A Winter in Morocco

Front matter

Frontispiece Tangier, from the Sands. A WINTER IN MOROCCO. r,y AMELIA FEBEIEE. AUTHOR OF "HEA CULPA," "A GOOD MATCH." London : Henry S. King & Co., 65, COENHILL, AND 12, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1873. [AU rtylrfs reserved."] CONTENTS. P_GB Introductory v Chapter I. P. and 0. S. S 1 Chapter II. Gibraltar 8 Chapter III. The Hotel 20 Chapter IV. The Rock 34 Chapter V. The "Wolf" 49 Chapter VI. Tangier . 68 Chapter VII. Indoors in Tangier 91 Chapter VIII . The Marina 99 Chapter IX The United National Hotel 105 Chapter X. Religion, Education, Food, etc 139 Chapter XI. The Drama in Tangier CONTENTS. IV Chapter XII. PAGE The Ramadan 162 Chapter XIII. Weddings in Tangier 171 Chapter XIV. The Feast of Rams 195 Chapter XV. Superstitions in Morocco and Elsewhere .... 219 Chapter XVI. Missions in Morocco • 230 Chapter XVII.

Riding in Morocco 244 Chapter XVIII. A Ladies' Picnic to Cape Spartel 255 Chapter XIX. Saints in Morocco 280 Chapter XX. Wives in Morocco 292 Chapter XXI. Judas Iscariot, the Feast of Purim, and the Passover . . 307 Chapter XXII. Slavery in Morocco } 330 t Chapter XXIII. Conclusion A WINTEE IN MOEOCCO. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. When first my attention was attracted to Tangier, by circumstances which, afterwards rendered it necessary for me to undertake the journey to, and reside for some length of time in, that town, my knowledge of its geographical and historical position was limited to the facts, that it was somewhere in the north of Africa, and that it had once belonged to England, having been received as a portion of the marriage dowry of Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. Such deplorable ignorance as this, is not, I am aware, universal, neither, I should hope, is it very, very common.

That it is not very uncommon, however, I became pain fully aware when I was about to commence my journey, by the queries and comments of many of my valued friends and acquaintances on the subject. " Tangier is in Algeria, isn't it?" " Tangier ! Oh, that's where the Tangerine oranges come from." " How do you get there ? Go to Tunis first, I suppose?" INTRODUCTORY

Chapter I

P. 8s 0. 8. S. I commenced my journey on a cold foggy winter morning. Every one knows what it is to get up and breakfast, in winter and in London, three hours before the rest of the family have begun to awake. A sleepy servant, that you feel yourself a wretch to have called out of her warm bed ; a gasping fire that is trying to go out ; one gas jet illuminating the darkness of a big dining room ; weak tea, a drop of milk saved from the night before, blotchy toast, spotty bacon, etc., etc. The first excitement of my journey was produced by the non-appearance of the cab which I had fondly supposed to have been ordered the night before by the boy-of-all-work of the establishment. I sent the sleepy servant out to look for one, but she returned unsuccessful. I then issued forth on the quest myself, and after wandering some time in the fog, round streets and squares that all looked alike in the grey pall in which they were enveloped, I found one.

It was drawn by the lamest night-cab horse I have ever seen, but I was fain to take it. It required some per suasions, however, to induce the driver to take me ; but moved either by compassion, or the baser feeling of the hope of gain, he at length consented; I got in, and we drove to the house. Day was then just beginning to glimmer, and by its light my boxes were dragged out and flung on the top of the cab with all speed, my smaller baggage tossed inside, and I set off". The lame horse had more " go " in him than I thought, and my watch was a little fast, and in consequence I did not miss the train, as I had feared I should have done. There was a considerable disparity between the number of passengers going by the train, and the number of seats to accommodate them in it, and the competition was in consequence sharp.

An elderly gentleman wanted to appropriate mine, and with it my black leather bag which I had had put in the netting above, and my roll of rugs and umbrella, which I had placed on the . seat to mark it as mine while getting my ticket. He pro tested that all were his. I was obliged to summon the guard, who succeeded in convincing him that his black bag, rugs, and umbrella, were occupying exactly similar positions three carriages off. His apologies were profuse ; he even insisted on taking me to his carriage, and showing me how precisely similar in ap pearance his property was to mine, which I readily admitted to be the case; though I was quite willing to have taken it for granted without personal inspec tion, knowing the Stiwfctg family likeness between all black leather bags, and most rugs and umbrellas.

