fat and flesh, apparently without intelligence, whilst the man +was a Barbary type of Dickens' Fagan. + +The ladies had now arranged themselves in tiers, one above the other, +and most gorgeous was the sight. Most of them wore tiaras, all flaming +with gems and jewels. They were literally covered from head to foot with +gold and precious stones. As each lady has but ten fingers, it was +necessary to tie some scores of rings on their hair. The beauty of the +female form, in these women, was quite destroyed by this excessive +quantity of jewellery. These jewels were chiefly pearls, brilliants, +rubies and emeralds. + +They are amassed and descend as heir-looms in families, from mother to +daughter. Some of the jewels being very ancient, they constitute the +riches of many families. In reverses of fortune, they are pledged, or +turned into money to relieve immediate necessity. The upper tiers of +ladies were the youngest, and least adorned, and consequently the +prettiest. The ancient dowagers sat below as so many queens enthroned, +challenging scrutiny and admiration. They were mostly of enormous +corpulency, spreading out their naked feet and trousered legs of an +enormous expanse. + +Several dowagers seemed scarcely to be able to breathe from heat, and +the plethora of their own well-fed and pampered flesh. We had now music, +and several attempts were made to get up the indecent Moorish dance, +which, however, was forbidden as too vulgar for such fashionable Jews, +and honoured by the presence of Europeans. Not much pleased with this +spectacle, I looked out of the window into the patio, or court-yard, +where I saw a couple of butchers' boys slaughtering a bullock for the +evening carousal. A number of boys were dipping their hands in the +blood, and making with it the representation of an outspread hand on the +doors, posts and walls, for the purpose of keeping off "the evil eye," +(_el ojo maligno,_) and so ensuring good luck to the new married couple. + +I then mounted the house-top to see a game played by the young men. +Here, on the flat roof, was assembled a court, with a sultan sitting in +the midst. Various prisoners were tried and condemned. Two or three of +the greatest culprits were then secured and dragged down to the ladies, +the officers of justice informing them that, if no one stepped forward +to rescue them, it was the sultan's orders that they should be +imprisoned. Several young Jewesses now clamourously demanded their +release. It is understood that these compassionate maidens who, on such +occasions, step forward to the rescue, and take one of the young men by +the hand, are willing to accept of the same when it may hereafter be +offered to them in marriage, so the contagion of wedding-feasts spreads, +and one marriage makes many. + +I now proceed to the supper-table of the men, where the party ate and +drank to gluttonous satiety. Several rabbis were hired to chant, over +the supper-table, prayers composed of portions of Scripture, and legends +of the Talmud. + +The dinning noise of bad music, and horrible screaming, called singing, +with the surfeit of the feast, laid me up for two days afterwards. The +men supped by themselves, and the women of course were also apart. + +My host, anxious that I should see all, insisted upon my going to have a +peep at the ladies whilst they were supping. Unlike us men, who sat up +round a table, because there were several Europeans among us, the women +lay sprawling and rolling on carpets and couches. + +In their own allotted apartments, these gorgeous daughters of Israel +looked still more huge and enormous, feasting almost to repletion, like +so many princesses of the royal orgies of Belshazzar. But this was a +native wedding, and, of course, when we consider the education of these +Barbary women, we must expect, when they have drink like the men, white +spirits for protracted hours until midnight, the proprieties of society +are easily dispensed with. Happily the class of women, who so kept up +the feast, were all said to be married, the maidens having gone home +with the bride. + +Very different, indeed, was another distinguished wedding at which I had +the honour of assisting, and which all the European consuls and their +families attended, with the _elite_ of the society of Mogador; this was +the marriage of M. Bittern, of Gibraltar, with Miss Amram Melek. The +bridegroom was the Portuguese Consul, the bride, the daughter of the +greatest Jewish merchant of the south, and consequently the Emperor's +greatest and most honoured debtor. The celebration of this wedding +lasted fourteen days. + +On the grand day, a ball and supper were given. All the Moors of the +town came to see the Christians and their ladies dance. Our musician, or +fiddler, kept away from some petty pique, and we were accordingly +reduced to the hard necessity of making use of a drum and whistling, +both to keep up our spirits and serve up the quadrilles. We had, +however, some good singing to make up for the disappointment. His +Excellency the Governor intended to have honoured us with his presence, +but he gave way to the remonstrance of an inflexible marabout, who +declared it a deadly sin to attend the marriages of Jews and Christians. + +The marriage guests were of three or four several sets and sorts. There +was the European coterie, the choicest and most select, graced by the +presence of the bride; then the native aristocrats, and here were the +gorgeous sultanas and Fezan spouses; then the lesser stars, and the +still more diminished. + +Finally, the "blind, the lame, and the halt," surrounded the doors of +the house in which the marriage-feast was held, receiving a portion of +the good things of this life. The whole number of guests was not more +than two hundred. Plenty of European Jewesses shone as bewitching stars +at this wedding; but all _param_ to us poor Christians. Indeed, there is +as little as no lovemaking, and match-making amongst the isolated +Nazarenes; for, out of a population of some fifty European families, +there are only two marriageable Christian ladies. + +The bride is frequently fetched by the bridegroom at midnight, when +there is a cry made, "behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye forth to meet +him!" (Matt xxv--6). This ancient custom prevails most among the Moors. +Once, whilst at Nabal, in Tunis, I was roused from my sleep at the dead +of the night by wild cries, and the discharging of fire-arms, attended +with a blaze of torches. The bridegroom was conveying his bride to his +home. A crowd of the friends of the newly-married couple, followed the +camel which carried the precious burden; all were admitted to the feast +in the court-yard, and the doors were shut for the night. + +At the wedding of the lower classes of the Jews, after dancing and +music, there is always a collection made for the bride, or the +musicians. On these occasions, the master of the ceremonies calls out +the names of the donors as they contribute to the support of the +festivities. I was somewhat taken by surprise to hear my name called +out, Bashador Inglez (English ambassador) when I attended one of the +weddings. But the fellow, making the announcement, attracted my +attention more than his flattering compliment. He was dressed in Moorish +costume with an immense white turban folded round his head. I could not +conceive the reason of a Moor taking such interest in feasts of the +Jews. + +The secret soon transpired. He was a renegade, who had apostatized for +the sake of marrying a pretty girl. His heart is always with his +brethren, and the authorities good-naturedly allow him to be master of +the ceremonies at these and other feasts, to preserve order, or rather +to prevent the Jews from being insulted by the Mahometans. + +There are always a few Jewish renegades in large Moorish towns, just +enough, I imagine, to convince the Mahometans of the superiority of +their religion to that of other nations; for whilst they obtain converts +from both Jews and Christians, and make proselytes of scores of Blacks, +they never hear of apostates from Islamism. The manner, however, in +which these renegades abandon their religion, is no very evident proof +of the divine authority of the Prophet of Mecca. Here is an instance. + +A boy of this town ran away from his father, and prostrated himself +before the Governor, imploring him to make him a Mussulman. The +Governor, actuated by the most rational and proper feeling, remarked to +the boy, "You are a child, you have not arrived at years of discretion, +you have not intellect enough to make a choice between two religions." +The boy was kept confined one night, then beaten, and sent home in the +morning. + +Another case happened like this when the boy was admitted within the +pale of Islamism. Jewish boys will often cry out when their fathers are +correcting them, "I will turn Mussulman!" A respectable Jew, who +related this to me, observed, "were I to hear any of my sons cry out in +this manner, I would immediately give them a dose of poison, and finish +them; I could not bear to see my children formed into Mussulman devils." + +It really seems the vulgar opinion among the Jews and Moors of this +place, that females have no souls. I asked many women themselves about +the matter; they replied, "We don't care, if we have no souls." A Rabbi +observed, "If women bear children, make good wives, and live virtuously +and chastely, they will go to heaven and enjoy an immortal existence; if +not, after death, they will suffer annihilation." + +This appears to be the opinion of all the well-educated. But a Jewish +lady who heard my conversation with the Rabbi, retorted with spirit: +"Whether I bear children or not, if my husband, or any man has a soul, I +have one likewise, for are not all men born of us women?" + +All, however, are well satisfied with this life, whatever may happen in +the next; male and female Jews and Mussulmen hold on their mutual career +with the greatest tenacity. I made inquiries about suicides, and was +told there were never any persons so foolish as to kill themselves. + +"We leave it to the Emperor to take away a man's life, if such be the +will of God!" and yet the Moors are habitually a grave, dreamy and +melancholy people. No doubt the light, buoyant atmosphere keeps them +from falling into such a state of mental prostration as to induce +suicide. + +I now found that many people looked upon me, in the language of the +Jewish renegade, as an ambassador, and some went so far as to say, "I +can make war with the Emperor if I like;" others persisted in saying "I +am going in search of the murdered Davidson." A man took the liberty of +telling Mr. Elton. "A very mysterious Christian has arrived from the +Sultan of the English. The Governor hearing that he had ordered a pair +of Moorish shoes, sent word to the shoemaker to be as long about them as +possible. This Nazarene is going to disguise himself as one of us, in +order to spy out our country." + +The Moors are certainly a timid and suspicious race. They feel their +weakness, and they are frightened of any Christian who does not come to +their country on commercial pursuits, as a sportsman, or in some +directly intelligible character. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Interview with the Governor of Mogador, on the Address of the +Anti-Slavery Society.--Day and night side of the Mission +Adventure.--Phillips' application to be allowed to stand with his "shoes +on" before the Shereefian presence.--Case of the French Israelite, +Dannon, who was killed by the Government.--Order of the Government +against Europeans smoking in the streets.--Character of Haj Mousa, +Governor of Mazagran.--Talmudical of a Sousee Jew.--False weights +amongst the Mogador Merchants.--Rumours of war from the North, and levy +of troops.--Bragadocio of the Governor.--Mr. Authoris's opinion on the +state of the Country.--Moorish opinions on English Abolition.--European +Slavery in Southern Morocco.--Spanish Captives and the London +Ironmongers Company.--Sentiments of Barbary Jews on Slavery. + + +I had an interview by special appointment with His Excellency the +Governor of Mogador regarding the address to be presented to the +Shereefian population from the Anti-Slavery Society. I may at once +premise that from what I heard of Mr. Hay's diplomatic powers and +influence with the Sultan, as well as the peculiar situation in which +Mr. Willshire was placed, encumbered with great liabilities to his +Highness' custom-house, I already abandoned all hopes of success, and +even thought myself fortunate in being able to obtain an interview with +the Governor of this commercial city. To have expected anything more, +would have been extremely unreasonable on my part, under such +circumstances. + +It will be as well if I give the address in this place. [24] Friday was +appointed, being a quiet day, and the Mussulman Sabbath, when His +Excellency had little business on hand. The Moors usually devote the +morning of their sabbath to prayer, and afternoon to business and +amusement. Our party consisted of myself, Mr. Willshire, the British +Vice-Consul, and Mr. Cohen as interpreter. + +About four o'clock P.M. we found the Governor quite alone, telling his +rosary of jet beads, squatting on his hams upon the floor of a little +dirty shop, not more than eight feet by six in dimensions, with a +ceiling of deep hanging cobwebs which had not been brushed away for a +century. + +A piece of coarse matting was spread over the ground floor, and a +sheepskin lay on it for his Excellency to repose upon, but no furniture +was to be seen. There was indeed an affectation of nakedness and +desolation. Pen and ink were placed by his side, and a number of +official papers were strewn about, with some letters bearing the seal of +the Emperor. This shop (or reception room) was situate in an immense +gloomy square; it was the only one open, and here were the only signs of +life. + +The Governor had forbidden any of his subjects to be present at the +audience, unwilling and afraid lest any should hear a whisper of the +question of abolition in the orthodox States of his Imperial Master. +Sidi Hay Elarby was an elderly man, with a placid and intelligent +countenance. His manners throughout the interview were those of a +perfect Moorish gentleman. The Governor could not be distinguished from +the people by his dress. He wore a plain white turban, plain burnouse +and a pair of common slippers. In such state, we found the the highest +functionary of this important city. + +His Excellency began by asking me how I was, and welcoming me to his +country. I then handed a written speech to the interpreter, who, being a +Jew, pulled off his shoes, and crouching down before the Governor, read +to him paragraph by paragraph. Each passage was further discussed and +replied to by the Governor with energy, nay with vehemence. The +interview lasted till dark--nearly two hours. + +The following is a copy of the written speech, which was read