exquisitely fair, and well proportioned. When I first saw her, she was in a very doubtful state, and I reported accordingly to the Emperor; he was sensibly affected, and besought me to exert my utmost skill, to preserve a life of so much value to him. Happily, my efforts have been crowned with success, and I hope a very short time will restore her to perfect health. She controls him in every thing, and is considered, from her absolute dominion over him, as the fountain of all favours.
The gardens of the seraglio are beautifully laid out by Europeans, and contain several elegant pavilions and summer-houses, where the ladies take tea and recreate themselves; baths, fountains, and solitary retreats for those inclined to meditation: in short, nothing is wanting to render this a Complete terrestrial paradise, but liberty, the deprivation of which must embitter every enjoyment.
Muley Solyman, the present Emperor, is about thirty-eight years of age, in height about six feet two inches, of a tolerably fair complexion, with remarkably fine teeth, large dark eyes, aquiline nose, and black beard; the _tout ensemble_ of his countenance noble and majestic. He governs Barbary with discretion and moderation; in the distribution of justice, or in rewarding his subjects, he is just and impartial; in his private conduct no less pious and exemplary, than, in his public capacity, firm and resolute, prompt and courageous. In my next letter I shall give you a brief account of the succession of Sovereigns from the time of _Edris_ to the present reigning family.
LETTER XII.
_Succession of the Sovereigns from their Founder to the present Emperor._
Fez, —- 1806.
Edris; the founder of Mahometanism in Barbary, was succeeded by his posthumous son, _Edris the Second_, who founded the first monarchy, after that of Mahomet, in these regions; and it was called the Kingdom of the West. The family of Edris continued to reign for about a hundred and fifty years; but was disturbed, during the tenth century, by several intestine divisions, excited by a crowd of usurpers, which terminated in the total extinction of the Edrissites.
The tribe of Mequinici seized on several provinces, and founded, on the ruins of the ancient, the present city of Mequinez.
_Abu-Tessifin_, a Maraboot, or Monk, taking advantage of the divisions which convulsed these countries, and above all of the credulity of this fickle people, sent several of his disciples to preach and excite the multitude to revolt, under the pretext of recovering their liberties. This great impostor was the chief of the tribe of _Lamthunes_, surnamed _Morabethoon_, on account of the extreme rigour with which they observed the forms of the new religion.
This tribe resided between Mount Atlas and the Desert. The Moors being weary of their Arabian rulers, flocked in crowds to the standard of Tessefin, who soon found himself at the head of a large army, by means of which he conquered, many provinces, and established himself Sovereign of Mauritania.
He was succeeded by his son _Joseph-Ben-Tessefin_, who in 1086 finished the city of Morakesh, or Morocco, which his father had begun, and there fixed his seat of government. In 1097 he seized on the kingdom of Fez, and united it to that of Morocco: he also joined his forces to those of the Mahometans in Spain, and conquered the city of Seville, subdued all Andalusia, Grenada, and Murcia, penetrated as far as Cordova, and defeated the army of Alphonso VI. of Spain. After which he returned, loaded with spoils, to Morocco, where he died. He was succeeded by his son _Aly_, who likewise passed over into Spain, but was defeated and slain by Alphonso at the battle of Moriella.
His son _Brahem_, an indolent prince, and much addicted to pleasure, was proclaimed King of Morocco. His profligacy favoured the ambitious projects of a Mahometan preacher, named _Mahomet Abdallah_. This impostor assumed the name of _Mahedi, Commander of the Faithful_, and drew a host of people to his standard. In the course of his mission, he met another preacher, at the head of a multitude of followers, who also styled himself _Mahedi_, or _the Prophet_ expected at the end of ages.
These two adventurers, consulting their mutual interest, coalesced, and having completely succeeded in seducing the people, by projects of reformation, _Abdallah_ was proclaimed King of Morocco, and _Abdul-Momen_, the other imposter, General of the Faithful. This haying effected the destruction of Brahem, he contrived to dispatch his colleague so privately as to avoid the imputation of being accessary to his death, and succeeded him in the sovereignty. He demolished all the palaces and mosques of the Kings in Morocco, and laid the greater part of that city in ruins, it having shut its gates against him when, he presented himself before it; and he destroyed the young son of Brahem with his own hands. He afterwards, however, rebuilt Morocco, and died in 1155, in possession of the sovereign power.
He was succeeded by his son Joseph, who passed over into Spain, and engaging with the armies of the Kings of Portugal and Leon, he was killed by a fall from his horse. His son _Abu-Jacob_, surnamed _Almonsor_ the Invincible, assumed the government, suppressed the divisions that distracted the country, and, rendered himself so powerful and formidable, that the Mahometan Kings in Spain elected him as their supreme ruler. After performing numberless gallant exploits, he disappeared on a sudden, as some assert, to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca; but it is most probable, he was secretly murdered and buried by the descendants of Abdallah. His son ascended the throne, but died in a very short time of grief, in consequence of his losses in Spain. He was the last King of this family.
_Abdallah_, the Governor of Fez, of the tribe of Benimecius, usurped the crown of his master. Of his successors, the only prince who took part in the Mahometan wars in Spain was _Abul Hassen_, who conquered Gibraltar, and built the fort which still retains the name of the _Moorish Castle_. He was dethroned and assassinated by his son, _Abul Hassen_, a ferocious and ambitious tyrant, who left a son, named _Abu-Said_, of a very depraved character, in whose reign Ceuta, after a long siege, was taken by Don John, King of Portugal.
These usurpers were completely extirpated by the house of Merini, which family in its turn was overcome by _Muley Mahomet_, a Xeriffe of the same tribe, who seized the reins of government. His successors did not long enjoy the fruit of their usurpation, but were most dreadfully disturbed by a series of revolutions and murders, fomented and perpetrated by the mountaineers, a resolute, ferocious, and restless people, who, after raising the various parts of the country in arms one against the other, and subjecting them to all the calamities of civil war, cruelly butchered _Muley Achmet_, the last of the sons of _Muley Sidan_ and proclaimed their chief, _Crom-el-Hadgy_, a bloodthirsty ruffian, of low birth, and eminent in cruelties, in his stead. This tyrant, to secure his new acquisition, inhumanly massacred all the male descendants of the Xeriffes. He soon became the object of universal detestation, and was poignarded by his Sultana on the day of marriage. She was of the family of the Xeriffes, and consented to marry him, only that she might have a better opportunity of sacrificing him to her revenge, for the murder of her family.
After the tragical end of the descendants of the Xeriffes, these countries, but more especially the province of Tafilet, experienced all the horrors of famine and pestilence, for several years. The people of Tafilet considered it as a judgment from their Prophet for their injustice; and, to appease him, they made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and easily prevailed on a Xeriffe, a descendant of Mahomet, named _Muley Aly_, who resided in a town near Medina, to accompany them back to this country. In the mean time, the seasons having become more genial, the harvests were so abundant, that this credulous and superstitious people attributed the change entirely to the arrival of the pious Xeriffe. He was unanimously proclaimed King of Tafilet, by the name of _Muley Xeriffe_; and as such acknowledged by the other provinces, with the exception of Morocco and its environs, which were then in the possession of _Crom-el-Hadgy_, who having ended his career in the manner described, was soon followed by his son; and the ancient families who had ruled the empire being completely extinct, the new King of Tafilet, from his birth, religion, and the public election, was confirmed the legitimate Sovereign of the whole county.
Muley Xeriffe was the founder of the dynasty of _Fileli_, from which the present reigning family is descended. This country, totally exhausted by divisions and civil wars, acquired the enjoyments of peace and plenty, during the reign of this prince, who resided at Tafilet, and caused the Governors, who were entrusted with provinces, to rule with equity. He made it his whole study to render this fickle and turbulent people happy; the latter part of his reign was perfectly undisturbed, and his death was universally and justly lamented. He was succeeded by his eldest son, who was proclaimed, without the disturbances usual on those occasions, by the name of _Muley Mahomet_.
This prince, equally just and pious with his father, reigned for some time very peaceably; and from his exemplary conduct would have continued to do so to his death, to the increasing prosperity of his subjects, but for his brother, _Muley Arshid_, an ambitious prince, who, endowed with an intelligent mind, equal to the vast project he had in contemplation, raised a rebellion, with a view to seize on the sovereign power. At the head of a numerous party, in a pitched battle, he was however defeated, and taken prisoner, by his brother _Muley Mahomet_. But he recovered his liberty, by the aid of a negro slave, whom he rewarded by striking off his head at the very instant he had enabled the monster to recover his liberty.
After wandering about for some time, stirring up the minds of the people to revolt, Muley Arshid fled to the mountains of Rif, where he offered his services to the Sovereign of those districts, who, unfortunately discovering the abilities of the stranger, confided to him the administration of his territories, when, after having by stratagem and prodigality gained the troops and the people to his interests, he dethroned and inhumanly butchered his royal benefactor. He then defeated his brother _Mahomet_, and closely besieged him in Tafilet, whence that good prince died of grief. To enumerate the bloody exploits of this prince would extend my letter to a volume; suffice it therefore to say, that his reign was short, and the remembrance of it never to be effaced. He died in 1672 of a fractured skull, in consequence of a fall from his horse.
He was succeeded by his brother _Muley Ishmael_, who distinguished himself by some brave actions; and his reign would have formed a grand epoch in the history of this country, had he not stained it by a succession of tyranny and cruelties, too shocking to dwell upon. He died in 1727 at the advanced age of eighty-one, leaving behind him a numerous offspring. This prince, in order to ensure his despotic and arbitrary power, contrived to form a regular army of foreign soldiers, which he effected, partly from the negro families, then settled in Barbary, but principally from a vast number of blacks which he obtained from the coast of Guinea.
_Muley-Achmet-Daiby_, one of the numerous sons of Ishmael, ascended the throne of Morocco, and, after reigning two years, died of a dropsy. His successor, _Muley Abdallah_, by far surpassed all his predecessors in point of vices and cruelty. His conduct was so flagrant, that he was deposed no less than six times, but as often re-elected. Amidst civil wars, divisions, and devastations, the plague again made its appearance, and committed the same dreadful ravages as in the reign of _Ishmael_. Being reinstated for the sixth time, _Abdallah_ took advantage of the troubles occasioned by this terrible disease, to excite divisions among his negro soldiers, by whose power alone he had suffered all his humiliations. Vast numbers of this warlike race fell the victims of his treachery, and he succeeded in reducing them so low, that they were no longer a subject of dread to him. Having thus freed himself of all cause of restraint, he recovered his power, and, if possible, plunged deeper than ever into the gulf of iniquity; and each succeeding day was stained with crimes of the blackest hue. The only sentiments with which he inspired his unhappy people were those of terror and disgust. At length, worn out with age, he died at Fez in 1757; and was succeeded by his son _Sidi Mahomet_, who had begun to reform several abuses, during the latter part of his father’s reign, when he had been entrusted with the government of Morocco.