The weather was clear and bright and warm for the season, at Southampton, though there was a stiff P. & o. s. s. 3 breeze blowing. This latter was the remains of a fear ful gale of the night before, and prognosticated a tolerably ruffled condition of the ocean, and all the unpleasing sensations accompanying it, to bad sailors. There were a great number of people on board the Niger ; and having nothing else to do, I occupied my self for some time with speculations as to which of these were to be my fellow-passengers, and which were only come to see friends off. There were evidently a great number of the latter. At twenty minutes to two o'clock the mail train from London arrived. A few passengers for the Niger had come by it also, and the frantic exertions of some of these, who had a large quantity of baggage, to get it and themselves on board in time, afforded a pleasurable feeling of self-gratulation to those among us who had taken time by the forelock, and in obedience to the published injunctions of the P. & O. S. S. C. had come down by the earlier trains.

The railway vans containing the mail bags were run alongside the steamer, and it supplied another little amusement to watch these being brought on board and tumbled down into the hold, a service which was performed with marvellous celerity and regularity of arrangement. We were taking the Australian and New Zealand mails, which, of course, gave an enormous addition in quantity. Before this was quite concluded, whistles began to sound, signals to shore-folks to quit the ship. I then found that more than half the people who had crowded the deck belonged to this category. It took a good deal of whistling to get the farewells over and all ashore; but at last it was done, and then the anchor was weighed, and we were off. Of the earlier part of the voyage I have nothing to relate. On that first day we were in comparatively smooth water until dinner was served.

I descended with the rest, and made a noble effort to partake of the meal. A slight motion commenced towards the end of the soup. It increased with the entrees; but on the appearance of the legs of mutton and sirloins of beef, the Niger gave a roll that sent all the weaker vessels on board flying to their cabins, from which we only emerged one by one, at prolonged intervals, during the five following days that the voyage lasted. It would be needless cruelty to describe my sufferings during this period. It could serve no purpose but to remind some of my fellow-creatures of similar seasons of misery they have themselves undergone, and which they would doubtless prefer to let sink into oblivion. By the fifth day I was sufficiently recovered to go on deck and mingle with the well people. There are always on board steamers a number of dreadfully stout strong people who never get sick ; and who eat, drink, laugh, and talk, as if no such misery as that by which they are surrounded were in existence.

We had several of these on board, particularly a number of horribly P. & o. s. s. 5 hearty Australians, who had made the voyage several times, and frequently by long sea. They tried to look and speak commiseratingly to the wretched shadows of their fellow-passengers as they appeared among them ; but it was evident that the feeling was not genuine. I am afraid that very few people who are not seasick, ever do feel the amount of compassion they ought, for those who are. Sea-sickness, like toothache, must be known to be appreciated. Those who have experienced them will acknowledge that they are two of the most distressing forms of suffering with which humanity can be afflicted. On the sixth day, almost every one was up and about. On this day we began to indulge in playing " Bull," and other games on the deck.

I can't say they were any of them of a very enlivening nature. Still they made us move about a little, and kept us warm : a good thing, as the weather was bitterly cold. One good point about them was that they did not require any great exertion of the intellect, or any particular dex terity, to take part in them; had they done so I fear they would not have suited all that joined in them. To people of a Gradgrind turn of mind it may indeed appear rather shocking that four rational human beings should spend two of the precious hours of their fleet ing existence, in an endeavour to throw rope rings into buckets, placed at a certain distance, the only object in view to each being to get fifty rings in before any of the others. This amusement — in which I must con fess I made one of the four — did however serve one good purpose : it gave a transitory gleam of pleasure to the existence of the miserable and incarcerated fowls outside whose prison bars we played.

These birds appeared to take the most extraordinary interest in the game. At every throw they stretched their necks through the bars, and clucked and crowed in high excitement. One old white hen in particular, who was in a top coop, let her feelings of interest so carry her away that she nearly strangled herself in her efforts to see well, and I thought she would have choked in her exultation whenever a ring fell into the bucket nearest to her. It was agreeable to me to reflect that I was to leave the steamer next morning, if for no other reason, that I should thus escape any chance of eating a bit of that lively but dilapidated old fowl. Her exceeding vivacity, combined with her extreme age, strongly reminded me of Mrs. Skewton. About eight o'clock that evening we anchored in the bay of Gibraltar.