for the +purpose of introducing the Address, and supplying topics of +conversation. + +"May it please Your Excellency, the mission with which I am charged to +this country is to persuade his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of +Morocco, to co-operate in any way which his Imperial Majesty may deem +proper, with the people of England for the abolition of slavery. I am +sent to the Court of Morocco by a Society of English gentlemen, whose +object is to persuade all men, in all parts of the world, to abolish the +traffic in human beings, as a traffic contrary to the rights of men and +the laws of God. + +"In undertaking this mission, these gentlemen applied to the government +of our Sovereign Queen to furnish me with letters of recommendation to +the British Consuls of this country, the representatives of her Majesty +the Queen of England. Copies of these letters are in the possession of +Mr. Willshire. Those letters express strong sympathy for the objects of +the mission, and require the Consuls to give me their fullest +protection; and so far, our gracious Queen, the government, and the +English people, are all agreed that it is a good thing to address his +Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, to co-operate with and to +assist them in putting down the traffic in slavery in every part of the +world. + +"If the government of the Queen had thought that they should recommend +to your Excellency and your royal master anything contrary to your +religion, they could not have given me letters of introduction to their +consuls in this country. Rest assured that the English people believe it +to be agreeable to the doctrines and precepts of all religions to +abolish the traffic in human flesh and blood. + +"I pray, therefore, your Excellency to receive the petition, of which I +am the bearer, from the Society of English gentlemen. Our Government +have already spent three hundred millions of dollars, the money of the +people of England, to destroy the traffic in human beings; every day our +government continues to spend vast sums, adding to this enormous amount +for the same object of humanity. I am sure that, if your Imperial Master +value the friendship of England and the British government, if it be a +politic and good thing for Morocco to be allied with the most powerful +Christian nation in the world, the most certain way to conciliate and +found this alliance on a durable basis, is to cooperate with the people +of England for the abolition of the traffic in slaves, and graciously to +receive this address from the Society of Abolitionists in London. + +"We come not to your Excellency with force of arms--this could not be +just; we use only moral persuasion. Our religion disapproves of +compulsion in all such affairs. But I can assure your Excellency that +the English people will never cease, though all nations be against them, +as long as God Almighty holds them up as a people, to endeavour in every +possible way, to persuade and convince the world that the traffic in +human beings is a great crime." + +The Governor replied in these terms: "Your mission is against our +religion, I cannot entertain it or think of it, in any way whatever. If, +in other countries, the traffic in slaves is contrary to the religion of +those countries, in this it is not; here it is lawful for us to buy and +sell slaves. Mahomet, our Prophet, has authorized us to do this; but, at +the same time, our slaves must be fed and clothed like ourselves. If you +wish a proof of this, you can go and look at my slaves," (pointing to +his house). "To be holders of slaves, is a merit with us. + +"Your address ought to come directly from your Government, from your +Queen to our Sultan. It is not enough that it is recommended by your +Government. The European sovereigns are accustomed to act by the advice +of their counsellors and ministers; but the Sultan of Morocco always +acts without advice or councils. [25] If the address had come from the +Queen, it would have been received, and an answer would have been +returned accordingly. Then if your Government had been offended at the +answer of my master not agreeing with their opinion, they could have +taken their own satisfaction in any way they might have thought proper +(or have made war on us). + +"The money which you say the people of England have spent for the +suppression of the Slave Trade, has been, according to our opinion and +religion, misspent, and employed to destroy a system of which we +approve, and consider lawful. Still, I hope God will give your country +more money to spend, and in abundance. + +"The English people and the people of Morocco have been, from time +immemorial, great friends, proofs of which I can give you. The guns that +we get from other Christian nations, are never so good as those we get +from England. Besides, we always give the English whatever they ask for. +When the French were at war with Spain and wished to take Ceutra from +her, the English demanded from our Sultan, a small island near Ceutra, +to prevent the French from landing and seizing Ceutra. To this request, +my Sultan acceded; and to show you that the English are our particular +friends, the English gave the island back to us when the war was at an +end." + +Mr. Willshire now endeavoured to present the Address of the Anti-Slavery +Society, praying his Excellency to accept it. + +On which, the Governor continued with his usual vivacity, "No; I am +sorry I cannot accept it; if I do, the Sultan must also, for now I act +as the Sultan. Indeed, I dare not receive the address, nor write to our +Lord [26] about it. Nor can I look at it, for in case the Sultan asks me +about it, I must swear that I have not touched nor seen the Address. If +I look at it, and then say I did not look at it, the Sultan will order +my tongue to be cut off from the roof of my mouth. + +"And further, O Consul! O Stranger! were our Lord to agree with your +Society, and abolish the traffic in slaves throughout his dominions, all +the people would rise up against him in revolt, and the Sultan would be +the first to have his head cut off. + +"Therefore, as a good and wise man, O Stranger--which you must be, or +you would not be entrusted with this mission--comply with the orders of +the Sultan's message, given to you by me and your Consul. + +"Any thing which you want for yourself or your private use, I will give +it you, even to the whole of this city of Mogador. But for myself I +cannot comply with the prayers of the address, or receive it from your +own or the Consul's hands." + +The message of the Sultan alluded to, was in substance to give up the +attempt of abolishing slavery in Morocco, and not to think of going to +the South, but to return at once to England. + +The Governor was greatly pleased with the sound of his own voice, and +the skill of his argumentations, and has the character of being a +loquacious and reasoning diplomatist. + +This was the public or day side of the mission; there was also the night +side; for where the curiosity of the Moor is excited, it must be +gratified, by fair or other means. It was not surprising, therefore, +that the wily Shereef should wish to know what this Address of an +English Society was, or could be; and if possible to obtain a copy, +although for the sake of the people it was found necessary to repudiate +altogether its acceptance. Accordingly, the next day, Cohen told me a +friend of the Emperor's was anxious to have some conversation with me, +and he begged me to take with me the Address. + +It was past ten at night, when alone, with my Moorish guide, I found +myself treading the long narrow streets of Mogador. + +The wind howled and the watch-dogs barked; it was so dark that we could +scarcely grope our way, no human being was about; we went up one street +and down another, stealing along our way; as if on some house-breaking +expedition; and I began to feel suspicious, fearing a trap might be laid +for me. Still, I had confidence in the honour of the Moors, I said to my +guide. + +"When shall we reach your master's?" + +_Guide_.--"God knows; be quiet!" + +We continued going through street after street. It was now bitter cold, +and a few drops of rain fell from the cutting wing of the north wind. + +To my Guide again. + +"Where is the house?" + +_Guide_.--"Follow me, don't talk!" After we had passed other streets, +"Is this the street?" + +_Guide_.--"Eskut! (hold your tongue)." + +We now entered a low dilapidated gateway, with a broken panelled door, +groaning on its hinges. + +Again I questioned my guide. "Who lives here?" + +_Guide_.--"Mahboul Ingleez (mad Englishman) hold your tongue! Do you +think we Mussulmans will eat you?" + +We passed through several court-yards, by the aid of a lantern, which +the guide found in a corner, and then entered a corridor. Here he +grasped me by the arm, in such wise as made me believe I was about to +have my head thrust through a bowstring. I ejaculated; "Allah Akbar! +Mercy upon us!" blending Arabic and English in my fright, and +struggling, fell with the guide against the door at the end of the +passage with a considerable crash. A voice was heard from within. +"_Ashbeek_ (what's the matter?)" My guide returned, "_Hale_ (open)." + +A huge negro now laid hold of me, and pulled me up a pair of narrow +stairs which led to a species of loft, in a detached portion of the +house. The case containing the Address fell out of my hands, and was +picked up by the guide. Another apartment within the loft was now +opened, shewing, through a dim and indistinct light, a venerable old +Moor, sitting in the midst of heaps of papers and books, like a midnight +astrologer, or a secret magician. On our entrance, the solitary Moor +raised his eyes, quietly, and said faintly, "Where is it?" My guide now +rushed in, began talking volubly, and made this harangue, thinking, +however, I could not understand him from the rapidity with which he +declaimed. + +"Sidi," he said, "this Christian is a frightened fool--and a _baheen_ +(ass)--I had the greatest trouble to get him here--he was frightened out +of himself--and now Allah! Allah! I have to take him back again." + +I received the compliment in silence, and endeavoured to recover my +tranquillity. But I could not help remarking the contrast between my +noisy and agitated guide, and the grave manner and immoveable quietness +of the recluse. The guide then handed him "the Address," and the Cid +opened the box or case with extreme caution, as if it had contained some +mysterious spell. The Cid now looked up for a moment at the big negro, +who decamped instantly and returned with a teapot and two cups. The two +cups were then filled with tea, one of which was presented to me, but I +had some hesitation about drinking it. The Cid, looked up at me with a +quiet smile, and gently muttered "_Eshrub_! (drink,") I drank the tea +and then waited anxiously to know what was coming next. The Cid +continued to unroll the Address. When this was done, he rolled it up and +again unrolled it, and stared at its Roman characters. He eyed the seal +and ejaculated, "_Haram_!" to himself! alluding, I suppose, to the +figure of the slave in chains, it being prohibited to make figures. The +Cid now paused a moment, then looked at me again, and finally turning to +the Guide said, "_Imshee El-Ghudwah_ (go to-morrow, I'll see.)" + +The guide now grasped me again by the hand, scarcely allowing me to bow +a good night to the Cid, and led me back to my lodgings, where I arrived +at midnight. When I awoke in the morning, I really imagined I had been +dreaming an ugly dream, until one of the English Jews called, and said +he was making a translation of the Address to be dispatched to the +Emperor at Morocco, and afterwards he would bring the Address back. The +Address was returned to me about a week afterwards, but whether an +Arabic translation was ever sent to the Sultan, I know no more than the +reader. + +Mr. Phillips has applied to the British Vice-consul to know whether, in +case of his going up to Morocco to carry a present for the Belgium +merchants, here, Phillips, being a Jew, will be obliged to pull off his +shoes, which would be depriving him of the rights of British-born +subjects, who stand with their shoes on in the Shereefian presence. The +Consul says he cannot answer the question, and must send a dispatch to +Mr. Hay. Mr. Willshire complimented Phillips: "Ah Phillips, you are +always proposing to me some knotty question. You profoundly perplex the +mind of Mr. Consul-general Hay." + +This leads me to notice the affecting case of the Israelite, Darmon, at +one time the French Vice-consul at Mazagran. This young Darmon was fond +of Moorish women, and always intriguing with them. Hay Mousa, Governor +of Mazagran, reported him to the Emperor, and his Highness sent orders +to have him decapitated. It was said afterwards by the Maroquine +Government, that "The order was merely to bring him to Morocco, and +that, when being conveyed as prisoner, and after attempting to run away, +the soldiers of his escort shot him." The Moorish Government also +pretend that Darmon attempted first to shoot the guards who shot him, in +self-defence. + +With regard to his being a French Consul, it is said by the French +Government, that he was not their consul at the time, having resigned. +It appears besides that members of his family are French, and others +Moorish subjects. Indeed, these Mauro-European Jews give great troubles +to the consuls; the various persons of a single family being often under +the protection of three or four consuls. It will thus be seen how full +of difficulties was this Darmon affair, and what a door it opened to +tedious Moorish diplomacy. The French Government arranged ultimately +with the Sultan a compromise, a sum of money being paid to the murdered +man's family, and the Governor of Mazagran was dismissed. + +When young Darmon fell into disgrace, his father, one of the Imperial +merchants, was at Morocco. The father inquired of the Minister whether +the Sultan would receive his present now his son had fallen into +disgrace. The cruelly avaricious tyrant deigned to accept it of the +father it is said, at the very moment when the order to decapitate his +son had been sent to Mazagran. No doubt it was a barbarous action, but +the extreme imprudence of the young man provoked the government to +extremities. The court was so irritated at the time, that it even issued +an order to place all Jews, natives, foreigners, or Europeans upon the +same level of exposure to Moorish insult and oppression. Speaking to Mr. +Willshire about this order, he smilingly observed: "Say nothing, it will +soon be forgotten." The government never intended to carry it out. Years +ago, the Emperor gave orders that Jews coming from European countries +should be placed on the same footing as native Jews, but the Imperial +edicts were unnoticed. + +A curious order was given about smoking some time ago in this city. It +was represented to the Governor that