This prince, the father of the present Emperor, was endowed with an intelligent mind, and possessed nothing of the barbarian. His political views, and excellent regulations, soon restored the order of things. He directed all his care to the welfare of his people, both at home and abroad; he concluded, and renewed, several advantageous commercial treaties, with England, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland, with all of whom he maintained a good understanding till 1777; when, gained over by the courts of France and Spain, he broke the treaty with England, and refused to supply Gibraltar with fresh provisions. He appointed officers of the strictest integrity, and of moderate and resolute characters, to the government of his provinces; and the whole period of his reign was exempt from those horrible cruelties which had almost invariably disgraced the sceptres of his predecessors. He died at an advanced age, at _Rabat_, on the 11th of April 1790.
After the old Emperor’s death, the states of Barbary became convulsed by the civil discords, attended with great effusion of bloody occasioned by Sidi Mahomet’s numerous sons, who severally aspired to the crown. The contest was for a long time doubtful and bloody; but at length, Muley Yezid was proclaimed Emperor, by a powerful party. As the whole country was up in arms, he had to combat with many difficulties in establishing himself on the throne. He was no sooner confirmed in his power, than he exercised it with uncommon cruelty towards his captives. Under the idea of striking terror into the minds of his subjects, by the force of example, and deterring them from revolting again, he inflicted the most dreadful punishment on those who had opposed his authority; some he caused to be hung up by the feet, and suffered to perish for want of sustenance; others, to be crucified at the gates of the city; and several high priests, and officers of state, he deprived of the blessing of sight.
But his cruelty and inhumanity did not rest here. In the above proceedings he might possibly urge in palliation a regard to his personal safety, and the possession of a crown which he held by so precarious a tenure as the caprice of a multitude, who might wrest it from him with as little scruple as they had bestowed it, if not awed by some terrible example; but where shall we seek an excuse for his execrable barbarity to the poor Jews in his dominions, whom he ordered to be massacred, without distinction? The carnage was most horrible; and the property of this persecuted people was indiscriminately plundered by their rapacious murderers. Six young Jewesses, who ventured to intercede for their unhappy fathers and relations, were burned alive. My blood runs cold at the idea of such depravity; and I shrink, from the reflection that our own history will furnish us with annals, almost or fully as replete with horror as the one I am now relating.
It is not all surprising that such unjustifiable cruelty should kindle disgust in the minds of those who were not totally divested of the feelings of humanity. Several of his provinces rebelled, but he successively reduced them to obedience; and in the last battle which he fought, before the city of Morocco, and gained, he was severely wounded. The rebel army was surrounded, and defeated with great slaughter. _Muley Yezid_ was carried to the castle, and his wound dressed; but his treatment was so improper, that, after lingering a few days in the most excruciating torture, he died in 1794.
The present Emperor, _Muley Solyman_, was the youngest prince, and lived retired in the city of Fez, assiduously occupied in studying the Alcoran and the laws of the empire, in order to qualify himself for the office of high-priest, which he was intended to fill. From this retreat he was called by the priests, the highest in repute as saints, in the neighbourhood of Fez, and a small party of the Moorish militia, and by them prevailed upon to come forward as a candidate for the crown, in opposition to his three brothers, who were waging war with each other, at the head of numerous forces. In the midst of this anarchy and confusion, the young prince was proclaimed Emperor at Fez, by the name of _Muley Solyman_; and having collected a strong force, aided by the counsels of a number of brave and experienced officers, he advanced to Mequinez, which he reduced, after two successive pitched battles. This place was defended by one of his brothers, who shortly after acknowledged him as Emperor, joined him, and brought over to his interests a great number of friends and partisans. He served Solyman faithfully ever after, which enabled him to withstand the united forces of his two other brothers. At length, owing to the little harmony that prevailed in the armies of his competitors, he effected his purpose. Taking advantage of their increasing animosity, he advanced towards Morocco, fighting and conquering the whole way. He entered the capital in triumph, after a general and decisive battle; and he was again proclaimed Emperor.
This brave young prince had now reduced Barbary entirely under his sway, with the exception of the kingdom of Tangiers. Thither the two unfortunate princes retired, in order to make a last and desperate stand; but after a variety of struggles, to regain some degree of ascendancy, one was compelled to solicit the protection of the Dey of Algiers, and the other was taken prisoner, and banished to a remote province.
From that period, the Emperor has dedicated the whole of his time and pursuits to the amelioration of his people’s condition, by improving his financial resources, and appointing over his provinces, mild and humane Governors, whom he strictly superintends, occasionally deposing such as have deviated from his orders, and often inflicting upon these his representatives the most severe corporal punishments, previous to their imprisonment for life.
LETTER XIII.
_Responsibility of the Governors–Empire beautiful and productive–Humane Efforts of the Emperor–Blind Submission to his Will–Great Number of Negroes naturalized–The Moors might be truly formidable.–Emperor’s Brother–Fez divided into two Parts–Magnificent Mosques–Commercial Privileges–Indignities which Christians undergo–Singular Supply of Water–The Imperial Gardens–Propensity to
defraud–Factories–Exports–Costume–Character–Manner of living–Domestic Vermin._
Fez.
Having extended my last letter to an unusual length, I broke off rather abruptly; I shall therefore resume the subject in this.
The Governors commanding large districts or provinces in Barbary, are answerable for the crimes and misdemeanors committed in their governments, if they fail to bring the offenders to public justice; consequently they impose very heavy fines on the community, to impel them to seize, and deliver to them, the murderer or robber. The sudden and frequent changes in the public offices keep the most powerful Governors in the empire in continual awe and depression; and the fear of being, in an instant, hurled from the height of prosperity to the lowest abyss of adversity, usually prevents them from amassing great wealth, as it is sure to pass into the Emperor’s treasury on their disgrace; and the same cause prevents the forming of dangerous cabals. Yet some of them contrive, during their short-lived administration, to squeeze from their wretched vassals as much money as they can, by every fraudful artifice and despotic violence. The sufferers murmur, and complain; but the government appears to wink at the oppression for a time, and reserves its dreadful vengeance till the annual review, on the plains of Fez, where the collected spoils of the cruel peculator are seized, and himself deposed, imprisoned, and the whole fruit of his rapine transferred to the royal treasury.
This empire is one of the most beautiful and fertile countries, perhaps in the world; but the despotism under which it has groaned, and the capricious humours of its former rulers, destroyed, and prevented the effects of industry; besides, the rapacity of the Sheiks, who are the Bashaws of the country, carried off every thing that labour could collect. The present Emperor is endeavouring to correct these abuses, and to bring about a reformation, which I am sure he will never effect, owing to the great influence of the priests and saints in these states. Although this monarch is humane and impartial, and possesses nothing of the ferocious character of his predecessors, yet seldom a day passes without some executions.
The people regard their Emperor as a god upon earth, and revere him as a descendant of their great prophet. All his commands, right or wrong, just or unjust, they consider as the decrees of Heaven. A blind obedience to the will of their Sovereign, is inculcated in the minds of their youth, more as a matter of religion than of state; and the Emperor may put as many of his subjects to death as he deems expedient, without assigning any other motive for so doing than secret inspiration. When at war with any Christian prince, it is considered as a war of religion, and the Moors who fall in the field of battle, are accounted martyrs.
The number of negroes that have been imported into this country, and are now settled in these states, is astonishing. The amount is little less than three hundred thousand. The Emperor’s body-guard, which consists of eighteen thousand horsemen, is chiefly composed of negroes, who enjoy every privilege that despotic power can confer, and are ready upon all occasions to enforce the royal mandate.
The great schools for the Moorish gentry are the chanceries of the Bashaws, where the young men learn the arts of dissimulation and duplicity in the greatest perfection, and become, very, early such great adepts in these valuable acquirements, that in my opinion they are fully able to cope with Monsieur Talleyrand, and the best politicians at the court of St. Cloud. They are very dexterous also in the art of temporizing with an enemy, and deluding him by a thousand little expedients. It is therefore fortunate for Europe, that the Moors are so indolent a set of people; for the immense power this empire might have; were it peopled by an industrious and ambitious race of men, would render it the most formidable in the world.
I shall now return to my own affairs, from the period at which they were left off in a former letter. The Emperor had requested me to report to him, personally, every morning, the state of his favourite Sultana; I therefore waited upon him regularly at five o’clock, and was extremely happy that I was enabled to make the report more welcome each day. After this visit to His Imperial Majesty, I daily paid my devoirs to the blind prince, the only remaining brother of the Emperor now in Barbary, and who took no part in the disputes of former times; and I then called upon the great officers of state.
Finding the Sultana in such a fair way of recovery, the Emperor dismissed his Governors to their respective provinces, and removed his court to Mequinez, his favourite summer residence, leaving me here, to complete the cure of the Sultana, and to attend several of his subjects, who stand high in his favour, in the lower town of Fez. As the attendance required by my patients does not occupy the whole of my time, I employ my leisure in observing such things as appear most worthy of remark.
The town (or rather _towns_ of Fez, this city being divided into two distinct parts, the one called Upper, the other Lower Fez) is the capital of the kingdom of that name, and is supposed to contain about three hundred thousand inhabitants, besides foreigners of their own persuasion. There are upwards of five hundred mosques: one of them in particular, which was built by Edris the Second, and in which his remains were deposited, is magnificent beyond description, and is about a mile and a half in circumference. There is another very little inferior to this, which was erected by the Arabs of Caiwan, and called _Carubin_. The other mosques have been constructed since. To most of the mosques are annexed several colleges, religious schools, and hospitals for the pilgrims who visit this place, for, in point of holiness, it is considered as next to Mecca and Medina.
The lower town of Fez was built by Edris the Second, about the end of the eighth century, and is taken notice of by Pliny under the name of _Volubilis_. According to that author, and others, this city ranked amongst the principal inland towns of Mauritania, and was a Roman colony. It is a place of considerable trade; the inhabitants are mostly freed men, engaged in commerce, and reputed to be very opulent and industrious; they have purchased a charter, by which they ensure a kind of independence, and are totally unmolested in their traffic; in short, there are great privileges attached to this town, which are not to be met with in any other part of Barbary. The lower town is almost entirely surrounded by hills, which are highly cultivated, and abound with vineyards, and gardens producing most exquisite fruits.
Upper Fez is situated on one of the highest of the hills which almost encircle the lower town, and contains the imperial palace and seraglio, several old palaces occupied by the sons of the Emperor, and the habitations of the principal officers in the household. Contiguous to these, is the inclosed town belonging solely to the Jews, who are about thirty thousand in number, having one hundred and fifty synagogues. On that part of the wall of the Jewish town which overlooks Lower Fez, are placed several heavy pieces of ordnance, which, in case of an insurrection in the latter, would very soon demolish it: as the lower town is by much the most populous and extensive, this precaution may not be unnecessary. The Jewish town is commanded by an Alcaid, who cannot however shield its unfortunate inhabitants from oppression and insults. These people are obliged to walk barefooted through the Moorish streets; and they suffer the greatest outrages without a murmur, nay, some of them have been actually murdered in the act of selling their goods to the Moors. No Christian is allowed to appear publicly in the streets of Fez, without a special permission from the Emperor, and a military escort.