The rain fell in torrents, but? almost every one went on deck to gaze at the famous rock towering up above us to the sky ; nothing being visible through the shadows of the night, save its great dark outline, and the twinkling lights of the town clustering around its base. Every one now — who had never been there before, — began to call Gibraltar " Gib," particularly the knowing old men of seventeen P. fir" O. S. S. 7 or thereabouts, who drank .brandy and soda-water, and ate devilled bones for breakfast. In the morning we were up early to stare at the rock again, but were con siderably disappointed to find it enveloped in a dreary cloud of mist, which hung about it, almost completely hiding it from view. The clouds too quite over hung the Spanish mountains opposite; and the little town of AJgegiras at the other side of the bay, directly facing Gibraltar, was only visible now and then, when the sun, which was vainly struggling to assert his rightful ascendency in the skies of this part of the world, occasionally broke through the dense fog that interposed itself between him and the earth.

Chapter II Gibraltar

We landed immediately after breakfast. As the steamer had to coal, she went right alongside the New Mole, so we could walk on shore, and were saved the trouble of boats. A band of what appeared to my unsophisti cated mind to be brigands disguised as porters, rushed on board and seized on the luggage. I selected the least ruffianly-looking of these freebooters to carry my possessions from the steamer. He, however, on this in stantly retained under him quite the two most villanous looking of the band ; when, each having seized one of my boxes (I had three), and divided the small articles among them, they rushed on shore and away out of sight. I followed as fast as I could go, feeling terrible doubts as to whether my property was not being carried off to some hidden fastnesses, there to be come the booty of the brigand porters.

But my fears proved unfounded, for having pursued the ruffians to their lair, I found it was only a carstand; where, however, my boxes had already been taken possession of by another ruffian, a car-driver, who was piling them up hastily in his vehicle. I instantly followed my pro perty into the car, — which was like a tea-caddy with the top off, — and sat down among it, having some sus- GIBRALTAR. 9 picion of a confederacy between the porters and the driver; the part of the latter being possibly to drive off with the booty to the den, in which case I was resolved to go too and defend it with my life. However I was wrong again ; for, the luggage being in, the driver showed no disposition at all to drive away, and I perceived that the confederacy, if it did exist, was for another object. I had paid the least objectionable-looking of the crew, he whom I had first selected, the sum which I had been in formed was sufficient for the service.

Now I found that the second and third ruffians, whom he had retained under him, claimed each severally a like amount on his own behalf; and that the fourth ruffian, the car driver, purposed detaining me there until I had paid it. Knowing no Spanish I was unable to express in words my indignation at these demands, and my determination to resist them; so I was obliged to have recourse to pantomime, which, however, proved equally effective. I first pointed with my umbrella at the coins in the open outstretched palm of ruffian number one, and then pointed at ruffians number two and three, to signify that they were to be paid out of the sum I had bestowed on their leader. They, with many gesticulations, and much that I have no doubt was forcible but was to me incomprehensible language, expressed their abhorrence of this arrangement, and their resolve not to agree to it.

At that I laughed to show my astonishment at their audacity, frowned to express my resentment at it, shook my head determinately to show its inutility; shut my purse, put my purse into my bag, shut my bag, opened my umbrella, held my umbrella down over my head, and said to ruffian number four — the driver — in simple English, that I doubted not from previous experiences of the same kind he well understood, — "Drive on." This course of conduct proved satisfactory to me. The first three ruffians began to clamour more loudly, and gesticulate more violently, and the fourth hesitated, but I said, "Yes; drive on," again from under the umbrella, and more decisively, and then the villain felt compelled to obey, and he drove off under a torrent of bad language shouted after us by his baffled and frenzied confreres.

At least I am sure that the language these persons made use of was bad ; for though I had never travelled before in foreign lands, my knowledge from home experiences of that portion of humanity which carries luggage for the rest of humanity, led me inevitably to the conclusion that, under the above circumstances, bad language is the certain conclusion to such negociations. We had a drive of nearly a quarter of an hour to the town. The horse was a most wretched animal, but the, driver used his whip to such effect, that the brute darted off at a pace that sent all my luggage tumbling about in the vehicle, and rendered it a matter of no small GIBRALTAR. 11 difficulty for me to keep my place in it myself. One box was outside under the driver's feet, but the other I was fain to secure by jamming my back against it.

The smaller baggage I had to hold, that on the seat with my hands, and those in the bottom of the vehicle with my feet. Thus attitudinized, however, and as the horse continued to progress in a series of rushes and jumps, as the driver lashed him with his whip, and insulted him with abusive epithets, my position was anything but a dignified or comfortable one, so that I was very glad when we arrived at the hotel at which I intended to stay if detained in Gibraltar. This experience convinced me that a tea-caddy with the top off is anything but a safe or comfortable vehicle to travel in. I soon ascertained to my regret that I must stay in Gibraltar for a day or two, possibly for much longer. No steamers had crossed between Gibraltar and Tangier for four days, owing to the bad weather. A steamer was to go over next day if the weather were better, but it was expected to become worse.