during Ramadan, Kafer-Nazarenes +went about smoking, occasioning the Faithful to sniff up the smoke, and +so break the Holy Fast. The Christians were likewise accused of going +near the mosques to fill them with filthy smoke. + +The Governor, in a circular, begged of the Consuls to prohibit their +countrymen, or "subjects," from smoking in the streets. The French +Consul considering this a police regulation, summoned together the +French subjects, and begged of them to comply with the non-smoking +order. Mr. Willshire took no notice of the affair, knowing it would soon +pass over. + +Mr, Willshire is a veteran in Morocco, and understands the genius of its +government. He considers the _laissez faire_ system the very best, and +this is all very well, provided the Sultan respects the heads of Her +Majesty's subjects. + +Haj Mousa, Governor of Mazagran, who was mixed up with the Darmon +affair, deserves notice from his brutal ferocity towards Europeans. With +great difficulty and damage to their lives, Europeans reside in +Mazagran, and it is not therefore surprising that the imprudent Darmon +fell into the clutches of this provincial tyrant, who probably ensnared +him as a prey. Up to the time of this affair, Haj Mousa had been an +irremoveable governor. The Sultan himself never attempted to displace +him, although he had committed, from time to time, the greatest +enormities. Other governors had been bled, fleeced, and impaled over and +over again; but the caitiff, Haj, always remained in possession of the +fruits of his tyranny. + +The reason for this tolerant conduct of the Emperor towards him is, that +when Muley Abd Errahman was in difficulties and obliged to fly for his +life, in the convulsions previous to his reign, Haj Mousa sent the young +prince a mule and thirty ducats; with this, the prince was enabled to +escape, and he saved his life to be afterwards proclaimed +Meer-el-Moumeneen. On receiving the mule and money, he exclaimed in a +transport of gratitude to the Governor of Mazagran, "I will never forget +you!" It is unfortunate the good faith of the Emperor's word has been so +deplorably abused by this tyrant, for it is considered certain, that +though temporarily removed from Mazagran, he will return, or be made +governor of another city. + +A Sous Jew called upon me one day, who is well acquainted with the +Shelouh or, Berber of the South. On asking if he would make a +translation of the book of Genesis from Hebrew into Shelouh, he replied: + +"No, I cannot. In the first place, the Emperor would cut off my head for +doing such a thing; and, again, it would be a sin to convert the Holy +Hebrew character into such a language of Infidels." + +We continued our discussion on a more practical subject. + +_Traveller_ (to the Jew)--"I am told that among you, Jews of Morocco, it +is a merit to rob us Christians and the Moors. Your young children are +even praised by their mothers if they commit a theft without being found +out: [27] is this right?" + +_The Jew_.--"You are all _Goyeem_ [28] (Gentiles), but it is not true +that we rob you, Christians. If we rob Mussulmen, it's because they rob +us first." + +The case really is, the Jews are literally being robbed every day by the +Moors one way or the other, and, if the people do not rob them, the +constituted authorities continue to make exactions under every pretence. +I am inclined, nevertheless, to think, without prejudice, that it is a +received maxim with _all native_ Barbary Jews, "to rob unbelievers, +Moors and Christians, when you can do so _safely_." This was the opinion +which a very respectable European Jew, resident in Tunis, entertained of +his brethren. At the same time, Ihere are numerous exceptions. + +Many of the lower classes of Moors likewise, think there is little or no +harm in robbing Jews and Blacks, that is, all who are Infidels and +Christians. + +I may mention, in connection with the above, the system of +False-Weights, which is an enormous scandal to this great commercial +city. It appears that almost every tradesman, and every imperial +merchant have two sets of weights, one to buy and another to sell with. +A merchant once had the impudence to cry out to his clerk when weighing, +"Oh, you are wrong, these are my _selling_ weights; bring me my _buying_ +weights. Am I not buying?" + +A Jew, once purchasing oil from a poor Arab, carried his villainy so far +as actually to make his tare and tret weigh more than the skin-bag when +full of oil, and coolly told the amazed Arab he had no money to give him +for the value received. "Give me back my oil!" cried the Arab. At this +the audacious Jew retorted, "There is none!" A European merchant +interfered, and saved the Jew from the bastinado he so richly deserved. +A Kady hearing of these abominations, took upon himself to begin a +reform, and went about examining weights. For his honest pains, and, in +the midst of his work of reform, the officious functionary received an +order from the Sultan, enjoining him to cease his interference, and +condemning him, as a punishment for his over-righteousness, "_to teach +twelve little boys to read every day, and not to sit at his own door for +the space of one year_." So unthankful, so odious is the task of +reforming in Morocco and many other countries. + +This account of the abominable system of two kinds of weights, I derived +from most unquestionable authority, otherwise I could not have given +credit to the statement. + +There were incessant rumours of war from the North. The Emperor had got +himself into difficulties with Spain and France. Orders had been sent +down to reinforce this garrison and that of Aghadir. The day before, the +Governor, calling his troops before him, did not shew his usual good +sense and prudence. He thus harangued them:--"Now, let those who want +new arms come and take them, and bring back the old ones. Let all have +courage, and fear not the Christians; fear not, women and children!" +The movement of troops was part of a general measure, extending to all +the coasts, and was, in fact, a review _en masse_ of the disposable +forces throughout the empire. Eighty thousand men were expected in this +city or the suburbs. The Sultan was reported to be on the march towards +the North with an army of 200,000 men. + +The Sultan did not expect to make use of his new levies, but the policy +of the thing was good. His Highness is evidently a pacific ruler, he has +but few regular troops, and he pays them badly. His predecessor had a +large army and paid them well. + +Great discontent prevailed among the soldiers, and the Emperor never +feels himself secure on his throne. + +This apparent crusade against the Infidels has no doubt tended to make +him popular, and to consolidate his power. True, it excited the tribes +of the interior against the Christians, but it was better to inflame +them against the Christians than to lose his own throne. + +The French Consul waited upon the Governor for explanations about the +movements of the troops. His Excellency observed, "I am ordered by my +Sultan to defend this city against all assailants, and I shall do so +till I am buried beneath its ruins. Though all the coast-cities were +captured, Mogador should never be surrendered." + +Some of the credulous Moors said, "The Shereefs will come from Tafilet, +led on by our Lord Mahomet, and destroy all the cursed Nazarenes. The +Sheerefs will fire against the French leaden balls, and silver balls." +Another observed to me, "If a fleet should come here, it will be +immediately sunk, because our Sultan has ordered every ball to hit, and +none to miss." + +This is not unlike what a Turk of Tripoli once said to me about the +Grand Signor and his late reforms. "The Turks will soon be civilized, +because the Sultan has given an order for all the Turks to be +civilized." The large guns of the forts were practised, and the guns of +the grand battery loaded. The infantry continued to practise on the +beach of the port: their manoeuvres were very uncouth and disorderly, +they merely moved backwards and forwards in lines of two deep. The +French Consul, Monsieur Jorelle, discontinued his usual promenade, to +prevent his being insulted, and so to avoid the the painful necessity of +demanding satisfaction. + +Mr. Willshire, being well known to the Mogador population, had not so +much to fear. Here is the advantage of a long residence in a country. +The French Government lose by the frequent changing of their consuls. +Still, M. Jorelle was right in not exposing himself to the mob, or the +wild levies who had come from their mountains. The fault of the Governor +was, in exciting the warlike fanaticism of the tribes of the interior +against the Christians, which he ought to have known the city +authorities might have extreme difficulty in keeping within bounds. No +European could pass the gates of the city without being spat upon, and +cursed by the barbarous Berbers. + +I paid a visit to M. Authoris, the Belgium merchant, and the only +European trader carrying on business independently of the Emperor. He +represented the commerce of the country to be in a most deplorable +condition. "There is now nothing to buy or sell on which there is a gain +of one per cent. The improvidence of the people is so great that, should +one harvest fail, inevitable famine would be the result, there not being +a single bushel of grain more in the country than is required for daily +consumption. Nor will the people avail themselves of any opportunity of +purchasing a thing cheap when it is cheap; they simply provide for their +hourly wants. They act in the literal sense of 'Take no thought for the +morrow, but let the morrow take care of itself.' As to the Jews, they +feast one day and fast the next." With regard to the excitement then +existing, M. Authoris observed. "This Government, on hearing rumours of +Spanish and French expeditions against the country, must naturally make +use of what power it has, the Holy War power, to excite the people in +their own defence. The Moors cannot discriminate Gazette intelligence. +When a worthless newspaper mentions an expedition being fitted out +against Morocco, the Emperor immediately sees a fleet of ships within +sight of his ports, and hears the reports of bombarding cannon." The raw +levies of Shedmah and Hhaha continued to enter the town, but only a +small number at a time, lest they should alarm the inhabitants. They +went about, peeping into houses, and wherever a door was open they would +walk in, staring with a wild curiosity. + +I had some conversation with my Moorish friends respecting the abolition +of slavery. An old doctor observed, "The English are not more humane +than other nations, but God has decreed that they should destroy the +slave-trade among the Christians. This, however, is no praise to them, +for they could not resist acting according to the will and mind of God. +As for the Mussulmen, what they do is for the benefit of slaves, +especially females, who, one and all, are doomed to death; [29] but, +when purchased by the slave-dealers, their lives are spared, and they +are made True Believers. Still, the Mussulmen would assist the English +in destroying the ships which carry slaves;" (as if the Moors had any +fleet). + +The number of slaves in this city is from eight hundred to one thousand. +It is difficult to ascertain any thing like the exact number, the +opulent Moors having many negress slaves, with whom they live in a state +of concubinage. Young, rich, and fashionable Moors, I was told for the +first time in a Mahommedan country, have become disgusted with the old +habit of managing and taking a wife early, and adopt the immoral +practice of buying female slaves, by which they avoid, as they say, the +trouble and expense of marrying females of their own rank in Moorish +society. A good Mussulman must however, marry once in his life. Slaves +are imported via Wadnoun from Timbuctoo and Soudan, and even from the +western coast. Negroes of the Timbuctoo market are more esteemed than +those of Guinea, being a stronger and more laborious race. The common +price of a slave in Mogador is from 60 to 90 ducats; one day a beautiful +African girl, freshly exported from the interior, was sold for 160 +ducats, or about L20 sterling. This is considered an extraordinary high +price. + +Slaves are sold by criers about the streets in Morocco, and most towns, +and not in bazaars, as in the East. But the most remarkable feature of +slavery in this part of the world, is the Christian or European slavery +carried further south, in the regions extending on the line of coast +below Wadnoun, and the adjacent Sahara. Something like a regular system +of Christian slavery is there going on, whilst its head-quarters are not +more than five or six days' journey from this residence of the European +Consuls. This white slavery consists in seizing shipwrecked sailors, +numbers being fishermen from the Canary Islands. We know little about +these poor captives, although we are so near Wadnoun, and are +continually trading with Sous and this country. Mr. Davidson casually +mentions them in his journal. + +It is a settled and religious practice of merchants to keep Europeans +ignorant of the south and the Desert; we only hear of these captives now +and then, when one escapes, and after being bought and sold by a hundred +different masters, is fortunate enough to be redeemed; of his companions +in shipwreck, the escaped captive rarely knows anything. They are gone: +they are either drowned near the coast, plundered and massacred, or +carried far away into the Desert, and perhaps for ever. Formerly vessels +navigated through the channel (if it may be so called) of the Canary +Islands and the Wadnoun coast, by which they often got on shoal water, +and were cast away; in this manner, whites were enslaved. Happily now, +masters of vessels have become acquainted with this dangerous coast. +They pass to the east of the Canaries, and fewer vessels are shipwrecked +hereabouts. + +The Spanish fishermen of the Canaries are chiefly now made captives. +These poor people are either seized when becalmed near the coast, or +captured on being cast on shore by the furious trade-winds, which sweep +these desolate shores (often nine months out of twelve) and carry utter +destruction with them. The wild and wandering Bedouins in bad weather, +with the true storm scent of the wrecker, patiently watch the coasts, +pouncing on their prey, with the voracity of the vulture, as it is +thrown up from the deep, along the inhospitable shore. Having got the +shipwrecked men in their possession, they act with the cunning and +avarice of slave-dealers, and are aided by the still craftier Jews, who +always render it very difficult for the consular agents to redeem these +unhappy captives. For although a Jew, by the Mahometan law, cannot +purchase slaves, yet by buying them-through Mussulmen, who share in the +profits, from the Arabs who first seized the captives, the slaves are +frequently kept back months