These towns are supplied with water in a most singular manner from a river, called _Rasalema_, which takes its source in a valley near the road to Mequinez. It issues from a rock, about eight or ten feet above the ground, in a stream, that, from the form of the valley through which it runs, appears a continued waterfall. It is conveyed into the Emperor’s garden by means of a large wheel, about twenty-five feet in diameter, round which, at regular distances, are small buckets, which, as the wheel goes round, are alternately filled, and emptied into a reservoir at the top of the wall of the garden. From the reservoir the water is also conveyed to the upper and lower towns by aqueducts.
On the outside of one of the western gates of Upper Fez are the gardens of the Emperor, surrounded by a good stone wall, within which are a number of spacious walks, shaded by rows of tall trees, on each side, and intersected by parterres and grass-plots, on which are elegant pavilions, some in a pyramidical, others in a conical form, where the Emperor frequently retires, to take his repose, or to amuse himself with his courtiers. These pavilions are between thirty and forty feet in height, covered on the outside with varnished tiles of different colours, and contain three and sometimes four neat apartments, furnished in the most simple style imaginable, having in general nothing more than a carpet, several couches, a few arm-chairs, a table, a clock, and a tea-equipage of china. The cornices round the walls of these apartments are embellished with passages from the Koran, and other Arabic sentences, carved in cedar-wood.
The propensity to cheating, so prevalent in all Barbary, is no where so notorious as in the lower town of Fez; and the Europeans who trade with the Moorish merchants here must employ the same means as themselves, or submit to be most flagitiously imposed upon.
I have visited several manufactories of carpets, mats, silk, linen, and leather, of which the merchants export great quantities. I have also seen some beautifully embroidered shawls, scarfs, and sword-knots, of the manufacture of this country. Their exports besides are, elephants’ teeth, ostrich feathers, copper, tin, wool, hides, honey, wax, dates, raisins, olives, almonds, gum-arabic, and sandrach. They carry on a considerable trade, by caravans, to Mecca and Medina, the inland regions of Africa, and to the farthermost parts of the coast of Guinea; from which last place they bring gold-dust, and a prodigious number of negroes, some of whom are destined to serve in the Emperor’s armies; the rest are slaves in the Moorish houses and fields.
The dress of the Moors is composed of a linen shirt, over which they fasten a cloth or silk vestment with a sash, loose trowsers reaching to the knee, a white serge cloak, or capote, and yellow slippers: their arms and legs are quite bare. The principal people are distinguished by the fineness of their turbans, their linen shirts, and cloth or silk garments, which are richly embroidered with gold; when they go abroad, they cover this dress with an alhaik, differing in quality according to the circumstances of the wearer; and which they fold round them like a large blanket. They never move their turbans, but pull off their slippers, when they attend religious duties, or their Sovereign, or visit their relatives, friends, priests, or civil and military officers.
The Moorish gentry are clean in their persons, in their manners tolerably genteel and complaisant, far from being loquacious, though not prone to reflection. They possess an unbounded degree of duplicity and flattery; are perfectly strangers to the notions of truth and honour, promising a thing one day which they utterly deny the next. They are less irascible than many other nations; but when grossly injured, seek revenge in assassination. They are more vindictive than brave, more superstitious than devout, firmly attached to their ancient customs, and wholly averse to every kind of innovation.
The Moors, in general, are extremely fond of fruit and vegetables, which contribute very much to their contentment. The peasants eat meat only on certain great days. They are excessively dirty in their cooking, and the style of their dishes is not at all adapted to the taste of an Englishman. Their soups are made most intolerably hot with spices; and their favourite dish is _cous-ca-sou_, which appears to me to be prepared in the following manner: The meat and vegetables are laid alternately in a large bowl, and seasoned; then the whole is covered with fine wheaten flour, made into small grains, very like the Italian pastes. It is raised into the form of a pyramid, and I should imagine stewed, or rather steamed, as the outside remains perfectly white, which it would not were it baked. The whole of the inside, when brought to table, is mingled almost into one mass; the meat separating from the bones, without the smallest difficulty: it does not contain any gravy, and the Moors eat it by handsfull.
I generally live upon mutton and veal, both of which are very good: the bread and butter are excellent, but the latter will not keep more than twenty-four hours without becoming rancid. My greatest annoyance here is the infinite number of bugs and fleas, which infest me by day and night most intolerably.
LETTER XIV.
_Fez–Debility of the Moors–Mosques–Antiquities, Roman, Carthaginian, and Saracen–Storks held in great Veneration–Baths– Bazars–Inhabitants–Residence–Menagerie–Marvellous Preservation of a Jew–Lions–Tigers–Leopards–Hyenas._
_Fez_, —-.
Considering the mildness of the climate, the uncommon fertility of the soil, the number of mineral waters, the fragrancy and salubrity of the air, one would imagine that the frame and constitution of a Moor cannot but be beautiful, strong, and healthy; yet, though the most handsome people of both sexes are to be met with in this great city, the number of miserable objects, the wretched victims of excessive early passions, is in a much larger proportion: it is shocking beyond description to meet them in every corner of the streets. I have visited a great many of these poor creatures, and found them in such a state, that decency obliges me to draw a veil over it.
The mosques of this town, which I have before mentioned as very numerous, are square buildings, and generally of stone; before the principal gate there is a court paved with white marble, with piazzas round, the roofs of which are supported by marble columns. In niches within these piazzas, the Moors perform their ablutions before they enter the mosques. Attached to each mosque is a tower, with three small open galleries, one above another, whence the people are called to prayer, not by a bell, but by an officer appointed for that duty. These towers, as well as the mosques, are covered with lead, and adorned with gilding, and tiles of variegated colours. No woman is allowed to enter the Moorish places of worship.
Several of the aqueducts, which were constructed by the Carthaginians and Romans, are still to be seen; and the ruins of amphitheatres, and other public buildings, are found in the town and neighbourhood of Fez: likewise many Saracen monuments of the most stupendous magnificence, which were erected under the Caliphs of Bagdad. The mosques and ruins are frequented by a great number of storks, which are very tame, and are regarded by the Moors as a kind of inferior saints.
The baths here are wonderfully well constructed for the purpose. Some of them are square buildings, but the greater part are circular, paved with black or white polished marble, and containing three rooms: the first for undressing and dressing, the second for the water, and in the third is the bath. Their manner of bathing is very curious: the attendant rubs the person with great force, then pulls and stretches the limbs, as if he meant to dislocate every joint. This exercise to these indolent people is very conducive to health.
The bazars in which the tradesmen have their shops, are very extensive. These shops are filled with all kinds of merchandise. In the centre of the town is a rectangular building, with colonnades, where the principal merchants attend daily to transact business.
The inhabitants of Fez are of a large muscular stature, fair complexion, with black beards and eyes; extremely amorous and jealous of their women, whom they keep strictly guarded. Their houses consist of four wings, forming a court in the centre, round which is an arcade, or piazza, with one spacious apartment on each side. The court is paved with square pieces of marble, and has a basin of the same in the centre, with a fountain. They keep their houses remarkably clean and neat; but all the streets of this immense town are narrow, very badly paved with large irregular stones, and most shockingly dirty. The tops of their houses, like those of Tetuan, and other towns in Barbary, are flat, for the purpose of recreation.
Among the remnants of several amphitheatres, there is one very nearly entire, which is kept in constant repair at the expense of the Emperor, and appropriated as a menagerie for lions, tigers, and leopards. As I was contemplating it the other day, I felt at a loss to account for this being kept in repair, while the others were suffered to moulder into dust, unheeded, excepting a very few, and those but partially prevented from sharing the general wreck. I had stood some time, thus employed, when I was suddenly interrupted in my meditations, by the sound of voices close behind me; on turning I perceived two Jews, one of whom I knew very well, from having given advice to some part of his family. I immediately inquired how it happened that the building before us was so carefully preserved from going to ruin, as happened to most of the others. He informed me, that it was a kind of menagerie for wild beasts. “It was the same in the time of the late Emperor,” continued he; “and a very curious incident befell one of my brethren in that place.” As the narrative was not merely very curious, but really wonderful, I cannot forbear sending you the substance of it; as to give it you in the very circuitous way it came to me, would be rather a tax upon your patience, particularly, as you may not be so destitute of resources of amusement, as, I confess, I was at that moment.
It appears, that Muley Yezid, the late Emperor, had a great and invincible antipathy to the Jews (indeed it was but too evident in the horrible transaction I mentioned in a former letter). An unfortunate Israelite, having incurred the displeasure of that prince, was condemned to be devoured by a ferocious lion, which had been purposely left without food for twenty-four hours: when the animal was raging with hunger, the poor Jew had a rope fastened round his waist, and in the presence of a great concourse of people was let down into the den; his supplications for mercy, and screams of terror, availing him nothing. The man gave himself up for lost, expecting every moment to be torn in pieces by the almost famished beast, who was roaring most hideously; he threw himself on the ground in an agony of mind, much better conceived than described. While in this attitude, the animal approached him, ceased roaring, smelt him two or three times, then walked majestically round him, and gave him now and then a gentle whisk with his tail, which seemed to signify that he might rise, as he would not hurt him; finding the man still continue motionless with fear, he retreated a few paces, and laid himself down like a dog. After a short time had elapsed, the Jew, recovering from his insensibility, and perceiving himself unmolested, ventured to raise himself up, and observing the noble animal couched, and no symptom of rage or anger in his countenance, he felt animated with confidence. In short, they became quite friendly, the lion suffering himself to be caressed by the Jew with the utmost tameness. It ended with the man being drawn up again unhurt, to the great astonishment of the spectators. A heifer was afterwards let down, and instantly devoured. You may be sure this story was too great a triumph on the part of the Israelites, to pass without a number of annotations and reflections from the narrator, all tending to prove the victory of their nation over the heathens. For my part, I could not help thinking that there was too much of the miraculous in it. However, I have often heard it asserted that the lion will never touch a man who is either dead, or counterfeits death; indeed here they tell me, that, unless pressed by hunger or rage, it never molests a man; and they assure me even that upon no account will these animals injure a woman, but, on the contrary, will protect her, when they meet her at a watering-place. This country abounds with lions, tigers, leopards, and hyenas, which sometimes make nocturnal visits to the villages, and spread desolation among the sheep and cattle.
LETTER XV.
_Sudden Departure from Fez–Arrive at Mequinez–Attend the Emperor–Melancholy Catastrophe–Expedition against wild Beasts–Extensive Palaces–Seraglio–Visit a Haram–Founders of the City–A fortified Town–Inhabitants–Jewish Town–Rich Attire of the higher Orders–Numerous Market-places–Furniture–Saints’ Houses–Imperial Field Sports–Pack of Greyhounds–Abundance of Game._
Mequinez.
