added I, "lest in your hurry anything should happen to that valuable antidote against the dreadful Simoom of the Desert, you had better let me take charge of the jar." The Marquis, proud of being employed on active service, unslung his rifle, put spurs to his horse, and as he went off in fiery haste on his important mission, I consigned the jar, together with its contents, to the clear waters of a brook which was gurgling past, a few yards below the narrow path, here, nearly blocked up by the lionvanquished camel. Left alone to my meditations, I was slowly pacing along, lost in admiration of the surrounding beauties of the scene, and my nag, abandoned to his own guidance, had, proceeded to a considerable distance, when I was suddenly awakened from my reverie by the rapid clattering of hoofs along the flinty path; and, shooting past me like a fiery meteor, the King, enveloped in flames and smoke, -after in vain endeavouring to pull up,-threw himself off his horse, and as he rolled like a maniac amongst the long grass, kept exclaiming, "The powder-flask! the powder-flask!" The case was soon apparent. From some unknown and mysterious cause, one of the capacious pockets of his shooting-jacket, well crammed with paper and other combustible stores, was on fire; and as amidst the latter was included a well-filled horn of powder, his majesty's situation was at that identical moment none of the most enviable in the world. No time was, however, to be lost in asking questions; and ere the whole party had come up, the King was "extinguished," and I then began to inquire "as how" all this had happened. On recovering the power of utterance, he indignantly exclaimed, "It was all the fault of that d-d Marquis; and I'll pay him off for it yet;" when I learnt that my adjutant-general, in the warmth of his zeal to close up the line of march, not finding his verbal injunctions sufficiently attended to, (particularly considering the urgency of the case, when his general was probably at that moment under the fangs of the monsters of the Desert,) finding, I say, such blameable lukewarmness manifested on the approach of peril, had proceeded to make use of more striking arguments, by belabouring both men and steeds with the butt end of his rifle. The King, not approving of this summary proceeding, had grown refractory: in the ensuing struggle between them, the fowling-piece, slung at his shoulder, had accidentally gone off and set fire to the shooting-jacket; the horse, frightened by the explosion, ran away, and his majesty, through the medium of the aforesaid well-filled powder-flask, had nearly taken his departure to the seventh heaven, in the shape of a sky-rocket. It was some time ere,-order being restored,-we resumed our march, which brought us at last to the "Ain-é-Sdeed," where we left the whole party so agreeably employed in washing away (but not with the waters of Lethe) all the effects of their late fatigues. Time fled; the rosy bowl passed rapidly round; all bad blood, allayed by the soothing liquid, had long ceased between his majesty and the adjutant-general; when at last the slanting rays of the western sun warned us to the saddle, as we had still some twenty good miles between us and Tangiers, which we must either reach that night before the closing of the gates, or sleep al fresco under the wide canopy of heaven. Not liking the latter alternative-particularly as the state of the commissariat did not promise a very sumptuous bivouac supperwe descended to the plain, which, like a boundless carpet of verdure spreading beneath our feet, seemed at last to lose itself in the far Atlantic; and urging on our jaded cattle through waving meads of luxuriant pasture, which often reached to our very saddle girths, we-as twilight was fast verging into darkness-descried the far minarets of Tangiers. No time was to be lost: a chance still remained of our arriving ere the Cerberus of the place had closed the gates on us for the night. However, that chance seemed but slight when we began to consider the state of our way worn steeds. In vain was the sharp edge of the shovel-shaped iron stirrup applied to their bleeding flanks; in vain were used the enforcing arguments of stick and whipcord; the poor brutes were completely done up, and even with the help of the cruelly severe bits in their mouths, could scarcely be kept on their legs.