These circumstances, though annoying to me, appeared to afford considerable comfort to a small, fat, yellow, black-eyed, hooky-nosed man, evidently attached to the hotel in some official capacity, whom I supposed to be the landlord, and who had received me when I came with a manner that combined the deference of a slave to a potentate, and the delight of a father over a long-lost child. This individual instantly assumed the entire responsibility of taking charge of me, adding to the strange combina tion of behaviour which he had already exhibited to wards me, a dash of the keeper looking after a dangerous lunatic. He escorted me to my bedroom. So did the oldest individual, acting in the capacity of chambermaid, I had ever seen; a waiter came also, and several other people. They all talked a great deal, very loudly and very fast, in broken English and mangled Spanish, to me and to each other.

I was somewhat puzzled to know what it was all about, but after a time I concluded it was about nothing. Having arrived at this determination, I thought it better to dismiss the assembly. As the main object and desire of all was evidently to do something for me, to effect my purpose and gain a few moments' solitude I sent the waiter to see after lunch, and the chambermaid to fetch some hot water, and I satisfied my self-constituted guardian by giving him some letters, written on board the Niger, to post. Seeing I was without, a waiting-maid I think that he contemplated remaining in my room to perform the duties attached to that office. The mob, which was chiefly composed of men who had brought up my luggage, and who wanted to be paid, I unceremoniously dismissed, having settled previously the claims of those who had any to make.

Marie returned with the hot water, and I found it somewhat difficult to get rid of her again. She wanted so much to do something, anything, else for me. I felt half inclined to gratify GIBRALTAR. 13 her, and request that, "an she loved me," she would take a Turkish bath within half an hour, and abstain from eating garlic while I tarried beneath that roof. But, notwithstanding her protestations of regard, I scarcely thought her devotion would bear such a strain upon it as this, so I only begged once more for solitude, promising to again avail myself of her services at some future period. I descended presently to the salle a manger, in search of the lunch I had ordered, and which I found ready for me on a little table at the further end of the apartment, the whole of the rest of the room being occupied by a long table, which the waiter was engaged in laying, apparently for a considerable number of people.

He relinquished this employment to wait upon me, when a few questions which I put to him, revealed the, to me, somewhat startling facts, that the small table at which I was sitting, and which was spread for two, was at present the table d'hote, and that the diners that day at the table d'hote would be only one English gentleman and myself, probably only myself, as the English gentleman often dined out ; that the large table was for the use of a jury who were then engaged in trying a case of incendiarism in the town, and who during the time the case lasted were, when absent from the court-house, kept secluded in this hotel, in charge of two policemen, taking their meals and sleeping here. They occupied every bedroom in the house, except those appropriated to the English gentleman and myself; the drawing-room, the only sitting-room, was also retained for their sole use.

Their dinner and the table d'hote dinner were to go on at the same time. The waiter assured me that I should find the jury very nice people, very nice people indeed. I didn't at all doubt their niceness, but I had never before dined with a jury and two policemen, and I didn't feel that I cared to begin just then. It would seem so like being " sat upon." Even the novelty of the situation, and the probability that it might be my only chance through life of being " sat upon," failed to lend it sufficient charm to reconcile me to its endurance. Hunger being satisfied, I retired to the window of the salle a, manger, and looked into the street. It was still misting, but the sun continued struggling to show himself. Every now and then a bright though watery beam broke through the clouds overhead, and glanced across the sloppy street.

The main street of Gibraltar presents a panorama of perpetual interest and amusement to a stranger contemplating it for the first time. A perpetual stream of people passed up and down the street, as if engaged in business; but slowly, as if the business was not very urgent, and could wait. Every open doorway, too, had its little crowd of loungers. Of the passers-by, some were unmistakably English, GIBRALTAR. 15 but the majority, even os those in English dress, were unmistakably foreign, and apparently belonging to every different European type. Amongst them were a considerable number of Jews, dressed in Jewish garb, of dark blue gabardine, black cap, and white cotton trousers, the latter flapping about their ankles as they crept along with that stealthy gait peculiar to their nation. Be sides these there were tall Moors from the opposite coast of Africa, who strode along, the hoods of their gelabs * drawn up over their heads to protect them from the rain ; but apparently quite regardless of the wet under foot which soaked through their yellow morocco slippers, that were the only covering to their feet.