No doubt, my dear D—-, you will be very much surprised to observe my letter dated from this place. I assure you I had not the most distant idea, when I wrote last, of removing so suddenly from Fez. On the evening of the same day that I dispatched my letter to you, as I was preparing for rest, an express arrived from the Emperor, begging me to repair hither without delay. Concluding that nothing less than life or death depended on my speedy arrival, I accordingly renounced the pleasures of the drowsy god for a very uneasy seat on the back of a mule, and at midnight set off for this place, leaving my baggage and attendants to follow in the morning. I rode very fast all night, and arrived here about nine o’clock the next day. When I dismounted, I was so extremely stiff, that it was with the utmost difficulty I could stand; I was most dreadfully fatigued, and stood in very great need of repose; but waving all selfish considerations, I thought only of being serviceable, and therefore lost no time in waiting on the Emperor. He received me in the kindest and most flattering manner, and expressed great pleasure at seeing me; but I found my patient’s case not so very urgent as I had imagined; a few hours delay would not have endangered the life of any human being, and it would have saved _one_, some aching bones. However, after dispatching the case in point as expeditiously as possible, I soon made amends for my deprivation, by indulging in a little longer repose than usual, and on awaking I felt myself quite refreshed, and rather pleased than otherwise at finding myself thus suddenly at Mequinez; for having before passed the road more leisurely, and observed every thing worthy of remark, I did not so much regret that my journey had been performed during the night.
I have been four days here, and yesterday I was called upon to attend the captain of a band of huntsmen, who were that morning returned from an expedition, in which they lost three of their companions, and only succeeded in saving their chief, and bringing him to this place, by little short of a miracle. He has been lacerated in a most dreadful manner; his head is nearly scalped, and part of the integuments of his arms and back inverted. His condition is certainly dangerous; but, as he is a young and healthy subject, I do not despair of effecting his recovery.
I have learned the following particulars of this melancholy catastrophe. About fifty resolute young men marched hence, all armed and well stocked with ammunition and provisions, and accompanied by a mountaineer, who acted as guide. Their primary object was to destroy six young lions, that had committed terrible devastation in one of their villages; compelled the inhabitants to flee precipitately; and themselves remained sole masters of the _citadel_. After a march of three days, they arrived at the scene of action, and succeeded in destroying those lions; but hearing that there were more in the neighbourhood, they prepared to encounter them also. By order of this young man, who was chief of the company, they separated in five divisions, and repaired to different posts on the borders of the forest, to wait the arrival of the lions. They had not remained long, ere the terrific roar of these animals commenced, the sound approached nearer and nearer to their place of concealment, and one of the lions passed close to a party, and received the fire of their pieces; the animal darted upon them in return, before they could charge again, and three unfortunate men fell victims to his rage. The creature finding he had more enemies to contend with, and his wounds beginning to smart, retreated to a cover, where he sat licking them, and meditating another attack. He was on the point of springing on the captain, who had approached nearer to him than the rest, when the young man discharged his musket, the contents of which entered, and dislocated, the lower jaw of the enraged animal. The instant the youth had fired, he retreated with the utmost precipitation towards his companions, but his foot unfortunately slipping, he fell prostrate between two stones: in which position the lion assailed him; and being unable to tear him in pieces with his teeth, in consequence of the wound in his jaw, he made use of his tremendous paws, and would undoubtedly have destroyed him, but for the timely assistance of his comrades. The animal was so intent on the destruction of his enemy, that he received a close fire from two muskets, the muzzles of which nearly touched him. He no sooner found himself mortally wounded, than, raising the almost lifeless man in both paws, he dashed him on the ground, and fell dead by his side.
The man received a very severe contusion on his bead, which deprived him of sense for some time, and is what I dread the most in his case. His wounds were dressed by his companions in the best manner they could, and he was brought hither. The Emperor has very liberally rewarded him and his party, and made a handsome provision for the widows and children of those poor fellows who fell in the expedition. I sincerely hope this man may recover to enjoy the munificence of his Sovereign.
I have most excellent quarters here, contiguous to one of the palaces, and am allowed to walk or ride in the Imperial gardens, which are very extensive. The Emperor’s palaces here, are much upon the same plan, with those at Fez, but larger. One of them is about three miles in circumference. All the apartments are on the ground floor, and are large long rooms, about twenty feet in height, receiving air from two folding doors which open into a square court, with a portico round, embellished with colonnades. The walls of the rooms are faced with glazed tiles, and the floors paved with the same, which gives an air of coolness and neatness, so desirable in this warm climate.
The seraglio of the Emperor, and indeed the harams of men of less rank, are sacred. No strangers are admitted, and it is profanation in a man to enter; but as a _tweeb_, I am privileged, and enjoy a liberty, never granted before. The day after my arrival, His Excellency the _Sheik_ called upon me, and requested me to go home with him. He informed me that he had been assured, in the most positive manner, by all the doctors, and female attendants, that his wife had a dead child in her, and that nothing less than a miracle of their great Prophet could save her. The poor man was very much agitated while giving me this account. I find she is his favourite wife, and no wonder, for she is a very lovely woman. Upon examination, I found that what they imagined to be a dead child, is a protuberant hardness in the region of the liver, extending nearly all over the abdomen. The tumefaction was considered as a case of pregnancy; and she having considerably passed her time, the child was thought to be dead within her. I have begun a course of medicine, which I flatter myself will entirely eradicate the disorder.
My stay was so very short, when I was here before, that I could give you no account of the town, &c. The city of Mequinez is in the kingdom of Fez, and thirty miles from the capital of that name. The dynasty of _Mequinez_ were the founders of this town, which they erected upon the ruins of the old one. Stephanus takes notice of it, by the name of _Gilda_, and says, that it was a place of great note. Marmol also asserts, that the present Mequinez answers in every respect to the ancient _Gilda_. It was considerably enlarged by Muley Ishmael, who (as well as several other Moorish princes, successively) defended himself in this place, against the attacks of the mountaineers. Several lines of circumvallation and intrenchments are still to be seen.
It is surrounded with walls, and fortified by two bastions; but has no artillery. It contains about one hundred thousand inhabitants; twenty-five thousand of whom are Jews, who have a town of their own, irregularly fortified, and guarded by a strong force, under the direction of an Alcaid, who is styled the Governor of the Jews.
There is not the smallest difference, in the construction of these houses, from those of Fez; though the inhabitants differ very materially. The men are of a short, thick, muscular make, and swarthy complexion, with long black beards and black eyes. The women are excessively handsome, and remarkably fair; nor are they devoid of neatness and elegance in their dress. They improve the beauty of their eyes with paint.
The Moorish inhabitants of this city are all militia-men, entirely at the disposal of the Emperor. They are excellent horsemen, expert at the sword and lance; and with fire-arms most admirable marksmen. They are generally considered barbarous and ferocious.
The people of distinction go about richly attired, having much gold and silver on their clothes. They take great pains in cleaning their teeth, combing their long beards, and keeping their nails pared extremely close.
The streets of this town are not paved; and the soil being clay, they must be very disagreeable in winter; for, after a heavy shower of rain, they are almost impassable from the accumulation of mud in every quarter. The market-places, with which this place abounds, are long, narrow, arched or covered streets, with small shops on each side, superintended by a Cadi, and an officer under him, for the purpose of collecting the duties on the sale of goods, &c. The chief furniture of the houses consists of beautiful carpets, cushions, and mattresses, upon which they sit and lie.
In and about the neighbourhood of this place are several saints’ houses, near which no Christian, nor Jew, is allowed to pass. The most remarkable is the _hospitium_ of Sidi-el-Marti.
The Emperor’s favourite diversions, while here, are shooting and hunting, in both of which I am told he excels. He keeps a large pack of greyhounds, as fine as any I have seen in England. His pleasure-grounds, and park, in the vicinity of this town, abound in all kinds of game, hares, rabbits, and deer, and in wild boars and foxes.
LETTER XVI.
_Courtship_–_Marriage_–_Funerals_–_Sabbath_.
Mequinez.
I shall now give you an account of the manner in which the marriages are invariably negotiated and conducted in this country. A female, the confidential friend of the suitor, is dispatched to observe and report the beauty and accomplishments of the young lady; and when those are found to be perfectly adapted to the gentleman’s taste, she is further delegated to sound his eulogium, and by every means, such as presenting her with valuable jewels, &c. to ingratiate him in the good opinion of the fair one. When this curious courtship ends, by terms being agreed upon, the destined bridegroom pays down a sum of money to the bride, a license is taken out from the Cadi, and the parties are married. I send you a description of a marriage-ceremony, at which I was present the other day.
The bridegroom (who is one of the officers of the household) came out of his house, attended by a vast number of his friends, and mounted one of the best horses belonging to the Emperor, most curiously and richly caparisoned. He carried his sword unsheathed, and was preceded by a splendid standard, and a band of music; he was followed by a kind of palanquin, supported on the shoulders of four stout black slaves, a detachment of cavalry firing off their pieces every minute, and a procession of relatives and friends, the whole moving with great mirth and jollity,
Before they reached the house of the bride, the cavalcade halted, and the bridegroom dismounted, assisted by his negro slaves, and knocked loudly at the door three times. The lady was brought out in a covered chair, attended by four women, completely muffled up. The whole party of the bridegroom turned their backs, and she was smuggled into the palanquin: they then returned in the same style to the house of her lord, where, before she was allowed to enter, he placed himself at the entrance, and extending his right arm across the door-way, she passed under, as an indication of her voluntary and unconditional submission to his will and pleasure.
After this ceremony, the bridegroom was obliged to retire to the house of his nearest relation, where he continued three days and nights, feasting, and receiving presents from all his male friends, while the bride was paid the same compliments by her female acquaintance. At the expiration of the appointed time, the gentleman returned to his own house.
The Moors are not allowed by their law more than four wives, but they may have as many concubines as they can maintain; accordingly, the wealthy Moors, besides their wives, keep a kind of seraglio of women of all colours.
From their marriages, I am insensibly led to the subject of the burial of their dead. Not that any idea strikes me of an analogy between the situations of a married person, and one consigned to the “_narrow house_,” as Ossian poetically styles the grave; but from a certain succession of thought, for which one is at a loss to account. In the burial of their dead, they are decent and pious, without pomp or show. The corpse is attended by the relations and friends, chanting passages from the Koran, to the mosque, where it is washed, and it is afterwards interred in a place at some distance from the town, the Iman, or priest, pronouncing an oration, containing the eulogy of the deceased. The male relations express their regard by alms and prayers, the women by ornamenting the tomb with flowers and green leaves. Their term of mourning is the same as ours, twelve months, during which period the widows divest themselves of every ornament, and appear habited in the coarsest attire. Their burial-grounds are inclosed by cypress and other dark lofty trees, the lower parts of which are interwoven with odoriferous shrubs and creeping plants, forming an almost impenetrable hedge. Some of their tombs are very curious, though they exhibit specimens of the rudest architecture. There are also several saints’ houses in their burying-places, which render them doubly sacred; and no Christian or Jew is suffered to enter, on pain of death.
Friday being their Sabbath, the day is kept perfectly holy; all the Moors are employed in prayer, reading the Koran, or visiting the tombs of their departed friends.