in the Desert, being parted from one another +before they can be ransomed. + +Sometimes the Arabs alluringly question their captives to see if they +understand any mechanical arts, which are greatly esteemed, being very +useful in these almost tenantless regions; and should they discover that +they do, they carry them away into hopeless captivity, through the wilds +of the Desert, refusing to sell them at any price or offer of ransom. +But those who cannot, or will not make themselves useful, are generally +redeemed by the Mogador Consuls, should they escape being massacred in +the quarrels of the Arabs for the booty when they are first captured. + +There is, at the present time, a Spanish fisherman near Wadnoun, waiting +to be redeemed. The Arab Sheikh who holds him, demands two hundred +dollars for his redemption. Mr. Wiltshire objects to the price, as being +too much. Besides this, he is afraid to advance any money for a Spanish +captive's release, lest it should never be refunded. The Spanish +Government, representing a people so chivalrous in bygone times, and so +proud of their ancient exploits over the Moors of this very country, are +not now-a-days over zealous in redeeming their countrymen held in +bondage by these people. Mr. Willshire ransomed a Spanish boy, and +waited several years before he could get this imbecile Government to +refund the money. Espartero at last, however, interfered authoritatively +for the repayment to our generous consul. + +In the present case of the poor fisherman, the captive Spaniard lingers +between hope and fear, his only protection being the avarice of his +master, who, like all slave-dealers, is willing to take care of him as +he takes care of his horse. He is one out of four, the other three +having been massacred by the Arabs, or perished on the coast. But, at +present, we know nothing certain of this, although but a few days' +journey from the scene where the disaster took place--so miserable are +our means of information for enabling us to put an end to this system of +Christian slavery. Certainly some representations should be made to the +Emperor, who pretends to have jurisdiction over Wadnoun, and the +adjacent countries, that these captives may be delivered up to the +Consuls of Mogador. A fair remuneration might be given to the persons +bringing them safely to this town. + +I am told, the Ironmongers' Company of London have at their disposal +funds for the liberation of such British captives as are enslaved in +Southern Morocco. This money was left by a merchant who himself was made +a slave there; and since that time, owing to the few British captives +redeemed, it has increased to an enormous amount. Not knowing what to do +with the money, the Company, it is said, are about to petition +Parliament to build a school with a portion; but I should suggest that +it would be more in accordance with the original object, and declared +intention of the benevolent, donor, were this large surplus fund devoted +to the redemption of all other Christian captives, of whatever nation or +country. Because two hundred dollars are not forthcoming which could +easily be supplied from the Ironmongers' Company's funds, a poor +Spaniard is condemned to a cruel and hopeless slavery, wandering in the +wilds of the great African wilderness. It is impossible to tell the +number of Christian slaves who perish in the South of Morocco. Many of +the Consular agents of this city are as ignorant of the country as +persons residing in London. This subject absolutely demands the +attention of the governments of Europe. Our humanity and civilization +are in question. + +The opinions of the Jews here, are the same as those of American +slave-holders, with this slight difference, that they consider it right +to make slaves of white men and Europeans, as well as of black men, +negroes, and Africans, in which idea they are more consistent than their +Yankee men-selling brethren. + +As there are many Barbary Jews at Mogador, more or less under British +protection, I took the liberty of reminding them of their liabilities as +British subjects, by circulating among them copies of Lord Brougham's +Act. + +I had some conversation with Rabbi-El Melek and other Jews about the +question of abolition, + +_Traveller_.--"What is the opinion of the Jews of this country on the +matter of slavery?" + +_Rabbi-El-Melek._--"I will show you," (taking the Hebrew Bible he read) +"'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his +brethren.'" + +_Traveller._--"Admitting the curse pronounced here was right, that Ham +and Canaan were the progenitors of the African negroes, and that the +curse was to be extended to all generations of Africa--are these reasons +why the all-Merciful Deity will hold man guiltless who enslaves and +maltreats poor Africans? Now, the Jews have been dispersed all over the +world, and maltreated, if not enslaved, by both Christians and +Mahometans (as now) according to prophecy, but will God hold us +guiltless for persecuting or maltreating you, Jews?" + +_The Rabbi_.--"But we are the slaves of God, not of you Christians, and +besides, we are commanded to treat well our slaves in the Scriptures." +Here he quoted many passages from the Pentateuch. + +Then followed a desultory conversation, some asserting "that inasmuch as +the slavery of the whites was permitted by God, how much more right had +they to enslave blacks who were the servants of servants!" Others even +added, "If we were Sovereigns of Morocco, we should make slaves of both +Mahometans and Christians." This indeed is the genuine feeling of +Barbary Jews; oppression begets oppression, and wrong begets revenge. +Another observed, "If you ask me what I think as a British subject, and +not as a Jew, I will give you my opinion against slavery." + +Such distinctions in morals are not easily admissable, but the Jews +there are acute enough to make them, and are as good Jesuits as those of +Rome. Some cited the cavtivity of Joseph us, as a reason for carrying on +the slave-trade. + +On another occasion, I had a conversation with Hassan Yousef, the High +Priest, or Archbishop, as Captain Phillips calls him. The Chief Priest +acknowledged that he who stole a man, whether white or black, was +condemned to death, according to the fair interpretation of the Mosaic +law. He and all Jews were much astonished at the tenor of Lord +Brougham's Act, and got not a little frightened; for all the merchants +of Mogador, Christians and Jews, more or less aid and abet the +slave-trade, all having connections with slave-dealers. At length, our +Jewish Archbishop opined. "Well, well, it is better now, since the +Christians have put down slavery in most of their countries, that we +Jews should follow their example." + +It would be useful, and might subserve the cause of civilization, were +the Jews of Europe to take some means of enlightening their brethren of +North Africa on the question of slavery. The Israelites, who have +suffered so much from slavery and oppression, after becoming free +themselves, should endeavour to emancipate those who are still in the +chains of bondage. + +The Hhaha levies were about to return to their country; the disposable +force of this province is about 70,000. The troops from Shedma were to +come in after the departure of those of Hhaha. Government were afraid to +bring both together, lest they should fight among themselves. Alluding +to the quarrel of their Sultan with the French, these hostile tribes +mutter to each other, "We must kill our own French first;" that is to +say their own "hereditary enemies." + +I went out to see the two levies. These tribes had a singularly wild and +savage aspect, with only a blanket to cover them, which they wrap round +and round their bodies, having neither caps on their heads, nor shoes on +their feet. They were greatly excited against the Christians, owing to +the foolish conduct of the Moorish authorities. The lawless bands spat +at me, and every European passing by them, screaming with threatening +gestures, "God curse you! Infidels." These semi-savages, called out for +the defence of the Empire, were merely armed with a bad gun or +matchlock; some had only knives and clubs. Such levies are certainly +more fit to pillage the Emperor's coast-towns than to defend his +territory against the foreign enemy. + +These poor tribes bring their own provisions, a little barley meal, and +olive or argan-oil, or liquid butter; on this being exhausted, they +could stay no longer, for Government supplies them with nothing but bad +matchlocks. + +They were loud in their complaint on not receiving any nations, and +threatened to join the French Nazarenes when they arrived. His +Excellency the Governor was very anxious to get rid of them, which was +not at all surprising. So avaricious is the Emperor, that when he can, +he makes the rich Moors supply arms for their poorer brethren, instead +of furnishing them from government depots. And this he insists upon as a +point of religion. The Governor called upon rich Moors to supply the +poor with arms. + +A friend of mine who understands Shelouh as well as Arabic, overheard a +characteristic quarrel between a Shedma man and a Hhaha man. The Shedma +people, or inhabitants of the plains, mostly speak Arabic, those of the +mountains, Shelouh, which difference of language embitters their +quarrels, and alienates them from one another. + +Shedma man.--"Dog! you have put your hands of the devil into my bag of +barley." + +Hhaha man.--"Dog and Jew, you lie!" + +Shedma man.--"Jew and Frenchman! there's some one now in your wife's +tent." + +Hhaha man.--"Religion of the Frenchman! your mother has been +dishonoured a thousand times." + +The maternal honour is the dearest of things amongst these +semi-barbarians. At the mention of this libel on his mother, the Shedma +fellow rushed at the Hhaha man, seizing him by the throat, and +unsheathed a dirk to plunge into his bowels. The scuffle fortunately +excited the instant attention of a group of Arabs close by, who, +securing both, carried them before the Shiekh; who, without hearing the +subject of the quarrel, bastinadoed them both with his own hand. But he +was the Hhaha Sheikh, and the Shedma Sheikh complained to the Governor +of his man having been bastinadoed by the other Sheikh. The Governor +dismissed them, each threatening the other with due vengeance. + +It is time to give some account of Mogador. We sometimes spell the name +with an e, Mogadore, the inhabitants call their town _Shweerah_. Square, +[30] in allusion to its beauty, for it is the only town constructed +altogether on geometrical principles throughout Morocco. Its form, +however, is really a triangle. Mogador is a modern city, having been +built in the year 1760 of our era, by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed, under +the direction of a French engineer of the name of Cornut, who was +assisted by Spanish renegades. + +The object of Sidi Mahommed was to found a central emporium of the +commerce of the Empire, and a port for the southern capital (Morocco). +This town belongs to the province of Hhaha, whose Berber tribes are its +natural defenders. + +The site is a sandy beach with a rocky foundation or a base on the sea, +forming a peninsula, and is supposed to be the ancient Erythraea. The +houses are regularly built, with streets in direct lines, extremely +convenient though somewhat narrow. The residences of the consuls and +European merchants are elegant and spacious. There is a large +market-place, which, on days when the market is not held, furnishes a +splendid parade, or "corso" for exercising cavalry. + +The city is divided into two parts; one division contains the citadel, +the public offices, the residence of the governor, and several houses +occupied by European consuls and merchants, which are all the property +of the Sultan; and the other is the space occupied by the houses of the +Moors and Jews. + +The Jews have a quarter or _willah_ to themselves, which is locked up +during the night, the key being kept by the police. Nevertheless, +several Jews, especially Imperial traders, are allowed to occupy houses +in the Moorish quarter or citadel portion of Mogador, with the Christian +merchants. + +Both quarters are surrounded by walls, not very thick or high, but which +are a sufficient protection, against the depredations of the +mountaineers, or Arabs of the plain. The port is formed by a curve in +the land and the isle of Mogador, which is about two miles from the +mainland. + +This isle, on the verge of the ocean, contains some little forts and a +mosque, and its marabout shrines sparkle in the sun. It is a place of +exile for political offenders. When the French landed, at the +bombardment of Mogador, they released fifty or sixty state prisoners, +some of whom had been Bashaws, or ministers of this and former reigns. +The isle, however, is finely situate off the Atlantic, fanned and swept +by healthy gales, and the prisoners suffer only seclusion from the +Continent. The exiles never attempt to escape, but quietly submit to +their destiny. + +In the port, there are only ten or twelve feet of water at ebb tide, so +that large vessels cannot enter, but must lie at anchor a mile and a +half off the Western battery, which extends along the north-western side +of the port. Such vessels do not lie there except in the summer months, +and then with extreme caution, being, as they are, right off in the +Atlantic, on one of its most dangerous coasts. There are some tolerable +batteries, but they cannot long resist a European bombardment, which was +demonstrated by the French. + +Colonel Keating says, "As far as parapets, ramparts, embrasures, +cavaliers, batteries, and casemates constitute a fortress, this town is +one; but the walls are flimsy, the cavaliers do not command, the +batteries do not flash, and the casemates are not bomb-proof. The +embrasures are so close that not one in three upon the ramparts could be +worked, if they were mounted, which they are not. All their guns, which +have been only twelve months here, are already in very bad order, from +exposure to the climate and surf. The casemates are so damp, that their +interior is covered constantly with a thick nitrous incrustation." +Nevertheless, the Moors have such a superstitious veneration for +fortifications built by a parcel of renegades, that they will not permit +Christians to walk on these ramparts. But what is most unfortunate for +the defence of Mogador, the water could be instantly cut off by +destroying its aqueduct. + +The population is between thirteen and fifteen thousand souls, including +four thousand Jews, and fifty Christians, who carry on an important +commerce, principally with London and Marseilles. Excepting Tangier, it +is now the only port which carries on uninterrupted commercial relations +with Europe. + +Mogador is situate in the midst of shifting sand-hills, that separate it +from the cultivated parts of the country, which are distant from four to +tweleve