* It was now, and only now, we learnt that they had come the same road the day before, and had therefore been in motion nearly thirty-six hours with little or no food. This intelligence removed the faint shadow of hope under which we still kept up our flagging spirits: we made up our minds to bivouac supperless for the night, when one of our party-the son of the vice-consul of Tetuan-whose horse was much better and fresher than the rest, and who was moreover acquainted with the authorities at Tangiers, kindly volunteered to ride on, and endeavour to have the gates kept open until our arrival. This proposal was gladly accepted. We painfully toiled on in his wake; and as some, dismounted, slowly dragged along their horses by the bridles, whilst others urged them forward from behind, we must have borne a strong resemblance to the fag (and fagged) end of a retiring army; probably not an unapt representation of some of the stragglers in the retreats of Moscow and Corunna. Even Hassan, our sturdy janizary-who, answerable with his * Notwithstanding the assertions of many travellers to the contrary, the Mahomedans, generally humane towards the inferior animals, make a striking exception to this rule as regards the treatment of their horses. The flanks of this noble creature are mercilessly lacerated by the sharp edge of the flat iron stirrup which cuts into them like a knife, whilst its bleeding mouth bears tesimony to the dreadful severity of the bit-a circle encompassing the lower jaw, and which the least pull on the rein forces against the roof of the mouth and brings the animal on his haunches in the midst of the most rapid career. If to this be added, that on dismounting, after fastening his steed by the foot to a picket planted in the ground, -the poor animal is, during a journey, frequently left by its master with little food, no grooming, and with the saddle often not removed from his back for days together, it may easily be imagined that the fate of the "high-mettled courser" under the dominion of Islam, is not to be envied. head for our safe arrival*—was at last obliged to follow our example, and dismount. Hassan, a Christian renegade, who was by his own account a native of Spain, still spoke the Castilian with ease and fluency, and had, during that day's march, beguiled many a weary mile by recounting to us the incidents of his varied and chequered history. Like so many others who were wont some years ago (to the shame, be it said, of the European powers) to share a similar fate, he had, whilst coasting along his native shores in some small craft, been taken by a Sallee rover, sold to a slave-dealer, and conveyed to Morocco; where, finding that Catholicism, with the concomitant of hard stripes and labour, did not suit his constitution, he suddenly became convinced of the truth of Mahomet's mission, adopted the turban, claimed the privileges of Islam, and after passing through adventures of love and war, of repose and travel, too long and numerous to be here detailed, at last found himself in his present responsible though unpleasant situation, dragging along a tired horse through the deep sands by which is approached the good town of Tangiers. "Pero paciencia, no hay rimedio," (patience! there is no help for it,) was the truly rational remark of the apathetic Spaniard, now rendered doubly philosophical from the lips of the bearded Mussulman. Repeating, therefore, "paciencia, with a few more expletives, and hard blows, we at last arrived at the castle-gate, just as bolt and bar were about to be drawn in our faces, in spite of the energetic remonstrances of our ambassador, who was pleading for a little more law. The patience of the old gate-keeper had nearly evaporated as we approached: a couple of dollars, however, silenced the growl accompanying our admittance. With difficulty we made our way by torch-light to the posada, kept by a son of Abraham, yclept Benoliel: great was our rejoicing on sitting down to a good supper; and sound were our slumbers at the conclusion of that hard day's work. The following morning, after visiting the delightful gardens in the neighbourhood, belonging to the several European representatives, we called on the British consul-general, Mr. Drummond Hay, who received us with his wonted politeness and hospitality, which we experienced to the fullest extent during our stay at Tangiers; whence, in a few days, we took our departure in the mail-boat for Ceuta, beat up the quarters of some friends in the Spanish garrison there, and returned to Gibraltar after one of the pleasantest of trips, thus bringing to a close "the African Expedition." * Such is the antipathy of the intolerant natives of Barbary towards “Franks,” that an escort of one or two soldiers from the emperor's guards is absolutely necessary to ensure the traveller's safety, for which the janizary becomes responsible under the penalty of his head. CHAPTER X. ACCOUNT OF "A FEW DAYS' SPORTING IN BARBARY," IN A LETTER TO THE AUTHOR.