Curiosity prompted me to go and see an assemblage of fanatics, at a celebrated saint’s house, in the neighbourhood of this town. They were to perform many wonderful things, such as tearing a live sheep in pieces, and devouring the flesh, fighting with wild beasts, and several other barbarous exhibitions. These people, called in Barbary _Free Masons_, are nothing more than a set of canting, roaring companions, surcharged with wine and other liquors, and assembled in this holy place, for the sole purpose of giving free vent to their brutal passions. This society is peculiar to itself, having no connexion with our ancient or modern Free Masons. I have however obtained a free access to their saints’ houses and secret meetings, with permission to go any where unmolested; but I always take the precaution to go well armed, and escorted by the Emperor’s guards, as nothing can exceed the barbarous acts of this fanatic set of people.
I am extremely happy to say, that my most sanguine expectations with regard to the poor man, whose accident I mentioned in my last, are realized; every unfavourable symptom has vanished, and I can safely rely on his perfect recovery. The complaint of my female patient has also given way to a proper course of medicine, and the Governor is one of the happiest of men. When I announced the pleasing intelligence of her disease being removed, he embraced me with such ecstacy that I almost dreaded suffocation; in short, he has spared nothing that can evince his gratitude and satisfaction, for what he terms the inestimable benefit I have conferred upon him.
The country round this city is inexpressibly rich and beautiful, being laid put for several miles in gardens, abounding in flowers and fruit-trees; among the latter the vine sands pre-eminent, yielding most delicious grapes. The air here, as in the other parts of Barbary, is very pure and salubrious.
LETTER XVII.
_Depart for Morocco–Roads dreadfully infested, by Robbers–A Tribe of aboriginal Freebooters–Description of Morocco–Filth of the common People–Tobacco disallowed–Justice of the Emperor_.
Mequinez
Since I wrote last, I have taken a trip to Morocco and back again. As I had a great deal of leisure time, and every thing here having lost the attraction of novelty, I determined to go further up the interior of the country; and accordingly applied to the Emperor for permission to visit Morocco, which he granted, but with the injunction that I should return as quickly as possible.
I set off, accompanied by my usual guard, which I assure you I never found so necessary as on this journey; for the rapacious spirit of the peasantry exposed us continually to the danger of being plundered, we were therefore obliged to keep watch alternately, to prevent our property, perhaps our lives, becoming a prey to these wretches. The neighbourhood of Morocco is dreadfully infested by robbers and assassins.
The inhabitants of the empire of Morocco, that are not in a military capacity, or otherwise immediately in the service of the Emperor, are miserably poor; and the natural indolence of their disposition preventing them from making any laudable exertions towards gaining a livelihood, they have recourse to every means of fraud and violence. It is astonishing how frequently assassinations and robberies are committed in this empire, notwithstanding the ruffians, when detected, are punished in the most exemplary manner, by the right hand and left foot being cut off, and the head afterwards being severed from the body. The relations of the murderer are all fined very heavily, and the judgment often extends to the whole village, near which the crime had been perpetrated; yet seldom a day passes but some daring robbery is committed, accompanied by the most wanton and savage cruelty; the unhappy victim of the plunderer being frequently left in the public roads in a most shocking state of mutilation.
Another ostensible cause of the dereliction of the peasantry from the laws of humanity, may be the extreme oppression under which they groan; as, on account of their former propensity to rebellion, they are now ruled with a rod of iron, which in all probability has rendered them callous, and deaf to the voice of nature. But, independently of these occasional depredations, there is a band of vagrants, who are actuated by no other motives, than what their own black hearts suggest. They inhabit caves in the sides of enormous rocky precipices, and go entirely naked: their principal food is the flesh of wild beasts. This tribe of freebooters appears to be quite a distinct set of people; they seem to have an invincible aversion to the Mahometan religion, and worship the _sun_ and _fire_; they speak a different language from the rest of the inhabitants, a mixture of African and the _old_ Arabic; all which circumstances favour their own report of themselves, which is, that they are the genuine descendants of the original inhabitants. They look down upon the more civilized Moors with contempt, and consider them as the real usurpers of their country, and the plunderers of their property. They subsist chiefly by rapine, and frequently throw a whole village into consternation by their nocturnal visits; yet their cunning and dexterity are so great, that they almost constantly elude the vigilance of justice: indeed, they are never forced from their places of retreat (which are inaccessible to all but themselves), but when taken, it is either in the act of robbing, or when they venture to the markets or fairs; and then the capture is not effected without a strong body of the military.
I was much disappointed on my arrival at Morocco with the appearance of the place; for, instead of finding it, as I expected, superior to Fez and Mequinez, I found it a large ruinous town, almost without inhabitants. It contains, indeed, a great many mosques, caravanseras, public baths, marketplaces or squares, and palaces of the Xeriffes, but all in almost deplorable state of ruin. Not many years since, this city was the Imperial residence, and contained six hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants; but the late civil wars, and the plague, which raged with such violence, in the beginning of the present Emperor’s reign, nearly depopulated it. In consequence of the latter melancholy event, the court was removed to Fez and Mequinez. To this account we may place the present desolate appearance of Morocco. The Imperial palace is, however, kept in repair, as the Emperor goes to Morocco annually to spend the fast-days, which are during the months of October and November; scarcely one fourth of the other palaces and houses are inhabited; but though this city now exhibits evident symptoms of rapid decay, we may still form a just idea of its former grandeur and magnificence.
The plain of Morocco is bounded by that long ridge of mountains called _Atlas_, which screen the town from the scorching heat of the easterly winds, while the snow, with which their summits are covered, renders the climate more temperate than in other parts of Barbary. Notwithstanding the salubrity of the climate of Morocco, a residence there is rendered miserable, by the multitudes of scorpions, serpents, gnats, and bugs, which infest the town and its neighbourhood.
His Imperial Majesty holds a court of justice here, previous to the commencement of the holidays, and also issues orders for a general ablution by men, women, and children, of every class: this, no doubt, is very necessary, as the common people seldom change their linen, and the greater part of them are covered with vermin. During the fast they dare not touch any food while the sun is up, and when at night they are allowed to break their fast, they absolutely make perfect beasts of themselves. Smoking, or chewing tobacco, and taking snuff, are strictly prohibited, by an edict from the Emperor: the vender is punished with the bastinado, and a confiscation of all his goods and cattle, and the buyer with six years imprisonment.
Owing to the intense heat of the weather lately, there is a great scarcity of water: so that we were obliged to carry it up in bags made of goat-skin, to supply us on the road; and coming back we took the same precaution.
When at Morocco, I was extremely anxious to visit _Mogedor_, a sea-port town, and the island of _Erythia_, now also called Mogedor, which island contains a castle of considerable strength, defended by a strong garrison, stationed there chiefly, as I have been told, to protect the gold-mines in the neighbourhood; but the distance was very great, and my time so limited, that I could not spare a fortnight, which it would at least have required to get there and back again. I have been returned here two days, and, as I observed before, not so much gratified as I expected.
As I passed one of the courts of the palace yesterday, a fellow was receiving punishment for a robbery. The right hand and foot were severed at the articulation, by a single blow of a large axe; the stumps were immediately immersed in a vessel of boiling pitch; and in this miserable condition he was turned about his business. I once attended a man who had suffered these amputations; he soon recovered, and, to my great surprise, instead of sorrowing for his loss, he skipped about as nimbly as possible, and afterwards enlisted in the police. After the fellow was turned away yesterday, a peasant, who had walked nearly two hundred miles, presented himself before the Emperor, to complain of the Governor of his province, for not having done him justice in assisting him to recover a debt of about six shillings. The Emperor listened to his grievance, issued an order to enforce the payment of the debt, and gave the poor man a sum of money to enable him to return home.
LETTER XVIII.
_Moorish Character–Form of Devotion–Meals–Revenue–Poll-tax on the Jews–Royal Carriages–Ostrich-riding–Public Schools–Watch-dogs._
Mequinez.
The established religion of the Moors is Mahometan. Formerly, as well as at present, women were considered by the Moors as the mere objects of sensuality, and only esteemed while in full bloom. At the age of thirty, or at most forty, they were looked upon as an inferior order of beings, and doomed to the most abject and insupportable slavery: indeed, the latter circumstance still exists, though considerably mitigated. No wonder then that the doctrine of Mahomet should be cordially embraced by a people with whose inclinations it so exactly coincided. But that part only was adopted, which indulged them in the gratification of their wishes; that which imposed restraint was renounced, or only nominally acceded to. And fortunate it certainly is for the security of the neighbouring countries that they did so; as, when formerly they were inured from infancy to all the hardships of a warlike life, and possessed much skill in war, they were undoubtedly very formidable; but since their conversion to Mahometanism, they have gradually become inactive, and their natural passion for war and conquest has changed to absolute effeminacy. The illiterate system of the Moors has also completely shut the door against the arts and sciences, and all knowledge of the value of a free and secure commerce. Yet, notwithstanding this people are no longer either in appearance or reality those fierce barbarians they once were, nor can their actions in point of valour bear any comparison with those of their ancestors, like them they retain a most inveterate antipathy to all Christians; and a propensity towards cruelty, revenge, rapine, and murder, still continues to form one of the most prominent features of their character. However, under the comparatively mild government of the present Emperor, their behaviour towards Christians has visibly undergone a favourable change, which would almost persuade some to indulge a hope of the entire annihilation of their aversion; but I am sorry to add, that I am not so sanguine, as from accurate observation I have been led to conclude, that nothing but an immense length of time can overcome their habitual prejudices and constitutional inclinations.
The male inhabitants of these states are obliged to attend their places of public worship four times in the course of twenty-four hours. The first prayer begins about half an hour before sun-rising, and is so regulated that they may, just as the sun rises, finish eight adorations. They pray again at noon, at sun-set, and at midnight: they are very fervent in their devotions, and always turn their faces towards the east: they fast three times in a year; the first time thirty days, the next nine, and the last seven: during these fasts they abstain from beans, garlic, and some other pulse and vegetables. They call the Almighty, _God of Gods_, and _Lord of Lords_; and they all believe that the souls of wicked men will be punished till a certain period, when they will be received to mercy.
In the morning, after prayer, they drink strong tea, which they prefer to coffee. At eleven o’clock they, go to dinner, which consists of fruits, sweetmeats, and their favourite _cous-ca-sou_, piled up in a large wooden bowl. Their chief meal is after their return from evening prayer. They eat cakes made of fine wheaten flour; and as they consider it a crime to cut bread or meat of any kind after it is dressed, these cakes are made so thin that they may be easily broken with the hands; and their meat, which is generally mutton or fowls, is so prepared that they can without difficulty separate it from the bones with their fingers. They sit cross-legged upon cushions, and devour their food very greedily and without the least ceremony. Although sobriety is strictly enjoined by the Mahometan law, yet the Moorish inhabitants of the principal towns in Barbary make free with most excellent wines and spirits of their own manufacture.
The revenues of the Emperor have of late augmented prodigiously. He receives a tenth part of all the property of his Mahometan subjects; and he compels every Jew residing in his dominions to pay a poll-tax of six crowns annually. The number of Israelites subject to the Emperor of Morocco exceeds one hundred thousand. They are strictly guarded, and cruelly oppressed, and are not permitted to quit the states without a special leave from the Emperor, to obtain which they are obliged to pay down a large sum of money.