miles. These sands have an extraordinary appearance on returning +from the interior; they look like huge pyramidal batteries raised round +the suburbs of the city for its defence. The inhabitants are supplied +with water by means of an aqueduct, fed by the little river, or rill of +Wai Elghored, two miles distant south. The climate hereabouts is +extremely salubrious, the rocky sandy site of the city being removed +from all marshes or low lands, which produce pestiferous miasma or +fever-exhaling vegetation. Rarely does it rain, but the whole tract of +the adjoining country, between the Atlas and the sea, is tempered on the +one side by the loftiest ranges of that mountain, and on the other, by +the north-east trade winds, blowing continually. Mogador is in Lat. 31 deg. +32' 40" N., and Long. 9 deg. 35' 30" W. + +The environs offer nothing but desolate sands, except some gardens for +growing a few vegetables, and a sprinkling of flowers, which, by dint of +perseverance, have been planted in the sand of the sea-shore. This is a +remarkable instance of human culture turning the most hopelessly sterile +portions of the world to account. These sands of Mogador are only a +portion of a vast and almost interminable link, which girdles the +north-western coast of the African continent, and is only broken in upon +at short intervals, from Morocco to Senegal, like a shifting, heaving, +and ever-varying rampart against the aggressions of the ocean. Both wind +and sea have probably equally contributed to the formation of this vast +belt of shifting sands. + +The distance from Tangier to Mogador, by ordinary courier, is twelve +days, but no traveller could be expected to perform the journey in less +than twenty days. + +Other courier distances are as follows: + + Tangier to Rabat 4 days + Rabat to Fez 2 days + Fez to Mickas 12 hours + Rabat to Morocco 8 days + Mogador to Morocco 21/2 days + Mogador to Santa Cruz 3 days + Mogador to Wadnoun 8 days + Santa Cruz to Teradant 11/2 days + +A notice of the interesting, though now abandoned part of Aghadir, may +not be out place here. Aghadir, (called also Agheer and by the +Portuguese, Santa Cruz) means in Berber "walls." It is the Gurt Luessem +of Leo Africanus. The town is small, but strong, and well fortified, and +is situate upon the top of a high and abrupt rock, not far from the +promontory of Gheer, which is the western termination of the Atlas, and +where it dips into or strikes the ocean. + +On the south, close by, is the river Sous, and formerly Aghadir was the +capital of this province. + +Aghadir has a spacious and most secure port, which is the last port +southwards on the Atlantic. Indeed, this bay is the finest roadstead in +the whole empire. Mr. Jackson says, that during his residence at Aghadir +of three years, not a single ship was lost or injured. The principal +battery of Aghadir, a place equally strong by nature and art, is half +way down the western declivity of the mountain, and was originally +intended to protect a fine spring of water close to the sea. This fort +also commands the approaches to the town, both from the north and the +south, and the shipping in the bay. + +Santa Cruz was converted from a fisherman's settlement into a city, and +was fortified by the Portuguese in 1503. Muley Hamed el-Hassan besieged +it in 1536 with an army of fifty thousand men, and owing to the accident +of a powder-magazine blowing up and making a breach, the Sultan forced +an entrance, to the astonishment of the Portuguese, who were all +slaughtered. + +In the reign of Muley Ismail, Santa Cruz was the centre of an extensive +commerce carried on between Europe and the remotest regions of Africa, +which obtained for it the name of Bab-el-Soudan, (Gate of Soudan.) The +inhabitants became rich and powerful, and, as a consequence which so +frequently happens to both the civilized and the barbarian, insolent and +rebellious. In 1773, Sidi Mohammed was obliged to march out against the +town to crush a rebellion; and this done with great slaughter, he +ordered all the European merchants to quit the place and establish +themselves at Mogador. The father of this prince had sworn vengeance +against the haughty city, but died without accomplishing his sanguinary +threats. The son, however, did the work of blood, so faithful to vows of +evil and violence is man. Since that period, Aghadir has dwindled down +to nothing, six hundred inhabitants, and others say only one hundred and +fifty. The greater part of these are Jews, who have the finest women in +all the country. Mr. Davidson says the population of Aghadir is +forty-seven Mohammedans, and sixty-two Jews. At Fonte, the port, are +about two hundred Moors. Were any European power to conquer Morocco, +Aghadir would certainy be re-established as the centre of the commerce +in the south. To a maritime nation like England, the repair and +re-opening of its fine port would be the 6rst consideration, and +doubtless a lucrative and extensive commerce could be established +between Aghadir and Timbuctoo. The city is seven leagues south of Cape +Gheer, in latitude 30 deg. 35'. + +I shall now give some further details illustrative of the state of negro +slavery. The Fniperor has an entire quarter of the city of Morocco +appropriated for his own slaves, the number of whom, in different parts +of the empire, amounts to upwards of sixty thousand. This is his, the +lion's share. His Imperial Highness, who was accepting presents from +various governors, lately received five hundred slaves from the Sheikh +of Taradant. The trading Moors, believing me to be sent by the British +Government to purchase and liberate all their slaves, have calculated +the whole of the slaves in Morocco to be worth twenty-seven millions of +dollars. + +A Moor observed, "I hope to see any calamity befall the country rather +than that of the slaves being liberated," He observed: "God shews his +approbation of slavery by not permitting slaves to rise against their +masters, or the free negroes to invade Morocco, who are infinitely more +numerous. The reason why the English abolished slavery is because the +Queen of England has a good heart, but Mussulmen treat their slaves +well, and do not fear the anger of God." When I mentioned that the Bey +of Tunis and the Imaum of Muscat had entered into treaties for the +suppression of Slavery, the traders observed, "Amongst the Mohammetans +are four sects, but the only orthodox sect is that of Morocco." + +There is, however, one class of abolitionists in this country--the +women, or Mooresses. The rumour that a Christian had come to purchase +all the slaves of Mogador soon penetrated the harems. The wife of one of +the most distinguished Moors of Mogador informed a Jewess of her +acquaintance, that she was very happy to hear a Christian was come to +purchase all her husband's slaves, for she was tired of her life with +them. The truth is, respectable Moorish females detest this system of +domestic slavery, and wish to see it abolished, notwithstanding that +they are bred in it, and are themselves little better than slaves. They +see themselves gradually abandoned by the husbands of their youth for +the most ignorant and degraded negress slaves, whom their husbands +purchase one after another as their caprice or passion excites them, +until their houses are filled with these slaves. + +The artful negress absorbs all the affection of her master, whilst the +legitimate wife is left as a widow, and is obliged to wait upon these +pampered slaves, whose insolence knows no bounds. The negress slaves +besides, when they bear sons, are treated with great respect; their +children are free by the law, and cannot be disposed of, although the +Moors do sell them when hard pressed for money. Yet even these negresses +are beginning to chatter and clatter about the Anti-Slavery mission, +expressing their satisfaction to our Jewish neighbours. A negress slave +on hearing that a person had come from England to liberate all the +slaves, jumped up and called on God to bless the English nation. + +This excitement in the domestic circles of Mogador raises the bile of +the slave-dealers. A fellow of this sort beckoned me to come to him as I +was passing in the street, and thus began: "Christian, if you dare +attempt to go to the south, we shall cut you up into ten thousand little +pieces." + +Traveller.--"You will not lay a finger upon me, nor throw a handful of +sand in my face unless it please God." + +Slave-dealer.--(Taken aback at this reply, he drew in his horns), "Well, +how much will you give us apiece for our slaves." + +_Traveller_.--"I shall give you nothing; you have no right to sell a +man, a brother, like yourself." + +_Slave-dealer_.--"It's our religion." + +_Traveller_.--"It's not your religion to sell Mussulman; you sell the +children of your own slaves, born in your houses, and who are +Mussulmen?" The slave-dealer, puzzled and angry, was silent a few +minutes, and then said, "Ah, well, all's right, all's from God." + +I received a visit from a Hajee under peculiar circumstances. Passing +through Tunis on his return from Mecca last year, his slave, hearing +that all the slaves were liberated in the country, ran away. In vain his +master attempted to catch him. There were no Christians in the country +of the Mecca impostor, who kept _manhunting hounds_. This is the +peculiar glory of Christian lands. Tunis is not so "go a-head" as Yankee +freedom-land. The consequence was the pilgrim left without his slave. He +then, strange to say, applied to me to procure him back his slave. +Thinking this a good opportunity to agitate the authorities here OR the +question, I recommended him to apply to the Governor, who should write +to the Emperor, and also to the Bey of Tunis, and so forth. I had +visitors daily who asked me when I should be ready to purchase the +slaves and liberate them. Arabs from the remotest districts came to me; +and I was told that there is not a town or district of the empire, but +has heard of the English going to liberate all the slaves of Morocco. + +I have studiously avoided giving details of the cruelties and hard +bondage of slavery in and around Morocco. On the contrary, I have stated +it to be the opinion of the Europeans and Consuls in Tangier, that +slaves are well treated in this country. Such an opinion ought to weigh +with all. [31] At the same time, in self-defence, as an abolitionist, +and occupied with a mission for the extinction of slavery in this +country, I must partly uplift the veil, however disgusting it may be to +my readers. A portion of the dark side of the picture must be exhibited. +Of the march of slave-caravans over the Sahara, I shall say +nothing--that is fully reported in my previous publication. When the +slaves arrive in Morocco, they are inarched about in different +directions of the country for sale. During their passage through a +populous district like this, where the females are exposed to the brutal +violence of ten thousand casual visitors, or agents of police and +government, it is the ordinary and revolting practice to adopt means one +cannot describe for the purpose of preserving their honour. Private +punishments are frequent; to my certain knowledge, a female slave was +tied up by the heela, head downwards, and, after being cruelly +flagellated, was left for dead by her, pitiless master. She was at last +cut down at the intercession of her mistress whose humanity got the +better of her hatred and jealousy. While I was at Mogador, a negress had +two of her children torn away from her to be sold at Morocco, to pay the +debts of her master, who was a Moor. The children were sons of the man +who sold them into bondage! The mother was inconsolable, ran about +distracted, and probably will never recover from the blow. These facts +are enough, and with any human man they will out-weigh all other +instances, however numerous, of alleged good treatment on the part of +Moorish slave masters. [32] + +I took a ride with Mr. Elton on the sandy beach. There is a fort in +ruins, at about half an hour's distance, illustrating most emphatically +the parable of the man who built his house upon the sands. + +This fort, which was to command the southern entrance of the harbour, is +supposed to be of Spanish construction, and built about the same time as +the city. + +It was once of considerable size and height, but is now a fallen and +ruined mass, its foundations "upon the sands" having given way. Storms +along this shore are often terribly destructive, we passed a portion of +the hulk of a vessel completely buried in the sand. [33] + +Notwithstanding the sober and taciturn character of the Moor, he can +sometimes indulge himself in pleasantry and caricature. The Moors have +made caricatures of the three last emperors, assisted by some Spanish +renegade artist: these Princes are Yezid, Suleiman, and Abd Errahman. +Yezid is represented as throwing away money with one hand, and cutting +off heads with the other, depicting his ferocity in destroying his +enemies, and his generosity in heaping favours on his friends. Suleiman +is represented as reading the Koran, in the character of a devout and +good man. The present Sultan is hit off capitally, with one hand holding +a bag of money behind him, and with the other stretched out before him, +begging for more. + +H B could not have better caricatured the three Shereefian Sultans. The +Moors affirmed that Muley Abd Errahman will keep faith with no one where +his avarice is concerned, and, when he can, he will sell a monopoly +twice or thrice, receiving money from each party. Of his meanness and +avarice, I adduce two anecdotes. Four years ago, Muley-Abd Errahman +ordered some blond for his Harem from Mr. Willshire. Just when I was +leaving Mogador, his Imperial Highness graciously returned it to our +merchant with the message--"It's too dear." Not long before, a man was +murdered upon the neutral land of two adjacent provinces, and a thousand +dollars were taken from his baggage. In such cases, the Governor of the +district is mulcted both for the murder and robbery. The Emperor claimed +two thousand dollars from one of the provinces, for the father of the +murdered man. This province escaped upon the plea that the murder had +not been committed within its territory. The other province refused to +satisfy the demand for the same reason. His Imperial Highness then made +both provinces pay 2,000 dollars each, keeping one two thousand for +himself, for the trouble he had of enforcing payment. + +The people of Sous not long ago had a quarrel, which the Emperor +fomented. Its Sheikhs fought; his Imperial Highness sent troops to turn +the balance of the fray, and to pacify the country. Then, he made the +belligerents pay each 40,000 dollars, as pacification-money, the value +of which he levied on slaves. In this politic way, the Imperial miser +replenishes his coffers, and "eats up" his loving subjects. + +I made the acquaintance of Mr. Treppass, the Austrian consul, and +Chancellor of