* Town Range Barracks, Gibraltar, MY DEAR NAPIER-Your "Scenes and Sports," which appeared lately in this garrison, have produced, I think, amongst us a "Nimrodish" spirit of the olden time-not but that many of our youthful sportsmen are game to the back bone, and frequently of the foremost (as you well know) with the Calpe hounds; but there are some amongst them, who, never having seen our old Indian friends of grunting propensities, much wished to have an encounter with the bristly foe, on the opposite coast of "Afric's burning shores." Having been a brother sportsman and fellow actor in many of the well-told tales of your Indian exploits, I must give a short account of our endeavours to follow you in the "hog line," near Tangiers, a relation of which will, I think, amuse you, though, I am sorry to say we were not so successful as we ought to have been, owing, as usual, to my bad shooting, for which I was deservedly well abused; but if not attended with great results, our trip was agreeable and pleasant, and I wish you had been of the party. You would not only, I think, have enjoyed yourself uncommonly, but have killed your pig in sporting style, with the old "double-barrel" and long carving-knife. In fact, we only required you to make our party complete, and many were the wishes expressed for your presence. Our preparations were soon completed, and we assembled in the mess-room to breakfast, on the morning of our departure, after a delightful ball at Mr. S.'s, the American consul, who always gives such splendid parties, and whose Madeira, by-the-bye, is the best in the world. A friend from the Emerald Isle had kindly offered us a passage to Tangiers in his yacht. Allow me, therefore, to introduce W9 a most thorough Pat, and the owner of the Vampire, of about eight-and-forty tons, as neat a little craft as e'er skimmed o'er the "glad waters of the dark blue sea." In this he proposed taking four of us; and, without much difficulty, D'Eyncourt, Moffat, David Fyffe, and myself obtained a week's leave from the Governor; so that, on the morning I speak of, guns, pistols, and huntingknives of all sorts, sizes, and shapes,-carpet-bags,-coats,-cloaks, &c. &c., were collected in the mess-room previous to our intended * The Author is indebted for the following narration to his old friend and brother officer, Lieutenant Lacy, of the 46th Regiment. departure. About mid-day we embarked, and with a pleasant light breeze set sail from "The Rock," and were soon carried into the current of the Straits. I believe the coast on both sides is pretty well known to you, but yet I cannot help saying a few words on the subject. The day was very fine, and lying on the deck, whilst basking in the sun, we enjoyed the view of that beautiful line of hills beyond Cabrita Point, and those still more grand and magnificent mountains on the African shore, which, towards evening, under the rays of the setting sun, assumed a mellowness of tint and tone of colour baffling all description. December is certainly not the finest month in the year for beholding a landscape in perfection; still-as you are aware-even winter wears here a much gayer mantle than in the frigid north, and the garb of summer was still retained by the ever-green oak, the cork, the ilex, and a variety of other trees and plants peculiar to these favoured regions.* Feasting our eyes with these fair sights, we glided past Tarifa, with its old Moorish towers that have stood the brunt of many a siege, its curious houses, and old-fashioned inhabitants,† and as it gradually became dusk, we were close under the African coast; but without sufficient light, and not knowing the harbour, we did not think it quite safe to venture into the anchorage near the town. Having therefore got soundings, we let go anchor, and piped all hands to dinner after seeing everything safe and snug. Our host said he had nothing to give us; but, on our diving below, a right good round of English beef, with its accompaniments of carrots, turnips, &c., belied him. We set to work in earnest, and justice was soon performed on it in a most summary manner, accompanied by copious libations of Guinness' best. It was Saturday night, and though not at sea, we considered ourselves entitled to our glass of grog and a song, which was given in firstrate style by David Fyffe, whose musical notes were softly breathed through the aromatic atmosphere, caused by our lighted cigars. Our revels at last came to an end, and, closely stowed away in the body of the "Vampire," we at last resigned ourselves to balmy sleep. Next morning we were all up with the lark, got the ship * On the 22nd of January, 1841, there was ice at the signal station at Gibraltar half an inch thick, which remained for several days, the height above the level of the sea being about 1400 feet. In the beginning of February of the same year, there was a very severe gale of wind, which detained the 33rd Regiment, embarked for the West Indies, in harbour from the 5th to the 23rd, and on the 6th an extraordinary fall of hail occurred, the stones being generally an inch and a half long, an inch in breadth and thickness, and of all kinds of curious shapes, many like long cut-glass smelling bottles, both of which circumstances are very unusual here. I was informed by a Spaniard, that the women of Tarifa, Conil, and Marchena, all in the south coast, retain the privilege of partially concealing the face with a black shawl, worn over the head like a hood, and only leaving one eye exposeda curious remnant of Moorish customs, secured to them, as I understood, by charter. |