The authority of the Emperor is unlimited, as is that of his Governors, who possess a power of life and death. No rank nor condition of Moors is exempt from taxation, excepting the immediate princes of the blood, and the _Xeriffes_, which are the only degrees of nobility the Moors have. The Xeriffes are the descendants of their monarchs, and their titles are hereditary: but the title of _Sheik_ is temporary; so that the respect paid to the Sheiks on account of their high situations expires with them.
Coaches, carriages, and palanquins are used only by the Emperor. I have seen some, both here and at Fez, which are really elegant; they are for the use of his ladies when they go to spend the day in any of the Imperial gardens. The Emperor has several very handsome chariots, in one of which he usually rides, drawn by six mules. The Moors ride on horseback, attended by a number of slaves or soldiers, according to their rank and wealth.
The princes of the blood and Xeriffes are not allowed to interfere in any political or public business, and are never consulted in state affairs. They are generally provided for, with sinecure places to support their rank, but many of these are too small to enable them to do so. The several Governors of provinces have each a large tract of land; and the tax collected from the venders and buyers in the weekly markets in their districts is also appropriated by them to defray the charges of their retinue and troops. From the vast crown lands in this country, the Emperor obtains sufficient for the expenses of the court, household, and great officers of state; from which circumstance, and what I have before said of his revenues, it is evident that his coffers must be most abundantly supplied, and his annual saving in ordinary cases very great. A detachment of troops from each province is sent every three months to collect the tributes, which are levied with the most unrelenting rigour. There are some vestiges of the Caliphate government still remaining; for in places where no military officer resides, the Mufti, or high-priest, is the fountain of all justice; he collects the tributes, and under him the Cadis or civil officers act in the same manner as our justices of the peace.
The general language of the country is Arabic; but in the inland countries, in the provinces of Suz, Tafilet, and Gessula, the ancient African language is still spoken. Those remote districts are now under the sovereignty of the Emperor of Morocco; but I am told they contain nothing particularly curious, except an immense number of pelicans and ostriches, the latter so strong as to be able to carry a man upon their backs. I one day saw a Moor riding in a court here upon one, which he had got from those parts, and tamed for. show.
The Moors write in the manner of the Hebrew language, from right to left; they are wonderfully expeditious in it, and their seals are very neat. Public schools have lately been established in all the towns and villages of these states; but, as the children are taught by their priests, a set of superstitious and fanatic people, no great benefit, to change or improve their manners, can accrue from such an institution.
I believe, in a former letter I told you that the peasantry reside in tents; I have however observed a few huts built of clay, but very few. In the centre of both the huts and tents, there is a hole dug in the ground, where they make a fire, with an outlet in the roof to vent the smoke. They generally burn wood, or a species of charcoal, in the preparation of which they contrive to deprive it of the baneful effects usually experienced from the use of it in England. They have mats spread round the fire, upon which they sit in the day, and sleep at night. They are so parsimonious, that they live the greater part of the year on fruit, vegetables, and fish, though they supply the markets with abundance of fowls (of which they rear immense numbers), butter, &c. &c. Their chief defence at night is their dogs; each tent is provided with one, and they are so vigilant, that they give instant notice of the approach of intruders; and when the alarm is communicated to the whole of them, it is scarcely possible to conceive the effect. The habit of the peasantry is the same both winter and summer, and consists of a thick garment (frequently old and tattered), a short capote, a greasy turban, and a pair of yellow slippers. They sometimes throw round them a coarse white _haik_, which also serves for a bed and covering in the night, as many of them lie upon the bare ground in the open air before their tents.
In my next I shall give you a short sketch of the produce of this fertile country.
LETTER XIX.
_Face and Produce of the Empire, natural and artificial_.
Mequinez.
The mountains (the principal of which are Mount Diur, Mount Cotta, near the city of Larache, the mountain commonly called _Ape’s Hill_, between Tangiers and Ceuta, and that remarkable ridge called Mount Atlas) contain mines of gold, silver, copper, and tin.
The chief capes or promontories of these states are, Cape Cottes or Ampelusia, known to our seafaring people by the name of Cape Spartel, the _Promontorium Herculis_, and the _Promontorium Oleastrum_, so called from the prodigious number of wild olives growing upon it.
All the bays round the coast furnish an abundance of the most delicious fish of every kind; and the several rivers are equally productive. The occasional overflow of the rivers greatly enriches and fertilizes the soil, to which, more than to their own industry (for they never manure their grounds, and are absolute strangers to the art of husbandry), are the Moors indebted for their plentiful crops of wheat, Turkey corn, rye, rice, oats, barley, and grain of all kinds.
I have before told you that this country abounds in fine fruits. The most esteemed are, oranges, grapes, pomegranates, lemons, citrons, figs, almonds, and dates. The Moors also grow great quantities of excellent hemp and flax. Medicinal herbs and roots are very plentiful here. Vegetables of every kind, and melons, cucumbers, &c. thrive exceedingly well. The grass grows spontaneously to an amazing height, and in consequence of the fine pasturage the animals are very prolific, cows and mares producing two at a birth, and the sheep frequently four lambs in the year.
Among the botanical herbs, plants, and roots, are the colocynth, palma Christi, wild and meadow saffron, the great mountain garlic, mountain satyrion, senna, rhubarb, bastard rhubarb, balsam apple, horned poppy, wild succory, recabilia peruviana, ipecacuanha, wild turnip, wild radish, field mustard, Indian cress, dandelion, black winter cherry, wild lily, hyacinth, violet, narcissus, wild rose, camomile, tulips, and the _fleur de lis_, equal to that of Florence; with a variety of others too numerous to describe.
The domestic animals of these states are, the horse, ass, mule, rumrah (a beast of burden in the mountainous parts), camel, dromedary, antelope, cow, dog, sheep, and large goat. The beasts of prey are, lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, and wolves. The apes are innumerable. Deer, wild boars, hares, rabbits, ferrets, weazels, moles, and camelions, are also found in great numbers. Horses and cattle of all kinds are sold at very low prices.
Among the feathered tribe most common here, are, very large eagles, hawks, partridges, quails, wild pigeons, and wild fowl of every kind, turtle-doves, and a variety of small birds; among which the capsa sparrow is remarkable for the elegance of its plumage and the sweetness of its notes, in which it excels every other bird: this beautiful little creature cannot live out of its native country. I had almost forgotten to mention the storks and cranes, which are seen here in great numbers, and so extremely tame, from being perfectly unmolested, that they build their nests and rear their young in the very centre of the towns and villages, and on the tops of the towers of their mosques. Of the reptile kind, venomous spiders, scorpions, vipers, and enormously large serpents, are common in Barbary.
The greatest natural curiosities of this country are the salt-pits (which in some places are immensely large), and several hot springs, possessing such a great degree of heat, that an egg being put in for a short time will become quite hard. The face of the country itself is a natural curiosity; the vallies, which are several leagues in extent, and the mountains, which reach as far as the deserts of Suz, Tafilet, and Gessula, interspersed with forests or corn-fields, and rich meadows, are remarkably curious.
The artificial curiosities are very numerous, and claim the attention of all who may visit this country. They ought properly to be divided into two classes; in the first of which may be placed the subterraneous cavern and passage near Tangiers; the ruins of the amphitheatres, triumphal arches, temples, &c. erected by the Carthaginians, Romans, and Arabs, at Fez and the several other towns of Barbary. The country is besides all over scattered with the remains of ditches and ramparts, evidently designed for the defence of camps, forts, and castles, no other vestiges of which, however, can be found. Besides these, I have observed a number of round towers, which appear to have belonged, some to houses of religion, and others to the palaces or residences of former rulers in this country.
In the second class, we may place the efforts of the architectural and mechanical genius of the present inhabitants, exemplified in the wonderful aqueducts at Morocco, which commence in Mount Atlas (by the natives called _Gibbel-el-Hadith_), and convey water in the greatest abundance to all the houses of the city and its environs. Nor is the wheel at Fez, which I mentioned in a former letter, less worthy of remark; and several mausoleums in their burial-places have been constructed in a very costly style, the stucco of the walls being remarkably smooth and beautiful, and as hard as marble; but these tombs are exceptions to the general rule; for, as I have before observed, the greater part are but rude buildings. There are many other curiosities, which to describe minutely would fill a volume.
LETTER XX.
_Practice of Physic–Astrology–Poetry–Entertainment given by the Author to the Moors–Their Astonishment at the Effects of Electricity_.
Mequinez.
I shall now speak of their principal or rather only studies, which are, physic, astrology, and poetry. First then of physic, to give you an accurate idea of the extent of their knowledge in which, it will be sufficient to describe their practice of it; and I am sure you, my dear D—-, and every other friend to humanity, will agree with me, that it would have been better for their countrymen if they had never attempted it at all, as unassisted nature would do more, for those afflicted with disease, than such bunglers.
The general practice adopted by the Moorish physicians, or _Tweebs_, is, bleeding _ad deliquium_ in all fevers; administering excessive doses of drastic medicines, plenty of emulsions, and a watery diet. They order vinegar in cases of quinsies and ardent fevers, and garlic in those of a putrid, malignant, and pestilential kind. They prescribe alum in cases of hemorrhage and dysentery; hot spices and long abstinences in chronic diseases; recent ox-gall to kill worms and cure dropsies; castor and myrrh in all hysteric affections; asses milk in slow fevers and consumptions; oranges, honey, eggs, mint, and myrrh, in cases of typhus; poppy-juice in convulsive disorders and fluxes of the bowels; pitch or tar water and pennyroyal in common fevers; rose-leaves in cases of diabetes; and sulphur in all cutaneous disorders. This is the whole of the Moorish _materia medica_. In simple diseases, where little medical ability is necessary, and the good habit of body of these people in general contributes to their success, they may effect a cure; but in desperate cases, where nothing but the skill of the physician can relieve oppressed nature, it is not astonishing that they should fail. These men are in some measure astrologers: most probably, being gifted with a greater degree of cunning than their neighbours, they have discovered the weak side of their countrymen, together with their own insufficiency, to cover which they pretend to a knowledge of the stars, which has the greatest weight with the superstitious Moors; consequently, when a patient, either by their improper treatment, or the violence of his disease, evinces symptoms of approaching dissolution, the doctor, with infinite gravity, points out to the surrounding relations the star which, he positively asserts, appears to summon the dying man to the bosom of his Prophet. By this means he avoids reproach, since he has made it so evident, that the poor man’s time was come, and that nothing could ward off the shafts of destiny. This apparently wonderful faculty of prognostication, added to their exemplary mode of living, and liberal donations to the poor and afflicted, operating upon the minds of the blind and fanatic Moors, induces _them_ to consider their physicians next to their saints, and to worship _them_ with nearly as much reverence.
The Tweebs have each from two to six disciples, whom they instruct and initiate in their secrets of the healing art. In their regular visits to any town, they parade the streets with great pomp and gravity, followed by a train of miserable objects, who pretend to have been recently recovered from a long and dangerous illness by the extraordinary skill of the doctor; while, in fact, their cadaverous countenances and emaciated bodies seem to contradict their assertions, and bear ample testimony that they are hurrying fast to that country, “from whose bourne no traveller returns.” Under the pretence of charity, these poor wretches are supported by this Moorish Ã+sculapius, while his views in so doing are entirely selfish; that by their means he may better impose on the credulous, and obtain considerable sums of money. When any one of them (by chance) effects what he considers a great cure, it is communicated in a circular letter to all the doctors in Barbary.