the French consulate. Mr. Treppass has been upwards of +twenty years in this country, and was himself once an Imperial merchant, +but sold his business, preferring a small stipend and his liberty, to +being a vassal of the Emperor, fed in luxury and lodged in a fine house. +We had a long conversation upon the various topics connected with this +country. + +Mr. Treppass says, the present system of the court is resistance to all +innovation, to all strangers. But the pressure of the French on the +Algerine frontier is agitating the internal state of this country. +Money, which in other countries goes a long way, will almost do every +thing with the Government of Morocco. It will also effect much with the +people. Some fifty years ago, a Geneose merchant, resident in Mogador, +had the two provinces of Hhaha and Shedma under his control, and could +have made himself Sultan over them; this he effected solely by the +distribution of money. The Sultan of the time was in open war with a +pretender; his Imperial Highness begged for the assistance of the +all-powerful merchant. The merchant bought the affections and allegiance +of the people, and firmly established the Sultan on his throne. + +The influence of the merchant was now prodigious, and the Sultan himself +became alarmed. Not being able to rest, and being in hourly dread of the +Genoese, the Sultan ordered his officers to seize the merchant secretly, +and put him on board a vessel then weighing anchor for Europe. When the +merchant was placed on board, this message was delivered to him--"Our +Sultan is extremely obliged to you, sir, for the great services you +rendered him, by establishing him on his throne! but our Sultan says, +'If you could place him on the throne, you could also pull him off +again.' Therefore you must leave our country. Our Sultan graciously +gives you a portion of your wealth to carry away with you!" The officers +then shipped several chests of money, jewels, and other valuables to be +placed to the account of the merchant, and the Sultan-making Genoese +quitted Morocco for ever. + +The Moors reported to me that the French were building some factories, +with a fort, upon some unclaimed land along the coast, equidistant +between Aghadir and Wadnoun. It is probably near Fort Hillsboro of the +maps, and which Mr. Davidson calls Isgueder. A Moor was accused by the +authorities of Mogador of being mixed up with the transaction, and +immediately sent to the south, where he has not been heard of since. +Another report is that the French are only building a factory. The spot +of land has near it a small port and a good spring of water; quantities +of bricks and lime have been deposited there; French vessels of war from +the Senegal have been coasting and surveying up and down, touching at +the place. + +The new port is called Yedoueesai. I inquired particularly respecting +this project; but Mr. Treppass stated positively, that the French had +wholly abandoned the idea of establishing commercial relations with the +Sheikh of Wadnoun, or any tribes thereabouts, whatever might have been +their original intentions. Vessels of war have frequently visited the +coast of Wadnoun, finding it the worst in all Africa. They, however, now +maintain friendly relations with the Sheikh, in the event of shipwrecks +or other disasters, happening to French vessels. + +Nevertheless, it was at the particular request of the French Consul of +Mogador, that his Government broke off all communications with the +Sheikh, the Emperor having repeatedly complained to the Consul against +this intercourse assuming a commercial or diplomatic character. [34] The +whole coast, from the port of Mogador to the river Senegal, has been, +within the last few years, surveyed by the French vessels of war, +particularly by Captain E. Bouet; and there is sufficient evidence in +the reports of the people, and the remonstrances of the Maroquine +Government, to prove that the French did attempt a settlement on the +part of the coast above stated, but that it failed. + +The French took the idea of the undertaking from Davidson, who proposed +to Lord Palmerston to enter into communication with the Sheikh of +Wadnoun, and establish a factory on the coast, somewhere about the river +Noun, just below Cape Noun. A British vessel of war was sent down with +presents for the Sheikh, and to ascertain the whereabout of the fine +harbour reported to exist there by the Sheikh and his people. This +attempt of our government was as fruitless as that of the French +afterwards. Indeed, at the very time an English brig of war was +searching about for this port, and seeking an interview with the Sheikh +of Wadnoun on the coast, Davidson was murdered on the southern frontier +just as he was penetrating the Sahara. + +It is not improbable, however, that the knowledge of this recommendation +of Davidson, which, from the Sheikh's people themselves, would naturally +reach the court of Morocco, might have excited that jealous court to +compass in some way his death, or at any rate thwart his expedition to +Timbuctoo, for the Emperor is exceedingly jealous of any European +holding communication with the south. The Sheikh Barook is, in spite of +all this, very anxious to begin an intercourse with Europeans; and not +long ago, a messenger arrived with a bag of money for the Jew, Cohen, +telling him to take some out of it, and to go to the Sheikh who wished +to see him. But Cohen would not expose himself to the displeasure of the +Emperor, although he has English protection. + +Wadnoun is a quasi-independent Sheikhdom of the empire. The Sheikh of +Wadnoun pays no tithes nor other imposts, and only sends an annual +present as a mark of vassal-homage to the Emperor. Sous, which adjoins +this province, is more immediately under the power of the Sultan of the +Shereefs, but the tithes are not so easily collected in the south as in +the north. Much depends on the ability of the governor, who rules the +whole of the district in the name of the Emperor. The imperial authority +is maintained principally by prompting disunion amongst the Sheikhs; +Sous being divided into numerous districts, each district having an +independent Sheikh. + +By confusion and divisions among themselves, the Emperor rules all as +paramount-lord. When will people learn to be united, so that by union +they may win their freedom and independence? Alas! never. Wadnoun is +treated, however, very tenderly; for if the Emperor were to attempt the +subjugation of this country, the malcontents of Sous would join the +Sheikh, and his authority would probably be overthrown in all the south. + +Sous is the richest of these provinces, and equal to any other of the +northern districts. Its trade in dates, ostrich feathers, wax, wool, and +hides, particularly in gums, almonds, and slaves, is very great. All the +Saharan caravans must pass through this country, except those proceeding +_via_ Tafilett to Fez. Teroudant, its capital, is a very ancient city, +and was built by the ancient Berbers. It has a circumference of walls +capable of containing eighty thousand people, but the actual population +does not exceed twenty thousand. Its inhabitants are very industrious, +and the Moors excel in the art of dyeing. + +Noun, or Wadnoun, as this country and its capital are sometimes called, +Mr, Davidson briefly describes as a large district, having many clusters +of inhabitants. The town where the Sheikh resides, is of good size, and +has a millah, or Jew's quarter, besides a good market. It stands on the +river (such as it is) distant twenty two miles from the sea. + +The river Noun rises in the mountains above Souk Aisa or Assa, and is +there called Wad-el-Aisa; and, passing through the district of Wadnoun, +it takes the name of Assaka. The ancient name of this river was Daradus. +The territory around is not very fertile on account of the neighbourhood +of the Desert, but produces gum, wax, and ostrich feathers in abundance. +The inhabitants are mostly Arabs with a sprinkling of Shelouh, estimated +by Graeberg [35] at 2,000. The population is somewhat thickly scattered; +there are at least twenty villages between the district of Stuka and +Wadnoun. + +The annexed is a sketch of Wadnoun after the design left by Mr. +Davidson. + +[Illustration] + +Wadnoun is an important rendezvous of caravans. Many Timbuctoo caravans +break up here, and some Saharan. Several Saharan merchants come no +further north, disposing of their slaves and goods to Maroquine +merchants, who meet them in this place. + +It is safe travelling through these countries, provided no extraordinary +plot be laid for taking away a traveller's life, as in the case of +European explorers attempting to penetrate the interior. Mr. Treppass +thinks that, notwithstanding the ill-will of the Moorish Government, +Davidson could have succeeded in his attempted journey to Timbuctoo had +he been more circumspect. He gave out to all persons whom he met that he +was going to Timbuctoo. This insured his being stopped and murdered _en +route_ by some party or other, more especially as he at last abandonod +the idea of protecting himself by a caravan-party, and started alone. +But I am not altogether of this opinion. Too much publicity is certainly +injurious to a journey of discovery, and far and near awakens attention +and suspicion; but a too sudden and unexpected appearance in the towns +of the Desert, equally excites distrust and suspicion, if not hostile +feelings. + +Mr. Robertson, whilst at Morocco, heard one of the numerous versions of +the death of Mr. Davidson. He is said to have been killed by the mere +freak of a young Arab, who wished to have the pleasure of killing a +Christian, and who called out to his companions, "Come, let us go and +have a shot at the Christian." The party of Arabs to whom this +mischievous young man belonged, was afterwards extremely grieved at what +had been done. One of the Arabs, in plundering the baggage, lost his +hand by breaking a bottle containing aqua fortis. The glass cut a large +gash, and the aqua fortis entering immediately, consumed the hand. The +people cried out, "The devils of the Christian are in the water!" From +all I have heard, the great fault of Davidson appears to have been his +wishing to travel as like "a fine gentleman." This prejudiced all his +travelling-companions against him, and could not fail to render him +unpopular wherever he went. + +It is of no use for a man to cry out in the Desert, "I am an +Englishman!" he must exclaim, "I am an Arab, and will do and suffer like +an Arab." If any one were to ask me, "What would carry a roan to +Timbuctoo through the Desert? is it courage, or money, or prudence?" I +would reply, "The first thing is suffering, the second is suffering, and +the last is suffering." [36] I consulted an old man on this journey to +Timbuctoo. He could not undertake a voyage being too old. He mentioned +names of places _en route_, and said they travelled by the stars, which +star-travelling is all stuff. He recommended going by sea as much +nearer. Very little satisfactory information can be obtained from +Maroquine Moors, who would rather mislead than direct you. + +I endeavoured to open a correspondence with the South on the +Anti-Slavery question. At first, I thought of going to Wadnoun on +receiving an invitation from the Sheikh, but when I proposed this to Mr. +Wiltshire, he insisted on my relinquishing such a project, inasmuch as +having placed myself at the direction of the Consul-General, as +recommended by the Earl of Aberdeen, I was not at liberty to differ from +the advice, which Mr. Hay and himself might tender me. I saw there was +some reason in this, and submitted though with great reluctance. +However, I wrote two letters to Sheikh Barook of Wadnoun, stating the +views and objects of the Anti-Slavery Society. + +I had some difficulty in finding a courier, who would undertake the +delicate mission of conveying the letters. But Mr. Treppass and the +French Consul, M. Jorelle, felt themselves more at liberty in the matter +than our Consul, and determined to assist me, M. Jorelle very justly +observing, "We will sow the seeds of liberty, if we can do nothing +more." Indeed, I am greatly obliged to that gentleman for the interest +he took in my mission, and the assistance he rendered me on this and +other occasions. After my return to England, I received two letters from +the Sheikh in answer to those I had written to him. The Sheikh, afraid +lest his letter might fall into the hands of Government, after many +compliments, begs me to get the Emperor first to move in the question, +adding, "what he makes free, we will make free;" for he says in another +place, "We act as he acts, according to the _treek_ (ordinance) of God +and his Prophet." + +Sheikh Barook also protests that he has but little power in these +matters, living as he does in the Desert. As I did not seek for any +thing beyond an answer to my letters, and was only anxious that he +should know the sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Society, I was not all +disappointed. I knew too much of the pro-slavery feeling once existing +in a strong party in England, and the mighty struggles which we had +passed through to obtain British Abolition, to expect anything more than +a respectful answer to antislavery letters from a Prince of the Desert, +whose revenues were raised chiefly from the duties levied upon +slave-caravans passing through his territory. I only attempted to +scatter the seeds of liberty over the slave-tracks of the Desert, +leaving the budding forth and the growth to the irrigating influences of +that merciful and wise God, who has made all men of one flesh and blood. + +I visited the families of Jewish merchants during the Passover, in +company with Mr. and Mrs. Elton. Christians here visit the Jews twice a +year, at the feast of the Passover and Tabernacles. In return, Jews +visit Christians on New Year's day. This laudable practice promotes +social harmony between the Jews and Christians. + +In the house of one of our Jewish friends (Mr. Levi's) I assisted at the +celebration of the evening of the Passover. There is nothing very +particular in this ceremony, except a great deal of reading. The +drinking of the four cups [37] of wine, and the eating of the bitter +herbs, emblems of the joys and the sorrows attending the deliverance +from Egyptian bondage, are the more difficult parts of the ceremony. The +children naturally feel most the disagreeableness of eating the bitter +herbs, and several times, as soon as they put them into their mouths, +they spat them out again under the table. The drinking of an excessive +quantity of wine, is also attended with not a little inconvenience, and +one would think Bacchus was the deity worshipped, and not the God of the +Jews and Christians. When will mankind learn that violation of the +physical economy of their nature can never be acceptable to the Great +Creator? + +I do not say that European Israelites indulge so much in these