Then there were Spanish peasants, the men wearing short jackets, bright coloured sashes, and high sugar-loaf hats ; the women dressed much like English women of the same class, only with bright handkerchiefs on their heads, instead of bonnets or caps. There were also Spanish ladies, some of them in black, and wearing the mantilla that suits them so well ; others in coloured dresses, and in English bonnets and hats, that suit them so very ill. Spanish soldiers, with baggy crimson trousers, blue tunics, and peaked caps. And among all, English * A long garment worn by the Moorish men. It is made straight, like a sack, and is closed all up, but is open at the top and bottom. It has straight narrow sleeves, and a large hood attached to the top, which can be worn either thrown back or drawn over the head. soldiers in various uniforms ; Highlanders in full costume, adding not a little to the general incongruity.

After a little time, to diversify the amusement of looking out of the window, I began talking to the waiter. There was one subject connected with the hotel about which I felt a little curious. The waiter was still engaged in laying the table for the jury. His name was Louis. " Was that the landlord who showed me upstairs, Louis?" " Oh no, madame — mister — sare." Louis' English was limited in quantity, and eccentric in quality. He was evidently quite abroad as to the correct title to be used in addressing me, so he tried all those with which he was most familiar. "Who is he then?" " Sare — madame — he is de guide." " Is there any landlord then ? " " Oh yes, madame — sare. But he is in bed ! He did break her leg." This announcement somewhat horrified me. Had the landlord broken his wife's leg?

But if so, why did he take to his bed ? Was it remorse ? " What do you mean, Louis ? " I felt that I should like to have the matter explained. "Why, madame — sare," said Louis, evidently sur prised at my want of comprehension, "she fell down and broke his leg." GIBRALTAR. 17 This presented a total reversion of the case. Evi dently it was the landlady who had fallen down on the landlord, and broken his leg. But I would make sure. " Oh, the landlady broke her husband's leg ? " "No, sare — madame. It is de landlord. In August he fell down one time and broke her leg; after Christ mas he fell down two time, and broke her leg again." " Broken three times ! Poor creature !" Still I did not feel sure as to whose was the leg. " No, madame — sare," said Louis, bearing my stupidity with patient politeness.

" It was as I told to you. He fell down one time and broke her leg, and then he fell down two " " Stop, stop, Louis please ! " I felt that at this rate I should never know whose leg was broken, and how many times. "I beg your pardon, but just tell me whose leg was broken ? The landlord's, or the landlady's?" "De landlord's." Nothing could disturb the gentle courtesy of Louis' speech ; but he looked as if he thought he had never met any one so hopelessly stupid as the person now addressing him. " And how many times was it broken ? " " Why, as I have said ! He fell down one time, and broke " " Oh stop, Louis ? Please just tell me how often was it broken altogether? One, two, or three times?" c and I held up in succession, one, two, and three fingers. "Two times!" cried Louis, holding up two of his fingers, in reply.

I gave a sigh of relief. So did Louis. We under stood each other at last. But notwithstanding the conversational difficulties in which I had involved myself by this attempt to converse with the waiter, after a little pause to collect my scattered senses, I began again. "I suppose you're a Spaniard, Louis ?" But my second eS'ort was nearly as unfortunate as my first. An expression of mingled surprise, displeasure, and disgust, overspread his countenance. " No, madame — sare," he replied coldly, but politely still. I hastened to correct myself. " Oh, I beg your pardon ; French, of course ! " "No, sare — madame," almost angrily, "I am Ingleesh," and Louis proudly elevated his chin. " Are you really ? I beg your pardon, Louis," I said humbly, though really the error did not appear an unnatural one.

Louis' appearance was as anti- British as his speech. He was small, and had a small, pale, clear complexioned face. He wore a small black moustache, his black hair grew thick and low on his fore head, and he had large dark eyes, and even, white teeth. " Yes, madame — sare," said Louis gently, his feelings GIBRALTAR. 19 evidently mollified by my humility into pity for my ignorance and stupidity. But to clear all doubts from my mind — " Yes, madame — sare," he continued. " It is true. My fader he was Spanish, and my moder she was Maltese ; de fader of my moder he was Italian, but de moder of my fader, she was Ingleesh ; and I am Ingleesh too; I was born under de Ingleesh flag;" and Louis elevated his chin again, proud of having thus clearly proved to me his right to be called my countryman. I was silent.

The shock at discovering the error I had committed in supposing Louis to be a foreigner, had taken away my powers of speech. He passed round the table, placing the decanters which he had been filling during the progress of this colloquy. When he came near me again, he said gently, "Yes; I am British subject; 'and I spik Ingleesh, madame — sare ." Evidently no doubt of his perfect acquaintance with his mother, or rather his grandmother, tongue had ever entered poor Louis' brain.