They select one of their elders every year, and appoint him to preside over them. His business, for the time being, is to settle all their controversies: he is the fountain of all justice among them; for as they are looked upon to be petty saints, they are a privileged set of men, and not in the least subject to either civil or military jurisdiction. They possess the art of taming the monstrous serpents of the country, and rendering them perfectly harmless: in short, their profession is nothing but a system of the grossest empiricism.
Formerly the country could boast of having scientific astronomers; for, like the ancient Egyptians, the inhabitants of Barbary cultivated the science of astronomy with great success; but as it was communicated from generation to generation by tradition only, it is not surprising that the increasing indolence of the Moors should have made them relinquish the more abstruse parts, and that now it is dwindled into mere astrology. Their habitual mode of living, frequently exposed at night, during all weathers, in the open air, enables them without difficulty to observe the fixed stars, and their influence on the weather, and they have thence ascribed to every one some peculiar property, by which the events of human life, good or bad, are regulated.
In poetry I am told the Moors are very successful. The subjects of their poems are mostly eulogies of the great men who have belonged to the tribe of which the poet is a member: these compositions are all extempore, like those of our ancient bards, or those of the Celts, spoken of by Julius Cæsar, who wandered about in Gaul and other parts of the continent with their harps. The poets of Barbary have no settled home, but with an instrument somewhat resembling a mandolin they wander from place to place, and house to house, composing and singing pieces improviso, on the honour and antiquity of their tribe. From persons acquainted with the language, I have heard, that they are very happy in this species of poetry, which is far from deficient in point of harmony. For myself I can say, that though unable to enter into the spirit of it from the circumstance of not perfectly understanding the language, yet I was much pleased with the effect.
I shall conclude this letter with a short description of an entertainment which I gave to several of the inhabitants of this place a few days since. Having invited as many as I could conveniently accommodate, I regaled them with all the most exquisite things the market afforded. I passed the bottle pretty briskly, telling them the liquor was a favourite decoction of mine, which they might drink without any scruple. They did not seem to wish to doubt this assertion; and having raised their spirits to a flow of mirth and jollity, I told them, that, as they had done me the honour of coming to dine with me, I would endeavour to amuse them with a small specimen of what the doctors in England commonly make use of in certain chronical complaints. I then placed my electric machine in the centre of the court, and having loaded it with a sufficient quantity of electric fluid, produced such a powerful shock to about a dozen of the stoutest, that, either from surprise or terror, they fell apparently senseless on the floor. The consternation and confusion which ensued were beyond description; the rest were all retiring precipitately with the most dreadful yells and cries imaginable, expecting to share the fate of their companions. With much difficulty I prevailed on them to remain, and, raising the men from the ground, I convinced them they had received no injury; upon which they unanimously attributed it to my great skill in magic, and loaded me with a thousand compliments, I repeated the experiment three or four times, to their inexpressible wonder, and I was at length almost hailed as a supernatural being. The report of this extraordinary phenomenon soon spread abroad, and a vast concourse of people assembled; but my guard would not allow any one to enter without my permission. In the evening I sent for a band of music, and my company continued dancing and rioting till morning. They brought in several Jewish women, and carried the farce to such a length, that I was completely rejoiced to get rid of them, determining, in my own mind, never again to venture such another entertainment.
LETTER XXI.
_Prevalent Diseases–Abuse of Stimulants–Medicinal Well–Sorcery–Hydrophobia._
Mequinez.
Although the plague is not so common in these states as in Turkey and Egypt, yet it is often brought hither by means of the caravans, and several articles of luxury imported annually by the merchants from Mecca and Medina; and, for want of proper precaution, it is suffered to spread, to desolate, and to stop of its own accord; for the Moors continue obstinately blinded by the same superstitious and absurd notions that are entertained by the Mahometans of the Turkish empire, of its being a punishment occasionally inflicted upon the true believers by their angry Prophet, and that it is incurable; and here I receive on this subject the same tales and romantic accounts that I did during my residence in Egypt in the year 1801.
The most prevailing diseases in this country that have come under my observation, are, cutaneous disorders of all kinds, intermittent fevers, those of a putrid, malignant, pestilential kind, and the puerperal fever, which proceeds from the barbarous treatment of lying-in women in this country, as they are kept in small confined rooms, deprived of the benefit of pure air.
One day I went to see a very fine young woman, the lady of one of the Xeriffes. The heat of the room was intolerable. After much persuasion, I succeeded in having her removed to a cooler one, and she recovered, contrary to the predictions of the female attendant, who reported the daily changes to a celebrated doctor here. It is wonderful what numbers of young women fall victims to this fever in the course of a year.
Besides the above-mentioned complaints, I have observed insanity, epilepsy, spasmodic affections of the face, ruptures of all kinds (which last are produced by their loose kind of trowsers); nervous consumptions, extreme debility, and dropsy, brought on by their indolent manner of living, and the great abuses of violent doses of drastic medicines.
The principal and opulent inhabitants of this country, in order to excite certain desires, are frequently in the habit of receiving, from their own doctors, several strong and powerful stimulants, to the infallible detriment and ultimate, destruction of their constitutions. I have been at great pains to deter them from these abominable habits, by representing to them their ill effects and fatal consequences; but as they all appear to have a great propensity for a short life and a merry one, I fear my advice has been thrown away, for I have daily the most pressing and importunate solicitations from all classes of people, both young and old, to give them the medicines I have alluded to:–but 1 must here be clearly understood, that debauchery which exists in all the principal towns of this country in a superlative degree, does not extend to the inland and mountainous parts, where the morals are pure, and the people remarkably healthy, strong, and robust, living to a very advanced age, and scarcely ever afflicted with any disease excepting cutaneous disorders, to which they are very subject. The great abuse of blood-letting on all trifling occasions, practised by the rich inhabitants, produces very bad effects.
There is a well in the neighbourhood of this town, which possesses a great many medicinal virtues; and though I have not been able to ascertain its mineral qualities, I have found, by using the water, that it is extremely friendly to the stomach, that it excites appetite and digestion, and lively spirits; that it is efficacious in the cure of gravel and nephritic complaints; and in cases of foulness of the blood, I have found it superior to any mineral waters I have met with in Europe. It has completely cured my Jew servant of a most inveterate scurvy, under which he had laboured for a very considerable time.
Notwithstanding the Moors possess this inestimable treasure near one of their most opulent and populous cities, yet, owing to fabulous tales, handed down by tradition from one generation to another, these superstitious people will never drink or disturb the water; to do so is reckoned sacrilege, and the offender is severely punished: for they positively affirm, that one of their great saints has been transmuted into it, and that at some distant period he will resume his natural form, to perform a great many miracles, and to render the Moors rich and happy, more so indeed than Mahomet has promised them in the other world.
While I have been here, I have had daily intercourse with the most eminent of their Tweebs. They pay me regular morning visits, questioning me on several points. One day I was asked by what means health was preserved, and what produced disease in the human body; I answered, that, “among several other remote causes, the air, by its different constitutions, had a great effect upon the human frame: that diseases revolve periodically, and keep time and measure exactly with the seasons of the year; and that either health or disease depended in some measure on the universal influence of the air, by its gravity, heat, cold, moisture, dryness, or exhalations.” They have no idea of natural philosophy, nor of the knowledge and physiology of the air, or how to change and destroy its bad qualities in close and confined places. After much persuasion, I prevailed on some of them to make use of the fuming mixture of brimstone and aromatic ingredients, in all cases of pestilential fevers. Though this is not so efficacious as the nitrous acid, yet it will considerably abate the progress of contagion, and they are acquainted with the materials of the former, whereas they have not the smallest idea of the latter.
They are perfectly ignorant of the animal and comparative anatomy, and of physiology and pathology. They have no notion either of the nervous fluid, or of the solids, their restriction and relaxation. They have no other idea of the fluids than the blood, to a superabundance of which they attribute all the diseases incident to the human body. In the spring they recommend bleeding, to ensure a good state of health for the remainder of the year. These Tweebs are wonderfully reserved in all their actions.
The Moors have great faith in sorcery and witchcraft. I was called upon to visit a young man about eighteen, who was universally believed to be possessed by an evil spirit. His case was a confirmed hydrophobia. I informed the people that the disease was occasioned by the bite of a mad dog, and that the man would die in the course of the ensuing night. I inquired the next morning, when I found that I had judged correctly. I have also visited several young women who were reported to have been bewitched. Some I found labouring under the last stage of a nervous consumption; others under a dangerous and incurable lunacy. In short, nothing can exceed the ignorance and superstition of these deluded people.
I am afraid, my dear D—-, I have trespassed on your patience, both in this letter and the last, as nothing but physic and its practitioners have been introduced and discussed. I have certainly been too selfish; for, while I have been pursuing a subject the most interesting to me from the nature of my profession, a thought never once obtruded itself, that my friend perhaps would take no interest in the relation. However, by way of compensation, I give you leave to wish the Moorish physicians and their physic at the bottom of the Red Sea, and me with them, if you choose; but I have now done with them, and my next will, most probably, not be from Mequinez, as I think I have a good opportunity of returning to Gibraltar.
LETTER XXII.
_Depart for Gibraltar–Oppressive Heat–Robbers–Arrive at Larache–Affray of some English Sailors–Letter from the Governor to Lord Collingwood._
Larache, August I, 1806.
I was perfectly right in my conjectures, that you would hear no more from me at Mequinez. Having succeeded in curing the patients under my care, and no disease of any consequence prevailing in the country, I thought it a favourable opportunity to request permission of the Emperor to return to Gibraltar; and having obtained it, I set off for this place.
On my way hither, I experienced the most dreadful inconvenience from the heat of the weather; it was oppressive in the extreme, and I was constantly annoyed with the sight of dead horses, mules, asses, cows, &c. that had perished on the road, from excessive heat and want of water. The rivers which I had observed on my way to Mequinez, and the waters of which I had so much relished, I now found completely dried up. We also suffered considerably from the want of fresh water, for that we had brought with us in bags became so hot, that nothing but the most dire necessity could have compelled us to make use of it; fortunately we now and then met with fields full of fine water-melons, of a most exquisite flavour: we sought them with the greatest avidity, and obtained relief from the excessive thirst with which we were oppressed. We were obliged to make very short stages, and to halt every hour under the shade of some tall trees, to recover ourselves.