excesses +as Barbary Jews, but I imagine that the germ of the debauch is found in +the Talmudical religion of both classes. But, since I should be very +sorry were a Jew to hold up to me the mummeries of Popery or of the +Greek Church, as the mirror of my own religion, I am not disposed to +animadvert upon the generally decorous worship of European Israelites. + +It requires three full days to get through this business of visiting. In +truth, it is a very serious affair, for we were obliged to eat cake, and +sip sherbet, or white brandy, at every house we went to, otherwise we +should confer an affront upon our friends. At all times, a great +quantity of white brandy, which the Jews distil themselves, is drunk, +but especially on these occasions. + +The Governor of Mogador gave orders, not long ago, that no Mussulman +should enter the Jewish quarter, to prevent the faithful from being +seduced into drinking this insidious spirit. I shall just mention what a +Christian is obliged to conform to, whilst visiting the Barbary Jews on +these high days and holidays. + +1st. You must eat a piece of cake, at least of _one_ sort, if not of +several kinds, and drink a little brandy, wine somets, or boiled juice +of the grape, or sherbet. In many of the houses, they give nothing but +brandy, which is tastefully placed out on small round tables, as at a +pastrycook's shop. + +2nd. You must admire the new dresses of the ladies, who are radiantly +and sumptuously attired "in flaming purple and refulgent gold," their +ornaments likewise of gold, silver, and all manner of precious stones; +for the daughters of Israel are, as on bridal days, all begemmed, +bejewelled, and diamonded, stuck over with gems as thick as stars "seen +in the galaxy or milky-way." On these festivals, it is absolutely a +matter of orthodox observance that the Jews and Jewesses should wear +something new. Some have entirely new dresses. + +3rd. Any thing new or remarkable in the house, or household furniture, +must be noticed or admired. + +4th. You must carry with you in your memorandum-book, or at the tip of +your tongue, a good assortment of first-rate compliments of the season. + +If these are spiced with a little scandal of your neighbours, or the +party you have just left, so much the better; they are more relished. + +Now you are obliged to visit twenty or thirty families per diem; and you +are literally passing through doors, square-courts, and corridors, +crossing patios and quadrangles, walking up and down stairs, getting up +and sitting down from morning to night, during these three mortal days. +It will be seen then, that these Passover and Tabernacle visits are +tremendous affairs, and require Herculean strength to get through their +polite duties. They may be days of jovial festivity to Jews, but +certainly they are days of labour and annoyance to Gentiles. + +But I must now give an account of one or two remarkable personages whom +we visited. The first was Madame Bousac, a Jewess of this country. Her +father was a grandee at Court in the days of former emperors, and the +greatest merchant of his time, and she represented as an aristocrat +among her people, a modern Esther, standing and pleading between the +Sultan and her nation. This lady is the only native woman in the +country, Mooress or Jewess, who has tact or courage enough to go and +speak to the Emperor, and state her request with an unfaltering voice +beneath the awful shadow of the Shereefian presence! Madame Bousac +accompanied the merchants to Morocco, to pay her respects to the +Emperor. Among other modest or confidential demands which the lady made +on the Imperial benevolence, was that of an advance to her husband of +ten thousand dollars. His Imperial Highness was immediately obliged to +give a formal assent before his court. + +She then visited the Harem, and felt herself quite at home. All the +ladies, wives or concubines of the Emperor, waited upon her; and served +her with tea and bread, and butter. + +The presentation of bread and butter and cups of tea, is said to be the +highest honour conferred on visitors, but why or wherefore I have not +heard. + +Madame Bousac gave us some account of the Morocco harem, which we may +suppose is like that of Fez and Miknas. The number of these ladies was +some two hundred. They are all attired alike, except the four wives, who +dress a little more in the style of Sultanas. I am sorry to be obliged +to disabuse the reader of the romance and oriental colouring attached to +our ideas of the harem, by giving Madame Bousac's simile of those +angelic houries. This lady said, "they are like a string of +charity-school girls going to church on a Sunday morning." + +Their penurious lord keeps down their pin-money to the lowest point, and +is not more liberal to his ladies than to his other subjects. Former +sultans were accustomed to allow their ladies half a dollar a day, but +these have but twopence, or at least fourpence. Muley Abd Errahman even +traffics in his beauties, and will now and then make a present of one to +a governor, in consideration of receiving an adequate return of money, +or presents. Sometimes, the Moors pay their Shereefian Sultan a similar +compliment, by presenting him with slaves from their harem. [38] + +Madame Bousac is, of course, a perfect lady according to Moorish ideas, +but her fascinations on the mind of the Emperor, arise more from her wit +and ability than her feminine grace and delicacy. She is anything but a +beauty, according to our ideas, being of a dark complexion, of middle +height, of large and powerful muscular proportions, very upright, as if +bending backwards, and with a hoarse and masculine voice. Like most +women in this part of the world, she is married to a man old enough to +be her father, or even grandfather, being even more than double her age. + +She herself may be about thirty, at which age the beauty of Barbary +women is gone for ever. Such is the court-dame who has courage enough to +speak to the Emperor of Morocco in public. She conversed with us about +her affairs, telling us the Emperor had not yet advanced to her husband +the loan of 10,000 dollars as promised, nor did she expect it, for she +knew his avarice. "Rather would he sell one of his Sultanas." But he had +sent her a present of four haiks, which she shewed us; they were +extremely fine and white. "These," she observed, "are the ten thousand +dollars paid in private, but which the Sultan could not refuse me in +public." + +Another character whom we visited, was the distinguished Rabbi, +Coriante. The priest entertained us with dissertations upon various +subjects. First of slavery. "It is unlawful to steal blacks, the Mosaic +law denouncing such theft with the punishment of death. Nevertheless, if +the Jews of this country had the power, they would enslave the +Mussulman, and well castigate them." + +This latter remark, Coriante uttered with an emphasis, denoting the +revenge which his countrymen would inflict upon their Mahometan +oppressors, who had kept them in chains for a series of ages. He +remarked, however, that the Sultan might give way on the question of +negro slavery, after the first shock to his prejudices. + +The Rabbi treated us with wine, but one of us, moved by curiosity, +having touched the bottle, he remarked to his daughter in an under-tone; +"It's all gone," (the rest of the wine is spoiled). Among these +extremely superstitious Barbary rabbies, it is a pollution to their wine +if a Christian touch even the bottle containing the juice of the grape, +and they will not drink it afterwards. + +We asked the reason of his not being able to drink, and found it was, +first, because women work in the vineyards, and the second, because the +Pope pronounces his blessing upon the vintage. After these Jews have +eaten meat, they are obliged to wait some time before they can eat +butter, or drink milk; in fact, their superstitions are numberless. The +Rabbi read to us portions of the proverbs of Solomon, and told us +Solomon was well acquainted with steam engines and railways, "Only they +were of no use in the Holy Land when God was always with his people." He +then gave us his blessing, and me this solemn warning. "Take care the +Emperor does not cut off your head, as he has cut off the head of our +young Darmon." [39] + + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + +[1] According to Xavier Darrieu. + +[2] It has always been the policy of Mahometan States to send their +troublesome subjects, such as were not considered rebel enough to +decapitate or to imprison, on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead of +expiating the sins of a buoyant patriotism at the galleys or the +Bermudas, they are sent to slake their patriotic ardour at the holy +wells of El-Kaaba. + +[3] The late Emperor of Morocco. + +[4] "Our Lord Jesus," the name by which the Moors, always mention Our +Saviour. + +[5] Moors entertain the lowest opinion possible of Spaniards. In an +intercepted correspondence of the Emperor of Morocco, found at the +Battle of Isly, Spaniards are called, "The most degraded of the human +race." + +[6] The climate of North Africa is remarkable for rusting everything +which can contract rust. This may be the reason of the Moors +representing Spain and other European countries as free from rust, +because there it is not so soon contracted. + +[7] Lord Palmerston proceeded in the same determined way with the Schah +of Persia (See Parliamentary Papers on the Slave Trade, class D, +presented 1848). But Colonel Shiel was fortunate in obtaining several +opinions of Mahomet that--"The worst of men is the seller of men"--was a +powerful auxiliary. The perseverance of the Minister and his agents in +Persia has been crowned with complete success; the Schah has issued a +firman prohibiting the Slave Trade in his territories. This firman will +complete our command over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian seas, and +enable our cruisers to intercept the slavers from the eastern shore of +Africa. + +[8] No people understand better than the Moors the noble feeling of +gratitude, contained in the words "Non nobis, Domine," &c. + +[9] Although _Sultana_, i.e., "Sultanness or Princess," is a frequent +name for a woman in this country, I hare never heard of a man being +called Sultan; and, indeed, I imagine the jealousy of the reigning +sovereign would never permit the use of such a name. But even in this +country, where women are treated as so many household chattels, Moorish +gallantry is sufficient to overlook these trivial or serious +pretensions. + +[10] "Souvenir d'un Voyage du Maroc," par M. Rey, Paris. + +[11] The value of this ducat is about half-a-crown English money. + +[12] Count Qrabert gives the following account of Maroquine Blacks: "The +Blacks who form a very numerous part of the population are most of them +slaves, and as it is customary in barbarous countries, become an object +of trade, though not to be compared with that carried on in other parts +of Barbary. The Black is generally of a soft and kind disposition, bears +fatigue with patience, and shows a serene and lively temper, totally +different in that respect from the Moor, who is taciturn and sullen. +Some of them have become men of prosperity and note, after having +recovered their liberty. They are renowned for their fidelity, and form +the most numerous part of the body-guards of the Sultan; that body-guard +makes about the half of the army, which on an average compose a total of +ten thousand men. The greater part of those Blacks comes from +Senegambia, Guinea, and the dominions of the Fellah or Fellani." +(_Specchio geografico e Statistico dell' Impero di Marocco. Geneva._) + +[13] Some time since, when the French Government were anxious to get +supplies of grain from the Levant, for the north of France, they sent +steamers to the Straits, to be ready to tow the vessels through, an +example worthy of imitation, in other times besides seasons of famine. + +[14] This conduct of Roman Catholic sailors has often been noticed. +Mahometans do the same, and resign themselves to fate, _i.e._, make no +effort to save themselves; the only difference is, they are less noisy, +and more sullen in their spiritless resignation. + +[15] The entrance to the port of Mogador, however, is difficult to all +seamen. We were besides in the depth of winter. The Prince de Joinville +describes his mishaps during the height of summer, or in August, when +placing his vessels in position before the town. He says in his report +of the bombardment: "New difficulties, and of more than one kind awaited +us. For four days, the violence of the wind and the roughness of the sea +prevented us from communicating with one another. Anchored upon a rocky +bottom, our anchors and cables broke, and the loss of them deprived us +of resources which were indispensable in order to obtain our object. +Some vessels had only one chain and one anchor. We could not think of +maintaining ourselves before Mogador under sail. The violence of the +currents and of the gale, would probably have carried us too far, and we +should have lost the opportunity of acting. Besides, in causing the +steamers to get to proceed with us, they would have consumed their fuel, +and in leaving them by themselves they would be exposed to run short of +provisions and water. It was therefore necessary to remain at anchor. At +last, the wind abated, and there remained of the hurricane of the +preceding days, a considerable swell from N.N.W. Then the vessels were +tormented by the swell, and became ungovernable." + +[16] The Ancient Numidians rode without saddle or bridle They were +celebrated as the "reinless" Numidians-- + +"Numidae infraeni."