I have had two or three most unpleasant encounters (on my way from Mequinez) with robbers. In the first I ran the risk of my life. It was the sixth day after we left Mequinez, as I was loitering considerably in the rear of my party, I was accosted by a common Moor on horseback, who, after surveying me from head to foot, asked for a pinch of snuff, which I gave him; then spying the gold chain of my watch, he attempted to seize it; but I prevented him by spurring my horse and galloping off to join my guard: the fellow fired his piece, which fortunately missed, and gave me an opportunity of returning the compliment, and of wounding him; when perceiving my guard coming at full speed to my assistance, wounded as he was, he made off across the fields, and was soon out of sight. This event (which, had I been in other circumstances, would have had no weight with me) I frankly confess so much agitated my spirits, already exhausted by the intense heat and intolerable thirst under which I suffered, that I found myself unable to proceed much further. At a little distance was a forest, and to the shade of that we determined to repair for the rest of the day, provided we could find a convenient spot to pitch our tents upon. We reached it about nine o’clock in the morning: I was assisted to dismount, and stretching myself on the burnt grass, under a clump of olive-trees, I desired my men to look about for a place to erect our tents. After a few minutes absence, they returned with the joyful intelligence, that they had met with a fine spring of water, and near it a sufficient space for our tents. This might indeed be called resuscitation to our drooping spirits. I arose with more alertness than I thought possible, and followed my men to this delightful spot. My wine was expended, and we were therefore glad of a glass of spirits and water, which completely recovered us; and we were enabled to enjoy a good dinner, which my Jew servant prepared.
We encamped, on this spot, for the night also; and from the occurrence of the morning, I thought it highly expedient to take every measure to prevent a repetition. I therefore ordered two or three fires to be kindled round our tents, and placed several sentinels about, to watch if any one approached. Having made these arrangements, and given strict orders to the serjeant to be on the alert, I repaired to rest; but there certainly was some spell, to prevent my enjoying what I stood so much in need of, a _sound_ sleep. I had retired, but a very short time, to my tent, when I was suddenly roused by an alarm of The robbers! the robbers! The ruffians had contrived to slip in so privately, that, unperceived, they carried off one of my trunks, and were in the act of mounting two of my mules, when they were detected. They instantly made off with the trunk and mules. The confusion among my people was much greater than was necessary, and some time was lost in useless upbraidings.
I went out with the intention of calling the serjeant to a severe account, when I was informed that he had just gone in pursuit with six others. Those that remained kept vigilant watch with me the rest of the night. At break of day our party returned. They soon came up with the robbers, who, finding themselves so closely pursued, and likely to be overtaken, relinquished their booty to facilitate their escape. I had the satisfaction therefore to recover my trunk and mules. The serjeant employed the whole of his rhetorical abilities to give weight to the affair. I soon perceived that his account was much exaggerated, and immediately comprehended that his drift was to obtain a reward from me. I did not disappoint him, but ordered an extra allowance of rum to him and the rest of the party. As you may suppose, I was very anxious to quit a place where I had been made so uneasy, I ordered the tents to be struck; and, after riding five hours, we halted near a village, upon a pleasant hill about thirty miles from Larache, where we were abundantly supplied with provisions by the Cadi. From this place we had a most delightful prospect of the Atlantic Ocean to our left, and, to the right and front, an extensive forest and an immense plain of corn-fields and meadows. We set forward again at daybreak; and by pursuing our journey in the afternoon, for it was utterly impossible to travel in the middle of the day, we reached this city (Larache) late in the evening.
After breakfast next morning, as I was going up to the Castle to pay my devoirs to the worthy Governor, my attention was arrested by a great riot in the street. Perceiving four of our sailors likely to become the victims of an enraged multitude, I hastened to their relief. I found that the disturbance was occasioned by their imprudence in attempting to inspect the face of a Moorish woman. They belonged to a Gibraltar privateer, which had just arrived at this port to take in refreshment. Having drank too much _aguardiente_ they imagined themselves in the streets of Gibraltar. I found no great difficulty in prevailing on the mob not to injure them, and in ensuring them a safe conduct back to their vessel. I recommended the commander of the privateer to put to sea without loss of time. The Governor not only forgave the offence, but sent plenty of fresh provisions on board for the ship’s company just as the vessel was getting under way.
Commanders of armed vessels putting into a port of these states should not, on any account, suffer their men to go on shore, as they are very apt to ridicule the Moors, who are a set of people not to be trifled with. To prevent, therefore, any unpleasant occurrences, that may tend to lessen the high opinion which the Moors in general entertain of the English, and in order to defeat the views of the French party, which are incessantly directed towards forming dangerous cabals against the interest of the British nation, some effectual means ought to be applied. The Moors are very fickle, and their predilection may be converted into hatred, which is exactly the point the French aim at, to the great detriment of our fleet stationed in those seas, but particularly to the garrison of Gibraltar, and would ultimately involve us in an unprofitable war.
His Excellency has written to Lord Collingwood, to request a vessel to convey me to Gibraltar; he has very handsomely given me a copy of the letter he sent, which I inclose for your perusal.
“Larache, July 27th, 1806.
“MY LORD,
“His Imperial Majesty has been pleased to bestow on Dr. Buffa many presents, consisting of horses, mules, &c. &c. and entertains a great regard for him on account of the good he has done in Barbary; my Royal Master has also been graciously pleased to give him a letter to the King of England, intreating that the Doctor be permitted to attend the Emperor occasionally, and to reside for the future, for that service, at Tangiers or Gibraltar.
“In compliance with His Imperial Majesty’s wishes, I have now most earnestly to request that your Lordship will be pleased to order Dr. Buffa a sure conveyance to the garrison of Gibraltar, and one of His Majesty’s transports to receive the presents given to him, as a reward for his merit, and for his good and steady conduct during his stay with us. The Doctor carries with him the good wishes of all the Moors attached to my Royal Master; and I have the honour to assure your Lordship, that he has daily exerted himself with me, and lately with His Imperial Majesty, for the service of his King, and for that of his fellow-subjects at Gibraltar. On this account alone I hope your Lordship will, as soon as possible, afford him an opportunity to join his family, at Gibraltar, in safety.
“I have the honour to be,
“My Lord,
“Your Lordship’s
“Friend and servant,
(Signed)
“MOHAMMED ABDALLAH ESLAWEE,
Governor of Larache, &c. &c. &c.
_To the Right Hon. Lord Collingwood,
Admiral and Commander in Chief, &c. &c. &c._
LETTER XXIII.
Embark for Gibraltar–Precautionary Hints.
Gibraltar.
In compliance with the request of the Governor of Larache, His Majesty’s hired armed ship the Lord Eldon was ordered by Lord Collingwood to convey me to this place. She arrived at Larache about a week after I wrote last. The bar unfortunately proved so bad, that she was obliged to drop her anchor on the outside; and the Captain, conceiving it an unsafe anchorage, pressed me to repair on board without delay, which I did, after taking a long farewell of my noble friend the Governor, who, with tears in his eyes, embraced me, and otherwise evinced his infinite regret and true friendship.
We embarked all my horses, mules, &c. &c. without any accident, and immediately after set sail for Tangiers. I cannot find words to describe the interesting, curious, and romantic appearance of the Barbary coast, from Larache to Tangiers, when viewed from the sea. I took my station on the quarter-deck, and, as we sailed close in shore, my curiosity was fully gratified. There are several small bays and creeks along this coast, which unfortunately afford shelter to the enemy’s privateers, where, in perfect security, they remain concealed, watching an opportunity to come out and seize any of our straggling vessels that have either separated from, or are waiting for convoy to enter the Straits.
It is a great pity that the number of our gun-boats at this port (Gibraltar) is so limited, as a larger number of them, and a few other small vessels kept in readiness here, and well appointed, would protect our commerce, and prevent our suffering so much from the Spanish boats, and several small French cruizers, which infest this part of the world, and almost daily capture some of our merchantmen, which they carry into Algesiras in sight of this garrison.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
Copy of a Letter from JOHN TURNBULL, Esquire, Chairman to the Board of Trade, to E. COOKE, Esquire, Under Secretary of State, &c. &c. &c.
SIR,
In my capacity of General Chairman of the Merchants trading to the Mediterranean, and in consequence of the commercial relations which I have long maintained with Gibraltar, I think it my duty to submit, with great deference, to the consideration of Lord Castlereagh certain observations respecting the late dreadful calamity, which afflicted that garrison. The great mortality which then prevailed, and which carried off almost the whole of the civil inhabitants, was in a great degree to be imputed to the want of medical assistance for the poorer classes of the people, who are chiefly foreigners. The physicians and surgeons attached to the army, had every moment of their time fully occupied by the care of the troops immediately under their charge. If even they could have spared a little attention to the miserable objects just mentioned, it could probably have produced but a very inadequate effect. As the medical gentlemen could not be supposed to be acquainted with the various foreign dialects that these people could only make use of, they were therefore obliged to be abandoned to their fate; and by their numerous deaths, and the intercourse they had with one another, necessarily occasioned a deplorable increase of contagion. It is therefore respectfully suggested, that, as the return of such a disorder ought at any rate to be guarded against, it would be highly desirable, that a medical gentleman, conversant with the languages of the southern parts of Europe, should be appointed as physician to the civil inhabitants of Gibraltar, and for their express and immediate care. There is now in London, a gentleman (Doctor Buffa), Physician to His Majesty’s Forces, who appears to be peculiarly well qualified for such an appointment. He is possessed of superior medical abilities, and particularly in the disorders of the plague and yellow-fever, in the treatment of which he has had much experience and success; and having been born in Piedmont, he is well acquainted with the southern languages of Europe. If Lord Castlereagh should be pleased to approve of Doctor Buffa being placed at Gibraltar, in the situation which I have taken the liberty to suggest, it would occasion no extraordinary expense to Government, Doctor Buffa being now one of the Physicians to the Army, and might eventually be productive of the most beneficial effects.
I have the honour to be, most respectfully, SIR,
Your most obedient and
Most humble servant,
(Signed) JOHN TURNBULL.
Guilford Street, 5th August 1805.
E. Cooke, Esq.
&c. &c. &c.
No. II.
Letter from the Secretary of the Transport Board to Dr. BUFFA.
Transport Office, 16th October 1805.
SIR,
I am directed by the Board to acquaint you, that a passage to Gibraltar has been provided for yourself, Mrs. Buffa, your family and brother-in-law, on board the Active transport; and that you may embark on board that ship at Deptford immediately.
I am further directed to add, that it will be necessary for you to find your own provisions.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
A. WHITEHEAD, Secretary.
_To Dr. Buffa,
&c. &c. &c._
No. III.
Extract of a Letter from JOHN TURNBULL, Esq. Chairman of the Committee of Merchants trading to the Levant, &c. to Dr. BUFFA.
MY DEAR SIR,
On your arrival at Gibraltar, I was favoured with two letters from you; but have not since had the pleasure of hearing from you. Nor have I written to you, as, notwithstanding the unremitting endeavours, and the constant attention, on every occasion, of His Royal Highness and myself, it has not been in our power to do any thing effectual to serve you. The Medical Board _continue to give all the opposition that they possibly can_, and made a very unfavourable report, in consequence of a strong representation that I made in your favour to Mr. Windham.
London, 7th July 1806.
No. IV.
Extract of a Letter from JOHN ROSS, Esq. Acting Consul General at Tangiers, to Dr. BUFFA.
Friday, 7th May 1806.
DEAR SIR,
I heard only to-day of your arrival at