--(AEnaid, iv., 41.) + +We are aware that another meaning to _infraeni_ has been given, that of +"indomitable;" but the peculiarity of these horsemen riding without +reins is the usual rendering. But ordinarily, the modern Moorish cavalry +is very comfortably mounted. Their saddles, with high backs, are as +commodious as a chair. The large, broad, shovel-stirrups enable the +rider to stand upright as on terra firma, whilst the sharp iron edges of +the stirrups goring the ribs of the poor animal, serve as spurs. These +lacerating stirrups are tied up short to the saddle, and the knees of +the rider are bent forwards in a very ungainly manner. Nevertheless, the +barb delights in the "powder play" as much as his master, and-- + + "Each generous steed to meet the play aspires, + And seconds, with his own, his master's fires; + He neighs, he foams, he paws the ground beneath, + And smoke and flame his swelling nostrils breathe." + +[17] The fire of the Barbary horse is generally known, but few reflect +upon the power of endurance which this animal possesses. I have known +them to go without water for two or three days when crossing the Desert, +during which time they will only receive a small measure of corn or a +few dates. On the coast, they are driven hard a long day, sweating, and +covered with foam, their sides bleeding from the huge sharp-edged +stirrups. Without the slightest covering, they are left out the whole +night, and their only evening meal is a little chopped barley-straw. + +Our European horses would perish under such circumstances, and the +French have lost the greater part of the horses they imported from +France for the cavalry. But this hard fare keeps down the fiery spirit +of these stallion barbs, otherwise they would be unmanageable. When +turned out to grass, they soon become wild. Crossing a field one day, +mounted, I was set upon by a troop of these wild, grazing horses, and +was instantly knocked to the ground, where I lay stunned. A cavalry +officer, who was riding with me, had only just time to escape, and saved +himself by dismounting, and letting his horse go. + +It was some hours before we could rescue the horses of our party from +their wild mates, sporting and bounding furiously over the plains. The +barb horses being all stallions (for the Moors consider it a crime to +geld so noble an animal), the fiercest and most terrific battles ensue +on a stud breaking loose from their pickets. These battles are always +between strangers, for the barb is the most affectionate of horses, and +if he is known to another, and become his mate, he will, as the Arabs +say, "die to be with him." + +[18] These trained bands of negroes call themselves _Abeed-Sidi-Bokhari_, +from the patron saint whom they adopted on settling in Morocco, the +celebrated Sidi-Bokhari, commentator on the Koran, and a native of +Bokhara, as his name implies. His commentary is almost as much venerated +as the Koran itself. + +[19] The _lex talion_ is frequently enforced in North Africa. + +[20] Maroquine Moors drench you with tea! they guzzle sweet tea all day +long, as the Affghans gulp down their tea, with butter in it, from +morning to night. + +[21] Native Jews manage most of the business of the interior, and farm +the greater part of the monopolies. But the Emperor must have some +European merchants connected with these Jews to maintain the commercial +relations of his country with Europe. The Jewish High Priest of Mogador +is a merchant, it being considered no interference with his sacred +functions. + +[22] See Appendix at end of Vol. II. + +[23] Muley Abd Errahman is averse to treating his governors with extreme +rigour. Mr. Hay gives an appalling account of private individuals +arrested on suspicion of possessing great wealth--"The most horrible +tortures are freely resorted to for forcing confessions of hidden +wealth. The victim is put in a slow oven, or kept standing for weeks in +a wooden dress; splinters are forced between the flesh and the nail of +the fingers; two fierce cats are put alive into his wide trousers, and +the breasts of his women are twisted with pincers. Young children have +sometimes been squeezed to death under the arms of a powerful man, +before the eyes of their parents." + +A wealthy merchant at Tangier, whose _auri sacra fames_ had led him to +resist for a long time the cruel tortures that had been, employed +against him, yielded at length to the following trial. "He was placed in +a corner of the room, wherein a hungry lion was chained in such a manner +as to be able to reach him with his claws, unless he held himself in a +most unnatural position." This reads very much like a description of the +torments of the Inquisition. The Moors may have imported this system of +torture from Spain. Similar barbarities were said to have been inflicted +by King Otho on prisoners in Greece, even on British Ionian subjects! I +recollect particularly the sewing up of fierce cats in the petticoats of +women. My experience in Morocco does not permit me to authenticate Mr. +Hay's horrible picture. + +[24] "To his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco, Sidi Muley Abd +Errahman. + +"May it please your Majesty, + +"A Society in England, having for its object the Abolition of Slavery +and the Slave Trade throughout the world, and denominated the British +and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, being informed of the pacific +intentions and friendly disposition of your Majesty towards our +Sovereign Queen and Government, and being informed likewise, that your +Majesty, in diplomatic relations with other Foreign Princes and States, +has universally manifested the greatest desire to preserve peace amongst +nations, and, of necessary consequence, the happiness of the human race, +are encouraged to approach your Majesty, and to plead on behalf of a +numerous and important class of your subjects, the negro and other black +slaves. + +"These are a people always faithful to their friends and protectors (a +most conspicuous and immediate proof of which is seen in your Majesty's +Imperial Guard, formed principally of this class of your faithful +subjects,) and exhibiting under suffering and oppression the greatest +patience and fortitude, yet, during the long course of bygone centuries, +they have been subjected to horrid cruelties and barbarities, in order +to pander to the vices and to satiate the avarice of their oppressors. + +"Now we, the Society in England aforesaid, address your Majesty for the +succour and protection of this cruelly oppressed portion of the human +race, and in order that you may be graciously pleased to remove the +chain of bondage from off these unfortunate victims of the violence and +cupidity of wicked men, who, in defiance of all justice and mercy, claim +them as their property, and buy and sell them as cattle. + +"We further entreat that your Majesty would be graciously pleased to +place the slaves in your Imperial dominions upon a footing of equality +with the rest of your faithful subjects, and to make them free men, +having the rightful possession of their own persons, and being at +liberty to travel whithersoever they will. + +"For your Majesty rightly understands and knows as well as we do, that +God the Almighty Maker of us and you, has made all men equal, and has +not permitted man to have property in his fellow man, which reduces them +to the level of brutes; therefore, to make slaves of our fellows, our +brothers and sisters, is to sin against the will and mind of God, and to +provoke his wrath and indignation against us, and against our children +after us. + +"Consequently, we, the Society in England, aforesaid, in common with +some of your own Mussulman sovereigns and people, hold Slavery, and the +Slave Trade in extreme abhorrence, because it kills and destroys our +brothers whom we ought to love and cherish, because it makes them like +brutes, whom we ought to esteem as reasonable beings, because it hardens +our own hearts and makes us cruel towards our fellows, whom we ought to +treat with kindness and compassion, and because it deforms God's +creatures, in whom we ought to revere his spiritual likeness, man being +made after the likeness of God, in possessing a spiritual reasoning +soul; these evils, however, are the direct and inevitable consequences +of the accursed Slave Trade, and for such reasons we, the people of +England in general, abhor it, and seek, in every legitimate and +righteous way, to persuade men of every nation in the world to abandon +this inhuman and wicked traffic. + +"Finally, we implore your Majesty to be pleased to follow out that great +act of confidence which you have exercised towards the negro race, in +appointing them the life-guards of your Imperial person, by graciously +liberating them from the cruel yoke of slavery. From our hearts we +believe that your Majesty will find such a spontaneous act of compassion +towards the desolate African Slaves to be the wisest worldly policy, and +most agreeable to the will of the Eternal Creator of us all. Your loyal +subjects will love the goodness of your heart the more, and serve you +the better, while all Africa, of which the immense dominions of your +Majesty form so large a part, will catch new life and vigour, under the +blessing of the Almighty, and grow happy and prosperous in the ages to +come. + +"Signed and sealed on behalf of the Society in England for abolishing +Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the world. + +"(Signed) THOMAS CLARKSON. (L.S.)" + +[25] This is not exact. The vizier is often the author of certain lines +of policy. + +[26] All the Moorish Sultans are spoken of by the people as _Seedna_, +"Our Lord," and departed Saints are addressed by the same title. + +[27] It is curious to see the Spartan principle of theft developing +itself under such different circumstances. + +[28] [Transcriber's Note: In our print copy, the text of this footnote +is missing.] + +[29] This is the old story of the abettors of the slave-trade in all +parts of the world; I very much doubt if there be any truth in it. None +of the slave-dealers of the Desert whom I conversed with, had ever seen +or heard of prisoners of war being put to death. + +[30] The European name of Mogador, is supposed to be derived from +Mugdul, or Modogul, a Moorish Saiut. + +[31] The Governor of Mogador told me to go to look at his slaves, and +see that they were well fed and well clothed. But every rich man's +horses and dogs are well-fed and well-housed. + +[32] Mr. Davidson did not visit Morocco as an abolitionist. Head what +impression this Maroquine slavery made upon his mind. "My heart sickens +at the sight of this horrid picture. In another lot of these unfortunate +beings were six women, one of whom had given birth to a child on the +road, which was thrown into the bargain. There was an old wretch who had +come from Saweirah to purchase female slaves; his examination was +carried on in the most disgusting manner, I could not refrain from +calling down the curse of Heaven on these inhuman wretches. In many, but +little feeling is shewn for the poor blacks; and they seemed to think +less of their own fate than I did, who was merely a looker-on. One poor +creature, however, who was a finer woman, and less black than the rest, +shed tears. I could have given her my dagger to have plunged it in the +breast of the villain who was examining her. And yet these people pray +four times a day, and think themselves superior to all God's creatures! +More than ever do I wish to get away from, this den of hell-hounds. Each +of the grown persons was in the prime of life, and had once a home, and +was more to be pitied than the children, who had never known the liberty +of thought and act. To each of the ten slaves was given a lunch of bread; +while both the inhuman buyers and sellers, after chuckling over their +bargains, went to offer up their prayers to Heaven, before they took +their daily meal. Can such unhallowed doings be permitted to endure +longer! Oh, Spirit of Civilization, hither turn your eyes, and punish +the purchasers who ought to know better, for thus only will the sale be +stopped." + +[33] I asked a Moor, "Who built this castle on the sands?" He replied +pertly, "Iskander!" Whenever the Moors see anything marvellous or +ancient, they ascribe it to Alexander the Great, to Pharaoh, to Solomon, +or even to Nimrod, as caprice leads them, believing that these three or +four personages created all the wondrous and monstrous things in the +world. But we have an instance here, how soon through ignorance, or the +want of records, a modern thing may become ancient in the minds of the +vulgar. This fort was built after Mogador, which town is not yet a +century old. + +[34] Certainly, to establish relations with the Southern provinces of +Morocco, that is, Sous and Wadnoun, would greatly injure the trade of +Mogador, and, therefore, the Consuls, as well as the Moorish +Authorities, set their faces against any direct intercourse being opened +with the South. + +[35] Graeberg says Noun means the "river of eels," Davidson derives the +name from a Portuguese queen called Nounah; but his editor says the name +is properly Nul, was so written when the Arabs possessed Portugal, and +that Queen Nunah is a modern invention. + +[36] Whatever may have been Mr. Davidson's faults, I scarcely doubt that +the first impressions of Mr. Consul-General Hay were correct. He says, +"I _fear, however, that I am not to expect much assistance from him_," +(Mr. Hay); and hints, in other parts of his Journal, that Mr. Hay was +rather disposed to throw difficulties in his way, than to render him +efficient aid. Mr. Hay's son (which is very natural) attempts to +exculpate his father in an appendix to his "Western Barbary," and some +will, perhaps, think he has done so successfully. My experience of the +diplomatic skill of the late Consul, does not permit me to coincide with +this favourable opinion. The greater probability is, that if Mr. +Davidson had been left to his own "inspirations," and allowed complete +liberty of action, he would have succeeded in reaching Timbuctoo; but +his health doss not appear to have been sufficiently robust, or himself +acclimated, to have brought him back from his perilous adventure. + +[37] These cups hold at least a pint each, and every adult male is +expected to empty four, if not six. Of course, they get beastly +intoxicated, and suffer a day or two of illness afterwards, a very just +punishment. + +[38] But I do not think it reaches the point of complaisance, noticed by +Monsieur Chenier, when he was French Consul in 1767. He says, "The +veneration of the Moors is so great for this Prince, that they deem +themselves happy whenever one; of their daughters is admitted to share +his couch." On the other hand, many of the beauties presented by the +Sultan to his ministers, although brought out of his harems, are +virgins. The poor ladies in the royal harems are only so much stock, +from which their Lord and tyrant picks and chooses. + +[39] Friend Phillips is always wrestling with these prejudices of +Barbary Jews. When his wife was delivered of a daughter, he was +determined to have as much "fuss" made of the child as if it had been a +son, to spite the prejudices of his brethren. So, when he went out for a +walk with his wife, he would walk always arm-in-arm with her, although +she was a Jewess of this country, which caused great annoyance to his +woman-oppressing brethren. + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: In this electronic edition, footnotes have been +numbered and relocated to the end of the work. In footnote 35, the +spellings Nouna and Nunah both occur. In chapter 6, the word "convey" +was corrected to "conveying."] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Travels in Morocco, Vol. 1., by James Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, VOL. 1. *** + +***** This file should be named 10355.txt or 10355.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/3/5/10355/ + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Tom Allen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team from images generously made available +by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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